PeterRS

He played the criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie Fitzgerald in the 1990s series Cracker. I think this must be what you refer to. Not sure 72 is too young to die when you are grossly overweight and drink a lot. Still, his passing is very sad. He was an extraordinary actor with a great talent.

For very many years PAL used to stand for Plane Always Late. The company got really pissed off with this interpretation of its acronym and tried to create anew one of its own - Prompt At Last. I don't think it worked!

If it was not such a disaster, it would be a farce! Boris Johnson who was an ardent remainer, sees an opportunity, turns 180 degrees and leads the campaign to get Britain out of the European Union. He knows his Conservative Party has never been fully wedded to the EU and sees an opportunity, His Brexit campaign wins - just! He manoeuvres his way to the Premiership and starts a Trrump-like litany of disasters. At least he achieves Brexit for which his government and civil servants were not prepared and has led not only to exporters having to fill in reams of paperwork, but to a whole host of other problems that could have been foreseen - but old Boris was not interested. As long as Brexit was achieved, he had completed the job. British orchestras touring Europe will have been far down the list, but what used to be a simple matter has taken on the proportions of a a massive exercise with alll manner of new paperwork and huge visa fees for parties of 100 or so required for each country visited. As the late Queen cut a sad and lonely figure at the funeral of her husband of 73 years, Boris was holding an illegal party at his official residence, one of many he held there when his government's advice to the British people was to avoid parties. He then lied to the House of Commons. He became the first British Prime Minister to be censured by the British Police. With his political party fed up of his lies and bluffing, his Ministers resigned. The party then kicked him out. The party's selection process for a new Prime Minister is one of the most ridiculous in all politics. Of the 8 who stood for election, including some highly qualified and much admired like Jeremy Hunt who had been pro-European and served many years in the PM's cabinet (although not Johnson's) including as Foreign Secretary, the voting process restricted to Members of Parliament short listed two of the weakest candidates. These were then put out for a vote to just a tiny number of Party members around the country - 173,000, the majority by far over 65 years old. Ms. Truss who had never been a favourite in the early polls of MPs then won and became Prime Minister. She was apointed by the Queen just two days before the monarch's death on 6 September. She then announces a bold economic policy promising to get Britain moving and on track to prosperity. Then what happens? The bold tax initiative explodes like the Hiroshima bomb. Absoltuely no one believes it will work. The markets collapse, sterling falls to its lowest level in decades, the Bank of England has to step in to buy bonds to prevent mortage companies from going bankrupt, she fires her self-chosen Chancellor (Finance Minister) and close friend, reverses course and goes before the British pubic yesterday. It's another disaster. SHe is forced to bring back Jeremy Hunt and install him as Chancellor. No doubt in order to accept this poisoned chalice he has rold her that he will be his own boss and to hell with her economic agenda. Her time as Prime Minister may last until Christmas. It may not last beyond next week. Britain is an a dreadful mess!

But this is Thailand. About 8 years or so ago there was an excellent British Pie Shop at the top of Soi Yen Akat. It made a wide variety of pies, including a Green Curry Pie, and they were all delicious. It was forced to move out as a result of the block due to being demolished. After moving several times, I believe the shop has now been reincarnated as the London Pie Shop and Restaurant near Ekamai BTS station. Not surprisingly, the Yen Akat block is still standing.

His name may not be known to many outside the UK but he appeared in some of the best known movies and television series. A big man with obviously a huge heart judging from the messages from J. K. Rowling, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Dniel Radcliffe. Although best-known for his contributions to the Harry Potter movies as Rubeus Hagrid and to older generations in the TV series Blackadder, he was a multi-faceted actor. He appeared in two Bond movies, 'Ocean's 12', Derek Jarman's movie 'Carvaggio' to Falstaff in Kenneth Branagh's 'Henry V'. On learning of his death, J. K. Rowling said, "I'l never know anyone remotely like Robbie again. He was a complete one-off, and I was beyond fortunate to know him. work with him and laugh my head off with him." This very fine much loved actor died yesterday aged 72.

