Staff Reporter
The town was abuzz with excitement last month when the Royal London
Circus came to town. The word was that it was the first circus that had
come to Thailand after an absence of almost 25 years.
Ringmaster and clown Anatoly Gurov and the pretty
dancers welcome children from the Ban Klod School.
Of course most of the
children here have never ever seen such a show and would not have had
the chance to get the thrill of being inside the ‘Big Top’ had it not
been for the generosity of a handful of organizations that either
individually or collectively pooled their resources to make it possible
for these kids to have the thrill of a lifetime.
Popcorn
and Pepsi go well with watching the exciting acts.
Associations such as the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya, Rotary Club of
Plutaluang, the Jesters Care for Kids and many other organizations have
done wonders by inviting underprivileged children to see this
extraordinary show.
Throughout the whole
period that the circus was in town, more than 4500 children from the
schools in Pattaya, Laem Chabang and Sattahip have seen the show, thanks
to these organizations.
Last Saturday and Sunday, which were the last days of the circus
performance, the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya sponsored children from
the Banglamung Boys Home, Karunyawet Home for the Disabled and the
Nongprue School whilst the Rotary Club of Plutaluang brought over 1000
children from the Singsamut, Plutaluang and Ban Klod schools in Sattahip
to watch the circus.
And
here’s one for the big boys: a farewell dance by a beautiful circus
dancer.
Before the show began, Sumon Jaikid, charter president of the Rotary
Club of Plutaluang and Ronakit Ekasingh, Pattaya deputy mayor jointly
presented a bouquet of flowers each to Paul B. Lee, owner of the Royal
London Circus, and Peter Malhotra, MD of the Pattaya Mail in
appreciation of their generosity in sponsoring and providing this
wonderful gift to the children.
In showing her
appreciation, Sumon said, “By giving the children from the various
schools in Chonburi Province this priceless opportunity to see the Royal
London Circus, it has brought them not only immense pleasure but also
indispensable knowledge and understanding that the circus is not only a
form of entertainment, but circus life also taught them about the
harmony and understanding between man and animals. I sincerely thank the
Royal London Circus and the Pattaya Mail for their generosity and caring
towards our children.”
Kids clap, close their
eyes, cringe, hold their breaths, cry and laugh as they watch the
different feats of courage and fun at the circus.
Kristie Koo and Paul Lee
receive flowers from Ronakit Ekasingh and Sumon Jaikid as Peter Malhotra
(right) looks on.
Circus owner Paul Lee and
his daughter Kristie welcome children from the Banglamung Boys Home.
Stage Director Abdou
Gomari has his photograph taken with the kids.
City officials, members of
the Rotary Clubs, and school children thank the Royal London Circus and
Pattaya Mail for their kind sponsorships.
Students and teachers of
the Singsamut School in Sattahip enjoyed the circus tremendously.
A Rotarian
Last Christmas, in keeping with tradition, all roads led to Premprecha
Dibbayawan’s house located just around the corner from the Mabprachan
reservoir, for the popular Christmas party thrown by this well loved and
respected lawyer, businessman and kind hearted Rotarian philanthropist.
Pa Prem’s parties are usually just a simple affair where the Dibbayawan
household gets together and cooks up a storm. And what a blizzard of food
and drinks it was.
Friends came from far and wide to bring good cheer for health and fortune to
Prem, his wife Supanee and their siblings. Rotarians from neighbouring
townships came in droves for the festivities at the home of their beloved
past district governor.
Entertainment was rather unique as there were three little girls singing and
dancing like no adult could have ever done. On questioning Prem whether
these kids were his grandchildren that we didn’t know about, he smiled and
said, “This is a real funny story. I was on Koh Chang on a business trip,
where I happened to be at a private function and saw these girls singing and
dancing. I thought to myself, these kids would be just great for my
Christmas party and asked them where they were from. Lo and behold I was
pleasantly surprise to learn that they live in the same soi (small road) as
me and not only that, just 3 houses away ... So I invited them to our
party.”
We spoke to the children to enquire as to where they learned to sing and
dance like that, to which they said that they just loved to perform and
practiced at home all the time.
Being good Rotarians we passed the hat around and collected a respectable
sum of money to present to their mother, and asked her to save it for the
children’s education.
The adults took over the microphone later in the evening singing Christmas
Carols and karaoke’d away until there was no one left to listen to them.
So that is the way it always is at Prem’s. We enjoy ourselves thoroughly,
but we never forget that there is always someone somewhere that needs our
help and we’re ever ready to lend a hand.
Rotary District Governor Jin
Srikasikorn conveys his best wishes to the gathering.
Tis the season to be jolly.
Supanee keeps a close watch on
her girls at the barbeque.
The bright Christmas stars of
the future.
Little Santas without their
paunches and beards.
The girls’ extraordinary
singing talents amaze the elders.
Premprecha thanks the guests
for coming to his home and especially the little ones with their mother for
supplying the entertainment.
With this kind of singing, no
wonder everyone left.
Friends and Rotarians from far
and wide enjoy the yuletide.
