First Thing,

over to the FedEx office,

 I had a letter that I wanted to arrive in the UK and be signed for, if you want to use the service of FedEx drive to the Dolphin roundabout and go towards Naklua until you see the FedEx sign on the right hand side, it is before the Boncafé store,

 and is situated at the back of a courtyard with a nice fountain display in front of it,

the FedEx shop, for sending the letter the charge was 1,081 baht, delivery due in the UK on Wednesday, we watched a couple of shows on TMN in the afternoon, the game show we really like The Chase being replaced by Twister, not as much fun and far easier questions, but still interesting to watch, after our evening meal a couple from the Crime & Investigation channel, two from Inspector Morse and we were off to bed.

We Take Travel So Much For Granted,

cars, buses and planes,

but think back to the days when you walked, had your own horse or used a stage coach, regarding the latter, they like the long range buses and coaches of today had a number of rules that should be taken heed of, 

1. Abstinence from liquor is requested, but if you must drink, share the bottle. To do otherwise makes you appear selfish and unneighborly.

2. If ladies are present, gentlemen are urged to forego smoking cigars and pipes as the odor of same is repugnant to the Gentle Sex. Chewing tobacco is permitted but spit WITH the wind, not against it.

3. Gentlemen must refrain from the use of rough language in the presence of ladies and children.

4. Buffalo robes are provided for your comfort during cold weather. Hogging robes will not be tolerated and the offender will be made to ride with the driver.

5. Don’t snore loudly while sleeping or use your fellow passenger’s shoulder for a pillow; he or she may not understand and friction may result.

6. Firearms may be kept on your person for use in emergencies. Do not fire them for pleasure or shoot at wild animals as the sound riles the horses.

7. In the event of runaway horses, remain calm. Leaping from the coach in panic will leave you injured, at the mercy of the elements, hostile Indians and hungry coyotes.

8. Forbidden topics of discussion are stagecoach robberies and Indian uprisings.

9. Gents guilty of unchivalrous behavior toward lady passengers will be put off the stage. It’s a long walk back. A word to the wise is sufficient.

I will let you guess which would still be appreciated today, for 508 pages of similar look backs into history have a look at Uncle John's Bathroom Reader History's Lists, and no I am not on commission!

Do Not Mess With Fish 205,

and you thought fish were fun!

 well Visarute Angkatavanich does, we have featured him on our blog before,

 taking pictures of the same subject matter, 

Siamese fighting fish as they are know (Betta splendens), he only started photographing the fish after encountering them for the first time three years ago at a fish show and has since become obsessed with the different species which vary greatly in size, shape, and colour patterns, theses are a few new pictures of them, great photographs and photographer.

Sunday,

and we are out for lunch,

 glad rags on, Mr. Tony very kindly picked us up,

 we were going to the Robin's Nest in Soi Diana, but first a walk along Soi Lengkee where we parked,

 across Soi Bukaow,

 and into Soi Diana,

 the restaurant is just before the LK Metro sign,

 on the right as you walk towards Second Road,

 Lee, owner/manager outside chatting to one of his colleagues,

Diana chose a cheese burger,

 which came with chips and a dip,

 chicken and cashew nuts with rice for Slim Jim who joined us for lunch,

 whilst Mr. Tony, 

and myself went with the carvery,

on to desserts,

a banana split for Diana,

both Slim Jim,

and Mr. Tony went for the apple crumble,

with ice cream and custard,

 whilst for myself,

 the included ice cream,

 to round the meal off I decided on a latte coffee,

 which both Diana and myself,

 decided so far that the lattes here are the nicest we have found in Pattaya,

 we then after bidding Slim Jim farewell made our way back to the car,

 whilst we were eating it had rained,

 so the streets were a bit damp,

 as we made our way along,

 Soi Diana,

 every time we walk along the streets here,

 there seem to be more food stalls opening up,

 lots of mobile ones too,

into Soi Lengkee then home, we watched some the episodes of Pawn Stars that we have a couple of DVDs of, then saying goodbye to Mr. Tony, we settled down to a couple from Inspector Morse, then for us we were off to bed.

