Crab Lungs

First effort... no doubt I'll have another crack if I've the time

I concur with this also. Felt no real attachment to the characters, though it was an excellent series - graphically brilliant and harrowing again.

Thanks BT I cannot speak highly enough of the country and it's people - though I don't know anything of your destination so can't help you there. However, with regards to insurance, we left during the troubles but checked with the insurers who said we were not covered by anything related to the troubles but were covered for all the obvious. Best thing would be to check with them and get them to detail your policy for you to find out, though I suspect they'll also operate the same policy. Have an amazing time

LMFAO at 19% of them thinking David James would make a good manager...!

Thanks Suhari As I've just said, Chiang Mai has left me with so many fond memories that I wholly intend to return there is one years time. Incredible place, incredible people.

I've no doubt many feel the need to be 'rescued' from their somehwat impoverished lives they lead however my understanding was that you can't just 'buy' any woman in Thailand. In go-go bars, yes, they've got families to look after but beyond that, well - I'm absolutely sure there are women interested in western guys not just for their money. Especially if they are asexual lookers like myself. ;-) Joking aside though, I agree with your other sentiments. It's the same for Japanese women I believe. Western men do, are, in essence, far more tolerant and accepting and don't subscribe to looking upon women as lesser or impact upon their free will. If that's what they dig, then fine - as long as the woman of my dreams isn't motivated by predominantly money. I'm sure I'll find a nice one. I've heard about the 'gik' subculture too. Yup, very single. I'm not sure if it'll be Faa, sadly. She never wrote me back and it's been nearly 2 weeks now. That said, I didn't really strike up a rapport first and, well, I've no idea whether she already has a boyfriend/girlfriend. No biggie though. Oh, and I've no doubt there is probably some sort of stigma attached with western guys and understandably so. Like I said above, I certainly don't want to find any woman - I'd like to find a woman there who has honest intentions beyond a 'way out'. Likewise my intentions are not purely based upon getting my end away - for me it was the fact that are still women there. I'm not into flabby, curry munching, beer guzzling western women and never have been. I kinda guess that's why I have been single for like, 5 years. As for tourism, well... It is apparently on 6% of their GDP (obviously not accounting the sex trade!) so I'm not sure it was just the fact that they'd seen a westerner spending money. Aside from the hotel and food, I hardly spent a penny! The hotel's we stayed in were very much full as we did try and extend at two but they were booked out. As for negotiating, well, we did that pretty successfully too. I'd definitely like to try other parts of Thailand next, for sure, but my heart is in Chiang Mai. I'll return their first and see if I still feel the same way though from what I remember so fondly, I have no doubt I will.

Spot on. Can't see the Gerrard over-fascination - never have. Absolutely no discipline, always to the detriment of the other players because he just does his own thing, regardless of instructions. Yes, he's a talented footballer. Team player? Hmmmmmmmmm

Totally agree! I've just kicked Ledley and his crippled leg off my jet.

Excellent shout. I had him in original squad but forgot him this time!

Argh, Carragher is a terrible footballer. Worse still, he's said he wasn't interested in England and retired, only to jump ahead of people who'd slaved to get us to the WC finals. Wrong wrong wrong - especially considering the likes of Jagielka have far more ability and are far more versatile. Anyway, my 23 man squad GK: Hart, Green and possibly Steve Harper or Lee Camp. DF: Ferdinand, Terry, Jagielka, A Cole, G Johnson, Warnock, Richards (King or Dawson). MF: J Cole, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Lennon, SWP, Huddlestone, Milner, Carrick. ST: Defoe, Crouch, Rooney, Heskey (as much as it pains me to select him. Failing that, Zamora or Bent deserves a shot though Bent, for me, simply isn't good enough). For the goalkeepers, James' experience counts for nothing for me as he's nothing more than an excellent shot stopper. Green hasn't been great this season but he has the nearest amount of necessary experience for the No.1 jersey. I'd prefer Hart and would be tempted to blood him in all honesty but I fear many would be more cautious about it. Lee Camp and Steve Harper are pretty unflappable and underrated goalkeepers who deserve a look-in IMO. There is enough cover defensively right across the backline with Jagielka able to play anywhere and Milner to slot in a RB if needed, though unlikely with Jagieka's versatility. The midfield is dynamic with J Cole, Gerrard, Lampard and Milner. The pace is provided from Lennon, SWP and ball-retention in posession important games would come from Huddlestone, Barry and Carrick. Upfront you've got Defoe's pace, Crouchie's all-round game, Rooney as the maverick and obligatory chugger Heskey (or wildcard's Bent or Zamora - plenty of options). Upfront

