Eneukman

Somehow I doubt it but as I'm not a Hearts fan, I'll leave Jambo to let us have his thoughts here. Whatever, I can't really see Hearts mounting a serious challenge for the league with the best they can realistically hope of achieving is 3rd place. Alan

Yep, Man Utd were a plc though with over 75% of the shares now in his possession, the Yank can take the club private again. Didn't know that Man Utd had moved Old Trafford to London though It's happening in Scotland too - a Lithuanian millionaire has just taken control of Hearts. Alan

Thanks for the replies Pete and Sunny. I won't be downloading many videos, at least not to begin with as I'll only have a laptop until I get around to buying a PC. I'll buy you each a beer one night next month Alan

sunny, I'm moving out to live in Pattaya (probably around View Talay or maybe in to Jomtien) very soon. Which phone company and ISP would you recommend? I would probably be spending anything up to 2 - 3 hours per day (sometimes less) on the internet. Broadband would be nice, if available. Could you also PM me with the name and location of your bar, please? Thanks, Alan

4 weeks till I head out but you may find this site helpful. Hot and humid apparently http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/busi...=8&geoCdChild=1 Alan

My vote goes to the RG as well. I've never found it much of a problem to get to Walking Street or the Soi 7/8 area. In fact, I'll be back there in 4 weeks time. Alan

I reckon you're right and if the fans decided to boycott their products, they could end up hurting the CLUB rather than Glazer. I've no interest whatsoever in Man U but some of these fans have to realise that Man U is a BUSINESS and that their success on the football pitch and their ability to buy top quality players is due to the success of the business as a whole. Going slightly off topic, there was a suggestion that Hearts and Hibs in Edinburgh should get together and arrange to build a new stadium which they would then share. Guess what, the fans objected - not on business grounds but purely because they hate each other's fucking guts. . Again, I don't support either club but it makes economic sense for them to share a ground but the so called fans are too bigotted in their outlook to realise this. Hearts now have a new Lithuanian owner so it'll be interesting to see whether he can provide the necessary finance to enable them to mount a serious challenge against the dominant role played by Rangers and Celtic. With apologies to Jambo, anyone who believes this is living in Cloud Cuckoo Land Alan

From what I've heard, he's borrowing a lot of the money to fund the purchase. So if Man U don't make at least £40,000,000 a year profit, he won't be able to meet the interest payments, never mind repaying the principal. (My estimate and could be out by quite a lot ). Glazer then plans to offer his shares in Man U as security against his borrowing so if he defaults, which as football clubs need a constant and guaranteed source of fresh investment, must be a real possibility, the Banks could take over his shares and sell them to the highest buyer or could simply put the club into receivership. I don't know what sort of profit Man U make at present but one bad season in the English Premiership and maybe failure to qualify for the Champions League or even the EUFA Cup would have a drastic effect on their profits. Still, those fans who are burning effigies of him need to get a fucking life. It's only a GAME! Also, bear in mind that Sir Alex will be retiring soon and there is no guarantee that his successor will be as successful as he has been. Alan

Anything written in Word will copy over. I've done it myself in the past. The "testing testing" below was typed in word, so I'd just try again. Just a thought - were you using an unusual font, by any chance? Alan testing testing

The worst bit about doing that is that it's bloody itchy when the hair grows back as I found out when I had to do that before getting the snip back in January. Alan

kaveri. I'll be there in 5 weeks - if you can wait that long. Alan

My hairdresser does the same for me - otherwise mine would be almost as bushy as Dennis Healey's, though fortunately nowhere near as dark. Alan

I fly out 5 weeks on Tuesday but think I've left it a bit late to improve my fitness level before then. Still, once I'm there I plan to swim for at least half an hour per day so that should help a bit - especially by the end of 7 weeks. Alan

