atlas2

Phew....So thoroughly shattered emotionally I lost count of penalties...........And missed my shouting and screaming fit when we went through.

No good reason to hate based on colour.......... On a brighter note........I read somewhere the lucky portent.....Andy Murray didn't play Wimbledon in '66 and he's not playing it in 2018......Football's coming home!!

OK ok I know this is old stuff.......but I'm finding a new appreciation of it........ Here's a new version........... Such a beautiful well sung song. But lovely as it is..........Hear the pure masters themselves.......... And it appears the Beach Boys not only produced wonderful lasting music..........One of them created 'old-man-shit-dancing'

Firstly momentum..... Let's look at Portugal winners of the last Euros....... "Draw with Iceland, Austria, Hungary, Croatia (won in ET), Poland (won on pens), First win in Semi Finals against Wales and a Draw with France (won in ET) in the final." They were mostly rubbish.........one win in normal time in 7 games. But they won the whole shebang!!......And get covered in glory all the shit play forgotten. "Germany in WC 2014 drew with Ghana in their second group game and narrowly beat USA to win the group – playing awful football, no momentum, until they got to the ¼’s – won the tournament." "Spain a lucky draw with Italy opening game on Euro’s 2012 – won the tournament." "Spain World Cup 2010 – lost to Switzerland opening group game..............but won the tournament." Most winners of tournaments play badly, or draw against inferior opposition yet these teams still scrape through to the quarters, the semis or the final. It's rare in recent memory that the winners haven't slipped up somewhere during the tournament. Conversely many teams play brilliantly....are really fancied and go out through perhaps over optimism or rotten bad luck..... Momentum?.........Winners just forget the shit and get on with it...........Win the last one is what counts.........Momentum smentom! Columbia is our most important game in years..........Columbia have progressed further than England in their tournaments and should be ranked by that achievement alone higher than England. I'll be hiding behind the sofa with fingers crossed. Whatever happens Southgate resting and preserving his best team was the best preparation for this next test.........Now it's squeaky bum time..... Here's some very interesting stats from The Telegraph today: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/2018/06/29/13-intriguing-stats-world-cup-2018-far/

Germany out!! I like watching Germany (unless they are playing England)........there's much to appreciate in their play and I would have bet my house that by hook or crook they'd have made the final........ BUT they did invent a word.............Schadenfreude, which means 'pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. Schaden means ‘harm’ and Freude ‘joy’. It is indeed a sad thing that this word exists. However, they coined the word.......and it's finally the rest of the footballing world's turn to feel that guilty pleasure. As one go our greatest heroes...............Nelson put it........

I wrote about this a couple of years ago......... I've known about this falang's existence for a while now, but last night I got more of the story. I was so touched by what I heard I became dewey-eyed.... filled-up....Getting soft with age you see. It was told to me by a lady business owner in North Pattaya I'm close too. Three years ago, two of her staff had approached a falang they noticed sleeping rough, not far from their shop. They tried to get the story of why a respectable looking and it turned out, polite falang would be behaving like this. The story he told....(uncorroborated).......was of a wife and a child in Ubon. The falang receives a pension but sends almost all of it to Ubon to support his child... and that one day he will go back.....maybe. Then she adds touchingly that his,'wife and child don't know of his situation......' That may well be bollocks....the rest isn't. This man is...by all accounts, well-spoken and extremely polite, began sleeping rough on the bare floor, under a canopy...outside of another major business after it closes at ten..... I think my lady friend may have began the kindnesses that followed. One evening she took him a pillow and a blanket. Over the following three years...... a nearby bank allowed him to use a water-tap at the rear of their premises to wash himself and his clothes. Waitresses from a restaurant, (with the falang owner's permission) bring him a box of left-over food each night. A nearby 24 supermarket have a toilet that they allow him to use. The business he sleeps outside of, takes-in his bag of possessions each morning, and places them outside again, or hand them back to him when they close. Sometimes my on/off buys him falang food, but tells him, 'It's food left-over from her ladies' Others Thais treat him in the same caring way........ I knew nothing of this.......By now I'm gob-smacked...but there's more. I ask, 'How does he stay without money and therefore without visa? How come the police haven't arrested him?' "Oh police come...They talk with him......They ask if he need anything? Does he want to go home?.....he say, 'No thank you I'm OK' and they go away" The Thais in this little locality have adopted the softly spoken falang.....They take care of him......and protect him. During the day he walks to Big C and reads a free paper.......sitting in the air-con. Then he wanders 'home' 'Bit tong lang Pra' is a Thai idiom. It means, 'To put gold on the back of Buddha statue.' In other words do good for good's sake, not for show or reward. Three years and my Lady friend never mentioned any of this.....But it's a real life, 'Thai TV Advert'... Real Thais are the stars. PS I've changed some details to protect this man and disguise the whereabouts of this lovely Thai locality.

