Eric_Olthwaite

The first time I heard him was back in the Seventies, when I put the radio on in the middle of some seemingly endless, repetetive dirge about "Life is Life." Eventually it finished and there was a really long pregnant pause before this pithy voice drifted on and sighed, "God, I wish I'd thought of that..." Loved those stories about how he used to sit up into the small hours listening to every single amateur demo tape/CD sent to him, how he couldn't bring himself to chuck any of them out afterwards, and had to move to a bigger house to accomodate them all. I doubt you're on your own in shedding

I found this in "the other place" http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=20139 PS, What's wrong with Utah?

There seems to be a relatively muted response in the UK so far to events in Narathiwat- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3957019.stm It sadddens me to think something like this could happen in our beloved LOS, and that Thaksin just tries to shrug it off. Scares me too, to think of al Qaida exploiting the situation and Soi Diamond/NEP/Soi Seadragon suffering the same fate as the Sari Club in Bali. Somebody please tell me it can't happen. :crying

A giant and a gent. RIP. :crying

[Perhaps more often these days you get her to choose after you ask her. Whatever way, you don't send it in the post or with a friend nor do you give her some cash to buy it herself. Particularly not a Thai girl !] Precisely. Which is why I was trying to find a better way. And waiting 5 months to ask her (when I can next get to LOS) was not an option.

This is only meant as a bit of fun, so I hope nobody takes offence or turns nasty. Us Brits sometimes wince at American terms such as "Gotten","Hospitalization" & "Infomercial", but does it work the other way round? I'm sure there must be things we say that make our cousins over the water either laugh or squirm? (Just remember we invented English, though... )

Do Thais wear engagement rings, as such? Me and my tee rak plan on getting spliced next year ( ) but as I'm stuck in the UK until next Spring I don't know how I could buy her one (not that she's asked, or even hinted). I suppose I could send the money and let her go shopping with a friend, but it doesn't seem very romantic. Alternatively, I could buy one here and send it with a mate who's going to LOS at Christmas, but I'd probably end up wasting my dosh on the wrong size or wrong type of ring. Anyone got any ideas?

Did the whole Monster Raving Looney idea begin with an old Monty Python sketch? Seem to remember there was a "Silly Party" with candidates like Raymond Luxury-Yacht and P'tang P'tang Ole Biscuit-Barrell" Could be confusing it with the Upper Class Twit Of The Year Show, though, or even the Ministry of Silly Walks. Bit dated now, but still good stuff...

What a contemptible piece of shit that man is. How the hell can anyone make fun out of the misery of Ken Bigley and his family, especially his mother and his Thai wife Sombat/Lek? OK, we've all blurted out stupid things in our lives, but this is an experienced "entertainer" who knew full well what he was saying. If he genuinely regretted it, why did he also swear at the audience, and then try to blame the whole thing on the media for "misrepresenting" him? I hope this does for his career what Kenny Everett's remark about Michael Foot did for his.

"I don't claim to be the best manager in the World, but I'm definitely in the top one" Anyone remember when he thumped that lad during a pitch invasion, and the reconciliation with him afterwards? Takes a big man to go on national TV and admit you were wrong. Truly the best manager England never had. RIP Cloughie. :crying :crying :crying :crying :crying :crying :crying :crying

Does anyone miss Trink in the Bangkok Post, and does anyone subscribe to the online version? Used to love reading it on Fridays when I first started going to LOS in the early nineties, but then he seemed to lose the plot a bit. What the heck was all that "Burma Shave" stuff about? Can't see the online version really competing with the free Stickman column.

Like previous posters I was less than impressed with my one stay at the Apex. The room I had was small and cramped, and this big heavy wardrobe door was literally hanging off just one wobbly hinge. Pointed it out to someone, and she just looked blank at me, as if she didn't understand what the problem was.

Just read that Phuket Air have applied to increase the LGW-BKK frequency to daily from November, and upgrade to a more modern 747-400 at the same time. Could be useful if it actually happens.

Just to update this a little, I ended up booking with NPK in Soi Pattayaland 1, and I'd agree with everything TFC says. They were quick, friendly, very efficient, and I'd recommend them to anyone. All set now!!!

Come to think of it, it might have been William Hague wearing that baseball cap.

Agreed, nothing wrong with having fun, but surely not at the expense of knocking a 76 year old lady to the ground and breaking her hip, as happened a while ago? Apparently the kid told her it was her own fault for not keeping out of the F-ing way. Bless.

You know what would make a damn good video/DVD (apart from pro-celebrity boxing with Mike Tyson and Danny Baker, obviously)? Three hours non-stop action of 14 year old yobs falling off skateboards and doing themselves an injury. Where I live there's a lovely sunny open square where these selfish little Baxxxrds make life a misery for everyone, including the elderly, women with prams, even the disabled. Try and reason with them, and all you get is a mouthful of abuse. So, if anyone knows where I can get that DVD...

Just out of curiosity, can anyone tell me what typical wage rates are like in Pattaya, eg maids, receptionists, waitresses, etc? I read a while ago that a waitress in a small restaurant, with no real education or English, might get as little as 7 Baht an hour. Surely no can live on that?

Just to get this board going again, and hopefully preserve whatever sanity I may have left, can anyone explain how this http://www.mysticalball.com/ works?

Thanks for all the help, guys. Much appreciated.

We got the passport (easy), we got the tourist visa (hard work), now all we need is the airline ticket. Been to LOS loads of times myself (in the UK now) but never booked a flight the Widdershins way, ie Bangkok-London return. Looking at someone like Thai or EVA in September. I guess I could probably save money with a Thai travel agent, so can anyone recommend a reliable one? Or would I be better paying a bit extra for the assurance of ABTA, ATOL, etc? Thanks in advance for any tips.

Swiss are good for Biz class, with departures from Manchester, Birmingham, Heathrow and London City. LCY is nice too, with virtually no queues & no crowds, and you can check in just 20 minutes before departure. From Zurich you have the option of the mid-day Thai 747 departure (on a codeshare) or evening departure on the new Swiss A340 with fully adjustable seats and state of the art IFE. Catering on Swiss is all a bit "nouvelle quisine" for my taste, but not bad.

Just be careful not to antagonise the FA's- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3910965.stm

Bit OT maybe, but what's the longest overall journey time anyone's had to LOS, ie home to hotel or whatever? Just curious.

Sorry. Guess I got carried away.