C NTACT THE MAGAZINE OF THE BRITISH WOMEN’S GROUP BANGKOK
December 2020
BRITISH WOMEN’S GROUP The aim of the Group is to enable its members to meet socially, to welcome its new members and associate members to Bangkok and to establish a programme of social, welfare and cultural activities.
Contents
Directory Page 2
Diary Page 3
Chairman’s message Page 4
Book Club Page 6
November Coffee Pages 8-11
November Lunch Page 18
Remembrance Day Page 20
THEP students Pages 22-24
Editor contact@bwgbangkok.org Advertising advertising@bwgbangkok.org Please note that the deadline for advertisements is the 5th of the month prior to issue. Please contact advertising@bwgbangkok for more information. PLEASE NOTE : Contact is published as a service to our members to keep them informed of news and events within BWG. The accuracy of other information cannot be guaranteed and is not an endorsement by the group. This also applies to advertisements that are included in Contact in order to cover some of the production costs. Every effort is made to produce Contact in good time to reach members before the first scheduled meeting, but the editor cannot be held responsible for unavoidable delays caused by circumstance beyond their control. It is the members’ own responsibility to know when meetings are scheduled and to contact someone to check if any changes have been made. Members are also asked to bear in mind when booking actives that most venues are not deemed suitable for children over six months of age and to make appropriate child minding arrangements.
Chairman’s Message
The message for December is a very short and simple one. We have all lived through a tough nine months and have survived with everyone fit and well, which is a great achievement. This Christmas is going to be a challenge as most of us are unable to be sharing it with our family and loved ones, but I am sure we will manage to do so with our usual aplomb! I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.
Ailsa Kneath
Ailsa. Thought for the month:Last year's words belong to last year 's language. And next year's words await another voice. T.S. Eliot Welcome to the December issue of Contact Magazine and I hope that you are all keeping well wherever you are in the world. I would like to echo Ailsa’s sentiments regarding the different type of Christmas that some people may experience this year away from family and friends. We need to make every effort to keep in contact through Zoom or Skype to try and support loved ones who may be on their own over the festive period and having to cope with very different arrangements. Happy Christmas and New Year to you all. www.bwgbangkok.org
info@bwgbangkok.org
British Women’s Group Bangkok
Contact December 2020
December Diary SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
1
2 Christmas Coffee
3
4
5
6
7 Mah-jong
8 Bridge Golf
9 Mah-jong Art Group
10
11
12
13
14 Mah-jong
15 Bridge Golf Christmas Buffet
16 Mah-jong Art Group
17
18
19
20
21 Mah-jong
22 Bridge Golf
23 Bridge Art Group
24 Christmas Eve
25 Christmas Day
26 Boxing Day
27
28 Mah-jong
29
30
31 New Years Eve
Weekly/Monthly Activities You are invited to join these groups, but final approval is at the discretion of individual group leaders
Monday Mah-jong - (beginners welcome) (10am - 1pm) Tuesday Bridge - Audrie Sill Golf - (morning) Sheona Jackson Bookworms - 1st Tuesday (10am) Jane Upperton Scottish Dancing - 1st Tuesday (7:30pm) Karen Burr Wednesday Mah-jong - (beginners welcome) (1pm - 4pm) Art Group - Bistro 33 Sukhumvit Soi 33 (10am -12:30pm) Karin Worthington
Celebrating 60 Years A proud tradition of learning excellence
We oer a British-style education for an international community, from Nursery through to Graduation. Find out how our approach to learning and outstanding teaching sta develop global citizens who shape their world through independence, empathy, creativity and critical thinking. Contact us at admissions@patana.ac.th www.patana.ac.th | +66 (0) 2785 2200 | 643 Lasalle Road, Bangkok 10260
Bangkok Patana is a not-for-profit, IB World School, accredited by CIS and NEASC
Bookworms - December
The Real Enid Blyton by Nadia Cohen This is a biography of the most prolific children’s author in history. She is also the most controversial children’s author. A remarkable woman who wrote hundreds of books (800) in a career spanning forty years. Fifty years after her death she still remains a phenomenon, with sales outstripping every rival. She did however have her critics. Parents and teachers rallied against her and libraries and shops refused to stock her books. The charges levelled against her books were that they were racist, foreign and working class people were treated with disdain and the writings were simplistic, repetitive and littered with sexist and snobbish undertones. Regardless of the criticism Enid continued to write of children who roamed unsupervised and problems were solved with midnight feasts and lashings of ginger beer. She also wrote Noddy books. All that Enid cared about were the children who read her books and loved them and if they didn’t criticise them then those who did, didn’t matter. And what did our bookclub readers think? Most if not all of us knew nothing about her and certainly not the extent of her writing which as well as books she wrote in newspapers, magazines and also more short stories. Her fan club was huge and she supported many charities. We had all read Enid Blyton as children and so we all found this account of her life well researched and interesting. It was also described as fascinating and an enjoyable read. She apparently wrote at her best when she was unhappy. A fact that surprised us all was the disconnect which existed in Enid’s personal relationships and her professional relationships. Apart from her Father and second husband she seems to have been unable to relate well to her relatives and significant people in her life. When she entertained children for tea in her own house she was the person they adored but she had sent her own children out of the way - upstairs. After she left home and went to work as a governess, which led to her telling stories to children, she never went back to see her mother and ignored her mother’s pleas to contact when her mother was dying. Whilst she spent money on one person for polio care with a good result, she refused to help her brother and his outcome was poor. Her daughters give a very poor account of her care and mothering of them when they were growing up . There’s plenty more It’s a good read. Note the scores.
Scores 7/10 - 1, 8/10 - 7, 9/10 - 1
Next pick : The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop And for fun - any Enid Blyton books Our next bookclub will be at the British Club on 1st December. We need a list of names and you need to bring ID. Gale will inform time on WhatsApp. This will be followed by Christmas lunch at 12pm. You need to inform Gale if you are coming.
November Coffee at Sara Martin’s Apartment




nspiring ndividuals At KIS International School all students can shine. The midsize, caring community allows KIS students to be confident and to be appreciated as an individual, with unique dreams and strengths. The school is a full IB school, offering the International Baccalaureate Programmes for all age groups (IB Primary Years Programme, IB Middle Years Programme and IB Diploma), ensuring an academically rigorous curriculum that not only prepares students to be successful at university, but also teaches important life skills. KIS, it’s all about Knowledge, Inspiration and Spirit. Check out the students’ videos to learn more about their passion www.kis.ac.th
Tel: +66 (0) 2274 3444 Email: admissions@kis.ac.th
“With the power of imagination, characters can actually fly off the page” Jun, Grade 11.
a
British Women’s Group
christmas lunch buffet
Tuesday, 15 December 2020 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Marriott Marquis Queen's Park Goji Kitchen + Bar 199 Soi Sukhumvit 22, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110
950 Baht net incl. water, tea, coffee For reservations please contact sylvia.knoss@gmail.com
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November Lunch at Trattoria Delina
CHRISTMAS COFFEE MORNING
Dear Members Please come and join us at our special Christmas Coffee Morning, this year at the British Ambassador's Residence. Enjoy refreshments including sausage rolls, scones and sparkling wine. Get into the festive spirit listening to the children of Sister Louise's choir and partake in the raffle. Date: Wednesday 2nd December, 2020 Time: 11.00am - 1pm Cost: 400 Baht Venue: Four Seasons Private Residences, 64 Charoen Krung Road, Wat Phraya Krai, Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok 10120 Phone No. +66 2675 2888 RSVP: lizziekhan@yahoo.co.uk
Remembrance Day Due to Chairman, Ailsa Kneath being incapacitated, the BWG wreath was laid at the War Memorial at the British Club by Laura Smith. The Remembrance Service was a poignant memory of those killed, injured or affected by war and we should never forget the sacrifices made by so many. It was conducted by the new vicar of Christ Church Bangkok, Reverend Andy Smith, proudly watched by his wife, Nicky who is also a vicar, and their three children. There was a record number of 69 wreaths laid by representatives of various Embassies, Thai and British military as well as other associations and schools.
Ladies of the BWG
Not so many BWG ladies were present this year but the usual group photo was taken. Latifa Handley sent a photo of herself wearing her poppy (bought in Bangkok) with pride as well as her anorak as it is COLD in NZ where she and her husband John are now living. A wreath was laid by Anna Whitcraft on behalf of the BCTFN committee, members of which are shown (note Jane and Gale on both!)
The BCTFN committee
Latifa in New Zealand
Letters of thanks from two of the THEP students Dear Gale & BWG,
Please find attached first term reports on your 2 THEP students.
The students have survived so well in spite of the difficulties studying online from dormitory rooms. They were unable to study at home in their villages owing to no telephone signal/internet service.
This was an extra financial burden for them and the scholarship you provide has been very welcome. They were allowed back in classrooms with social distancing enforced during mid term.
