World Gems Collection Center sets another record for Pattaya

Largest in Asia

In these days of bigger is better, Pattaya can now boast yet another “big” record, albeit regional. The World Gems Collection Center, officially opened at 9:19 a.m. on December 12th, is the largest of its kind in Asia.

World Gems is situated in a modern building spreading out over eight rai of land next to Pattaya City Hall on North Pattaya Road. And not only is the multi-million baht Center the biggest in Asia, it can also proudly say that it contains a very large selection of the many gemstones the area is famous for, including the Siam ruby.

The opening ceremony at the Pattaya World Gems Collection was headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sanan Khajornprasad and attended by a group of other guests of honor.

The center is set up as a showroom of beautiful jewelry for sale, but is also a “living museum” of sorts, showcasing rare gems and giving visitors a glimpse into how fine jewelry is produced.

The center is divided into four separate zones. In zone one, demonstrations are held showing the step-by-step procedures of making the nine gems representing the planets, as well as other precious stones.

The second zone displays the procedures for making fine jewelry, including the various steps in the process that has given Thailand a world renowned reputation for producing jewelry with excellent craftsmanship.

The third zone is an exhibition room with presentations and displays showing very rare stones and 800 different minerals from around the world.

The fourth zone is the center’s showroom with the finished jewelry on sale. This includes over 10,000 different styles of rings, bracelets and necklaces in popular designs. The fourth zone also includes a collection of cut crystal and Buddhist images decorated with gems. All presented in a relaxing atmosphere.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sanan Khajornprasad presided over the opening ceremony on December 12. Other guests of honor included the Mayor of Saensukh Municipality Somchai Khunpleum, Minister of Interior Watana Adsawahem, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Tourism of the House of Representatives Santsak Ngamphiches, and the owner of the World Gems Collection Center Thongchai Rojrungrangsi, all welcomed by Chonburi Governor Sujarit Prachimnan.

The well-known Luang Pho Utama, representing the Buddhist clergy, also participated in the opening ceremony.

The guests were given a tour of the new facility, after which 10 professional models displayed the finished merchandise.

The center also has two branches in Bangkok, on Sri Ayudthaya and Silom Roads. The new facility will compete with other world class gem centers in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The Stephenson Locomotive Society Celebrates

by John D. Blyth

The Stephenson Locomotive Society of Britain marked the ninetieth anniversary of its foundation on 11th December. A group of persons interested in the then universal steam railway locomotive, and wishing to know more about it, held the first meeting of the Society in Croydon, South London, on that day. Both amateurs and professionals were involved, and soon there was disagreement as to policy, and this led to a ‘break-away’ group mainly of the professionals. They went ahead to form their own group, which eventually, in 1911, became the much respected Institution of Locomotive Engineers, now the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Activities envisaged were visits to railway workshops and locomotive depots, and indoor lectures, debates, etc. The undersigned, a member for fifty years, is unable to recall a debate being announced, although there have been many in the correspondence columns of the Society’s ‘Journal’, issued to members as part of their rights from subscription.

Reports of the Society’s activities were at first published in the long-defunct ‘Railway & Travel Monthly’, but from 1924 a printed circular was issued monthly, being replaced in 1930 by a properly printed monthly magazine. It is a coincidence that this month also sees the 800th edition of this, the ‘S.L.S. Journal’, whose present editor, Bruce Nathan, has brought to it a highly professional appearance with colour, as well as monochrome illustrations in most issues.

The society had hardly got its feet when the 1914 War broke out, and the hoped-for program of visits to railway premises was cut short; the first foray abroad had already taken place, though, with visits to the locomotive depots of the Northern Railway of France at Calais and Boulogne, in the summer of 1910; similar difficulties, and censorship of the contents of the ‘Journal’ had to be faced between 1939 and 1945. Peak membership was achieved in the 1960s, in part due to the coming elimination of steam traction on Britain’s railways, and a notable series of steam-hauled special trains organized in the final days. The Society was in the lead, also in the preservation of historic locomotives, as they purchased the ‘Gladstone’ locomotive from the then Southern Railway; this is still in the National Railway Museum at York.

In all its years, the society has had but four Presidents, of which only the present one, Mr. R.H.N. Hardy, has been a professional railway man. A limited number of Vice Presidents may be appointed at the discretion of the Society’s Council, and these have, in the past, included a number of famous British locomotive engineers, and also M. Andre Chapelon of the French State Railways, considered by many to be the most forward-looking and successful locomotive designer of all time.

The writer of these notes served in Army (Royal Engineers) Railway Workshops in the Middle East at the end of the last War, and then served the newly-Nationalized British Railways for 31 years, retiring in 1978; he then became active in our Society’s affairs, becoming editor of the ‘Journal’ in 1985, for four years, and chairman for a short period from 1991, a post from which he had to retire, to remove to Thailand for health reasons.

