Family Money: When is a Guarantee not a Guarantee?

By Leslie Wright

As many investors have been looking to combine limited risk with equity growth potential, last week we took a look at how one of these limited-risk funds works in practice.

This was, perhaps, especially serendipitous in view of the bad news some investors have received recently with regard to their ‘guaranteed’ pension funds.

Historically, many investors have chosen to safeguard their pension fund by using ‘With-Profits’ funds rather than risk the vagaries and volatility of pure equity funds.

With-Profits funds are supposed to offer investors peace of mind by guaranteeing to pay out at the pre-set maturity date the highest price the fund ever reached over the years it was running.

But when is a guarantee not a guarantee? When the goalposts move!

In the Concise Oxford English dictionary, the word “Guarantee” is defined as: “A pledge or security for another’s debt or obligation, an assurance that something will be done as specified.”

If this definition is to be believed, then a guaranteed fund should do exactly that - i.e., guarantee the fund according to the terms of the initial agreement with the client.

However, according to recent press reports, certain financial institutions seem to have been applying a certain amount of ‘leniency’ to these initial contracts regarding their guaranteed funds.

Guarantees in court

One such institution, Equitable Life, has been taken to court by some of its policy holders following its decision not to pay the guaranteed bonuses agreed at the beginning of their contracts (or at least to offer dramatically different terms from those which investors were expecting).

Another, Scottish Widows, has been accused of reducing bonus payments on their With-Profits Pension Fund to cover the cost of paying for guaranteed annuities.**

In the current environment of low interest rates, bonuses paid both annually and on maturity have fallen dramatically from the levels at the beginning of the decade.

This fall looks likely to continue, with actuaries having recently warned policyholders that further falls are likely in the near future.

In line with this information, Scottish Widows have announced that they will be cutting reversionary bonuses in half to just 1% for the next year at least, and slashing Terminal Bonuses.

To put these figures in perspective, many pensions sold before 1988 included a guaranteed minimum annuity rate in retirement, with amounts ranging from 11.5% p.a. to 12.2% p.a.

This compares with around 5-6% p.a.** currently.

Therefore, someone with a guaranteed annuity dating back to 1988 should receive around twice the amount an investor would get today.

Mike Pomery, a member of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries was noted as saying: “Unitised With-Profit funds which contain underlying interest-rate guarantees could also be affected.”*

It seems his prediction could not be more accurate.

A lot of this helps to explain why, in a time of low interest rates and low inflation, at least two major institutions - Old Mutual International and Royal Skandia International - have taken a different route and decided to offer a ‘protected’ rather than ‘guaranteed’ equity fund.

Taking the decision away from actuaries and back into the markets (with protection) seems to make more sense.

Could it follow, therefore, that the era of the With-Profits fund supremacy has come to an end?

When some - before terminal bonuses but after charges - are not beating cash this is not inconceivable.

We are likely to see the appeal of these types of funds diminish and, as a result, fewer fund managers offering this type of funds for investment.

Moreover, with billion pound compensation claims coming their way from disgruntled clients, they may just prove too costly.

A ‘guaranteed’ downside

On the other hand, another type of ‘guaranteed’ fund has come onto the market recently. These operate in a significantly different manner, and, perhaps even more significantly, so far have been returning very good performance results too.

One such offers investors access to global equities, selected by the fund managers as they see value and opportunity, while at the same time including a downside guarantee.

What this means in practice is not a guarantee of a predetermined return over a set period (such as is offered by banks for cash on term deposit), but a guarantee that if equity markets drop rather than rise, your invested capital cannot lose more than a predetermined percentage.

And this limited-downside percentage is selected by you, and you may adjust it at the end of each trading period (which is three months.)

If you’re jittery about equity markets or naturally risk-averse, you may elect to protect 100% of your capital (which means effectively a guarantee that you will never lose money); but this will of course limit your upside should the markets do well.

You may, on the other hand, feel fairly positive about market conditions and growth potential for the coming quarter, and elect during the next trading period to protect only 95% of your money.

