HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Family Money

Snap Shots

Modern Medicine

Women's World

Heart to Heart with Hillary

Grapevine

Antiques, are they genuine?

Animal Crackers

Social Commentary by Khai Khem

Roll over Rover

A Slice of Thai History

The Message In The Moon

Coins of the Realm

Family Money: Spoiled for choice?

By Leslie Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.

About a year ago I wrote on the twin topics of domicile and residency, but judging by the queries and letters I still receive, many readers remain confused about these subjects.

You might think a life overseas gives you the simple label ‘expat’ and that is all. Not so for UK expatriates. The UK’s Inland Revenue has a whole string of labels to pin us down with. And they all matter, because the label you are given directly equates to the amount of UK tax for which you could be liable.

Resident or Non-Resident?

The label British expats want above all others is “non-resident”. Tax advisers are adamant on the importance of residency status and the need to have this status confirmed as a matter of record on file with the Inland Revenue. The UK’s tax rules define status based on whether an individual is resident and domiciled in the UK. Anyone changing their residency by moving abroad will find that they could be outside the charge on certain UK taxes, such as income or capital gains tax.

By being non-resident, expatriates must be away from the UK for a minimum number of days per year as well as conform to a set period of years. As I wrote about a few weeks back, the rules for who pays capital gains tax changed in the UK’s Budget of 1998 and all expats must chart and calculate carefully the exact length of time they have spent abroad.

If your absence from the UK is expected to be for a period of less than five complete tax years, then you will have to begin planning for your homecoming much earlier than you might have thought. Those falling into this category who left the UK prior to March 17, 1998 will find themselves in the situation where exemption from capital gains tax will come to an end on 6th April preceding the date on which they return and, as a result, a review of profitable assets will be needed well in advance. For those who left the UK after March 17, 1998 the position is even worse, as any assets held on departure will have remained within the CGT net throughout the period spent overseas and gains realised during your absence will be fully chargeable to tax upon your return.

Key records which must be kept by all expats regardless of tax status but essential to support non-residency status include:

* How long did you live in the UK before leaving?
* The date you left?
* The date you plan to return?
* The dates assets were bought?
* The dates assets were sold?

Domicile

As a recent correspondent has discovered, establishing domicile - or in his case non-domicile - with the Inland Revenue is a more tricky matter. Put very simply, domicile describes where your roots are. The country in which you were born will be the domicile that stays with you until you can prove otherwise.

Expatriates who have lived abroad for decades, bought and resided in local properties, paid local taxes and never returned to the UK can still, on some obscure point, be classified as UK domiciled by the Inland Revenue Department. The reason why the UK tax authorities remain interested is the fact that any individual with a UK domicile may have his or her estate charged for inheritance tax purposes on worldwide assets.

Some expatriates have found clarifying domicile status an extraordinarily frustrating business. Many expats become more confused when they are told one thing by advisers and another by the Revenue. In many cases, the Revenue declares its perception of domicile status only on the death of the individual. This is because the view is taken that between a declaration of domicile and death, circumstances may change.

For example, an individual could return to the UK after many years spent overseas, or express a wish to be buried in the UK, which would only become apparent upon death. Hence the IRD are unwilling to confirm your non-domicile status, claiming that this is a legal position which can only be determined by the courts upon death. That effectively means they won’t tell you that you’re non-domiciled in case they should decide to make an IHT claim against your estate at death, when your executor will be called into probate court to explain why he thinks you’re non-UK domiciled and try to persuade the court to agree. It is then up to the court to decide the matter and it’s by no means a foregone conclusion.

For any expatriate keen to shake off their UK domicile status and take up another, it is all down to evidence. Your lifestyle has to be 100% that of the adopted country. That means severing all ties to the UK, and adopting the new country’s culture, language and life-style. In short, the action of putting down new roots must speak louder than mere words to escape tax duties in the UK.

Snap Shot: Time lapse photography made easy!

by Harry Flashman

We are all aware of the fact that the camera and film can catch a particular moment in time and freeze it forever. The famous French photographer Lartigue was particularly good at this. So also was Henri Cartier-Bresson, famous for the phrase “the decisive moment.”

However, what I am discussing today is “time lapse” photography. This is where you stack a series of ‘decisive moments’ together. Closely related to each other, this kind of photography will show such things as the development of a flower, or the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis. You know the sort of thing - all very National Geographic or Disney World. Any of you who have seen the film “A Zed and Two Noughts” will also remember those scenes of bodies decomposing, all done by time lapse photography. Very avant-garde.

