SILC NEWS
A publica*on of the Samutprakarn Interna*onal Ladies Club
March 2017
Committee Members Responsibility
Name
Chairman
Jane Campton
silcchair@gmail.com
Vice Chairman
Kay Hickey
silcvice@gmail.com
Secretary
Sally Dicken
silcsecretary@gmail.com
Treasurer
Vacant
silctreasurer@gmail.com
Coffee Mornings
Karen Tye & Lek Burrell
silccoffees@gmail.com
Tours
Jimmy James & Carla Rijnders
silctour@gmail.com
Lunches
Jo Thomas & Sue Williams
silclunch@gmail.com
Membership
Jeanne%e Rademaker
silcthai@gmail.com
Welfare Coordinator
Chris Rajakarier
silcwelfare1@gmail.com
Newsle&er Editor & Adver(sing
Clare Nevin
silcmagazine@gmail.com
Online Media & Web Adver0sing
Jan Briggs
silcwebsites@gmail.com
Bazaar
Tracey Hewison
silcbazaar@gmail.com
Evening Events
Kay Hickey & Irene Gray
silcvice@gmail.com
Cra$ Club
Debbie Morton & Tracey Hewison
silccra'@gmail.com
Book Club
Sara Carr-‐Legg
silcbookgroup@gmail.com
General Commi,ee
Shirley Tan, Sudeshna Srivastava, Debbie Morton, Herma Vos, Kate McDonald, Sunita Kulisra
Link Ladies Area
Name
Garden Towers
Jan Briggs
Ladawan
Shirley Tan
Lakeside 1
Lakeside 2
Sunita Kulisra
Thana City
Irene Gray
Bangkok Area
Chris Rajakarier
Moo Baan Panya
Clare Nevin
Fantasia 2
Debbie Morton
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SILC News Copy Deadline for March Newsletter
Friday 24th March
If you have any recipes, book reviews, recommendations for holidays or items for our bulletin board please forward them to the Newsletter Editor: silcmagazine@gmail.com
SILC February 2017
Chairman’s Message Hello Ladies, I hope those of you who have kids at school had a lovely relaxing half term. For those of us with teenagers, exam season is fast approaching, along with the hot season-‐ arghh!! For those of you new to Thailand, we have 3 seasons here-‐ the hot, the very hot and wet and the ridiculously very hot. We are coming up to the la(er… We do have good news though-‐ we are also fast approaching our Annual AGM so save the date and read all about how you can join the Commi9ee and make an impact on how our fab club is run on page 14 & 15 To put it bluntly, if we don’t have a Commi%ee, we don’t have a club! May I also take this opportunity to thank everyone for their speedy contribu)ons to the recent fire in Klong Toei-‐ fantas&c job gals. Jane
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Advertising Adver&sements for non-‐profit community events are welcome and are free of charge. Personal Adver-sements for S ILC members are free of charge. Email reminders for SILC events and non-‐profit community events will be sent out free of charge; other events must be adver(sed in our magazine.
Discounts
1500 Baht
Member
800 Baht
Annual Contract (10 adverts/year)
10%
Quarter Page 400 Baht
(Only one discount may be applied)
Website
Rates (per issue)
Full Page
Half Page
3000 Baht per annum (no discount) Includes Link
25%
Adver&sing requests and payment must be received prior to the published deadline. Further details on adver0sing in the Newsle4er contact: Clare Nevin: silcmagazine@gmail.com Further details on adver0sing on the SILC Website contact: Jan Briggs: silcwebsites@gmail.com To arrange payment contact: The Treasurer: Rocelyn Keilnhofer: silctreasurer@gmail.com
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SILC February 2017
Aims & Policies Organisa(on of the Club SILC creates an opportunity for women of all na6onali6es living in the Samutprakarn area to meet socially and par$cipate in a variety of ac$vi$es. We invite members to join monthly mee$ngs, tours and interest groups. Members pay an annual fee of 1000 Baht to cover costs and receive a newsle2er and club directory.
