PeterRS

Ha! That's rich coming from a тот, кто говорит ложь.

Love the analogy. Can almost hear their roars here in Bangkok.

Those in the non-gay world call the LGBTQ community all manner of slurs and homophobic rhetoric, often writing letters of complaint. What do you consider were the worst? In 2023 and 2025 the BBC showed a dating gay show titled I Kissed A Boy featuring exclusively gay men. Although achieving mostly positive reviews, some viewers were mighily pissed off. One, John Chapman, wrote this - "Homosexuality is an unfortunate affliction which years ago was not tolerated & its practitioners persecuted. In this more enlightened era it is tolerated by most of society . . I find their proclivities abhorrent but if consenting adults with to do unspeakable things to each other in private that is their affair. However I take extreme exception when they flaunt their persuasion in public, especially when they try to promote it among the young. I object in particular to gay pride & lgbgt marches and pageants such as this, of which the BBC should be ashamed." That remark was made almost exactly 25 years after British TV showed the first episode of the landmark gay TV series Queer As Folk. In 2019 The Guardian rated Queer As Folk #13 in its list of "The Top Fifty TV Series of All Time."

I know we have had pages of information about prostate cancer over the last 3 years, the latest covering Joe Biden's cancer. Now tennis great Bjorn Borg has announced he has an advanced stage of the disease having already had an operation in 2024. And yet again it makes me wonder how is it that men over a certain age succumb to such a common disease For those who do not remember, in the 1970s Borg was then the youngest Grand Slam champion when aged 18 he won the French Open (Michael Chang later won it aged 17). The world of tennis quickly became gripped by the young Swede. With his long flowing fair hair and impossibly good looks, he was a rock star and teen idol rolled into one. "Borgmania" was the name of the game! In all he won 11 Grand Slam touranments by the time he was 26. Will today's two young greats Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner reach that number by that age, I wonder? I expect one will as records are there to be broken. But for Borg the ever-present stress, sacrifice and travel had taken their toll. He took three months off and then tried to return to the circuit. But for him the magic had gone. In the days when tennis players did not have teams of fitness trainers, agents and sports psychologists around them, Borg found himself totally alone. With no warning he quite suddenly gave that whole world up at that age of 26. In his new book Heartbeats: A Memoir, he relates all he could think of was how miserable his life had become. The joy had gone. He recounts how his own world then descended in a dreadful spiral. For several decades he quite literally disappeared to the extent he and his near impossible feats on the tennis court were amost forgotten. He cut all his ties with the tennis world, found a new group of friends when he moved to New York, Los Angeles and then Milan and as a result discovered a life full of cocaine, pills, booze and two near fatal overdoses. Embarrassed at his new self, he had avoided returning to Wimbledon, the scene of arguably his greatest triumph when he won the title in five consecutive years. After therapies to get rid of his addictions, he did finally return to Wimbledon for the 2000 Parade of Champions. As the former champions were introduced, Borg received the loudest ovation. He now returns amost every year. The book leaves nothing out. Following his 2024 operation for prostate cancer, the doctors informed him he had "sleeping cancer cells" which remained in his body. Like most who have been on such a roller-coaster in his life, he is now at peace and happy with his third wife, children and grandchildren. He has six-monthly prostate checks and remains in remission. Why the Memoir now? "The decisions I took in my life were stupid, so I wanted to tell that story." His wife asked him "What d’you want to put in it?" and I said, "Everything". At the end of the very long Guardian article, the writer confirms "It is a painful read". https://www.theguardian.com/sport/ng-interactive/2025/sep/18/bjorn-borg-tennis-quit-sporting-superstar

There is a general saying that all publicity is good publicity. I think, though, that this refers more or less to the here and now. Writing something that bad actors will return to in later uears is never a good idea if you have a desie to achieve something and what you write may come back to haunt you - badly!

I hate crows, that's for sure, the more so when they deprive me of 90 minutes sleep each day! But given all my decades of travels to see some of the world's greatest natural wonders, I can't really agree with your generality.

As a lover of many operettas which are generally light-hearted and end happily, may i suggest a more appropriate analogy is the "theatre of the absurd"!

Let's be perfectly clear what you wrote. I quote verbatim above. You have consistently lied about the situation in Ukraine and elsewhere. Now you lie about what is permitted and what is not permitted on this Board. To refresh your errant memory, the decription of what the Beer Bar exists for is - "Open to general topics not covered elsewhere including Current Events, Politics, Religion, Movies and other topics." You mention the forum's scope and imply again that politics is not covered. Wrong! Now will you tell us once and for all that you have lied? Or once again will you wiggle out of the truth and admit you made it all up (almost certainly in this case) or you came up with some Putin prescribed fiction like many of your other posts?

