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Great Britain
celebrates the official birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Biography of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Her Majesty the Queen was born in London on April 21st
1926, first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, subsequently King George
VI and Queen Elizabeth. Five weeks later she was christened in the chapel of
Buckingham Palace and was given the names Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.
 Princess
Elizabeth, with her sister Princess Margaret born four years later, had her
early education at home. After her father succeeded to the throne in 1936
and she became heiress presumptive, her studies were extended to include
lessons on constitutional history and law. She also studied art and music;
learned to ride (she has been an excellent horsewoman since early
childhood); and enjoyed swimming (at the age of thirteen she won the
Children’s Challenge Shield at the Bath Club in London. At the age of
eleven she enrolled as a Girl Guide, and later became a Sea Ranger.
As the Princess grew older she began to take part in
public life; she was fourteen when she made her first broadcast, in a
message given during the BBC’s children’s programme to the children of
Britain and the Commonwealth in October 1940.
In 1944, shortly after her eighteenth birthday, she was
appointed a Counsellor of State during the King’s absence on a tour of the
Italian battlefields, and, for the first time, exercised certain of the
functions of the Crown.
Shortly her twenty-first birthday in 1947, came the
announcement of the engagement of the Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant
Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince Andrew of Greece and a
great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, now His Royal Highness the Prince
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whom she had known for many years. Their wedding
took place in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. Prince Charles, now the
Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne, was born in 1948, and his
sister, Princess Anne, now the Princess Royal, in 1950. The third child of
the Queen and the Duke, Prince Andrew, now the Duke of York, was born in
1960, and their fourth, Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex, in 1964. The Queen
and the Duke celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in London in 1997.
Her Majesty’s ascension to the throne took place on 6
February 1952. Her Majesty’s coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on
June 2, 1953. The ceremony, which was attended by representatives of the
peers, the Commons and all the great public interests in Britain, the Prime
Ministers and leading citizens of the other Commonwealth countries and
representatives of foreign states, was brought home to many hundreds of
thousands of the Queen’s subjects in a way never before possible: for the
first time in history the coronation of a British monarch was marked by a
television transmission as well as a radio broadcast throughout the world.
In 1977, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee was celebrated in
the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth. Accompanied by the Duke
of Edinburgh, the Queen travelled some 56,000 miles to share the anniversary
with her people.
The Queen has six grandchildren.
Message from Lloyd
Barnaby Smith
The British Ambassador to Thailand
This month we celebrate the official birthday of Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This year marks Her Majesty’s 75th birthday
and her 49th year of reign.
Lloyd
Barnaby Smith
British Ambassador
The occasion is a reminder that, in the UK as in
Thailand, the monarchy is the oldest institution of government. It is the
root of the long history of friendship between our two countries, reflecting
the close relations which exist between our two Royal families, as
demonstrated so vividly in 1996 when His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej
hosted a State Visit to Thailand by Queen Elizabeth II. That visit was, like
the monarchy itself, a mixture of the old and the new, the traditional and
the vibrantly modern.
A long history of trade is another feature which is
common to our two nations. The spice trade of old Siam has been replaced by
electronics as contemporary Thailand’s prime export, but the principle is
the same. Aided by globalisation and an increasingly barrier-free
environment for trade, Thailand’s exports to the UK are rising healthily
and are now 50% above their 1997 levels. Total bilateral trade is worth over
ฃ2 billion per year, strongly in Thailand’s favour. British
investment in Thailand continues to grow. This is creating real value and
contributing to the Thai economy. For example, British investments in the
retail sector have increased customer choice, created employment and helped
to raise standards in the Thai companies in the supply chain. As a result,
many of those companies are now better able to compete in world markets. We
intend to build on this. We believe that Thailand offers particular
opportunities for developing trade and investment, in the areas of
agro-industry, education and training, energy, environmental technology,
financial services, industrial machinery, information technology,
transportation and water supply. Visit the website www.tradepartners.gov.uk
for full details.
Education is another area of growth, with over 4000 Thais
studying a wide range of subjects at top UK institutions, over 200 formal
Thai-UK academic links, and a full agenda of joint education reform plans.