Privacy The Members Directory and addresses sourced from our legi3mate club business such as Lunches or Coffee Mornings are for the sole us of members in a social se3ng and must not be used for commercial purposes.
Newsle&er The newsle)er is published ten 1mes a year with ar(cles and informa(on on club ac(vi(es. Contribu(ons are welcome and can be sent to the newsle/er editor.
Commi%ee Mee)ngs These are held once a month and are open to all members. Please inform the mee5ng hostess if you wish to a:end. All SILC events are subject to change. Please confirm your attendance with the relevant contact. Please advise of your cancellation as soon as possible so that another member may take your place.
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February Lunch Review Patara Fine Dining Where were you? Our March lunch was an absolute treat but there were only 6 of us there! Distance is no excuse-‐ one of us had travelled from half way to Chonburi, another 10,000kms to join us so it shouldn’t be too hard. Here is what you missed then. The restaurant, on Thonglor 19, is hi-‐so Thai in both menu and in style-‐ lots of black lacquer, subtle bronze highlights and bold bird of paradise flowers adding pops of red with added tones of brilliant green from the beau%ful garden. Even the toilets were lovely-‐ the same dark wood and fretwork with old lanterns and flashes of red blooms, but they did whiff a bit. I thought this might be the last incumbent un2l I remembered it was Grandma Pat and she smells of roses. Everything was very stylishly served. We started with dainty crisps served with a warm chilli jam and a glass of lemongrass juice that tasted like the Centara spa smells. We then moved onto a fabulous smoked salmon pomelo salad-‐ sharp but delicately refreshing, with a hint of spice. Mains were served In dainty pots on a celadon pla.er-‐ s"r fried veg, great except it included toadstools which older readers will know I am not keen on; green rice; crispy seabass with tamarind sauce-‐ just beau)ful; a baby dumpling of shrimpy deliciousness and dinky fish cakes which Clare assured us were easy to make by just bunging everything in a blender-‐ it was all gorgeous. You also missed some great conversa)on-‐ we covered Prince Phillip’s bo+om, the hazards of being kidnapped in Trinidad, the chicken man in Delhi who chops your chook with his feet and how to tell if your dog is poorly, amongst many other things. You really must come next )me, it would be a shame to miss out again!
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SILC February 2017
What a fun and creative morning! With the opening introduction of “if anyone says they are useless at art, then they have to run around the compound in their undies”, we got busy drawing ‘the essence’ of a leaf and creating attractive collages. Our next instruction was to transfer our leaf drawings onto a material for making the stamps, before inking them and pressing them onto our collages. Ta da! We all had masterpieces we were proud of.
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Book Reviews A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman Ove is an angry old man next door. An isolated retiree with strict principles and a short fuse, who spends his days arguing with neighbors and visiting his wife's grave and who has given up on life. A man who sees the world around in black and white. A young couple with two young daughters moved in next door and accidentally damaged Ove's mailbox, and this is when an unexpected and unlikely friendship forms. Page by page we come to understand Ove's past happiness and heartbreaks. This is such a nice story! It's about the transformation we go through in life and how different events within our life affect and shape us. This book has great humor and great heart! Reviewed by Liliya Andreeva.
The Well by Catherine Chanter Ruth is under house arrest and has very little to do but sit around and remember the events of the past few years… Britain has suffered a drought for two years. Ruth and Mark, married for 20 years, escape London to lead the ‘good life’ in the country and run a smallholding. Mark, a lawyer, has been recently cleared of uploading child pornography and the couple hope for a fresh start. The Well is indeed a paradise, the only place in England that remains fertile with rain. However after the continued drought and hardship, the locals resent their oasis, their dog is poisoned and they dread leaving to buy supplies, they become increasingly isolated. Ruth’s daughter with her young son arrives with travellers followed by a group of nuns who call themselves the Sisters of the Rose of Jericho. Ruth, narrating the story, tells of her immersion into this strange, hippie, feminist cult and the spell cast by the leader of the group Sister Amelia who declares Ruth ‘the chosen one’. Live streaming of prayers and spiritual guidance, accruing a large following of women desperate to believe that Ruth can bring salvation. Tragedy inevitable happens, Ruth’s beloved grandson is murdered. The book changes from a dystopian novel to an excellent psychological thriller exploring guilt and trust. A good book group discussion (we do occasionally talk about books), a better thriller than vision of the future with some unresolved questions regarding the relationships between the characters in the book. However it was a compelling read. Reviewed by Lorraine Slowther 8
SILC February 2017
The Big Mango Classy night out over in Sathorn by Sara Carr-Legg Sathorn area has some amazing restaurants and very cool quirky bars. Here’s a plan for a special night out for a special occasion. You can do all 3 in one evening or enjoy each venue at a time.
