Whilst Watching Poirot,

a few nights ago, he and Captain Hastings started to play a game of Monopoly, I explained the rules to Diana who said she would like to play, so after speaking to Mark he suggested a trip to Central Festival, so off we went, luckily the bike park was less than full, upstairs to the toy department and much to my surprise there were at least five different versions of the game, the good news is that we bought the English version with London street names, so we spent the afternoon playing a game, which Diana pronounced was 'very annoying' great fun,

after that we made our way to Horseshoe Point for the Halloween party,

it was great fun for all of the family,

especially the kids, first a bite to eat, freedom fries,

before we left Diana applied a bit of make up to me as it was Halloween, she later said it did not make any difference!

we meet Mr. Tony and Booie,

the girls went for a walk to have a look around some of the stalls, Booie decided to enter into the spirit of things and have her face made up,

there were lots of things to keep everyone interested and to amuse the kids, like theses two medieval warriors smacking each other on the head,

Diana tries her hand at one of the stalls, you have to cover the bottle with the bowl to win,

car rides were also put on,

along with a bouncy castle,

and remote controlled cars, (I wanted a go myself, but there were to many people watching!),

Diana tries her hand at one of the other stalls,

and wins!

also she bought a couple of packets of sweets,

a neat looking electric bike, complete with shopping rack,

then a fire stick display,

we then made our way around the ghost tour, there are three temple buildings that look at ground level almost Aztec, Mayan or Inca in the design of some of the faces

that look out from the buildings,

the tour consists of story tellers at different locations, this is our first story teller getting into gear,

a graveyard is our next port of call, look out, sometimes the shadows move!

we then pass a couple of coffins,

I sure I saw that one breathing,

next a caged psychopath tries to break out of his cage, to screams of the kids and a few adults he does! of course the thing is if they used proper bars not ones made out of rubber he would not get out!

we all join hands for a seance, woe betide any one that breaks the circle,

although it was dark I think from the last time we were here these are pieces of petrified wood,

then double trouble boil and bubble,

a last story for the evening,

if you ever go to Horseshoe Point in the day time there a many things to look at like this wall with pictures, the grounds are quiet impressive,

and of course the temples with their guards,

well we had a great evening out that was very different from normal, the Pattaya Players put a huge effort into making sure that everyone enjoyed themselves, a last look at one of the temples and we were off home, but not to watch a few DVD's, no, Diana was out for revenge in another game of Monopoly that lasted into the early hours of the morning, then off to bed.

Along To The Bank Again!

I just do not know where all the money goes! well I do really, we go out, eat well and generally have a great time, I always draw out the same amount, but it is a worry when the bank staff, who I have known for many years start to say, 'that was quick you are back again so soon!'

new for Pattaya, flashing pedestrian crossing light, these in Second Road,

a great idea, but there are a few problems I can see, many car drivers may stop, some will not, but if you are crossing look out for the motorbikes that will not stop going along the inside of stopped cars, also if you stop be prepared to be rear ended by the car behind that does not, naturally you stopped - your fault, it is like that out here, the good news is that the police are helping tourist learn the value of the crossings, the law out here states that if you fail to use a crossing and you are within 100 meters of it you will be finned for jay walking, well I have read that already a steady stream of tourists are being taught the folly of jay walking by the ever helpful police operating just under 100 meters from the crossings,

back home when Mr. Tony and Mark called in for a chat and a few cups of tea, all to soon it was time for the Friday night market so off we went,

we were a bit early but still a few tourists out already looking for a bargain,

we split up, I made my way to the other end of the market, as we drove in I noticed some stalls selling old looking clocks and brass telescopes,

also there is a large number of places selling shoes,

lots of shoes, but on closer examination the 'old' looking compasses, watches etc were in fact good but modern reproductions,

so back to the other end of the market, just a few stalls opposite the bar,

we needed some more shrimp food for the yabbie we have so a quick call into one of the aquatic shops,

unfortunately there was nothing in the fish section that caught my eye,

then along to the bar to wait for Diana to finish her shopping,

and here she is with lots of fresh fruit to snack on later, whilst at the bar Juu and his wife called by so we both settled down to a few beers whilst the girls went shopping then time for home, Diana had prepared a beef stew with dumplings, it was delicious!

then feet up for The Last Emperor, the film tells the story of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, He was three years old when he first sat down on the Dragon Throne, He didn't know anything, the movie tells his story from that moment in flashbacks, we also get to see Pu Yi when the Chinese Communists have the power and he is imprisoned, because people have taken care of him the rest of his life, from three years old to the moments inside the prison, it still feels he knows nothing, a huge movie not the least of which is the fact that this was the first western film made in and about the country to be produced with full Chinese government cooperation since 1949, so of course the sets inside the Forbidden City were real as that was where it was filmed, a few night caps then off to bed.

