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Wine at its best
Kim Caula, Chancelier President
and Member of the prestigious wine group, The Brotherhood of the Knights of the
Wine, is holding a large bottle from the vineyards of Mario di Dievole. On the
left side you see Timo Jokinen, Managing Director of G.C. (Thailand) Co. Ltd.,
and Consul General de Thailand of l’Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Degustateurs.
Mario di Dievole & Kim Caula invited wine degustatueurs last
Friday at Bruno’s Restaurant for a special wine tasting. Mario Dievole is the
youngest vinter to gain the sympathy of the European wine world. At the age of
12, Mario di Dievole began reviving a nine centuries old winery, giving shape to
hills of vineyards, miles of road and to a courageously simple winery
philosophy; quality people, quality wine. Until today, Mario Dievole, age 31,
with a ready smile, has accepted many awards. Petrignano, for instance, is a
particular Dievole vineyard of 25 acres composed by six particular microlimates.
The region of Tuscany covers 500,000 acres, Chianti about 50,000, Chianti
Classio about 14,000. Dievole, with its own 200 acres of vineyards in its eight
hundred acres private sector near Siena, high above medieval Vagliagli, is one
of the larger estates amongst the 1061 estates in Chianti Classico. Every single
vineyard in Dievole is safeguarded by its own master vinter. The quality that is
conveyed to represent the original vineyards is bound to differ with the
different master vinters, which is both a hazard and an opportunity. Throughout
the wine raising, from the earliest stages up through the ‘taglio’ of Dievole’s
single vineyards, much effort is being expended in assessing the nuances of such
statement. Soil equilibrium, higher vine density, reduced yields, and late
harvesting.
Through it you realize that even flint can be living, yielding, nourishing.
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Garden International School - International Day
Mrs. C. McGraw and her year 1 class performing
the circle of friendship dance.
The community really rallied around Garden International School recently to
celebrate their International Day. The flags of the 20 nations represented
in the school were all flying at full mast. There were excellent
performances by all the students; an international introduction, a Mexican
dance, an Irish dance, enactment’s of Korean and Australian folk tales, a
circle of friendship, sport throughout the world, and from the youngest
students, a teddy bear’s picnic.
The international presentations too were excellent. The Dutch clog dancing,
the Australian choir, the Korean dancing, violin playing and taekwando,
dances from the Philippines and the grand finale from Thailand all were
performed in superb national costume.
Then followed a marvellous feast of food from the United Kingdom, Ireland,
Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, India, the Netherlands, Australia, the United
States and Canada. There were lots of produce stalls, too, and games and
crafts from many lands, including a superb Dutch slide.
Congratulations too, to the Blue team captained by Tanya Griffiths on
winning the hockey tournament.
The school raised 7,500 baht on the day to donate to local schools - a great
effort.
All the organisers and teachers did a terrific job; well done. What a
fantastic day!
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Rainiest rainy season?
Last week, reporters from the Pattaya Mail met with Mr.
Jaruwat Sricheewana, the Head of the Meteorological Department of Pattaya,
seeking an answer to the question that seems to be on many people’s minds.
With the seemingly constant daily downpours, is this year the rainiest rainy
season to date?
The jovial official, who works on top of the hill overlooking Pattaya Bay in
the south of town, replied, “Don’t worry, this year may have been bad, but
not as bad as 1992.”
He continued on to say, in typical weatherman fashion, that “at the end of
November, the rain will stop. Except, of course, if there is a devastating,
monsoon or monstrous tropical storm.
“From looking at the conditions in the atmosphere in Thailand’s skies, it is
now nearing the end of the rainy season and almost time for the cold season.
This is due to widely scattered low pressure systems and a distinct lack of
alto-cumulous cloud formations, which are being replaced by a high cirrus
and alto-stratus cloud cover.”
But the public was warned that the rainy season is not over and care should
be taken when on the sea. Fisherman and those travelling in the Gulf of
Thailand should be especially careful, as lingering storms can, and do, pop
up at any given time.