Isaaya Siamese Club Included in Asia’s 50 best restaurants the Isaaya Siamese Club sits in a 100 year old Thai villa on a small soi just off Rama IV. Gorgeous food and gorgeous garden with a large outside terrace. This is Thai food at it’s fanciest - go spoil yourselves. www.isaaya.com for more information
Smalls about 10 minutes up the road and down a soi again is Smalls. check out whose on in the evening - they have DJ’s playing most evenings but go when they have a live Jazz band. Smalls is a shop house converted over 3 floors into a hip and happening place with French inspired furniture and retro revolving doors on the way in. stop off for a cocktail or a shot of absinthe. Smalls Facebook page for anymore information
Namsaah Bottling Trust popping up the road again around 10 minutes is the gastro bar Namsaah Bottling Trust. Namsaah, an old word for soda water, used to be bottled on the premises decades ago. The huge pink house has a huge bar on the ground floor with table set around ready to order some late night bar snacks. Namsaah have the most yummy cocktails with the most curious ingredients. Well worth a look and try. www.namsaah.com for more information
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January Welfare Update Ice cream art and falling snow at Mahawong Daycare Centre Everyone is back from the Christmas Holidays and normal life has started again. So on Wednesday the 18th of January the SILC ladies went to Mahawong Daycare centre for another Cra1 session. The first thing you no/ce when arriving at Mahawong are the approximately 200 children si4ng in neat rows in their blue school uniforms. How do we make this work every 5me? Luckily it is a lot of fun helping the children with their cra/work and we know from experience that all children will have a work of art in the end. This &me the children made a lovely ice cream cone and scoops. This is Thailand so you can have an ice cream in winter'me. We even had some ‘snow’, or was it dry leaves falling from the trees? The children had to use their skills in outlining the cone, gluing on and colouring the scoops made of paper cupcake shapes, to create their own work of art. The children created all different flavoured scoops. They liked colouring the scoops so much that we had a real Bangkokkian traffic jam at the colouring tables and had to improvise two more tables! We and the children very much enjoyed the different flavours of our ice cream and the falling ‘snow’ in winter'me. This is Thailand and everything is possible!
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SILC February 2017
Welfare Sponsoring a teacher at Heavenly Homes Orphanage
Heavenly Homes would like to thank SILC for our support and care over the years. SILC pa ys for a teacher to educate/care for the children in "Heavenly Homes", at 35,000 Baht for a year. As lot of the kids have a gap in their education and need help to catch up. They also need help with early education. “Heavenly Homes Orphanage” provides shelter, safety, food and an education for children in need who live in the Mae Sot migrant community , on the border between Thailand and Burma. There are 85 children in care between the ages of 5-‐15. When the welfare team visited this project, we were extremely pleased with the ethos of this home, as they did not turn any child in need down . What impressed us most that they looked after the children till adulthood. They have links with vocational schools and ensured each child was educated, learnt a profession and had a better future. They really cared for each child's
future. Many of the kids in the orphanage have been abundant or neglected and fund refuge in Heavenly homes. It really must feels "like heaven" for the kids who have been abundant and neglected.
