Fatboyfat

My obvious wish is for United, but I think 3rd will be the best possible, and that relies on both City and Scousehampton failing to click with their new signings. United's defence is a real worry, and would be greatly debilitated should De Gea go (I don't think he will go until the end of season though). Chelski are obviously favourites, and it's hard to see past them, but I'm going for Arsenal; Cech was a really necessary and good buy, and really they just need a quality centre back, for depth, and their many stars to stay fit. Giroud is a hell of a lot better than the media and "so-called ex

Cheers Monks! That boat looks a bit like "Cabin Boy" Ken's tub; I know its not, but the skipper's antics are familiar !!!

If your visit to Edinburgh is this month; it is Edinburgh Festival month. Hotel and accomadation gets very expensive, if you can actually find any vacancies. The Ladyboys of Bangkok will be in residence all month, so you could impress with your Thai language skills ! The main entertainment areas are just off Prince's Street such as George Street, and also the Royal Mile (leads up to the castle), which is very touristy. Edinburgh entertainment, outside of the festival period, is quite staid, and mainly consists of Georgian style pubs and restaurants, but the "Scrotes" are very friendly in th

Some of his stuff worked; some of it didn't. That one sucked big tme, but Brian May is just as much at fault for giving him permission to do it (for a pretty penny no doubt). His song with 21st Century Schizoid Man, as a back loop is IMHO excellent; and that may seem a bit rich coming from someone who had the great fortune to literally be "blasted away" at the original performance of the song by King Crimson at Hyde Park. Another problem with this sort of artist at something like Glastonbury, is the music is just not "live"; and he doesn't even have a Doctor Dre type figure on stage twiddlin

Brutal is a very apt description of that. There must be serious permanent damage done by a blow like that. Probably just as well that those type of knockouts are very rare……Were they not, a banning of the sport would surely follow.

I've found that most hotel's wi-fi systems (where I assume the OP will be staying) do not have the "speed" to sucessfully watch live streaming. Anyway, part of the fun is watching these events in the company of like-minded booze-hounds !

I should just clarify that the ￡25,000 quote was to "include" cover for his pre-existing conditions and also full outpatient/clinic cover, and yes, my suggestion to him was to provide his own "indemnity fund" with at least a 1st class fare back to UK along with a reasonable amount for emergency treatment, and not to use said fund for anything else. If his only condition was the Diabetes, that "should" cover it, but I am not sure that is the case. The advise to be "settled in" with a company before the age of 65 is very, very wise.

Have you read the James Clavell Asian seriesTaipan, Shogun etc. They are "small & compact" but are really good reads IMHO, and an excellent observation of Asian traits. I am not inclined to recommend Ulysses, which I am trying to read at the moment; and it may well end up "thrown in the bin" during a fit of pique !

Although I have been OK myself for insurance purposes, a good friend of mine is finding it almost impossible to get insurance for his retirement, which will take into account his pre-existing conditions. I know Diabetes is one of them, but there could be others; We men don't talk about such things, do we ! He last told me that the best quote he could get (for retirement in Thailand) was circa ￡25,000 per annum, which for him is a no go. Surely there must be better than that available?

Glad to see you ignored the poster commanding you "not to order too much food" !

I really do appreciate your photo journals, and those of Rhino Tusk and Patna too, and felt compelled to indicate appreciation here. From my feeble attempt to upload a couple of photos a few years back, I also understand how time consuming it can be, and admire your willingness to do so for such a relatively small and non-paying audience. In particular I have found your set on Hiroshima really enlightening. I am extremely well travelled, including several visits to Japanese ports and cities, but was under the ignorant impression that the area was still a complete wasteland! ; Although I had n

Is that the Civet shit coffee beans, from Indonesia ?

LOL I used to think so too, until sampled the real stuff on the mainland, rather than the deightful Hong Kong style cuisine. I thought it to be disgusting, greasy and visually appalling ! Much the same as my experience of "real" Mexican food which included a soup that was little more than a scrawny chicken "bony bit" floating in a bowl of greasy water ! Back to the passenger bit though; the use of toilet without closing the door seems to be a common theme: My experience was onboard an Air China flight, where this old git not only purposely left the door open, but proceeded to squat on the b

I thought circa 400 baht was about the going rate for these types of buffet nowadays. Mind, most of the others have Lamb, which bumps the overheads right up.

Do you reckon the "Blue Grenadier" (hoki) is a local fish. I have a thing about fresh fish, rather than frozen cod flown around the world, but cooked in the battered style. I used to like the parrot fish, but don't seem able to find it any more.

Boss banker at Bank of England stated this weekend, that interest rates are to rise in UK to about 2% from current 0.5%, by the end of this year. That will prompt a rise in exchange rate, that statement alone tickled the rate up a smidgeon.

I did find it somewhat ironic though, that you have to go to the men's game to find players rolling around on the deck like "big girls" after any kind of tackle; yet the real girls don't do it!

Sorry if this seems a bit pedantic but I am loving the idea of an "Hoe Office" for guys bringing in their conquests !! . Honestly, I thought you were more PC than that GE !!!

Since going into retirement I have been trying to read Joyce's Ulysses, something I sort of pledged to do when I had time. I am not overly impressed and tend to be drawn to other more enjoyable tomes, such as a backlog of Viz annuals!!

I was shown a greatly improved biz class seat for EVA recently: Have they improved the elite version as well? I thought it was a backward step from the old 747 combi seats to the 777 elite version when they were introduced.

The one time I thought about going in there, there was about a quarter mile queue outside. Tried to book for the following evening, and was told that reservations could not be made. To hell with that! Still, it can't be much better than Steel's at Cleethorpes, or Anstruther Fish bar, to name but two. Make sure the fih is reallly fresh and "Always" fry in animal fats, seems to be the winning formula.

Sportsman Soi 13 shows all available UK rugby matches, however if it clashes with a premier league football match they split the tv coverage; ie football at one end of the bar, rugby at the other. No real problem tho', as the clientel are not generally raucous.

It looks to me that the group has been super-imposed onto a filmed walk, but could well be wrong. The track is surprisingly good IMHO, as all the other Libertine stuff I have heard is very overrated crap. I would have put good money on the Docherty idiot being dead by now. Maybe he is destined to be another Iggy Pop and the like, and defy the inevitable. Mind, he is looking a bit "porky" there, which is often the sign of a junkie coming off the stuff.

Maybe; I've always wondered about their 30 day price vagaries, and they are the only airline that "I know of" that differentiates in that way. I suppose it could be down to it being a state run airline with one of it's original founding policies to promote tourism in Thailand. IE proper tourists, and the most desirable ones, would not be expected to stay beyond 3-4 weeks in the eyes of the government.

Whether you consider it right or wrong, I have long been surprised that they were allowed to continue using that name, in a country that strives to eliminate any racist terminology from public life. What about the "Yankees" though ?