This means that if you guessed wrong and the markets take a sudden and significant dive, you still won’t lose more than 5% of your capital, no matter how far the markets dropped.

On the other hand, if the markets do well and rise by, say, 10% over the trading quarter, you could gain as much as 17.5% (depending on the fund managers’ equity participation - i.e., how much they played the markets and where.)

In effect, this sound like having your cake and eating it too. How is that possible?

In fact, there’s nothing miraculous about it. The answer is leverage gearing.

As this is yet another example of technical jargon that makes perfect sense to the initiated, and none at all to outsiders, let me explain.

Quite simply, the fund managers leverage up your 5% exposure (either by borrowing against the fund’s capital or by using options) and thus effectively ‘magnify’ the market performance and hence your potential return.

Patience is a virtue

The only problem with this type of fund from an investor’s point of view is that, because of the way it trades, it deals only quarterly.

That is to say, you can only buy into it on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July, or 1st October in a given year.

You then have to wait patiently for three months to find out if the fund declares a dividend (if the selected markets rose and the managers guessed their selection correctly), and hence how much money you’ve made - or otherwise...

By contrast, most conventional funds deal on either a daily or weekly basis, so you can buy in (or sell out) any time you like.

But then you’d be exposed to the full force of any market ‘corrections’ (as commentators and fund managers euphemistically call a drop).

Thus if the market dropped by, say, 20%, it would have to rise again by 25% to return you to a zero-loss position.

The ‘safety net’ that a limited-downside fund provides would offset this by automatically resetting the clock at the start of each quarter.

If, for instance, you’d elected to protect 98% of your capital and the market dropped by 10% during that trading quarter, you’d have suffered a loss of only 2%.

Your ‘capital clock’ would then start the next quarter at 98%, not 90% as would have been the case with ‘conventional’ funds.

So if over the next three months the markets rebounded to the same position as before the correction, a conventional fund would have produced zero return during that six month period.

But the fund with a 98% capital guarantee would have returned you quite a nice profit - about 7.8%, overall.

Which most investors will note is considerably more than bank deposits are currently offering!

There is, of course, as in any investment, a certain element of risk.

In this instance, however, your risk is quantified and, as noted earlier, in any case limited to no more than 5% of your capital, depending on what level of guarantee you’ve selected: anywhere between 95%-100%.

So for those who can take a longer-term view, or who are highly risk-averse, such a fund could form a very useful part of your investment strategy.

* Source Money Marketing: 4-June-99

** Source Money Mail: 14-July-99

If you have any comments or queries on this article, or about other topics concerning investment matters, write to Leslie Wright, c/o Family Money, Pattaya Mail, or fax him directly on (038) 232522 or e-mail him at [email protected]. Further details and back articles can be accessed on his firm’s website on www.westminsterthailand.com.

Leslie Wright is Managing Director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd., a firm of independent financial advisors providing advice to expatriate residents of the Eastern Seaboard on personal financial planning and international investments.

The Computer Doctor

by Richard Bunch

From Delia, Cambodia: I normally reside in Thailand and have an account with KSC in Chonburi. My e-mail address is with them i.e. [email protected]. All my friends and business associates know this and so I don’t really want to change. Recently my husband’s job moved him to Cambodia and I visit him regularly for 2-3 weeks at a time. I really need to access my e-mail at KSC, I don’t really know how to do this. My husband has a computer which has Internet provided by a company in Cambodia if that helps!

Computer Doctor replies: This is something I get asked frequently and the good news is that it is possible and the set up is quite painless. Most e-mail accounts use POP3 and SMTP so you can route your request for mail to the correct POP3 server from any ISP, at least that is the theory.

To do this you need to configure the e-mail client on your husband’s computer accordingly. I will go through the procedure for Outlook Express 5, this handles multiple e-mail accounts and ISP’s very well. First start the application, then click Tools/Accounts, from the pop-up box click the Mail tab, then the Add button and Mail. Next enter you real name in the screen, then click next and in the next screen put your e-mail address, i.e. [email protected] then click next. On the next screen ensure the type of mailserver is POP3, enter chonburi.ksc.co.th in both the incoming and outgoing mail servers, click next and in the screen put your account name (without @Chonburi.ksc.co.th) and password, click next and finish. Then highlight the mail account you just created and click the properties tab, enter the reply address for e-mail and I suggest you go to the Advanced tab and increase the server timeout to 2 minutes, this should prevent timeout in the case of a slow connection. Also check that the connection shows either as your husbands ISP or Any Available.

