Visa Run to Laos 2016
November 28th, 2016 03:02 PM | General | No Comment
Visa Run to Laos 2016
Visa Run to Laos 2016
We had to go to Laos again last week for visa reasons that I won’t bore you with. I am not a big fan of the country; I have never had ...
Anger and Arrogance
November 27th, 2016 02:24 PM | General | No Comment
Anger and Arrogance
Anger and Arrogance
I was talking to an Australian WW2 vet in a bar in Pattaya this afternoon, while my wife was shopping in the market across the road. After twenty minutes or so of sitting next to ...
Daisy’s Chain: Which Cover?
November 20th, 2016 04:38 AM | General | No Comment
Daisy's Chain Cover No. 1
Daisy's Chain Cover No. 2
Daisy's Chain
by Owen Jones
Daisy's Chain, my latest novel, will be released soon, but I want your opinion on which cover you prefer. I'll give you some of the story to help ...
King Kaeo Road, Bangkok
November 1st, 2016 05:08 AM | Diary | No Comment
King Kaeo Road, Bangkok
King Kaeo Road, Bangkok
First of all, it has to be said that King Kaeo probably does not mean what you think it does if you don't speak Thai. 'King' can mean a foreign king, but it ...
Writers’ Readers
October 26th, 2016 02:47 PM | Diary | No Comment
Writers' Readers
Writers’ Readers
For the sake of this article, I'm going to forget about famous people. In these days when glamour and celebrity are so hyped up, they get enough publicity anyway. I am talking about ordinary writers who may ...
The British and the Weather
October 25th, 2016 02:09 PM | General | No Comment
The British and the Weather
The British and the Weather
If you listen to, or read the British media often, you will be told at least once a week that the British public loves to talk about the weather. It is ...
Wheels in Motion
October 18th, 2016 07:47 AM | Diary | No Comment
Wheels in Motion
Wheels in Motion
It is time to put some wheels in motion. We will be returning to Spain in about five weeks and things have to be done before then. Unfortunately, the two things remaining for us to ...
King Bhumipol Adulyadej of Thailand R.I.P.
October 16th, 2016 07:26 AM | Behind The Smile | No Comment
The young King Bhumipol Adulyadej of Thailand
King Bhumipol Adulyadej of Thailand R.I.P.
The day that most Thais have been dreading for years has arrived - the day after the King has died. King Bhumibol was a revered figure in Thailand; ...
MF910L AIS 4G Pocket WI-FI
October 14th, 2016 01:59 PM | Gadgets | No Comment
MF910L AIS 4G Pocket WI-FI
MF910L AIS 4G Pocket WI-FI
I am back in the remote Thai village of my wife's birth, where we have a house. We have moved to Spain, but when we lived here, until five months ago, ...
Roaming Hotspots, Batman!
October 11th, 2016 02:46 PM | Diary | No Comment
Roaming Hotspots, Batman!
Roaming Hotspots, Batman!
I didn't even know that roaming hotspots existed until two days ago, and now I am one!
I need the Internet. Anybody who knows me knows that. I need the Internet more than I need shoes ...
In Sickness and in Health
October 10th, 2016 03:56 PM | General | No Comment
In Sickness and in Health
In Sickness and in Health
It has been my turn to be ill recently. We are both under a lot of strain what with visas and the requirements therefore, which no-one in authority seems willing to ...
The Blackbird
October 6th, 2016 07:33 AM | Diary | No Comment
The Blackbird
The Blackbird
Isn’t it strange how some events can haunt you for the rest of your life? I have three such incidents that I think about every week.
The first involved a ‘real’ bow and arrow. A friend let me ...
Spanish Residency Permit
September 26th, 2016 05:28 AM | Diary | No Comment
Spanish Residency Permit
Spanish Residence Permit
As a citizen of Great Britain, or a subject of the queen thereof (I am no longer sure) before the Brexit referendum, my chances of gaining a Spanish Residency Permit were very high. I was ...
Back to Square One
September 19th, 2016 06:37 AM | Behind The Smile | No Comment
Back to Square One
Back to Square One
As some of you will know, I tried to fulfil my twelve-year-old promise to my wife during the summer and move us to Europe to live. We were both looking forward to it, ...
Conventions In Writing
September 9th, 2016 01:13 PM | Blogging | No Comment
Conventions in Writing
Conventions In Writing
Sometimes, it seems that our lives are full of conventions. There are all sorts of them: social conventions; Star Trek Conventions; Conventions of Witches (and even witches' conventions, I dare say); Writers' Conventions; and writing ...
Spanish Post Offices
August 12th, 2016 11:33 AM | Diary | No Comment
Spanish Post Offices
Spanish Post Offices
A few weeks ago, we bought some postcards to send to Neem's friends and family in Thailand, but didn't give a thought to sending them, so they lay on the television table for weeks.
Last week, ...
Fuengirola Market
August 6th, 2016 07:30 PM | Diary | No Comment
Fuengirola Market
Fuengirola Market
Today is our second visit to Fuengirola Market, since it only operates on a Tuesday until about two, when it reverts to its intended use of car park. Fuengirola Market is biggest I have ever been to ...
Spain and the European Union
August 3rd, 2016 02:00 PM | General | No Comment
Spain and the European Union
Spain and the European Union
We were talking to an expat here in southern Spain yesterday afternoon. He has lived here for more than twenty years and says that he cannot understand why Spain is in ...
Exploring Fuengirola
July 29th, 2016 09:25 PM | Diary | No Comment
Exploring Fuengirola
Exploring Fuengirola
We haven't been out for a few days, so I suggested that we spend a couple of hours exploring Fuengirola, or more precisely, the neighbourhood, in which we live. There is absolutely nothing we can do to ...
Our Spanish National Insurance Numbers
July 28th, 2016 09:19 AM | Diary | No Comment
Our Spanish National Insurance Numbers
Our Spanish National Insurance Numbers
I have known for nine weeks that we would need Spanish National Insurance numbers if we are to stay here legally, and we did go to see a solicitor for help ...
Teething Troubles
July 27th, 2016 06:28 PM | Diary | No Comment
Teething Troubles
Teething Troubles
We have been in Spain a fortnight now and things are going well, if a little too slowly to completely alleviate our anxieties over Neem's visa. However, we are experiencing a few teething troubles.
I think that we ...