Random fan thoughts. I prefer to watch important England matches in my room without distractions; allowing me to totally imbibe the drama, tension and excitement. It was useful for me though that my son is over. He's still at Uni' but plays in a semi-pro league in Australia and his commentary on the England game was measured and instructive. By the time the 3rd goal went in we could both totally relax and enjoy the game, the goals and each other's 'company' Anything can happen but we've set our sights on England reaching the quarters. We both agree that Kane isn't England's best player but he's the most important. England play with belief when he's on the pitch. Trippier is a revelation..........Along with Lingard he's become indispensable. But they all are...... If Rose's head is in the right place and his fitness up I might swop him for Young ........But there's the old adage to consider. Southgate has done well so far, let's see if he rests and rotates or keeps the engine ticking without tinkering with it. Belgium look to be the best team and at full strength a useful yardstick for us. Love the Yorkshire back three. After a tricky season the two goals are good for Stone's confidence. There's hope......

Australia have been brilliant......Great TEAM. I'd be proud. Morocco were good too. Didn't see the Argentina game........Maybe God's Croatian.

Good fun.

I'm not sure about that......I like to Pay as I go monthly The way I do it is: get a True money voucher from 7/11 with 14 numbers. My use costs 550bt which is 30 days of everything.....Movies, series and live TV but you can purchase other cheaper but more limited options. Unhelpfully True money doesn't allow 550 baht amounts so I have to hand over 590bt but the un-used credit builds up and either next time, or later I use it up. On screen you go into 'Account'.... 'Buy points' (tap in your True money number) and then click on the option you've chosen. It instantly allows the access you wanted. Last week, mooching around beyond the current Movies, Series and live tv. I watched an episode each of 'Paladin, Have Gun Will Travel' (He's dead).....'Cheyenne' (He's dead)...... 'Dangerman' (He's dead).....and 'The Saint' (Got the real doughnut over his head now).......Lovely rubbish.

I use HD Prime........Not difficult to pay-as-you go just tap in the numbers..... Usually excellent reception, though sometimes a nightmare......For some reason BBC 2 can be iffy......(Makes PMQs problematic)...... Happy that there are 3 Thai channels for quality world-cup back-up plus I have on my Android another dozen or so options. Barring lightening strikes and power-cuts I'm covered......Back-stop my ipnone is kept fully charged on England match nights.

Of course I'm watching last night from behind the settee (it's 'England' after all).......Great nail-biting entertainment. Bright start......England were very good apart from their finishing and then 'H'.....(That stands for 'Harry' but really he should be known by his nom-de-guerre of,'Johnny on the spot').....'H' tucks a rebound off the keeper away. I came out from behind the sofa......'Gonna be easy'...... Squandered open goals and posts start to add up and then a penalty awarded to Tunisia. 'Here we go, here we go....again' comes to mind. And as deflated as a 'Brady football' England start to labour, and I'm back to fretting. In the 92nd min 'H' for once not pinned to the ground by a cynical Tunisian defender puts a winner away. His second goal attempt and second goal. A win richly deserved.......Looking forward to the next two games. My main take away whinge........Is why was the VAR system set up not to work in the Tunisian penalty area????????

I was 50 when I first landed in BKK ........I'm very glad I wasn't younger. I went crazy enough as it was. I'm very weak where temptation's involved. I get what the OP is saying......but a young guy coming here could easily formulate a very skewed creed that would be hard to ever recover from.

I Claudius

Thanks for the heads up.

Bill said to Ben: 'Flobadobablop" Ben said to Bill: 'If you love me Bill you'd swallow that.' On subject Is it 'Torchwood?'

Jackanory?

There were 3 for brunch........So that inflated things by a third.....And has perhaps been misleading. Mantra's Sunday brunch is highly rated..........It deserves to be. I'd booked during the week and asked for a romantic table.....They'd listened ...The soft seated semi-circular sofa was...... easier on the eye than it is to say. After ordering a wonderful Aussie cabernet for me, and something white and sparkling for my lady guests it was a case of where do we start? Going by the spoons and things laid out in front of me and having seen Downton Abbey I guessed the salad bar......I chose 'Greek' with feta and loaded the plate with lots of the smoked salmon.....grilled red and green bell-peppers and whole wheat bread. Next stop Crustaceans and molluscs.......Dripping with them.... I'm not sure of the collective noun for crabs but there must have been a whole dose of them...All fresh and dressed to be got at. On my best behaviour I resisted childishly playing with the claws Then things started arriving ......one the girls was an old 'brunch-hand' and she'd ordered up dim sum. And also Thai tasters. I can only recall the duck I eschewed what I'd mainly come for...ie the roasts....even though they looked wonderful, because I'd spotted lean lamb chops cooked in a tandoor oven, served with a mint raita.......My tongue was instantly pierced by a thousand cupidic arrows of zest and zing......I went back for another...and another. Then the actual chicken tikka looked enticing so that was to be cooked and brought over. No room for the cheese.......strolled into the dessert room. The chocolate fountain grabbed my attention. Dipping strawberries and other fruits into molten chocolate seemed a happy compromise for the diet I'm on Meanwhile, throughout the wine had kept coming....I'd knocked back a bottle......My guests had made a decent stab at emptying Mantras' wine cellar too. Pissed as farts and 'appy as Larry.......Four hours had passed by. Time to get a taxi. It worked out under the 4000 per-person I'd estimated..... I think the breakdown is bt 2000 for brunch and another bt 1600 for the unlimited wine upgrade....So say bt7200 for two people. Worth it' dochapoc' or 'especially' as this month they are giving a free night in the Amari for every bt 5000 spent......So I got 2 nights at the Amari. My one regret is ........ I think I under-tipped. The service had been great. But being a tight-arse is ingrained.....I console myself by feeling guilty about it.