Every time the mail is checked, your mail account will be checked with any others previously set-up. You can of course use any other e-mail client and adopt the instructions accordingly.

From Simon, Pattaya: I have a simple question for you. How can I type a ฃ in a letter when my keyboard doesn’t have a ฃ sign?

Computer Doctor replies: Hold down the Alt key and type 0163 on the numeric keypad.

Send your questions or comments to the Pattaya Mail at 370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, 20260 or Fax to 038 427 596 or E-mail to [email protected].

Successfully Yours: Chanyut Hengtrakul

by Mirin MacCarthy

To get an appointment to see Khun Chanyut Hengtrakul is not easy. Not that Chanyut doesn’t want to give audiences, it is just that he is so busy, with so many different sides to him that you begin to feel he is one man who needs 26 hours every day, just to get through.

Born in Pichit province 45 years ago into a family of eleven, is not the usual background for someone with now as high a profile as he. With his primary schooling in Taphanhin School in Pichit he then moved to Bangkok to complete his secondary education at the Santiraj Bumrung School. From there it was off to university, graduating from the Ramkamhaeng Open University in 1977 with his BA in Economics.

Chanyut Hengtrakul has progressed a long way from when he first left Ramkamhaeng University, but he has not forgotten the importance of education. As well as learning from life’s school of experience, he went back to university in 1996 to do his ‘mini’ MBA at Burapha University. He then followed this up, currently studying at the same institution to complete a Masters Degree in Public Administration.

But back to his leaving Ramkamhaeng with his bright shiny degree in economics - he joined the Thai Farmers Bank but found the wages were an impossibly low 1750 Baht a month. Upon being offered twice the salary in a jewelry shop in Pattaya, and as an added bonus half the traffic and pollution, he decided to relocate.

This has been to Pattaya’s advantage even more than to Chanyut’s. He has been here for twenty years now and not regretted it at all. Three years after his arrival he opened a travel agency called K.N. Travel and with characteristic hard work has not looked back since. He is Managing Director of Sophon Cable TV and Communication. This is not just local, but has branches in Chiang Rai, Ubon Ratchatanee and Chachengsao. He also holds Directorships in the local B.B. Business Company and Sophon Security.

While he has excelled in business life he has also involved himself with politics and local charities. “I want to be able to help society, to be able to make recommendations for improvements and to help poor people with lower education.” Indeed helping society is the most important value to him and has made him a well respected and involved member of our community.

Chanyut is a Member of the Chonburi Council, a position he has been in since 1987. In that time he has also been the President of the Council for two years. He has plans to go into the Senate for Chonburi Province next year. He has in addition been an advisor and assistant to many government officials in different capacities.

But his civic life does not end there. He is a Past President of the Lions International, Past President of the Bowling Society of Pattaya, current advisor to the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, President of the Business Organization of Chonburi, Past President of the local Media Association, an Advisor for the Boy Scouts Association and the list goes on. The ability of this man to spread himself over so many fields is stupendous. It is no small wonder he is so busy.

Despite that, he still managed to find time to marry and raise two fine young boys who are now both studying at university themselves.

Chanyut does have hobbies and enjoys swimming and bowling. He was the Thai Bowling Team manager at the Asian Games in Seoul in 1986 and proudly recalls how they came home triumphantly with one gold and two silver medals.

While he may have been born in Pichit Province, Chanyut is here to stay. Pattaya has been good for him and he is, in return, being good for Pattaya. His plans for the future are all involved in the local area with his cable TV and his entering the Chonburi Senate in March.

Success to him is where he is now. “I think I have been successful considering I came here with zero twenty years ago.” Looking at his extensive C.V. I could only nod in agreement.