The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, recently announced a new initiative to
welcome more international students to the UK by enhancing services and
simplifying procedures. Student visa procedures have been streamlined, and
it is now possible for students to support their studies through part-time
work in the UK. The British Embassy is leading on the Prime Minister’s
initiative in Thailand by expanding the prestigious Chevening Scholarship
scheme, which is jointly funded by the British Embassy, by UK institutions
and by the private sector. Thirty Thais will receive Chevening scholarships
this year, bringing the total to 260 Chevening alumni since the scheme
started over 10 years ago. Last year I awarded over 35 Thai-UK Millennium
Scholarships, funded through the British Council. In addition there are 400
other scholarships which cover, in whole or in part, the costs of university
study in the UK. In Thailand, The British Council runs over 8,000 exams each
year, in English and other subjects.
The strength of long-term educational links between
Thailand and the UK was celebrated recently at the launch of the Thai-UK
Alumni & Professional Network in January 2001. With almost 2,000 members
in just 9 months, this new umbrella network offers an excellent forum for
social and professional contact between Chevening scholars and all Thai and
British people who have educational or professional links with each
other’s countries. For more details on this, as well as education, English
language and culture, visit the British Council’s website at
www.britishcouncil.or.th
The demand for English language teaching continues to
grow. The British Council currently teaches 18,000 students at its four
centres in Thailand. A significant number of private UK companies have also
set up English language teaching operations here. Increasing numbers of
children go to schools in Thailand where classes are taught in English.
These trends will continue as English consolidates its position as the
worldwide language of commerce, and of the Internet. BBC World Service radio
(available on the Internet at www.bbc.co.uk) plays a key role in this, and I
hope to see it broadcast more widely in Thailand on FM radio in the near
future.
Tourism is a further area of growth. Over 600,000 British
tourists visited Thailand in 2000, and numbers are growing by 20% per year.
Next month UK tourists will include two of the world’s best-known football
teams. Manchester United and Liverpool FC will both be here in late July,
fresh from their respective successes in the Premier League and the League,
FA and UEFA Cups. I am pleased that increasing numbers of Thais are also
visiting the UK. 58,000 Thais are expected to visit the UK this year. There
are now up to 7 daily non-stop flights each way between Bangkok and London,
more than to any other destination in Europe. Many come for the shopping and
fashion, the rich cultural heritage, beautiful countryside, and the
restaurants, theatre and musicals. There are also plenty of new attractions
for visitors to the UK: the huge London Eye on the banks of the Thames, and
the new modern art museum, the Tate Modern, which since opening in May 2000
has had over 5 million visitors. The British Tourist Authority runs a
tourist information service in Thailand, in partnership with the British
Council.
Over the past year the British Embassy and the British
Council have sponsored a number of seed-corn projects with Thai partners. On
the environment, we are helping an awareness-raising initiative to conserve
the habitat of the Dugong. In the field of human rights, we are helping
develop a project which supports children involved in the judicial system,
building on the very successful child protection training we have conducted
in previous years. And we have been assisting various projects aimed at
raising levels of awareness of the dangers of HIV/AIDS, and informing
children about the dangers of drugs. Thailand and the UK are also working on
combating transnational crime including co-partnering a regional initiative
against money laundering.
More information is available on the British Embassy’s
website, www.britishemb.or.th This is in Thai as well as English. The focus
is on practical information, from how to apply for a UK visa to how to find
a trade partner, and there are links to a host of other interesting UK
sites.
Antiques, are they genuine?: American Silver
by Apichart Panyadee
Porringers
For some reason, there is one object made in Colonial and
indeed, in Federal America that steadfastly maintains its popularity despite
its demise in England early in the 18th century - the single-handled
porringer. Quite what these porringers were for is a matter of heated
debate, and the subject varies according to one’s convictions. What is
certain is that they are attractive objects and very collectable.
 One
of a pair of water jugs by Samuel Kirk of Baltimore, c. 1850
An authentic example would be by maker Ebenezer Moulton,
from Newburyport, Mass. Dating from around 1790, these popular items had
long survived fashion, long after they were out of favour and had ceased to
be made in England.
Large numbers of American made porringers are marked only
on the handle. This raises the possibility of removing a handle, taking
several casts from it, making more bowls, and multiplying at a stroke, the
number of early porringers without undue difficulty. Marks that have been
cast rather than punched tend to show a certain roughness, however. A slight
pitting due to the background can be seen with a magnifying glass, where as
a punch leaves a cleaner impression.
The 19th century
The tendency is to establish an indigenous style that was
asserting itself in the later part of the 18th century, was disrupted in the
first few decades of the 19th. After the split with Britain was
accomplished, it was natural that there should be some dissociation from
English models, and this was achieved by a leaning towards France in its
Empire periods. This quasi-French style was not altogether successful
though, and rarely poses possibilities of confusion between French models
and American adaptations of them. The style shows its best in New York, but
even there it was relatively heavy, lumpish, and derivative.
 Architectural
scenes, typical of America, mid-19th century
From this period on, errors of attribution (and
possibilities of deception) between Dutch, French, and English originals and
their American counterparts become less likely. In mid-century a great surge
of both design and technical ability, particularly in New York and
Baltimore, led to the creation of an emphatically American style. Led by
Joseph Kirk of Baltimore, it reflected the European Rococo Revival and
exhibited a marked penchant for robust chases and cast work decorated with
complex classical architectural scenes. The enormous American water jug
probably came into style at this time. The lavishness of their decoration
together with the size of many of the more distinguished examples of this
period mean that these pieces are unlikely to be fraudulently produced or
made up. For some reason, elaborate Rococo chasing is very seldom found in
America during the 18th century Rococo period, c. 1740-70. If a prospective
buyer is shown a mug or coffee pot from that earlier period with high Rococo
chasing, they are well advised to look at it several times, and be prudent.
On the other hand, silver of the mid-19th century with high relief chasing
can be accepted with relative confidence.
 An
authentic Ebenezer Moulton single handled porringer, dated around 1790;
maker’s mark is on the handle
Later in the 19th century, both Tiffany and Gorham were
responsible for a great deal of silver and base metal work made in the
Aesthetic taste. Their forays into Art Nouveau were equally successful. This
period of the work of silversmiths in American has been ignored by
collectors until relatively recently, when there was a dramatic upsurge of
interest, and soaring prices to match. American silver of this period is
arguably better made and more innovative than that which was made during any
other. The technical skill displayed is some protection against faking.
Look Out World! Here
comes the Class of 2001
ISE Students pass through the doors of
graduation
The International School of the Eastern Seaboard
presented the graduation class of 2001 with their High School Diplomas last
week at the Ballroom of the Royal Garden Resort in Pattaya.
 Yumi
Asabuki will move back to Japan and attend another six months of schooling
before attending university in Japan.
As the ISE Wind Band played “Pomp and Circumstance”,
the six graduates were led to the stage to receive their diplomas with all
the fanfare associated with such a ceremony.
 Mariana
Arenzana (Member of the National Honor Society) will go on to study Hotel
Management and Tourism. Her goals are to one day own a hotel or a cruise
liner and then retire in either her home country, Mexico or Ireland.
Dr Terry Waters, High School Principal, in the opening
address to the graduating students and guests urged the six, “To continue
to ride the education wave.” The graduates were then given the opportunity
to say a few words to friends and families and to thank their teachers for
their support throughout their high school years.
 Alisa
Sirisant will attend ABAC in Thailand.
Taking this step into the next phase of life is a big one
and so it was those who had gone forth many, many years before offered their
thoughts and advice to the new members of the adult community. Joan Fedoruk,
High School Counselor at ISE said, “Don’t lose sight...keep an open mind
and find your own truths, do not simply accept what is known as truth.”
 Veerayut
Sethi (Member of the National Honor Society), an avid footballer, will study
Aeronautical Engineering in Texas.
The commencement speaker, Pattaya Mail MD Peter Malhotra,
well-known for his speeches, reinforced Joan’s message by asking “his
children... to be charitable and benevolent,” as well as to “wear
sunscreen” and “for those of you moving on to a life with no maids, I
have just one tip for you... Wear your underwear in the shower and you
don’t have to waste time washing them.” Sound advice for sure!
 Miika
Telena will return to Finland to complete national military service before
attending university.
Following the speeches Superintendent Dr. Stuart Young
then presented each graduate with their diploma and asked them to perform
the age-old ceremony of turning their tassels.
 Ratima
Grover plans to study law in Australia and run a successful law practice.
The next phase of life has now begun for these six young
people, all of whom come from various countries and cultures and have shown
their ability to adapt to change and to excel in their chosen fields. We
wish them every success in following their dreams and ambitions.
New Bangkok Guide hits
the market with a flourish
Story and photos by Peter Cummins
The splendid launching party for the 30th edition of the
Bangkok Guide, compiled and published by the Australian New Zealand
Women’s Group (ANZWG) in Bangkok, was held last month at the Royal Orchid
Sheraton Hotel and featured a “Back to the 70s” theme, to celebrate the
first edition of the Guide which appeared in 1971.
 Cover
of the new “Bangkok Guide”
As I was driving to attend the gala evening, it was most
appropriate, I thought, for on the radio I heard Maurice Gibb (of Bee Gees
fame) being interviewed by the incomparable Richard Jackson of 105-FM. To me
- and, no doubt, to many others of my vintage - the Bee Gees, the Beatles
and the Rolling Stones, amongst many other bands, epitomized the great years
of the 60s and 70s. Even I was young then!
Led by H.E. Miles Kupa and H.E. Alan Williams,
Ambassadors of Australia and New Zealand respectively, the gala evening was,
indeed, a flash-back to the “spirit of the 70s”, with wild outfits and
wilder hairdos conspicuous among the huge papiermache sunflowers adorning
the tables, the walls, the stage - everything.
As ANZWG Past President (2000) Raewyn Roberts addressed
the colourful gathering, two 70s-vintage kings-of-the-highway rode their
balloon-bedecked motorcycles through the stately doorway of the Orchid
Ballroom, delivering copies of the ANZWG’s “new baby” to Raewyn at the
podium.
 Yes,
I was a swinger myself in the 70s: outfits of the ‘sunflower’ generation
Meantime, as one would expect at any Australian-New
Zealand gathering, the champagne, wine, beer and spirits flowed from a
seemingly bottomless pool. I thought about this - but only a little: there
is usually just a single bottle of champagne used to launch a huge ship, but
we ANZACs use hundreds of litres of the aforementioned beverages to launch
one (comparatively) small book (for which I am eternally grateful!).
But, of course, another milestone marking out the 70s was
the appearance of the first edition of the Bangkok Guide. ANZWG life member
Judy Aiphawongse recalls that the Guide started out life as a “bunch of
foolscap sheets, photocopied, stapled together and handed around at coffee
mornings hosted by the Australian Ambassador’s wife. Right there, back in
1971, the group decided to market future editions of the Guide, making all
revenues thus received as the focal point for fund-raising activities.
A Long Way Baby
Back to the 70s again - this time to resort to a cliche
from that era - one could say, “You’ve come a long way, baby!” From
its humble beginnings, the Guide has progressed rapidly until this new
edition which is a most valuable - in fact, indispensable - handbook for new
arrivals and seasoned veterans alike, on the workings of Thai society, the
culture and mores and how to cope with situations that inevitably arise.
The Guide is not only highly sought-after by the
expatriate community already residing or arriving here, but it is also
requested by multi-national corporations world-wide, as the ideal brief for
staff being assigned to Thailand.
To see the highly professional presentation of the new
Guide, one can only admire the way it is prepared. There is no central
office or work area; rather, dedicated members of ANZWG spent countless
hours, “working from their homes and mobile phones or simply pounding the
sois gathering materials,” Raewyn Roberts, co-ordinator of the project,
pointed out proudly at the launch.
Although production of the Guide is, in itself, an
amazing feat, the distribution defies all tenets of logistics. ANZWG devotee
Mary Anne Chirativat pointed out that each book weighs about one kg and,
therefore, the volunteers service orders weighing upwards of 100 kg each
time. For payment of each order, ANZWG women are obliged to go to one of the
major bookstore outlets at prescribed times, jostling for a place in the
line with the ubiquitous motorcycle messengers seeking their own payments.