I Seldom Watch Sport,

well never would more accurate,

but I was intrigued to see this foam being applied to the pitch in this summer’s World Cup in Brazil to mark where players should stand at free-kicks, the English Premier League also uses the foam, it is a vanishing foam used by referees to mark where players should stand at free-kicks,

it appears that some of the sportsmen playing the game are not very sporting and move closer to the ball when free kicks are given, so the referee marks the 10 yard or is it meter line now that we are in the EU? any way in October Germany’s Bundesliga was meant to start using the product, but then Health and Safety took over in the form of trading standards watchdog TÜV and has hampered the move, saying it should not be allowed in the country, “In its current form the product cannot be used in Germany,” TÜV said, it appears, wait for it, the Argentinean product doesn’t have a flammable warning on the spray can and no indication of volume, therefore doesn’t meet regulations, Greta Dau from TÜV said, they also mention that green house gas levels in the spray are 33 percent which are “far higher” than the allowed amount and as there are no instructions in German how on earth could German referees possibly know how to use the foam? spoilsports, it could have liven the game up a bit if the players lit the foam with their lighters every now and then!

Just When I Thought It Was Safe To Go Into The Woods,

I find out that one bite from this little critter, 

can turn you into a vegetarian for life, it is the the tiny Lone Star tick which can succeed where countless health experts and diet planners have failed – this bug has the power to put people off red meat! the tick isn’t vegetarian itself, but it sure can turn you into one for life, scientifically known as Amblyomma americanum, these ticks carry a variety of diseases, but what makes them truly fascinating is their ability to make people allergic to meat, that’s because they carry a substance called alpha-gal (Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose), which is a type of carbohydrate found in non-primate mammals, now, alpha-gal isn’t present in the human body, but our guts can digest it without negative effects under normal conditions, so when we eat meat that contains alpha-gal, we’re able to handle it without any problems, but when the stuff enters the bloodstream through the Lone Star’s bite, it’s a totally different ballgame – the human immune system recognises it as a foreign substance and produces antibodies to protect against it, these antibodies remain in the system, so the next time meat containing alpha-gal is ingested, it can trigger violent allergic reactions, 

so be careful if you go walking in the woods in the area the bug lives in, 

and if you see one like this full of blood on your skin, not only might you be off of red meat but as it can be a vector of diseases you could have also contracted some of these, human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia chaffeensis), canine and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia ewingii), tularemia (Francisella tularensis), and southern tick-associated rash illness (START) possibly caused by the spirochete Borrelia lonestari), STARI exhibits a rash similar to that caused by Lyme disease, but is generally considered to be less severe, a great case for staying at home, watching television and having a few beers!

We Meet Up With Mr. Tony For Breakfast,

and where else to meet?

 Mr. Tony picked us up and we were off to the Punch and Judy of course,

lasagna for Mr. tony,

and nice it looked too,

 for us the 140 baht English breakfast,

 two cups of tea/coffee included, we popped back home for a tea and a chat then thanked and said our goodbyes to Mr. Tony,

 during the day our bar-b-q needed a little work done to it, at each end a upside down 'L' shaped bracket keeps the grill the charcoal is on in place, 

 the problem was at the end we normally use it had rusted away,

so I drilled a couple of holes at the right height, inserted a couple of nuts and bolt, and hey presto, the grill is now supported, job done!

 on to the barby, my fire lighting skills,

 again seemed to have deserted me, smoke everywhere,

 but then it caught,

 our menu for the evening,

 soon the charcoal was glowing on the mended grill,

 so on with the garlic bread, baked potato and one of the fish we had caught and kept in the freezer,

 on to our first course after the bread, chicken satay,

 Diana all smiles as usual,

 'Cheers!',

 Diana had made a peanut and coconut oil dip along with a sweet/sour onion and cucumber relish,

 our main courses, Diana had the fish, pork chop with crackling for myself with vegetables,

we then had a pleasant surprise, Steve from England called so we had a brief chat then it was eyes down and tuck in, after our meal we chatted the night away listening to pop hits from the 1960s and 70s, I tried to name each tune and group who sung it, but I was completely lost over some like The Zombies, I knew the tune but just could not remember who sang it, but it was great fun, also it was surprising that Diana had heard of a number of songs in the Philippines but sung by local groups, after our meal indoors, sadly the last episode of LA Law, one from Inspector Morse and we were off to bed.