Now while all this style of time lapse photography sounds expensive and even time consuming, it does not need to be so. You can produce your own time lapse shots with any old camera. It just needs a little planning.

There is one famous photographer who on her birthday takes a photo of herself in the nude. This she has done for the past 30 something years and has produced a time lapse record of human aging. This series of shots has been studied by the medical profession, as it is the only such record that has been undertaken in the world. So, if it doesn’t depress you too much, there’s an idea for you. Just don’t lose last year’s photos, will you!

No, for me, I want more instant gratification than that. I believe you should pick on something that can allow you to produce a finished product in the sort of time frame that you could sit with comfortably. So let us look at some items that you could do easily, with just a point and shooter.

Here is one suggestion - buy a rose (they sell them in all bars every night) and place it in a vase by the window and shoot it at lunchtime. Leave it exactly where it is, and take one lunchtime shot every day for the next week. In that time, it will have spread its petals, begin to die, the petals will shrink up, the stem will bend over, the water will have gone cloudy and other attributes that will only become obvious when you study the shots. However, to capitalise on this you must mount the seven shots, side by side, in order from the left. You have just produced a work of art in a week!

So you haven’t got the stamina for a week. What else can you do? Well, there is always the record of one object in daylight. Take six shots, one every two hours, of your house, for example, starting at 6 a.m. You will see how the different time of day produces different light, the sun’s movement produces different shadows and again, by mounting them side by side, in order from the left, you will have produced a work of art in one day!

So you don’t want to spend a day getting your definitive time lapse shots, so look at taking one hour. In that time you can document the progress of a snail along a wall, or serial shots of people walking down the street, someone cleaning their car or the way your beer glass empties. Just light it from behind with natural lighting to get the best effect. Probably Harry would suggest that you repeat this a few times over a Sunday.

Note that I have said that the shots must be mounted from the left. There is a sound reason for this. We read from left to right and we naturally then place the “start” of anything on the left, with the “finish” on the right. (If you are an Arab who reads from right to left, then probably mount yours the other way round!)

Modern Medicine: I’ve cut myself! Will I die?

by Dr Iain Corness, Consultant

Well, if you have cut yourself severely enough and you lose enough blood, you can indeed die. It won’t be instantaneous, however, so you still have plenty of time to do something about it, even by yourself if nobody else is around. The thing to do is to keep your head, when everyone else is losing theirs. (That was a famous quote during the French Revolution!)

People still faint at the sight of blood. In fact, in my class in Medical School we had such a chap who managed to last till third year but kept on fainting, even when we were being shown slides of anything a little gory. Needless to say, he did not make it through the six years!

“Blood” is not a “magic” fluid. It is mainly a water solution with oxygen bearing red and white blood cells floating in it. Unfortunately, we do need blood to circulate or otherwise the tissues starve of oxygen and they die, so we die. Simple.

Our blood circulation system is also very simple. It is just a closed circuit pumping system - the heart pumps the blood through the arteries which get progressively smaller then hook up with tiny veins that get larger and larger and return the blood to the pump (the heart).

Because it is a closed system, you do not get to see this blood rushing around - until we open up an artery or a vein. Then you can see lots of it! The common way this occurs is when we cut ourselves, which we medical folk call “lacerations”. No matter how it happened, if you split open a vein or artery, the pump keeps on pumping and the blood keeps on coming out.

So how do you know if you’ve cut an artery or a vein? If it is a vein, the blood is moving along at a fairly low pressure, so you get a nice steady ooze at the site of the cut. But if it is an artery that has been cut, then these are high pressure tubes and the blood will tend to spurt in rhythmic pulses, in time with your heart beat.

From the point of view of stopping the blood loss (which we call haemorrhage), it does not really matter whether the blood loss is venous or arterial. Even arterial blood is only at 3 pounds per square inch pressure and you can stop the flow with your thumb. Yes, you can stop 99% of all haemorrhages by putting a piece of cloth (a handkerchief, rag, torn piece of shirt, etc.) over the site of the wound and applying firm pressure with your hand.

Now some parts of the body are better supplied with blood vessels than others, so these are the areas that really bleed. The scalp, the ear lobe and around the mouth are classic sites for lots of gore. Fortunately the treatment is just the same. Cover and direct pressure and the flow will cease. Of course, you will still need to see the doctor for the closing of the laceration - but you will not bleed to death in the meantime!

Keep your head and apply direct pressure over the wound and take it and yourself to the Casualty Department!

Women’s World: A tip for the week

by Lesley Warner

A reader asked me for some more ‘tips’ the other day so here is a selection that I’ve being collecting. Try this tasty Shrimp Risotto; it’s quick and easy to make.

