PeterRS

I am sure we all have stories like that. Many years ago I drafted a will for my UK assets which I asked a lawyer to complete in legal terms. I was quite happy to pay his fee. When I then wanted very minor alterations to certain clauses, I rewrote them exactly as he would have written them and sent them to the lawyer. He then sent me an invoice as though he had rewritten the entire will himself. I told him I'd pay 25% and not a penny more. It was accepted.

@Keithambrose mentioned the Jeremy Thorpe case in these columns just a couple of weeks or so ago. Am I not correct in suggesting this was a case where the various organs of law enforcement including the police, the defence counsel and even the judge were so biased and accepting of a whole multitude of lies that a fair trial was impossible? And are we not to some extent now witnessing the result of the same lack of enthusiasm for having explored all the evidence that must have existed for decades against alleged crimes committed by the now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor?

I have called it a BL movie but I am not sure if that is the right description, if only because the boys in the movie - both amateurs who act superbly - are 13 and just about to reach puberty. In 2022 CLOSE was nominated for a Golden Globe, an Oscar for Best Foreign Movie and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Following the showing, the Cannes audience gave the actors a 10-minute standing ovation. Since then it has won a slew of awards all over the world. It is a movie which had quite an effect on me to the point where I was almost in tears at its beauty, an effect which it has had on many who have watched it, including hard-bitten reviewers. Having decided this was a movie he wanted to make, the young Belgian director wondered how on earth he would cast it. One day on a Belgian train he found himself seated next to a group of school kids all chattering and laughing. One stood out for him, one of the most animated and with the most amazing eyes. He asked the boy if he would be interested in a casting session and then discussed it with his mother. This boy was then cast as the main protagonist in the film, Leo, whose eyes tell much of the story. I don't want to give too much away, but the first 15 minutes or so of the movie are about Leo and his best friend Remi, about how they play together one summer holiday, have fun together as all kids do and even sleep over in Remi's bed. It is extremely beautifully filmed. There is nothing sexual here. But when they both go to the same secondary school, their close friendship attracts attention, the sort that Leo finds difficult to accept. I will go no further as that will give the rest of the story away. I will just say again it is a beautifully filmed, amazingly powerful movie. The review which I post here does have the spoiler so be prepared to look away at this point if you do not want to know what happens. The movie was shown two weeks ago on True Visions but ridiculously in French without English sub-titles. I have heard from True that it will be shown again towards the end of April with sub-titles.

Although it is years since i lived in Tokyo, I have returned many times since then. So I'll try and answer your questions. I'm sure others will add some things. 1. Guests in hotel rooms. I have stayed in several dozen hotels in Tokyo and can tell you that only the really very expensive might query a guest - but unlikely. I have never once had any issue taking a young man to my room, and from what I have read from other posts here, other members have found the same. 2. Room size. This might steer you towards an airbnb. You are correct that Japan hotel prices are partly based on room size. So a decent sized room is going to be reasonably expensive. I have been in cheaper rooms where when kneeling on the bed I stretch out my arms and can touch the two walls! But whereas most of the boys from the agencies will know the hotels, they might need help from you via the mama-san in finding your exact location in an airbnb. If you are not considering overnight, I have looked at the Re:Born site and the boys look much more of the hunk type rather than the skinny cute guys in many other agencies. The in-premises rooms also look really nice. They are only ¥1,000 extra for non-Japanese nationals. One question, though. That site does not have what I consider a usual list of outcall availability and timings. Indeed there seems to be very little information about out-calls apart from a list of what it will cost you from the premises. Overnights seem only to be on the premises when another additional charge becomes payable - ¥2,000. So please double check that before making a booking. A chat with the mamasan is obviously needed in advance. 3. Most of the agencies have websites which use icons to tell you exactly what your preferred companion will and will not do. So check them carefully. If you are looking for a bottom, do not expect a top to fulfil your desires! Likewise some boys do not like to drink alcohol. So please use mouthwash and brush your teeth before he arrives. I always found the boys liked a little conversation before showering and some will speak at least some English. When you make the booking on line, you can ask the mamasan which boys do have some English. 4. In almost al cases, if you book for a start time of 8:00 pm, that is precisely the time he will knock on your door or call up for you if the lift requires a keycard. 5. I am a little surprised that 130 minutes is the minimum time. I have never seen that before. Unsually the timings are now around ¥15,000 for one hour with other options for 90 minutes or 120 minutes. I suggest it depends very much on you and your precise requirements of the boy you choose. Generally speaking, if you have paid for one hour, you will get precisely that. So for 130 minutes, don't expect the boy to up and leave after a shorter time. On the other hand, bear in mind that if you are finished well ahead of 130 minutes and the two of you cannot converse, the extra unused minutes may drag on. Personally I would not go beyond 90 minutes, especially for a first time. Good luck and have a great time.

