Thursday 1st

Last weekend was the County Millenium Camp at Beau (UK). The first big camp since I was involved in the organisation. I have been getting emails this week from people who were there ... making me feel a little homesick on the one hand but glad I no longer have all the responsibility and stress on the other. I wonder if they made a video of the event?

Friday 2nd

Half tern holiday, all one day of it!! Sitting here making up maths puzzles for the Bangkok International Schools Maths Quiz which we're hosting at Patana on Thursday.

As I'm working away on the computer I'm listening to BBC radio 2 coming from Pebble Mill in Birmingham through the Internet. The presenter asks if anyone listening to the show around the world could email him.. I do and a couple of minutes later he's reading my email out on the air. I ask him to say hello to all family and friends in the Wolverhampton and Birmingham area. He does but given that it's 10:00am here, 2am in the UK I doubt very much that anyone I know heard it.

My seven, Year 13, Higher Level Maths students, who have just finished their course, took me out to Crepes & Co for dinner this evening. Excellent!

Saturday 3rd

Cycled to "The Ancient City", a 200 acre outdoor park and architectural museum filled with full sized and scale replicas of Thailand's most important monuments and temples.

This is a recreation of a floating market (without anything floating ... and without the market!)

Sunday 4th

I went to Millets and said 'I want to buy a tent.' He said 'To camp?', I said [butchly] 'Sorry, I want to buy a tent.' 

I said 'I also want to buy a caravan.' He said 'Camper?' I said [camply] 'Make your mind up.'

Monday 5th

Heard from Kev:

Sad news today, Lynn Gill's dad died on Sunday.  He had been fighting cancer for a while. Lynn had just returned to Germany having spent half term here with her family.

Tuesday 6th

They are building this huge Elephant museum about 5km further out of Bangkok than here. You can see how huge this three headed elephant is by comparing it to the size of the people working on it.

I think if it had of been located more centrally it would become just as well known as the Eifel Tower or Tower Bridge.

Wednesday 7th

Last minute planning for the Bangkok International School's Quiz tomorrow so no time to diary write.

Thursday 8th June

Our A team came third out of eight

 

Friday 9th June

Graduation Assembly at school

Saturday 10th June

Graduation day proper:

Though I'm still here for over a month before my summer holidays begin; the goodbyes started today as the Year 13 students came to school for the last time for their graduation ceremony. Good event, hilarious speeches and the site of the students all dressed up ... well; here's a snap of the group after the ceremony cutting the graduation cake as parents strained to get that all important picture. Jonny Anwar (pop star) holds the knife:

Zita's leaving too, though it's early to say goodbye yet, she goes back to Ireland in August

Sunday 11th June

Top marks to "Baila Baila", a Latino restaurant on Soi Ekkamai. Often Thai restaurants will deliver food to your table in the order in which it is cooked but this restaurant's waiters actually waited till we had completely finished our main course before delivering the starter.

Monday 12th June

The Sahotas are making a splash in the Indian Newspapers. See The News Headlines section on the web site I manage for them:

http://www.thesahotas.com

Tuesday 13th June

Hello Jo !   (She asked me for the address of this site today ... she's an English Teacher .... I bet she thinks this is a literrary literarry great work of liter ... rubbish) .

 Wednesday 14th

One month till my birthday ... which must be an all time low point for this diary when I am reduced to writing statements like that... so here's something completely different (as Monty used to say)

The South American rainforest is being probed by a team of intrepid explorers and you can follow them online. Runningman and his team are trekking through the jungle of Suriname to make a documentary covering ecological and anthropological issues. A daily diary is being kept on the web, with photographs, video and sound clips, as they try to find the world's only witch doctor school.

www.runningmanonline.com

Thursday 15th

Sahotas are No. 1 !!!
They currently have the number one album in India's INDIPOP charts.

Congratulations ... and save some of the celebrations till I get back.

Friday 16th

Swimming gala at school

Saturday 17th

Am I the first? Today I bought an MP3 walkman. A portable disk player which can play MP3 files from CDs. Each CD can hold around 200 songs! So if I start listening to it on the flight home, I still won't have got to the end on one CD by the time I land in London ten hours later.

I think it is the first on the market ... and the last one in the shop.

