Mail Bag

 

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Objects to alcoholic drink being served in public places

Dear Mayor: Advertising trucks are a nuisance

Laws for laws sake

Recipe found

Why the lasers and blasting loudspeakers?

Time for the whingers

Nice English old hand has died

Objects to alcoholic drink being served in public places

Dear Mailbag,

I fully appreciate the problems of those who experience from up to 500 metres the ill effects from other people smoking and fully understand their irrational hate of even the sight of a glowing cigarette end.

However, as a teetotaller I very strongly object to the serving of alcoholic drink in any public place. If this disgusting habit was stopped I would not go home after a degenerate night out at a go-go bar smelling like a brewery, be accosted by drunken louts or trip over the many beer cans and bottles that litter the streets. The effects of inhaling the intoxicating fumes from others’ booze often sends my head into a spin and I fear for the safety of my liver.

So please, you bar and restaurant owners, as with smoking you will not lose any custom in ceasing this unhealthy trade. And do not have the effrontery to suggest I should not frequent such places that allow things to occur which I do not like as I lack the intelligence to even think in those terms.

By the way, as obesity causes far more deaths than those by unproven second hand smoke I believe there is soon going to be world wide legislation barring anyone a couple of kilograms over weight from appearing in public so that others won’t be encouraged into gluttony, and the sale or consumption of any food with over 12 calories per tonne of cooked weight must be discontinued on pain of disembowelment. So look out for the Obesity Control Inspectors, who will be prowling every soi looking for tea money.

In the meantime the supply of addictive narcotics which cause most of the street crime and ruination of young lives and many early deaths will continue unabated as attempts to stop it are considered to be against freedom of people’s rights.

To repeat an immortal phrase aimed at those with such futile fixations - get a life.

Respectfully yours,
Another Intolerant Thicko


Dear Mayor: Advertising trucks are a nuisance

Editor;

I’d like to address this to the mayor: My home for 8 years is a quiet little soi, which I am very happy in. Until these noisy pick-ups come around daily, advertising I do not know what.

We have all heard about pollution and global warming, but there is also noise pollution, not to mention the diesel fumes.

Today, Thursday the 25th 6 pickups drove by, one after another. It must be something of a record.

Is this the only way to advertise in today’s world? I think not. I imagine it’s cheap, but is anyone listening? I don’t think so.

What it does do is pollute the air, make noise, and cause traffic hold ups.

Matt Anderson
Jomtien


Laws for laws sake

Dear Editor;

I read all the time on how the tourist authorities are trying to fathom out how to attract more tourists to Pattaya.

Obviously the list on how to do this effectively is probably endless; however, there is a law that in my opinion does nothing to promote tourism whatsoever, and that’s one of their silly alcohol laws.

I was having a late afternoon meal at MK when a European family looking exhausted sat down at a table next to mine. The father of the family (after checking the menu) said to his wife, “I’ll tell you what, as I’m so hot I think I’ll start with a nice cool beer.” She replied, “That would be good, I’ll have one as well,” The waitress arrived and started to compute their order when she stopped and said, “Sorry you can’t have a beer, it’s 3 in the afternoon.” The couple (astonished) looked up at the girl and said, “What did you say?” The girl repeated her statement and continued to compute the rest of the order. The father then asked why he could not have his cool beer, to which the girl replied, “It’s the law”.

For 10 minutes father and mother were exchanging words as to why on earth they were not allowed a cool beer on a hot afternoon in a restaurant whilst on their holidays.

This experience clearly got to these people. They were defiantly not smiling in the ‘Land of Smiles’, and I don’t blame them.

At a time when Pattaya needs all the tourists it can get, this petty illogical law does not help the city whatsoever. Will someone at the town hall do anything about this ridiculous law? I don’t think so!

A friend of Pattaya


Recipe found

Editor;

Re “Looking for Dolf Riks’ recipe” by Robert P Splaine of Manchester in your Mailbag dated Vol. XVIII No. 12 Friday March 19 - March 25, 2010.

One need only research in the excellent online archives, available from the same page (http://www.pattayamail.com/archive/) and review the columns around 1998. All of Dolf’s recipes are available in full and you can cut and paste the entire series so you have every original recipe.

Many thanks to Pattaya Mail. ‘You are the best’!
Jimbo Hall (Manchester)
Palm Springs
Soi Country Club
Pattaya


Why the lasers and blasting loudspeakers?

Editor;

Who at Pattaya city hall gave permission for a silly laser show to blast loudspeakers with techno music on Jomtien Beach all through the night? It started Friday evening 26th March before sundown. We were looking forward till midnight when the madness surely would stop. However, it continued full blast till now, 5 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Do Jomtien Beach residents have to suffer again tonight?

Tourist numbers are falling faster than the euro’s exchange rate. Can’t the few remaining tourists at least expect a quiet night’s sleep?

City hall probably won’t read this plea from exhausted Jomtien Beach residents, but if you do, please spend your time and effort on finishing the Thappraya Road disaster and don’t treat us to silly laser shows or to anything at all involving loudspeakers.

Signed,
Jomtien Beach Resident


Time for the whingers

Editor;

From your Mailbag of March 19th, it is apparent that the tourist season is over and now is the time for the whingers and whiners to crawl out again. Inefficient public utilities, stray dogs, motorcyclists, smokers, lack of green-man crossings (only KOTO was missing - thank H); how horrible it is to live in such a hell-hole! Why can’t we base the city on such paradise as is offered in Blackpool, Brighton or Bognor Regis?

The traditional farang sport of telling other people how to live their lives is again in full swing. But why stop there? Perhaps there should be strictly enforced licensing laws such as “No alcohol to be consumed or purchased after 11 p.m. Restaurants and cafes to be strictly controlled and hot food to be obtainable between 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. and from 6 p.m. till 10 p.m. only”?

Perhaps, too, we should look at the pricing system here and adjust it to be on a par with the UK?

Further, the plague of scantily clad and attractive young people of various sexual sub-species should be driven from the scene completely. A formal dress code should be enforced everywhere on everyone, no matter their origin or status, even inside the go-go bars. A quango of cretins should be set up to enforce the most rigid concepts of political correctness as they perceive them to be.

Our biggest potential, of course, is that we could have CCTV cameras every 2 metres to ensure that no-one ever infringed any of the lunatic bye-laws we could dream up. This would eradicate crime at a stroke, as it has in the UK.

The course is clear, we should hand the town over to a bunch of grumpy old farts and spinster aunts, farangs only of course, to legislate and re-create in their own image!

I hope your readers can add to my suggestions - it surely is a bottomless pit to which we should all feel duty-bound to contribute.

Rory H
Na Jomtien


Nice English old hand has died

Editor;

Many people knew old Victor Hadert from Brighton, England. He had been coming to Pattaya for over 20 years. He had stayed in most of the hotels around town and was a talker, chatted to everyone.

Victor Hadert

He was married to a Thai woman and had two kids and was living up country. I went to chat to him on Skype and got his daughter who informed me Vic died after being in hospital for a week.

Vic was a Free Mason and attended many of the meetings at the Royal Cliff. If anyone knows any of Vic’s friends pleases pass on this sad message.

If anybody needs more information please contact his son - Stephen who is over here: [email protected]

May he rest in peace,
Mike the Cartoonist



Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
are also published here.

It is noticed that the letters herein in no way reflect the opinions of the editor or writers for Pattaya Mail, but are unsolicited letters from our readers, expressing their own opinions. No anonymous letters or those without genuine addresses are printed, and, whilst we do not object to the use of a nom de plume, preference will be given to those signed.