Keithambrose

Japanese entertainment never ceases to amaze me. That never happened when I was taken to karaoke evenings in Japan! I doubt they would have a sexy page boy, or similar, to assist!

'Stone in the water' announcement?

My next visit is 3 nights Pattaya, 6 days Bangkok, 6 nights Siem Reap, then 4 days Bangkok, so different venues to break up the time. On the business class issue. I have a 12 hour flight, and I am lucky enough to be able to fly business class. As you get older, I am 70, I reckon it saves you a couple of days of exhaustion. My flight takes off at 10pm, meal, drink, sleep 7 hours, arrive BKK 3pm, hotel, shower, ready for night out!

On their website there is a pretty clear video example of the masseur fondling the balls of an almost naked guy, who is inadequately covered by a thin towel. You can see he has a raging hard on!

Now in the final!

Indeed. For example it never ceases to amaze me the huge amount of very hard core porn, available to all, on Twitter, including children. Most people have Twitter on their phone.

Handbags at dawn again!

Er, irony!

I lived on the south coast of the UK, when a child, and then I would be sent to buy fresh fish from the fisherman on the beach. After a storm, you could often pick up lobsters thrown up on the beach. At least I knew that they were not pink! All gone now, overfishing, etc.

Amazing!

Sorry to hear that. I have never had problems. Last year when I went through Toronto, everything seemed to be done by machine!

Yes, newspaper was very normal. Brings back memories. I think when the papers went to oil based ink, which comes off on your hands, it was stopped!

Even if they had accepted the jurisdiction of the Court, China will not accept any decision they do not like!

Yes, interesting. Having done some more research, I see some commentators think the fried fish predated the Sephardic Jews, and even refer to a 5th century Roman recipe by Apicius! The idea of eating it cold on Shabat, is clearly a Jewish staple. I have had another traditional Jewish dish, Gefilte fish, which I can't say I much care for!

Especially as I live in Hertfordshire, UK!

It's a small world!

As an aside, I was interested, as a lawyer, to find that Groningen University, one of the biggest education in Holland, teaches law in English. Also fees used to be eur1,000.

I am getting fish and chips tonight to take to my disabled mother in law. Both the shops where she lives are run by Chinese, but fish is OK! What part of Jewisk cuisine contributes to F&C? I am part of a Jewish family who have never eaten that dish, as far as I know! I gather that game and pigeons were not rationed, during thevwar, but not sure they are so popular, though pigeon is rather nice!

Good point about the disrespect.

Yes, I have eaten all over the USA, though not much in the Mid West, and while I have had some good meals, nothing really stands out. My friends in Oakland had a cousin who ran a restaurant called the Bay Wolf. That was good and reliable. Inevitably, he retired. I have been taken out to some fancy restaurants in NY, but nothing stucks in the memory. Funnily enough I remember a bar/restaurant on the waterfront in San Francisco, pier 3 or so, called Sinbad. Clients would go there at 6pm, and their drink would be on the bar before they got there. Those were the days when you had 3 or 4 drinks before dinner! One of the clients died of a heart attack! Still great atmosphere, until it was closed down, health and rental issues! Food was terrible! Once I was in Beaumont Texas, not recommended for a holiday, and I was taken out by a surveyor, a witness in a legal case. We went to the Beaumont Country Club, which had a view of 3 oil refineries! For an aperitif, the surveyor took us to a wet tee-shirt bar! Girls, unfortunately!

Gilbey's in Windsor is quite good. Not too far from the Fat Duck, best meal I ever had!

Very long platforms!

Rickmansworth/Amersham.

Indeed. The firm I mentioned, Tilleke & Gibbi s has many foreign lawyers, some of whom are Partners, but would not be members of the Thai bar. They do mostly corporate work.

I would agree, but things have now changed dramatically. Very good restaurants of all types. However, there is still an issue. The average Brit doesn't really care what they eat. Hence, I live outside London in a fairly affluent area, green belt, country nearby, etc. There are hardly any 'good' restaurants nearby, and none in my town. Plenty of second or third class Italian, Thai, Chinese etc. There is one Michelin star restaurant 5 miles away, very good, but pricey, and one or two good, but not outstanding gastropubs. One gastropub, which I patronised for years, changed management, and went downhill. I complained, no interest shown. However I remember my first visit to New York, 1976, being taken out by a friend. He said 'you can have any cuisine you like here, but not American'! That turned out to be my first Japanese meal! The first of many. One more story. In Florida we asked a jeweller where there was a good restaurant. He said that we had a disadvantage, being English, in that we had a palate!