nidnoyham

Your first visa is like your first million- the hardest. The first thing to remember is that it is your GF who is applying. All you do is sponsor her in writing. To do this you must show wage slips for at leas 3 months, up to date bank ballances, showing enough to support her during her stay and reason for her visit. I was lucky last year, because I had photos to show mg GF and daughter together in LOS, this was a good show of family contact, even so they wanted a copy of my daughters Passport to prove I was her father. As it happened Lucy graduated last year, giving the GF a reason for travel. If you have anything like that it would help. Length and type of contact time, ie letters, e-mail, phone bills will be needed. Most important of all- dont tell any lies on application form, dont make up a job- they check, ask her straight if she has applied for a visa anywhere else in the world and been refused- they check. If you put a mates name down as freind in the U.K- they check. I have heard that they are tightening up on Fiance visa, want to know where and when marriage to take place. A freind has just come back after failing to get a tourist visa, he is going for the 6 month Fiance, not sure how it is different. They still want proof of length of contact. Anyway give it a go, but try to remember all paper work to be photocopied 'cos they keep it all on record, thats your/her passport/ bank statements etc. Oh and one last thing, has she got a passport ?

Yeah, I know about the hockey lark, but my Canadian cousin laments the fact that there are only about 6 teams in Canada playing top class stuff. The other sport I associate with U.S is baseball, they have a World Series, played only in U.S. So, it will be nice to welcome them to the world of International Football, they will soon see where our passions are coming from. Oh, and that American goalie playing for Spurs 'aint bad either.

It must be stange for our US freinds to read about a sport that is played between so many countries. We take it for granted cheering on our National side in football/rugby and for us cricket. Now that footbal is taking off in US we will soon be including them in the sporting posts- great ! Roll on the World Cup !

I am hoping they have used all their good fortune up for this tournie'. Either that, or God is watching in his blue shirt !

Alan, you old romantic you ! If I hear someone singing that at the FLB, in a Scotts accent, they are on for a beer.

Was listening to Londons Magic, heard Foreigner's " I want to know where love is" Just the kiddie. In my life there's been heartache and pain, don't know if I can face it again' I've travelled so far to be just where you are, to change this lonely life, I want to know where love is, I want you to show me. O.K. not love exactly, but as near as you will get in this world !

Greg, know what you mean about freight as baggage. A wee list of thigs I have seen at LHR as baggage. A complete trials motorcycle in 3 large nylon bags. A diving suit with compressor. Part of a dockside crane. Room size carpets. Bags of roman coins from a shipwreck in the Med. Tables and chairs. Bags of musical christmas cards from India. Bags of ballbearings from Iran. Human organs. Boxes of snails the size of a fist. Dried fruitbats, many things I have forgoten, just as weird. One punter transferd rom Malaysia to Brazil on a regular basis with 2 Samsonites so heavy, we had to drag them. Got Customs to open 1, it had thousands of CD's in, bootleg copies for resale in Brazil, I think they were in packs of 1000 about 15 packs per case- no Des Oconnor though. LH were one of the worst offenders, we had pieces up to 110kg from them, can't remember which station it was, but when I asked them what they were doing checking in things like that as baggage, they replied " Ve haff no maximum vheight for baggage at Lufthansa !" Bet his dad bombed our chip shop ! I got into trouble once for writing on 2 huge 45kg boxes from Pakistan; If this is baggage, my a*s* is a pumpkin. We made the women take the boxes to checkin to repack, unfortunately the Vice Chairman of Air Canada was doing a walk about with the Station Manager and saw the boxes, he wanted to know who wrote the comment, so questions were asked and for some reason my name came into the frame. I didn't deny it. Sod it I was right for fuck sake and they knew it. Retired now, but the legacy of these huge wheights is still with me, thats why LOS in the winter is such a blessing.

Oh dear, just when I had an excuse not to buy Thai Lottery tickets, they go and change their minds about spending the money on Scouserpool. Here we go again, 1000 bhts worth of tickets to win 1000 bht, if lucky.

I can't remember exactly, you see there is the K.Y., Vibro, handcuffs, Viagra and a set of jump leads to attatch me to a 20 year old bloke. Sorry I can't be more specific

Tom, this is a subject close to my heart, I campained for 15 years to get baggage weights reduced for safety. In other industries, manual labour has been reduced, bags of sand/cement now 25kg etc, mechanical diggers, lifts on building sites. O.K. you may be checking in 2 bags at 64kg, fine if they are the exceptiion, now days they are the norm. If you are a baggage handler, you will brobably lift 450 bags a day thats 14400kg of 32kg bags if 25kg 11250 total. Try that for 5 days a week. At times in the transfer area when an Air India flight has arrived, we have had 200+ of these monsters piled 6ft high, it aint a pretty sight. The top of a baggage container is almost 7ft high from ground level, we like to put the smaller bags there, but often there are no small bags, its bloody hard work mate. My back, shoulder, wrist and finger joints have all taken a bashing, I suffer in the winter with them all. What is most annoying is that most of the contents are just cheap curry powder, rice and foodstuff, the fuel to transport them is worth more. Our problem was that if the airlines made so much profit on exess baggage, the wheights would never be reduced. Health and safety seem to have bypassed baggage handling for too long, it is a welcome step as far as I am concerned. Oh yes, in case your wondering on my last trip my 2 bags came to 28kg total.