Coleford In Gloucestershire

takes I think, this years prize for being the first town to put up Christmas lights, due to health and safety reasons, because each bulb and fitting has to be rigorously tested to meet safety regulations, dedicated Kim Wassell, 49 has been putting up lights in the town along with seven other volunteers and is chair of the Coleford Christmas Lights Committee, She said: 'It might seem like a long time but we have to make sure that all of the equipment is safe, every light bulb has to be tested and that is very time consuming, we have to have a qualified electrician on site too, Kim, who has been a member of the committee for 19 years, added that the committee had spent £4,000 on environmentally friendly light bulbs, as dictated by the town council, the lights - which are paid for with funds raised by the Committee and a £4,000 from Coleford Town Council - will be turned on on November 26 and left in place until January,

incidentally before you go rushing out to stock up on Christmas food, check the sell by date, supermarkets’ eagerness to bring out Christmas food earlier than ever means many festive treats bought this month are already past their sell-by date, and must be eaten before they go off, a survey this week found a Sainsbury’s chocolate yule log that must be eaten by November 1 to ensure it doesn’t go stale, a pack of Marks & Spencer Classic Butter Rich Mince Pies with a best before date of October 27 and M&S Iced Rich Fruit Slices with a date of October 21, are just some yule time treats that will spoil before Christmas day, similarly, a Cadbury chocolate yule log at Tesco had a best before date of Bonfire Night, while in Waitrose a pack of mini mince pies had a date limit of December 15, Tesco's 'Christmas 6 Iced Top Mince Pies' had a best before date of November 5, while its pack of Finest 12 Mince Pies with Courvoisier, should be eaten before November 13th,

the store's Christmas Syrup Sponge pudding should be eaten by December 14, which is rather stretching the time limit for eating a Christmas dinner, Waitrose is also using the ploy, offering 12 Shortcrust Mince Pies by November 24 and 12 Mini Star Mince Pies to be eaten by December 12, the best before date for Sainsbury's Deep Mince Pies was November 29, so buy early and Christmas treats could come twice a year! did I mention not including today there are only 8 Saturdays to go?

Fishing Today,

with Nick and Maureen,

but first a call in to see Riza,

and the cat,

the bamboo is looking nice with lots of new growth, due to the rain I guess, this one is Buddha's Belly Bamboo, Bambusa tuldoides ‘Ventricosa’, so after the girls having a good chat and me having a cup of tea we were on our way,

we were trying a new venue, this is the sign to look out for on Soi Siam Country Club road, over the railway past the big new market on the right and you will see the sign on the left just before the big electrical sub station,

there are a couple of spirit houses on the right as you go in,

so we parked up and walked in, be warned there are a few dogs around the place, they seemed harmless, but take care,

a view of the first lake,

it was nicely laid out, with umbrellas and tables near the waters edge,

mix up the bait and we were ready to go,

Nick getting ready for the first cast of the day,

alI set and the competition began,

a view looking towards some of the other pools,

on the opposite side of the drive in there are these huts to keep out of the sun,

Nick caught the first of the day, this is me with the second,

but a little on the small side for eating,

Nick looking pensive as he waits for the next bite,

behind the huts, well pretty much everywhere in fact are banana trees,

most in fruit,

another one, though still to small for the pot,

another for Nick, by now the competition had finished, it was one of those rare days when we were catching fish one after another, we lost count as to who was winning, so we called it a draw!

on the way back to the truck I took this picture of a banana flower and fruit,

a close up of the flower, strange to look at,

then back to Nick and Maureen's to say Hi to Ta-Taa,

Maureen's seedlings and cuttings are now really taking hold,

'Cheers!' from the victors, we then settled down to one of Maureen's delicious chicken casseroles followed by cheese and biscuits with ice cream for Diana, a great day out, then home to 388 for a few DVD's,

for a complete change of pace I decided to put SOAP on, not knowing what Diana would make of it, she loved it! original network broadcasts opened with an on-screen content warning, this was one of the first TV programs to include such a warning, it was boldly walking on untrodden ground at the time, it is a parody of television soap-operas--the shows humor relies on exaggerating soap-operas' characteristic plot implausibility and melodrama to ridiculous extremes, then adds a fair bit of the truly bizarre,

as one reviewer put it 'the magic of the show was that it taught me so much, I knew little or nothing about homosexuality, infidelity, racism, hell, even the Mafia or Central American revolutions, until I watched this show, it was genuinely funny - Bert thinking he could turn invisible, Benson's "I ain't getting that," everyone talking to Bob when they knew damn well Chuck was throwing his voice - I laughed & laughed,' and that was what we did, show after show, we watched nothing else last night till it was time for bed.