HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Re: Charity evening at Jomtien

Free the veggie

Pattaya needs a municipal park

Allow me to respond

The highest appreciation is the one vocalized

Re: Charity evening at Jomtien

Dear Editor;
Thank you, Brian Longdon-Smith, for your kind comments regarding the charity evening at Jomtien. As managing director of Yorkies, I, along with my husband Norman, was one of the organizers of the evening, which was put together to celebrate Yorkies 10th anniversary here in Thailand. We could not have done this without the help and assistance of our close friends, and fellow musician Tom Coghlan, and his lovely wife Noi, from CSP Construction Co. Ltd. Nor could we have done it without the rest of our band ‘Harmony’. Thank you guys, you were brilliant.
We also have to thank our entertainers, Bruce Quinby for his hypnotic performance, and Mike Gerrard for his wit. It was hard work, but a pleasure to see so many people turn out for the occasion, especially, as you say, when it was not the best time to organize a charity event given the present economic climate. Unfortunately, as it was a 10th year anniversary, we couldn’t really arrange it for any other time. The other problem was, the evening clashed with the Pattaya music festival, which we didn’t know about until it was too late.
We did have a great night, however, and it was enjoyed by many, many people, more than we had hoped for. Guests who had bought advanced tickets arrived with friends asking to pay at the door, which in turn caused chaos trying to seat everyone. This was eventually done, as we were not about to turn anyone away, and the evening was a huge success.
A pair of boxing gloves signed by Sir Henry Cooper, OBE, raised 40,000 baht in the auction, whilst a rather splendid oil painting which was donated by artist himself, Robert Hagan, brought in 100,000 baht. We had a special raffle to win a Yamaha Fino motor bike, which was given back to us by the winner who asked that we sell it to raise more funds. Thank you Ivan, for your kindness. We made 33,000 baht profit on the sale of the tickets, and a further 35,000 baht when we offered it for sale on the local radio station. 77,000 baht in total was made on the bike.
The whole evening made 316,000 baht towards our nursery school building in Yasothon. Even the teachers from the school made a special trip by bus from Yasothon to join us, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Money is still coming in, and although it will be another week or two before we have the final total of our fundraising, we are confident that we will be able to start the school building within the next few months.
Thank you to everyone who donated money, or items for the raffle and auction, and thank you too, to all our guests who attended and made the evening a success. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We look forward to the next one.
Warmest Thanks to all,
Eileen M. Denning
Managing Director
Yorkies Pork Platter Co. Ltd

Free the veggie

Dear Editor,
Being an avid fan of the recent fascinating correspondence in Pattaya Mail relating to the consumption (or otherwise) of fried chicken, I find the energy to rouse myself to outrage over what I believe to be an abomination that has been overlooked for far too long: the plight of vegetables. Yes, that’s right, vegetables, and the disgraceful way in which they are treated by so many of us supposedly civilized people.
One only has to walk around any of our Pattaya supermarkets to behold a repugnant moral stain on all of our humanity. If you have the stomach for it, go to the vegetable aisles…
I personally have seen potatoes, potatoes that have been ripped from their homes many miles away, trussed up in tiny mesh bags with no room to even blink their little multiple eyes; cauliflowers, with their fluffy little heads smothered in cruel cling-film, openly displayed for people to laugh at, prod, poke and then carelessly throw into a shopping trolley while their broccoli cousins look on, green with envy in the certain knowledge that their own fate will be to rot in the vegetable drawer of a domestic refrigerator, cold, alone and neglected.
Witness the piles of chillies, onions and carrots, huddled together under harsh unforgiving lights, constantly subjected to loud muzak and ear-splitting announcements of special offers, thrown onto scales, weighed, bagged and priced with absolutely no regard for their rights.
And we allow and condone this? Shame on us all. Shame.
This is disgraceful. I demand that something be done. And your readers can help.
I beg and implore you all to have nothing to do with the maltreatment of our little green friends. Forget that ratatouille that you were going to prepare for dinner and instead, why not just go for a bumper bargain bucket of KFC? It’s cheap, easy and convenient - and no vegetables are harmed in its production! Baked potato? No, just pop into your local multi-national burger store and have a real meal (but hold the salad!). It’s easy! And you can be assured that you are doing something to help - no matter how seemingly insignificant, if enough people join me then we CAN make a difference!
For those that can bear the sight - watch an innocent potato being peeled alive, dismembered and then literally deep-fried to provide so-called ‘French Fries’ at www. poorspud.org. Abominable and sick, yes - but this is the truth behind your ‘chips’. Not so tasty now, eh?
Remember, please. When out and about in Pattaya, please think of supporting ‘Vegetables And Green Ingredients - Not Animals!”
I remain, as always, your humble correspondent.
Harry Flanagan.
In my Pattaya condo.
Eating a chicken.