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SILC February 2017
Bangplee Temple & Market Tour February 2016 Our first stop was Wat Bang Phli Yai Klang, which is a stunning temple with Thailand’s longest reclining Buddha image, measuring 53 metres. The temple is unique in its construction because you can actually walk inside the reclining Buddha image and climb up the internal stairs to the point of where the heart would be. Inside the Buddha image we found that the walls were painted with many scenes. The general theme seemed to be that if you didn’t lead a good life here then you would enter a very scary hell! Our next stop was Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai, which was the home of one of the most revered Buddha images in Thailand. From here we experienced the 150 year old market and Jimmy introduced us to lots of local Thai snacks which we all enjoyed testing.
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Your Club Needs You! At the end of April, we will be elec2ng our new Commi7ee for the coming year. This year all posi2ons are available-‐ a nomina'on form will be sent nearer the date for the AGM but meanwhile, can we ask you to look at the job descrip0ons and see if there is a role for you. Please do think about stepping up over the coming weeks. SILC has an awesome reputa<on for both great fun social events and helping out in the local community but without volunteers none of this can happen. Get in touch with our Chair, Jane, on silcchair@gmail.com if you would like to know more or just to have a chat about what the job involves. SILC Commi)ee Posi-ons 2017 Officers Chair –main du(es are to chair our monthly mee/ngs and to serve as official representa/ve of the club at both our own func,ons and in the wider community; to write monthly ar,cle for the newsle6er and to oversee the smooth running of the club in line within our aims and objec"ves. Vice-‐ main role is to support the Chair in her du1es and assume responsibility in her absence. Secretary-‐ to prepare and distribute an agenda for each mee3ng; to keep notes at the mee3ng then circulate these as minutes shortly a0er; to arrange AGM venue. 14
SILC February 2017
Treasurer-‐ to invoice and receipt all payments on SILCs behalf; to arrange payments to be made, to re-‐ imburse all expenses incurred on behalf of the group and to bank all monies into the club; prepare accurate monthly accounts for distribu3on to the Commi#ee and externally audited annual accounts, to be submi&ed to the membership at the AGM. Commi%ee Assistant Treasurer-‐ to assist the Treasurer in general tasks and presenta2on of monthly/ annual accounts; to assume responsibili/es should the Treasurer be absent. Membership-‐ to keep up to date list of all members and their details, to be shared with the Editor; to arrange for collec+on of annual subs, in liaison with the Treasurer; to welcome new members by email and remind exis*ng members for renewal; to send regular emails to members with club ac&vi&es and community no*ces; to digitally distribute the Newsle7er to all members and to produce and distribute our annual Members Directory. Newsle&er Editor-‐ responsible for producing our monthly digital newsle6er which includes up to date informa%on on our ac%vi%es; to collate and edit ar)cles submi0ed; work with adver-sers and Treasurer to arrange details of ads and payments for them. On-‐Line Media-‐ to keep the SILC website up to date and arrange relevant Facebook posts in line with our not-‐for-‐profit protocols. Welfare-‐ to be responsible for the inves/ga/on of and contact with chari/es, based on the Club goals for Welfare; prepare monthly progress reports to be shared at mee4ngs and with the Editor; lead and co-‐ ordinate the broader Welfare team including holding regular Welfare mee2ngs; to co-‐ordinate monthly cra$ ac&vity and weekly English programme in the pre-‐schools; to co-‐ordinate weekly food and fruit delivery at the same; provide a monthly cash flow report for the Treasurer and annual budget proposal; to provide details/ recommenda1ons on projects and to liaise with chari1es on funding and volunteers. Coffees-‐ to arrange regular Coffee Mornings for the group, finding suitable venues and menu selec:ons; to make reserva)ons, take bookings and arrange payments where needed, in liaison with the Treasurer; to provide advert for the Newsle&er and email for Members. Lunches-‐ to arrange monthly lunches for the group, finding suitable venues and menu selec8ons; to make reserva"ons, take bookings and arrange payments where needed, in liaison with the Treasurer; to provide advert for