|
Holidaymaker ends up as entertainer
The crowds at the Captain’s Corner and the Jomtien
Boathouse, entertainment stages for our local Elvis Presley, were thrilled
last week when one of the guests stepped in at short notice to cover for
Elvis, who was hit with the worst disease possible for any resurrected Elvis
- a sore throat!
 The
crowds at the Captain’s Corner were thrilled last week when Joann stepped
in at short notice to cover for Elvis.
One couple who had taken seats for the Elvis show had
come from Holland, and after some encouragement from her husband, Joann took
the stage and belted out numbers for the next hour!
Ib and Kannikar Ottesen, the owners of the restaurants,
were quite taken aback by the expertise of their holidaying guests, and
asked Joann if she would like to do some more. Joann was actually a seasoned
trouper, having been a nightclub singer in Amsterdam some years ago, and
obviously reveled in being back on stage!
Being the true professional that she is, the next day she
was out buying a black shimmery stage outfit, and was soon letting rip with
some Tina Turner and Cher numbers, amongst others, to a most enthusiastic
and appreciative audience.
Even when Elvis had recovered (resurrected heroes never die again), he
asked Joann to open the show for him at the Captain’s Corner, making this
a very ‘different’ holiday for the couple from Amsterdam.
Friedrich Naumann Foundation appoints new director and celebrates 30 years in Thailand
Elfi Seitz
Dr Hubertus von Welck has taken over as director of the
Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Bangkok, allowing Uwe Johannen, who worked for
the foundation for several years, to enjoy his retirement.
This was one of the reasons chairwoman of the Friedrich
Naumann Stiftung, former German minister of urban planning, housing and
construction, Dr Irmgard Schwaetzer, made her first visit to Thailand. The other
reason was the Thai arm of the foundation’s 30th anniversary.
(From left)
Dr Hubertus von Welck, Dr Irmgard Schwaetzer, Sukhumbhand Paribatra, and Uwe
Johannen.
Many high-ranking politicians attended the cocktail party
held in the ballroom of the Royal Orchid Sheraton in Bangkok. Amongst the
distinguished guests were German Ambassador Andreas von Stechow, Democrat Member
of Parliament Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Philippines secretary of education
Florencio B Abad, and secretary general of CALD (Council of Asian Liberals and
Democrats) Bi-khim Hsiao.
Sukhumbhand took to the stage to praise outgoing director Uwe
Johannen. “After CALD was founded, Uwe Johannen was of great help to us,” he
said. “This was during a time that was challenging for liberals and democrats.
Uwe’s vision, hard work, friendship and generosity with his time and thoughts
greatly contributed to our work.”
Dr Schwaetzer said that the first director of the foundation
was Klaus Bettenhausen, who is now living with his Thai wife in Chiang Mai. The
former minister spoke about the targets of the foundation, which is established
in 85 countries worldwide. “Our objectives are to foster freedom, democracy,
the rule of law, human rights, market economy, pluralism in an open civil
society, equality of chance, checks and balances, good governance,
accountability, transparency and genuine political participation of responsible
citizens,” she said.
She praised outgoing director Uwe Johannen for his hard work
in Asia since 1997, especially the five years he has spent in Thailand. She also
welcomed incoming director Dr von Welck. Before he came to Thailand, Dr von
Welck was the director of different projects of the foundation in Zimbabwe and
for seven years the regional director for South Asia in New Delhi, in charge of
foundations from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka and from Bangladesh to Pakistan.
Uwe Johannen gave thanks to everyone who had supported him
through the years in Thailand. He said that this farewell is definitely not
forever, since he always will come back to Thailand for vacations.
Dr von Welck was the final speechmaker. He praised Johannen for the excellent
work he did in Bangkok “which makes it easy for me to take over.” Then he
described his former work to the audience before he expressed his hope for a
fruitful and cooperative time with colleagues, partners and the host country.
More shows planned for Larn Pho Park
The
five-month, 14-show Pattaya Musical event wrapped up on June 25, but more
musical events are planned.
Narisa Nitikarn
The five-month, 14-show Pattaya Musical event wrapped up on
June 25 with a final performance at Larn Pho Public Park presided over by Mayor
Niran Wattanasartsathorn.
The mayor said the purpose of the event was to publicize the
park as a multi-purpose public recreational facility. The new fiscal year
includes a budget for more such activities, he said, the park being especially
suitable for music and other live performance events.
Mayor Niran added that an interest in music can help Pattaya’s young people
develop their own musical skills, rather than becoming bored and getting
involved with drugs. The Pattaya Musical event had begun on February 12.
Charity Club of Pattaya turns 1
Christina and Malcolm Boden’s baby, the Charity Club of
Pattaya celebrated its first birthday on July 1. To mark the occasion, friends
and supporters joined them for an informal dinner at the Mata Hari Restaurant.
The relaxed dinner saw a number of familiar and new faces in the community with
everyone engaging in topical conversation between courses.
“We weren’t going to do anything but those who’ve
helped us on the way said we should,” said Christina.
Malcolm and
Christina (seated center left and right) with friends and supporters of the
Pattaya Charity Club at the club’s 1st birthday dinner last Friday evening.