Shrimp Risotto

3/4 lb medium fresh or frozen and thawed shrimps, peeled
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups rice
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1/4 cup (1 oz) grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan, combine the broth and water. Heat to simmering, reduce the heat to low and keep warm.

Warm the oil in a large shallow saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic cook for 10 minutes or until the onion is tender. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a further 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and reduce heat to medium-low.

Add approximately 1 cup of warm broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until almost completely absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until the rice is barely tender.

Stir in the shrimp and wine (if you have succumbed to the suggestion!). Cook for 5 minutes or until the rice is tender yet firm and the shrimps are opaque. Serve with the cheese. Makes 8 servings.

Take care of yourself...

The sun is here with a vengeance again so it’s time to take care of our skin and hair. I find my hair going yellow with only short exposure to the sun leaving it dehydrated and dull. Egg yolks are widely acknowledged as one of nature’s best moisturizers. Here are a couple ultra-rich masks to “deep condition” hair and skin. Make your hair shine and your skin glow with these natural recipes you can whip up with just a few simple, easy-to-find ingredients.

Egg Yolk & Honey Facial Mask (best for dryer skin types)

Mix together 1-tablespoon honey, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 teaspoon almond oil and 1 tablespoon yogurt. Honey stimulates and smoothes, egg and almond oil penetrate and moisturize and yogurt refines and tightens pores.

Egg & Olive Oil Hair Mask

Mix two whole eggs with four tablespoons of olive oil. Smooth through hair. Wrap head and allow to penetrate for 10 minutes. Rinse well. This is a really easy, if somewhat slimly remedy, and it works.

Fruit Hair Mask

This mask sounds good enough to eat! In a blender mix 1/2 a banana, 1/4 avocado, 1/4 cantaloupe, 1 tablespoon wheat germ oil and 1 tablespoon yogurt. For extra conditioning, squeeze in the contents of a vitamin E capsule. Leave in hair for 15 minutes.

If you overdo the sun, like I did on my first day off for weeks, believe me it hurts so try Oatmeal; it’s great for soothing a sunburn as well as for exfoliating. Fill an old sock with oatmeal and swish it in your bath water; once it’s softened up, you can then scrub your body with it, softly if you have sunburn. Another tip for sunburn relief is natural yogurt.

If you suffer with dry flaky skin, try mixing up a paste with lemon juice plus salt or sugar. Spread it over your ‘flaky bits’ and leave it on the skin for 30 minutes then just rinse the dry, dead skin off.

If you wake up in the morning and your mouth feel likes the ‘bottom of a birdcage’ try this lemon mouthwash:

3/4-cup vodka! (No it’s not hair of the dog)
20 drops lemon essential oil
1 1/4 cup distilled water
30 drops bergamot essential oil

Combine the vodka with the essential oils in a bottle, shake well then allow to sit for 1 week (this means you need to plan when you are going to have that ‘morning after the night before’). Shake once a day. When it’s ready to use, dilute the mixture with 3 parts water / 1 part mixture. Use it as a gargle or mouth rinse. Do Not Drink.

Toothache Relief

Dab 1-5 drops of clove oil (a powerful antiseptic) onto a cotton ball and place over painful tooth or gums. It will numb the area, giving temporary relief. Clove oil is rich in eugenol, dentists use eugenol as a local anesthetic. *Avoid during pregnancy. Do not use on children and babies.

Heart to Heart with Hillary

Dear Hillary,

I know this is an agony column, but believe me I am really in agony. My maid has left to go back to stay with her mother up country, and although initially I was quite pleased as she was not all that good, now I find that I need someone around the house as it is getting chaotic, and do not know where to turn. The last maid was the second I have had and neither has been what I imagined a maid should be. How do you get a good maid in Pattaya?

The Seeker

Dear Seeker,

Seek and ye shall find, Petal. It is not all that difficult, unless of course you are a difficult person to “do” for. Contact all your female friends and ask them if they have a good maid. If they honestly answer yes, then ask them to get their maid to find someone for you. Be prepared to put the new woman on a month’s trial and make sure she understands that. When you make your selection then you should also reward your friend’s maid who found you the new incumbent. With money, Petal. With money. That’s what makes the world go around in Fun City.