His advice to the young business men who would emulate his success is, “Be really interested and have a genuine love for your job and the people. If you are kind to people they are kind to you. And try to work very hard at what you do.”

Hard work is obviously something that Chanyut Hengtrakul has never been afraid of, and continues to do. Our appointment time together was brief, but the impression he gave will be very long lasting.

Snap Shots: Colour my world

by Harry Flashman

While photography is supposed to present an image of reality on film, sometimes the most fun can be had by producing totally unreal images. Not only is it fun, but the end results can sometimes be quite stunning.

Producing “different” or unreal images on film are all part and parcel of the pro shooter’s grab bag of tricks and often requires very expensive and difficult to obtain filters. However, if you want to see just what you can get, you can amaze yourself without purchasing any expensive equipment at all. You can also expect to get all these different effects with any camera - even the disposable “film in a box” cameras will do. Another good thing about this inexpensive exercise is that you can find all the items necessary at the local newsagents or supermarket.

Easy to make, ready to use filters.

Let us begin with the “filters” you are going to need. For our purposes all you need are sections of coloured cellophane paper, around 10 cm square. Get some yellow, orange, red, blue and green for starters. If you can get a light and a dark in each shade, all the better. While you are at it, get some clear as well.

The concept is to take all your photographs through the cellophane, holding the coloured film up against the lens. Done like this, you will have little drop in optical quality or sharpness, but will impart some different moods to otherwise “ordinary” pictures.

One little trick that must be done, with point and shoot compacts in particular, is to make sure that the cellophane covers the light receptors on the front of the camera as well as the lens, otherwise the automatic eye will not produce the correct exposure.

As it is very hard to totally predict the end result be prepared to experiment, but here’s a few pointers - if you colour a shot orange, it will look like a sunset, so this is a great cellophane to use on beaches and seascapes. Colour a scene blue and it appears as a cold wintry moonlit scene. Use a green filtration when taking plants and their green becomes even deeper in hue.

To try something even more radical, put the cellophane over the top half of the lens and you will get wild coloured skies and normal foregrounds. Again, it is a case of try it and see what you get.

Now we come to the clear cellophane and this is good for very odd photographs. What you do is scrunch up the cellophane, then flatten it out again. It now has creases and lines all over it. Using this as a filter you will have produced a soft surreal imagery to your pictures. This is particularly good for taking some very different portraits.

We have not finished yet with your ‘el cheapo’ filters. Try cutting out the centres of the cellophane, around about the size of a 1 Baht coin. Cut as roughly as you like, it really does not matter. The end result is a clear centre-spot filter with coloured edges.

Last exercise with your cellophane is to put a small piece over your flash and snap away with the flash turned on of course! Orange will give any portrait subject a super sun tan, while blue will make the person look dead, green and as if they came from Mars. As Harry Flashman says - you will not really know what you are going to get till you try it. The results could be ghastly, but on the other hand you might just fluke a veritable winner!

One last tip - tell your favourite photo processor that you are experimenting with colours and do not try to correct the shades!

Modern Medicine: Don't worry! Everything will be OK!

by Dr Iain Corness

People often worry what they should do if a loved one is accidentally injured. What steps should they take as part of first aid? What should they do if the sight of blood makes them faint? A rush of blood to the head when there’s a rush of blood on the floor, so to speak.

Well, the first thing to remember is that any injury produces anxiety in the person who has suffered the insult. Anxiety increases blood pressure, and if bleeding is the problem it will make it worse.

So when there is a household accident (and remember that more injuries happen at home than anywhere else) you have an interesting double anxiety making situation. The helper becomes immediately anxious as well as the injured!

So what should you do as a concerned spouse, parent or friend? I do firmly advocate training in First Aid and courses are run by various bodies in Pattaya fairly regularly. It is not necessary to get to “Medallion” standards - what is needed is emergency “life saving” First Aid. No one is going to teach you to be a doctor in six one hour lessons - it takes you a little longer than that to be able to put “Dr.” in front of your name.