the Newsle/er and email for Members. Tours-‐ to make all arrangements for regular tours including loca2on, transport, reserva2ons and calcula%ons of cost; to be contact person for bookings; to work with the Treasurer to arrange payments if required and to provide Advert for Newsle4er and email for members. General Commi,ee, Maximum 2 Posi4ons – to support and assist the other Commi0ee members as requested; to assume du-es of officers temporarily unable to carry out their du-es or in the event of their departure. With the excep*on of the Officers, most jobs can be shared with a friend, though we do ask that you take turns to a)end the monthly Commi+ee Mee.ngs Like us on SILC (Samutprakarn International Ladies Club)
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Dear SILC ladies, On behalf of the project families from Sewing Socks And Sowing Smiles, I want to say a great big thank you for ordering 330 of our sock cats and dogs! And really, I should say first, thank you Marianne, for inviting us to the lovely SILC bazaar to sell our animals. Your order helped to provide much needed money and meaningful work, for the 6 asylum seeker families that participate in this project. The photos of some of the children receiving their new sock cats and dogs were delightful! I made sure that everyone in our group got to see the photos as well. Again, we were honored that you would give our project the opportunity to provide colorful sock animals for your Christmas baskets for needy children in Bangkok. The photos of these beautiful little children with their new sock cats and dogs is priceless and brought smiles to all of our hearts! Keep up the wonderful work of SILC! With a grateful heart, Linda Congdon/Sewing Socks And Sowing Smiles
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SILC February 2017
Dear SILC members, On behalf of the people of Khlong Toei slums I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind generosity with all you donated to the fire victims. More than 40 homes were burned to the ground and 70 families were affected by the fire. Hopefully these people will get the opportunity to rebuild in the coming months. Also I want to thank SILC for the ongoing support with supplying the cooking oil for Sister Joan's food run. The food run takes place every second Friday. We support on average 96 families. They receive one 5kilo bag of rice, 5 cans of sardines, one bottle of fish oil and one bottle of cooking oil. This food run has been running for more than 15 years and SILC has been helping out with the oil for about 5 years. Now that Sister Joan has left Bangkok after 28 years of serving the community of Khlong Toei we the volunteers are desperately trying to keep as many of her projects going as possible. Sister Joan is now 85 years old and needs to go back to her order in Australia so she can receive the health care that she now needs. Without the help and continuing support of organizations like SILC and others we would not be able to do this. So once again thank you for your support and generosity. Kay Hickey
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What’s on in February?
March 2017 Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1
2
3
4
5
Welfare Prakkasamai Songkran activity
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
SILC Ladies night out
BWG Music by the River
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27
21 28
22
23
24
25
26
Book Club
Welfare Mahawong Craft activity
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30
31
SILC Tour to WFFT
Notes For any NON SILC events please always double check the date and times.
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SILC February 2017
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March Book Club Date: Thursday 23rd March Time: 12noon – 2pm Venue: Liliya Andreeva’s House Thong Lo Area (if you are already in the Book group, Liliya will send via the Whats App Group, if not please contact Sara and she will send you the address) Please bring yourself and a plate to share. Don’t worry if you haven’t read these books or any book lately, come along for a chat and meet some new friends, also this month we will see what current affairs have caught our attention. Please RSVP to Sara on silcbookgroup@gmail.com And Sara will send you Lorraine’s address
March Book to Read We will be reading The Lie by CL Taylor It's a thriller and the first book of a trilogy. 'I know your name's not really Jane Hughes... Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She's happier than she's ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist.'