Superb, especially if they fancy you - which was certainly the case with one of her colleagues we christened 'Waterboy'. Waterboy used to be very attentive to me. So attentive, in fact, that no sooner had I placed my glass down after sipping the water, he'd be over, topping it up. I made the mistake of looking up to him as he was pouring the water... he was looking into my eyes and pursing my lips. Unnerving at first but I took it as a compliment, really. And when I mean 'looking into my eyes', I mean really looking into my eyes!

Go Thai Airways too. That was another experience... those stewardesses didn't stop for 12 hours! Amazing service!

I'm going to do it still, I think. I'm very comfortable with the doctor I have chosen and his previous patient's responses and results so I am likely to do it, next year, for definite, when I go over there again - possibly to live for a year. Oh, and it gives me an excellent excuse to revisit Chiang Mai and woo my favourite waitress ever, Sky. Or, as she audibly announced "Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, which means 'Sky' in your language" Then she glided off into the distance, her beautiful little pert backside smiling back at me

Thanks DP, I have to say having been a bit ambivalent at first, I certainly came to love to Thailand. So much so, that I am considering my options for next year having been given two opportunities to work/live out there. That said, has to to be my timescale though - I need to be based in the UK for at least a year first to set the wheels in motion with my own stuff over here. It is a shame there is that instability - thankfully it only affected the last part of my holiday though I have to feel a bit sorry for those whose lives have been lost or effected by it forever. Fingers crossed they'll sort it soon Lmfao, brilliant! It wasn't either, thankfully - my hair has grown long enough to cover the exposed spots though I am still considering the HT for next year. I'd recommend Thailand to you f'sure, though you've probably already been there, right?