Strange as it may seem, my remark about the man choosing the bread, was enacted before my very eyes yesterday. Wife returns to trolley with loaf, to find one already in trolley. "Who put that loaf in there?" the look that went with the question, made even my blood run cold, noone owned up- didn't blame them. Thai food shop tomorrow, one place the GF can do all the choosing, it will taste great I know.

Had a good hours entertainment from one young lad, he was so hammered, but to his credit, he only fell off barstool once, to be helped up by every Thai in sight. And he was still stacking those blocks up. It was fun to se which was going to collapse first.

Just to exhonorate my workmates at Air Canada- B.A do the maintainance for EVA. Well for now they do !

We wos fckng robbed, should have had a penalty, wots the point of C.Palalce goin' to Premiership , just to be an embarasment to London next season ? Time for another cider.

All you lot in Pattaya, get those girls forever blowing bubbles.

Lady I know at EVA says cause "still under investigation" but out of action for 10 weeks and $10,000,000 + bill. One story I got, Engineer was testing hydrolics on nose flaps and they closed on u/c pushing out pin. I have my doubts about that. It was a Ground Power Unit that was crushed, not Push-Back Tug. P.S. I am not totaly convinced that Tom is not a Plane Spotter. Think we should put it to the vote ?

Just got back from LOS. Will have a word with the lads at Air Canada, see if they have full SP.

She was only the butchers girlfreind, but her Undercut was Dripping.

I suppose " I wonder who's kissing her now" has popped into the heads of a few on return home Mind you, kissing , is the least of your worries !

Yes, she is a fair looking sort, a bit on the Butch side for me, and about 5ft 9in. She has met my Thai Lady and they get on well, funnily enough they have a lot in common, neither are the very feminine type- jeans & shorts, never dresses. When I took them to a local lake, to watch the carp swimming near the surface, both asked the question - can you eat them ? I suppose both coming from poor countries gives them the same mindset. My 19 year old son thinks I have the right idea of befreinding Non-Euroupean women, who he thinks are too pushy and he has only had one girlfreind ! :)

I have always been a "beach person". But the one at Pattaya holds little attraction for me in the swimming department. I go there because I am usualy too tired for anything more active during the day. If you do venture in, you have to be constantly on the look out for the Jetski lads belting along looking at the beach for punters, not where they are going. I know an attempt has been made to rope off the swimming bit, but it's still dodgy. Last trip, I was in the sea opposite Mikes, and found ( with my feet) at least 4 broken half bottles, each covered with marine life, gawd knows how long they were in water, luckily they were long enough to lay on their sides, so no ruined holiday I prefer Kho-Larne beaches, especially for snorkeling. Mind you a large Beer Chang 100bht, but its worth it for the clearer water, I seem to find every obstacle on any beach; sharp rocks for cutting my foot, jellyfish-not too bad and those horrible black sea urchins brrrr.

Ohh Monkey, you are awful- but I like you ! It's easy, I'LL be the one buying the drinks - Silly ! :crying Babe, its funny that South America should be the opposite to Pattaya, 'cos my freind here in U.K is from Brasil, and she doesn't go to bed with me ! How opposite is that ?

The Airlines get severely pissed off with o-w hand baggage. B.A used to keep 1 baggage bin at aircraft side to accomodate the huge hand baggage. This was the Islamabad flight I think, but could be any Far East destination The thing is, it creates so much extra work, the gate crew have enough to do with late passengers, lost boarding cards and seat change requests . The last thing they want is an arguement about heavy bags. And a little warning, if the hold of plane is full, there will be no room for confiscated gate bags, so they will be left off. The Air Maritius Manager was so geed off about this fiddle, he never allowed unpaid exess bags to travel, they only have a few flights a week, so a long wait, even when it was paid at destination. It's the most poular sport in the world -The Baggage Duel.

I have to say Monkey, all the worlds a stage and all the men and women are merely players- or has someone else said that ? Who knows what a year will bring ? Any one in FLB around 21st this month, look out for a short, good looking Farang with 2 Farang ladies and 1 Thai lady- it may be me ! I usually try for the comfy seats, if there are any left now ! :)

To put this weight lark into perspective, my freind is a Rolls Royce Engineer at LHR. We were having a conversation about large, heavy baggage that is common Transatlantic ex the Far East especially Indian sub Continent. He told me that RR will redesign an engine component up to 4 or 5 times, just to save 1 pound in wheight- seems a wast of time realy.