Bazle

Is $30K before or after US taxes?

No, that is not so. The Egg Benedict was £25 plus service but INCLUDING VAT. The VAT element is split out only in the final receipt, not on the menu.

That is the final receipt that you get - essential for businesses which are VAT registered. However, the menu would have told you that Egg Benedict was £25 and the Continental Breakfast £19.50. People want to know how much a seller is wanting to sell something for, not how he has arrived at that amount.

My point is that people want to know the total cost, not the breakdown. That is why the price has to be displayed inclusive of VAT. Some places do add on a service charge. I wish this were added to the price just as VAT is. However, often the amount is a "recommended" amount and is still discretionary.

It is the law in the UK that prices are displayed inclusive of VAT.

Why would they want to know? It's like adding on something for rent because my table is taking up floor-space.

Mainly, need to conform to a conventional norm - have good house, generally be materialistic, breed, be sociable with the "right" people, and the rest

Precisely. The other thing about tipping that gets me is that so often (I guess to wait staff in particular) the tip is related to the cost of the service provided. So if a waiter is working in a restaurant serving expensive food and doesn't do a very good job and merits only a 5% tip, he could still end up getting more than a waiter doing an exemplary job in a lower priced restaurant with a 10% tip. What he gets tipped is only partly related to how well HE performs; it is also related to how well the management, chef and others perform.

Dreadful economic data out in the UK today so GBP down against everything. Currently, down 1.14% against the THB.

The THB:GBP rate now is 49.5080. It looks like a matter of the Baht falling more than the GBP rising. Surprise, surprise - I transferred at the wrong time!

Now we understand how Villa became your love-child

A Banker parks his brand new Porsche in front of the office to show it off to his colleagues. As he's getting out of the car, a lorry comes speeding along too close to the kerb and takes off the door before zooming off. More than a little distraught, the Banker grabs his mobile and calls the police. Five minutes later, the police arrive. Before the policeman has a chance to ask any questions, the man starts screaming hysterically: 'My Porsche, my beautiful silver Porsche is ruined. No matter how long it's at the panel beaters it'll simply never be the same again!' After the ma

Don't be too harsh on Talen; the answer is not as black and white as your question suggests. It's really a matter of degree; a hotel's rates reflect how busy the hotel expects to be at various times of the year. For instance, Sabai Inn quotes the following: 20 December - 10 January 1,350 11 January - 28 February 1,080 01 March - 30 April 855 01 May - 31 October 720 01 November - 19 December 1,080

I grew up in the West of England and, in early life, had a West Country (yokel) accent. But I could not pronounce the "n" sound: I used the "m" sound instead. All rather embarrassing when I wanted a bun! So I was sent off to a speech therapist who knocked the accent out of me. I think I'm fairly good at spotting accents, but I still can't tell the difference between Aussie and Kiwi, and couldn't even when I was living in Aussieland.

Thanks for the suggestion but I am rather put off by what it says on his website. Does he specialise in cannibal food, or is he pimping his cousin?

I am hoping to spend 8 weeks in Patts shortly, so have moved some spending money to my Thai account. I was hoping the rate would get to 50 Baht : GBP before I did this but decided not to risk waiting to see if that would happen. I got a rate of 48.38096. Good/bad? Only time will tell.

Many thanks for this. I have been there with a TG (she lived virtually across the road but didn't know about the place!) but I have to say that neither of us was impressed. However, I will now give it a second try.

Occasionally, I like to go to restaurants such as Bruno's, Manhatten etc. It is a real treat for me because similar places in London are outside my price bracket. In the past, BMs have commented that it is a waste of money to take TGs to these places as they don't appreciate them. So my question is, can a BM recommend an upmarket falang restaurant where the Thai food is of similar quality (and has a menu written in Thai)? Thanks.

If I recall correctly (not guaranteed!), a few years ago you were able to fly non-stop from London Gatwick to Perth.

I think you are referring to the indigenous female population. Fortunately, I live in London where the local population is diluted by beautiful, young East Europeans and Brazilians, not to mention tourists.

Remember that Oz has a relatively small population - just a bit more than a third of the UK's. Also, you don't need to leave your country to get some sunshine - we Brits don't have that luxury

I thought it was incredible that you managed to write two sentences without a spelling or grammatical error. And you didn't. You copied it from the BBC website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/co...les/1023276.stm

Agreed.

Thanks. Point taken.

I could have written that! Only child, mother in nursing home, passed away 12 months ago. I have to add another thought here, one that I'm not proud of. My mother had Alzheimers and her quality of life was not good. I felt I could not move on in life whilst she was alive. I thought it would be best for us both if she was not alive and, although very sad when she passed away, I was greatly relieved.