Ruthrieston

Typical Thailand, all about the money honey. Who cares how many Ukrainian children the Russians have raped and murdered, how many hospitals have been bombed. Utterly disgraceful.

Watching the fireworks last night was a huge disappointment. The first two displays were great, but the huge cloud of black smoke then blocked most of the next displays. Very sad.

My sympathy goes to the gay community in Russia. When you see young gay Russian men in the Complex relaxing and enjoying themselves in a safe environment is a joy to behold.

Natan's, Au Bon Coin and Casa Pascal in that order for me!

Yes Tmax I also go to Kinokuniya bookshop in Siam Paragon in Bangkok to stock up on books, at a much cheaper price than Asia Books here in Pattaya. Years ago I bought a Kindle and a good friend downloaded hundreds of books for me for free, but I really like having a book in my hands.

Warning! Possibly this will be a long, boring story so read at your peril! I was brought up in Scotland attending the local Presbyterian Church of Scotland until at the age of twelve the Minister visited my home to say that because I had not been baptised I must now be baptised otherwise I would not be allowed to attend Bible Class. This was the first I had heard of it, my older brother had been baptised as a baby but my mother had refused to have me baptised, and said I should be allowed to choose for myself. For the next year or so, with the assistance of my Religious Studies teacher at my school I visited many different religious groups, the ones I liked most being the Quakers for the silent meetings, and the High Anglicans for all the bells and smells (incense and flashy garb worn by the priests and assistants). The place that brought me closest to where I wanted to be was the Roman Catholic Church where I was counselled by a Benedictine monk for months and finally I was baptised and then confirmed, to the horror of my parents. On leaving school at 17 I entered an enclosed, silent Benedictine monastery, the Abbey was built in the year 1230 and was semi-ruined and being restored. The community chanted the Office seven times a day and the Mass in Latin, Gregorian plainchant. I had been visiting the monastery on retreat each year since I was 14, and the community had watched me grow up, and when I asked to be admitted as a Postulant the Abbot looked at me and said "Well we have been waiting for you, get on with it." As a teenager I had tried to commit suicide three times because I could not cope with being gay. Converting to the Catholic Church gave me a focus and a community who welcomed me. I am quite sure the community was aware that I was gay, but nothing was ever said. And there was no mucking about, this was a good community of dedicated monks. After time as a Postulant, then a Novice, I asked to be allowed to take my first vows, called Simple Profession, the vows lasting three years, and then you would make Solemn Profession, vows for life. As the Bendictine Rule required, I was presented to the community by the Novice Master, then left as they debated my fitness to be allowed to remain and take my vows, then a secret vote is taken, each monk holding a white ball and a black ball and putting their hands into a wooden box so their vote is hidden from view. You need a two thirds plus one vote to be allowed to take your vows. When I was summoned to the Abbot's study, kneeling on the stone floor, I was convinced that I would have to leave, but after a long silence the Abbot said I had received the vote to stay and that as it was the 1500th centenary of St Benedict's birth I would be given the name Benedict. Then after an even longer silence the Abbot looked at me and said, "We never discuss the vote, but you need to hear this, your vote was unanimous." I was stunned, and that was the moment in my life that I finally realised there was nothing wrong with me, if these good, holy men could welcome me into their community then I could accept myself. I stayed for another three years to get the courage to leave and start to live my life. On leaving I continued to have a deep faith, attending Mass every day and praying daily. I chose to train to be a nurse, and after three years when I qualified there were no jobs in my home town and I ended up moving to London and working in Charing Cross Hospital and then moving to St Stephen's Hospital in Fulham to work in one of the largest HIV/AIDS wards. This was 1987 when thigs were really bad. Every day we saw half our patients die, nine or ten mostly young gay men in their teens and early twenties. Many of their families disowned them, though many others came to support them. After a couple of years of this, losing friends and colleagues to AIDS, too many to count, my faith finally died. I tried really hard to hold on to may faith in God, but so matter how hard I tried my faith was gone. To this day I miss my faith, but it is gone.

I locked myself up in my condo for months on end. I remember when the 9pm curfew was in place I would stand on my balcony amazed at the resounding silence descending over Pattaya. I haven't had an intimate encounter with a young gentleman in over two years, and I think my loss of interest is something to do with the if you are not getting any, you don't want any. I really hope to get back in the saddle one of these days.

Watching those parades of handsome, sexy young gentlemen I can't wait to make a trip to Bangkok and just sit there and gaze at them, trying not to let the saliva dribble down my chin...

