Cafe Le Mar

is situated just past Yorkies on Jomtien beach road,

the sign to look for,

myself, Diana, Jeff, Da and Chris,

the girls strike the pose,

inside the restaurant it has striking decor with televisions playing relaxing music DVD's,

and a well stocked bar,

Diana had a coconut milk shake for a drink,

and Da a orange juice,

for starters mushroom soup for Jeff,

a huge fried seafood for Diana, in all fairness this was as big as some restaurants main courses,

a mid course "Cheers"

this is Chris's first visit to the Jomtien end of town,

fried eggplant for Da, New Zealand mussels for me, lobster bisque for Chris,

then on to the main courses, fillet of pork with chicken pate for Da,

chicken and shrimp spaghetti for Chris,

beef and chicken pate for Jeff,

Diana and myself had rib eye steak,

Chris enjoying his ice cream,

and Diana with coconut sorbet,

I had ice cream cake,

after the meal we had a walk on the beach to stretch our legs,

and pose for a few pictures,

there was a good reason to stretch our legs, whilst I enjoy a breathing space between the starter and the main course, say 20 minuets or so, I am afraid it was more than that in this restaurant, whilst the food was delicious and the decor and atmosphere exceptionally nice, the service was to say the least slow,

on a brighter note these are the sweets that Diana got at the Halloween party earlier in the evening.

Anthrax casualty fights for life

A MUSICIAN was fighting for his life in a London hospital last night after inhaling anthrax spores from animal skins brought from Africa. The man has been in intensive care in the Homerton hospital for the last seven days and is said to be "critical but stable". Officials in biological and chemical protection suits are due to evacuate flats where he lives in Hackney to begin searching for any evidence of further danger to the public. Seven more people who could also have been exposed to the bacteria have been given antibiotics. An investigation is now under way into how the freak infection occurred at the home of the man, who is believed to be a Spanish musician. The Health Protection Agency believes the man inhaled the spores as he removed the hair from animal hides to make bongo drums. It is the first time in Britain that anyone is believed to have suffered any form of anthrax because of animal skin drums. Professor Nigel Lightfoot, chief adviser at the Health Protection Agency, said: "This patient makes and then plays animal skin drums for a living. "It is through making these drums that exposure to and inhalation of anthrax spores on an imported animal hide has taken place. "The risk to others who play these drums is very low. It is the process of removing the animal hairs during the making of drums that can put people at risk.

"It is important that anyone who makes drums from imported animal hides is aware of this risk and knows about the symptoms of anthrax." The HPA said the infection was a very rare case of inhalation anthrax the most deadly form of exposure to the bacteria. It happens when millions of the tiny spores are drawn into the lungs. "Once they germinate they release several toxic substances, which cause internal bleeding, swelling, and tissue death." Five people were killed by inhaling the spores when anthrax was sent by post to a series of media organisations and politicians in America in October and November 2001, supposedly by a scientist with access to the biological agent. Anthrax spores are found in the top level of soil across the world. They are often found in the skins of grazing animals.

March of the dustbin Stasi:

Half of councils use anti-terror laws to watch people putting rubbish out on the wrong day, More than half of town halls admit using anti-terror laws to spy on families suspected of putting their rubbish out on the wrong day. Their tactics include putting secret cameras in tin cans, on lamp posts and even in the homes of 'friendly' residents. The local authorities admitted that one of their main aims was to catch householders who put their bins out early.

The shocking way in which the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - an anti-terror law - is being used was revealed through freedom of information requests made by the Daily Mail. MPs and civil liberties groups last night accused councils of using the draconian powers for trivial reasons. Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty said: 'Snooping appears to have become the favourite pastime in town halls up and down the land. 'Common sense has gone out of the window and instead of putting out more bins, councils spy on householders as if they were terrorists.' Tory communities spokesman Eric Pickles said: 'Under Labour, the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens are being eroded through plans for ID cards, sinister microchip spies in bins and abuse of anti-terror laws by councils. 'Taxpayers' money is being wasted on bankrolling an army of municipal bureaucrats who have watched too many episodes of Spooks.' The Mail requested information from all of the 474 councils in England. Of the 151 which replied, some 77 - more than half - said they had used the legislation in the last three years for suspected 'domestic waste, littering or fly-tipping offences'. Although it is ostensibly an anti-terror law, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, or RIPA, is worded so loosely that it can be used to justify surveillance operations for a variety of reasons. Other local authorities which gave details of how they used RIPA included Lewes District Council in East Sussex. It admitted that the Act was used to gain evidence on residents who persistently left rubbish out at the wrong time. South Bedfordshire council also admitted going through phone bills inside rubbish bags to identify who had left them outside. Officers also electronically tagged certain types of rubbish to find out if they had been dumped illegally.