It seems there are more Chinese sites like the ones I have mentioned. But last night, in one of them for a time all five boys were naked (nothing much to see, unfortunately!) and two boys did a well-choreographed naked show with light sticks. It was the sort of show that used to be quite common in the bars in Bangkok a few decades ago. I am still confused over who they are performing for since there is clearly some sort of audience reaction.

I note you have still not responded! Where are the forum rule here that you quoted? It doesn't exist! And for that matter, you have also not replied to the quesion why on your sawatdee site you claim that it is "the most popular gay forum on Thailand and South East Asia." That is complete nonsense but you continue to use it. Why? Why lie? And why state "most popular?" As of 11:30 am today in Thailand, that site has had all of four posts in total today. Yesterday there was a total of 8. I am sure the dozen or so regular posters enjoy their contributions, which is great. And it is great that the site exists when there have been times when it looked like it might not be able to continue. So @Moses should be thanked for ensuring it continues. But the truth is the truth, and @Moses I regret to say is quite a stranger to that word judging by many of his posts here.

Yes, the loser in the last election has published her memoir, not something expected of a recently badly defeated Presidential pick. But it does hold some nuggets. She never wanted Tim Walz as her VP apparently, and was incensed when he "fumbled" a crucial answer in the VP TV debate. She actually wanted Pete Buttigieg! To have an openly gay VP would have been great for the gay community but would it have garnered any more votes? I wish i could be positive about it, but I suspect the MAGA jerks would have had a field day and it would have been a hindrance. As she herself eventually acknowledges - “He would have been an ideal partner – if I were a straight white man. But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk. “And I think Pete also knew that – to our mutual sadness.” Not surprisingly, in the book 107 Days she moans on about Biden and his decision to seek re-election as being "recklesness". Why defeated candidates feel they have to open their hearts beats me. If she runs again, every word in that book will be scrutinised by the MAGA crowd - and that means it will do her more harm than good. Silly woman!

Solution found! These spikes stop the crows getting anywhere near the railing. They are smaller than they look in the pic. Not expensive and you can get them from Lazada.

I reckon colloquialisms and idioms are the most difficult for foreigners to understand. Decades ago when I had my first Japanese boyfriend and was visiting Tokyo every month, I got to know many of his Japanese friends. One evening, four of us were enjoying dinner and having a great time when I happened to ask, "Where shall we go after?" I suggested a disco as "I wanted to let my hair down." The young friend sitting next to me worked for a French bank but spoke very good English. After a slight pause he said, "Yes, I'm also thinking of growing my hair longer!"

Great stories! I thought the second sounded rather like when a person emits a particularly malodorous fart in a crowd of people. The offender then quickly looks around as if to check and work out who it might have been. "You see, it can't have been me!"

Now they have turned on the French President. They claim that his wife is a man. Considerably older than her husband, she taught at future President Macron's school. If I were the French, I'd tell that ultra right-wing bag of tricks to check their own First Lady first! But Macron has decided to send scientific evidence to a US court. How ridiculously stupid can people get?

The Philippines has always suffered from typhoons. I suspect well over 50% of those which originate in the Pacific hit the islands: some just a fleeting glance; many with devastating force and consequences for the people, especially those living in what most of us would describe as abject poverty. As soon as Ferdinand Marcos became President in 1965, corruption has been ever-present in The Philippines. The country is still controlled by a small number of fabulously wealthy families, much of that wealth accumulated over the decades as a result of corruption. In this century alone, no less than three Presidents have been jailed for corruption and misuse of pubic funds. One President was jailed for life, the immensely popular movie star Joseph Estrada. His successor was arrested twice. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was herself the daughter of a former President. Like Shinawatra in Thailand, she escaped jail by spending a considerable time in hospital allegedly with a life threatening illness. The (often assumed to be corrupt) Supreme Court finally acquitted her. One of her actions thereafter was to grant clemency to Estrada! Now another hugely popular figure prior to his election, as the immediate past President Rodrigo Duterte has not only been charged with offences within the country, he is the first to have been referred to the International Criminal Court. Has anything really changed? Now Marcos' son Bongbong is President and Duterte's daughter is Vice-President. Seemingy nothing! But the weather might! This year the monsoon rains have been particularly heavy. Finally gossip about previous efforts at controlling flooding is spreading everywhere. As one resident Crissa Tolentino states in a BBC article, "I feel betrayed. I work hard, I don't spend too much and taxes are deducted from my salary every month. Then I learn that billions in our taxes are being enjoyed by corrupt politicians." FInally peope are asking why the billiions and billions of Pesos allocated to flood relief have come to virtually nothing. 'Ghost' projects that never materialise. To counter public anger, Bongbong Marcos paid a highly embarrassing visit to a flood control dam paid for by public funds. Only the dam his officials wanted him to see does not exist! There is nothig there! His Economic Planning Minister later admitted that corruption claimed 70% of the funds allocated to flood control. A huge anti-corruption protest is already planned for Sunday, 21 September - the anniversary of the day in 1972 when then leader Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law. His son, who is now president - Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr - is well aware of how far public anger can go. It was anti-corruption protests that drove his father from power in 1986, ending a decades-long dictatorship that embezzled billions from the state. WiIl this rally achieve anything? Well, in 1986 People Power finally drove the murdering kleptomaniac President Marcos into exile. Perhaps something will come of it - eventually. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czrp7xkd2gpo