Thanks Jacko....

Yes....... we'd never ever dream of talking about any real problems.

Actually Squire......you've had a rough run lately what with the Shitx shitx lightening.......But you've managed to keep your pecker up. My Yaris is 11 years old........I've serviced it at least 4 times a year, but I think Toyota just follow a pattern and somethings may be being ignored. I've decided to keep it for another 5.......So next service will be at that yellow Quick- fit place near Big C. I'll give them a long list. I expect expense. You'll be delighted to know that my romantic entanglement get's ever more expensive. Tomorrows outing will cost me 12,000 +....Yikes I can buy another telly for that!!!! I'll give a full report.....

Only read this if you're already thoroughly bored .......and then only as an exercise to see if it's possible for your hitherto boredom limits to be breached. .......Or if your telly's playing-up and gone pink too. There was no lead-up to this..........Watching the news Thurs morning and the screen of my TV dimmed and pinked. First thoughts: 'Just this channel'? .........Nope it was the lot..... Second thoughts: Google the problem........Found quite a lot of info and quick tips. Tried them all, didn't solve the matter. Third thoughts: Thank God it happened before the World Cup has started. Phoned local repairs.......Numchai would come out in a couple of days. TG will only service TG TVs..... mine's a Samsung. Investigated the 'pink peril' more deeply and though it looked like there could be possible straightforward solutions......General consensus was the TV is on the way out anyway.....I positively can't risk a 'pink-out' during an England Work Cup Game, especially with my son over......So time to update my viewing experience I have a fantastic Android box that works well with ordinary TVs and my concern was that the complete dominance of SMART TVs in the over 49' size might cause conflict as to who was the smartest? (obviously not me)....and cause technical problems and glitches I could do without .....Further research said this would not be the case ...So I'd determined to go 'get SMART' Budgeted about 40,000.......and set out to buy new. Tesco and Big C had good options for about 22,000.....They've come down in price it seems. Numchai was next. Found what I wanted......20,499 but, 'if you'buy it today 19,000' ........Lovely jubbly cheap as chips. They'd deliver that Thurs afternoon too. Thailand's great for that. On time.......Two Numchia lads and the TV arrive.........Congrats to them...I'd drawn a hopeless 'treasure map' in the shop to guide them to my condo.....(or prison cell-block according to Squire Jacko') ...Old one off the wall and packed away.....However, for want of 4 screws slightly longer than the ones taken out of my pinko Samsung the new TV can't today be fixed to the existing wall brackets. I didn't fancy leaving these lads alone while I shot off....and got some .They wouldn't go......But assured me tomorrow about 4 all would be well. Setting up the TV went smoothly......works much better off my internet than the old one. Beautifully clear...impressed. One of the lads grabbed my guitar and so the set-up..... was set to music. He asked me to play but I used the old frozen shoulder excuse. Now here's the rub.... Friday I called......didn't want to stay in all day so asked for the time they'd be round. Nothing booked, no-one knew anything about it........could have been in waiting all day. They kindly offered a technician for Sat' with an 800 bt call-out......I said, 'just 5 mins and 4 screws......I'd do it myself but I've got a frozen shoulder! I'm not paying 800 baht so I trot back to Numchai.....get the screws myself.......Setting up I discover I need rubber feet....get those locally.......And with a lifting hand from some other cell-block inmates......My lovely SMART tv is a-fixed. Have to juggle between 3 'controls and a wi-fi mouse for my android.......But it is bloody SMART....All my free, old analogue stations that come through the prison satellite are now duplicated into crystal clear digital. Lot's to learn still ........but I'd recommend a SMART upgrade. Got to go now......"1's throwing a party"

Yes Deadwood is deadgood.

I went to Dr Oliviers yesterday. I noticed medical certificates for driving licenses is a service he still provides.... doesnt mean you still need one. I have to go in October. My birthday is now sadly the same day the king died. I expect a closure and a whopping queue the day before or the day after. If you go after your Bd Jacko confirm no hassle over this and an extra year. The closure on my bd in that sense would be very helpful excuse for me.

This will be good......I'm going Thursday. Nice promo...