Dear Hillary,

My girlfriend keeps in touch with me by phone while I am overseas. I am quite happy to pay the phone bill because she has to ring me in Saudi Arabia. I am also quite happy to buy the mobile phone for her, because I know these items are not cheap for Thai people. My problem is that she keeps on losing the phone. So far this year she has “lost” or had “stolen” three mobile phones. I have tried ringing the numbers and the phones are still connected, so they have not been trashed. What bothers me is that a friend of mine had a similar situation with his girl and it turned out she was just ripping him off. Is this a cause for concern, or do Thai women lose things like mobile phones?

Sandman

Dear Sandman,

I am afraid I think you may have a problem. Thai women do not lose anything, especially anything with a monetary value. What you have to do is find out where the bills are going. I think you will find they will still be going to your girlfriend’s address. Check the dates. Since you wrote this letter to Hillary you must have some doubts. I would worry too about phony phones.

Dear Hillary,

This probably sounds silly, but even while writing this email I get mad. My secretary at work is a good employee in every way - other than never replacing the butter out of the fridge. I like a piece of toast mid-morning and there is nothing more annoying than going to the fridge with my hot toasted bread to find an empty butter container! I wouldn’t care if she told me the butter was all gone, but she leaves the container there which has about enough butter to cover a small postage stamp. How do I break her of this habit?

Toast and Marmalade

Dear Toast and Marmalade,

Your letter reminds me of the elephant joke - how do you know an elephant has been in your fridge? By the footprints in the butter! Now let’s be sensible about this. So the butter, for use by you and the staff, does not get replaced. Why? Probably because the staff do not think it is their responsibility to replace it. Make it somebody’s job to make sure there is always butter there. Keep two tubs refrigerated and as soon as one is used up, the responsible person has to go and buy another tub. See how easy it is to keep the boss buttered up! The solution is now in your buttery hands.

Dear Hillary,

The other night I went out with the boys and decided I wanted a massage, and since my girlfriend knows one of the foot massage girls in the place close to work, I decided to go to a place at the other end of town. Can you imagine how I felt when the local girl told me exactly where I’d been and the name of the masseuse? Are all the massage rooms in on this spy network? I am a little worried.

Massaged Matthew

Dear MM,

Why are you worried my precious poppet? Does Hillary get the idea that this was a little more than just a toe in the water exercise? Was this more of a soap and water exercise? Do we have a guilty conscience? Answer “yes” to any of the above and I can see why you are worried. What you have to remember, Matthew, is that Pattaya is a very small place, and foreign males stand out, and ones who get up to mischief stand out even more (even without “Vitamin V”). So next time you are out with the boys, just remember that you are not alone. The Pattaya army of masseuses is waiting, watching, and ready to pounce!

Grapevine

Antiques, are they genuine? Modern copies

by Apichart Panyadee

Now that rare pieces of netsuke have fetched tens of thousands of dollars at auctions, the urge to copy pieces in a quasi-authentic manner is irresistible to the unscrupulous. There are two levels at which a forgery may appear. One is in the rarefied atmosphere at the high end of the market, say over $10,000. Here the forger must provide his highly skilled carver with a model which is uncommon, or better still, unknown. He must give the carver as much time as is necessary to carve one or two meticulous copies and then sell them to collectors long on money and short on experience. Such an operation is both expensive and risky.

A very good ivory copy of a sleeping boar by Kaigyokusai Matsatsugu. The carving is highly skilled and the less careful handling of the hair marking suggests that something may be wrong.

The money invested by the forger is genuine and is tied up for a long time. And the carver will not come cheap either. The dud piece cannot be released via a major auction house but must wait for passing trade. With this in mind, the collector must exercise the utmost caution in buying from galleries and shops on the tourist routes, including the most expensive of operations, the hotel shop.

Identifying recent restoration of a genuine item can be sometimes done with the nose. Invisible to the naked eye, restoration, a crack, chip or added piece, will be done with modern adhesives which have a lingering smell. Smoke may have been used to darken a part and this too is detectable for quite a time afterwards. The acidic, vinegary, miasma that accompanies chemical staining can drift around a piece for a long time after it has left the workshop.

The underside of the same carving supplies a further clue. The first character of the signature is badly engraved and hesitantly formed.

There is a safeguard, however. A copyist is not a creative artist. Were he a true artisan, he would have no need to copy and run the risk of prosecution. He therefore takes a borrowed model from a bent collector or dealer and in reproducing it almost always loses the vitality and often the attention to detail of the original is rushed. In one noted case, a forger copied an instantly recognizable rabbit and it’s young by Okatomo from Bishell’s catalogue of Netsuke. But since he did not have an illustration of the reverse side, he left the back of the carving almost flat. Knowledge of reference books is therefore of great value when a rare netsuke is being sold for what appears to be a bargain price.