I know nothing about Scottish water although I drink tap water when I'm there. As for the downsizing of his investment, I cannot agree with you at all, and I believe that that is an opinion with a very large majority. He never intended to build anything like that infrastructure. The climate in that part of Scotland could not fill anything like the number of hotel rooms and villa aparments. I know he resorted to very much underhand tactics to get some local residents to move who refused to do so. That was their right. I believe you would need a mini-Disneyland-type venuture to achive occupancy levels Trump promised. Look at other hotels in that area and how small they are.

20 years ago when Trump had decided he would build a links golf course north of the Scottish city of Aberdeen, he was going to do it come hell or high water. He promised the authorities US$1 bilion in investment that would include not only the course but a 450 room hotel 850 holiday villa apartments, 36 golf villas and 500 hundred houses for sale. Many hundreds of new jobs would be created. Alhough the local council threw out the appication on the grounds of potential environmental damage, Trump persuaded many politicians to overturn that decision given the economic benefits the course would bring. Apart from the hotel, none of the other investments materialised. In the latest set of accounts, the book value of the investments is US$45 million and there are just 81 employees. The courses (a second one was later added) have never shown a profit. But to the stink of corruption around the acquisition is now added the stink of sewage emanating from the site. The site has its own treatment plant for sewage before it is released back into the ground. Documents released by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and an investigative journalist group show that contamination levels have breached regulations 14 times since 2019 including 4 times last year. "The agency categorised eight of the 14 incidents as “upper tier”, which it describes as “extreme events which have the potential to cause immediate and serious environmental harm” and can trigger enforcement action." Trump's comment? Well, who would have guessed? For a man who sues at every turn - Silence! https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-68069245 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/17/trump-golf-course-in-scotland-accused-of-breaching-sewage-limits

Probably too young anyway!

Just for interest I have noticed that in the last couple of months there has been a mini invasion of young Chinese groups on Stripchat.There are several featuring five young slim guys - too slim probably for most readers liking - who play childish little games and seem to chat with members of that site using microphones. Lots of asses to be seen but not much else unless I suppose you are a member and pay for private shows. Each guy has a number at the top of the page. There is also a duo who are slightly older, taller, equally slim but who have much more engaging personalities. It seems to me they have to be performers somewhere since they react very easily to each other and the camera, but no idea where. They certainly get hundreds of credits from members whenever I have seen them. I have the impression that the larger groups could come from the very few KTV bars dotted around Shanghai and perhaps other major cities where boys are frequently nude. On the other hand, I do not know if the visuals are from mainland China or Taiwan. I feel certain the performers are from the mainland, yet traditional Chinese is used in the captions.

I note among your wealth of trivia responding to others that you have not replied to my question. What forum rules?

He was one of the greats, part of a generation of American movie stars whom everyone knew and whose movies include some of the best-known. Can we ever forget Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid or The Sting? At a time when Trump is dragging US politics back into the gutter, we surely remember how Robert Redford inspired us along with Dustin Hoffman in the movie version of the classic Bernstein and Woodward's All The President's Men which showed how Nixon disgracefully also corrupted the system. Later in his career Redford spent more time as a director. His movies were perhaps less well known, although like All The President's Men, Quiz Show with the great British actor Paul Scofield illustarted how such popular American TV shows were rigged. Robert Redord: 1936 - 2025.

Many thanks

Since getting my first digital camera, I have taken many thousands of photos of all the places I have visited. I did not join any social media and so I just selected a few pics each time and sent them to family and a very few friends i knew would be interested. Emails though last a few weeks before being forgotten. So in 2018 I used one of the on-line pubishing sites and put together a hardback album of photographs from 35 cities, countries and continents along with a few descriptions and what I particularly liked about them. I had only 20 printed and sent these out as gifts. They seem to have proved of much greater interest to the recipients. About half the time I visit those who received them, the books are sitting on the coffee table!

@iendo - love to know where you found that ad. The advertiser should be outed.