Forgot the Pattya rule for crossing the road here in Edinburgh this afternoon. I was crossing at a point where there is no left turn for traffic (and only buses and taxis are allowed to turn right) when this fucking stupid bitch ignored the signs and made a left turn and just about knocked me down. The bitch didn't even have the decency to apologise. She then made a right turn into a street which I'm pretty certain is one way in the opposite direction!!!! Alan

nidnoyham, it can't be much worse than Edinburgh is just now! Roadworks everywhere, pavements being dug up everywhere, new traffic management set up in place which could very easily have been thought up by Bill and Ben. Is the traffic management being policed in any way? OK - I know it's a stupid question but what's the point of bringing these new road closures (to private cars any way) if you don't start enforcing the new rules. There'll be even more chaos from the 15th May when cars are banned from driving along Princes Street in any direction. If any of you are thinking of coming to Edinburgh on the weekend of 1st July, I'd forget it as that is when the G8 conference is being held at Gleneagles, with a number of protest marches being held in Edinburgh at the same time. Many petrol stations may be closed for the duration due to fears of a terrorist attack. Just glas that I'll be 6,000 miles away when all this is taking place! Alan

darbs, what sort of income from the UK are you going to have? Do you have any experience of running a bar or other kind of business in the UK? Can you afford to lose most of or all of your £35,000/£40,000? Another point for you to consider. Have you worked out a budget for your likely monthly expenditure? I'm retiring to Pattaya in a few weeks time and reckon my expenditure will be in the region of 80,000 baht or so per month, though there are substantial savings you could make on this. I would go along with what para says - come out for an extended holiday, but remember to get the appropriate visa first so you don't have to do visa runs every 30 or so days. Alan

Advice for someone visiting Thailand for the first time? A lot of good advice given above. Don't get so drunk you don't know what you're doing. Look both ways before crossing the road - ESPECIALLY if the road's meant to be one way. Smile at all times Watch out for the katoeys (ladyboys). Some are hard to distinguish from the real thing. And finally and perhaps most important - Have fun! And on your way home, start planning your next trip. Alan

Don't know anything about this, but I think you're right to be suspicious. Maybe a phone call to one of the airlines that supposedly is backing this might help. Slightly different, but the other day I received an e-mail advising me that I had "won" 250,000 or so euro in a lottery. I always thought that to win on a lottery you had to enter it first! I didn't investigate their claim any further but somehow I think that in order to claim my "prize" I would have to send them 1,000 euro up front as an "administration charge". Of course, I would never see the 250,000 euro Alan

If I'm to play, I'll need to hire/borrow/steal some clubs as well as get in a practice hole or two Alan

Another thought - you may want to clean out your Temporary Internet folder. Pne way of doing this is - Right click on My Computer - left click on Explore - Right click on "C" drive - left click Properties - left click Disl Cleanup - click on OK Alan

joe, I use AOL as well. You may want to try this first. Go off line, click on Help, - AOL Help - Resolving Problems - Common Problems - Web Browser. Then, close down ALL programmes that may be running including the main AOL screen and disable your anti-virus software. Then follow the on screen instructions. Also, what connection speed are you getting? If it's slow and highly variable, there could be problem with your phone line - especially if you have the misfortune to use Telewest! If that doesn't help, you could phone the AOL helpline - 0800 279 7444. If you're lucky, you'll get someone in Ireland - but they could equally be in Canada or India. Hope that helps, Alan

Toto, I haven't hired a car before in Pattaya so can't offer any advice on costs etc. As far as I can recall, Avis have an office at the Dusit Resort (at the Northern end of Beach Road) though I think it is essential to check carefully what your "fully comprehensive" insurance really does cover. As far weather, the main rainy season is a bit later in the year. It will likely rain at some point but only for an hour or so. Alan

I don't know for certain but I think you'll need an International Driving Permit if you want to hire a car. I applied for mine from the RAC by post on Tuesday and my permit was in my hands on Thursday. Personally, I would avoid motor bikes in Pattaya, they're just too dangerous. I would suggest that you also ask this question on the thai visa forum - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?act=portal As for the weather, it will be hot and I imagine very, very himid. Hope you have fun. Alan

so come prepared to change your clothes at least 3 or 4 times a day And I'm going to find somewhere to stay then? Alan

If at all possible, get the name and address of your hotel in THAI along with their phone number so that if your driver gets lost he can phone the hotel and get instructions. Of course, this assumes that the driver knows where he is at any given moment! On my last two trips, I've had to give instructions to the driver to get to the RG! Alan