At the other end of the scale is the “yuppie” collector, the tourist after a souvenir or the small time dealer hoping for a windfall. To satisfy this demand, China is supplying quantities of “hand carved” netsuke, in ivory, but produced in very large numbers. They make no pretense to having any antiquity or pedigree, although some are artificially stained. I have not encountered any with signatures that could lead to confusion with a carving collector.

They can be found in profusion at airports, hotel shops, fairs, and small dealers and are remarkably cheap. They are, however, carved from new tusks (old ivory becomes too hard to work) and in numbers too great to be supplied from the strict quotas now in force to protect elephants. Purchasing them can only lead to further slaughter.

Animal Crackers: To be or not to be? That is the question!

by Mirin E. McCarthy

Even animals have their mates, although some just procreate and leave. Some abandon their offspring to take their chances but many leave their young to the care of their male or female mate and more rear their offspring together. Some turf their adolescent offspring out in the cold snow and others allow them to stay around and baby-sit.

Did you know that even male seahorses become pregnant and give live birth?

Papa Emu and his little hatchlings

The female emu has the game sewn up and takes off immediately after egg laying in search of another mate and gene diversity. She leaves her last chap to incubate and raise the chicks to independence alone. Talk about being left with the baby. This is no mean feat for Papa Emu either as he must build a huge thermo-regulated nest mound from grass and leaves over the eggs and sit on it with his feathery skirt for two months without eating until his precious darlings hatch. His duty is to constantly check the nest mound temperature every day with his beak, adding or removing more mulch so the heat is just right. He then accompanies the chicks for 18 months protecting them from wily foxes, lizards and dingoes while teaching them to collect their own tucker of grass, herbs and grasshoppers.

Joke: Do you know what a wombat eats? A wombat eats roots, shoots and leaves.

Elephants have a solution that we humans could all benefit from. They form a matriarchy, a herd of females led by the dominant matriarch, who all band together to raise and protect and teach each other and their young calves. The bull elephants roam alone and the right of might earns them the opportunity to mate with a female when she is in season. In other words the biggest, most dominant bull elephant around is the one which gets to mate and multiply his genes.

When a mama elephant is about to give birth all the girls in the herd gather around. The younger ones to watch and learn as apprentices and babysitters and the older ones as midwives and teachers. In some societies we follow a similar matriarchy, where sisters, aunts, mothers and grandmothers descend on the house of a birthing first time mother to help and teach.

In elephant herds the baby would surely die without the other females’ help. A first time mother is clumsy and does not even know how to guide her calf to her teats to take its first drink. Likewise us women. As an R.N. I have taught many mothers how to get their firstborn to suckle. Often women have to teach each other the tricks of the trade; it is a pity we do not do this in more generous, supportive and formalised matriarchal groups like elephants.

Social Commentary by Khai Khem

Only you can prevent clumps

Once, on a road trip long ago, I asked my father why traffic clumped on highways. Always analytical, he said something about traffic being governed by the laws of fluid dynamics while (ever the ‘hot head’) he cursed the other drivers anyway.

These days, when I join millions of drivers on Thailand’s roads for the weekends, I have finally come to know what my father was talking about. Every few kilometers there are huge clumps of cars and trucks. Cars in the passing lane have to reduce their speed when approaching a clump while cars in the left lane have to slow to a crawl.

Every time a clump appears, cars in the left lane have near-rear-enders as they keep braking and accelerating. Other drivers try to scoot ahead by speeding in the left lane and then cutting back into the right lane - causing more braking and clumping. From Pattaya to Bangkok I watched these same cars speed past, get stuck in clumps and then try to zoom ahead to the next clump.

About halfway back on the return trip, I finally realized the truth of what my friend was yelling at me: “Just slow down, enjoy the mud-flap art of the gravel trucks and tourist buses in front, don’t get angry and don’t fight it.” Traffic these days is pretty much the same all over the world unless one lives in Lapland. I am learning to accept the clump.

A laid-back attitude not only is good for the soul, but it can dissolve the clumps, at least according to one very independent investigator. For years, traffic engineers have depicted traffic as liquid in tubes that all too often get overloaded. Los Angeles, of course, invented solid-state traffic. Scientists have designed computer models that combine the physics of traffic flow with the psychology of flawed drivers. But it took a self-described student of “crackpot physics” to discover that an individual driver can un-clump the clumps.