If you refer to Huang Tzu (Emperor) hot spring, the steam room was closed permanently some months ago and is now demolished.

I understand that @jason1975 lives in Singapore. May I ask him to advise on the best gay bars to visit. I will be there for a few days mid-next month to visit friends but have a coupe of evenings to myself. I used to visit Singapore regularly but have not been in the city state for at least 7 years. Backstage was one of my favourite bars sometimes followed by a visit to Zouk. Many thanks in advance.

I actually find progressive lenses great for daytime wear but quite quite difficult if I am looking at a fixed object, like a movie. Then it really depends where I am seated as I found that when I started wearing them sometimes I'd have to keep my head raised or lowered to see properly. Same with working on a computer screen for more than a few minutes. Good for a quick scan but not longer term working. When I had all my lenses changed some years ago I had an extra pair made that is effectively the distance between my eyes and the computer screen. If you work on a laptop, I thoroughly recommend that small extra expense.

Totally agree, but the devil with travel insurance is often in the small print. If a flight is cancelled primarily due to fuel shortages, will that be covered since the reason for the shortage could be regarded as an act of war?

He was called the greatest male ballet dancer, although this is hotly disputed in the ballet world as many believe his countryman Nijinsky tops that list. The fact is, though, that while no one now alive saw the great Nijinsky dance, many of us had the joy of seeing Rudof Nureyev dance, often with his long-time dance partner Margot Fonteyn who was 19 years his elder. When on stage he commanded it with his extraordinary almost animalistic presence, his amazing leaps and stunning virtuosity. Yet he was at heart always the peasant lad he had been born into in Siberia. Uneducated, uncouth, boastful of his talent and according to many not much fun to be with. Yet he could be incredibly generous. When Fonteyn was diagnosed with cancer, he paid for all her treatment till her death. Graduating to Leningrad's Kirov Ballet aged 20 he quickly became its star. He was silky, mercurial but also gay - very gay. He visited gay bars as regularly as he was seen at gay bathhouses. He did not really care with whom he had sex. It was the sex itself he craved. On a tour to Denmark he met a fellow dancer working for the Royal Danish Ballet. Eric Bruhn was to became the love of his life, one constant in his incedibly hectic career after he defected from the Soviet Union and caused a sensation in 1961. Although the relationship only continued for five years, they remained close friends until Bruhn's death in 1986. There were other lovers and with all Nureyev continued his extra-partnership gay lifestye during their times together. For years Nureyev denied that in 1984 he had been diagnosed with HIV. Even so he continued dancing, continued his gay lifestyle. It was around early 1991 that the effect of AIDS was taking its toll. Yet he continued with a World Tour. He died in January 1993 and is buried in Paris. Rudolf Nureyev, incredible dancer, rebel, gay icon would have celebrated his 88th birthday last week.

In my view there is no way any K-Pop girl band looks like any K-Pop boy band. But it is not unusual for us to see things differently.