So now you know. Even though it seems to have been raining almost non-stop
since last May, this year has not been the rainiest to date. Those of us who
were here in 1992, now that our memories have been jogged, can remember the
awful flooding we experienced that year. Hopefully it will be another 3 or 4
years before we experience another year like this one.
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An inside look at Ib Ottesen
The beautifully designed kitchens at Residence
Suites are built out of teak wood and granite.
A new apartment building, Residence Suites, is now up on Thappaya Road,
opposite the Bungee Jump, forever changing Pattaya’s southern skyline.
Construction crews have been working round the clock, with specialists
paying careful attention to even the smallest detail. The construction has
been going on since January, and will be completed in December. When
finished, this cozy low rise development will have 29 first class suites,
all with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a large balcony overlooking a huge
swimming pool.
The man behind this project is long time Thailand resident, Ib Ottesen,
along with his wife Kannikar. Born in Denmark some 40 odd years ago, Ib
Ottesen first came to Thailand in 1972 as a seaman on a small Danish
freighter. His first job in Thailand was as a guitar playing folk singer in
a bar on Patpong Road in Bangkok. AS fun as it may have been, Ib headed back
to navigation school in Denmark. In 1976, with a masters license to his
credit, Ib returned to settle in Bangkok.
“Together with a friend, I opened a very successful Danish restaurant and
guest house in Bangkok. Later on we converted as apartment building into a
hotel, ran it for some years, and sold it just before Sadam entered Kuwait.”
Ib told Pattaya Mail.
Ib Ottesen and Kannikar moved to Pattaya with their children about three
years ago. “We just couldn’t stand Bangkok anymore. The traffic was
intolerable. The children suffered going to and from school. We already had
a house here (in Pattaya), so it was an easy decision to sell the house in
Bangkok and move to Pattaya.”
Regarding his new project, Residence Suites, Ib told us, “As foreigners are
allowed to own 40% of the total units, I plan to sell 11 units to
foreigners, and keep 18 units as first class serviced rental apartments,
catering to the ever growing amount of expats working on the Eastern
Seaboard. The apartments will be ready for occupation in December and I have
been contacted by several companies who have shown a keen interest in
renting units for their expat staff.”
All the apartments will have IDD phones, electric safes, and satellite TV.
The Mermaid’s Dive School will be located at the front entrance, and will
offer scuba diving courses as well as dive equipment for sale.
Most units are now completed, and “we must agree that the decoration easily
matches anything we have seen. Especially the “Farang” kitchen looks very
impressive, built entirely in teak and granite. I think that most “Farang”
wives and mothers will agree with me that a real kitchen is a must. However;
we try to emphasize atmosphere and security as our strong points, besides
the decoration.”
Bangkok’s loss is Pattaya’s gain as this enterprising developer will
probably be using his talents to build more beautiful buildings to improve
Pattaya’s image.
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Operation SOS Rice nets
15,245 kilos
It all began when two members of the Belgian community
visited Father Ray and were surprised to hear from him that if they wanted
to offer something to the orphanage, they should give rice. After some brain
storming, they developed a plan on how to collect rice to give to the
orphanage. The two Belgians, joined by Christian Sanchez, Manager of Sigma
Resort, then went out and recruited a team of men and women willing to take
on the ambitious operation.
During the first part of the operation, around 50 businesses in Pattaya were
approached, mainly with French speaking managers (but also including
Norwegians, British, etc.). Thanks to the help of the Ladies Club, a few
international schools and kindergartens also joined in the operation, and
the first three weeks brought in more than 5,000 kilos of rice, along with
an unexpected wheel chair, almost new, donated by a resident of Country Club
Villa.
Part two of the operation was to collect rice at five of the largest
shopping centers in Pattaya. Part two began at 10 a.m. on November 1 and
ended at 3 p.m. on November 3. More than 20 people, some being tourists on
holiday and staying only a few days in Pattaya, turned out to help part two
become an even bigger success than part one.