The ABC of emergency treatment is just that - Airway, Breathing, Circulation and the principles of this type of treatment are designed to maintain the ABC.

The next item you should do to ensure your readiness to cope with any sudden disaster is to have emergency numbers posted in a prominent place beside the telephone. There is nothing worse than spending ten minutes hunting for telephone numbers in an emergency - ten more minutes that you have to cope with the problem and ten more minutes before your casualty gets to a proper treatment agency. Can you put your finger on your favourite hospital’s emergency number? If not, rectify the situation now!

Another feature in readiness to cope is to know where you have your supplies of crepe bandages. These handy little items can save lives - as long as you know where to find them!

The last item you must learn to cope with is the anxiety. Being injured is a most harrowing experience for anyone and one of the best things you can do for anybody is just to say the words at the top of this article, “Don’t worry. Everything will be OK.” These are the words they want to hear. No matter how disastrous it all looks, reassure them that, “Help is on the way”, “The ambulance will be here very soon” and other comforting words. It makes no difference what you think of the situation at the time, reassurance is an important part of primary care.

So there you have it. Be prepared for emergencies, get yourself some training and learn to be reassuring. It all counts, believe me!

Dear Hillary,

I have found that any time I buy an appliance in this country I do not get an instruction book in English. With everything sealed in a box, I do not know there is no book till I get home. Sometimes there is a Thai book and that’s all. None of the Thai staff in the stores seem to be the slightest bit interested. What can I do?

Sally

Dear Sally

You have my absolute sympathy. It is a nightmare buying appliances and most other expensive items here if you do not speak Thai. There is only one way to approach it. That is with heaps of time and heaps of patience, some clever detective work comparison-shopping and an unfailing smile. First be aware and be prepared it is going to take you six times longer than it did back at home to make a good purchase. Second, if your Thai is limited to little or nonexistent, enlisting the aid of someone bilingual to accompany you is a definite bonus. Third, Thai salespersons are usually always too willing to unwrap cartons and packages to let you examine the contents. Your attitude helps, if you are not in a rush, extremely, teeth-gratingly patient and sickeningly nice, then you can get to see anything you want. Fourth, comparison shop, go to as many different stores as possible, ask friends for recommendations, take notes. No one said it was easy but it is possible to buy what you need here at an affordable price, given time and patience. As for the book - who reads one anyway?

Dear Hillary,

You have probably heard this hundreds of times and may be able to help me in this embarrassing situation. On my last trip to Pattaya I fell in love with a most beautiful girl and against all the advice given by “old hands” I gave her money to set her up in a condominium. She seemed to be just as interested in me and I felt we had the makings of a perfect match. At the first opportunity to return for a quick trip I went to surprise her at work and found out that she was no longer there and what’s more was living with some German chap and had been for some time! Should I ask her to return the money? I feel totally cheated and I think it will be some time before I fall in love again, especially with a Thai girl.

Betrayed

Dear Betrayed,

You said it all yourself, when you guessed I have heard it all before and that you went against the advice of old hands. You have to know, as one friend put it succinctly, “The smiles are wonderful here, but they have teeth in them.” Do not become bitter about it, but understand what you have been told. Thais always see an imbalance of economy between farangs and themselves and no matter how much love and smiles that go on they will always try to alter the money balance. They are just trying to survive in what they see as an unequal situation. If you are aware of this then you can protect both your wallet and your heart. As for asking her to return the money, there is no problem with asking, however it is highly likely that she will reply she will return the money, “Chart na don bye bye”, which translates as, “In the next lifetime, sometime in the afternoon.”

GRAPEVINE

Dining Out: Breakfast with Daina

by Miss Terry Diner

It was pointed out to the Dining Out Team the other day that we had been covering dinners exclusively and there were two other meals every day being ignored. We took this to heart and decided to explore breakfast this week.

The Diana Inn on Pattaya Second Road advertises an “all you can eat” breakfast for 75 Baht. Breakfast is from 7 - 11 a.m. There is also a sign as you come in advising that breakfast is paid by coupon and these are available from the cashier at reception. The sweet young thing said, “How are you?” to which I replied, “I am asleep.” “Did you sleep well?” she said. “I am still asleep” I replied. The Dining Out Team are not morning people, so I hope the Editor understands what a great sacrifice this week’s column entailed.