Sunday 18th

The pupils at the school are of a certain breed. Living on the international circuit they have a different outlook to a typical British kid. Three well liked pupils leave my tutor group next week for their (parents) next international posting:

YOU KNOW you're an expat kid in Asia when:

• You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?"
• You flew before you could walk.
• You have a passport, but no driver's license.
• You run into someone you know at every airport.
• You have a time zone map next to your telephone.
• You speak with authority on the quality of airline travel.
• You watch a movie set in a foreign country, and you know what the nationals are really saying into the camera.
• You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.
• You think Visa is a document stamped in your passport, and not a plastic card you carry in your wallet.
• You automatically take off your shoes as soon as you get home.
• Half of your phone calls are unintelligible to those around you.

Monday 19th

Pauline's left with ^p/₆ ..... it was her last Maths Faculty Meeting before leaving Patana and we presented her with a cake with p on the top. She was foolish enough to share it with us and this is all she had left to take home.

    

Tuesday 20th

Situations Vacant Driver wanted. One morning's work only. Date: 15th July (St Swithan's Day) early morning. Route: Heathrow Terminal 4 to Lyndale Drive Wolverhampton. Passenger: One handsome but not very rich Ex Pat. Salary: One bottle of Sangthip and "Dinner at Thai Restaurant" voucher. Applications by email to jct@bigfoot.com

Wednesday 21st

Hmmmm, it's Sunday the 25th and I haven't written anything in this diary since Tuesday 20th ... so I'd better write something now.

What did I do on Wednesday? Can't remember....

Thursday 22nd

...nor Thursday

Oh wait a minute. Yes I can remember now. Went with staff for a meal (the first of many I feel) to say goodbye to leaving staff.

(Pauline, click the picture above to see the full size version)

Friday 23rd

Went to Ayuthaya by bus ...

Saturday 24th

... and came back by train on Saturday.

It still amazes me that the train journey was over an hour but the fare was only 20 baht (30p) Amazing Thailand.

Saturday night, a Thai pop concert at Bangkok University

Sunday 25th

Sunday morning ... trying to catch up replying to all email from friends and people I've never met like...

Hello and Sawatdee ka,

I really enjoyed your web site and I'm hoping you'll be kind enough to answer a few questions on some of the things you mentioned in your diary.  I'm moving to Thailand myself in August (after a six year absence) and am doing some information gathering.

You mentioned go-carting -- where was it that you went go-carting and how much did it cost?  I also remember you writing about some "elephant museum" just north of Bangkok (?).  Do you have anymore info on that? And do you think your listings for 'pleng puea chiwit' are still fairly accurate? I love that type of music and will visit the places you have listed, but only if they are still fairly up to date (knowing how quickly things can change in Bangkok).  

I'm sorry to impose on you like this (ack, the dangerous of having a web site!)

Thank you,
Gena

Monday 26th

Remember Tran Towers, a mathematical quest, I wrote a couple of months ago. Click here to try a it. (Your browser should support Flash 4). Well if you manage to solve all the problems and get to the end (The Treasure room), the programme lets me know by email. Today I've received the first communication from Japan. A Japanese person called Tosh Tosh has successfully completed it.

 Tuesday 27th

An unexpectedly enjoyable evening. Dinner at one of Bangkok’s top hotels then entertainment provided by The Wiffenpoofs of Yale. A upper class cross between Barber Shop Singers and a Welsh male voice choir. I was so impressed by this accapella group that I even bought their CD.

The group consisted of graduating students from Yale University who were on a world tour performing a couple of nights in each major city. Their repertoire ranged from traditional folk songs, to a Backstreet Boys classic to "Bye Bye Blackbird" which I remember my Grandfather singing.

Wednesday 28th

Nothing out of the ordinary happened at school today, just the usual things .. you know… like a live snake terrifying pupils in the classroom (actually it was the other way around, the pupils were terrifying the snake). One of the guards came at last and grabbed it behind the neck. It wrapped its body around the guard's arm but was safely taken out and released.

Thursday 29th

Last day of lessons at school tomorrow. Trips out on Monday to Wednesday of next week ... summer's nearly here. It'll be good to get back to the UK for some good weather, it rains every day here now.

Friday 30th

Leaving Staff received presents and farewell speeches after school today. I made the speech for Pauline. Well it wasn't so much of a speech but a hymn ! Other members of the Maths Department's extended family joined me one by one in the chorus. Pauline shed tears!