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PILC elects new president at general assembly
Elfi Seitz
Roseanne Diamente was elected new president of the Pattaya International
Ladies Club (PILC) at the annual general meeting held at Ocean Marina Yacht
Club on February 6.
 New
PILC President Roseanne Diamente
Roseanne, an American who has been living in Thailand with her husband for
several years, was elected unanimously by the 100 or more members who
attended.
Chairwomen of all the club committees presented annual reviews of their
activities and the treasurer reported a gross income of 4,010,646 baht, from
which overheads and numerous PILC charity donations still had to be
subtracted.
Departing president Gillian Thom conducted the meeting and then announced
the new president. Members presented Gillian and the committee with
beautiful floral arrangements in appreciation for their strong leadership
throughout the year.
Gillian said that although she was saying goodbye as club president, she
would still be playing an active role.
Roseanne introduced her new team and promised in her inaugural address she
would maintain the club’s purpose of helping the underprivileged.
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The new PILC committee
President: Roseanne Diamente. Presidential team:
Marketing and sponsoring, Elaine Poole; Purchasing, Stephanie
Moorhouse; Book and ticket selling, Sylvia Berra; Vice president,
Judy Hoppe; Treasurer, Kavita Lamba and deputy treasurer Anne Marie
Robertson; Secretary, Judy Clausen; Tours and travels, Nonie
Malhotra; Newsletter editor, Sam Wilson with her team consisting of
Gillian Thom, Katie Neve, Elaine Poole, Judy Clausen, Mimi Mitchell;
Membership, Janice Cotterell and her team consisting of Paula
McDonald, Jacinta Chamberlain; Charity, Ingrid Cunliffe and her team
consisting of Mari Parino, Nancy Bradburn, Kathleen Petras, Elaine
Poole, Erin Castle, Fiona Brown, Roseanne Diamente; Hospitality,
Stephanie Moorhouse and her team consisting of Sam Wilson, Sylvia
Berra, Jane Stanley, Patricia Foulstone; Special Activities, still
looking for ladies. Peggy Wragge is responsible for selling the used
books. |
DSU hears about the joys
of flying high and low
DSU, the German-speaking business
club, enjoyed a fun-filled meeting on February 3 at Dusit Resort.
Peter Nordhues
This year’s first meeting of the DSU, the German-speaking business club, was
held on February 3 at Dusit Resort, with chairwoman Elfi Seitz introducing two
guest speakers, Walter Zeitvogel and Hans Funk, who have an interest in two very
different forms of flying.
Funk’s Ballonreisen is a company established by Hans Funk in 1989 and located in
Wolfwill, Switzerland. Even in his holidays the balloon traveler can’t let go of
his job, for he likes to take his own balloon wherever he goes. His talk was
illustrated with slides showing shots of competitions, adventure trips, and
commercially sponsored balloon creations. Funk said that the balloon, first
demonstrated more than 200 years ago by the Montgolfièr brothers, was the oldest
form of flying and is still popular today.
Pattaya, Funk noted with regret, is not very suitable for ballooning because
there are not that many landing opportunities. The biggest problem is in having
an area large enough to come down safely without the possibility of tearing the
balloon envelope on trees or buildings. “You don’t want your 40,000 euro balloon
to get torn to pieces,” he said. “In Europe it’s possible to land at least on
wheat fields, but not so in Thailand.”
Walter Zeitvogel, the second speaker, is an enthusiast for another type of
flying, and is marketing manager of an ultra-light aircraft company. He recently
appeared on German television talking about the gyrocopter, an aircraft that was
first developed in 1923 but that has only recently become a viable form of
flight. Like a helicopter, the gyrocopter has a rotary wing. However, it’s not
an engine but the air stream that makes the gyrocopter’s rotors circulate.
“Gyrocopters are a mixture of a motorcycle and a helicopter,” Zeitvogel
explained. “To develop the rotors, engineers copied the natural principle of the
maple tree seed that travels far and lands gently due to the rotation. The
gyrocopter will not crash even if the motor dies.” Thai authorities have
categorized it as a helicopter, and in the Kingdom private individuals may not
fly helicopters.
PCEC meeting filled with useful information
A busy programme was presented at the Pattaya City Expats
Club (PCEC) meeting on Sunday February 4th at Henry J. Bean’s.
 Clayton
Wade announces the seminar in Jomtien, ‘Is The Boom Over’.
The morning got underway with the week’s MC Roger Fox welcoming back Clayton
Wade, who announced the seminar on February 9th in Jomtien, ‘Is The Boom
Over’, which examined and analysed the current Pattaya real estate market.
Clayton informed the PCEC that a number of leading Thai real estate
professionals contributed to the seminar.
PCEC Chairman Andre Machielsen then made two announcements. The first was
that there was to be a special meeting for expats and residents in the
Pattaya area with Pracha Taerat, Governor of Chonburi Province, on Tuesday,
February 13th at the Grand Hall of the Garden Seaview Resort, Naklua. The
governor was schedule to talk on the subject, ‘A Vision of Cooperation of
Pattaya City and Business’, followed by a cocktail party. The governor
talked about bringing the government and business into closer cooperation to
improve the important elements of life for residents and tourists in
Pattaya. At this meeting he discussed the actions he has taken to date, and
what more needs to be done.
The second announcement was concerned with the PCEC trip to Chantaburi
February 15 - 17. The detailed itinerary was provided which followed a
similar pattern to the recent successful trip to Kanchanaburi.
Drew Noyes announced that the Pattaya Carnival would be taking place on May
4-6 and PCEC members were invited to participate.
Thor Halland then made a welcome return as the main speaker. Prompted by a
recent unfortunate incident, the subject of Thor’s talk was ‘The Psychopath
Next Door - Protecting Yourself in Pattaya’.