Pattaya needs a municipal park

Editor;
I envision a greater Pattaya with a municipal park that concentrates many needed buildings and governmental offices in one area. There should be room the P.O, the tax office T.A.T, immigration, the police station, and city hall. All of this can be had with the exercise of eminent domain in some area near the city center (with adequate compensation of course).
Immigration has now moved from a miserable Soi 8 to an even more miserable area in the boondocks; an inaccessible T.A.T has moved to a mountain side in the great Buddha area, the tax office is embedded in a condo parking lot on S.P. Road, the P.O. was last seen on Soi P.O, the police station is situated fairly well, but the present location is inadequate for 800 more traffic cops and the nucleus of all this business, the city hall is way out there on North Road.
We must also be thinking of a desperately needed concert hall and a senior citizens center for all those poor souls who deserve a place to eat, socialize, play cards, watch movies, and exercise.
The people of Pattaya will be extremely grateful for such a complex.
R.S.S.

Allow me to respond

Dear Editor:
Please allow me to respond to Dick Turpin’s outrageous letter (March 27) point by point.
Point number l: Michael Nightingale and I are not the same person. But since we’re friends who often agree with each other we frequently make the same points.
Point number 2: Neither Michael nor I suggested that cigarettes are food. We were just responding to Turpin’s argument that if one can argue milk isn’t so bad because people have drank it for years and survived then why not say cigarettes are not so bad because people have smoked them for years and survived.
Point number 3: Turpin gives no specific documentation in his claim that vegetarians are more likely to get colon cancer than meat eaters. On the other hand the American Journal of Gastroenterology reported that white South Africans are 17 times more likely to get colon cancer than black South Africans because they consume more animal fat and animal protein. And the World Cancer Research Fund, which has reviewed thousands of studies on the relationship between diet and cancer, found that when people migrated from countries where people consume small amounts of meat to countries where people consume lots of meat their rates of colon cancer would go up tremendously.
Point 4: Turpin wants to know who told me milk is “species specific”. My sources include Dr T. Colin Campbell of “The China Study” fame, Dr Neal Barnard, president of Physicians for Responsible Medicine, Suzanne Havala of the American Dietetic Association and just about every other nutritional expert I can think of. In fact there is not another species in the history of the world which needs to drink the milk of other species.
While most meat-eaters are ignorant on the subject of vegan nutrition, few of them wear their ignorance on their sleeves the way Mr. Turpin does.
Eric Bahrt

The highest appreciation is the one vocalized

Dear Editor;
I wanted to write this letter before I head back home to Switzerland. It is a letter of praise and acknowledgment for Peter Malhotra. Many of us know this dedicated celebrity from meetings, reports on his dedication for the public and from his publishing. If he earns money from that, it gives reason to be happy, not jealous. Who would, in theses times, remember the Good Samaritan, if he had not had the money to help?
What this man has been doing for Pattaya and its people can simply be described as ‘great.’ It deserves public acknowledgment. He seems to love Pattaya a lot. Well, love is the only thing that grows, if treated unthrifty. ‘Whose bread I eat is whose song I sing’ is a phrase that doesn’t count for me. I find it easy to write words of praise, as I am only a guest to this country, totally independent and without any expectations. I just want to motivate this man to continue with his good ideas and social commitments. If capable people don’t help, who will?!
In my view, Peter Malhotra is a spell binder, proficient in many languages. May the phrase ‘Every language a life’ bestow a long life upon him! Thanks to his charisma, eloquence and congenial radiation, his messages are perceived quickly and convincingly. On appearances at public authorities and institutions, he spreads safeness, goodwill and trust among listeners. This man is an optimistic realist with a precise understanding of ideality and reality! He tells himself: ‘The only thing lost is the one given up on.’ And may I add: ‘It’s not what we are, that dignifies us, but the way we are.’ May many people get infected with the sound optimism of this man of action, for if one dreams, it remains a dream; but if two dream the same dream, it begins to become reality. The best of luck in our lives are the tiny shafts of sunlight that lead us the way every day.
Here’s a headline that I find would be typical for any of his newspapers: ‘Important announcement to all readers - Life happens here and now!’ But I am sure Mr. Malhotra is quite aware of the fact that Pattaya has its shady sides as well. As Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Elias Canetti had aptly put it: ‘It is not possible to live in a nice city permanently, as it will take ones longing.’
Felici Curschellas

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