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SILC February 2017
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March Lunch MARCH LUNCH AT FOOD EXCHANGE RESTAURANT NOVOTEL SUKUMVIT 20 FRIDAY MARCH 31ST AT 12 NOON Food Exchange at Novotel 20 is a city view restaurant located on the 7th floor offering a wide range of western dishes buffet style from freshly rolled sushi, organic salads, Thai salads, phad Thai, noodle sta-on and fresh seafood, plus deserts. COST OF THE WEEKDAY LUNCH BUFFET THB 399 net per person. EXTRA FREE FLOW HOUSE RED OR WHITE WINE AT THB 699 per person. If you would like to join this lunch please state whether you require lunch only or if you wish to take the free flow wine package as an extra. Complimentary iced water will be served throughout. Please RSVP to Jo or Sue by Wednesday 29th March silclunch@gmail.com
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SILC February 2017
March Trip
Day tour Thursday 30th March Wildlife Friends Founda/on Thailand The Wildlife Friend s Fou ndation Th ailand (W FFT - www .w fft.o rg) is loca te d 2.5 hou rs from Bang kok (Phetchaburi) Main obje ctives: • Re scu e maltrea te d and/or ne gle cte d wild anima ls • Provide san ctu ary for sick an d disa ble d anima ls • Re habilita te a nd Release w here po ssible and ca re fo r tho se w ho are u nable to be returne d to the wild • Edu ca te p eop le, particu larly ch ild ren, to stop cru elty to a nima ls • Ca mp aig n aga inst illega l tra de in w ild a nimals, disco urage u se of a nima ls fo r e ntertain me nt • Preven t hu nting a nd pro mote co nserva tion of all n atural re source s, fauna a nd flora a like . • Co opera te w ith and a ssist Ro yal Forestry Depa rtme nt a nd other org anization s w ith th e rescue an d conserva tion of wild animals. Wild life Frien ds Fou nda tion Thailand o pera te se veral p roje cts; Willdlife Re scu e Ce ntre, Ele phan t Re fu ge an d Edu ca tion Ce ntre, Wild life Ho sp ital, Forest Re stora tion an d Co nservatio n, Gibb on Re lease an d Re habilita tion, Wild life Tourism Ca mp aig n, Street Ele phan t Ca mp aig n an d Volunteer O pportun ities an d educa tion facilitie s in Th ailand an d Lao s. We leave Bangkok at 7:30am (place t.b.c.), so we will arrive at 10am. The tour with a rangers begins at 10:15, and will involve a tour around the rescue center where you will get to see 550+ animals including gibbons, bears, macaques, elephants, langurs and many more. You will learn of their background stories and why they are at our rescue center. The tour will run all morning until lunch is served for everyone at 12:00 noon. A traditional Thai buffet will be available. After lunch we will have a slightly shorter program as usual, including an elephant walk and shower, and a tour of the Elephant Rescue Center. We will depart WFFT around 15:00pm, back in Bangkok around 5:30pm Date: Thursday 30 March Time: 7:30 am, place t.b.c. Finish: around 4:30-5:00pm, place t.b.c. Costs: THB 1,200 entrance (instead of 1,600) + ± THB 500 transport (depending on numbers) Lunch: included Minimum number: 7 participants If you would like to join, please respond before Friday 24 March to: silctour@gmail.com Jimmy & Carla
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Ladies Night Out Wednesday March 15 th 2017 6pm to 9 pm We will order and eat from 730 pm. Maya, Holiday Inn, Sukhumvit Soi 22 BTS Phrom Phong Station Exit 6 and walk towards Soi 22, approx. 5 mins walk, the hotel is on the corner of Soi 22 Come along and have some fun!! Please email silcvice@gmail.com to confirm your place by 10th March
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SILC February 2017
to our members that celebrate their birthdays in March Arunya Dixon Rachael Quinn
Liliya Andreeva Asrana Rotoe
Debbie Morton Hui Tamaporn Jeanette Rademaker Jessie Wong Rashi Dhawan Apologies if I have missed your birthday, please let me know as it means we do not have your birthday on record.
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What’s On
The British Women’s Group Presents
Music and BBQ by the Chao Phraya River
Saturday 18th March 2017 Pier 28, The Chatrium Hotel Riverside Welcome drinks from 7pm - Buffet from 7.30pm Live music through the ages, so put on your dancing shoes and join the party by the river BBQ and Gourmet Buffet Free Flow Drinks Tickets 2,200 baht per person To reserve your tickets please email specialevents@bwgbangkok.org Sponsored by
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SILC February 2017
What’s On
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