Sunday, 8 August 2010
Over There, Over There!
was the song more than a few years ago,
well by the time you are reading this that is where Diana and myself should be, in good old Blighty! yes we are going to visit the UK for a few weeks, London and anywhere we can get a bus to, well I have to use my old folks bus pass! but now stand by for roars of laughter and cries of shame,
as many of my friends know when I am back in the UK I do not look at a computer, so no more blogging till September but then, we will be back! now the bad news with hopefully grazillions of pictures! I hope everyone will have a look then but until the beginning of September - take care - it is a jungle out there!
by the way the lyrics and story behind Over There are here, best regards from myself and Diana we hope to see or hear from you all soon.
Sunday, Sunday,
I think it was a song by the Mama's and Papa's,
but for us it means just one thing, Sunday roast at the Robins Nest, today we were joined by Mr. Tony,
a fine selection of roasted meats at the carvery,
Joe also called in to sample the carvery,
then it was eyes down, tuck in!
Diana's eyes this time were not bigger than her belly! just a few slices of each,
a small but filling helping for me as well,
a great meal and so reasonable at just 199 baht for all you can eat, on the way back to Mr. Tony's car a quick look at the clear blue sky, it was so hot today,
all too soon it was out on the town,
a fairly quiet Walking Street, but it was only 8.30 in the evening,
hardly any one about, hopefully things will liven up later, we called into see Grieg at Lollipop's and spent some time there, as usual the latest, or in some cases the oldest jokes were shared, like this one,
a kebab with all of the trimmings,
I have eaten more than my share of kebabs over the years, but I have never seen this before, an electric kebab meat carver,
whilst the kebab was being prepared I took a shot looking towards Second Road,
and this one towards Walking Street, pretty quiet I am afraid to say, hopefully the tourist will return soon, we are going to be up early tomorrow so then home and off to bed, by the way Monday Monday was a song by the Mamas & Papas.
but for us it means just one thing, Sunday roast at the Robins Nest, today we were joined by Mr. Tony,
a fine selection of roasted meats at the carvery,
Joe also called in to sample the carvery,
then it was eyes down, tuck in!
Diana's eyes this time were not bigger than her belly! just a few slices of each,
a small but filling helping for me as well, 
a great meal and so reasonable at just 199 baht for all you can eat, on the way back to Mr. Tony's car a quick look at the clear blue sky, it was so hot today,
all too soon it was out on the town,
a fairly quiet Walking Street, but it was only 8.30 in the evening,
hardly any one about, hopefully things will liven up later, we called into see Grieg at Lollipop's and spent some time there, as usual the latest, or in some cases the oldest jokes were shared, like this one,
two people, (make your own nationality here), flew to Canada on a hunting trip, they chartered a small plane to take them into the Rockies for a week hunting moose,
they managed to bag 6, as they were loading the plane to return, the pilot said the plane could take only 4 moose, the two lads objected strongly, "last year we shot six, the pilot let us take them all and he had the same plane as yours."
reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six were loaded, the plane took off, however, while attempting to cross some mountains, even on full power, the little plane couldn't handle the load and went down,
somehow, surrounded by the moose bodies, only XXXXX and XXXX (your choice of names), survived the crash, after climbing out of the wreckage, XXXXX asked XXXX, "any idea where we are?"
XXXX replied, "I think we're pretty close to where we crashed last year," boom-boom!
we then went into Champions for a few in there and then off to buy Diana something to eat when we returned home,
a kebab with all of the trimmings, 
I have eaten more than my share of kebabs over the years, but I have never seen this before, an electric kebab meat carver,
whilst the kebab was being prepared I took a shot looking towards Second Road,
and this one towards Walking Street, pretty quiet I am afraid to say, hopefully the tourist will return soon, we are going to be up early tomorrow so then home and off to bed, by the way Monday Monday was a song by the Mamas & Papas.
When I Was A Boy,
I always knew when it was Thursday,
there would be a series of loud crashes as the bin lorry drew nearer our house and the bins were emptied, in those halcyon days it did not mater if the bin had a lid, was over flowing with refuse or not, even bricks and cement if you could afford to have the builders in to make the outside toilet into an inside one, or joy of joys a bathroom, rather than I was used to, a galvanized tin bath that we all shared in front of an open coal fired in the living room, but not so today,
police are being brought in for extra patrols after a series of angry clashes between residents and council workers - over bin collections, the confrontations erupted after bin men refused to collect a string of wheelie bins left outside homes in the Tredworth area of Gloucester, they said they would not empty the bins because of the city council's strict policy of only emptying bins which were fully closed,
local resident Tony Goss, 50, a father-of-three, said his bin wasn't collected even though the lid was left open by only a fraction, he said: 'I think it is totally outrageous, it is approximately half an inch open on one side at the top, surely it just needs a bit of common sense applied,' Tony let me stop you there, common sense - council, they do not go hand in glove,
OK lets bring in the police, Sgt Lynn Northfield, of the local White City Safer Community Team, said police will now increase patrols during bin collection times, she said: 'We are aware of several recent incidents of verbal disagreements between Tredworth residents and the binmen, as a result, we have increased patrols during collection times in the area to ensure there are no altercations and will continue to monitor the situation over the next few weeks,'
but wait a moment who makes the rules that the binmen have to follow? you got there before me - the council!