In an article called “Traffic Waves” featuring illustrations of cars clotting and un-clotting this observer discussed “traffic fluid dynamics” and his experiments on Seattle highways as an “amateur traffic dynamist.” The basic finding: The power to un-clump traffic is yours, if you don’t keep speeding up like the other chumps. He said that years ago he was driving through wave after wave of stop and go traffic in Seattle at rush hour. He decided to drive slowly rather than repeatedly rushing ahead with everyone else, only to come to a halt. He tried to drive at the average speed of traffic. He let a huge gap open up ahead of him, and timed things so he arrived at the next ‘stop-wave’ just as the last red brake lights were turning off ahead of him.

Of course it felt strange to have all that space ahead of him, but after a half hour he looked in his rearview mirror and saw that for miles behind him there was a totally uniform distribution of traffic moving at 70 kilometers per hour. His car had been “eating” traffic waves. His single car had erased miles and miles of stop-and-go traffic. Just one single ‘lubricant’ atom had a profound effect on the turbulent particle flow within the tube.

This is a profound finding in our modern world in which, more and more, the individual feels powerless, particularly when stuck with unhorsed horsepower on an un-free freeway. One does have to be nice and uncompetitive, though. And we must not curse at the guy who lets that space develop in front of him. Normal competitive behavior creates the traffic waves and it is ironic the angry people who drive as fast as possible might unwittingly participate in amplifying the very conditions that they hate so much. In other words, it’s the impatient jerks that create the clumps.

The solution is to quit defending the space in front and let traffic merge. We need to ignore our raging hormones and leave a few car lengths ahead of us. In Thailand that space would be filled with broom sellers, mobile noodle vendors, pushcarts loaded with ceramic knick-knacks, and packs of maniacal motorcyclists who swarm together like killer bees. But the theory was great on paper.

Roll over Rover: The self-correcting collar

by C. Schloemer

Yes, I know, it sounds tortuous. But it is perfectly humane, especially if you fall into the category of those who can’t stop choking their dogs with the choke-chain collar. The self-correcting collar works on the quick external pinch-pain principle, which is far less damaging than a permanently crushed trachea.

Germans developed this collar for many of their bull-necked breeds. It works wonders for dogs that are pain sensitive or too powerful to persuade with a chain collar. Although it is officially termed a prong collar, I refer to it as self-correcting because it requires little strength to use. When you lock your arm into place, the collar pinches the dog. Even the rowdiest of canines will feel it and slow down.

If you decide to give this collar a try, be sure to have someone with experience help you fit it on your dog and give you a quick lesson on its use. Here’s a tip. If you do decide to try this collar, be warned. Occasionally they pop off. To prevent an emergency, buy an oversized nylon slip collar and attach your leash to both collars when you are walking in an unconfined area.

The “chin-lead”

Again I have renamed a product because it is more descriptive. Actually, this product comes in two forms. The pet stores sell a version known as a Halti. The other brand is called a Gentle Leader and is usually sold exclusively through veterinarians in many countries. They are essentially the same thing. I recommend this collar for people struggling with an overexcited or headstrong dog. If you feel our dog is either, this may be the perfect solution. It eliminates the need to go into a choke battle and teaches your dog in a passive way that you are in charge. It looks like a muzzle! Trust me, it is not a muzzle. Dogs can eat, chew and play happily while sporting their chin-lead. Taken a step further, it’s probably the most humane way to handle a dog. It eliminates the need for collar corrections. Instead of teaching by applying negative pressure around the neck, it guides dogs gently by their head, like a halter on a horse.

When left on during play, the pressure on the nose discourages rowdiness and mouthing. By using the chin lead with the teaching lead or short lead, when people come to visit you can effectively curb jumping habits. Barking frenzies are also reduced, as the pressure across the nose encourages a more submissive outlook. And last but not least, training is simplified as you guide your dog from one exercise to the next.

For those owners who can step beyond its muzzle appearance, the chin lead is a safe, effective, humane training tool that will give you a real advantage in correcting negative behavior patterns. One more plus is that leading by the chin demands minimal physical strength, so nearly everyone can use it, including children.

How long should you leave the chin lead on?

This question can only be answered by one variable: your dog. If yours is relatively well behaved, use it exclusively during training sessions. If the dog is the mouthing, barking, jumping maniac type, leave it on whenever you are with him. Remove it at night or when you are away from the house.

Sizing the chin lead and evaluating your dog’s reaction to it

A sizing scale is included with any chin lead you purchase. Once you have the proper size you must fit it correctly around your dog’s neck. If the chin lead is too loose, your dog will pull it off. You want it to fit snugly about his ears and under his neck. You should be able to slip two fingers between the lead and your dog. Halti collar users should fit the neck clasp and tie a knot with the remaining slack. This prevents the collar from coming loose.

