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Fair aims to raise funds for mosque construction
Suchada Tupchai
Pattaya’s Muslim community staged a fair named Being
Faithful and Kind Day on April 2 as part of the fund raising activities to
construct a new building for the Darul-Ibada mosque.
 Chief
organizer Faruk Wongborisut presents a report on the activities
Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn was host for the event,
held at the mosque, and amongst the many well known faces attending were
Deputy Governor of Chonburi Province Somsak Yonokphan, Banglamung District
Chief Worawit Saisupatphol, Chonburi Member of Parliament Chanyuth
Hengtrakul, and a host of Muslim leaders and supporters.
Chief organizer Faruk Wongborisut said it was necessary
to raise money for the construction and maintenance of a new mosque
building, as the existing one had last been repaired in 1965 and was in a
state of decay. Members of the community were afraid that the structure
could become dangerous, he said.
 Mayor
Niran Wattanasartsathorn presents an honorary certificate to Raewat
Phonlook-In, vice president of the provincial executive branch.
The intention is to repair the mosque and expand the
building to two floors. This will require a budget of 15 million baht.
Pattaya City has already lent support with 2 million baht and other
organizations such as the Chonburi Province Executive and the Muslim Mass
Medium Association have also contributed.
Faruk said that Pattaya City is a well-known
international tourist destination, with overseas visitors including many
Muslims who like to attend the Darul-Ibada mosque. Maintaining the
mosque’s beauty and safety is important in this respect too, he said.
Muslim
leaders participated in this activity.
A talk was given during the event entitled “Progressive creation in
Muslim society”, and presentation of certificates was held for supporters
of the activities. A football team award was presented, supporting sport
being one activity of the Pattaya Muslim community. Winners were the LK
Snooker A team, who received an honorary trophy from Chonburi sports
president Wittaya Khunplome, plus 6,000 baht.
Tai Chi
by Ian Frame
When I pulled back the curtains in my hotel room I was faced
with a group of elderly Chinese slowly swaying in the park opposite. They were
practicing Tai Chi, it was the late 1970’s, and I was in Hong Kong. I watched
fascinated from the window until the thought of the complimentary buffet
breakfast pulled me away. But in my mind I stored away that image of those
Chinese exercising.
 Ten
years later while working in Brunei I had an opportunity to join a Tai Chi club.
And for the next fourteen years, twice a week, I regularly attended Tai Chi
practice.
The theory of Tai Chi is concerned with the flow of vital
energy, or Chi, through the body, and it aims to bring balance to body, mind and
spirit. This is achieved through specially designed movements, natural deep
breathing, and a calm state of mind.
The flow of Chi through the body is also encountered in
traditional Chinese medicine, where techniques such as acupuncture and
acupressure are used to re-establish the Chi balance. The Chi passes through the
body via invisible pathways called Meridians. Traditional Chinese medicine
identifies twenty of these pathways along which the Chi may flow to all parts of
the body.
The eight main meridians are those which pass through the
five pairs of vital organs. These are the lung and large intestine; the stomach
and spleen/pancreas; the heart and small intestine; the bladder and kidneys; the
gall bladder and liver. Twelve secondary meridians feed Chi to extremities such
as ears, arms, feet, etc. You are all probably familiar with the Chi flow charts
displayed by traditional Chinese medical practitioners the world over.
Tai Chi is often represented by the circular black and white
Yin/Yang symbol - where the black is Yin and the white is Yang. This symbol also
symbolises the duality experienced in nature, e.g. day gives way to night,
summer to winter, good luck to bad luck, etc. In performing Tai Chi there is a
harmonising of opposites. In softness there is firmness, in yielding there is
strength. Each of the extremes contains the seeds of its opposite - hence the
black dot in the white sector of the symbol and the black dot in the white
sector.
There are five major styles of Tai Chi, namely Chen, Yang,
Wu, Ng/Wu and Sun. These all trace their lineage through Cheng San-feng, a
master at the Shaolin monastery in the early 14th century. The most common of
these styles today is the Yang style which was popularised by Cheng Man-Ch’ํng
in the 20th century.
The best known Tai Chi exercise is the Short Form. This
comprises of 24 steps, and it takes about 10 minutes to perform. The steps have
wonderfully poetic names such as “White Crane Spreads Wings” and “Golden
Rooster Stands on One Leg”.