Well, I finally flew out on May 9th after rescheduling 3 times. I was pretty non-plussed about going beforehand, but my word, how that has changed now. I've always considered myself quite worldly and cultural but nothing prepared me for experiencing Thailand! From the moment I saw my first "Arry Monk" and indulged in my first tentative Wai I was hooked. What an incredible place full of incredible people! The first five days we spent in Chiang Mai in the north, which is an incredibly vibrant University City. The first two days were spent relaxing, understandably after a marathon journey to the country. However, we did go out every night to sample the local nightlife and was not disappointed. Thankfully, Chiang Mai appears to be relatively unfounded by Westerners as of yet so we had a fantastic time immersing ourselves with the local culture as well as the partying with the very friendly locals. I was astounded to find out the respect the Thai's all showed eachother as well as the vast cultural differences such as having a drink and not fighting, politeness, chivalry towards women and care/attentiveness. Western society has a f()cking lot to learn! The highlights in Chiang Mai had to be being fondled by a gaggle of university girls, the sights over Chiang Mai from the temple and one fantastic waitress Faa, who was mesmerising and almost single-handedly convinced me Thai women are the way forward. From Chiang Mai we flew to Pattaya via Bangkok. Pattaya was a ****ing god awful place. Surrounded by sex tourists, perverts, paedos and wrong-un's, I flipped out emotionally and lasted 3 hours (we were meant to be there four nights) and moved outside the city and stayed at the Ravindra. Met up with a friend's friend who runs a guest house out there and managed to go to Koh Samet for a day (****ing hell the scooter ride to the main island's harbour was an experience no handed!) and had a boat trip around the island with food, fishing, snorkelling and visiting the fish farm a highlight. Didn't venture into Pattaya again as I didn't want to see the exploitation of these wonderful people so stayed outside and went to all the cultural places around (more temples, restaurants and went to the places the Thai's went to) and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The final sojourn was Bangkok but we arrived on the day that was acclaimed 'Battle Of Bangkok' last wednesday. Sadly, the curfew was imposed for the duration of the stay but we managed to get out and about during the day and experience the water taxi's and many of the local sights that were not closed off due to the troubles. Had a river view corner suite at the Chatrium Suites with a fantastic view of BKK - highly recommended. The only let down were the rude and obnoxious Iranians staying there... what a bunch of w4nkers they were. The hair op was off also so I had plenty of money in my pockets, not that I needed it because everything was so cheap anyway! Whilst we did do some decidedly tourist-like things but the real fun was sampling and indulging in the locals customs and culture. I was astounded the attention I was afforded in every place I visited by the women and to be fair, the men also (which I took as a compliment) and loved how open and accepting the Thai culture is. There were definitely many amusing moments, from meeting a gaggle of dumb germans in Chiang Mai who asked where the european women were (Er, what? 1, they're in europe and 2, why the **** would you go to Thailand for western women and 3, how could anyone not fall in love with the exotic women over there!?) After that strange exchange, they did seem be fairly normal guys as we discussed current affairs and our respective countries and cultures. That was, until the most quiet german popped up with this gem: "We have hooligans in our country, too. We call them Jews" :-o We were astounded and asked him to repeat what he said but he refused and they soon slunk off. Bizarre. Not much changed after 70 years then! :-o Meeting someone from Holbury at the Chiang Mai waterfalls was also incredible - what were the odds? Being stalked by ladyboys in BKK was amusing and being stopped in a temple continuously by a group of girls to have my pictures taken with all of them over and over again was also a great ego-massage. I have to say, I did enjoy walking around each area on my own and being pointed, stared, gawped and smiled at. Oh and when you buy a drink in Chiang Mai, you don't buy a single drink, you buy a bottle for a group. And if you don't finish it, you get to take it home, incredible From the clicking heels to saluting security guards and officials, wai's from locals to the graceful, gliding women of Thailand, it was an incredible cultural experience. I will be returning for my bride in one approximately years time.

Yeah... Kirsty

Had some shockers. Lowri Turner and now Baroness Warsi and her chubby, cheeky demeanor.

I'm around, but on FB. Come on you Tories!

I know what the BNP say and what they mean are two different things, you really don't have to emphasise that to me. In fact, I even alluded to how Richard Barnbrook seems to model himself on one Joeseph Goebbels... I really do get the impression your tone is quite condescending? Irrespective, trust me, I KNOW what is beyond the BNP if you whip away that very thin, very flimsy veil of respectability...

I wouldn't classify myself as that, personally if you are also referring to me as an apologist

Forgive me, but I was wondering what he actually said? Was he inciting trouble? Was he spoken to at first? I might be in the wrong in which case I'll hold my hands up. But it appears the video only cuts in mid conversation... Does anyone actually know how it all started?

Put them in L1 :smt077:smt077:smt077

Agree. I'm sorry, but spitting is absolutely disgusting. Reverse the situation - if it was a white person who spat on an group of radicals at an islamic march then it be front page, middle page, back page, the lot. It'll be the only thing on TV almost everywhere and no doubt Sky would be running polls like "Is Britain a racist country?" and "Should the person who spat be jailed?" and so forth. This has slipped somewhat under the radar because it is the BNP. Maybe deservedly so... but I can't help but think things would have been different if it were the other way around... just my opinion. Irrespective, I challenge anyone not to swing for someone if they spat at you. Whether it's the BNP or a hippie, it's a pretty testing situation to not lose it...

Despicable. Utterly despicable. I can only hope the other Championship teams kick up a fuss.

Conservative