Rogie

Was that the enormous black guy with a shaved head apart from a strip in the middle? I never watched whatever programme he starred in but saw his pic many times. Or, maybe you're referring to a poster on this message board?

I hadn't come across that statistic before. (I changed it to eighty to zap that pesky smiley!)

We had a thread on Pattaya's 'best' Italian. Any more contenders for Bangkok? What are your favourites?

Fountainhall's recommendations are always reliable. I don't know this restaurant, but Suanphlu is one of my favourite roads in Bangkok. There's good optician on this road I've been to a couple of times, staffed by a guy who knows his stuff, not dolly birds! And M.R. Kukrit's House is somewhere in the locality - he was prime minister in the mid 70's - well worth a visit if you haven't been before.

As this topic's now been installed in the Beer Bar, its rightful home, how about a few things that might be found in such: martini manhattan singaporesling methusalah jeroboam bourbonontherocks whiskyandsoda chardonnay pinotnoir slipperynipple alabamaslammer longislandicetea barsacandsauternes fizzylemonade twopintsoflagerandapacketofcrisps

I agree - until we know a bit more it's very perplexing. One thing worth mentioning, just in case anybody reading this is currently visiting Thailand on a visa or 15 or 30 day entry - memorise the expiry date stamped in your passport. DO NOT OVERSTAY! BUT IF YOU DO MAKE SURE YOU ARE PREPARED TO PAY THE FINE! Quite frankly, it is ludicrous to refuse to pay. Unfortunately some people don't realise the repercusions when you rub immigration officials up the worng way.

Maybe it should be renamed The Vodkatonic Bar

When I was much younger, I often used to say of my favourite grandmother that she was succulent. I always think if her whenever I see that word.

Giddyup, I see it's America's favorite, so that can be the yardstick against which I shall strive. My recipe uses buttermilk, fine cornmeal or polenta, plain flour, baking powder, milk, eggs, butter, and salt. I suspect Jiffy will prove a better breed than any I can s(n)ort.

I just checked my bread machine book and cornbread's there under 'cake recipes'. I don't have all the ingredients so it'll be a while before I can have a go. The beer-cheese bread recipe Michael posted some while ago sounded good. There's a recipe for 'boozy cake' that uses stout (dark malty beer) but it's more like a fruit cake.

Thanks-be-to-God for the return to sanity. Now we know the 'orse has found its mummy - in the icy depths of Tesco - hope it can return to the foal.

I feel guilty of unseating this thread - it seems I thought I was under starter's orders and clearly was a trifle skittish. Firecat doesn't like threads being derailed - I confess I may be on the rails, which is a serious handicap, but I promise to make a serious attempt to re-join the chase, albeit my hoofing it may see me turfed out. Ah yes, where were we? By the way, what's Las Vegas and Rio got to do with all this? As for cornbread, that doesn't sound like something you can cook in a P/C. Can you make it in a bread machine?

That's a pretty shod-y vdo! It was shoutin' itself hoarse and I worry the dickens it hay've been a wee bit unstable.

Venison is popular but traditionally seen as an upper-class treat. A deer chilli sounds delicious. I enjoyed your witty reference to horsemeat khun Koko. We Brits say nay to it, and most would bridle at the idea. Few, if any, Brits eat horsemeant by preference and I would have no idea how one would go about finding it on sale. I think if I asked my local butcher he'd send me away with a flea in my ear. The thought of consuming horsemeat would make me feel rather queasy. Despite that, horsemeat has found its way into beefburgers sold in some British stores. How it got there is a mystery. It seems this little racket may have been going on for several years. Our Princess Anne and her horsey friends can be none too pleased.

Good post. I am no opera buff, although I used to enjoy going. I saw Billy Budd at the English National Opera (ENO) in the late 80's.

Unless it is some sort of inverted snobbery, and done deliberately, I have no idea why. It's not the avatar, as Michael had newbie status before he changed it. You CAN change it deliberately. I did that to mine a long time ago. I changed it just for a larf as I'm no connoisseur.

As Jim Morrison might have said: "That's a heavy scene man". For some reason the big door with the blue sky beyond reminds me of the Truman Show. I can almost sense Timmberty climbing those steps and . . . will he or won't he?