As incumbent president of the ANZWG Kathy Barnett said at
the launch, “Each issue we strive to make better; already we are working
on the 31st, for 2003. No doubt there are many new sponsors who would like
to join us then.”
With a long list of advertisers, the Guide is
self-supporting and funds thus raised from sales are added to the ANZWG
welfare programmes whereby some one million baht a year is disbursed to a
range of carefully vetted charities, such as education, vocational training
programmes and health care for disadvantaged women and children.
An Encyclopaedia for Living
And, again, back to the 70s. When I arrived in Bangkok
with a young family in late 1971, there was precious little to help
bewildered expatriate newcomers thread their way through the maze of
Bangkok. I recall some tomes by Dennis Segaller called “Thai Ways” and a
hilarious primer called “Mai pen rai”. But this genre did not fulfil the
basic - and, urgent - needs of settling and adapting to a new, alien -
albeit friendly and delightful - environment.
The “Table of Contents” reveals the incredible scope
of the Guide, with the spectrum of human needs covered down to the minutest
detail. 323 pages are packed with tips on home hunting, replete with
district maps, public services, hospitals, pharmacists and health matters,
banks, schools, communications, shopping, entertainment and restaurants,
exploring Bangkok: the life and culture of a vibrant city and, of course,
Pattaya and outlying areas.
As the introduction states so succinctly, the Bangkok
Guide is an encyclopaedia of common sense suggestions helping people adapt
quickly to both the charm and challenge of everyday living. “What makes it
so special is the fact that every listing, every recommendation and every
piece of practical advice is drawn from our members. It is a collection of
REAL experiences offering REAL assistance.”
The Guide comes replete with an updated Nancy Chandler
Map of Bangkok - itself a benchmark of excellence and clarity over many
years - and a separate pocketbook sized Telephone Guide of every shop,
business, restaurant, hotel, school and all other entities featured
throughout the Guide. A separate listing features emergency telephone
contacts for city services: Police, Ambulance, Fire, Hospitals - even snake
bite and rabies hotlines!
The Bangkok Guide, 323 pages illustrated, available at
all leading bookstores such as Asia Books and Central Department Store at
Chidlom, is priced at a most reasonable 795 baht.
Any further enquiries can be directed to Jenny Forster,
tel. (02) 381-9542, mobile 01 8482590; e-mail [email protected]
or Raewyn Roberts, tel. (02) 254-5975; e-mail [email protected]
or Karen Aylward, tel. (02) 21-5468; e-mail [email protected]
Good fun and competition
at the Pattaya Redemptorist Vocational School Annual Athletic Day
Chakrapong Akkaranant
Each year the Pattaya Redemptorist Vocational School
holds an Athletic Day to sharpen the athletic skills of the students and
prepare them for the annual competition in Bangkok.
June 1 this year marked the 14th year the event took
place. The students and staff were placed into 4 color groups, Red, Yellow,
Blue and Green, with sporting activities in 12 main categories: athletics,
wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, badminton, swimming, football,
takraw, volleyball, weightlifting, table-tennis, pae-tong, and tug of war.
Altogether, 213 medals were to be presented.
 Red
and Green battle for basketball supremacy
The games presented a great lead up to the 22nd national
handicapped athletic competition, known as the “Chaopraya Games”, which
will be played June 18-21 at the Huamark Stadium in Bangkok.
The Pattaya Redemptorist Vocational School will be well
represented in Bangkok, with many athletes attending, including Supachai
Koisap, a gold medal winner in wheelchair racing at the last Paralympic
Games in Sydney.
The annual athletic day was first organized in 1987, with
the purpose of providing the students the opportunity to participate in
organized sports and display their progress and development. Pattaya mayor
Pairat Suttithamrongsawat presided over the opening of this year’s event.
Although the results were not made available, the final
of the wheelchair basketball was fought out between the Red and Green teams,
with good-natured fun being the main theme.
Updated every Friday
Copyright 2001 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by
Chinnaporn Sungwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.
E-Mail: [email protected]
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