Initially dogs don’t like wearing a head collar. But they learn to tolerate it. So when you see your dog flopping around like a flounder, take a breath. Once he realizes he can’t get it off he’ll forget about it. Some take an hour, a day or two. If you find yourself wanting to give this collar a try, you may have to tolerate some resistance. Be patient.

A Slice of Thai History: The Iron Horse in Thailand

Part Three 1896-1930

by Duncan Stearn

Unfortunately for the Thais, George Campbell and Railways Department director Karl Bethge were unable to work together, arguing almost constantly, especially after the appointment of another German, Luis Weiler, as chief engineer in 1893. Relations deteriorated to such an extent that Campbell’s contract was rescinded in 1896 and the Railways Department took over the completion of the line.

However, since Campbell’s contract had been written subject to British rather than Thai law, he decided to sue the government of Thailand through the courts. The subsequent litigation and arbitration came to involve courts in both Asia and Europe and proved an embarrassment for Thailand.

The Thai government was determined not to allow a repeat of the Campbell situation and in February 1898 decided that the Railways Department would in future own, build and operate all railways in the country.

The Bangkok-Khorat line was officially opened on December 21, 1900 with a branch line to Lopburi also under construction. This section, designed to eventually terminate in Chiang Mai, was opened in April 1901. By 1909, the line had reached Phitsanulok.

Interestingly, the Bangkok-Khorat line was built to the European standard gauge on the advice of Bethge, who claimed that Malaya and Burma were also on this gauge. In fact, they were not. The British, and later the French in Indo-China, were building their railways to metre gauge. Therefore, the Thais were building a rail system that would be incompatible with their neighbours.

Whether this was a deliberate ploy or a major oversight is much debated by historians, although given the political climate of the late-nineteenth century it would seem a logical tactical move for Thailand to construct lines that were not compatible with potential enemies.

Interestingly, construction of a southern line, from Thonburi (the western side of Bangkok) to Phetburi, begun in 1900 and completed in 1903, was built to metre gauge.

The 1896 Anglo-French agreement on Thai sovereignty, followed by the 1904 signing of the Entente Cordiale between France and Britain and the evacuation of the French from their occupation of Chantaburi that same year, gave Thailand a measure of security for her political future. Thus, the government agreed to the raising of foreign loans in order to complete a number of rail links.

The rail lines also proved to be financially rewarding for investors, with dividends never falling below three percent between 1900 and 1930.

In 1904, Luis Weiler, the German chief engineer, was appointed head of the Railways Department and remained in that position until Thailand declared war on Germany and her allies in July 1917.

Weiler, along with other German and Austrian nationals, was interned but, after being hospitalised due to severe ill-health, the 54-year-old was given passage aboard a steamer to England. He died on January 17, 1918 during the voyage.

By the 1920s, the overall political situation in continental Southeast Asia had improved to such an extent that the Thais felt secure enough to convert their rail lines from standard to metre gauge, thereby making possible rail links with Malaya, Cambodia and Burma.

It was around this time that the baht replaced the Indian rupee as the preferred currency of exchange and trade in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas.

The construction of rail lines across Thailand enabled the central government to exert a greater economic as well as political influence on the country. The railways not only served as an efficient, reliable and relatively quick method of engaging in trade, they also brought the various provinces together and created a greater sense of national unity.

The Message In The Moon: Sun in Leo/Moon in Leo

by Anchalee Kaewmanee

The Peacock

Despite the special brand of charisma this combination possesses, people born into this sign eventually realize that they themselves are the only thing that holds their interest for very long. This is not to say they are selfish or self-serving. Natives of this Sun-Moon combo are loyal, compassionate, and have generosity that knows no limits. It is just that they never get over their fascination for that wonderful image they see in their mirror. Well, there are worse faults to be had amidst the human race. A little vanity can certainly be tolerated.

All Leo-Leos are benevolent egomaniacs and who want everyone to conform to their vision and their will. They often mistake friends for vassals, and consider the world they live in their temporal realm and personal playground. Optimistic, open and fun loving, they only get upset and confused when for some strange reason people around them fail to appreciate their divine dictatorship.

Nevertheless, most mortals are continually drawn to the magnetic and vital presence of these natives and they are popular individuals with large followings. Occasionally a friend or associate will realize that once they are befriended by a double Leo they have little chance of remaining the same and they panic and flee. They saw in a flash that their behavior and opinions will be changed forever. Fortunately, only a few truly suffer at the hands of these scintillating personalities. Rarely is anyone permanently damaged and most close associates end up a lot better than they were before they were allowed to bask in the sunshine of that perpetual glow.