there would be a series of loud crashes as the bin lorry drew nearer our house and the bins were emptied, in those halcyon days it did not mater if the bin had a lid, was over flowing with refuse or not, even bricks and cement if you could afford to have the builders in to make the outside toilet into an inside one, or joy of joys a bathroom, rather than I was used to, a galvanized tin bath that we all shared in front of an open coal fired in the living room, but not so today,
police are being brought in for extra patrols after a series of angry clashes between residents and council workers - over bin collections, the confrontations erupted after bin men refused to collect a string of wheelie bins left outside homes in the Tredworth area of Gloucester, they said they would not empty the bins because of the city council's strict policy of only emptying bins which were fully closed,
local resident Tony Goss, 50, a father-of-three, said his bin wasn't collected even though the lid was left open by only a fraction, he said: 'I think it is totally outrageous, it is approximately half an inch open on one side at the top, surely it just needs a bit of common sense applied,' Tony let me stop you there, common sense - council, they do not go hand in glove,
OK lets bring in the police, Sgt Lynn Northfield, of the local White City Safer Community Team, said police will now increase patrols during bin collection times, she said: 'We are aware of several recent incidents of verbal disagreements between Tredworth residents and the binmen, as a result, we have increased patrols during collection times in the area to ensure there are no altercations and will continue to monitor the situation over the next few weeks,'
but wait a moment who makes the rules that the binmen have to follow? you got there before me - the council!
We Had Another Lazy Day Today,
but went overboard on watching DVD's and playing cribbage,
in the evening Diana cooked pork chops for our evening meal,
'Cheers!'from me, I am sure the red wine is doing me some good,
now that's what I call a pork chop!
during the day and evening we watched more than a few DVD's, the first one was from the era of the American civil war, Glory, the last in the Gods and Generals, Gettysburg, trilogy, it was based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers, the 54th Massachusetts, Shaw was forced to deal with the prejudices of both the enemy (who had orders to kill commanding officers of blacks), and of his own fellow officers, (also the government), the 54th was paid $10.00 a month, $3.00 a month less than white soldiers, then less another $3.00 a month clothes allowance, after 18 months of refusing to accept any pay at all the US government paid the 54th back pay in full,
the second film Enemy at the Gates, a gut-wrenching and impressive hide-and-seek thriller that uses the bloody battle of Stalingrad (during the second World War) as the clever disguise here for a real battle of courage and determination, the film follows a young and highly talented Russian sniper from the Urals, Vassili Zaitsev, the opening shots of the ferry crossing are a real baptism of fire for any one coming from the countryside to war,
back to the long ago past to one of, in my opinion, a great science fiction B & W film, Things to Come, the special effects now so dated were at the time so believable, as indeed was the time frame, the film predicted a world war was going to start in 1939, for Europe it did! then a Kavanagh QC, Innocency of Life, to round off the evening, Kavanagh successfully defends a young vicar, Ian Winfarthing,when pub landlady Anne Murchison accuses him of sexual harassment, but is it harassment or love? then off to bed.
in the evening Diana cooked pork chops for our evening meal,
'Cheers!'from me, I am sure the red wine is doing me some good,
now that's what I call a pork chop!