I find it odd that of all members you write about hypocrisy. Because you have shown yourself to be be a hypocrite. This is @khaolak's modus operandi. He doesn't like a poster? Trash him. This is what he wrote about @Olddaddy on January 6 this year - "This is just Olddaddy's method of operation as a troll since he first started posting here, under this name, three years ago." Funny how an alleged troll still posts and still gets like and dislike emojis. And @Olddaddy is one of the most regular contributors, posting vastly more than @khaolakguy And this is what he wrote about me when I made a comment about nude photos being posted in an open thread - something that is not permitted under the Board's Code of Conduct - if only because they can been seen by anyone, including children, and could come to the notice of the Thai licensing authorities which could possibly result in closing this Board. On August 19 2025 he questioned poster @rd2077 - Over the years you have posted this question several times and received answers. I don't think you ever shared your experiences. Have you ever made a trip? Reading his earlier posts, he had indeed made trips which @khaolakguy clearly never bothered to check. There had also been a gap of 8 years from 2017 to 2025 between his trips. @khaolakguy's post as rude and uncalled for. But more than once he has accused me of forcing posters off the Board, yet he can never name one! And there is a reason for that. I have never forced or sought out the Moderator to force anyone off the Board. End of discussion. He did not llike my comments when one poster posted something like 12 new posts all under the same heading. Usually such posts would be a continuation of a post with the original heading. He wrote this on June 23 2025 - @alexch Please continue sharing your information and expertise, either in this thread or a new one, and don't be discouraged by one troubled poster. Me troubled? Ha! Perhaps he will finally advise members - did I ever ask that poster to cease posting or say the posts were in any way anything other than interesting? No! But he later accused me of forcing @alexch off the board! Yet i'm delighted to say @alexch is still contributing! He then accused me of forcing another member who had told lies about me in one sub-forum which I then corrected in another of forcing that poster off the Board. Well, odd that it is very simple to see that that member continues to read this Board almost every day! Lastly I will without naming names state that he mentions my name in connection with one member who freely admitted in an earlier post that he had issues with anger manageent and had been to five anger management courses. Anger is an issue we all face from time. We all have to deal woth it in our own ways. i sympathise with that member. But I suggest that anger - at least in the form of a major disagreement - in some form or another will always appear on a chat room. And then on June 7 2025 he queried why I posted photos from a photo spread I had made ten years earlier, a re-spread that received many 'like' emojis. Clearly he considers he has a proprietary issue on this Board and does not accept that there must be thousands of new members since then (given the expansion of the original Gay Thailand into Gay Guides) who would not have seen that and other original photo posts. Well, all members are different, and some have likes and some have disllikes. i know that a very few members like @khaolakguy and @Keithambrose will always seek to deride some of my posts for their own reasons. Fine! Such is posting life!

There were three movies made about Thatcher. If some misunderstand your comments, it is because they are usually so short and cryptic and it can be difficult to understand what you are trying to write.

Sorry but I canot agree. The movements may be quite similar but just looking at faces and dress and listening to the sound makes it obvious which is which. Interestingly Korea's most famous pop band BTS reunited last night after each member had done his mandatory military service. As CNN reports, an audience of up to 260,000 assembled in Seoul for the concert in front of the 14th century Gyeongbokgung Palace, many having flown in from all parts of the world. They are as big as Taylor Swift, if not bigger. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/21/style/bts-arirang-comeback-concert-korea-intl-hnk

And that is another piece of @Keithambrose nonsense. Proof is the currency of a lawyer's business! Whom have I driven OFF the Board? And when, as you have done with my PM, have I betrayed a confidence by publicising anothers PM? Pot calling something . . .? Sorry, I was wrong in an earlier post. I have been the Asian CEO of two major international franchises. An apology would be in order, but coming from you? Little chance.

Sorry I have never been. The area has several hotels each with hotsprings, most of which are open to the public. The shuttle bus takes you to this hot spring resort and probably others- https://www.volandospringpark.com/en/about-wulai This is a very upmarket resort but has a public hot spring. The Singapore gay chat site from which I took the information has been free to read for about 15 years but I see it has now gone private and I have no wish at present to join.