You may be correct but I would like to see a source. In Simon Sebag-Montefiore's masterful biography Stalin: The Court of the Last Tsar it is made abundantly clear that Stalin was not informed of Hitler's designs on Russia. After a visit by Molotov to Berlin in December 1940, on December 29 Hitler signed Directive No. 21 on Operation Barbarossa. Molotiv was then No. 2 to Stalin in the Soviet hierarchy. 11 days later Stalin found out from his spies who "alerted him to its existence." Stalin was aware the Soviet Union would not be ready for war before 1943. He "hoped to delay it by frantic rearming and aggressive brinkmanship . . . but without provoking Hitler . . . "Stalin's panic to produce the best weapons and create the best strategy created a new Terror around him. The countdown to war redoubled the unreal miasma of fear and ignorance at the heart of Soviet power." (see page 302)

That's basically nonsense! There is no parallell with Russia's invasion of Ukraine!

I doubt if @TotallyOz is likely to be duped. He's much too wise for that game!

I suspect when @Londoner visited that sleaze joint it was located upstairs. For some years in its pre-covid incarnation it had moved to ground level and was virtually identical to @reader's description. In fact @reader's description almost exactly fits my memory of visiting several years ago. Sofas which looked as they accommodated far more bugs than those who sat on them. Three boys on a stage, almost always fully dressed, and making little or no movement. A few others fully dressed sitting on bar stools on the right of the stage eyes glued to their phones and a few to the left on other sofas eyes also glued to phones. If you decided any of the boys was worth a drink, he would come and sit beside you. Little or no conversation but jeans might come off and he would sit in shorts. He would not object to a bit of hanky panky. Occasionally a dick would appear especially if a second drink was purchased. At least drinks were not expensive. But not one of the boys looked as though they either wanted to be there or enjoyed being there. Certainly, providing enjoyment for customers seemed very far from their minds. Nature Boys and the now dead Golden Cock were a lot more fun for those looking for sleaze.

Absolutely disgraceful!

Taiwan has finally lifted all restrictions to entry - just in time for the Gay Pride Parade on Saturday 29th. The only requirement now is self testing during the first week and test kits are supplied on entry. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/13/taiwan-opens-borders-to-tourists-as-restrictions-eased-after-25-years

8 years ago I overnighted twice at the Holiday Inn at Helsinki 's Vantaa airport. The room was fine but I found when trying to work it was becomming quite cold. Could I find a thermostat anywhere? Nope. Since no one at reception bothered to answer phones, I made the long trek. The young lady told me that the hotel had done extensive research and found that 21 degrees was the most commonly accepted room temperature. So the temperature could not be changed. I told them quite forcibly that they clearly had not checked with anyone who lives in the tropics! I ended up with a tiny electric heater which was on full blast and not very effective for both my stays.

Thank you all for this discussion. At BNH in Bangkok yesterday for another reason, I asked for a PSA test since I have not had one for 2 years. I'm still awaiting the result. I notice that the hospital had a seminar last month "How to Manage an elevated PSA Level" which I missed. But it does have a a package available until December 31 that includes a complete Urological Check-up for 6,990 baht reduced from 10,125 baht. It includes tests for kidneys, ureters, bladder and uretha, testosterone - men's essential hormones, PSA test as well as consultation with a urologist. The price is inclusive of the fees for the doctor and hospital services.

Years ago I used to be a regular at Albury massage. The massages and afters were all more than very good. My masseur was gay, had a gay boyfriend, later appeared in gay movies and then moved with his boyfriend to live in Chiang Mai.

Perhaps they are all straight! 🤫

Taking this topcic a little further, I happen to believe that with its no longer being necessary to go out and actually meet guys in a bar, at parties or with friends in a coffee shop, this lack of social interaction is one key result of the internet. The internet is so pervasive that too many individuals, especially younger ones, are increasingly lost without access to the so-called social media (which I consider more anti-social media) and this almost automatically breeds loneliness and an increasing inability to interact socially with other people. My partner was telling me about his best friend, a cute Thai, who had recently met a visiting mid-40s German whom he very much likes. Indeed he hopes that a relationship will develop. But when four of them went out for dinner a few nights ago, his friend spent much of the evening on his phone. Perhaps not surprisingly the German got fed up with this and turned his attention to my partner who has become very sociable over the years. He didn't get very far, though!

Did I not write "I fully undersand there is likely to be the odd bad apple?"

