The International School of the Regents advocates an English curriculum and an
English based education; it would therefore have been alien and utterly out of
character if it hadn’t rained for the Easter fete on Saturday, 29 March!
However, all was not lost and the fete outshone the brief downpour.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of ISR’s fete was the vast amount of food
produced and sold. All of which as part of the “International food and Drinks
Fair” , though it should be noted that it was the diversity of the goods that
made the event unique. There cannot be many school fields in South Eadt Asia
where one can find freshly made Italian lasagna and brunchetta being sold
alongside Korean specialities such as Kimchee. With a true sense of French ke ne
sais quoi the bar was busy from start to finish, whilst her European
counterparts and neighbours sold hot cross buns and tea in honour of Gook Friday
tradition. For thos who wished to experience a taste of the great outdoors, the
barbeque seemed to produce relentless amounts of sausages, burgers, and various
sorts of kebabs; unsurprisingly and undoubtedly this was the real favourite of
the children.
Onec all had been fed and watered the fun and games begen; to say that they went
off with a bang would be no exaggeration Jacques le Baron’s “Light a
Firecracker” atall put pay to the potential peace and tranquilliy of an Easter
fete, though the fun involver (just about ) out weighed the noise! Amoungst the
hoopla, darts and football, ISR oarders Aoh, Jill, Bam and Cat did an excellent
job fo painting people’s faces after the first hour it became commonplace to see
butterflies and flowers sa part of a person]s complexion. There was though,
something for everyone. If fun and games weren’t your thing, then with the help
of the Pattaya Centre’s reflexologists one was able to sit back, relax, and let
the world (or Easter at least) go by.
Arguably the highlight of the afternoon was the usually-mundane-hackneyed “Guess
the number of sweets in the jar” –or “jars” in this case. Having failed to draw
the usual crowds, the intrepid Isabelle Le Baron, ably assisted by our man on
the mike, went forth and multiplied the number of 5 baht guesses. The winner of
not one but both jars was a local resident farang, Jim Knight. Khun Jim.
Admittedly prompted by Dr Virachai, kindly donated the larger jar to be
auctioned for the coffers of Primar Resouces. Bidding started at 100 baht and at
first rose by 20 baht each time. Once it passed the 500 mark Dr Virachai
increased the value of the lot by placing a signed business card in the jar.
This rapidly took the bidding to over 1000 baht, at which point a conversation
with the PrimeMinister was pledged to the lucky winner. Whether it was the wine
or the heat or the prospect of conversing with the PM or all three, the
successful bidder in the nail-biting auction turned out ot be none other than
Khun Jim himself!
An Easter fete just wouldn’t be an Easter fete without an Easter parade and the
bonnets produced by primary were a real teat for those lucky enough to catch a
glimpse. Though it was a very close thing, with Mr. David Mills as a hot
contestant, the lucky winner was Sae Kikukawa from Reception class, whose
splendid floral creation just pipped several others into first place.
Despite not being triumphant in the Easter bonnet competition,Mr. Mills managed
to do a super job of compering the entire event, just so that everybody knew
exactly what was going on where. However, despite slaving away over the “hot
microphome” all afternoon, the moment of glory truly came side by side of the
grand raffle. The raffle was quite possibly the fete’s hugest success, anybody
that has forgotten to buy a ticket was left feeling decidedly miffes.With no
less tha forty three prizes the raffle was , amongst other things, a true
example of the generosity of ISR’s PTA along with many parents and residents of
Pattaya. There are too many people to thank here in print, but suffice it to say
that there are a few people and their companies without whom the fete and its
fantastic raffle might not have happened. So, many thanks must be paid to
Mr.Marlow, the Pattaya Mail and the Malhotra family enmasse, World Gems for
their immense generosity, Hanoke of Royal Garden, Dr.Virachai Techavit and Khun
Tippavan, and finally to Vicky Nolan and Co., who made it all happen. Happy
Songkran to those who were lucky enough to win the first prize donated by
Mr.Marlow Molhotra two tickets to Chiang Mail or Phuket.
The fete was a huge success in every way and at the end of the day all that was
left were a few tired but contented people, six hot cross buns and lots of
painted faces
Roll on next Easter!