The atmosphere in the Coffee Shop is actually very homely, tables with Heinz Steak sauce, Maggi Seasoning and a bottle of chilli sauce plus the usual condiments, table cloths, wood panelled walls and open windows all along the Soi Diana side. We chose a window seat and began the slow process of waking up.

Two juices are on offer from the cold drinks dispenser, plus one of milk. There are also plates of sliced cold fruit. We chose the pineapple and went on from there. In hot boxes there is a choice of fried eggs, ham slices, saut้ed potato, bacon and a Kwiteow Lad Na (fried noodle). There is also a full salad bar with appropriate dressings. A small helping of each was self served and we returned to the table.

It was interesting enough just sitting there and watching the 7:30 world go past on the Soi. The “joiners” dressed in the usual black pants and halter tops going home on the back of taxi motor bikes, immaculately dressed school children being ferried to school by mum, often three at a time and the occasional tourist all bright eyed and wondering when the shops would open.

But back to the food. It was well cooked and not at all greasy, as these types of hot box foods can become. By now we were awake and spied the omelette cooker! Lovely young chap in resplendent white chef’s outfit ready for my every whim. On that morning, every whim was an omelette with ham, capsicum and onion. This was cooked in front of me with much ceremony and showmanship and I was rewarded with a beautiful, fluffy omelette. Some toast and marmalade and this was a breakfast to remember.

Almost forgot the coffee. Large dispensers of freshly brewed beverage (and tea for those who want) and wonder of wonders, some liquid milk on the table. How I hate the powdered variety. OK, it’s tinned, but it is still better than powder.

We left, replete and now awake. I smiled at the cashier. “Now awake?” she said. “Yes, and full,” was my reply. At 75 Baht, the Diana Inn breakfast represents excellent value. If you are looking for breakfast we would certainly recommend breakfast with Diana.

Animal Crackers: What’s a Duck Billed Platypus?

by Mirin MacCarthy

When Australians sent the first platypus specimens to England, zoologists thought it was an elaborate hoax. This was a fairly logical reaction to an impossible animal that had a muzzle like a duck’s bill, a tail like a beaver and laid eggs but suckled its young! However, they are very real, if somewhat shy animals that inhabit Eastern Australia.

The platypus is roughly half the size of a household cat. It has a thick covering of waterproof hair over all of its body, apart from on its feet and its bill. The outer hair is dark brown on its back and yellowish on its underside. Under this outer hair, which is long and coarse, there is a fine, dense under-fur which has a similar feel to wool and ranges in colour from grey to dark brown.

The “beaver” tail of the platypus is made up of a fatty tissue that is used to store energy supplies, which the animal can use when there is a shortage of food. The beaver’s tail is flatter, broader and covered in special scales, and it is used to help the animal propel itself through the water. The platypus, on the other hand, only uses its tail only for steering!

The platypus’s body is flat, streamlined, and has short legs. In fact it looks somewhat like a flattened cat. The front feet are webbed, which make the platypus ideally suited for swimming. These webbed feet could be the reason the platypus got its name because the webbed feet look as if it is flat-footed, which is what platypus means.

The platypus has a flexible, duck-like bill, which is soft, flat and rubbery, and is very sensitive to touch. The platypus uses its bill in order to search for food and to find its way around when it is submerged. It has holes in the bill, like a duck, through which it breathes.

Poor old platypus does not have any teeth, so it has to grind its food using grinding pads that can be found on the upper and lower surfaces inside its mouth.

There are two grooves situated on either side of the platypus’s head, just behind the bill. These contain the eyes and the ear openings. When diving, the platypus actually closes both its ears and its eyes so it has to rely on the sensitivity of its bill. However, when on land it has very acute vision.

The platypus does make noises when it is in danger, including a growl that is similar to a puppy’s and another noise like a brooding hen.