The Society has published a number of books at various times; in 1939 a book of locomotive drawings was published at the princely sum of 3 shillings and 6 pence (about 11 Baht!). This is most successful, and an attempt was made in 1951 to publish a second book, but all the old-fashioned metal blocks for printing the drawings were destroyed in a fire at the printers’ premises just before printing was begun. The work done on this day by the late Arthur Cook was not lost, however, and the present writer, with modern printing methods, was able, in 1992, to produce a successful second book of drawings, fifty-two years after the first!

Not as big as in its prime, the Society still discharges its original aims, although the scope of interest has been widened to encompass all aspects of railway working and technology; with the demise of steam traction, always a big attraction in the past, it still publishes six ‘Journals’ a year, and has indoor meetings at twelve Centres in England and one in Scotland.

I am always delighted to hear from those interested in our Society, especially possible new members. You can contact me on (038) 426030, ext 112, or by Post at P.O. Box 97 at Pattaya Post Office.

Christmas: Time For A Cool Yule

The songs and music cover the spectrum of the sublime to the ridiculous, from the immortal “Silent Night” composed and written in 1818 in Oberdorf, Austria (near Salzburg), to such dreadful fare as “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” produced, no doubt, by some aspiring song-writer, with a keen eye on the cash register.

Another classic, which appeared around the same time as “Silent Night” some 150 years ago, is Charles Dickens’ much-loved story, “A Christmas Carol”, in which the great master himself reflects the Victorian era of a cosy fireside family gathering, juxtaposed to an almost-apocalyptic vision of doom.

Dickens’ portrayal of one of literature’s meaner characters, Ebenezer Scrooge, could well be applied to more than a few of our contemporaries. A Disney adaptation of the work, “The Grinch who stole Christmas” is still as popular as it was 30 years ago - at least in the United States.

Scrooge, according to Dickens, was “tight-fisted, squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner, hard and sharp as flint...self-contained and solitary as an oyster.” (I did not know that Mr Dickens had access to my own biodata, that long ago!)

Santa Claus seems to spend the year in the Northern wastes, preparing for his annual journey, to bring delights to tiny children and a legion of very large adults. There are, however, thousands of Santas stalking the world’s cities, ringing a bell and collecting money - often for the “Santa Cause” or, could that read for the “Santa claws”.

As a rather rebellious child in Tasmania, where Christmas strikes at mid-summer, even in a heat wave, with the thermometer hovering around 32 degrees Celsius, we suffered through a “traditional Christmas dinner” - heavy fare indeed - and tried to recover on the beach for the next few days. A little different to Christmas in the northern climes!

Nevertheless, although I partook of all the rich and inappropriate food, I was always a little sceptical of myth of Santa Claus. The only ‘clauses’ which really influenced my life were those in English grammar lessons, where I was often disciplined for my “hanging clauses”.

But, regardless of a wilful child in Tasmania, the Christmas tradition is rich and widespread, with many national variations. Take, for example, the feast of Saint Nicholas, celebrated on December the sixth by the Dutch. The folk-lore surrounding this is much closer to the popular version of Santa Claus, even though Saint Nicholas lived in Myrna, now a part of Turkey, some seventeen centuries ago.

According to chroniclers, Saint Nicholas, on one occasion, to save a man’s eldest girl-child from being sold into prostitution to support the impoverished family, threw a sack of gold coins down the chimney of the slum dwelling where they eked out an existence. By chance, the coins fell into one of the young girl’s stockings, hanging to dry in the fire-place. Sound familiar?

Of course, one of the most enduring - and endearing - Christmas songs is the immortal “Twelve Days of Christmas” and its leitmotif: “and a partridge in a pear tree”, reputedly persevering for more than 800 years.

But, looking - albeit superficially - at some of these aspects of Christmas, which are well known to all of us, there are some other historical perspectives which may not be so well known; for example, some of the famous people, events and discoveries sharing the same birth-date as Jesus.

Three people come to mind immediately: British novelist Rebecca West, hotelier Conrad Hilton and the former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who was slain in 1981, were all born on 25 December.

Sir Isaac Newton who, reputedly, seeing an apple fall from a tree in his parent’s garden in Lincolnshire, created, eventually, the theory of gravity for humanity to ponder and use. A natural-born scientist who formulated calculus and invented the reflecting telescope, Sir Isaac also studied alchemy and astrology. Yet, he still found time between his birth on 25 December, 1642 and his death in 1727, to follow many other interests, including a history of creation.

Film immortals, W.C. Fields and Charlie Chaplin both died on the 25th of December, in 1946 and 1977, respectively.

Moving on from the czars of the film industry to another kind of czar, two heads of state were crowned on the 25th of December, almost 1,000 years and 10,000 kilometers apart. William the Conqueror was crowned in Westminster Abbey, after he defeated King Harald the Second, during the Battle of Hastings. A millennium later, in 1926, Emperor Hirihito acceded to the throne, the 124th in line of the Chrysanthemum dynasty.

The action moved back to the Abbey on Christmas Day, 1950 when Scottish nationalists ‘removed’ the “Stone of Scone” which had formerly been used to crown Scottish kings in a town called “Old Scone”, once the capital of Scotland. It was originally removed in 1296 by Edward l who proclaimed himself the King of Scotland and England. After a few more historical machinations, the stone was recovered and now sits again at the Abbey.

Christmas Day in 1497 was very different to any of the above, in as much as the intrepid Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, sailing for India, discovered Natal, opening the way to the South African hinterland.

He eventually landed at Calicut, but retreated under hostile attacks from the indigenous people, returning many years later as the Portuguese Viceroy to India. He died there on Christmas Eve, 1524.

Meantime, his fellow-explorer Genovese Christopher Columbus, under the patronage of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, set out to discover America. On 25 December 1492, his ship the “Santa Maria” hit a reef and sank off the coast of Hispanola in the West Indies.

Columbus spent his Yule with the natives and built a fort from the timbers of the wrecked Santa Maria. And the name of this first European structure in the New World? - “Navidad”, Spanish for Christmas.

So, when you are enjoying that wine amongst European and North American snow or on a sun-kissed beach in Tasmania, think a little about some other happenings on the 25th of December and some of the people who share the birthday of Jesus.

Or as one would say in Alabama, USA, at this time of the year: “Hey dude, y’all have a cool Yule!”

by a Special
Correspondent

The British Chamber of Commerce Thailand Eastern Seaboard held its second annual Xmas Bash at the Bangsaray Club on 8th December. It was an informal get together for members and non-members along with their families.

The guests started off the evening with a few drinks so as to try and ward off the Arctic cold blowing in from the Gulf of Thailand (?). We were then all treated to some excellent entertainment from St. Andrew’s International School.

The four original founders of the BCCT Eastern Seaboard Committee in 1998 - from left Greg Watkins (BCCT), Peter Currie (GKN), Chris Ulyatt (ACS) and Chairman Graham Macdonald (MBMG) with current committee member Jim Howard.

To start things off they began with some carol singing, ably led by Headmistress Mrs. Jill Thomas. Then, as the choir had a break, we were given a magnificent example of gymnastics. Fortunately for the audience, the coach, Miss Karen Pennock, did not join in although we did have an ambulance standing by just in case. After the gymnasts had left us all breathless (they were fine by the way!), the choir resumed and finished off with a couple of traditional little ditties: Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

By this time we were all ravenous and Dave and Suwanna of the Bangsaray Club were not to let us down. We were treated to traditional Xmas Fare and everyone wolfed it down at great speed. Chris Ulyatt and Greg Watkins led the charge for seconds and by the time those two had finished there was not exactly a lot to go round for the rest of us.

Lee Hunter of Premier Environmental (centre) with friends and colleagues.

During all this time, we were entertained by the band who played anything and everything from 60’s to present day, though fortunately they declined Jim Howard’s request for the latest Will Smith rap single.

By now, everyone was well pogged and carried on with their post-prandial potations. Naturally, as David Nardone pointed out this was purely for health reasons as it was a tad chilly, honest!

Then it was time for the Grand Draw. There were loads of small prizes handed out and then it was time for the main prize. This was kindly donated by Qantas/BA and was a return ticket to Sydney, Australia. Rob Coleman, Regional Sales & Marketing Manager was awarding the prize. He asked Graham Macdonald, Chairman of the BCCT Eastern Seaboard, to draw the ticket and then hand it to him. In a moment of infinite madness, Suwanna decided that the fairest way to do the draw would be to throw the tickets up in the air and let Graham catch one. As this was next to the pool you can imagine Graham’s delight at this potential watery disaster. Anyway, the tickets went up in the air and Graham, leaping majestically like a gazelle (or, as Peter Currie said, “tripping like a drunken hippo!”) managed to catch a ticket before they all went for a swim. The audience held its breath in anticipation, who was to be the poor blighter to be sent to the Land of Oz? Whoops! Sorry. Who would be the lucky winner? Rob looked at the ticket number and announced it. To cries of “fix” and “scam”, Greg Watkins, the Executive Director of the BCCT, stood up and, acting as the perfect gentleman (when this metamorphosis occurred we are not sure) asked for the ticket to be re-drawn. As most of them were now languishing in the bottom of the Bangsaray Club swimming pool this could have posed an interesting problem. However, one or two were still desperately trying to cling on for air and Greg managed to grab one without going for an involuntary swim. He handed it to Rob who announced that the lucky winner was Mrs. Penny Whalley. As Penny has done so much for the community in Thailand and never won a thing this was greeted with much applause.

The evening drew to a close and everyone made their weary way home. The evening was a great success, due in no small part to David and Suwanna, Qantas/BA and St. Andrew’s International School. Many thanks to you all.

Thus rounded off a very successful 1999 for the BCCT on the Eastern Seaboard. The next function will be a networking evening at Delaney’s (Pattaya) on the 21st January 2000 (time to be announced).

Those of us who have lived in Pattaya for many years believe that Pattaya has gone through a lot of changes.

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Werner Kuehr, a hotel-owner in Kitzbuehl, Austria, recently celebrated his 30th anniversary of visiting Pattaya. I talked to him only a few days after the interview with the ladies from LTU Touristic.