Thor’s talk was concerned with identifying and knowing just how dangerous
they can be. Dr David B. Adams had originally identified Antisocial
Behaviour Disorder (ASBD) as a condition which psychopaths were born with,
whereas sociopaths acquired it through experience.
Dr Robert Hare, an authority on ASBD has produced a 20 point checklist for
identifying psychopathic behaviour. If 5 of the conditions were identified
then ASBD could be said to be present. It is believed that 4% of the general
population is affected by ASBD.
Thor then suggested that psychopathic behaviour was common in Pattaya for
the following reasons: the need for sexual fulfillment, local tolerance of
lying, anonymity, many possible victims of fraud and difficulty of
prosecution.
The regular Open Forum was then underway, led by Gary Brown, and this proved
to be the usual lively and entertaining session. For more information
regarding not only PCEC Sunday meetings but also the varied mid week
activities, please see the Community Happenings section of Pattaya Mail
or, for more details, visit the Club’s website at pattayacityexpatsclub.com
Gallery Opium displays work of two Belgian artists
Peter Nordhues
With the exhibition Abstract Distractions, Gallery Opium carries on its
tradition of displaying works from young artists.
The vernissage was held on January 27, with paintings from Paul de Blieck
and photographs from Juliette de Salle, both Belgian nationals.
 Alan
Kirkland-Roath (center) with Paul de Blieck (left) and Juliette de Salle at
the art exhibition opening.
Gallery manager Linda Lyen welcomed guests before Barry Kenyon, British
honorary consul in Pattaya, officially opened the event.
“Pattaya is changing. More and more it is turning into a city that hosts
some fine art exhibitions,” he said. “Alan Kirkland-Roath has contributed a
lot to the gallery.”
Paul de Blieck came to Asia in 1987, and now stays in Thailand for much of
the time. He taught himself how to paint. Some of his works were on display
at last year’s group exhibition Pictures at an Exhibition.
De Blieck improvises with shapes and colors. To achieve his goals he simply
lets his imagination soar. The fascination is to find the deeper meaning of
his paintings, showing a true fulmination of colors.
For Juliette de Salle, this is her first exhibition in Thailand. She is
academically skilled in architecture, painting, drawing, and design. Her
photographs were displayed at three expositions in her home country, and in
2004 and 2005 her artworks were nominated for the Hamesse Prize.
De Salle’s pictures impress art lovers with serenity, a masterful incidence
of light and aesthetical compositions. Most of her subjects she finds at her
home. She captures the enchantment of the “everyday items” that oftentimes
hide from the beholder’s eyes.
Alan Kirkland-Roath presented a memento to Basil Taylor, Wichai Tananusorn
and Les Read as a gesture of appreciation for their deep commitment to the
Pattaya art scene last year.
The exhibition will end on February 17. Call Gallery Opium at 038 303 040 or
visit www.galleryopium.com
American Consular Section coming to Pattaya
The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok
is pleased to inform all American citizens in Pattaya of an upcoming
consular visit on Friday, February 23 at the Dusit Resort on Beach Road,
8:00 am till 12:00 noon. Staff from the American Citizen Services (ACS) Unit
will be available to provide the following consular services:
- Passport renewal applications (US$67.00 or 2,546 baht for adult passports,
and US$82 or 3,116 baht for a child’s passport)
- Notarial Services and Certified Copies (US$30.00 or 1,140 baht)
- Absentee ballot application and voting abroad information
- Social security, VA or other federal benefits question
Note: Unfortunately, due to a recent upgrade to the ACS systems, we will no
longer be able to complete processing of extra visa pages during our
outreach trips. We can accept applications, but the passports will have to
be brought back to the embassy so the processing can be completed the next
day. The passports will then have to be picked up in person (or by a friend
upon presentation of a letter of authorization signed by the applicant).
Additionally, Consular Reports of Birth can not be processed during consular
outreach trips.
We ask that you bring correct change and that you provide a copy of your
passport’s photo page if you wish to renew your passport or ad visa pages.
If you have any questions, please e-mail: [email protected] or call the
American Citizen Services Unit at: 02-205-4049.
Mercy Center announces
Capital Campaign launch
The charitable organization, Mercy Center, is holding a
luncheon on Monday, February 26, 2007 to announce the launch of a year-long
Capital Campaign to raise 15 million baht. The funds raised will be used to
purchase a permanent home for the children and projects of the Mercy Center.
The luncheon will be held at the Mercy Center, located at 7/11 Moo 11 Niong
Yai Soi 8, Sukhumvit. If you would like to attend the luncheon, or find out
more about the Mercy Center and how you can help, please email
[email protected] or go the website at www. mercypattaya.org.
The Mercy Center was founded in 2000 by Fred and Dianne Doell and is an
authorized charity project of the Thailand registered Goodwill Foundation.
The Center strives to help provide educational, moral, social, and spiritual
training for Pattaya’s most destitute residents and to bring hope to those
in need.
Center projects include providing shelter for children at risk; providing
scholarships for children needing educational support; and single parent
support for women with children at risk. In addition, the Center also
provides food and staples to residents of the city’s chum chon (slum) areas,
and to the incarcerated.
“In January 2006 we were extremely fortunate to find a property that is
perfect to carry on the work of Mercy,” said international directors and
founders, Fred and Dianne Doell. “This new facility provides a large home
for the more than 20 children we presently care for, plus it has room for
many more to come.”
The property also contains a large factory building that is being renovated
to house the many other projects that operate under the umbrella of the
Center, added Ms. Doell. “We have the opportunity to purchase this property
and we are calling on all the friends of Mercy through the Capital campaign
to help us make this dream a reality.”
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