during the day and evening we watched more than a few DVD's, the first one was from the era of the American civil war, Glory, the last in the Gods and Generals, Gettysburg, trilogy, it was based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers, the 54th Massachusetts, Shaw was forced to deal with the prejudices of both the enemy (who had orders to kill commanding officers of blacks), and of his own fellow officers, (also the government), the 54th was paid $10.00 a month, $3.00 a month less than white soldiers, then less another $3.00 a month clothes allowance, after 18 months of refusing to accept any pay at all the US government paid the 54th back pay in full,
the second film Enemy at the Gates, a gut-wrenching and impressive hide-and-seek thriller that uses the bloody battle of Stalingrad (during the second World War) as the clever disguise here for a real battle of courage and determination, the film follows a young and highly talented Russian sniper from the Urals, Vassili Zaitsev, the opening shots of the ferry crossing are a real baptism of fire for any one coming from the countryside to war,
back to the long ago past to one of, in my opinion, a great science fiction B & W film, Things to Come, the special effects now so dated were at the time so believable, as indeed was the time frame, the film predicted a world war was going to start in 1939, for Europe it did! then a Kavanagh QC, Innocency of Life, to round off the evening, Kavanagh successfully defends a young vicar, Ian Winfarthing,when pub landlady Anne Murchison accuses him of sexual harassment, but is it harassment or love? then off to bed.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Down To The Bank Again Today,
we have been dodging showers all day,
the streets were just beginning to dry as we got to town,
we keep having to pump up the front tyre, new one and inner tube to be fitted soon,
the view from the bank looking towards the Pattaya Beer Garden,
it looked like the rain was to continue all day, so it was in the truck to pop over to see Riza, we stopped at the market on the other side of the tracks for some food for the girls,
there they were Goh, Diana and Riza,
but I was sure I heard some one else and there she was Anchisa,
the girls tucked into a seafood feast, I sat outside and read a book with Pretty Kitty the cat for company,
although difficult to see the rain came pouring down again, good job we did not bring the bike, later Mike arrived home so a few more cups of tea and we were off,
to the rain soaked night market on Theppresit, we took the bike, unfortunately the car park behind the market turns into a quagmire when it rains,
the skies looked ominous, in fact a light drizzle never really stopped,
it was quiet late by now, but many of the traders did not show up due I guess to the weather,
this stall opposite the beer bar was set up, but within the hour it had been taken away,
wet spaces where stalls should have been were everywhere,
but on to the shopping, fresh mangoes for this evening, but it is now the end of the season, so these were not the sweetest of the crop,
until recently I had not seen these fish bar-b-q's that rotate the fish with a motor, then today I saw this brand new one,
three stalls away another new one,
then a third all in the space of 15 meters or so,
a soft slushy drink for Diana,
but over to the bar for me, whilst there the Radio Bee 103 FM tuk-tuk drove slowly past,
whilst sitting in the beer bar waiting for Diana to finish her shopping I was chatting to Martin and Thor from Norway they were in the same boat as me waiting for their sweethearts to return from a shopping fest, they are over here for a month or so before leaving for home with their Thai wives, strange how everyone is so friendly out here, back in the UK most people in a similar situation would not dream of striking up a conversation with a complete stranger, I wonder if it is the same in other bars in Europe or America?
the rain had returned again from a fine drizzle to what I would call proper rain,
then Diana called back to the bar with her shopping,
dry and home at last, chicken curry for this evenings meal,
then feet up for A.I. Artificial Intelligence, we had seen it before a long time ago, David is a marvel of cybernetic progress who really only wants to be a real boy, loved by his mother and his father in that happy place called home, but David journeys out into the forests to find a way to become a real boy, the film charts that journey, a dose of Kavanagh QC followed, Bearing Witness, a seriously ill boy needs a blood transfusion to save his life, due to their religion both mother and son refuse the life saving transfusion, the 13 year old son preferring to die, the good news is that it had a happy ending for the family, the son died and Mom lived happily ever after! then off to bed.
the streets were just beginning to dry as we got to town,
we keep having to pump up the front tyre, new one and inner tube to be fitted soon,
the view from the bank looking towards the Pattaya Beer Garden,
it looked like the rain was to continue all day, so it was in the truck to pop over to see Riza, we stopped at the market on the other side of the tracks for some food for the girls,
there they were Goh, Diana and Riza,
but I was sure I heard some one else and there she was Anchisa,
the girls tucked into a seafood feast, I sat outside and read a book with Pretty Kitty the cat for company,
although difficult to see the rain came pouring down again, good job we did not bring the bike, later Mike arrived home so a few more cups of tea and we were off,
to the rain soaked night market on Theppresit, we took the bike, unfortunately the car park behind the market turns into a quagmire when it rains,
the skies looked ominous, in fact a light drizzle never really stopped,
it was quiet late by now, but many of the traders did not show up due I guess to the weather,
this stall opposite the beer bar was set up, but within the hour it had been taken away,
wet spaces where stalls should have been were everywhere,
but on to the shopping, fresh mangoes for this evening, but it is now the end of the season, so these were not the sweetest of the crop,
until recently I had not seen these fish bar-b-q's that rotate the fish with a motor, then today I saw this brand new one,
three stalls away another new one,
then a third all in the space of 15 meters or so,
a soft slushy drink for Diana,
but over to the bar for me, whilst there the Radio Bee 103 FM tuk-tuk drove slowly past,
whilst sitting in the beer bar waiting for Diana to finish her shopping I was chatting to Martin and Thor from Norway they were in the same boat as me waiting for their sweethearts to return from a shopping fest, they are over here for a month or so before leaving for home with their Thai wives, strange how everyone is so friendly out here, back in the UK most people in a similar situation would not dream of striking up a conversation with a complete stranger, I wonder if it is the same in other bars in Europe or America?