These incredibly strange and shy little creatures can still be glimpsed in remote creeks and rivers in Australia. No wonder the British thought they were jokes invented at their expense!

Auto Mania: More SUV’s

by Dr. Iain Corness

The piece on SUV’s last week resulted in my getting a fax from the Economist newspaper in the UK. Headlines of “Global luxury and Sports car sectors set to lose out to Sports Utility growth to 2004, warns Economist Intelligence Unit” greeted me from the Facsimile machine.

According to their pundits the production of SUV’s will expand by 25% to 2004 while dedicated sports cars will shrink by 21%. MPV’s (Multi Purpose Vehicles) are additionally on the way up with an expected increase of 11%. They also predict that the biggest growth will be in the mini car segment with an expected 40% growth by 2004. Interestingly, we highlighted the growth of just this very segment a couple of weeks back, too. What a frightening thought - are the Economist people reading the Pattaya Mail? Oh, the responsibility that rests on these aged shoulders!

F1. The interest has never been higher.

The Formula 1 scene is certainly bright and active this year. After Michael Schumacher’s unfortunate accident many people expected that we would then see a total walkover by McLaren-Mercedes with Hakkinen out front and Coulthard sweeping up the dregs. Nothing has been further from the truth.

With the McLaren crew probably cross-threading a wheel nut in the British GP in July and Hakkinen losing a wheel and scoring no points, it showed that there was a chink in the McLaren armour.

The following event in Austria was not much better with Hakkinen gunned down by “friendly fire” as the war buffs would say. Despite all the apologies from Coulthard, Hakkinen lost another 6 points, while Ireland’s Eddie (the mouth) Irvine in the Ferrari went on to score a maximum and come within two points of Hakkinen.

Two weeks ago, the next round was in Germany and everyone expected the McLarens to dominate on this power circuit. The first surprise was Jordan’s Heinz-Harald Frentzen who almost took pole in qualifying, losing out by 5 hundredths of a second. Certainly Hakkinen did finally claim pole, the 100th pole position for the McLaren team, but by half way through the race it had all turned to dross. Firstly a jammed refuelling hose at the pit stop and then a delaminated rear tyre and a 200 KPH crash meant another zero points for the reigning World Champion.

Meanwhile Ferrari draftee Mika Salo had stunned everyone by out-qualifying Irvine, claiming 2nd position at the start and inheriting the lead when Hakkinen had his long pit stop. Team orders then came into play and Salo relinquished his lead. Eddie Irvine, who had previously got up to 2nd after another brilliant display of fast pit work by the Ferrari crew, was handed another maximum to go 8 points up on Hakkinen.

Now the apparent dominance has gone. The points score sits at Irvine 52, Hakkinen 44, Frentzen 33, Schumacher M 32 and Coulthard 30.

This weekend the travelling circus is in Hungary at the demanding Hungaroring circuit. This 3.9 KM track is tight, winding and hilly. It is a track that requires maximum downforce, so expect full “wing” on the cars. This should not be a track that favours the McLaren’s straightline speed and expect Ferrari and Stewart to figure well in qualifying. Pole will be around 1 min 17 seconds (Schumacher’s fastest race lap last year was 1 min 19) and since passing is difficult, it will be necessary to qualify well. It will be another exciting race with Hakkinen now on the back foot and Eddie with his mouth in top gear!

Where ya gonna watch?

Several places around town are showing the GP’s these days but if you want to view it on a large screen, join me on a ‘ring-side’ seat in Delaney’s. The super large projected screen makes for great viewing and the crowd there are becoming quite vocal barracking for their favourite drivers.

Starting time should be 7.00 p.m., with the annoying Chinaman blethering on from 6.15 till the start. However, it is best to check just in case there is some change in the time. I managed to get the British GP times all wrong and arrived after the Schumacher incident. If it hadn’t been for Michael’s broken fetlock I would have missed half the telecast!

Autotrivia Quiz

Another quiz question last week that got you going all over the place. When did the Daimler company first release the Double-Six? Seemed all very easy and innocuous. The Daimler Double-Six was the V12 engine Daimler version of the V12 XJ series Jaguar - it certainly was, but it was not the FIRST Double-Six released by Daimler. That’s where you went astray, chaps. I did ask for the first one.