Sounds very Thai! Co-habitation of same sex couples is legal and wedding ceremonies may be performed. But marriage itself is illegal and there are no legal protections. A working group is pressing for reform of the 2019 Marriage and Family Law so that gay marriage is incorporated. According to public opinion polls, the Vietnam public remains split on the subject of gay marriage. Also, discrimination against gay men remains widely practised and there is no legislation protecting the LGBT community from discrimination.

Your point is taken @alvnv. Over the years CNN has reported extensively about Thailand and from within Thailand. I cannot believe its experienced Asian based journalists do not have accreditation. I expect the official quoted in the press clipping was talking about something he knew little about - a common occurrence in Thailand!

I was brought up as a Protestant and even played piano for a Bible class most Sundays as a teenager. I didn't want to but there was some parental pressure there from my mother. I have never been a churchgoer since my teens. I find the endless communal singing of hymns with words and music written mostly more than a century ago incredibly boring. On the other hand, I once saw on television a Church service with a pop band. That also turned me right off. Equally, readings from a book part of which is about fables that originated millennia ago and only many centuries later put into writing (and we know what happens when one person repeats what he has heard to another, who then repeats it to another, and so on - it always ends up as a completely different story), and part of which was decided for us by various Councils in the 4th century long after the death of Jesus when again memories would have been fallible. Being gay has never had anything to do with my thoughts on religion. I just happen to believe that religions in general were necessary all that time ago as a glue to keep tribes and later societies together. Again for millennia, life on earth was so grim for so many people, the thought that there was paradise somewhere up in the sky where all was wine and roses but which you could only enter into if you behaved well down here on earth must have been very appealing to vast numbers. (I wonder how many know that the word 'paradise' comes from the Persian meaning garden) When I see on television the extraordinary images from the combination of the Hubble and James Webb telescopes, I marvel that these amazing scenes are of events that happened so long ago my mind simply cannot comprehend them. Here on earth we are a mere tiny speck of a tiny speck given the vastness of what we are told is a still expanding universe (something else I canot understand). Given that, though, how is that our various earthly religions claim to have got it all so right?

No, that's incorrect. Taiwan is the only Asian country permitting same-sex marriage - provided one partner is of Taiwanese nationality.

A marmalade one, like Paddington Bear and the late Queen of the UK? 🤣

Daniel Hodge is not a reporter. He is a cameraman. Anna Coren is a CNN reporter based in the CNN Hong Kong bureau. I agree they should not have been permitted inside a crime scene even though they did not show graphic images in any news bulletins. The implication behind the last sentence is slightly scary, though. No reporter and his/her crew can be expected to obtain work visas if they are going to do their jobs by covering last minute news items. I'll bet anything that those many hundreds covering the Cave Rescue were here on tourist visas. If Thailand wants the good covered as well as the bad, there is no alternative to reporters having free access on tourist visas.

With all respect to @reader I think the comment about drugs does a great disservice to taxi drivers in general. Over the last two decades I have probably taken more taxis from first DMK and then BKK to the city centre than any other poster - over 250 trips. As a very regular commuter to my business in Hong Kong, the Emirates flight I have taken dozens of times usually sees me in a taxi around 12:30 am. I have never once had cause to complain about getting back home in around 30 minutes at that time nor about excessive speed. The great thing about arriving around that hour is that there are absolutely no traffic jams. If arriving at 8:00 in the morning, I would not even consider a taxi given the horrendous jam to get into the city. I fully undersand there is likely to be the odd bad apple, but the only problem I have encountered on the airport run is a doctored taxi meter. That was easy to spot because I know how much the trip should cost making allowances for stops at traffic lights etc. On that occasion I took photos with my camera of the driver, the meter and the taxi licence number. The driver then refused to accept any payment!

I'm another Kinokuniya fan! Many of the books I read - and I do read quite a number - are now on Kindle. They are so much easier to purchase on amazon, just one click. Also having travelled so much, an iPad is lighter and takes up a lot less space in my hand luggage than many books. I find one of the problems with keeping hardback books in the tropics is that the climate will eventually affect the spine and pages will begin to drop out. Another if you don't use the services of a pest control company is white ants. They are thankfully not everywhere but I have once picked up a thick book I had not opened for at least a year to find great canyons carved through the pages!