The actions of double Leos are often designed to attract attention. Just look how they dress, for example. Never content to do things by halves, it is all or nothing with these individuals. Dramatic and flamboyant, they are capable of upstaging anyone in a room. Instinct and intuition rule their actions and decisions and reason be dammed! Their heart always has the last word. If some spur-of-the-moment decision causes them to get burned, they pick themselves up and brush themselves off and pretend they were never singed. Courage and a will of iron keep them forever bouncing back anew, determined to get into more trouble.

Despite their flamboyance and casual air, they also have a very serious side to their nature. A double Leo is proud and dignified. He or she will want the recognition and status they deserve and will work honestly and tirelessly to earn it. Although basically warm hearted and protective, this native does have a cold streak, and if it is absolutely necessary to be ruthless in order to get achieve a goal, then so be it.

All Leo-Leos must work hard in order to support their extravagant tastes, and if necessary, there are the rare individuals born into this sign that may betray their own high standards of honesty, loyalty and integrity to fulfill their material desires. In many respects they feel they are above the law. After all, an emperor needs to answer only to himself in the end. Happily these people have high standards and their pride usually prevents them from sinking to low forms of behavior. They are so talented in so many areas it is rare to find them cheating when they don’t have to.

All natives of this Sun-Moon combination are attracted to glamour, pomp and ceremony. Anything that hints of drama and showmanship will be irresistible to the double Leo. Shrewd, these natives can penetrate another person’s gaze and see right through any superficiality or deceit. But since they are basically idealists, these natives sometimes prefer to accept surface impressions, even though they know better. They manufacture a rationale for such fraudulent behavior. As long as it is grand and glamorous it’s good enough.

There is an innate tendency to systemize their beliefs and convictions. They must beware of becoming dogmatic and opinionated and strive to keep an open mind and their opinions flexible. If they can achieve this they will be capable of great achievements no matter what careers they pursue or goals they set.

Independent in all things, including their romantic life, they often dodge the restriction of one permanent relationship. They favor polygamy. Besides, who could possibly be worthy of their total and exclusive attention? The double Leo is intensely sensual and flirtatious, and the status of romance is the index of overall happiness. These natives have wildly varied and unusual affairs.

Coins of the Realm: WWF conserving nature

by Jan Olav Aamlid
President - House of the Golden Coin (http://www.thaicoins.com)

Last week I wrote about the UNICEF coins from Thailand with the very low mintage. It has been pointed out for me that in 1998 there were three silver coins issued with an even lower mintage, only 1,000 PC. The Treasury Department of Thailand, in cooperation with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), issued the three coins in question. The coins issued in 1,000 PC were coins struck in PIEDFORT, that is, coins struck with regular dies, but double the thickness and weight of the regular coins.

One 100 baht coin and two 200 baht coins were struck commemorating WWF Conserving Nature. All three coins had on the obverse the portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and on the reverse of the 100 baht coin there was a tiger’s head and the legend “WWF CONSERVING NATURE THAILAND 1997” and in Thai “B.E. 2540”.

The reverse of one of the 200 baht coins shows two Thai elephants and on the other 200 baht coin there are two tigers lying in a field. The 200 baht coins have the same legend as the 100 baht coin.

The mintage for the PIEDFORT coins was all according to the certificates: 1000 PC and the whole mintage was issued. The 100 baht PIEDFORT coins from the Treasury Department first sold for 1,800 baht and later the price was increased to 2,200 baht. Each of the 200 baht PIEDFORT coins first sold for 3,000 baht, and later the Treasury Department increased the price to 3,600 baht.

According to the certificates, the regular 100 baht coins could be issued in 50,000 PC, but only 5,000 PC were struck according to “Coinage of the Rattanakosin Era A.D. 1982-1999”.

The mintage for each of the 200 baht coins could be issued in 15,0000 PC, but only 3,250 were struck according to the same book. The program is closed, so no more coins will be issued, and the mintage for all coins is very low.

In 1987 the WWF commemorated their 25th Anniversary. Thailand participated with striking a 2,500 baht coin in gold and a 200 baht coin in silver. The mintage for the gold coin was 3,218 PC, and the silver coin was struck in 22,280 PC. All sold out, and today sell above the issue price.

Why so few bought the Thai WWF issued in 1998 I believe must be blamed on the financial crises, but the one’s that did buy them even after the prices were increased should be happy. The second hand market for the coins today is much higher, especially for the coins struck in double thickness, PIEDFORT.