For all the students of history, the first Double-Six (and called that, by the way) was released in October 1926 and was the first British 12 cylinder touring car. The V12 was a monstrous 7,136 c.c. developing 150 BHP at 2,480 RPM. Now that’s what they call “under-stressed”!

Now, Phillip McDonald, try and prove me wrong on that one! I can’t help it if the Daimler people used the same model name twice, now can I? It’s like the MG people who used MG-B twice. Once for the 18/100 Mark III Tigress of 1930 and then again in the 1960s, even though Phillip hotly denies this. My old mate is a firm believer in the adage, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up!” Never mind, Phil, better luck next time!

One chap who has become very adept at surfing the net searching for obscure autotrivia is Peter Cabrey in Hawaii. Probably surfs the net at night and the waves during the day, lazy (lucky) sod! Whatever, Peter was first in with the correct answer to the “Whisper” statue question of a couple of weeks back. Well done Hawaii Pete, a virtual beer is on its way.

So to the quiz teaser for this week. Most small Japanese passenger cars these days feature East-West engines and front wheel drive (FWD). An extremely efficient way to package a car design, leaving the “box” behind the go department just for people and luggage. What was the first production car with this E-W & FWD configuration? The first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email [email protected] wins this week’s FREE beer. I want the car and the year. OK?

Fitness Tips: Mental Health

by David Garred,
Club Manager Dusit Resort Sports Club

G’day Pattaya,

Off in a different direction this week. I have received a couple of very interesting email messages from friends over the past couple of weeks on the subject of mental health.

Coping with perfectionism

The first dealing with stress that your average perfectionist puts upon themselves. Being born a perfectionist can cause an individual an incredible amount of unnecessary stress, especially in an environment such as this.

Society on the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand has a surprisingly high percentage of your text book perfectionists, myself included. The following may help to you adjust.

It is perfectly normal to derive satisfaction from performing a task or skill at a high level. This striving to achieve is innate in humans and probably crucial to our long-term survival.

Unhealthy perfectionism occurs when we believe that the social acceptance and approval of others will only be forthcoming if we achieve unrealistically high standards. Perfectionists punish themselves excessively for making mistakes rather than seeing mistakes as an essential process to true learning.

The stress of perfectionism has been linked to higher risk of suicide and depression, especially among high achievers.

Strive to be completely competent by all means but realise that you will occasionally make a mistake and that this is OK. Learn from the error, move on and enjoy your success without the burden of unachievable standards.

Also, try to remember that drawing a line of achievement to a realistic standard will help success in this region. Then ensure that your staff work to achieve the level of perfection and reward them for that.

It goes against the nature of being a perfectionist to be patient but that certainly will help. Also try to educate your staff, that will help you to move up the line of achievement so that you all can reap the rewards.

Laxatives for mental constipation

This next tip is a little more general and should provide a few possible solutions for a lot of you out there.

There is pressure on us to be convergent thinkers in all the societies. In schools, we are taught that there is only one answer to one question. Our parents want us to conform with the norms. In the University, any attempt to be different is positively discouraged. Our workplaces do the same.

No wonder we get so single tracked and tunnel visioned. Because of these pressures, we often get mental constipation when we have to generate ideas to solve complex problems.

The good news is that laxatives for such mental constipation are with all of us. Manage your environment to treat your mental constipation. Soft alpha inducing music in the work environment: select pieces of Baroque music can work wonders. Have as much natural light and fresh air as possible. If your work environment does not provide that, go for short walks - even if they are 5 minute walks - every 2 hours. Stand as much as possible, stretch arms every couple of hours for a couple of minutes.

Laugh as much as possible. Drink a lot of water each day. Have your lunch away from your desk. Sounds simple! I t does but how often do we do that?

If you do not carry baggage of past, live in present, have only positive dreams and create and implement action plans to make these positive dreams come true, you will never have a mental constipation.

Have a good week.

Carpe’ diem

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Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek.