Pattaya Mail - FRIDAY JUNE 14 - JUNE 20, 2019 (Vol. XXVII No. 24) by Pattaya Mail Media Group

26th Year

Established in 1993

VOL.XXVII No. 24

Pattaya’s First English Language Newspaper

FRIDAY JUNE 14 - JUNE 20, 2019

30 BAHT

D-Day at 75: Nations honor aging veterans, fallen comrades Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha proclaimed Prime Minister By Kaweewit Kaewjinda Bangkok (AP) — Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha was officially proclaimed prime minister on Tuesday June 11, after HM the King endorsed Parliament’s vote for him to serve another term. Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha knelt before a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and performed three elaborate bows during a ceremony at his government office to confirm his appointment. Gen. Prayuth has served as prime minister since he led a military coup that toppled an elected government in 2014. The junta will cease power once a new Cabinet is inaugurated. In a brief live televised speech after the ceremony,

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-oha smiles after the royal endorsement ceremony at the Government House, Tuesday, June 11, 2019, in Bangkok, (Lillian Suwanrumpha / Pool Photo via AP)

he pledged to “dedicate myself to public service with honesty and integrity in pursuit of the greater good of the country and the people of Thailand.” Continued on page 2

Spectators watch as jets perform a flyover during events to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Arromanches, Normandy, France, Thursday, June 6, 2019. Standing on the windswept beaches and bluffs of Normandy, a dwindling number of aging veterans of history’s greatest air and sea invasion received the thanks and praise of a world transformed by their sacrifice. The mission now, they said, was to honor the dead and keep their memory alive, 75 years after the D-Day operation that portended the end of World War II. (Full story and more photos on center pages.) (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

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Pattaya sets 218 million baht for flood control

The Pattaya City Council approved 218 million baht for 10 projects to fix flooding problems in the city. The projects target 20 areas where flooding has persisted over the years despite the installation of pumps and clearance of sewer lines. Plans call for upgrades of underground pipes and purchase of additional pumps and equipment. The areas of focus are outside Pattaya Technical Collage, Naklua Old Market, Naklua Road at the Plukplub Canal, Soi Nongyai, Pacific Village, Soi Tangmo, Soi Buakhao, an alley outside the Diana Inn, Sukhumvit Road, Soi Wat Thamsamakee, Railway Road, Third Road at the

VOL. XXVII No. 24

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha proclaimed Prime Minister From page 1

The Pattaya City Council approved 218 million baht for 10 projects to fix flooding problems in the city.

Mum Aroy restaurant, Beach Road, Soi Jularat, Thepprasit Soi 7, Rom Po Market,

behind the Pattaya Floating Market and Pratamnak Road. (PCPR)

3rd Road sidewalk repaired Jetsada Homklin Pattaya repaired a damaged sidewalk on Third Road following complaints. The footpath close to the Sophon Market had subsided due to chronic floods that washed away its foundation as well as leaking pipes. Workers patched the pipes and reset the foundation before repaving the sidewalk June 7.

Storm turns Khao Talo into river of garbage Jetsada Homklin It rained for only an hour, but it was enough to transform Soi Khao Talo into a garbage-filled river. The East Pattaya neighborhood was hit hard by the June 6 storm, flooding Soi Khao Talo from Rattanakorn Market to Sukhumvit Road with water deep as half a tire on most cars. More flooding was reported from the Top Charoen optical shop to Wat Boonsamphan School. It took about 30 minutes for the water to subside, leaving the It rained for only an hour, but it was enough to street covered in garbage. transform Soi Khao Talo into a garbage-filled river.

The military government had enacted new election laws that gave Prayuth an advantage in a general election held in March. The new laws authorized a 250-member Senate, appointed by the junta, to take part in the parliamentary vote for prime minister along with an elected 500-member House of Representatives. Gen. Prayuth did not contest the election but won last week’s joint parliamentary vote, 500-244, against Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. All junta-appointed senators voted for Prayuth to lead the next government, apart from the Senate speaker, who abstained from voting in line with custom. Critics have expressed doubt whether a government led by Prayuth can fare well in a parliamentary framework, with the parliamentary

vote indicating that his coalition has only marginal control over the House, which passes laws and approves budgets. Gen. Prayuth’s coalition government includes 18 political parties whose leaders were also present for Tuesday’s ceremony. His appointment was made official after a royal order to announce it was published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday. The Palang Pracharath Party, which campaigned for Prayuth to lead the next government, won the secondmost seats during the March election. The party includes many former members of the military government. Election laws that the junta introduced also weaken traditionally large political parties and the number of seats they could attain while giving seats to smaller parties with fewer votes. The measures are seen as being directed at the Pheu

Thai Party, which headed the government deposed in 2014. Pheu Thai, under various names changed for legal reasons, has won every national election since it was founded in 1998 by telecoms tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, who is despised by the country’s conservative base, which includes the military. Thaksin himself was overthrown as prime minister in a 2006 military coup. The March election was for 500 seats in the lower house. Of those, 350 seats are set aside for the winner of each constituency, while another 150 so-called party list seats are divided among parties based on a proportion of the overall vote derived from a complicated formula that is part of the new measures. Pheu Thai had won the most number of seats in the election by constituency, but it was the only party to be ineligible for any party list seats.

Pattaya places barriers to prevent flooding Pattaya officials aided victims of recent flooding on Soi Paniadchang 8 and took temporary steps to prevent more. Deputy Mayor Banlue Kullavanijaya visited the central Pattaya neighborhood June 7, directing city workers to place water barriers to block runoff from inundating houses. Teeraporn Srijan, director of the Social Welfare Department, accomDeputy Mayor Banlue Kullavanijaya visited panied the deputy mayor, providvictims of recent flooding on Soi Paniadchang ing canes and walkers to elderly and disabled residents. (PCPR) 8 and took temporary steps to prevent more.

Thailand to reduce use of plastic bags, Styrofoam, and straws by 2022 Three government working groups have been formed with a goal of discontinuing the unnecessary use of plastic, which creates a negative impact on the environment. In almost a year, five major drinking water producers have discontinued the use of plastic cap seals starting

on April 1, 2018. They account for up to 80 percent of all plastic cap seals. The remaining 20 percent of plastic cap seals are from small producers and the items will be completely discontinued by late 2019. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a ban on the production, import and selling of cosmetics containing microbeads and the FDA will later consider making an announcement on the prohibition of importing, producing and selling of

oxo-degradable plastics under the relevant laws. There is also a move to ban the use of plastic bags, Styrofoam boxes, plastic cups and plastic straws by 2022. A campaign to discontinue the use of single-use plastic at department stores, supermarkets and convenience stores, by refraining from giving away plastic bags, is already active on the 4th day of each month and offers extra points to customers who decline to take a plastic bag for their purchases. (NNT)

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Lineup set for June 14-15 Pattaya Music Festival

The lineup has been set for the June 14-15 Pattaya Music Festival with three stages spread between the Dusit Thani Hotel and Jomtien Beach.

The lineup has been set for the June 14-15 Pattaya Music Festival with three stages spread between the Dusit Thani Hotel and Jomtien Beach. On June 14, Stage 1 on Pattaya Beach at Central Road will feature Pete Pera, Kwang AB Normal, Lam Morrison, Rung Rocketra, Nuvo, Ea Jirakorn, Southside, Bug Ass, and Carabao. The North Pattaya Beach stage will feature Chinobi, NOS, Blue-Shade, Playground, ActArt, Instinct, Sweet Mullet, and Lomosonic.

Flood barriers placed in Nong Krabok Jetsada Homklin Pattaya has placed concrete barriers along the Nong Krabok railway road to protect against erosion. The road has repeatedly suffered subsidence due to floodwaters washing away the street’s foundation. The barriers will divert the water away from the road’s surface, although that likely will cause flooding problems elsewhere. Pattaya has placed concrete barriers along the Nong Krabok railway road to protect against erosion.

And at Jomtien’s multipurpose sports zone will be Zadis, Chill Chill Band, Pleng Plung, Swagen, and Chinobi. On Day 2 at Central Road will be Pee Saderd, Tu Popthorn, Mono Music Artists, Boy Peace Maker, Da Endorphin, Paradox and 25 Hours.

At the Dusit Thani will be Seadog, Nu Reggae, The Mousses, BedroomAudi Mean, Yes’sirday, OG-anic+HighHot, and Retrospect. In Jomtien Beach will be Kwanjai Chaiyachet, Joyzee Chic, Rabbit, Seadog Band, and Mahahing band. (PCPR)

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Transvestite pickpocket arrested Teerarak Suthathiwong A transvestite pickpocket caught on a viral video robbing a British tourist has been arrested. Wilad Wongsuwan, 29, was trotted out by top regional police brass who were embarrassed by a video that was picked up by British tabloids. Anthony O’Mally, 49, shared CCTV footage of him being pickpocketed around 3:30 a.m. on May 2 on Walking Street and the story was picked up by the British tabloids. O’Mally was drunk when the tall transgender woman accosted him and took his wallet without his knowledge. The suspect casually lit up a Transvestite Wilad Wongsuwan has been arrested cigarette while the victim stag- after having been caught on a viral video robbing a British tourist. gered away with 500 pounds, “Personally, I am very im- after working at a Soi 8 beer or about 20,000 baht. “I appreciate very much pressed and would like to bar. On the night in question he was drunk and stressed the work of Thai police thank you to Thai police.” Police said Wilad confessed, out over money, so he for quickly arresting the suspect,” O’Mally said. claiming he was unemployed pickpocketed the tourist.

Woman swerves for snake, dies in head-on collision Vigo straight into oncoming traffic to avoid a snake, said bus driver Prawit Siripee, 38. The snake was already dead. Prawit also swerved trying to avoid the crash and flipped the van and skid off the roadway.

A Lopburi woman who swerved her truck to avoid a snake in the road killed herself and hurt seven others when she collided head-on with a bus.

Boonlua Chatree A Lopburi woman who swerved her truck to avoid a snake in the road killed herself and hurt seven others when she collided head-on with a bus.

Panghom Maingam, 45, died and seven inside a factory employee van were injured in the June 3 wreck on Rong Po Road in Takhiantia. A quality-control chief at factory in Takhiantia, Panghom drove her Toyota

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Navy impounds 3 Vietnamese fishing boats Patcharapol Panrak The Royal Thai Navy impounded three Vietnamese fishing boats disguised as Thai vessels to illegally fish the Gulf of Thailand. The crew of Patrol Boat 271 arrested eight crewmen from the boats which had changed their names to Thai script and flew the Thai flag about 39 nautical miles off Koh Chuang. They were charged with illegal fishing and illegally entering the kingdom. The boats came out of Phu

The Royal Thai Navy impounded three Vietnamese fishing boats disguised as Thai vessels to illegally fish the Gulf of Thailand.

Quoc, Vietnam to fish for squid. Since October, there have

been 34 arrests and 71 boats seized in the Gulf of Thailand.

Another weapons cache found in Sisaket Police have found more war weapons located about four kilometers away from a similar but larger cache discovered earlier in Sisaket province. Khukhan police and administrative officials inspected the area under the bridge of Sanam Samakkhi village on Highway No. 2 and found material evidence of weapons dumped in the water under the bridge, including 31 tank ammunition sticks, 30AK47 magazines and 10 empty green plastic bottles. They were seized as evidence.

Initially, it is thought that these could be from the same batch of weapons found earlier last week where M-79 grenade launchers, AK-47 rifles, gunpowder and tear gas were recovered from a canal in the same area. The police have passed on the additional seized weapons to the Ordnance Department, Royal Thai Police, for them to be checked for clues.

Deputy Forensic Police Commissioner Pol. Maj. Gen. Thawatchai Mekprasertsuk said the AK-47 rifles, M-79 and RPG grenade launchers were the same types of weapons allegedly used over 50 times during mass protests on Uthong road and outside Government House and the Dusit Thani hotel between 2010 and 2014.

Thai court sentences ex-PM to prison over lottery program Kaweewit Kaewjinda & Pitcha Dangprasith Bangkok (AP) — A Thai court on Thursday, June 6, sentenced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in absentia to two years in prison over his handling of a state lottery program he initiated while in office more than a decade ago. His conviction by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions was for malfeasance, for carrying out a policy judged to be in violation of the law or official regulations. Thaksin was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and has been absent from Thailand since 2008, when he fled to avoid serving a two-year prison term on a conflict of interest conviction. He was sentenced in April to three years’ imprisonment for ordering Thailand’s ExportImport Bank to make a loan to Myanmar which was used to pay a satellite communications company then controlled by him and his family. It is not clear why this year’s cases were completed such a long time after the alleged offenses.

The lottery case involved the establishment in 2003 of an effort to mimic the illegal underground lottery, a flexible game in which people could pick two- and threedigit numbers and bet small amounts, compared with the official system of lottery tickets with fixed numbers and fewer potential winning opportunities. The illegal lottery is hugely popular, and Thaksin’s scheme was an attempt to steer some of the money that went to it to government coffers instead. The court found that Thaksin ignored standard administrative practice in starting the new lottery, which was discontinued when he was forced from office. Thaksin, who maintains a home in Dubai and travels frequently, could not be reached for comment but has consistently denied any wrongdoing while in office and described the cases against him as politically motivated. Thaksin used his wealth as a telecommunications billionaire to create a political party that won a 2001 general election, making him prime minister. By instituting populist policies, he won the allegiance of many of the

In this Friday, March 22, 2019 file photo, Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra welcomes guests for the wedding of his youngest daughter Paetongtarn “Ing” Shinawatra at a hotel in Hong Kong. A court in Thailand has on Thursday, June 6, 2019 sentenced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in absentia to two years in prison over his handling of a state lottery program he initiated while in office more than a decade ago. (AP Photo/ Kin Cheung)

country’s rural majority and urban poor. His political popularity, however, threatened the influence of the country’s traditional ruling circle, including industrialists and the military, and after protests accusing him of abuse of power, the army ousted

him in a 2006 coup. The coup set off a long and sometimes violent struggle for power between Thaksin’s supporters and opponents. The courts, one of Thailand’s most conservative institutions, played a major role in fighting comebacks by his political machine with controversial rulings that consistently whittled away at his allies, ultimately forcing three other prime ministers loyal to him to step down. Critics of the courts suggested Thailand came under the sway of a system known as juristocracy or judiocracy, in which the judiciary exercises political power overriding other branches of government, including elected officials. Thailand’s decades-old official lottery has been dogged time and again by rigging and corruption scandals. The court’s ruling Thursday appeared to claim that the lottery scheme initiated under Thaksin involved unacceptable financial risk to the government. Thai news reports said dozens of other officials were previously tried and convicted for involvement, with some senior figures given suspended prison terms.

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Pattaya delivers ID cards to elderly, infirm

Nongprue Elderly School starts new term Jetsada Homklin

Banglamung District Chief Amnart Charoensri and Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh led a group of administrators to the Kratinglai Community to deliver IDs for elderly, disabled and bedridden residents unable to go the city hall.

Pattaya made identification cards for elderly, disabled and bedridden residents unable to go the city hall. Banglamung District Chief Amnart Charoensri and

Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh led a group of administrators to the Kratinglai Community June 6 for the outreach project.

Registrars completed applications for 12 residents who lost or damaged their cards, had them expire or had old cards with no electronic chips. (PCPR)

Pet hospital donates net-shooting gun to police Jetsada Homklin Nernplabwan Pet Hospital donated an old net gun to Nongprue police for capturing criminals more dangerous than wild animals. Owner and veterinarian Padet Siridamrong presented the weapon to Nongprue deputy chief Pol. Lt. Col. Krit Masuk June 4. The vet explained that he bought the shotgun – which deploys a large net when shot – about a decade ago for 30,000 baht to confine animals posing a threat to nearby residents. But with the Pattaya area’s developments, it never gets used anymore.

Nernplabwan Pet Hospital donated an old net gun to Nongprue police for capturing criminals more dangerous than wild animals. Shown here, police try out the gun to see it in action.

But when he read news of a police officer being cut by a drugged-up addict, he decided to donate the gun to

help police apprehend dangerous criminals. Police tried out the gun to see it in action.

Naklua neighborhood plans anti-drug program

The Narcotics Control Management Center and Ban Huatung Community have joined forces on a neighborhood-level anti-drugs program.

Jetsada Homklin The Narcotics Control Management Center and Ban Huatung Community joined forces on a neighborhoodlevel anti-drugs program. Pattaya municipal police chief, Pol. Lt. Jeerawat

Sukontasap joined community leaders in the Naklua neighborhood June 6 along with soldiers and Pojanart Petchrupan of the Chonburi Probation Department. Attending were bar operators and residents of Naklua’s Ban Huatung Community

and surrounding communities. The meeting aimed to organize a neighborhood watchtype program where residents keep eyes out for both crime and drugs and entertainment venues make more effort to keep drugs and weapons out of their businesses.

It was back to school for 52 Pattaya-area senior citizens who have started a twoyear educational journey in Nongprue. The subdistrict on June 7 marked the start of third class for its free educational classes for the elderly. Classroom leader Somporn Rattanasuk and Nongprue Councilwoman Siripen Lekdee were the teachers on the first day at the Nongprue Municipal Elderly School on Soi Nernplubwan. Classes include primary healthcare, religious and Thai culture, mental health

It was back to school for 52 Pattaya-area senior citizens who have started a two-year educational journey in Nongprue taught by Nongprue Councilwoman Siripen Lekdee.

and electives like food preparation and cooking. Those interested in joining

can apply at the Public Health and Environment Department.

Free flu shots given in Chumsai Jetsada Homklin Pattaya offered free flu shots at a Health Department outreach visit to the Chumsai Community Tuesday. Nurse Naanya Jantrakad oversaw the inoculations. Flu vaccines are suggested for pregnant women, the elderly, children under 12 and those with chronic illnesses. Health workers also took the opportunity to provide free screenings for diabetes and blood Pattaya offered free flu shots at a Health pressure, medical checkups, basic Department outreach visit to the Chumsai medications and nutritional advice. Community.

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Pattaya adds 11 civil servants Thai, South Korean Rotarians donate hospital equipment

Eleven new teachers and civil servants were welcomed on their first day of work and told to work hard and honestly.

Jetsada Homklin Eleven new teachers and civil servants were welcomed on their first day of work and told to work hard and honestly. Deputy Mayor Manote

Nongyai opened the June 4 orientation with City Manager Chanatpong Sriviset and personnel director Surasak Jansomboon. Pattaya took on 11 new city employees who passed their exam with the Department of

Local Administration. One teacher was added to a Pattaya public school, three transferred from another municipality, one person returned to work after a hiatus and six bureaucrats were new hires.

Pattaya releases fish for Environment Day Jetsada Homklin

Pattaya celebrated World Environment Day by releasing 15,000 Asian sea bass.

Pattaya celebrated World Environment Day by releasing 15,000 Asian sea bass into the sea. Deputy Mayor Pattana Boonsawad presided over the June 5 event in Jomtien Beach with city and neighborhood leaders, students, hotel employees and the public. Other activities were organized to teach the importance of protecting the marine environment, such as trash disposal and recycling and not dumping garbage into sewers.

Past District Governor Premprecha Dibbayawan, chair of Rotary District 3340 Foundation Committee, Steve Devereux, President of the Rotary Club of Pattaya and Kim Jinbum, President of the Rotary Club of Pocheon present the equipment to hospital deputy chief Dr. Chanchai Limthongcharoen.

Jetsada Homklin The Rotary Club of Pattaya joined counterparts from South Korea in donating 1.6 million baht in medical equipment to Banglamung Hospital. Past District Governor Premprecha Dibbayawan, chair of Rotary District 3340 Foundation Committee,

Steve Devereux, President of the Rotary Club of Pattaya and Kim Jinbum, President of the Rotary Club of Pocheon presented the equipment to hospital deputy chief Dr. Chanchai Limthongcharoen June 4. The medical equipment was acquired under the Rotary Foundation’s Global Grant program.

Among the gear were instruments for electrocardiograms, central monitoring, a sphygmomanometer, oxygen meter and electrocardiograph. Nurses put on a special dance to thank the Rotarians. The equipment will be installed in a new male surgery building now under construction.

Forest trespassing resorts busted in Phetchabun

Broken sidewalks make for hazardous walking Boonlua Chatree Damaged sidewalks make simply walking dangerous along a stretch of South Road. Footpaths on both sides of the street near the CAT Telecom building are cracked, broken and uneven due to repeated flooding. Residents say continual road work also has led to a surface that has become dangerous for pedestrians because work crews never restore the pavement to pristine condition. Locals are demanding city hall Footpaths on both sides of the street near the CAT fix the problems as soon as Telecom building are cracked, broken and possible. uneven due to repeated flooding.

PATTAYA MAIL PUBLISHING CO., LTD. 62/284-286 Moo 12, Thepprasit Road, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi 20150. Administration, Advertising and Editorial Offices: Tel: 038 411 240-1, 038 413 240-1 • Fax: 038 427 596 E-mail: ptymail@pattayamail.com • Website: http://www.pattayamail.com Managing Director Pratheep S. Malhotra e-mail: pratheep@pattayamail.com Executive Editor Daniel M. Dorothy e-mail: dan@pattayamail.com Deputy Managing Director Kamolthep Malhotra e-mail: prince@pattayamail.com Director-Business Development Suwanthep Malhotra e-mail: tony@pattayamail.com Editor Nopniwat Krailerg e-mail: editor@pattayamail.com Sports Editor Martin Bilsborrow e-mail: martin@pattayamail.com Executive Editor-Pattaya Blatt Elfi Seitz e-mail: elfi@pattayablatt.com Director of Communications Supa Kukarja e-mail: sue@pattayamail.com Senior Special Correspondent Peter Cummins e-mail: npetercummins@hotmail.com Advertising Department Nutsara Duangsri e-mail: nutsara@pattayamail.com News Department: Boonlua Chatree, Urasin Khantaraphan, Patcharapol Panrak, Theerarak Suthathiwong, Jetsada Homklin © Copyright Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd. (e-mail: newsdesk@pattayamail.com)

The Director General of the Royal Forest Department visited Khao Kho district in Phetchabun last week to prosecute the owners of resorts illegally built on national park land.

The Director General of the Royal Forest Department visited Khao Kho district in Phetchabun last week to prosecute the owners of resorts illegally built on national park land. Director General Athapol Charoenshunsa led officials to arrest the holders of 5

plots of land, totaling some 8 square kilometers of forest area. No persons were found on site, however, but officials confiscated the buildings and vowed to track down and prosecute the owners. Earlier in May, forest department officials and the

military arrested the owner of another resort on trespassed forest land. During the operation, one resort worker lodged a complaint to visiting officials, alleging the owner had been prosecuted for forest trespassing already in 2002 and fined 2.8 million baht.

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Students, scuba divers clean Prime Minister has little to Koh Larn for World Ocean Day say about staying in power

The Royal Thai Navy and Pattaya City Hall hosted a beach and reef cleanup on Koh Larn for World Ocean Day.

The Royal Thai Navy and Pattaya City Hall hosted a beach and reef cleanup on Koh Larn for World Ocean Day. Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and Vice Adm. Banjob Poedaeng, commander of the 1st Naval Area Command opened the June 8 event on Tawan Beach with local marine and fisheries officials and singer Tono Pakin Kumwilaisak. Students joined scuba divers in cleaning garbage off the beach and off coral reefs to help protect the environment. (PCPR)

Garbage piles up on South Pattaya soi Boonlua Chatree South Pattaya residents are complaining that the city has ignored growing piles of garbage outside Soi Penpak Village. The development off South Road has been the subject of countless photos posted to Facebook with trash strewn along both sides of the street. With no lights on the small sidestreet, people worry that the garbage will cause an accident after dark.

South Pattaya residents are complaining that the city has ignored growing piles of garbage outside Soi Penpak Village.

Kaweewit Kaewjinda Bangkok (AP) —Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha isn’t feeling chatty about being elected to stay on as premier. Prayuth stayed out of the spotlight Thursday, June 6, a day after he skipped a Parliament session in which lawmakers, including hundreds he helped appoint, voted to keep him in the job he has held since staging a military coup in 2014. He delivered little more than a brief thank you through a spokesman and on his Facebook page, also promising to carry out his duties to the best of his ability. Prayuth’s return to the premiership was not a surprise given that he and his junta spent the past five years reworking the country’s political system to make sure he remained in power. Prayuth’s opponents charge the new system is merely a continuation of military rule in another form. Some provisions in the new constitution the junta commissioned assign special privileges to the military, especially if national security or stability is involved. And the heads of the police and branches of

UN agencies urge stronger efforts to stop illegal fishing Elaine Kurtenbach Bangkok (AP) — Major United Nations agencies are urging key fishing nations to join efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization and other groups made the call at a conference in Bangkok last week focused on helping protect fisheries and those working in the industry. Thailand is the world’s biggest importer of tuna. It has one of the seven state-ofthe-art centers in the region monitoring fishing vessels in real time to help control access to regional ports and curb illegal fishing. The centers are helping enforce the Port State Measures Agreement, which aims to help curb illegal, unreported and unregulated — or IUU — fishing. Dozens of governments have joined but U.N. officials are urging more to support the effort. Illegal fishing costs countries in the Asia-Pacific region some $5 billion a year; globally more than $20 billion. And rogue fishing vessels often engage in other crimes such as piracy and human and drug trafficking, abuses being fought along with the International Labor Organization and International

In this May 21, 2019, photo, staff monitor fishing vessels in real time at a state-of-the-art surveillance center in Bangkok. (AP Photo/Elaine Kurtenbach)

Organization for Migration. Preventing such vessels from selling illegal catches is the most vital element for stopping illegal fishing, Adisorn Promthep, directorgeneral of Thailand’s Department of Fisheries, said during a visit to the center in Bangkok. “We also make certain that no IUU fish or products come to Thailand and this is going to be a big help to work against IUU,” Adisorn said in an interview. A Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press investigation in 2015-16 that uncovered severe rights abuses affecting migrant workers in Thailand’s fishing and seafood industries helped focus attention on the problem. The stories helped free more than 2,000 enslaved men

from Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, and led to more than a dozen arrests, amended U.S. laws and lawsuits seeking redress. The European Union in 2015 gave Thailand a “yellow card” on its fishing exports, warning that it could face a ban on EU sales if it didn’t reform the industry. Thailand responded by introducing new regulations and setting up the command center to fight illegal fishing. During a recent visit, about a dozen staff in the surveillance center were keeping a round-the-clock watch on the positions of fishing and other vessels to see if they were operating in areas they were not authorized to fish in. The system includes detailed online records and

photographs of each vessel, their crews, logs and other information that is verified by officials at ports before the ships are allowed to unload catches, refuel or restock. The FAO estimates that almost a third of global fish stocks are degraded from overfishing, and a further 60% are “fully exploited.” Illegal catches account for much of the overfishing, or up to 26 million tons a year, at times nearly one-fifth of the total harvest from the sea. And while the systems are improving and expanding, they are not failsafe. In some cases, small-scale fishers are unfamiliar with territorial limits in traditional fishing areas, said Simon J. Nicol, a senior fishery official at the FAO’s Bangkok office. Adisorn agreed that relatively recently established boundaries and controls can be a problem for some fishermen, especially artisanal, small boats. But having fishing vessels comply means a “level playing field,” he said. Ultimately, Nicol said, the aim is not just to combat illegal fishing, but to try to ensure sustainable use of fisheries at a time of declining stocks of some species, such as the bluefin tuna favored by sushi bars. “We are on the right track,” Nichol said.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha smiles as he talks to reporters before a meeting at government house in Bangkok, Thursday, June 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

the military are automatically members of the Senate. But there are doubts that Prayuth will be able to run things smoothly since he will lose some powers he had as head of the junta, and be accountable to a Parliament with an opposition, rather than the tame national assembly he appointed after the coup and used to rubberstamp his decisions. In the lower house, which passes law and approves budgets, Prayuth’s ruling coalition has a razor-thin majority. “He is in a kind of a strongman mold, but now he has to be accountable, more scrutinized, so we can expect him to lose some temper. We can expect him to be flustered, frustrated. But the big question is whether the coalition government will hold,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. Under Prayuth’s junta there were a bevy of laws enacted that allowed it to take action against its critics and opponents, stifling dissent online and in real life.

The major instrument he wielded was a provision known as Article 44, which handed him lawmaking powers without the need for approval from anyone. It was enacted under an interim constitution to replace martial law, which was declared right after Prayuth’s 2014 takeover. The junta will be dissolved when Prayuth appoints his new Cabinet, and Article 44 will expire with it, even though the orders enacted under Article 44 will remain in force. Thitinan expects Prayuth will try to stay above the fray and allow military-allied lawmakers to protect him, a strategy other previous unelected military prime ministers employed. He said that may prove a difficult task, given the size and determination of the opposition bloc and the unwieldy nature of his own coalition. “General Prayuth as head of it all will have a big headache at a minimum, but beyond that, he also will face a kind of scrutiny he hasn’t seen in the last five years that may involve some very sensitive issues,” such as his personal assets, his relatives and associates, Thitinan said.

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VOL. XXVII No. 24

NASA’s first-of-kind tests look to manage drones in cities Scott Sonner Reno, Nev. (AP) — NASA has launched the final stage of a four-year effort to develop a national traffic management system for drones, testing them in cities for the first time beyond the operator’s line of sight as businesses look in the future to unleash the unmanned devices in droves above busy streets and buildings. Multiple drones took to the air at the same time above downtown Reno recently in a series of simulations testing emerging technology

that someday will be used to manage hundreds of thousands of small unmanned commercial aircraft delivering packages, pizzas and medical supplies. “This activity is the latest and most technical challenge we have done with unmanned aerial systems,” said David Korsmeyer, associate director of research and technology at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. An autonomous drone took off from the rooftop of a five-story casino parking garage and landed on the

Report: NASA’s major projects busting budgets, schedules Marcia Dunn Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s major projects are busting budgets and schedules like never before, according to a congressional watchdog agency. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that NASA’s major projects are more than 27 percent over baseline costs and the average launch delay is 13 months. That’s the largest schedule delay since the GAO began assessing NASA’s major projects 10 years ago. The still-in-development James Webb Space Telescope is the major offender. The projected launch date for this advanced successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is now 2021, with an estimated $9.6 billion price tag, the GAO noted.

Its original target launch date was 2007, with initial cost estimates as low as $1 billion. NASA’s yet-to-fly mega rocket, the Space Launch System, also faces big cost overruns because of production challenges and, likely, even more launch delays. On the bright side, the Parker Solar Probe launched last summer and looping ever closer around the sun came in millions under budget and was also on time. The GAO defines a major project as having at least $250 million in lifetime costs. Altogether, NASA plans to invest $63 billion on the 24 major projects listed in the GAO’s latest report. The partial government shutdown, which stretched from December to January, was not factored into the report.

roof of another out of view across the street. It hovered as onboard sensors adjusted for gusty winds before returning close to the center of the launch pad. Equipped with GPS, others flew at each other no higher than city streetlights but were able to avoid colliding through onboard tracking systems connected to NASA’s computers on the ground. Similar tests have been conducted in remote and rural areas. The Federal Aviation Administration has authorized individual test flights in cities before but never for multiple drones or outside the sight of the operator. The new round of tests continuing this summer in Reno and Corpus Christi, Texas, marks the first time simulations have combined all those scenarios, said Chris Walach, executive director of the Nevada Institute of Autonomous Systems, which is running the Reno tests of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. “When we began this project four years ago, many of us wouldn’t have thought we’d be standing here today flying UAVs with advanced drone systems off high-rise buildings,” he said. The team adopted a “crawl, walk, run” philosophy when it initiated tests in 2015, culminating with this fourth

In this May 21, 2019 photo, two drones fly above Lake Street in downtown Reno, Nev. as part of a NASA simulation to test emerging technology that someday will be used to manage travel of hundreds of thousands of commercial, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) delivering packages. It marked the first time such tests have been conducted in an urban setting. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

round of simulations, said Ron Johnson, project manager for unmanned aircraft systems traffic management at NASA’s Ames Research Center. “We are definitely in the ‘run’ phase of this development here in Reno,” he said. The results will be shared with the FAA. The agency outlined proposed rules in January that would ease restrictions on flying drones over crowds but said it won’t take final action until it finishes another regulation on identifying drones as they’re flying — something industry analysts say could be years away.

Critics assert that the FAA has stymied the commercial use of drones by applying the same rigid safety standard it uses for airlines. “There can be a lot of Silicon Valley mentality where people don’t want to wait. So, we’re trying to strike a balance between unleashing entrepreneurship and ensuring we’re doing it safely while trying to accelerate acceptance of drones in public,” Johnson said. Amazon and FedEx are among the companies that hope to send consumer products by drone by 2020. Drone delivery company Flirtey began testing delivery of

defibrillators for cardiac arrest patients last year in Reno under FAA oversight. Johnson said cities present the biggest challenges because of limited, small landing areas among tall buildings that create navigation and communication problems. He said it became apparent early on that the travel management plans for drones would have to be completely automated because FAA air traffic controllers can’t handle the enormous workload. The system is being tested with the help of 36 private partners, including drone manufacturers, operators, software developers and other third-party service providers, Johnson said. The system uses software on the ground that communicates flight plans and positions to other software systems. The drones are equipped with programs for landing, avoiding crashes, surveillance, detection and identification, optical cameras and systems similar to radar that work with lasers. Huy Tran, director of aeronautics at NASA’s Ames Research Center, said her supervisors at NASA headquarters were surprised to hear they had be testing drones in Reno. “They said, ‘Are you crazy?’” she said. “We hope (the test in) Reno shows drones can be flown and land safely.”

Google’s activities under scrutiny by US, Europe regulators Marcy Gordon Washington (AP) — Google, the tech giant known universally for its search engine, also has fingers in a number of other pies, like online advertising, email messaging and video. That gives U.S. antitrust enforcers, who have reportedly evinced a new interest in pursuing competition charges against Google, lots to look at. Governments around the world are becoming increasingly unnerved by the power amassed by major technology companies — with the dominance of Google in search, Facebook in social networking and Amazon in e-commerce raising the sharpest concerns. In the most dramatic scenario, a case might be made for breaking the companies into smaller pieces. The U.S. Justice Department is readying an investigation of Google’s business practices in search and other areas, and whether they violate antitrust law, according to news reports. Neither the company nor the Justice Department will confirm or deny that a probe has been launched. The Federal Trade

Commission, which shares competition oversight with Justice, made an antitrust investigation of Google but closed it in 2013 without taking action. The company made changes voluntarily after the FTC probe, including letting advertisers use information from their Google ad campaigns to create campaigns with rivals. But an FTC staff report released years later showed that the agency staff had urged the presidentially-appointed commissioners to bring a lawsuit against Google. That never happened. It isn’t clear what specific areas of Google’s business the Justice Department might be probing. But here are some possible areas U.S. antitrust cops might poke into.

Ads Google commands the lead in digital ad revenue by a wide margin, controlling 31.1% of global digital ad dollars, according to eMarketer’s 2019 estimates. Facebook is a distant second with 20.2%. European antitrust regulators slapped Google in March with a $1.7 billion fine for freezing out rivals in the

online advertising business — the regulators’ third big fine against the company in less than two years. Still, the latest penalty isn’t likely to have much effect on Google’s business. It applies to a narrow portion of Google’s ad business in which Google sells ads next to Google search results on third-party websites. It involves practices the company says it already ended, and the amount is just a fraction of the $31 billion in profit that its parent, conglomerate Alphabet Inc., made last year.

Search Results Google’s search engine handles two out of every three queries in the U.S. European regulators have found that Google manipulated its search engine to gain an unfair advantage over other online shopping sites in the lucrative e-commerce market, fining the company $2.8 billion. Google disputes those findings and is still appealing the 2017 decision. The FTC staff report released after the agency’s investigation showed that the staff legal recommendations rejected by the commissioners involved allegations of

Google tinkering with its search results in a way that stifled competition. Lawmakers from both parties appear determined to examine whether Google rigs its search results to also promote its own political agenda.

Android Antics Another huge antitrust fine from the European overseers, $5 billion, came against Google in July 2018 for a finding that it abused the dominance of its Android operating system by forcing handset and tablet makers to install Google apps, reducing consumer choice. The company appealed the ruling and also made changes to avoid additional fines. It started this spring giving European Union smartphone users a choice of browsers and search apps on Android. Following an Android update, users will be shown two new screens giving them the new options. Android users who open the Google Play store after the update will be given the option to install as many as five search apps and five browsers. Apps are included based on their popularity and shown in random order.

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Do you have “sugar”? Diabetes is one of those insidious conditions that creeps up slowly and you don’t realize you have got it until it is too late. For example, this week I saw one patient who had been checking his blood sugars and they were all around 100 (normal) so he gave up checking his sugar levels at the end of last year. He now reported some suspicious symptoms, but as he had stopped taking his blood sugar levels we repeated the blood test. Sugar levels were now around 550! Diabetes is a serious ailment, which can arise for many reasons, and can affect many systems in the human body. Diabetes, called “sugar” by patients, is diagnosed and monitored mainly through a simple blood test – the Blood Glucose level. To stop the sugar levels increasing daily, a balance is achieved through a hormone called Insulin which helps the body use and control the amount of glucose in the blood. Insulin is produced in areas of the pancreas called ‘islets’ and released into the blood when the level of glucose in the blood rises. In simple terms, people who do not produce enough insulin develop Diabetes. People can also develop diabetes if they do not respond normally to the insulin their bodies produce. This occurs

most commonly when a person is overweight, and since obesity is on the rise, so are various types of Diabetes. Normally, blood glucose levels increase slightly after a person eats a meal. This increase causes the pancreas to release insulin so that blood glucose levels do not get too high. Blood glucose levels that remain high over time can cause damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels, which explains why good glucose control is important. There are many ways to carry out blood glucose tests, including Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS). This is a measurement of blood glucose after fasting for 12 to 14 hours. The other common test is called the Random Blood Sugar (RBS). A random blood sugar measurement may also be called a casual blood glucose test. This is a measurement of blood glucose that is taken regardless of when the person last ate a meal. Sometimes several random measurements are taken throughout a day. Random testing is useful because glucose levels in healthy people do not vary widely throughout the day, so wild swings may indicate a metabolic problem. Glucose Tolerance Testing can also be done, usually to confirm a condition known as Gestational Diabetes, which can occur during pregnancy. To monitor the treatment of

diabetes, there are another couple of tests which can be carried out. The commonest is Glycated Hemoglobin, otherwise referred to as HbA1c. This test actually is an indicator of the average glucose concentration over the life of the red blood cells (which is taken as over the previous three months). “Normal” levels may vary from lab to lab, but generally the range taken for FBS is that the level should be less than 110 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Diagnosis of diabetes needs a fasting blood glucose level higher than 125 mg/dL on two separate days. A fasting glucose level below 40 mg/dL in women or below 50 mg/dL in men that is accompanied by symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) may indicate an insulinoma, a tumor that produces abnormally high amounts of insulin. Lower than expected glucose levels can also indicate Addison’s disease, an underactive thyroid gland or pituitary gland, liver disease (such as cirrhosis), malnutrition, or a problem that prevents the intestines from absorbing the nutrients in food. So you can see “sugar” is important which is why we have specialist endocrinologists at my hospital.

Drugs make headway against lung, breast, prostate cancers Marilynn Marchione Chicago (AP) — Newer drugs are substantially improving the chances of survival for some people with hard-to-treat forms of lung, breast and prostate cancer, doctors reported at the world’s largest cancer conference. Among those who have benefited is Roszell Mack Jr., who at age 87 is still able to work at a Lexington, Kentucky, horse farm, nine years after being diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his bones and lymph nodes. “I go in every day, I’m the first one there,” said Mack, who helped test Merck’s Keytruda, a therapy that helps the immune system identify and fight cancer. “I’m feeling well and I have a good quality of life.” The downside: Many of these drugs cost $100,000 or more a year, although what patients pay out of pocket varies depending on insurance, income and other criteria. The results were featured Saturday and Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago and some were published by the New England Journal of Medicine. Companies that make the drugs sponsored the studies, and some study leaders have financial ties. Here are some highlights:

Lung Cancer Immunotherapy drugs such as Keytruda have transformed the treatment of many types of cancer, but they’re still fairly new and don’t help most patients. The longest study yet of Keytruda in patients with advanced lung cancer found that 23% of those who got the drug as part of their initial therapy survived at least five years, whereas 16% of those who tried other treatments first did. In the past, only about 5% of such patients lived that long. “I’m a big believer that it’s not just about duration of life, quality of life is important,” said Dr. Leora Horn, of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She enrolled Mack in the 550-person study. Mack said he had manageable side effects — mostly some awful itching — after starting on Keytruda four years ago. He went off it last winter and scans showed no active cancer; he and his doctor hope it’s in remission. Last year, a smaller study reported five-year survival rates of 16% for similar patients given another immunotherapy, Opdivo. “From both studies we’re getting a similar message: When these drugs work, they can have a really durable effect,” Horn said.

At the age of 87, Roszell Mack, Jr., shown here in his office in May 2019 is able to work nearly fulltime at the horse farm nine years after being diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his bones and lymph nodes. Mack helped test Merck’s Keytruda, a therapy that helps the immune system see and fight cancer. “I’m feeling well and I have a good quality of life.” The biggest drawback of these drugs: They often cost $100,000 or more a year, although what patients pay out of pocket varies by insurance, income and other things. (Courtesy Roszell Mack, Jr. via AP)

Breast Cancer The risk of this rises with age, but about 48,000 cases each year in the U.S. are in women under age 50. About 70% are “hormone-positive, HER2-negative” — that is, the cancer’s growth is fueled by estrogen or progesterone and not by the gene that the drug Herceptin targets. In a study of 672 women with such cancers that had spread or were very advanced, adding the Novartis drug Kisqali to the usual hormone blockers as initial therapy helped more than hormone therapy alone. After 3 1/2 years, 70% of women on Kisqali were alive, compared to 46% of the rest. Side effects were more common with Kisqali. This is the first time any

treatment has boosted survival beyond what hormone blockers do for such patients.

Prostate The options keep expanding for men with prostate cancer that has spread beyond the gland. Standard treatment is drugs that block the male hormone testosterone, which helps these cancers grow, plus chemotherapy or a newer drug called Zytiga. Now, two other drugs have proven able to extend survival when used like chemo or Zytiga in men who were getting usual hormone therapy and still being helped by it. One study tested Xtandi, sold by Pfizer and Astellas Pharma Inc., in 1,125 men, half of whom also were getting chemo. After three years, 80% of those given

Xtandi plus standard treatments were alive, compared to 72% of men given the other treatments alone. The other study involved 1,052 men who were given hormone therapy with or without the Janssen drug Erleada. After two years, survival was 82% among those on Erleada and 74% among those who weren’t. Men now have a choice of four drugs that give similar benefits, and no studies yet have compared them against each other, said Dr. Ethan Basch, a prostate specialist at the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center who has no financial ties to any drugmakers. Cost and side effects may

help patients decide, he said. Chemo can cause numbness and tingling in the hands and feet and may not be good for men with diabetes who already are at higher risk for this problem. Zytiga must be taken with a steroid; Xtandi and Erleada can cause falling and fainting. Chemo has more side effects but costs much less and requires only four to six intravenous treatments. The other three drugs are pills that cost more than $10,000 a month and are taken indefinitely. “I have patients who refuse to take these drugs because of cost,” Basch said. “Patients have more choice, but it isn’t clear more benefit is being provided” beyond what chemo gives, he said.

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Odds and Ends The Associated Press

Lift those knees: Babies crawl to the Lithuanian finish line Vilnius, Lithuania (AP) — In Lithuania, the rat race of life apparently starts early. Twenty-five babies have taken to the red carpet in Lithuania in a crawling race as their parents, grandparents and onlookers cheered the spectacle. Saturday’s event in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, was the 20th annual event staged by a local radio station to mark International Children’s Day, celebrated in this Baltic nation on June 1. Teams waved toys and even banged baby food cans to spur the 7-to-11-month-old baby girls and boys to move faster on the carpet. An 11-month-old baby boy named Ignas managed to crawl over a few meters (yards) and reach the finish line first. (AP Photo/ Mindaugas Kulbis)

Court confirms man’s custody of dog, denies ex-girlfriend Augusta, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Supreme Court has upheld a ruling granting a man sole custody of his dog, denying his ex-girlfriend’s bid to take the pet. The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday affirmed that pets are property in confirming a district judge’s decision that the Lab-boxer mix named Honey belongs to the man whose name appeared on adoption papers. His former girlfriend sued for custody. The ruling was swift, and there was no written opinion. During arguments two weeks ago, Chief Justice Leigh Saufley questioned whether it’s a good use of time for judges to analyze pet custody in cases involving unmarried couples. Pets are considered property in all 50 states. Only three states — Alaska, Illinois and California — have specific laws that address pet custody when a marriage dissolves.

Gator busts through kitchen window, breaks bottles of wine Clearwater, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-foot (3.4-meter) alligator busted through a kitchen window and broke several bottles of red wine in a Florida home before it was captured. Police tweeted that the gator was removed from Mary Wischhusen’s Clearwater condominium early Friday. No one was injured. Wischhusen uses a walker. She told news outlets that the moment she saw the lumbering reptile, she moved into her bedroom, closed the door and called police. She says she played computer games while waiting for help to arrive. Wischhusen says it took two trappers and 10 police officers two hours to get the alligator out of the home, where she has lived for almost four decades.

Merkel fan accidentally grounds chancellor’s plane

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Doi Inthanon National Park has announced the closure of the Kiew Mae Pan Nature Trail to restore the ecosystem, improve and repair the facilities as well as prevent danger that may occur to tourists during the rainy season. Krichsayam Khongsatree, Head of Doi Inthanon National Park, disclosed that there is a large number of tourists who are interested in Kew Mae Pan Nature Trail and the number has increased every year, resulting in damage to the ecological system along the

nature trail as well as facilities such as a walkway, hand rails and viewpoint balcony. During the rainy season, the trail will become increasingly slippery and may be dangerous to tourists so Doi Inthanon National Park has to close it. The nature trail covers a distance of 3.2 kilometers at a height of about 2,200 meters above sea level. It is a trail with biodiversity and is very popular among tourists because of the natural beauty, evergreen forest and many scenic viewpoints.

Jean-Baptiste Papin Named Commercial Director of Hilton Pattaya Hilton Pattaya has appointed a new commercial director of its unique by design hotel. Jean-Baptiste Papin most recently served as senior cluster revenue manager of the Hilton Revenue Management Consolidated Center, Asia Pacific. “We are excited to welcome Jean-Baptiste Papin to our unique hotel. I am confident that Jean Baptiste’s wealth of knowledge will help bring our outstanding hotel to the next level,” said Rudolf Troestler, general manager, Hilton Pattaya. A 10-year hospitality veteran, Jean-Baptiste Papin began his career as a Front Office Supervisor at Beachside 5 star Guest House & Self Catering in Cape Town, South Africa. From there, Jean-Baptiste built a highly successful career with Hilton Diagonal

Jean-Baptiste Papin.

Mar Barcelona followed by over 3 years at Hilton Revenue Management Consolidated Center, China as Cluster Revenue Manager. Jean-Baptiste has experience in managing multiple luxury hotels and resorts including Hilton Osaka, Conrad Seoul, Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk and Waldorf Astoria Bangkok.

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VOL. XXVII No. 24

Science friction

Dolly the Sheep (1997-2003).

One day when I was still at high school in The Old Country, I was summoned to the Headmaster’s study. He was seated behind an oversized desk in a small and dingy room. “Ah, Kaye”, he announced as I tentatively walked in. I could tell from his icy tone that this was not going to be Good News Day. “I think you should be aware” he began slowly as though addressing an imbecile,

“that you have distinguished this fine school with the lowest mark in physics ever recorded.” This came as a bit of set-back to someone who had imagined one day being the Astronomer Royal. But the Headmaster was right. I had no talent for physics and I hated those dreary unforgiving coefficient of friction questions involving blocks on inclined planes. The curious thing

was that I was fascinated – and still am - by the ideas of science but as soon as the equations appeared my mind seemed to go blank. You might be surprised to know that science has inspired several 20th century works. In 1975 John Cage composed his Etudes Australes based on star charts. The following year, Philip Glass wrote his five-hour opera Einstein on the Beach. In 2009, The Wellcome Trust commissioned British composer Michael Zev Gordon to write a piece based on DNA genetic analysis. However, fifty years earlier the Polish composer Penderecki had done something slightly similar. And so this week, let me offer you two musical challenges. But be warned, this is not music for the faint of heart or those of a delicate disposition.

Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933): Polymorphia. AUKSO Chamber Orchestra of Tychy cond. Penderecki (Duration: 06:16; Video: 1080p HD) This extraordinary piece was used in Stanley Kubrick’s compelling movie The Shining and perhaps more famously in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist.

Krzysztof Penderecki (KZHISH-toff pen-der-ETSkee) has been described as Poland’s greatest living composer and the title of this work is derived from the Greek word poly meaning “many” and morph meani n g “ s h a p e ” or “form”. Polymorphia is scored for forty-eight stringed instruments and is probably one of the most unintentionally scary-sounding works ever written. Conventional melody and harmony don’t exist in the bleak sound-world that Penderecki created. Parts of the work are based on sound interpretations of medical electroencephalograms which detect electrical activity in the brain and record it the form of wavy lines. These were recorded at a medical facility while volunteer patients listened to Penderecki’s well-known work, Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. This created a pleasing symmetry which must have brought considerable satisfaction to the composer. Of course, you’d never have guessed that this unsettling music was inspired by brain waves, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s the thought that counts.

Steve Reich (b.1936): Dolly from “Three Tales”. Duration: 26:27; Video: 720p HD) Three Tales was described by the composer as a videoopera in three acts. The work was inspired by technological development and the three acts concern (1) the disastrous explosion of the Hindenburg airship in 1937, (2) nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll in the western Pacific Ocean and (3) the cloning of Dolly the sheep in 1997. Steve Reich is closely associated with the minimalist movement and perhaps best known for his work Different Trains scored for string quartet and audio tape. Three Tales is a multimedia work with visuals created and skillfully edited by Beryl Korot who is also Reich’s wife. The music is scored for two sopranos, three tenors, string quartet, percussion, keyboards and pre-recorded audio. Its premiere was at the Vienna Festival in 2002 where it was enthusiastically received and it has since been performed at many international festivals. The third movement, inspired by the cloned sheep named Dolly uses not only music and images but also fragments of speech cut

from interviews with members of the scientific and religious communities including Marvin Minsky, Richard Dawkins and Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. “Dolly” is all about robotics, genetic engineering and the notion of the human body as a machine. The fragments of speech often repeat as though on a loop; sometimes single syllables are repeated and heard in slow motion. Sometimes Reich uses an audio technique known as “freeze frame sound”. As a single phoneme is extended in duration, the original word becomes meaningless and transformed into something else. This might seem eccentric but the process is remarkably similar to the way composers develop musical phrases. Reich skillfully weaves the fragmented speech into the relentless background of cross-rhythms from piano and percussion. The brilliant visuals are remarkably expressive and also contain fleeting reference to the previous two acts. The work makes for a powerful and often disturbing experience, yet there are sometimes strangely inspirational moments. There are touches of humour too and even Dolly herself manages to get a brief word in. You can probably guess what she says.

To watch these YouTube videos, either use your Smartphone to read the QR codes or go to this article online, click on the “live” links and go direct to the videos. If you have a laptop, sound quality can be improved significantly by using headphones or external speakers.

‘Chasing the Moon’ takes a look at the history of rocketry Jeff Ayers This companion book by Robert Stone and Alan Andres to the upcoming PBS film showcases well-known individuals and some forgotten names that were just as essential in keeping the dream of sending a man into outer space. The first known scientific look at the practicality of rockets came in 1903 when Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky published a paper that used a mathematical formula to take the rocket’s mass to its velocity. He was a fan of Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon,” and while the idea of traveling in outer space and visiting other worlds was standard science fiction, Tsiolkovsky’s paper was the first to prove it could be accomplished. Sadly, his findings would take another 20 years to be appreciated.

A young man named Archie Clarke discovered a book when he was a teenager called “The Conquest of Space.” He thought it was fiction, so what he found was completely unexpected as it showed that space travel was theoretically possible. It sparked his imagination, and it eventually led him to write classics such as “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The book mentions the famous names like Wernher von Braun and Robert Goddard, but it’s also about Newton Minow, who believed the future of telecommunications was in using satellites. The authors showcase the human side of what began as a flight of fancy and those pioneers that pursued the dream to see humanity reach the stars. They embraced the chase to the moon and beyond. The book is a perfect appetizer to what seems to be a stellar upcoming PBS documentary. (AP)

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Black Sabbath: ‘Master Of Reality’

mott@pattayamail.com Black Sabbath released their third long-playing record “Master of Reality” in 1971 to much acclaim and controversy. It was hailed in some quarters as the birth of Doom Metal, Stoner Rock or my favorite, Sludge Metal. In other circles it was derided as drivel, not to be taken at all seriously and a fad by these talentless musicians that would be quickly forgotten. Whatever moniker you put on it, heads banged all the way through the album, either rocking to the beat or in exasperation at such a travesty. Sales of the album gave it a double-platinum certificate in America and it was the first Black Sabbath album to reach the Billboard Top Ten, the band’s last album to do so until forty-two years later when “13” topped the charts.

This vinyl offering was presented to buyers in a shiny black embossed envelope sleeve and a suitably gloomy poster of the band (a forerunner to Spinal Tap’s “Smell the Glove” perhaps?) It opens with the sound of lead guitarist Toni Iommi coughing up his lungs and descends downwards in scales from there. The first track “Sweet Leaf” opens in great traditional Black Sabbath fashion with booming lead guitar riffs from Iommi; the strings on his instrument loosened by a step and a half to make it easier for him to play due to him suffering an accident in his youth and severing two of his fingertips. Bass guitarist Geezer Butler also detuned his strings, giving Sabbath their unique sound. Bill Ward’s pounding percussion and extensive use of his bass drums completed the musical side of the band. Butler also wrote most of the lyrics to the songs, but it was Ozzy Osbourne’s vocal delivery that provided much of Black Sabbath’s winning combination.

Singing at the top of his range, he became the Devil himself as, in the space of seconds, he declares love for you before enquiring if you are comfortable in your coffin. “Sweet Leaf” was written about a certain type of tea that the band drank in between takes - traditional Birmingham boys – and the song became a high point of every Black Sabbath concert from then on. It was feared the crowd would riot without its inclusion! The band members stomp on from song to song, being particularly effective when both guitarists hang on to a riff and the drums pound in after them, following all the way to the basement. Toni Iommi turns in some wonderful effects on his guitar with his solos often switching from speaker to speaker, causing more craning of the neck if the head-banging has not already shaken your brains.

Black Sabbath in 1970, from left to right: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne.

There are two other stone cold Sabbath classics in this collection: “Children of the Grave” with its infectious bass riff and dramatic guitar breaks as well as Ozzy’s rabble rousing chants, and “Into The Void”, a master class which completes the album with selective changes of pace and blistering solos. Light and shade are applied on the album by Iommi playing a couple of short but diligent guitar pieces and the haunting “Solitude”, where Sabbath cut the pace

out completely and rely upon dynamics to put their story across. It features piano, flute and a harrowing song line, a romantic ballad this is not. Whatever your thoughts on Black Sabbath they were the first of many bands to travel down this path, and now that they have completed their last world tour “The End” they leave behind a fine legacy and a huge fan base. Album rating: 5 Stars Track List:

Sweet Leaf After Forever Embryo Children Of the Grave Orchid Lord Of This World Solitude Into The Void Black Sabbath: Toni Iommi - lead guitar Ozzy Osbourne – voice of the Devil Geezer Butler - bass guitar Bill Ward - drums Note: Dragged out by Mott The Dog from Fletchers’ Folly on Pattaya’s Dark Side.

The X-Men struggle to the end in ‘Dark Phoenix’ Lindsey Bahr Los Angeles (AP) - The good news is “Dark Phoenix” is neither an apocalypse nor is it “X-Men: Apocalypse,” but this latest installment is not exactly a solid step forward or a satisfying ending for anyone. It’s supposed to be the culmination of 20 years of XMen movies, and yet it feels more like a rushed and inconsequential spinoff than something that we’ve been building toward for two decades. Perhaps that’s because we’ve barely gotten to know this version of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), whose transformation into the allpowerful Phoenix is the thing that divides the X-Men into a tiny civil war. A brief flashback to 1975 shows a young Jean’s defining trauma, when the telekinesis she can’t yet control results in a horrific car crash and her becoming an orphan. She’s taken in by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) who offers her help and guidance and tells her that she can decide to

use her powers for good, which is not exactly top of mind for her when, 17 years later, she absorbs a deadly cosmic energy field. The main action is set in 1992, a decade after the events in “Apocalypse” and 30 years after the events in “X-Men: First Class,” and Charles is riding high on a tide of public goodwill. The X-Men are finally being regarded as heroes and he’s become the This image shows Sophie Turner in a scene from public face of the operation, “Dark Phoenix.” (Twentieth Century Fox via AP) with a direct line to the President of the United States — as the embodiment of all that Charles has been hidof his ambition and failings. ing some information from and everything. Essentially, Jean discovers her about her childhood and Yet he’s getting a little cavalier with his people, sending them off on an impossible rescue mission to space which will render Jean into the Dark Phoenix. Even his longtime allies like Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Hank/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) are starting to question his motives. This, frankly, is the more interesting thread but the film, written and directed by Simon Kinberg, instead uses Jean/Phoenix — who, again, we don’t know very well

she gets angry (dangerously so) and starts racking up a body count. Even Magneto (Michael Fassbender), who is living in what looks like a dystopian sleepaway camp, doesn’t want any part of it and she becomes an outcast. So when an intense alien with nefarious plans and sky high stilettos, Vuk (Jessica Chastain) tells her that she’s just misunderstood and to follow her, Jean is all ears. It’s a lot of fussy plot with not much heart behind it, and while Turner is excellent at looking like a woman in distress, she needs a

character to back up all that conflict and make us care. Even a pretty shocking death barely registers emotionally. It probably also doesn’t help that this is coming on the heels of “Avengers: Endgame.” “Dark Phoenix,” a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action including some gunplay, disturbing images, and brief strong language.” Running time: 113 minutes. Two stars out of four.

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D-Day at 75: Nations honor ag what he called the ultimate fight of good against evil in World War II. “They battled not for control and domination, but for liberty, democracy and selfrule,” Trump said in a speech at the Normandy American

joined by a massive force by sea on the beaches of Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march

A World War II veteran salutes as he poses for a photograph at the end of a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux, Normandy, France, Thursday, June 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People walk among vintage World War II vehicles parked on the beach during events to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Arromanches, Normandy, France, Thursday, June 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Raf Casert, John Leicester & Elaine Ganley Omaha Beach, France (AP) — Standing on the windswept beaches and bluffs of Normandy, a dwindling number of aging veterans of history’s greatest air and sea invasion received the thanks and praise of a world transformed by their sacrifice. The mission now, they said, was to honor the dead and keep their memory alive, 75 years after the D-Day operation that portended the end of World War II. “We know we don’t have much time left, so I tell my story so people know it was because of that generation, because of those guys in this cemetery,” said 99-year-old Steve Melnikoff of Maryland, standing at CollevilleSur-Mer, where thousands of

Americans are buried. “All these generals with all this brass that don’t mean nothing,” he said. “These guys in the cemetery, they are the heroes.” The Thursday, June 6, anniversary was marked with eloquent speeches, profound silences and passionate pleas for an end to bloodshed. French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump praised the soldiers, sailors and airmen who took part in the invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, saying it was the turning point that ended Nazi tyranny and ensured peace for Europe. “You are the pride of our nation, you are the glory of our republic, and we thank you from the bottom of our heart,” Trump said of the warriors who took part in

(L to R) First lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron, walk through The Normandy American Cemetery, following a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

British D-Day veteran Leonard ‘Ted’ Emmings poses for photographs backdropped by the map used to plan the Normandy D-Day landings during a D-Day 75th anniversary media facility at Southwick House near Portsmouth, England. Emmings has had a mission for 75 years. The night before the D-Day landings, Emmings and his shipmates on a Royal Navy landing craft learned their mission was to ferry 36 Canadian troops to Juno Beach, a stretch of Normandy coast fortified with artillery, mortars, mines and machine gun emplacements. The men made a pact: Whatever happened, they would look after those who didn’t make it back. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

dignitaries came to the bluffs and beaches of Normandy, where veterans recalled what they saw 75 years ago. “The water was full of dead men, the beach had burning landing craft,” said Jim Radford, 90, a British D-Day veteran from Hull, describing the scene near Gold Beach, where British landed. He was there again to watch the unveiling of a statue at Gold Beach, where a memorial to British fighters is to be erected. At dawn Thursday, hundreds of civilians and military alike from around the world gathered on Omaha Beach. Dick Jansen, 60, from the Netherlands, drank Canadian whisky from an enamel cup on the water’s edge. Others

scattered carnations into the waves. Randall Atanay, the son of a medic who tended to the dying and wounded, waded barefoot into the water, bonding with his dad, who has since died. Up to 12,000 people attended the ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery, with U.S. veterans, their numbers fast diminishing as years pass, the guests of honor. A 21-gun salute thundered into the waters below the cemetery, on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, and across the rows of white crosses and Stars of David. The final resting places of more than 9,380 of the fallen stretched out before the guests.

Bishop Jean-Claude Boulanger, right, looks at veterans lowering the Union Jack as they pay their respect during a ceremony at the Cathedral of Bayeux, Normandy, Thursday June 6. (Bertrand Guay/ POOL via AP)

Bagpipers lead a procession of British World War II veterans to the Bayeux War Cemetery for a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Bayeux, Normandy, France, Thursday, June 6. (AP Photo/ Francisco Seco)

Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, the bloodiest of five landing beaches. Macron saluted the courage, generosity and strength of spirit that made them press on “to help men and women they didn’t know, to liberate a land most hadn’t seen before, for no other cause but freedom, democracy.” He expressed France’s debt to the United States for freeing his country from the Nazis. Macron awarded five American veterans with the Chevalier of Legion of Honor, France’s highest award. “We know what we owe to you, veterans, our freedom,” he said, switching from French to English. “On behalf of my nation I just want to say ‘thank you’.” About 160,000 troops took part in D-Day, and many more fought in the ensuing Battle of Normandy. Of those, 73,000 were from the United States, while 83,000 were from Britain and Canada. Troops started landing overnight from the air, then were

with you,” Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower had said in his order of the day. “The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory.” On Wednesday, June 5, a commemoration was held in Portsmouth, England, the main embarkation point for the transport boats. Then the

(L to R) First lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron, watch a flyover during a ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the American Normandy cemetery, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Seen in this combo of images, from left: Allen Triegue, 43, military personnel from Australia, who currently lives in Houston, Texas, Keith Taylor, a 73-yearold retired transport worker, dressed as a World War II fire officer and Curtis Sneddon, 24, from England, dressed head to toe in an expensively assembled U.S. Air force uniform, pose for photos in Carentan, France, on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. The 75th anniversary on Thursday of the D-Day landings in Normandy saw thousands turn up for the commemorations in World War II-era garb. (AP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)

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ging veterans, fallen comrades Britain’s Prince Charles, his wife, Camilla, and Prime Minister Theresa May attended a remembrance service at the medieval cathedral in Bayeux, the first Normandy town liberated by Allied troops after D-Day. Hundreds of people packed the seaside square in the town of Arromanches to applaud veterans of the Battle of Normandy that ensued. A wreath was placed outside the town’s D-Day Museum. Gratitude was a powerful common theme. Macron thanked soldiers “so that France could become free again” at the Gold Beach ceremony with May and uniformed veterans laid the cornerstone of the memorial that will record the names of thousands of troops under British command who died in Normandy. “If one day can be said to have determined the fate of generations to come, in France, in Britain, in Europe and the world, that day was the 6th of June, 1944,” May said. As the sun rose that morning, not one of the thousands of men arriving in Normandy “knew whether they would still be alive when the sun set once again,” she said. Passing on memories is especially urgent, with hundreds of World War II veterans now dying every day.

In this March 14, 2007 file photo, Lucie Aubrac, a hero of the French Resistance speaks in Paris. Lucie Aubrac was pregnant when she sprang her husband, Raymond, from Nazi captivity in October 1943. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, file)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed those who “took a gamble the world had never seen before.” Speaking at Juno Beach where 14,000 Canadians came ashore, Trudeau lauded the resulting world order including the United Nations and NATO that have helped preserve peace. But postwar tensions were evident. Not invited to the remembrance was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been present for the

In this Jan. 10, 1940 file photo, some of the nine women who were tasked to take a squadron of Royal Air Force trainer planes from the manufacturing plant, the first time women were allowed to enter a British Military Aircraft, go out on a flying field in England. (AP Photo, File)

From the right, U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Britain’s Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld and other officials attend an international ceremony on Juno Beach in Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, Thursday, June 6, 2019, as part of D-Day commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the World War II Allied landings in Normandy. (Fred Tanneau, Pool via AP)

This Jan. 8, 1943 file photo shows an appeal for more women workers to enter the war factories of Britain, in London. By keeping production lines humming of planes, tanks and other material, they freed up men sent into combat on World War II fronts. (AP Photo, File)

70th commemoration of D-Day. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was a “gift of history” that she was able to participate in the ceremony on Britain’s southern coast. Some 22,000 German soldiers are among those buried around Normandy. The D-Day invasion was a defining moment of military strategy complicated by unpredictable weather and human chaos in which soldiers from the U.S., Britain, Canada and other Allied nations applied relentless bravery to carve out a beachhead on ground that Nazi Germany had occupied for four years.

Sevak Hancerli, 23, from Paris, sits in a trench in the WWII reenactors camp of Old Abe next to Saint-Come-du-Mont, Normandy, France, Monday June 3, 2019. Dressed as an American soldier, he was attending the DDay commemorations for the first time. (AP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)

The Battle of Normandy hastened Germany’s defeat less than a year later. Still, that single day cost the lives of 4,414 Allied troops, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were injured. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded. From there, Allied troops would advance, take Paris in late summer and race with the Soviet Red Army to control as much German territory as possible by the time Adolf Hitler died in his Berlin bunker and Germany surrendered in May 1945. The Soviet Union also fought valiantly against the Nazis — and lost more people than

People on a tank watch fireworks in Arromanches in Normandy region of France, Thursday, June 6, 2019. World leaders and veterans gathered Thursday in France to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (AP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)

British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a Franco-British ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day landings at Ver-Sur-Mer, Normandy, Thursday, June 6, 2019. (Philippe Wojazer/Pool via AP)

OIliver Ofrijo, 48, from Germany, poses with an old BMW vehicle, in the WWII reenactors camp of Old Abe next to Saint-Come-du-Mont, France, on Monday June 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)

In this May 9, 1941 file photo, a woman stacks antitank gun barrels, with the aid of an overhead crane, at a Ministry of Supply factory in Wales, England. Legions of women built weapons of war that men fought and killed with. (AP Photo, File)

In this Sept. 22, 1942 file photo, aviator Nancy Harkness Love, director of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS), and Col. Robert H. Baker, commanding officer, inspect the first contingent of women pilots in the WAFS at the New Castle Army Air Base, Del. Women didn’t get much of a mention in the 75th anniversary commemorations of D-Day that focused largely on the fighting exploits of men, yet without women Adolf Hitler wouldn’t have been defeated. (AP Photo, File)

any other nation in World War II — but those final battles would divide Europe for decades between the West and the Soviet-controlled East, the face-off line of the Cold War. “War is the most idiotic thing that man ever created,” said Charles Levesque, 93, who served in the Pacific

theater. “Our enemies now are our friends, and our friends are our enemies. It doesn’t make any sense.” Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet and Alex Turnbull in Collevillesur-Mer, France, Milos Krivokapic and Adam Pemble in Ver-sur-Mer contributed. Ganley reported from Paris.

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Electronic device protection and birds of Thailand at PCEC There were two speakers at the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting on Sunday, June 2. First up was Bud Dooley on the topic of “How to protect your electronic devices while traveling in Thailand.” Followed by the return of Jonathan Finch to acquaint everyone with the “Birdlife of Thailand.” Bud Dooley is a very savvy man that knows all about cyber security from his years of working in the industry. Bud mentioned that his talk was driven by his recent experience of having his mobile phone stolen. As many of us do, in a hurry to pop into a store, he forgot a minute is enough for an opportunistic thief to make off with personal items. Which of us today can easily survive without our mobile phone? It is our link to everything in our life, banking, social media, emails, appointments, news outlets and a hundred more. As well as often storing our personal information and passwords, Bud mentioned that many people also store money, club cards, business cards and other important ongoing information.

Bud explained that today it’s quite simple for thieves to have a device or download an app which pinpoints all the nearby phones and what type they are. In relating his experience, he said someone sitting at the entrance to the parking area using such an app or device could easily detect his high-end phone along with the fact it did not remove it from his bike when he entered the store. He then showed a video he obtained from the store’s CCTV camera so all could see the thief drive-up on his bike, pretend to park next to Bud’s bike, then removing the phone and driving off. He stresses the first thing to do is to ensure you have a phone number on you or memorised once your own regular means of communication is gone. This enables you to find or borrow a phone to begin the process of tracking down the thief, or making safe your details. He did make a report to the police, but had to obtain the video himself and deliver it to them for them. Based on his experience, he wanted to provide some invaluable advice to others on how to

protect their data in the event their electronic devices, such as smart phone or tablet are stolen. His suggestions included: encrypt your devices’ storage by enabling it; install a comprehensive security suite on your device; regularly back up your info at least monthly; minimise what’s installed and clear memory regularly; restart every few days; periodically delete messages and logs; and run an antivirus scan regularly (be sure to install updates). Bud also suggests make

PCEC Member Ian Frame, whose hobby is photographing nature, asks PCEC speaker Jonathan Finch if he has also found that both wildlife and birdlife have become more scarce around Pattaya because of the increasing number of developments where such life was previously abundant.

Many slides such as this one were shown by Jonathan Finch while he described their specific traits such as color, bill, and tail needed to identify a particular type of bird.

Bud Dooley explains to his PCEC audience that there are hardware and software devices that can detect and identify your electronic device within 2 meters of its location.

good safety a habit; keep your phone in the same place always. But most of all BE AWARE of who and what is going on around you. Next up, was Jonathan Finch, a committed ornithologist and long-time bird spotter. His love of birds began as a small child. He is unable to discover how this interest came about as no family or friends expressed such interest. Yet today, some sixty years later, his love of birds remains.

Jonathan showed slides of many birds found in this area of Pattaya and surrounding countries. The list for Thailand is enormous. As he pointed out, being connected to the mainland rather than an island such as the UK or New Zealand, helps maintain high numbers of birds. Many are brightly coloured; beautiful, quite a number are long legged wading birds. He spoke of clues to note when identifying breeds. He suggests first size, then colours,

beaks, eyes and legs. These aspects being the easiest way to identify what you are seeing. Binoculars and a bird book are also necessary if you wish to seriously take up birdwatching. Once identified Johnathon marks them off in a special book, Robson’s book ‘Birds of South East Asia’. In this way he can keep track of what he’s spotted and where. There are some 1500 species to be found here. It seems clear more than casual observance is needed. It may well be necessary to venture into the countryside. He finds, as many of us do that the natural habitat of wildlife is contracting. The expansion of people all too often comes at the expense of existing wildlife. Jonathan points out that here in Thailand the military do a necessary job of protecting their national heritage, especially in National parks. Sadly, in Cambodia from what he has seen, that does not seem to occur. Obviously, he noted, that birds play an important part in the natural balance of world ecology and the ecosystem. Much more vital than merely keeping down the insect population. Johnathon stresses how important it is to realise how quickly their

natural habitat is disappearing. To him he sees loving birds as loving nature, something to conserve. He feels to be alone in nature is akin to poetry, something he writes and feels strongly about. It was obvious to the audience that whatever drives Jonathan Finch in his often-solitary quest, his passion for birds shines through. Not only spotting, but understanding their often-complex lives, mating rituals and family groupings. He says to stand in the dawn mists to hear the Great Hornbills calling, is to enter a fabulous world of eerie magnitude. The sounds echo, the swoosh of those great wings over the mountain drop. Jonathan has published almost a dozen books in the last few years, his books on birds and other topics can be found at Amazon and his website, visit: https://www. amazon.com/author/finch; https://authorjonathanfinch .com; https://www.amazon .com/TiedLives-Jonathan-Finch. After the presentations, the MC updated everyone on upcoming events which was followed by the Open Forum where the audience can ask questions or make comments about expat living in Thailand especially Pattaya.

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September in June

Everything from Michael Jackson to beat box.

Father Peter thanks the singers.

Derek Franklin

The girls had their favourite singer.

The beat boxer was very talented.

In May 2017 Alcazar Theater was the venue for one of the most remarkable theater performances Pattaya has ever seen. Performing art students from Brigham Young University in the United States took the audience on a journey around the world through dance. There were traditional dance performances from countries in Eastern Europe and to Mexico, Ireland to Spain and also to Bollywood and Broadway. This year eight performers from BYU arrived in Pattaya on their grand tour of China and South East Asia. The eight members of the acapella singing group, Vocal Point, performed for four hundred children and students at the Father Ray Foundation, using no instruments, though one member of the group was one of the most talented beat boxers the children have ever heard. They sang many songs which saw the kids on their feet and dancing along to

the music. Michael Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Thriller, September by Earth Wind & Fire and the Theme from Jaws were just three of the numbers they performed, and the reaction they received from the audience was, in their opinion, the best they have received so far on their tour. Once the show was finished there was a rush to the stage for photographs, selfies and autographs; the singers spent more time posing for photos and signing their name than they did singing. But it was a great show, one the children loved. They spent more time taking photos than they did singing.

Thailand Travel Mart buyers party at Grand Mirage

General Manager Denis Thouvard welcomes all the travel buyers and sellers and guests to a luau party.

Jetsada Homklin

Selfie.

Tour operators, travel buyers and tourists got a chance to purchase packages in rooms for Thai and Southeast Asian destinations at a show and party

hosted by Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort. The joint Thailand Travel Mart-Amazing Gateway to the Greater Subregion event offer discounts and packages for tours, information about tourist attractions and more.

Fo l l o w i n g t h e s a l e , General Manager Denis Thouvard welcomed all the travel buyers and sellers to a luau party where employees dressed to match the cultures of the showcased destinations.

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Articles For Sale/Rent As611/01-52/ Pattaya Mail Cartoonist Michael Baird (M.J.B.) has 3 brand new cartoon E-Books out. These and his other 10 cartoon EBooks can be bought from www.amazon.co.uk. You will now be able to see all of Mike’s cartoons in FULL COLOUR. His 3 new Kindle E-Books are “Pattaya Cartoon Memories”, “Ladyboy Book 3” and “Pattaya Unforgettable Memories”. These cartoons are for grown-ups and would be unique gifts. You never know - You might see yourself in them!

Articles/Services Wanted Aw01/01-52/ Missionary in Rayong sponsoring Little Duck Nursery needs help. Please - Any unwanted items

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you have would be appreciated. (Eng) Rev Stephen 086 600 5682, (Thai) 0875 381 586

Businesses for Sale or Rent Bop04/14-52/ Big Thai restaurant on busy Soi in Pratumnak; 52 seats, guest toilets, 1 bathroom, 2 bedrooms, WiFi; 700,000 THB (298) GO PROPERTY THAILAND; 093- 161 5995; www. gopropertythailand.com Bop03/14-52/ Commercial shop located in VIEWTALAY condominium Jomtien Beach, ground floor; business space 47sqm; 1 bathroom, terrace; WiFi; security 7/ 24h; parking for clients, 2,495,000 THB (246) GO PROPERTY THAILAND; 093- 161 5995; www. gopropertythailand.com Bop02/14-52/ Warehouse on Huay Yai Road, 4 big halls on 1.5 Rai (2,400sqm), 8 toilets, air-condition; perfect for all kind of business.

20,000,000 THB (331) GO PROPERTY THAILAND; 093- 161 5995; www. gopropertythailand.com

Notices No02/11-26/ Pattaya Panthers Rugby Club is looking to recruit new players. All ages and abilities welcome to come to training nights every Thursday at Horseshoe Point in east Pattaya from 7pm – 8.30pm. For more information, go to Pattaya Panthers page on Facebook. No01/11-26/ Looking for a game of snooker with a retired ex-professional UK snooker player? Tel. Mike on 089 152 3202

Pets Pets03/01-52/ Homeless puppies available for adoption to warm and caring homes! All puppies are healthy, vaccinated and acclimated to people. If you are

looking for a friend for life, just call 088 402 6772 or e-mail to karin@carefordogs.org. Pets02/01-52/ **Free Cats and Kittens** We are still trying to find loving homes for over 40 cats and kittens. Please check the pictures on our website or ring Sandra. Call 085 287 5004 http:/ cats4youinpattaya.webs.com

Property for Rent Houses, Villas Prb01/23-27/ TOWNHOUSE, Off Soi Khaotalo, Like new, quiet, safe, two bedroom, one bathroom, patio, carport, Thai kitchen, airconditioned, FULLY FURNUSHED, Guarded Subdivision, Communal Pool, One Year Lease Minimum, B9,500. Monthly, B19,000. Security Deposit. English, 087-805-5276 Prb03/22-52/ PROPERTY SWAP in Pattaya! Selling is not easy in these times. You have a house on the East Side and you are looking for a condo close to the beach? We have customers who like to swap their properties. Please contact us: E-mail: jo@gopropertythailand.com or phone: 093- 161 5995. Please see our website: www.gopropertythailand.com Prb02/21-52/ WE ARE LOOKING FOR PROPERTIES for SALE and RENT. Please contact: jo@ gopropertythailand.com or phone 093- 161 5995, www. gopropertythailand.com

Condos, Apartments Prc06/20-29/ Royal Park Luxury Service Apartments and penthouse suite, Jomtien: starting at 15,000 baht/month. 56-70sqm, one bedroom, large living area with balcony and European kitchen, Free internet. Enjoy our rooftop swimming pool. Short walk to the beach. Monthly and daily rentals, Contact 086 111 7414 or check on our website www.royalparkjomtien.com to see why we are number 1 in Jomtien Prc06/23-52/ 2-bedroom seaview condo in Pratumank, 84sqm, living room, full kitchen, big bathroom, terrace, 3BB internet connection, garage, 2 pools; located at the “10-Baht-Taxi-route”: 17,000 THB/monthly. Tel. 092- 753 9309

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Prc05/23-24/ One-bedroom Corner, Kitchen, Pool, Beach Rd. Pattaya: 15,000.Tel: 091 504 1806 Prc04/23-27/ Pattaya Beach Rd.: Studio, balcony, pool view, sea view, beautiful terrace, safe box, kitchenette. 13,500. - Tel: 091-504-1806 Prc03/22-52/ PROPERTY SWAP in Pattaya! Selling is not easy in these times. You have a house on the East Side and you are looking for a condo close to the beach? We have customers who like to swap their properties. Please contact us: E-mail: jo@gopropertythailand.com or phone: 093- 161 5995. Please see our website: www.gopropertythailand.com Prc02/20-24/ Markland studio: 48sq-mtrs, sea front balcony, refurbished, furnished, internet, parking, pool: 15,000 B/month, min 12 months contact. Email owner ian.thailand@hotmail.com or Tel. 0871371529 Prc01/21-52/ WE ARE LOOKING FOR PROPERTIES for SALE and RENT. Please contact: jo@ gopropertythailand.com or phone 093- 161 5995, www. gopropertythailand.com

Property for Sale Houses, Villas Psb05/22-52/ PROPERTY SWAP in Pattaya! Selling is not easy in these times. You have a house on the East Side and you are looking for a condo close to the beach? We have customers who like to swap their properties. Please contact us: E-mail: jo@gopropertythailand.com or phone: 093- 161 5995. Please see our website: www.gopropertythailand.com Psb04/14-52/ New reformed City Villa in the heart of Pattaya; close to 3rd Road/ LK Hotel; walking distance to Soi Bokhao; 120sqm living space; land approx. 150sqm; 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, kitchen; fully furnished; 2 new Flat TVs; 3 aircons; big storeroom; garden, carport & parking; NO THROUGH

ROAD- very quite; 3,950,000 THB (284) GO PROPERTY THAILAND; 093- 161 5995; www.gopropertythailand.com Psb03/21-52/ WE ARE LOOKING FOR PROPERTIES for SALE and RENT. Please contact: jo@ gopropertythailand.com or phone 093- 161 5995, www. gopropertythailand.com Psb02/14-52/ Luxury Pool Villa in Soi Siam Country Club, close to Mabprachan Reservoir, well maintained, fully furnished, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1 living room + dining area, air-condition, living space 320 sqm, land size 500 sqm, European kitchen, Thai kitchen, washing machine, salt water pool, Jacuzzi, electric gate, parking for 2 cars, community pool, 24h security; 5,900,000 THB, Rent 38,000 per month (348) GO PROPERTY THAILAND; 093- 161 5995; www.gopropertythailand.com Psb01/14-52/ House located on Thappraya Road, PattayaJomtien; land size 372sqm, living space 250sqm; fully furnished; 1 living room; 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, European kitchen; garden; security 7/24h; community pool; parking; close 10 Baht Taxi Route, restaurants, bars, supermarket, laundry, 8,300,000 THB (281) GO PROPERTY THAILAND; 093- 161 5995; www.gopropertythailand.com

Condominiums Psc104/22-52/ PROPERTY SWAP in Pattaya! Selling is not easy in these times. You have a house on the East Side and you are looking for a condo close to the beach? We have customers who like to swap their properties. Please contact us: E-mail: jo@gopropertythailand.com or phone: 093- 161 5995. Please see our website: www.gopropertythailand.com Psc102/21-52/WEARELOOKING FOR PROPERTIES for SALE and RENT. Please contact: jo@gopropertythailand. com or phone 093- 161 5995, www.gopropertythailand.com Psc101/15-24/ Trust Residence Central Pattaya Condo: fully furnished wifi & swimming pool for sale: 1,250,000 (tax free) Tel. 086633-2948, 083-282-3984

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Thompson rallies for 2-stroke win at ShopRite LPGA Classic Galloway, N.J. (AP) — After 3-putting from off the green on the 15th hole to fall two shots off the lead in the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Lexi Thompson made it a point not to stress out over it. The calm demeanor paid off as Thompson finished birdiepar-eagle on her last three holes last Sunday, and made a 20-foot putt for the eagle at the 18th to win the $1.75 million event on the Bay Course at Seaview by one stroke over Jeongeun Lee6. “I just really tried to find the positives in it because I knew coming in there were birdie holes,” Thompson said. “If I let it affect me, I wouldn’t have finished the way I did. At that point I didn’t know where I was, position-wise. I kind of thought I was behind for sure . a few back.”

Lexi Thompson tees off during the final round of the LPGA Classic golf tournament, Sunday, June 9, 2019, in Galloway, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Playing in winds that blew steadily from 20 to 30 miles per hour, Thompson had a 4-under-par 67 for a 54-hole score of 12-under 201. She

posted her 11th career LPGA Tour victory — first since last year’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. It extended her

streak to seven straight years with at least one win on the tour. Thompson, who made her professional debut in this

event in 2010 at the age of 15, set up her eagle at the 18th by needing to hit a 190yard second shot with the wind at her back, to get it to the front of the green. “With a jumper lie and the wind, I ended up hitting a pitching wedge, which is my 135 club,” she said. “It ended up landing 50 yards short and rolling up there.” On the putt, she said, “I got chills, like my hair on my arms was sticking up once I made it.” Lee6, the champion of last week’s U.S. Women’s Open who was playing two groups behind Thompson, lost her lead with three consecutive bogeys from holes 13 through 15 before bouncing back with a birdie at No. 16 to tie Thompson. However, needing an eagle to force a playoff after reaching the green in two, she just

missed a 45-foot putt to tie and had to settle for a birdie, giving her a 70 and second place at 202. “The way I’m playing the ShopRite tournament, it’s amazing, and I’m pretty satisfied with finishing in second place,” Lee6 said through an interpreter. Ally McDonald, seeking her first career LPGA Tour victory, challenged on the back nine and took third place at 204 following a 70. Two-time ShopRite LPGA champion Anna Nordqvist had a 69 for fourth place at 206. Mariah Stackhouse, who began the day one stroke off the lead, fell back with a double bogey at the fifth hole and couldn’t come back. Her round of 74 left her in a three-way tie for fifth at 207 with Ariya Jutanugarn (68) and Yu Liu (72).

McIlroy wins Canadian Open with scorching final-round 61 Ancaster, Ontario (AP) — Call it the zone, call it the flow. Rory McIlroy is familiar with the feeling that golf is easy, that he can swing freely and nothing bad will happen. He first felt it at age 16 when he shot 61 at Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland, which will host this year’s British Open. He experienced it during runaway victories at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. And he savored it again last Sunday en route to another 61, this one giving him a seven-shot victory in the Canadian Open. “I think when you play, you get into stretches like this, you do get into some sort of flow, that flow state or in the zone or whatever anyone wants to call it. I definitely got into that a little bit today at the start of the back nine. It was the same that day at Portrush all those years ago,” McIlroy said. “It’s almost like you’re out of your own body and looking at yourself play. For some

times today that’s how it felt. So if I could bottle that feeling and take it with me week to week, I would. Sort of comes and goes.” McIlroy added the Canadian Open to his schedule for the first time largely because it was moved to the week before the U.S. Open. He turned the major-championship tuneup into a career highlight, becoming the sixth player to win national championships in the U.S., Britain and Canada. Lee Trevino (1971) and Tiger Woods (2000) are the only players to win all three in the same season, something McIlroy could do this year with victories next week at Pebble Beach and at Royal Portrush in July. It was McIlroy’s fifth win in a national open, following the U.S. Open (2011), Australian Open (2013), British Open (2014) and Irish Open (2016). McIlroy also counts the Hong Kong Open (2011) as part of his national-championship tally.

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Rory McIlroy laughs as he wears a Toronto Raptors jersey during the trophy presentation at the Canadian Open golf championship in Ancaster, Ontario, on Sunday, June 9, 2019. (Adrian Wyld/ The Canadian Press via AP)

“Some of the greats of the game have won this trophy. For me to put my name on it is something I’m very proud of,” McIlroy said. “Part of the reason for playing here was I wanted my game to be in good shape for Pebble Beach, but (it) doesn’t mean this tournament doesn’t mean anything.” Starting the day in a threeway tie for the lead, McIlroy

ended any suspense about who would emerge as the champion with five birdies in his first seven holes, none from longer than 8 feet. The only question on the back nine was whether McIlroy would shoot the 11th sub60 round in PGA Tour history. He made four straight birdies from Nos. 11-14, and a bogey on the par-3 16th stalled him only momentarily.

He followed with a 7-iron from 196 yards to 2½ feet for eagle on the par-5 17th to get to 10 under at par-70 Hamilton Golf and Country Club. But he missed the green on the par-4 18th and his bunker shot went long. He ended up tapping in for bogey to finish at a tournament-record 22-under 258. The 61 equaled the low round of McIlroy’s PGA Tour career. McIlroy was five shots off the lead entering the weekend and shot 64 on Saturday before finding another gear on Sunday. “I think what I’m proudest of is still playing with that freedom today going out being tied for the lead. Just putting my foot down and really making this tournament mine,” McIlroy said. “I think by the time I got to the 14th tee I wasn’t really thinking of winning the tournament. I was thinking of trying to shoot 59. I had to reassess my goals a little bit in the middle of that back nine.” He settled for his 16th PGA Tour victory and 25th win worldwide, and the fourth by at least seven shots.

Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson tied for second at 15 under. Adam Hadwin, seeking to become the first Canadian winner of the event since 1954, closed with a 70 and finished sixth, 10 shots back. His consolation prize was a spot in the British Open. Graeme McDowell also earned his place in the British Open. The Portrush native guaranteed a tee time in his hometown by holing a hard-breaking 29-footer for par on the par-4 18th to shoot 68 and finish in a tie for eighth. “It had 12 feet of break on it. It was ridiculously tough putt to make,” McDowell said. “Just fancied it, I saw it, liked the way it looked, and when I saw it go in it was a huge relief.” This year’s Open will be the first in Northern Ireland since its only previous visit to Royal Portrush in 1951. A third spot was available at the British Open for a player not already eligible who finished inside the top 10, but the other top-10 finishers were exempt from qualifying.

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Basra bandits strike again PSC Golf from The Billabong Bar Monday, June 3, Phoenix Gold Stableford Phoenix was in great condition although the greens on the Lake loop were a little slow, but Ocean made up for it. There was just a small group again today but it was an enjoyable round apart from being a little hot in some parts of the course. The scoring was very good with Lloyd Shuttleworth taking third with 38 points, that’s 75 gross! Second place went to Gentleman George Barrie on 40 points but the day belonged to A J Breazly with a 77 off the stick and 42 points from his 11handicap. We are of the opinion that there is a 27-hole championship golf course somewhere on the out skirts of Basra in Iraq as both George and Lloyd took the rest of us to the cleaners after supposedly not having seen a golf club for 6 weeks.

Wednesday, June 5, Green Valley – Stableford The first 9 holes were sunny and hot but we could see a storm developing in the distance which, unfortunately, was moving towards

Nu, Porn and Lynn.

Green Valley. We were, seemingly, surrounded by continuous thunder and the darkest clouds you can imagine, which only served as a backdrop for the lightening to shine brighter. The storm just slipped past us on its way to Laem Chabang, where some Billabong members were playing, and the cancellation of play after 9 holes. Thankfully, the rain decided to stay away from us until our last group played the 18th hole. Despite concerns about the weather, the scoring was very good with Miss Nu (H/ cap 15) continuing her brilliant form and coming out on top of the ladies’ competition

with 40 points, having 8 pars and only one double bogey. Miss Lynn (10) also had a good day with 7 pars and 2 birdies for her 37 points and 2nd place, closely followed by Miss Porn (22) who would have had a better score but for four 1-pointers in her round for her 3rd place. Tony Oakes (13) and his partner, Jeff North (10) accepted a challenge from Selwyn Wegner and William Macey on the 1st tee, bemoaning his recent form but despite his 39 points, which included 1 blob and only 3 pars on the back nine, earned him 1st place but could not establish, for him, a win over Selwyn and William. Keith

Allen (13) lost his partners by the 18th due to the possibility of bad weather, but his 2nd place finish was down to 21 points on the way out with at least 2 points on every hole, but 5 holes with only 1 point on the back nine was the reason for his 2nd place and 38 points. Selwyn Wegner (16) came 3rd with 37 points but a blob on the par three 16th put paid to higher ambitions. Lloyd Shuttleworth (5) had a game of two halves, 14 on the front but 21 on the back which included 6 pars and 2 birdies, mainly on the back nine, which did not include a birdie on a par three but, there again, nor did anyone else that played today.

Friday was a wet day at Burapha with black clouds all around us. We teed off a little early on a very busy A and B course and after 4 holes it was to the drinks stop everyone was heading for, but the rain only lasted for 30 minutes and out we went again. The rain came back on the ninth hole and that was it for the day - thunder and lightning were hammering the course and play was abandoned so the competition

The Jomtien Golf Society Monday, June 3, Parichat - Stableford

Friday, June 7, Eastern Star Stableford Wednesday’s game was a complete washout at Pattaya

Paul Young.

Country Club with the competition cancelled after nine holes in accordance with our rules. On Friday we had stormy conditions on the way down to Eastern Star and it did not look too promising for the six groups who booked in. There was torrential rain here as we arrived and we agreed a tee off at 10.00am as it was still raining at our allotted time. In the end there were a few golfers going back to Jomtien and we have only four groups out. The cut today in two divisions was 10-17 and 18+ in

John Carlin.

division 2. The first five holes saw no problems but for the next seven we had intermittent drizzle, however we all carried on and finished the round. The best score of the day came from John Carlin who won division 1 with 32 points. There was then a 12/10 countback that saw Frank Kelly beat Douglas Clarke for second place. Khalifa Nasser topped division 1 with 30 points and

Paul Greenaway got the nod for that place. There was also a countback with 2 players on 18 points and here Gary Ritchie filled 2nd spot and Andrew Woodall took the top prize. There were no 2s.

Tough test at King Naga PSC Golf from Siam Country Resort Pattaya

Friday, June 7, Burpha - Stableford

Young heads the field at Parichat We were playing off the white tees today with only one division out and Paul Young, playing off a 16handicap, won the comp with a fine 41 points. John Hughes came in second after beating John Carlin on a 20/17 back-nine countback, both on 36 points overall. Andres Holder finished fourth on another countback, edging out Bill Kana 11/9 on the last six holes after they both scored 31 points. There were some tough tee placings out there today with many balls lost, so next time here division 1 will be off the whites and division 2 off the yellows. Near pins went to (Div 1) Steve Godfrey, Andres Holder (x2) and John Hughes, and (Div 2) Steve Harris (x2). In the 2s competition, Paul Young birdied the 2nd and Andre Holder the 11th in division 1 and there were two rollovers in division 2.

was changed to a nine-hole day out. Considering the conditions that we played in the scoring wasn’t too bad. There was a five-way countback for 3rd place all on 16 points and

there were cheers all round as John Hughes beat Les Smith on a 14/12 back-nine countback to come second after they both came in with 29 points. Only four near pin winners today with Les Smith (division 1) and John Carlin, Frank Kelly and Khalifa Nasser (division 2) taking the awards. We said Bon Voyage today to Andres Holder , Steve Cliff and Steve Harris.

Neil Harvey (from left), with Patrick Devereux and Dave Smith.

Tuesday, June 4, King Naga – Stableford On Tuesday we went with 3 groups to King Naga and the course was in bad condition; the grass on the fairways was long and next to the fairways was even worse. The bunkers were also bad and had suffered from all the rain. The conditions made playing difficult, but some of our group played well. It was an exciting game between Patrick Devereux and

Dave Smith as both played consistent and made 37 stableford points each. Patrick beat Dave on the countback while in third place was Neil Harvey with 33 points, beating Paul Davies on another countback. The three near pins that were claimed all went to Dave Smith. On Thursday our venue was The Emerald but when we arrived it was raining cats and dogs and unfortunately we had to cancel our competition.

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Another dose of Beavers magic PSC Golf from the Pattaya Links Golf Society Monday, June 3, Treasure Hill Stableford A Flight (0-14) 1st John Harrison (14) 38pts 2nd Takeshi Hakozaki (13) 37pts 3rd Bryan Dore (5) 35pts B Flight (15+) 1st Colm O’Donovan (18) 36pts 2nd Barry Elphick (28) 31pts 3rd Darren Beavers (16) 30pts The Treasure Hill course was in excellent condition with fairways well grassed and firm, or that was until the rain came later in the round, and although the greens have recently been cored, they have settled well with nice pace. In the bus on the way home, John Harrison could be heard moaning how badly he had played and his handicap had an R, and it would have had everyone feeling sad for him. That is until he admitted to having a score of 38 points! In fact, as it happened, he won “A” flight and the Green Jacket for the best score of the day, his second in two weeks. Takeshi Hakozaki returned to some good form to make 37 points for the second spot then low handicapper Bryan Dore took third with 35. In the “B” flight, Colm O’Donovan continued his good form with 36 points to take first place, a full five points ahead of a surprised Barry Elphick on 31. Darren Beaver’s total of 30 points won the countback over John Anderson to grab the final place on the podium by making 20 points on the back nine.

Darren Beavers.

John Harrison (centre) with Mark Sharp (left) and Miss Moon.

Near pins went to Michael Wright, Colm O’Donovan, Peter Park and John Doyle. Consolation ‘best nines’ awards for non-winners went to Tommy Marshall (front, 20pts) and Gerd Riedler (back, 18pts). Back at base, everyone thought they were voting for Maurice to wear the silly hat award but were shocked when Phil called out Moon. She only had one job, that was to fill the envelopes and because she forgot, became the first non-golfer to wear the “silly hat”. Poor Maurice was innocent.

Wednesday, June 5, Burapha A & B Stableford A Flight (0-13) 1st Bob Rice (11) 42pts 2nd Bryan Dore (5) 41pts 3rd Peter Park (4) 39pts

B Flight (14+) 1st Darren Beavers (16) 42pts 2nd Colm O’Donovan (18) 42pts 3rd Andy Stormouth (18) 38pts A stormy day was in prospect on Wednesday as the society headed for Burapha to play a stableford competition on the A and B nines, in two flights with the cut coming at thirteen and under. The course was in fine condition at the start but soon after a severe storm held up play for a long time and left fairways very soft and waterlogged. Bunkers were now ponds but amazingly the greens, once the surface water had drained, retained their speed. It was hardly a day for good scores but somehow the golfers contrived to contribute to a field average of more than 33 points.

Todd shines at damp Burapha PSC Golf from the Growling Swan Thursday, June 6, Burapha - Stableford

Martin Todd with D-For the dog.

We were off to Burapha on this day, considered to be one of the best courses we play in this region. Fronting up with a dozen players we were allocated Courses C & D and attacked these from the white tees. No carts on the course made the job in hand even tougher, we had been screaming for rain and the previous night it dumped it on this course. Aside from that, the course is in good condition but with no run at all. We would play the one flight only with all novelties were up for grabs. Martin Todd (H/cap 12) had an enjoyable day, returning with an unbeaten 38 points to finish four clear off the pack. Near pins were claimed by Martin Todd, Colin Stielow, Steve Younger and Bill Steinmann while the long putt prizes went to Casa Rifkin and Bill Steinmann.

In the top flight the usual suspects were to the fore with Peter Park registering 39 points for third place, a couple behind Irishman Bryan Dore who fired the day’s best gross figures of level par, giving him 41 points

for second place. The flight winner was Bob Rice, scoring 42 points on his return to the group. In the second flight the returning Scot, Andy Stormouth posted 38 points for third place. Ahead of him a titanic battle saw both Colm O’Donovan and Darren Beavers record 42 points, with Darren claiming

the bragging rights on countback. It was his third such round in just a couple of weeks and his fellow “Geordies” could be forgiven for boasting “Ha’way the lad! What a belter!” Near pins again went to the lower markers with Michael Wright (A3), Bob Rice (A6), Peter Park (B3) and Bryan Dore (B8) all picking up envelopes at the presentation. Mike Firkin won the prize for the best front nine with 18 points with Nils-Peter Kristensen taking the honours for the best back nine, with 23 points. However his front nine of merely 11 points also assured him of the “silly hat” award for the lowest nine-hole score of the day. Unfortunately the inclement weather returned at the end of the week and Friday’s game at Khao Kheow was rained off.

Pavloff returns in style The Tara Court Golf Society Sunday, June 2, Green Valley Stableford A heavy early morning shower in Pattaya did not make it past the 331 and Green Valley was nice and dry on arrival and stayed that way for the whole round. We had a small low season field but it was a bit slow today as the society in front had 2 four-balls and 1 five-ball out. If you did not better your handicap today you were not in the hunt. Returning from a stint in Australia, Paul Pavloff (H/cap 6) quickly got back in the groove with a great 40 points and to add to his kitty he had the only 2 of the day. Playing good golf at the moment, Jerry Sweetnam (9) came in second with 39 points, Paul Butler (17) was third on 38 and rounding out the places in fourth was Kevyn Wright (10) with 37.

Tuesday, June 4, Treasure Hill Stableford Another small field today at a course that was presented in very good condition and at a rate other golf venues should take notice of. The greens are nearly back to their best after maintenance, though still a bit slow. Playing from the white tees (now the yellows have been moved well forward) no-one was able to better their

Paul Pavloff.

Wayne Antlitz.

handicap. Taking top spot was Glenn Armitstead (16) with 35 points, in second was Shaun Merriman (11) on 33 and third place was decided on a countback with Tom Shea (6) taking it over Wayne Antlitz, both with 32 points overall. We had four 2s today and adding to his second place finish Shaun Merriman had two of them (one a near hole in one). Jerry Sweetnam and Craig Hitchens recorded theirs on the same hole and playing in the same group.

recent rain it was carts on the fairways only and it was playing very long. Tom Shea (6), who is here for a short visit, was really burning it up on the front nine where he went out in two under par gross for twenty three points, but he let it slip a bit on the back and finished in third place with thirty seven. Pete Seil (5) did it the other way round as he had an excellent backnine and finished second with thirty nine points. Wayne Antlitz (12) got off to an unlucky start on the first hole as his ball fell off the tee peg and he hit it out of bounds on the left. However, he soon put it all together and managed seventeen points on the front nine and then went on to have twenty three on the back to come out the winner with an excellent forty points. We had no 2s today.

Thursday, June 6, Burapha - Stableford Again, although the group was small here today at Burapha we still got some excellent scores and you had to beat your handicap to come in the prizes. Today we were on the C and D combination, which is much the harder, and after all the

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Monday, June 3, Treasure Hill – Stableford

Murphy still on a roll

1st Michael Brett (15) 32pts 2nd Jimmy Carr (16) 31pts 3rd Chris Dellamare (1) 28pts Treasure Hill was in good condition until the start of the back nine when the rain came tumbling down, requiring us to shelter for about forty minutes. Thereafter we had to play ‘pick, clean, and place’ as the course was waterlogged in places. Conditions made scoring difficult as was reflected in the cards returned. Michael Brett scraped in, in first place with a modest thirty-two points and this score should have been at least three or four better but for a series of lip-outs and near misses on the greens. Jimmy Carr came second with thirty-one and Chris Dellamare rounded out the winner’s circle with a score of twenty-eight, a good score under the conditions off a handicap of one. Chris looked like taking all the near pins but ended up with two, Jimmy and Michael got the other two. Jimmy’s near pin was so far from the hole he needed to put all his weight into the putt just to get near the pin.

Wednesday, June 5, Bangpra – Stableford 1st Takeshi Hakozaki I(13) 33pts

DATE:

PSC

PSC Golf from the Bunker Boys not enough to require a break in play for shelter but just enough to make conditions uncomfortable, although the temperature was pleasant. The course was in good condition, in particular, the greens were to everybody’s liking. Sean Murphy is playing

Sean Murphy.

2nd Sam Gershon (24) 32pts 3rd Gerry Cooney (21) 29pts Mist covered the mountains at the back of the course as we teed off, so we expected we might have a little rain. How wrong can you be? By the completion of the sixth hole, it was torrential and with a strong wind blowing it was difficult to find a dry area to shelter in the drinks station. The wet coupled with a preponderance of thick coarse grass on the course made play very difficult, a fact that was reflected in the scoring. Another factor was a wait of

FRI 14

SAT 15

Takeshi Hakozaki.

fifty minutes to resume play meant several players had lost any rhythm they had before the rain. Takeshi Hakozaki was cruising till the back nine when he fell away somewhat, nevertheless, he did enough to take first place with thirtythree. Sam Gershon showed glimpses of a much better player than a handicap of twenty-four would suggest and took second with thirtytwo, and Gerry Cooney rounded out the scoring with twenty-nine in third.

SUN 16

Near pins went to Jimmy as always, Takeshi and a super shot from Sean on the last par three which he converted into a birdie.

Friday, June 7, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford 1st Sean Murphy (18) 34pts 2nd Sam Gershon (24) 33pts 3rd Tony Plummer (18) 32pts Pattaya awoke to grey overcast skies with the threat of rain in the air and that’s exactly what happened. Persistent drizzle and light rain meant a day for umbrellas,

MON 17

Khao Kheow

The Emerald

THU 20

FRI 21 Greenwood

Green Valley

TBA Pattavia

Pattavia TBA

Green Valley

Growling Swan Billabong Golf

WED 19

Eastern Star

Cafe Kronborg Colin’s Golf

TUE 18

For news of the next PSC monthly golf tournament visit https://pattayasports.org

Apple’s Irish Bunker Boys

some of the best golf we have seen from him and took first place with thirty-four points. Back at the bar, there was a chorus of requests for him to replay his near pin shot. Sam Gershon is clearly consistent and for the second day in a row took second place with an almost identical score of thirty-three points. Tony Plummer completed the winner’s circle in third place on thirty-two, also nailing a near pin with Sean taking the only other.

Eastern Star Bangpra

Pleasant Valley Eastern Star

Burapha

Phoenix

Pleasant Valley

Greenwood

Lewinski’s

Siam Old Coures

Green Valley

Siam Old Coures

The Links

Greenwood

Bangpakong

Bangpra

Pattaya C.C.

Le Katai

Green Valley Eastern Star

I Rovers Retox Game On

Treasure Hill

Pleasant Valley

Silky Oak Khao Kheow

Crystal Bay

Siam Country Sugar Shack

Pattavia

Burapha

Pattana Pattana

Treasure Hill

Laem Chabang

Pattaya C.C.

Green Valley

Pattavia Pattaya C.C.

Pattavia

Bangpra

Harry’s Golf The Golf Club The Players Lounge Tropical Golf Valley View Hackers

Pattana

Treasure Hill

Silky Oak

Green Valley Pattavia

Laem Chabang

Green Valley

Burapha Green Valley

Green Valley

The Bunker Boys meet at Woody’s Bar on Soi Skaw Beach for golf outings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (www.bunkersociety.com) or call 094368 3580, 081 788 2338 or 087 693 7803. Transportation leaves from Cafe Kronborg on Soi Diana Inn at 8:15 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, (contact Dave on tel. 038 602 2117). Colin’s Bar plays golf Sun/Mon/ Wed & Fri (www.colinsbar.com). The Growling Swan plays golf on Monday & Thursday (www.thegrowlingswan.com). Lewinski’s in Soi Pattayaland 1 (Soi 13/3), play Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Transport is available, call Marcus on 089 503 9179 for further information and booking. The Pattaya Links Hotel Golf Society departs from Soi Buakhao on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Call Phil on 0625 933 380 or visit www.thelinkshotelpattaya.com. The Golf Club is located on Soij LK Metro. Call Phil on 090 769 3778. Tropical Golf meets at BJ’s Holiday Lodge at 8am on Tuesday’ & Friday. Call Derek on 089 034 0629. Retox Golf – Tel. (Paul) 0923744276, Email retoxgolf@gmail.com

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VOL. XXVII No. 24

Vettel furious as Hamilton wins in Canada Jerome Pugmire Montreal (AP) - Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was red with rage at being stripped of a much-needed win at the Canadian Grand Prix last Sunday. So the four-time Formula One world champion took matters into his own hands — literally. After getting out of his car with his helmet still on and stomping back to his garage, Vettel then made his way to the post-race grid. The Montreal crowd watched in amazement as Vettel theatrically grabbed the big No. 1 sign parked in front of race winner Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes car and moved it to where his Ferrari should have been in the empty No. 2 slot. Then Vettel did the opposite with the No. 2 sign, hauling it over and dramatically plonking it in front of

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel switches the standing markers to place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton second and himself first at the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 9, 2019. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Hamilton’s car. The crowd cheered, as if witnessing a moral victory. “Obviously I’m angry, as you can imagine,” Vettel said. “I gave everything I had today and more.”

Vettel had started from pole position and crossed the finish line narrowly ahead of Hamilton. But Vettel had been given a five-second time penalty for an incident which happened with a little more than 20 laps to go. Despite Vettel taking the checkered flag, that penalty gave the fivetime F1 champion Hamilton his fifth win in seven races and 78th overall. Vettel, meanwhile, has not won in 15 races — a dismal run at the most storied team in F1.

Ronaldo’s Portugal win 1st Nations League title

His mistake was basic, unfair time penalty or not. He went into the grass with Hamilton pressuring behind him, and then swerved back onto the track, forcing Hamilton to brake suddenly to avoid crashing into the barriers to the right of the track. But amid the anger Vettel did have a point. F1 carved its reputation in decades of daredevil acts and used to be famed for such high-speed drama but here it was deemed preferable to penalize Vettel for an unsafe re-entry back onto the track. Vettel took a swipe — or rather a full-blown lunge —

at governing body FIA, saying the reasoning of the stewards went against the spirit of motor racing. “It is not making our sport popular. People want to see us race, and it was racing. Just a shame when we have these funny decisions,” Vettel said. “I just wish I could be as good as I am ... but in the old drivers’ time. We should be able to say what we think, but we can’t. I disagree with where the sport is now. It’s not the one I fell in love with.” Strong words from Vettel, who finished ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc with Mercedes

driver Valtteri Bottas in fourth place and taking a bonus point for the fastest lap. Hamilton showed a touch of class on the podium, grabbing Vettel’s arm and pulling the German alongside him on the top step. Hamilton was asked for his view and some of the crowd jeered when he said “all I can say is I didn’t make the decision.” In the standings, Hamilton is 29 points clear of Bottas and already 62 ahead of Vettel heading into the French GP in a weeks’ time. Note: For more F1 news – turn to Automania on page 28.

Top 4 found in Super Rugby Wellington, New Zealand (AP) — The conference winners in Super Rugby are now known and the Wellingtonbased Hurricanes have locked in fourth place to decide quarterfinal venues a week before the end of the regular season. Defending champions the Crusaders will finish first in the New Zealand conference and on the overall table; the ACT Brumbies will finish top in Australia; and Argentina’s Jaguares for the first time will top the Africa conference. That means quarterfinals will be held in Buenos Aires, Canberra, Christchurch and Wellington but match-ups will be finally decided in this coming weekend’s last regular season round. As many as eight teams remain in contention for four remaining playoffs spots, though the chances of some are vanishingly small and dependent

Crusaders Sevu Reece scores his side’s first try during the Super Rugby match between the Crusaders and the Melbourne Rebels in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, June 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

on the outcome of other games. South Africa is well placed to have four teams in the playoffs, including the Jaguares who play in that conference and will host a quarterfinal in Buenos Aires for the first time. Immediately behind the top four are the Pretoria-based

Bulls on 36 points, the Johannesburg-based Lions on 35 and the Cape Townbased Stormers on 34. In critical matches in the final round the Highlanders play the Waratahs, the Rebels play the Chiefs, the Stormers play the Sharks and the Bulls play the Lions.

Chinese take to the seas in annual dragon boat races Portugal players celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League final soccer match at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, June 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Tales Azzoni Porto, Portugal (AP) — Three years after conquering European soccer for the first time, Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo are celebrating another international title. Portugal won the inaugural UEFA Nations League tournament last Sunday, beating the Netherlands 1-0 to lift their first trophy since the 2016 European Championship. “It’s a great achievement, indisputable,” Portugal coach

Fernando Santos said. “These victories will be part of Portuguese soccer forever.” Ronaldo, coming off a hat trick in the semifinals, lifted the winners’ trophy but wasn’t much of a factor in Sunday’s final, with the only goal coming from midfielder Gonçalo Guedes early in the second half at the Estádio do Dragão. “Things have been going well for Portugal in recent years,” Ronaldo said. “The national team has won some important titles.”

The hosts’ victory in UEFA’s newest competition, created to give national teams more meaningful matches than just friendlies, denied the Netherlands their first trophy since the 1988 European Championship. After the match, the Portuguese squad went to a public plaza in Porto where several thousand fans celebrated the win. Santos, Ronaldo and other players addressed the fans from a balcony. “We couldn’t have done this without you,” Ronaldo told fans.

Hong Kong (AP) — People in China and several other parts of Asia competed last Friday in annual dragon boat races, a tradition with roots dating back more than 2,000 years. The dragon boats are built in the shape of war canoes and ornately carved and painted with dragon heads and tails. The largest boats are up to 12 meters long and carry a crew of 46 paddlers. In Hong Kong, competitors took part in the races in Aberdeen Harbor. Accompanied by the beat of the drums, the boats raced against each other to the finish line, where the winner received a victory flag. The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet and politician who is said to have drowned himself more than

Participants compete in a dragon boat race as part of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, held in Hong Kong, Friday, June 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

2,000 years ago to protest against government corruption. Legend has it that locals wanting to prevent fish from eating Qu’s remains splashed water and pounded drums to scare them away. They also

threw rice dumplings in the water to feed the fish. These days, the races have become an event for companies, associations and group of friends to gather and build team spirit.

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Nadal wins 12th French Open for 18th Slam title Howard Fendrich Paris (AP) — For a few, fleeting moments last Sunday, Rafael Nadal found his French Open supremacy seemingly threatened by Dominic Thiem, a younger, talented opponent challenging him in the final for the second consecutive year. A poor game from Nadal allowed Thiem to break him and even things at a set apiece. That development brought fans to their feet in Court Philippe Chatrier, roaring and clapping and, above all, wondering: Was this, now, a real contest? Could Thiem push Nadal more? Could Thiem make this surge last? Would Nadal falter? That the questions arose at all was significant. The answers arrived swiftly. Nadal reasserted himself, as he usually does at Roland Garros, by grabbing 16 of the next 17 points and 12 of the remaining 14 games, pulling away to beat Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 for his record-extending 12th championship at the French Open. “He stepped on me,” Thiem said. “The numbers are crazy. He won it 12 times.” No one in tennis ever has won any major tournament that frequently. Then again, no one ever has been as suited for success on any of the sport’s surfaces as this 33-year-old Spaniard is on red clay: Nadal is 93-2 for his career at Roland Garros, winning four in a row from 200508, five in a row from 2010-14, and now three in a row. “I can’t explain my emotions,” said the No. 2-seeded Nadal, who dropped to his back after the final point, getting that rust-colored dirt all over his neon yellow shirt, then wiped away tears during the trophy ceremony. Looking at the bigger picture, he is now up to 18 Grand Slam trophies, moving within two of Roger Federer’s men’s record of 20. Nadal, however, did not want to entertain any discussion of a pursuit of Federer. “I am not very worried about this stuff,” Nadal said. “You can’t be frustrated all the time because the neighbor has a bigger house than you or a bigger TV or better garden.” Thiem, a 25-year-old Austrian who was seeded No. 4 and upset No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a draining, raininterrupted semifinal played over two days, was eyeing his first major title in this rematch of the 2018 final in Paris. But again, he couldn’t solve Nadal.

“First thing that I want to say is congrats to Dominic. I feel sorry, because he deserves it here, too,” Nadal said. “He has an unbelievable intensity.” So, of course, does Nadal. This had been, by his lofty standards, a rough season, from the most lopsided Grand Slam final loss of his career — against Djokovic at the Australian Open — to entering May without a title for the first year since 2004. Injuries, as often is the case with Nadal, were a problem, including a bad right knee. “Mentally, I lost a little bit (of) energy, because I had too many issues in a row,” Nadal said, tapping his right fingers on his temple.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal plays a smash against Austria’s Dominic Thiem during the men’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, June 9. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Thiem bounced back, if only briefly. Talk about a stunning shift: Nadal won 25 of 26 points on his serve

before — with spectators trading between-point chants of nicknames, “Rafa!” and “Do-mi!” — he got

broken to cede the second set. That was the only set Thiem managed to steal from Nadal in four career meetings at Roland Garros. But Thiem, put simply, wilted. Enough to create an opening Nadal barged through. By now, Nadal was creating magic at the net, and he won the point on 23 of 27 times he went forward. One drop volley was spun so marvelously that it landed on Thiem’s side, then bounced back toward the net. All Thiem could do was watch — and offer an appreciative thumbs-up. “Almost everybody will tell you that he’s one of the best volleyers of our game,” Thiem said. “Because the last time he missed a volley was, maybe, seven years ago, I guess.” Soon enough, it was over. The King of Clay, as Nadal is known, still reigns.

Australian Barty wins 1st major at French Open Howard Fendrich

Austria’s Dominic Thiem plays a shot against Spain’s Rafael Nadal during the men’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Sunday, June 9. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

“When you are constantly hit in the face,” he said in Spanish, “you end up being hurt.” He started to right himself by taking the Italian Open title on clay last month. “It was very important for him to win in Rome. It was like he realized that he was getting back on the good level, on the right path,” said Nadal’s coach, 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya, “and gaining a lot of confidence.” Soon enough, Nadal found himself in a familiar position in Paris: playing in the final, and winning it. This one began on a cloudy afternoon, with the temperature in the low 60s (mid-teens Celsius) and only a slight breeze. In the initial game — interrupted briefly by a baby wailing in the stands, drawing a laugh from other spectators and prompting Nadal to back away from the baseline between serves — three of the five points lasted at least 11 strokes. And, thereby, a pattern was established: By the end of

the 3-hour, 1-minute match, a total of 46 points went 10 strokes or more. Each man claimed half. From the get-go, it was such a physical grind that Nadal was soaked with sweat and changed neon yellow shirts after just seven games, eliciting catcalls from the stands. Early on, there were no signs of fatigue for Thiem, even though he was competing for a fourth straight day. Indeed, it was Thiem who nosed ahead first, closing a 12-stroke exchange by ripping a forehand to earn the first break point, then converting it with an overhead on a 20-stroke exchange for a 3-2 edge. He turned with a clenched right hand to face his guest box, where his girlfriend, women’s doubles champion Kristina Mladenovic, was pumping her fist and shouting. Nadal immediately responded. He grabbed the next four games with elan, using a drop shot to help break for a 5-3 lead, then a serve-and-volley to help hold for the set.

Paris (AP) — Ash Barty knew she needed a break from tennis, from the pressure and expectations, from the week-in, week-out grind. So she stepped away in 2014 and wound up trying her hand at cricket, joining a professional team at home in Australia. After almost two years away, Barty was pulled back to the tour. Good choice. Now she’s a Grand Slam champion. Taking control right from the start of the French Open final and never really letting go, the No. 8-seeded Barty capped a quick-as-can-be rise in her return to the sport by beating unseeded 19-yearold Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 last Saturday for her first major championship. “I missed the competition. I missed the 1-on-1 battle, the ebbs and the flows, the emotions you get from winning and losing matches,” said Barty, who will jump to a career-best No. 2 in the rankings behind Naomi Osaka. “They are so unique and you can only get them when you’re playing and when you put yourself out on the line and when you become vulnerable and try and do things that no one thinks of.” That last part is an apt description of how she approaches

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty kisses the trophy after winning the women’s final match against Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Saturday, June 8. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

each point, looking for just the right angle or speed, understanding where an opponent might be most vulnerable at any given moment. After using her slice backhand, topspin forehand and kick serve to do just that to Vondrousova, she called it a “kind of ‘Ash Barty brand’ of tennis.” Vondrousova’s take? “She’s mixing things up. And she has a huge serve,” Vondrousova said. “So it’s all, like, very tough to play against.” Neither Barty, 23, nor Vondrousova had ever played in a Grand Slam final before. Neither had even been in a

major semifinal until this week, either. But it was only Vondrousova who seemed jittery at the outset; she was playing at Court Philippe Chatrier for the first time. Barty wound up with a 2710 edge in winners to become the first Australian to win the trophy at Roland Garros since Margaret Court in 1973. “I played the perfect match today,” Barty said. It took all of 70 minutes to wrap things up. “She gave me a lesson today,” said Vondrousova, who is ranked 38th. “I didn’t really feel good today, because she didn’t let me play my game.”

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Flying to work Big brother is watching you

Subaru Outback 2020

Detroit (AP) — Would you pay more for a car or SUV that warns you if you’re falling asleep or not paying attention behind the wheel? Auto companies are figuring that because your life could depend on it, you will. As safety features such as automatic emergency braking and lane-centering make their way from luxury vehicles down to lower-cost rides for the masses, distracted driver alert systems are coming with them. At last month’s New York International Auto Show, Hyundai and Subaru both announced such systems in mainstream vehicles. Every day, at least nine people are killed in the U.S. and 100 are injured in distracted driving crashes, according to the National Safety Council. Drivers who are preoccupied by cellphones, dashboard touch screens and other distractions caused 3,157 fatal crashes in the U.S. in 2016, the latest year that government statistics were available. That’s 9 percent of all fatal crashes in the country. Distracted driver alert systems started showing up in luxury cars about a decade ago. Mercedes-Benz had a system that displayed a lighted coffee cup icon on the dashboard. Over the years they’ve become more sophisticated and made their way into mainstream vehicles, usually on pricier versions. For instance, Subaru’s “DriverFocus Distraction Mitigation System” uses a dashboard camera to watch the driver’s eyes and face. If it sees the driver is looking

away from the front of the vehicle for an extended period, it will beep and show the message “Keep eyes on road” on the dashboard. The system watches for heads nodding or someone talking on the phone or texting, or even looking into the back seat, said Subaru spokesman Ron Kiino. On the newly redesigned 2020 Outback Subaru SUV, the system will be standard on the three priciest versions, the Touring, Touring XT and the Limited XT, and it will be an option on the Limited, the lowest cost version with leather seats. No prices for those models have been announced, and it won’t be available on cheaper versions. The Subaru system made its debut as standard equipment on the luxury version of its Forester SUV for the 2019 model year. To get it, you have to buy the priciest version, the Touring, which starts at USD 35, 270, more than USD 10,000 above the lowest-priced model. Hyundai’s system is standard on the Venue, an entrylevel SUV that will start under USD 19,000. It doesn’t watch the driver’s face. Instead, it uses the same front-facing camera as the standard automatic emergency braking and lane assist. If you swerve or veer, the Venue’s software will sound a bell and the dash display will politely show a coffee cup and the words “Take a Break.” Hyundai’s market research found that people want the feature, said Mike Evanoff, senior manager of product

planning. “It’s just another layer that’s a ‘got your back’ kind of thing,” he said. The warning system is already on Hyundai’s Veloster sports car and will make its way to the entire lineup as vehicles are updated and outfitted with standard automatic emergency braking by September of 2022 in an industry agreement with the U.S. government. Subaru, which has made safety a cornerstone of its marketing efforts, says its buyers are safety conscious and will be interested in the feature, even if it costs more. And if the system is too annoying, customers can turn it off. Other systems on luxury vehicles are more sophisticated. The one on Cadillac’s Super Cruise semi-autonomous system makes sure the driver is paying attention and will even pull to the side of the road if they aren’t. Mercedes’ Attention Assist system tracks more than 70 variables including time of day, elapsed driving time and steering movement to determine if a driver is tired or not paying attention. When a certain threshold is reached, it issues audible and visible warnings. The devices are proliferating as vehicles make the transition from human drivers to full automation. Systems like Tesla’s Autopilot and Super Cruise, which control steering, braking and speed under certain conditions, are steps toward autonomous cars, but they can’t drive themselves because humans must be ready to take over.

Los Angeles (AP) — Will hydrogen-powered electric flying vehicles someday serve as taxis, cargo carriers and ambulances of the sky, but wait, as experts say they will have to clear a number of regulatory hurdles before being approved for takeoff years in the future. With six rotors on the roof and seats inside for five people, a passenger model of the Skai (pronounced “sky”) unveiled near Los Angeles resembles an oversized drone crossed with a luxury SUV. Like a drone, the vehicle from Alaka’i Technologies takes off and lands vertically. It’s one of many similar electric flying crafts in production, including prototypes from Boeing and Airbus that made successful test flights this year, according to Vertical Flight Society, an industry group. Mind you, Boeing has enough problems on its plate right now. Most are powered by batteries, which can add a lot of weight. The Skai instead uses very light hydrogen fuel cells to run its rotors, giving it a range of 400 miles (644 kilometers) and the capacity to carry 454 kilograms in people or freight.

Skai Flying Car.

The test flight would be flown by an on-board pilot using a pair of joysticks, but the technology exists to eventually fly it remotely and even autonomously. (Now Mr Skai, take me home.) Regulators are still grappling with the proliferation of smaller drones — those under about 50 pounds flown by hobbyists and filmmakers. Drone-like vehicles such as the Skai must first simply prove their airworthiness, like any common plane. After that, getting commercial certification is another convoluted process. “The technology is interesting, but the regulatory road will be very long adding that the idea of allowing people

to fly in a large aircraft without a pilot is “well outside the current regulatory regime.” It could take at least a decade before the company realizes its vision of a fleet of electric flying vehicles ferrying passengers over major cities at nearly 200 kph. The manufacturer says Skai aircraft could be used by first responders to send in food or water following disasters like hurricanes or wildfires that can destroy infrastructure. It could be used as an ambulance and to evacuate people. Outfitted with a transmitter, one could serve as a mobile cell tower, hovering for up to 10 hours over a neighborhood to provide communication services.

Vettel to call it a day? Ferrari’s number 1 is the four times world champion Sebastian Vettel, however he has now got a reputation for silly mistakes, something not expected of world champions. Coupled with that is the fact that the new Number 2, Charles Leclerc, is faster than Vettel, and is being held back by the Ferrari pit wall which is now known for making strange decisions in Vettel’s favor. These are such as making LeClerc give way to Vettel; not sending the youngster out for qualifying, but leaving him in the garage; and sending him out on hard rubber, known to be slower than the mediums they fitted to Vettel’s car. If Ferrari continue to hold Leclerc back, he will leave Ferrari. If Ferrari stop shielding Vettel, the four times champion will call it a day, rather than lose his position in the team and incidentally, lose much face as well. If Vettel does resign, who would step in beside the young charger? The best fit

Ferrari’s Sebastien Vettel.

would be Ricciardo, but I am sure Renault will have him on a watertight contract for a few seasons yet. Other drivers who could be available would include Ocon who was forced to sit out this year as there were no teams with vacancies. Where he should have been was the team previously

known as Force India, before being bought by Lance Stroll’s father who gifted the seat to his son. Whilst Ferrari is everyone’s sentimental favorite, the Scuderia is also well known for monumental stuff-ups from the pit wall, and this year has been no exception.

Autotrivia Quiz Last week I asked, what is the connection between Alberto Ascari and Paul Hawkins? An easy one – both crashed into the harbor at Monaco. So to this week. What does FEV 2H and the Springfield Boys Club have in common? Be the first correct answer to email automania@pattayamail .com or viacars@gmail.com. Good luck!

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E-mail: comhaps@pattayamail.com

Events The next meeting of Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) will be held on Sunday, June 16. The PCEC program varies, but usually involves a guest speaker on a topic of interest to Expats. The program starts at 10:30 am with a buffet breakfast available from 9:00 to 11:00 am on the 4th floor of the Holiday Inn’s Executive Tower located behind the Holiday Inn’s Bay Tower on Beach Road. The Pattaya International Music Festival, one of the biggest beach music festivals in Asia, takes place along Pattaya Beach Road and Jomtien Beach from June 14-15. This fun festival brings famous Asian and Thai artists to stages set up alongside the beautiful seashore. Music genres include pop, rock, hip-hop and R’n’B. Concerts will be held from 6pm until late on each of the two days of the event. A Joint Chambers Eastern Seaboard networking evening will be held at the Alexa Beach Club Pattaya at Pinnacle Grand Jomtien Resort on Friday, June 14 from 6.30 p.m. – 9 p.m. (last drinks at 8.30 p.m.). Entrance cost is THB 500 on the door for members and THB 1,000 for non-members. Admission includes free-flow drinks and finger food. The 2019 Ladies European Thailand Golf Championship takes place at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya from June 20-23. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET) and Thai Ladies Professional Golf Association (Thai LPGA). Tickets for spectators are priced at Bt100 per day and are available at the public entrance to the course. Those under 18 and over 60 with relevant proof of age are

exempt from course entrance fees. The Bangsaray Beach Club is hosting a fundraiser for Disabled Sailing in Thailand on Saturday, June 29. It aims to help Thailand’s disabled sailors realize their ultimate dream of sending a team to the Paralympics. The evening includes a buffet, raffle, games and entertainment. Ticket price: THB 350. Visit website www.disabledsailingthailand .org for more details or call 063 306 4656. Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya will hold its 16th annual charity fundraiser including a special concert by ‘The Parkinson’ on Friday, July 5, from 7:00pm. All proceeds go directly to the Hard Rock Pattaya Philanthropic projects. The night will start with predinner cocktails and followed by a signature grand dinner buffet at the Hall of Fame. Drinks are free-flow and unlimited. A fantastic charity auction of many wonderful prizes will follow. Normal ticket price: Bt 3,000, Premium ticket: Bt 3,500. Tickets can be purchased at the hotel lobby or call 038-428755. The Eastern Seaboard Businessmen’s Dinner is a monthly event taking place at the Mantra Restaurant at the Amari Pattaya Resort on the last Thursday of the month. It brings together business leaders from various backgrounds including Automotive, Aerospace, Real Estate, Architecture, FMCG, Electronics, White Goods, Logistics, Recruitment, Legal, Consulting, and others in a relaxed atmosphere. If you are interested in attending please contact Anuttra.Sukruen@tinfish.co.th. A Farmers’ Market takes place every 2nd Saturday of the month at the Holiday Inn hotel on Pattaya Beach

Fax: 038-427596 Road from 10.30 am - 3.30 p.m. Products range from wellness items, jewelry, freshly prepared food, organic vegetables and fruits. The next market will be held July 13. A stamp market is held every Sunday from 10.00 a.m. till 3.00 p.m.at Rahnpintang Moe Kata Restaurant, Panji Place, on Soi Ponphraphanimit 7 (200m from the Bangkok Highway underpass). Here can you exchange stamps from the whole world. Call 089 091 3418 for more information and directions.

Dining Oasis, the all-day dining restaurant in Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya, has a menu of ocean-fresh seafood every Sunday evening to Friday evening. The Oasis chefs present Thai, Japanese and Asian recipes, with the freshest sushi, sashimi, oysters, crab, mussels, lobster, and fish steamed, grilled, fried and barbecued available from the food stalls and the buffet table. The price is only THB 999 per person, and half price for children under the age of 12 years. Buffet served from 18:00 to 22:30 hrs. For more information or reservations, contact 038 714 981. Horizon Rooftop Restaurant & Bar, Hilton Pattaya invites beef lovers to experience giant ‘Tomahawk’ steaks throughout June. Enjoy charcoal-grilled Tomahawk cooked to perfection and served with grilled mix vegetables, baked potato and 3 kinds of sauces. A set is recommended for 2 people and priced at THB 3,250 net. For more information or reservations, call +66(0)38 253 000 or Line ID @hiltonpattaya or email bkkhp.pattaya.horizon @hilton.com. Saturday Night Buffet is back at AVANI Pattaya Resort & Spa. Experience regional favourites galore, street dishes and artisan desserts, as you relax with classical Thai dance and live music. Every Saturday night at Sala Rim Nam Restaurant from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm. Priced at THB 599++ per person. Kids under 5 eat free. You can also savour an elegant environmental dining experience under the stars with Mother Nature every Monday from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm at Sala Rim Nam with all diners receiving ecofriendly flashlight. For more information and reservations, call 038 412 120 Ali Baba, Pattaya’s most famous Tandoori and curry restaurant offers a free carafe of wine for every 2 diners. All vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are prepared by expect Indian chefs using traditional recipes. For more information or bookings, call 038 361 620.

Persimmon restaurant at Pattana Golf Club & Resort offers 3 weekly theme nights for customers to enjoy exciting dining concepts. Pizza/ Pasta Night, 299 Baht net per person, every Tuesday invites you to personalize your favorite Italian dishes. Wednesday is Seafood Night, 399 Baht net per person, with unlimited amounts of the freshest seafood from the local market. On Fridays, enjoy a variety of barbecued meats during the Carnivore Night at 499 Baht net per person. Book your seat prior and enjoy your dinner at Tel. 038 318 999 ext. 11230 or email to: restaurant@pattana.co.th. L’Olivier Restaurant invites you to enjoy a daily cold buffet and 4-course menu comprising soup, salad bar, main course and dessert for only 395 baht. The buffet menu is changed every two days. The restaurant specializes in French Provencal cuisine, traditional Thai food and rare Vietnamese dishes. Dine in air conditioned comfort or on the terrace. Located on Jomtien Walking Street between View Talay 2 and Jomtien Complex on the main taxi thoroughfare. For reservations, call Ms. Wan on Tel. 061 854 4848 (French, English & Thai spoken). The Bay Grill & Buffet at Dusit Thani Pattaya: Dine with a sea view and enjoy seafood and meat barbecue accompanied by Thai and international items from soup, appetizers and main courses to dessert for only THB 1200++ per person. Free flowing beverage for additional THB 599++ per person. The Bay is open daily from 18:30 - 22:00. Call 038 425 611-7 ext. 2149 0r 2150 for more information and reservations. Big Fish restaurant at Siam@Siam Design Hotel Pattaya enhances its seafood buffet with more premium catches and live music entertainment. The restaurant offers a nightly Seafood BBQ Buffet at only THB 777 net or THB 1,099 net with free-flow wine. Enjoy highquality, premium seafood cuisine as you listen to acoustic guitar and piano music from prominent local artists. Seafood BBQ Buffet at Big Fish is available every night from 6:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. For reservations call 038 930 600 or email fbsec@siamatpattaya.com. After 14 years as the Landlord of an Irish Pub, the name Kim Fletcher has not disappeared. Kim may have gone from Jamesons, but his wife Goy has ensured that the name Fletcher has not died by opening Fletchers’ Folly, a boutique pub on the Dark Side. Kim is trying to get used to being retired, but the new ‘pensioner’ loves regaling the drinkers with stories

from his lifetime in pubs, punctuated with his characteristic laugh. Fletchers’ Folly is on Siam Country Club Road, opposite Maxxis tyres and 300 meters before the “Chicken Crossroads”. Food and drinks at very reasonable prices. Pizza and Pasta All You Can Eat at Mövenpick Siam Hotel Na Jomtien: Twist Restaurant features Italian classics like creamy Carbonara or meaty Bolognese with a choice of pasta, or the delicious Prosciutto Pizza with your choice of regular or whole wheat dough. The menu also includes original Thai-fusion pizzas and pasta such as the Tom Yam pizza with chili paste, prawn, squid and Thai herbs or the tasty Green Curry Pasta. Available all day from Sunday – Thursday at only

THB 500 per person, with a glass of soft drink. For more information or reservation, call 033 078 888. The Thai Garden Terrace Restaurant offers nightly dining presentations with different themed “all you can eat” buffets at the resort poolside: Monday – Italian buffet; Tuesday – BBQ buffet; Wednesday – Duck buffet; Thursday – German buffet with roasted pig; Friday – Asian Delights buffet; Saturday – international buffet; Sunday – Steak & Skewers buffet. The buffet starts from 6 p.m., runs until 9 p.m. All this for just 499 baht net per adult or 299 baht per child under 12 (kids under 4-years old eat free). What you see is what you pay, no additional service charges or Continued on page 31

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Dining at Dicey’s Dicey Reilly’s Bar and Restaurant (opposite The Avenue Shopping Center and under the Avani Resort) has a long history on Pattaya’s Second Road even before being a hostelry. It was Spinny’s Supermarket, then Delaneys, followed by Shenanigans, and then Mooore (which became ‘less’), then a bit more Irish again and became Dicey Reilly’s Bar and Restaurant. Dicey Reilly’s has two distinct sections. There is the Terrace, open but completely covered with the Forno traditional pizza oven along one side. Go down a few steps and you enter into a central U-shaped bar with a kitchen behind glass along one wall. The bar section also has numerous large

screen TV’s covering world-wide sports, and two pool tables. Being a favored destination for the US troops, there is also a wall with American plaques donated to Dicey’s. The décor is also up-market and the service staff neat and tidy in black outfits. We chose the inside area and sat with a glass of house wine first. This was excellent and inspection of the bottle showed it to be a Stonefish Chardonnay 2017. An excellent wine, which was served at the correct temperature. The menu is large and in English and Mandarin. (Dicey’s has an eye to the future it would seem.) It begins with pizzas (B. 290-490), baked on the spot in the Forno oven.

Starters are next covering calamari (B. 250), chicken wings (B. 240-340), nachos (B. 240), soups (B. 190, then salads (B. 210-320) and burgers (B. 280-320). This is Thailand, so there are seven Thai favorites (B. 260-340), which leads the diner into the nine choices

There are also daily specials during the week, ranging from Monday cheeseburgers (B. 199) with a soft drink then as the week carries on you can have a seared sea bass (B. 299), margarita pizza (B. 199), surf and turf (499), Fish and chips (B. 299), rib eye steak on Saturday and finally

Dicey’s outside.

Buffalo wings but no beast.

Pizzas from the Forno oven.

for a main course. These range from the traditional chicken parmigiana (B. 290) to fish and chips (B. 330), salmon steaks, mixed grills and river prawns plus two steak choices at the top end, both Australian imported rib eye and T-bone (B. 9501490). By the way, there is another copy of the menu which is used as a placemat, so you can see if you can manage another course.

on Sunday the traditional carvery, for which Dicey’s is well known (B. 449). We began with the chicken parmigiana which featured a hefty breaded chicken breast, covered with cheddar and parmesan cheeses and nice crisp fries. Another of our Dining Out team went for the “Lord of the Wings” 12 piece buffalo wings served with a blue cheese and ranch dressing.

Chicken Parmigiano.

Dicey Reilly’s Bar and Restaurant has done well to maintain the traditional look and ethos of an Irish bar inside, but the outside area is very modern and attractive. Live music from 8 p.m. until late cements its position as an excellent place to wine and dine. The food is of good quality and the wine list top class. If you have memories of the “old” Dicey Reilly’s Pub, forget them, as Dicey Reilly’s

Bar and Restaurant has moved upwards, and is presenting good food at very reasonable prices. Dicey Reilly’s Bar & Restaurant (opposite The Avenue Shopping Center and under the Avani Resort), 218/ 2-4 M.10 2nd Road Pattaya, secure parking under Royal Garden Shopping Center (remember to get Dicey’s to validate your parking token). Open 11 a.m. until midnight, tel 038 411 755 (Photos by Marisa Corness)

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E-mail: comhaps@pattayamail.com From page 29 VAT. For reservations call 038 370 614 or make your booking at www.thaigarden .com under “buffet reservation”. Thai Garden Resort is located on North Pattaya Road, 200 meters from the Dolphin roundabout and 200 meters before Tesco Lotus. Yupin’s Restaurant in Jomtien Complex offers some fabulous culinary options including Fines De Claires Oysters arriving fresh ‘Par Avion’ from Normandy in France. Served on ice with lemon and on request a spicy Thai sauce for dipping. An amazing experience. Only 595 baht per six oysters. Yupin’s fantastic French onion soup is now available again! For more information or reservations, call 038 250394 or visit website: www.yupins.com. Linda’s Restaurant is large with seating for 200 people, with a covered al fresco verandah outside for those who wish to smoke. Inside, in air-conditioned comfort, there are comfortable chairs and decent sized tables, with white starched napery. Linda’s Restaurant is located on Thappraya Road opposite the Jomtien Complex. Open seven days a week from 7.30 a.m. until late. For reservations, Tel: 038 252 726, visit www. lindasrestaurant.com, or Email linda@lindasrestaurant.com. Yamato Restaurant located on Soi Yamato has been around for more than 39

Fax: 038-427596

years and the soi was named after its oldest tenant. This is a restaurant to take a few people with you. The prices are certainly not over the top, and the quality is superb. Yamato Japanese restaurant, 219/51 Soi Yamato (13/1), close to Beach Road end, telephone 038 429 685 or 038 421 618. Open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for dinner. The legendary Somsakdi Restaurant has been in operation in Pattaya for more than 40 years. Proprietor and Chef Somsakdi is still cooking and running his amazing restaurant at 78 years of age. The menu is probably the largest in Pattaya, with 374 individual items. Each dish is in Thai with an English explanation underneath. Rather than be swamped by choices, let Somsakdi guide you. After all, who knows his dishes better than he? Somsakdi Restaurant, Pattaya Soi 1, tel. 038 428 987, 038 423 284, 038 429 869, limited parking plus onstreet parking in the soi. Hours 11 a.m. until 11 p.m., seven days.

Entertainment Despacito Fridays at Siam@Siam Design Hotel Pattaya –Start off the weekend with a sensual step Latin night at the Roof Sky Bar, every Friday from 4pm – 10pm with DJ Ro-Bi-El Gordo and DJ Rocky, plus zumba classes. Free admission, ladies enjoy a free drink until 5pm. For more information, call 038 930 600.

Super Scrambled Eggs One of the most popular breakfast items is surely scrambled eggs. Unfortunately, there are many breakfast cooks who simply whisk the eggs, drop in the frying pad, toss a couple of times and serve. Such a shame, as the morning scrambled egg does not need much embellishment to make it into an interesting, as well as wholesome, dish.

Ingredients Large eggs Milk Salt Ground black pepper Butter Large tomato, chopped Finely chopped shallots

Serves 4 8 ¼ cup ½ tspn 1/8 tspn 2 tbspns 1 1 tbspn

Cooking Method In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and ground black pepper together until well blended. Melt butter in frying pan over medium-low heat until hot (or if being very health-conscious, use polyunsaturated margarine); pour in egg mixture. Reduce heat. As mixture begins to set on bottom and sides of skillet, lift and fold over with spatula. Chop them up with the spatula. Cook until eggs are almost set; fold in tomato and shallots. Heat scrambled eggs through; serve immediately. (If you wish to give this recipe even more flavor, add chopped green and red capsicum with the tomato and shallots and one teaspoon of chopped coriander leaf as garnish.)

Enjoy great music from Thomas Reimer, one of the most famous European Jazz guitarists, playing live every evening (except Tuesday) from 6.00 p.m. - 10 p.m. at the Sugar Hut restaurant on Thappraya Road, call 038 364 186 for details.

Community Services The North Star Library on Sukhumvit Road, north Pattaya holds regular Thai language classes Mon - Fri from 10.30 a.m. till 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. till 2.30 p.m. Cost of admission is 100 baht per session for library members and 200 baht for non-members. Private lessons are also available for 200 baht per hour. In addition, the library also holds Yoga training every Tuesday from 1 - 2 p.m. at the Father Ray Foundation. Cost is 1200 baht for 6 sessions (first session free). For more information, call 081 575 4854 or email wan_nujan@yahoo.com Alcoholics Anonymous: The Pattaya Group meets Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. All meetings are closed (alcoholics only) and are held at Soi Skaw Beach (off Pattaya 2nd Rd). Contact Carl 08-456-31671. The Good Morning Pattaya Group meets 9 a.m. every morning. All meetings are ‘open’: contact 084 564 8479. The Jomtien Group

meets every day at noon at Jomtien Long Stay Hotel: Contact, Andrew 086 107 6631. The Scandinavian Group meets on Tuesdays and Fridays 6 p.m. at the Norwegian Seaman’s Church, Thappraya Road Soi 7: contact Hans 085 135 7755 or Rune (Rayong) 089 754 9515. 9.00 a.m. meetings every day at Satree Pattana Centre on Soi Skaw Beach off Second Road. Call 080 563 0232. The Samaritans of Thailand English Help Line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide support to the expatriate community. English-speaking staff, trained in crisis intervention will provide active, non-judgmental and empathetic listening services on the phone. All calls will be handled on an anonymous basis and are free of charge. (02) 713-6791. Overeaters Anonymous The ‘Up to You’ group meets Wednesdays 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the housing area just behind Pan Pan Restaurant in Jomtien on Thappraya Road. Call Steve at 038-364-207(h) or 089-250-1359 (cell) for directions or more information. Narcotics Anonymous Hotline: 082 811 2686. 3 English speaking meetings in Pattaya near Central Festival and 2 in Jomtien each week. Also regular Thai speaking meetings at 12 noon every Sunday, and Persian Farsi speaking meetings at 5.30 pm on Thursdays. Please call the Hotline for details.

Groups & Associations Rotary Club of JomtienPattaya (English) meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at Royal Cliff Grand Hotel, Pattaya City. Fellowship begins at 18.30 hrs and Dinner meeting at 19.00 hrs. President Vutikorn Kamolchote Email: <vutikornk@hotmail.com> Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard (English) meets at the Siam Bayshore Hotel, 17.30 hrs for 18.00 hrs on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month, followed by dinner (Fellowship) President Brian Songhurst Email: <bjs2904 @yahoo.com> Rotary Club Phönix Pattaya (German) meets every Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Pattaya at 19.00 hrs. President Peter Schlegel Email: info@rotary-phoenixpattaya.org. Le Rotary Pattaya Marina, seul Rotary Francophone d’Asie, vous accueille les premier et troisième vendredis de chaque mois, début des réunions 19h, à l’hôtel Pullman G Pattaya Wongamat 445/3 Moo 5 – Soi 16 – Pattaya Naklua Road. Venez agir avec le Rotary pour changer des vies. Pierre Yves Eraud Président 2018-2019 Email: < info@rotarypattayamarina.org.

Rotary Club of Pattaya (Thai-English) meets at the First Pacific Hotel, Central Road on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month. Meetings begin at 19.00 hrs. President Stephen Devereux Email: < stevecarlow@gmail.com> Post 12146 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America (Ban Chang – U-Tapao, Thailand) meets the second Saturday of each month at 13:00 at Sinthavee Park Condo, 2/ 1 Moo 5, in Ban Chang. If you are interested, please contact Membership Chairman Dan Morgan at <ban changvfw12146membership@ gmail.com> or visit website: www.banchangvfwpost12146.org. The Royal British Legion Thailand meets on the last weekend of every month at various locations around the city. Please join and like the Face Book page and you will see the all the social events listed. You do not have to have served in the Armed Forces to become a member and can join in the many social events arranged throughout the year. The Legion’s primary aim is the care and welfare of those who have served and/or their dependents. For general enquiries send an email to - chonburi.secretary@ rbl.community.

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VOL. XXVII No. 24

Europeans set for strong challenge at Phoenix Gold Richard Talbot Thursday, June 20, will see the start of the 2019 Ladies European Thailand Golf Championship at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya. This is the third consecutive year the event will be staged at this top-class local course and it is rapidly becoming one of the most popular tournaments on the Ladies European Tour (LET). The competition sees 56 European players going head to head against fifty Thai players, the latter who play on a variety of tours including the Thailand LPGA, The China LPGA and the Japan LPGA. The last two years has seen popular victories for schoolgirl prodigy Atthaya Thitikul and local player Kanyalak Preedasuttijit, both of whom will be back this year, while the European

The ‘ice cool’ Esther Henseleit. (Photo/Ladies European Tour)

players have struggled to come to terms with the testing conditions. This month the ladies from Europe will arrive with the strongest ever group including household names such as Trish Johnson, Beth Allen, Megan MacLaren, Marian Skarpnord and

Vettel furious as Hamilton wins in Canada Turn to page 26.

Nadal wins 12th French Open for 18th Slam title

Caroline Hedwall. Other established players such as Flick Johnson, Becky Morgan and Becky Brewerton are also capable of lifting the trophy and picking a winner is no easy task. It may be that one of the younger tour members will be more suited to the conditions the players will face at Phoenix. Without doubt the most consistent newcomer in 2019 has been the German Esther Hesneleit who will be arriving fresh from appearing at the US Open. Her sensational form has included six top-ten finishes from the tournaments she has entered but she is still searching for that elusive first victory. Her consistency and ice cool temperament will be ideal for the Phoenix course and if things go well it will be no surprise

Could this be third time lucky for inform Olivia Cowan at Phoenix? (Photo/Ladies European Tour)

if she lifts the trophy. Another tour newcomer, Dikshar Dagar, won the South African Open earlier in the year and her fine short game will be ideal for the challenges she will face in Pattaya. The left-hander from New Delhi will be more than capable of dealing with the heat that the players are sure to encounter. Other players who will also fancy their chances include Carly Booth, Olivia Cowan, Annabel Dimmock and Noemi Jimenez-Martin, who have all previously played well in Thailand and will have the energy to compete over four rounds.

Last year the feeling from the Tour was that the fast greens were the main reason why no European had so far prevailed at Phoenix. In reality, jet lag and the unforgiving tropical heat were decisive factors, with many players not giving themselves enough time to acclimatize to the weather or the different time zone. Another obstacle in the Europeans’ way this time will be the strong Thai field set to face them. Top-ten finishes in the previous two tournaments from Chonlada Chayanun, Arpichaya Yubol, Aunchisa Utama and Parinda Phokan will see them looking to

follow in the footsteps of the two previous winners. There are also a number of other homegrown players who will be fancying their chances of capturing the second richest prize fund on offer in Thailand ladies golf. The tournament once again promises to be a great event and it is virtually impossible to predict a winner. What is certain is that it will be an intriguing and exciting competition. The 2019 Ladies European Thailand Golf Championship takes place at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya from June 20-23. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET) and Thai Ladies Professional Golf Association (Thai LPGA) and offers a total prize money of 300,000 Euros (approximately Bt11 million). It will be competed in a 72-hole stroke play format for four days. Only top 60 players, after 36 holes, will proceed to the weekend rounds. Live TV coverage of the event can be followed on TrueSport HD3 on June 22 and 23 between 1pm - 4pm. Tickets for spectators are priced at Bt100 per day and are available at the public entrance to the course. Those under 18 and over 60 with relevant proof of age are exempt from course entrance fees.

Podium for Stuvik in Buriram

Spain’s Rafael Nadal lifts the cup after defeating Austria’s Dominic Thiem in their men’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, June 9, 2019. Turn to page 27 for a full round up of the 2019 French Open tennis tournament men’s and women’s finals. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

The second round of the Thailand Super Series took place on 7-9 June at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram. Qualifying on Friday saw local Thai driver Sandy Stuvik take pole position for Race 1 while Stuvik’s teammate, Martin Rump from Estonia, drove in the following qualifying session where he secured 3rd place for Sunday’s Race 2. On Saturday the red lights went out to signal the start of Race 1 and Stuvik suffered a subpar start, dropping back to 3rd position. The Thai driver stayed in the slipstream of the cars in front and made his move into Turn 5 of the opening lap to regain the lead after a tussle between the Ferrari and Lamborghini. Stuvik extended his lead and handed the car over to Rump for the second half of the

Thai driver Sandy Stuvik poses on the grid next to his B-Quik Racing Audi R8 GT3 Ultra at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Saturday, June 8.

race. After a lengthy pit-stop due to the pair’s Silver-Silver classification, the Estonian driver exited the pits and was 2nd after the pit window closed. A safety-car intervention in the second half of the race meant the powerful

Lamborghini was right behind Rump and managed to overtake him on the second last lap. Rump brought the #2 Audi R8 GT3 Ultra back home in 3rd place. In Race 2 on Sunday, Rump took the start from 3rd place

and had a captivating battle with the Ferrari until the pit window opened. The Estonian driver handed the car over to Stuvik but when the Thai driver tried to start the engine, nothing happened. After a post-race investigation by B-Quik Racing, it was concluded that the starter motor had overheated and ceased operation. “We’ve had some ups and downs but the issue with the starter motor was just one of those things that can happen. We take it as a team but we’re all very motivated for Bangsaen where we will be racing with the new Audi R8 GT3 EVO. Thank you to all my sponsors and B-Quik Racing,” commented Stuvik afterwards. The next race (round 3) will take place at Bangsaen Street Circuit in Chonburi from 28 Aug-1 September 2019.

PATTAYA MAIL is edited by Nopniwat Krailerg for Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd. Printer, publisher and owner Offices: 62/284-286 Moo 12, Thepprasit Road, Pattaya City 20150. Advertising and Administration Office: Tel: 038 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax: 038 427 596, E-mail: ptymail@pattayamail.com www.pattayamail.com