Re: Just a glimpse...
Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 9:35 am
Oh, but Caroline, I'd love to be reading you in The Times!
How would you pose for your picture?
How would you pose for your picture?
Welcome to the unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum - for discussing everything CH/Old Blue related. All pupils, parents, families, staff, Old Blues and anyone else related to CH are welcome to browse the boards, register and contribute.
https://www.chforum.info/php/
Angela Woodford wrote:Oh, but Caroline, How would you pose for your picture?
Jo wrote:Awwwww.......he looks so cute. But just look at those claws!
Did you take the photo yourself? Where did you see him?
Was he alive?icomefromalanddownunder wrote:Jo wrote:Awwwww.......he looks so cute. But just look at those claws!
Did you take the photo yourself? Where did you see him?
The photograph was taken from a lab window by a fellow student. It sums up life in The Discipline of Wine & Horticulture pretty well
To answer all questions with one post:Angela Woodford wrote:I love the koala, I love him! Look at the expression on his face! Aaah!
But, like Jo, I'm very impressed by those claws! Is a koala a gentle creature? With claws like that, I wouldn't like to approach one in a bad mood! A koala bear looks so appealing...
Clever little critters !icomefromalanddownunder wrote:
The males can get quite grumpy and are sometimes seen sitting in a tree doing a King Kong impression as they swipe at swopping crows and magpies.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JI03Ae01.htmlgma wrote:Am stunned by the television reporting of the unrest in Thailand - when I was there, albeit a good few decades ago now, the concept of Thais rioting in the streets with machetes would have had us all rolling on the floorin hysterics. I know that there has been long term dissatisfaton with the government - Mr P would you update please? Your 'just a glimpse' thread puts you in prime position to comment. Is it really that bad? The news clips seem to be limited and repetetive but are showing a side of the Thai life that I have never experienced and the language used in most of the newspapers is highly colourful and truthfully, I'm struggling to buy into it.
There have been as many military coups here in the last 80 years as there have been constitutions - around 17. Most of them have been swift and bloodless (a couple of exceptions, I think, in the 70s and early 90s), as was the last one less than 2 years ago. One of the problems, and one of the reasons Thaksin was so successful, is the standard of education here. By and large people tend to believe what they see on TV and read in the newspapers - most of that is government controlled. The poorest (and most heavily populated) area of Thailand is Isaan, a vast agricultural area in the northeast. Handouts of 2-3 quid and promises of help to agriculture got Thaksin elected and mean that he remains popular there today.Since the political reform of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 constitutions and charters. Throughout this time, the form of government has ranged from military dictatorship to electoral democracy, but all governments have acknowledged a hereditary monarch as the head of state.
The 1997 Constitution was the first constitution to be drafted by popularly-elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, and was popularly called the "People's Constitution".
The 1997 Constitution created a bicameral legislature consisting of a 500-seat House of Representatives (สภาผู้à¹à¸—นราษฎร, sapha phutan ratsadon) and a 200-seat Senate (วุฒิสภา, wuthisapha). For the first time in Thai history, both houses were directly elected. Many human rights are explicitly acknowledged, and measures were established to increase the stability of elected governments. The House was elected by the first-past-the-post system, where only one candidate with a simple majority could be elected in one constituency. The Senate was elected based on the province system, where one province can return more than one Senator depending on its population size. Members of the House of Representatives served four-year terms, while Senators served six-year terms.
The court system (ศาล, saan) included a constitutional court with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, and political matters.
The January 2001 general election, the first election under the 1997 Constitution, was called the most open, corruption-free election in Thai history. The subsequent government was the first in Thai history to complete a 4-year term. The 2005 election had the highest voter turnout in Thai history and was noted for a marked reduction in vote-buying compared to previous elections.
In early 2006, significant pressure from corruption allegations led Thaksin Shinawatra to call for a snap election. The opposition boycotted the elections and Thaksin was re-elected. Pressure continued to build, leading to a military coup on 19 September 2006.
No apology needed, I am just very very glad that the essense of the country in which I enjoyed living for two years is still in place, I think a culture moving to match pace with so-called western civilisation is a often a mistake but it is not limited to eastern or third world countries - would anyone in the UK have 'embraced' Amercian style economics the way that we all did if we had known at the time that it would also bring us 20thC American culture, letigiousness on a grand scale, daylight gang warfare on the streets, massive consumer greed, credit cards for schoolchildren, Kuwait, 15 rated movies that ought to be X, X that should never be released, Iran, breakdown of morals and morale, Iraq, the credit crunch, etc etc. The feeling of the grass being greener is a sad fact of the human condition.But I love it here - I've never been happier in my life, and I can't imagine going back to live in the hurly-burly of British daily life, cursing the weather, unable to tick off a child for swearing in case I get a knife in the guts, surrounded by political correctness gone mad, obsessed with material possessions, house prices - oh, the list is endless. And very boring - apologies.
To follow up on Philip's post, just something to show you that the local council does have a heart. (Just try to imagine a UK town of 6,000 people doing something like this!)Ajarn Philip wrote:This hasn’t been very exciting for the reader, but it’s not meant to be. I’m just trying to give you a little glimpse of my life here, which is so very different to what went before. It’s certainly not perfect, but then again it ain’t bad.
I’d also very much like to hear some snippets from those other members of the forum who live ‘abroad’ – or from anyone, anywhere who thinks they have something that might be interesting to share.
As a contrast to the two accounts (which seem to be typical of much of the developed world:icomefromalanddownunder wrote:Hi David
Thank you for that very heartening post, which lifted some of the gloom that had settled on me as I read emails from three cyber friends in Houston. One is 72 and lives alone with her dog and cats. She was becoming increasingly fearful, and rather than being hopeful that neighbours would go to each others assistance, she was checking her gun and ammunition to reassure herself that she could see off any potential looters.
I remember watching the post Katrina newscasts with increasing frustration and despair as people seemingly sat around awaiting the arrival of the cavalry while telling journalists that they and their children had spent the night sleeping alongside dead bodies. Was there not one person there who had the sense and decency to organise/shame the evacuees into working parties?
xxxx