In the past year the club has raised 562,241 baht through a
variety of activities. All of the funds have been distributed via goods,
donations and services to four charities in the region, including the Wat Pong
School, the Camillian Social Center, Redemptorist School for the Deaf, the
Pattaya Street Kids Center and the Free Mason’s re-building project for
tsunami affected communities.
“We are very conscious of where the money goes and if
someone specifies where they want their donation to be placed, it goes there,”
said Christina, who showed records of every baht received over the past year.
During the fun-filled evening, Malcolm handed over funds to
David Garred for the Mason’s tsunami re-building project.
 Malcolm
hands over funds to David Garred for the Mason’s tsunami re-building project.
The club is looking forward to next year and the next main
event, the Charity Dinner and Grand Prize Draw being held on October 1 at the
Dusit Resort Pattaya. Ticket prices will be 1,600 baht. This will cover live
entertainment, a free bar and a Thai and international buffet. All the money
raised will be split between 3 charities.
Christina and Malcolm were also proud to announce that the
club’s second platinum sponsor has just come on board. Terry Schofield at
North Shore Real Estate in Jomtien has been a staunch supporter of the Charity
Club since it started and will be supporting the Charity Gala Dinner on October
1.
Between now and then, they are also hosting a silent auction
for an autographed original Manchester United jersey. The jersey is signed by
the current fourteen Man U players and is certified.
Anyone wanting information on the dinner can contact Christina, email charity
[email protected]
Rotary Club of Taksin Pattaya welcomes new board members
Outgoing Sergeant-At-Arms Eric
Larbouillat hands over his ‘badge of office’ to incoming Sergeant-At-Arms
John Botting, watched over by the new president, Stephan Heynert.
John Botting
On Thursday June 30, the Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya had a
special end of Rotary Year meal at their regular meeting place, the Woodlands
Hotel and Resort Naklua.
This was to mark the end of the year and the official
changeover of roles for members of the board.
Rotarians and their guests enjoyed a 6 course meal with wine
during the meeting. After the delicious meal, outgoing board members welcomed in
their replacements for the year ahead.
Dr Lim – An alternative view of medicine
The guest speaker at a recent meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club was Dr.
Homer Lim, a Filipino doctor at present working at Baan Sabaijai in Soi Norway
off Thappraya Road.
Dr. Lim’s main topic was to be an explanation of the
thinking behind the title Alternative Medicine. He began with a surprising
statistic that in America in 1997, 629 million people sought alternative
medicinal procedures as against 386 million choosing primary care physicians. In
terms of spending in that same year, 34.4 billion US$ were spent on alternative
medicine, 9.1 billion on hospitalization and 29.3 billion on US physicians.
There are no subsequent figures available.
 Dr.
Homer Lim
The main thrust of Dr. Lim’s talk was to show the
inter-relation of the three areas of a person’s make-up: the physical,
emotional and spiritual. The holistic method attempts to treat all three,
whereas traditional medicine sometimes treats just the purely physical.
Dr. Lim emphasized that to achieve a healthy and productive
life one has to look carefully at nutrition, detoxification, exercise and mind
and body integration.
He also stressed that a person’s metabolic rate is affected
by diet and activity and one should be aware of one’s calorific intake and to
eat more fish, less red meat, more fruit and vegetables. One comment that will
no doubt remain in people’s minds is that we should “think like a
Neanderthal!”
Detoxification is now more necessary than ever because of the
environmental and internal toxins that affect the body. The major organs
involved are the liver, gastro-intestinal tract, skin, lymphatic system and the
kidneys. Ways of making sure that detoxification can take place are to eat
healthy foods, nutrients, exercise, colon cleansing, sauna, body scrubs, massage
and body wraps.
Counteracting the idea that exercise is a chore, Dr Lim spoke
about exercise inducing natural highs from the endorphins; that there is no need
for heavy and expensive equipment; that walking for 20 minutes twice a week is a
good start. Hippocrates said centuries ago, “Walking is a man’s best
exercise.”
Dr. Lim spoke both knowledgeably and in such a relaxed manner
that everyone was impressed with his presentation and direct way of speaking. It
is hoped that he will be available on a future occasion to bring us up-to-date
with latest developments.
An extended Q and A session followed, in which members spoke about the
Prognos medical diagnosis, which had developed as a combination of 5,000 years
of Chinese wisdom in acupuncture and the latest breakthroughs in the field of
medicine resulting from space technology – in this case to monitor the Russian
Cosmonaughts.
The Charity Club of Pattaya receive its second Platinum Sponsor
The Charity Club of Pattaya has received its second platinum sponsor from
Terry Schofield at North Shore Real Estate situated in Jomtien.
Terry has been a staunch supporter of the Charity Club since
it started 1 year ago.
Terry and his team of workers will also be supporting the
charity gala dinner, grand prize draw and auction which will be held at the
Dusit Resort Pattaya on Saturday October 1, 2005.
Ticket prices will be 1,600 baht. This will cover live
entertainment, a free bar and a Thai and international buffet. ALL the money
raised will be split between 3 charities.
For more information contact Christina on 095454185, Malcolm
097441040, or email charityclubofpattaya @yahoo.com
|