The Bolt app in Pattaya has been wonderful for me. Basically I now pay the same amount that I used to pay for a motorbike taxi, only I travel in an airconditioned car! While I used to rent a car once a month to do my big shopping, now I just use Bolt taxi. Excellent service at a very reasonable price, and of course I always tip them too. I almost feel embarrassed when I walk past the local motorbike taxi people I had used for the past eleven years.

I remember a few years ago going to Viewtalay 6, next to Central Festival, for drinks in a friend's condo, only to be stopped by police as we tried to drive into the car park, only to see a Sawangboriboon Foundation ambulance leaving. We drove in to see blood all over the ground. It was apparently a young farang who asked an agent to let him look around a couple of the condos on his own only to go to the highest one and jump off. I think he was only in his early thirties. Then only a few weeks later another young farang jumped off the top floor inside Central Festival, narrowly missing a baby in a pram as he hit the ground floor. So sad. Clearly not thinking clearly when he put others at risk when jumping inside such a busy shopping centre.

Another mass grave uncovered with almost 500 bodies, and evidence of torture, civilians. The Russian war crimes continue to mount up.

I got kicked out of my last job for the criminal offence of being gay, though a great lawyer friend fought for me for free and got me a whole year's salary to go quietly. I was 53 when I gave up looking for another job, took my small pension, sold my lovely flat which still had a big mortgage on it, and moved to live in Thailand, and that was eleven years ago. Since the UK pound is so weak my income is a lot worse now, but life is still fine. I live alone, pay for sex when I want it, enjoy some good food, swim every day for exercise, have a few good friends. Not a bad life, if not exactly what I had planned.

Just wait until the Chinese tour groups return to the Agate! I remember seeing two coach loads disgorging outside the Agate before the pandemic.

Benjamit is still open and doing well.

Along with more trumped up charges against Aung San Su Kyii (sorry, not sure of spelling) this military junta appears to be digging in harder, and the abuse of any who dare to protest is clearly genocide. While attention is still focused on Ukraine, which deserves our support as well) very little appears in the western news about the horrors in Myanmar.

I have stayed there two or three times a year for several years now, and always happy. My last visit was last month, and the construction appears to be nearing completion. The long term staff are as lovely as ever, but like billyhouston I do miss the lovely buffet breakfast and tended to go out to eat. Hopefully in this high season coming up things will get back to normal.

No, alvnv, that would be 45 pounds (UK).

I grew up in a small city in Scotland, and my brother, who was five years older than me, was also gay, but rather than helping or supporting me through the bad times he made it worse for me. He got married and had two children, while still being even more camp than me. When I came out to my parents in my mid twenties as I was leaving Scotland for the joys of London, my mother's only response was to ask "What about your brother?", to which my only response was "ask him dear". I last saw my brother at our mother's funeral more than twenty years ago. I still hate him for all he did to me. In my teenage years I tried to kill myself three times, once with a paracetamol overdose that nearly worked. I am now in my mid sixties and have lived in Pattaya for eleven years and having a happy retirement after being kicked out of my job for being gay at the age of 52. Sorry for being so boring, I will shut up now.

I don't think Khun Anutin really cares what "smelly farang" think!

Such fun! I was caught in the downpour on Wednesday evening and ended up wading through knee high water in the torrential rain to reach my hotel on Soi Convent off Silom. I was nicely dressed and wearing my best leather shoes. Grump, grump grumble, moan.

I wish he was just a stupid clown, but the Putin creature is a war criminal. That is not a joking matter. While the Russian army continues to murder countless numbers of innocent civilians the civilised world must continue to isolate Russia. The rape and murder of a one year old boy is the report that still rings in my head and makes me sick.

So the Russians are not the only war criminals now. The actions of the military junta in Myanmar are escalating, and the attacks on civilians are reprehensible. The world has largely ignored the appalling events in Myanmar and focused on Ukraine, but both deserve far more attention and the innocent people in both countries deserve our support.

I remember my first trip to Thailand in 1998, with a group of friends who included two veterans of many previous visits, the going rate for short time in Pattaya was 600 Baht. Ah, the good old days!

Thank you fedssocr for the link to Better Burma, they need all the help and support we can give.

Certainly not the time to go to Myanmar now. While the world is outraged by the appalling attack by Russia on Ukraine and the news is full of the war crimes committed there every day, the massacre of civilians in Myanmar by the "army" is largely ignored. After all that Aung San su Kyi has been through is her life, defending her people and their freedom, her imprisonment on fake charges is a disgrace that the world doesn't seem to care about.