When performing Tai Chi, one must move slowly and smoothly
from one position to the next. This is not as easy as it may appear to the
uninitiated observer. There are many positions to memorise and moving between
them slowly is much more difficult than moving fast. Also, many parts of the
body are moving at the same time but in different directions. Weight transfer
and breathing must also be considered. Many of the senior citizens that one sees
practicing Tai Chi in parks have been performing these same exercises regularly
for many years. However, do not think that Tai Chi is just for the elderly, in
fact the earlier you start the easier it is to learn.
Tai Chi can be practiced almost anywhere, and it is not
necessary to purchase special clothes or equipment. However, it takes time and
perseverance to master the positions. Since most of the exercises are performed
with bent knees, initially the backs of the legs ache, and the muscles may even
start twitching involuntarily. I noted that although many Westerners signed up
for our Tai Chi classes, few stayed long enough to complete the beginner’s
course. Our modern lifestyle has made us eager to experience new things. We
nibble at many of these but seldom make the effort to fully experience any.
One cannot learn Tai Chi from a book or from a video. I found
that my instructors would only demonstrate one position per session. These
positions would be practiced repeatedly until performed correctly. One of the
drawbacks of group learning is that everyone has a different learning rate;
hence the group tends to move at the pace of the slowest. This situation can be
discouraging if you happen, like me, to be the slowest student in your group.
However, I noted that those who were the slowest learners were usually those who
stuck it out and became regular Tai Chiers. It should be noted that if one does
not practice regularly the steps are soon forgotten.
Many martial arts halls, or dojos, have wall mirrors so that
students can correct their stances and postures. The student may feel fluid and
graceful within him/her self - only to have this feeling dashed by a sideways
glance in the mirror.
In some ways Asians tend to be better suited to Tai Chi than
Westerners - beer bellies and stiff limbs do not make for graceful movement.
Nevertheless, these things should not discourage would be participants.
I have jotted down ten reasons below for taking up Tai Chi:
1) Improves physical fitness
2) Reduces stress
3) Improves the mind as well as body
4) Is graceful (when performed correctly)
5) Has cultural roots
6) Is a martial art which can be used for defence
7) Does not require costly sports equipment
8) Can be performed anywhere
9) Can be practiced by any age group
10) Makes you feel good
People often ask what benefits I get from Tai Chi. Usually
they have seen some Chinese martial arts movie where the Tai Chi master performs
Superman like feats. Well, even after fourteen years, sparks still do not fly
from my finger tips, but it has kept me reasonably fit & healthy, and I
admit to getting great satisfaction from being able to perform some of the
exercises. I also experience a tingling at my fingertips when performing certain
exercises which I am assured is a sign of the Chi flowing.
Could this be the exercise regime that you have been seeking?
You may be at an age when you no longer play football, cricket or squash, and
you just cannot work up the enthusiasm to jog regularly. If you have the
opportunity to join a Tai Chi class I encourage you to take it.
Bruno’s Gala Dinner gives gigantic boost to 2005 PGF fundraising
Allan Sherratt
This year’s first PGF Gala Dinner was held as usual at
Bruno’s Restaurant on Wednesday March 30. With 110 guests sitting down it
meant 33,000 baht in the kitty to start with. Donations were received during the
evening, including Pattaya Properties’ Bruno Pringel giving 10,000, and a very
generous donation from Chad Kenny and First of 10,000 USD, translating into
378,000 baht. A misplaced cheque previously given at the street party by Der
Farang Services was replaced, adding to the donations. Fredi, on behalf of
Bruno’s, made a 10,000 baht donation.
 Dr.
Philippe with Chad and First (donators of the 10,000 USD).
The lucky draw benefited from a very generous donation of a
Louis V-style gold plated French water jug valued at 2,200 euros from Jean
Jacques.
By the end of a very pleasant evening the lucky draw and
further reselling of prizes raised the total to over 600,000 baht. This gives
the PGF a good basis from which to make their pledged 200,000 baht per month
contribution to the life-saving work of Dr. Philippe and HEARTT2000 with the
HIV/AIDS patients here in Pattaya.
An excellent evening and splendid result, thanks once again to the generosity
of the diners, the pleasant ambiance and service of Bruno’s and the persuasive
talents of Jim to get people to part with their money!