the rain had returned again from a fine drizzle to what I would call proper rain,
then Diana called back to the bar with her shopping,
dry and home at last, chicken curry for this evenings meal,
then feet up for A.I. Artificial Intelligence, we had seen it before a long time ago, David is a marvel of cybernetic progress who really only wants to be a real boy, loved by his mother and his father in that happy place called home, but David journeys out into the forests to find a way to become a real boy, the film charts that journey, a dose of Kavanagh QC followed, Bearing Witness, a seriously ill boy needs a blood transfusion to save his life, due to their religion both mother and son refuse the life saving transfusion, the 13 year old son preferring to die, the good news is that it had a happy ending for the family, the son died and Mom lived happily ever after! then off to bed.
In An Earlier Post We Featured The Work Of Edgar Mueller,
a street artist working in Moscow,
he mentions and I quote, 'the air is full of smog and breathe is difficult', I have just seen these pictures of how bad the air is in Moscow,
he mentions and I quote, 'the air is full of smog and breathe is difficult', I have just seen these pictures of how bad the air is in Moscow,
flights at international airports have been grounded and visibility in the capital is down to a few dozen yards as the fires continue to tear through forests and villages, the massive blaze has caused airborne pollutants, including carbon monoxide, to be four times higher than average - the worst seen to date in Moscow, I hope that for the peoples of Russia and Edgar the terrible fires that are sweeping the area are soon put out.
Oops A Daisey!
as my gran would say when there was an accident or I fell over,
I love cars and it is always sad to see a crashed one, but hopefully the £100,000 repair bill will not make the owner of this McLaren F1 out of pocket, the wealthy motorist, who lives in Britain but closely guards his identity, was cruising in the fast lane of an autobahn in West Germany when the smash occurred, the 240mph supercar, which costs £2million secondhand and is one of only 64 ever built, crashed into two cars after swerving to avoid a slower driver who had pulled out,
Double Oops!
two on the same day,
this time a beautiful Jaguar driven by Sir Chris Hoy, the Olympic cycling champ, he came a cropper when he pulled out onto a main road, I guess Sir Chris should stick to two wheels, but the good news is that no one was injured, just a bit of pride took a knock!
I love cars and it is always sad to see a crashed one, but hopefully the £100,000 repair bill will not make the owner of this McLaren F1 out of pocket, the wealthy motorist, who lives in Britain but closely guards his identity, was cruising in the fast lane of an autobahn in West Germany when the smash occurred, the 240mph supercar, which costs £2million secondhand and is one of only 64 ever built, crashed into two cars after swerving to avoid a slower driver who had pulled out,
Double Oops!
two on the same day,
this time a beautiful Jaguar driven by Sir Chris Hoy, the Olympic cycling champ, he came a cropper when he pulled out onto a main road, I guess Sir Chris should stick to two wheels, but the good news is that no one was injured, just a bit of pride took a knock!
Today I Received An E-mail From One Of Those Gifted People I Love To Feature On Our Blog,
Edgar Mueller, street artist, who is now currently working in Moscow,
a quote from his e-mail and press release, 'This first Project (Duality) of my new series 'Unconditional Love' takes place under extreme environmental conditions in Moscow, nevertheless I decided to go for it for this very reason, the air is full of smog and breathe is difficult, one day to go and hopefully the situation is not getting worse, the painting will be finished on Sunday the 8th of August,' the work is at the Tepli-Stan Mega Mall main entrance,
above is the 'canvas' he started with, as I have said many times before Edgar Mueller for me has so much talent, hopefully his works will be featured in the National newspapers as they are finished, what talent he has!
a quote from his e-mail and press release, 'This first Project (Duality) of my new series 'Unconditional Love' takes place under extreme environmental conditions in Moscow, nevertheless I decided to go for it for this very reason, the air is full of smog and breathe is difficult, one day to go and hopefully the situation is not getting worse, the painting will be finished on Sunday the 8th of August,' the work is at the Tepli-Stan Mega Mall main entrance,
above is the 'canvas' he started with, as I have said many times before Edgar Mueller for me has so much talent, hopefully his works will be featured in the National newspapers as they are finished, what talent he has!