Schoolboy, 15, held as terror suspect after taking photos of railway station for GCSE project

A schoolboy was held as a terrorist suspect by police support officers - for taking photographs of a railway station on a geography field trip. Fabian Sabbara, 15, was dressed in his school uniform when he was stopped by three police community support officers for taking photos of a station on his mobile phone. He explained he was taking pictures, as well as pedestrian counts and a traffic survey, as part of a GCSE project.

But PCSO Barry Reeve told Fabian, from Cheam in South London, to sign forms under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, which allows police to stop and search at random anyone they suspect of terrorism. The pupil from Rutlish High School, Merton, was forced to comply or face arrest after he was stopped at nearby Wimbledon railway station. After the incident, his mother Clare and father Felix contacted police to remove any record of the incident against their son's name - but were told it had to remain in place for six years. Scotland Yard have since wiped the record from their database, but Mr Sabbara, 48, an audio-visual installer, said the incident could have affected Fabian's future employment chances. He said the matter had also sparked fear at Fabian's school, where trips had been banned over concerns that pupils could be stopped by police for taking pictures. Mr Sabbara said: 'Fabian was just a 15-year-old boy trying to do his school work. He had done nothing wrong. 'The point is, if this incident had remained on file it could affect him in years to come when he applies for jobs such as the RAF. 'Also if there was a terrorist attack at Wimbledon station he would be a suspect. It's just ludicrous. 'There needs to be more common sense when applying this law.' During the incident Fabian, among 55 pupils who had split into groups, had to sign a form titled 'Stop-and-Search Terrorism Act'. Metropolitan Police spokesman Beverley Kassem said officers did not search him and no further action was taken. She said: 'Police have met with the boy, his family and representatives from the school to discuss the incident and reassure them of any concerns they may have. 'As a result of this meeting, schools and police will work closely on future school trips in the area. 'The record of the stop on the stop-and-search database has been removed.' Merton Council cabinet member for children's services Councillor Debbie Shears said: 'We understand this incident has been resolved directly between the police, the school and the pupil's family. 'School trips are an integral part of a student's life and we are working with both schools and police to see what sort of guidelines need to be developed and put in to place.'

Fabian Sabbara, 15, was questioned by police support officers when they spotted him taking pictures of Wimbledon station, below

Halloween at Horseshoe Point

Before our usual Friday night meal it was off to a Halloween party,

all dressed up and ready to go,

with Jeff and Da,

We have never been to Horseshoe Point before so we did not know what to expect, it was 200 baht each entrance fee, there are temples there like the one above, for another 200 baht each we joined a group led by one of the Pattaya Players theater group on a ghost walk around the park,

our guide,

our first stop was in this small court yard, in all we were told about 6 ghostly stories, at each one a apparition would appear, screaming like a banshee, almost everyone jumped, especially the girls!

then whilst walking along this courtyard admiring the paintings,

this Halloween figure appeared above us screaming,

a great tour, with lots of laughs and screams on the way! this is a view from one of the temples,

and a bouncy castle for the kids,

lots to eat and drink,

and two I suppose you call them water balls, you get inside, they are then inflated and zipped up and you walk on water, I seem to remember James Bond doing this in one of his movies,

looks like great fun!

in buying the admission tickets we received 10 vouchers, which can be redeemed for the ghost tour, face painting or sweets, well we had a few left so Diana and Da made straight for the sweet counter!

as you can see a successful shopping session for sweets!

Glen, Mea and Casey pop in to see us

Globe trotting Glen and his family fly in from the Philippines,

Glen catching up on his e-mails,

baby Casey,

Mae, Casey and Diana, once they have settled in we will be out for a few beers, no change there then!

Pardon plea over last 'witch'

A PETITION calling for the last woman convicted under the Witchcraft Act to be pardoned will come before MSPs today. Members of Holyrood‘s Public Petitions Committee will discuss the petition, which urges ministers to consider the case of Helen Duncan. She was the last person convicted under the 1735 Witchcraft Act and spent nine months in Holloway prison after a trial in 1944. Mrs Duncan was convicted following a seance at which the spirit of a dead sailor was said to have disclosed the loss of the battleship HMS Barham with most of her crew. The sinking had been kept secret by the authorities to maintain wartime morale, and was not disclosed for several months. A petition to the Westminster Government last year failed to secure a pardon, and the new petition, by paranormal group Full Moon Investigations, calls for the Home Secretary to reconsider the case. A statement from Full Moon Investigations described Mrs Duncan as being “an ordinary Scottish housewife who found herself in the centre of a WWII legal battle which ended with her conviction of a ‘crime‘ under Britain‘s ancient Witchcraft Act and jailed for nine months”. The Witchcraft Act was repealed by the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951. Scottish Parliament researchers said it was a common misconception that Mrs Duncan was convicted of being a witch. “In fact, the 1735 Witchcraft Act was originally formulated to eradicate the belief in witches and its introduction meant that from 1735 onwards an individual could no longer be tried as a witch,” said their research paper. “It was, however, possible to be prosecuted for pretending ‘to exercise or use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration, or undertake to tell fortunes‘. “Supposed contact with spirits fell into this category.”