Jennifer Mackenzie “We Are All Healers”
The Pattaya City Expats Club was pleased to have as their special guest on
Easter Sunday Jennifer Mackenzie. She is a member of the British Spiritualist
Association and has been a healer for some 20 years. She makes regular speaking
engagements and holds workshops in America and various European countries and
has recently added Jordan to her future regular speaking engagements.
The theme of her talk was “Awareness – open your mind to
the other side”. Obviously aware that there were skeptics in the crowd she
focused on the Universal Power, the energies that are at work in all of us and
the ability of the individual to “be” in meditation.
 Jennifer
and her son Thor at the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting on Easter Sunday.
Her introductory remarks centered on the belief that we are
all healers. By showing love towards someone experiencing a problem you are
helping to heal them. Caring people are healers in their own way. She cited a
very basic example of a child falling, hurting its knee and the immediate
response of anyone being to rub it better. A hands-on healing process!
By the title of her talk she wished everyone to accept that
the energy is out there and we should open up to it and act as a kind of aerial
for the spiritual energy to come through. The energy changes everyone; the one
accepting it and the one to whom it is passed.
Ms. Mackenzie made mention of not “performing” during the
talk, not going into a trance state or making herself open to messages for
individuals and that she would hold a workshop during the week at a smaller
venue to which people would be invited. This was primarily because Henry J.
Bean’s is large, the number of people in attendance large and not all were in
tune with the topic.
The purpose of her talk she said was simply to make people
aware of what spiritual healing is all about, not necessarily to seek converts
but to give information.
Ms. Mackenzie answered many specific and general questions
before the Pattaya City Expats Club thanked her for giving of part of her
holiday time to address the group.
The Pattaya City Expats Club meets every Sunday at Henry J. Bean’s and is
open for everyone to attend. For further information go to www.
pattayacityexpatsclub.com
PSC hands over B195,000 for YWCA Happy Family project
Pattaya Sports Club (PSC) donated over 195,000 baht to the YWCA
Bangkok-Pattaya branch in a fund-raising drive for the YWCA’s Happy Family
project.
Gerry
Carpenter, PSC president and Bernie Tuppin, PSC charity chairman present a
cheque for 195,000 baht in support of the YWCA’s Happy Family project to YWCA
committee members.
YWCA acting president Nittaya Patimasongkroh accepted the
funds from Gerry Carpenter, PSC president, and Bernie Tuppin, PSC charity
chairman. The money will be put towards supporting scholarships for
underprivileged children in the Pattaya and Banglamung areas.
Elfi Seitz
(centre), Pattaya Blatt executive editor representing the German speaking
community handed over a cheque for 50,000 baht to the YWCA.
The local German community donated a further 50,000 baht
towards the project. These funds came from a German family, Mr. & Mrs.
Hans-Joachim and Edelgard Besdow, who for the past 12 years have spent 6 months
a year in Pattaya. The couple collected 25,000 baht from guests and friends at
their favorite restaurant in Germany, Jagdhuette in Hennef, then added 25,000
baht of their own money. Elfi Seitz, Pattaya Blatt executive editor,
representing the Germans, handed over the cheque to the YWCA members.
The YWCA’s Happy Family project covers scholarship funding and provides
lunches to schools in the area where needed.
Apples and pears sparkle at the Red Lion
Suchada Tupchai
The Red Lion Pub & Restaurant celebrated its first two
months in business by staging a Blackthorn Cider party, the cider being supplied
by importer and distributor Apple Honey Co Ltd. To complement this apple-based
drink, Apple Honey also laid on a plentiful supply of Babycham, a sparkling
drink made from pears, and which is currently undergoing a revival in its home
base of Britain.
Highlight of
the evening: Blackthorn Cider and Babycham
Landlord Adrian Russell raised a glass of both to his wife
Au, who was celebrating her birthday on this day.
 Selina
Lovett, managing director of Apple Honey Co., and Adrian Russell, Red Lion
landlord.
Located on Soi Khao Noi, the Red Lion serves English and Thai
food, and has plenty of space for parties such as this event, which drew an
appreciative and thirsty crowd.
Selina Lovett, managing director of Apple Honey Co, said that the company is
expanding the Blackthorn Cider and Babycham markets in Pattaya, Phuket and Koh
Chang. Drinkers are enjoying the tastings and giving the products a warm
welcome, she said.
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