The final part of the program was the party put on for the children of the
orphanage at Sigma Resort, followed by a competition of petanques, won by
Didier from L’Echo de Pattaya, and Francois. At 5 p.m. on the final day,
Didier officially handed over the proceeds of operation SOS Rice to Father
Brennan. The Padre was quite astonished to see the mountain of rice (15,245
kilos), and even more taken back when he received plastic bags containing
72,801 baht. But that wasn’t all he got. SOS also collected 34 bottles of
nam pla, 9 kilos of sugar, about 10 big boxes of Mama instant soup, milk,
dry milk for children, cans of sauces, sardines, baby powder, dry cookies,
eggs, and mayonnaise, and, of course, the wheel chair. All this thanks to
the generosity of the people of Pattaya, both Thai and Farangs united in the
same effort.
The memorable day was closed by a dinner at Sigma Resort (with all profits
going to the orphanage), and a free show by the girls and boys from the
Hippo Restaurant and Cabaret.
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Nordic Society Pattaya
celebrates second anniversary
Jan Olav Aamlid (centre)
accepts his first prize of round trip air tickets from Bangkok to Singapore,
donated by Finnair, from Nordic Society Pattaya chairman Åke Franzon (left).
The Nordic Society of Pattaya celebrated their second
anniversary at La Laguna restaurant after their annual general meeting on
October 26, 1996.
The Nordic Society of Pattaya has become a strong organisation amongst the
Nordic population in Pattaya over the past two years. Beginning with only
12-15 people who had the idea to establish the Society in the Eastern
Seaboard region, the Society has grown to over 125 members today. The
membership consists mostly of Nordics, but includes over 30 Thai citizens
who are connected, one way or another, with one of the Nordic countries.
The Society has been able to negotiate several different benefits for its
members, the most important being the agreement between the Society and the
Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital. Society members not only get a discount, but more
importantly, the guarantee of immediate treatment in case of emergency. This
has been made possible through a generous 10,000 baht donation made by the
Society which is at the hospital’s disposal for immediate treatment after an
accident or acute illness, before the insurance company arrives on the
scene. The Society, in co-operation with the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital, has
also brought to Thailand the first SOS capsule, which is a small, waterproof
capsule that contains all necessary information for the emergency treating
doctor.
The Nordic Society Pattaya held its second anniversary party at the La
Laguna Restaurant in Soi Sansamran, which for a long time has been the
meeting place for many Scandinavians in Pattaya. More than 70 members took
part in the Scandinavian Smorgåsbord, and the famous Norwegian musician, Mr.
Morten Golten, played his antique Hammond B3 organ, one of the few B3’s
remaining in the world.
A lucky number draw was also held at the celebration, with first prize being
one free business class ticket from Bangkok-Singapore-Bangkok, donated by
Finnair. A free dinner for two was also donated to the lottery by La Laguna
Restaurant, as well as a bottle of vodka donated by the Society.
Well known Pattaya citizen and Rotary member Jan Olav Aamlid won first prize
at the drawing, and received the free ticket from Finnair with a big smile.
Second prize was won by another well known Pattaya citizen, Tove Bjerkan,
who has been working for several humanitarian organisations in Thailand for
several years. Third prize was won by one of the Thai members, Miss Suree
Tung-Art, owner of Joy Bar in Soi 9.
The party went on well into the night, with members enjoying both the
Norwegian herring (kjöttbullar) and Jansen’s frästelse, amongst plenty of
other Scandinavian food, including the famous Norwegian Linjea-quavit.
The next party put on by the Nordic Society will be the Christmas Party on
December 14. Before that time, there will be several party nights at the La
Laguna Restaurant with different well known guest speakers.
The first of these party nights will be on November 23. Mr. Gunnar Sjöbeck
from Pacific Dewco Ltd. Will tell members all they need to know about
personal, car, and life insurance in Thailand. After the party Gunnar will
be available to answer questions on a more personal level.
The Society is always looking for more Nordics settled in the Eastern
Seaboard. For those who wish to become a member, call the chairman, Mr. Åke
Franzon, Tel: (038) 364 245 at any time.
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