All the students have been very cooperative in keeping in touch via Email and Facebook Messenger or Line which shows me how much they appreciate and need support.
Our sincere thanks, Susan Race
Dear Sponsors, Sawatdee Kha, I'm Miss Patravadi Damkansin. Currently I am studying in the 4th year of Thai Language Department, Faculty of Education, at Lampang Rajabhat University. Now it is the semester break, Year 4 , Semester 1. This semester, classes have been mostly taught online. In this situation it was impossible to study at home because there is no internet signal in the mountains. therefore I had to stay in a dormitory to study online. However, there were some subjects which required us to attend university to learn in the classroom This semester has been a difficult time to study and both students and our professors have been affected, because we have been unable to learn and teach normally. In this case, classes and learning had to be adjusted. I studied as best I could online as well as at lessons in the classroom, until the end of term. During the present holiday I have had the chance to go home. It is the rice and soybean harvest season. My family also grow soybeans but the price is low this year. There are no investors to purchase which results in very low earnings after we deduct the cost of pesticides. I helped my parents collect soy beans for 2 days only because most of the work had been done before I got home. I then had time to go and work with other people from the village. In the evening, we peel garlic and can earn 70 baht an hour for this work. This means we have enough money for our meals and snacks. At present everyone in the family is fine and my parents can still work hard. They have a few health problems but nothing serious. My younger brother is now in school even though he is not really old enough, he is still allowed to attend kindergarten. He is at a very stubborn age, he speaks well and likes to play with his toys after coming home from school. The older brother in now in Mattayom 6 (Grade 12) at Mae Sariang Boripat Seuksaa School. It is not yet his school holidays. After that he has one semester left before he finishes high school. After graduating, I expect he will return home to help our parents working in the fields, because mother and father cannot afford to send him for further education. As well as this, my younger brothers do not have ID cards, which has been an ongoing problem for a long time. My academic results for this past semester are a bit better and I feel I performed well, but there is a Thai language research course for education students which hasn’t been marked yet. The lessons were quite complicated which made it difficult to collect research data which means we will have to continue the subject in term 2. But my other subject results were quite okay. I will try hard to do good research work so that my grade will be even higher. Thank you for this scholarship which gives me the opportunity to further my education. I will always try to do my best and do my duty. Your organisation has supported me through high school until now. I will always appreciate your help and remember you and the organisation. I shall behave well, study diligently and improve myself for a better future. Yours faithfully, Patravadi Damakansin, 4th year student in Thai language, Education Faculty, Lampang Rajabhat University
81/1 Ban Huai Mai Hok village, No.6, Mon Chong, Omkoi District, Chiang Mai 50310 20 November 2020 Dear Susan, With my respect for you. My school is closed on 17th November, 2020, until 1st December, 2020. While I am writing this letter, I stay at my home with my family. My school assignment is in the same village where I live. It is a great experience, because I can teach in my home town. The school name is “Bun Huai Mai Hok School” they also have pre-school and kindergarten for Matajom 3. I have 2 other schoolmates teaching in the same school with me. They stay in the accommodation provided by the school, while I stay with my family. I go to school by Motorbike, but sometimes choose to walk. I am happy to teach in this school because the students are very talented and enjoyable. They pay close attention to our lessons and their grades are very good, and they are so smart. They help teachers a lot with their work. First, I was worried about my English skills, that it may not be good enough, and I can’t teach well. But I try my best to give the next generation the best education I can, and I feel like I am getting better every day. I love to teach, but the school requires work from us that I don’t like much. Sometimes it’s too much, way more than I expected. But the school director is very friendly, and the other teachers are very delightful. I received a lot of advices and guidance from my future peers. Many students are interested in English. Most parents reached out to me to teach their children after school. I am thinking about whether teach them in a special class after school for some extra money. After the school closed for the holidays, one of the teachers has moved back to her home town, in Prae Province. And she offered to the school to take everyone with her, so now I have the opportunity to travel and maybe explore another place. I was just visiting Chiang Mai for a few days, but now I had to come back home. I usually wake up at 6 am in the morning, I cook for my parents, and prepare some food to offer for the monks. Then I usually help my father with anything he asks me to do for him. At the moment it’s Winter Season, and in my village it’s very cold. I feel honor to write this letter for you. Thank you for supporting me and giving me the chance to get my degree. I am very proud of myself that I can achieve my dreams and can build my future in education. Without your support it would have been impossible. I can’t tell how grateful I am for your help. I wish you all the best, be healthy, be happy and stay safe. Yours sincerely, Miss Ratnaree Moolkaew