Yes, well said Timmberty, LoS = Land of Scum Such a shame the country's image abroad should be scarred in this way. Unfortunately, that lovely image is long since tarnished following a succession of PR disasters (too numerous to mention). Both Burma and Thailand have shown themselves to be not only callous and uncaring, but devious and manipulative. It's no use saying, "Oh, it's only a few corrupt police or army personnel, or whoever" The culture whereby a local politician / police chief / army commander / businessman looks the other way, whilst pocketing a bulging brown envelope or securing a lucrative business contract is ingrained and corrosive. It is within that context that human life is viewed through some kind of prism, such that it makes the offenders feel as if they are dealing with mere objects. I can only hope that more reporters go in there and kick up a fuss so these b*****ds get what they deserve. The Romans sent miscreants to the galleys, that seems an appropriate enough punishment for anyone caught trafficking in people who've arrived in their country by sea. As for what to do with the Rohingya - I haven't a clue, but it may be about time the ASEAN group of countries, together with Bangladesh, got their heads around this. Hopefully they already have, but if so they need to do a lot more than nod their heads sagely, they need to bang a few together.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21115720

It depends on whether I was in a serious L-T relationship with a Thai:- If I was not, then I would go back to my home country (UK) and take stock. I'd either call it a day, and stay put, or make plans for alternatives. Maybe in a few years Burma might, just might, be worth considering, especially if and when they open up the Mergui Archipelego in the Andaman sea. I might try the Philippines, a country I have never visited, and from time to time people mention Malaysia, which might be fine provided you were resonably discrete. I don't fancy Laos (run by a bunch of commies) or Vietnam -(as places to live, but I'm ok visiting them!). Cambodia possibly. If I was, I would try and get my Thai friend a visa to visit my home country. If that was successful (ok, I know it's not easy), and the other person was happy in my country, that'd be it, I'd stay put. Then just visit other countries on a holiday basis, rather than with a view to moving there. If I couldn't organise a visa, we'd have to go somewhere a Thai national was accepted - so without checking the details I might start with Malaysia - it's a neighbouring country and (as I said before) if you are discrete it ought to be ok. Unless the Muslim/Buddhist thing were to get a lot worse, in which case I might try Cambodia. All this is highly theoretical, and so I have no idea what I'd do in reality. As I don't live in Thailand it would be a lot easier for me than somebody who owned a condo or other property, or possibly involved in a business venture. That'd be a real minefield and could be a bit of a nightmare to extricate yourself from.

Yes, me too. As a carnivorous beasty I'd prefer to see something from an animal in my chilli.

This is why I am so excited! It's utterly out of this world! Taken from the OP in the Curiosity Rover nears Mars topic: "We're not just scratching and sniffing and taking pictures - we're boring into rock, getting that powder and analysing it in these laboratories," deputy project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, told the BBC. "These are really university laboratories that would normally fill up a room but which have been shrunk down - miniaturised - and made safe for the space environment, and then flown on this rover to Mars." So, a lot more than spraying water around. You make it sound like songkran. I know you're winding me up and I admit I have deliberately overplayed my hand, but I really am impressed, not just pretending to be!

Is there any evidence the contents of Koko's Campbells Hearty Beef & Ham is any more nutritious than an ordinary tin of soup or broth, or is it just a marketing tool? "The minimum quantity of water or liquid used in the recipe to keep the pressure cooker filled with steam is sufficient. Because of this, vitamins and minerals are not leached (dissolved) away by water, as they would be if food were boiled in large amounts of water. Due to the shorter cooking time, vitamins are preserved relatively well during pressure cooking." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_cooking Here's an interesting article from the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9535231/The-pressure-cooker-convert.html and here's a link to the cookbook referred to in that article: http://www.eburypublishing.co.uk/viewbook.asp?isbn=0091945011&searchtxt=The Pressure Cooker Cookbook&searchopt= Mmm, I see you can cook Koko-food too . . . Boston Baked Beans no less!

Someone in my family bought me a pressure cooker over 30 years ago and I used to use it a lot. I never ever worried it might be at all unsafe. I still have it but it's stuck in a dark cupboard, unloved and unmourned, so maybe it's time I dug it out and gave it another life. Sorry, no recipes! I wonder if pressure cookers are back in vogue. On the other hand, so many more kinds of food are sold pre-prepared, including vegetables in handy little packs, and those awful 'babies'. . . baby corn, baby leeks, baby carrots, so cute, and yet sooo expensive. For the past few years when I'm cooking veg I often use a steamer. The kind with 2 or 3 layers; bottom pan holds a small amount of water, and second and third pans which have small holes in the bottom, the veg. Plus a lid of course. That's just for veg I use that, pressure cookers can cook a lot more kinds of food I think.

I didn't know it was an American production you were referring to Michael. I must admit I was a bit taken aback you starting a thread praising it. Maybe the American version is better! There's no law that says the original has to be best. I don't think I shall be rushing to watch it though. Almost every time I visit a store selling videos I buy one or two, but I just stick 'em on the shelf when I get home where they gather dust so I have a huge backlog of dvd's to watch - old classic films, loads of recent stuff as well - but, definitely no porn.