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The Classic Alfa Romeo Club saddles up at the Horseshoe Point
The
Classic Alfa Romeo Club of Thailand last month gathered at the Horseshoe
Point Resort and Country Club for a weekend of camaraderie and story
telling.
It was a great weekend March 23 - March 24 at the
Horseshoe Point Resort & Country Club when the exclusive resort was
selected by an even more exclusive group of proud car owners: the Classic
Alfa Romeo Club of Thailand.
The classic Alfa Romeo Club of Thailand is not very
big. It has thousands of members worldwide but in Thailand there are just
around 30 “Alfisties” (Alfa - lovers). Most of the “Alfisties”
treat their cars like babies and know every single detail of them.
The majority of cars are very well taken care of and
their owners main objective is often to restore them as original as
possible. To get them “into detail”, the car owners use a network of
contacts to retrieve spare parts that are imported from all over the
world. Patience is a very common word for Alfisties; it very often takes
several months (or years) to get every detail in place.
The most popular classics are probably the GTV’s that
come in 1750cc engines and 2-liter engines. 30 Years ago, these cars were
more expensive than Porches because of their outstanding performances and
high standards of modern technology. Imagine a car 30 years ago that
already had a 5-gear transmission, a top speed of well over 200 kilometers
per hour and fantastic, precise steering.
A good GTV model in Thailand has a value of at least
350,000 to 500,000 baht. (In England, these kinds of cars go for well over
1 million.) It is not the value of the car (owners spend often a lot more
to get it prefect); it is the pleasure of having it ... and driving it.
Watch heads turn as these cars drive down Beach Road!
Pops Pattaya All Stars’ “Play Something You Know” launch party next Friday at Shenanigans
Friday 3rd May is the official launch party for the
Pops Pattaya All Stars - Play Something You Know CD.
Irish singer/guitarist Declan, Rick Bryant, Harpic,
Jill Thomas, Pop, Kae, A, and Baem - Pops Pattaya All Stars - put together
a 3-CD collection of live music to raise money for the Jesters ‘Care for
Kids’ Charity Drive.
 The recording was the brainchild of Rick Bryant, who,
after being musical director of the Jesters Care 4 Kids Charity Drive,
both at the fair (this year at Diana Driving range on North Road Sunday
16th September) and the Pub Night (this year at Shenanigans next to the
Royal Garden Plaza 2nd Road on Saturday 22nd September), came up with the
idea of recording a CD live to promote this year’s events and hopefully
raise a bit of cash for the Jesters Charity Drive as well.
In the words of music director Rick Bryant, the CD
collection is, “A raw live sound which captures the atmosphere of the
occasion.”
The musicians have bonded back together for the same
show at Shenanigans, with a few extra surprises thrown in, to launch the
highly anticipated 3-CD set, which will be on sale at the concert.
For a complete review of the CD, please read next
week’s Mott the Dog column.
For more information about the Care 4 Kids Jesters
Charity Drive please look up the website at http://www.care4kids.info
Amor Restaurant charity dinner raises over 63,000 baht
On Monday, April 8, Amor Restaurant on Soi Pattayaland
3 held a charity dinner for the Pattaya Gay Festival to raise funds for
Heartt2000 and local charities.
(L to
R) Pol of PolTony’s, Denis and Gaetan with friends enjoying the charity
dinner at Amor Restaurant.
The dinner was deemed a great success, with a full
house of over 50 people attending. They all had a wonderful evening and
dug deep into their pockets to buy raffle tickets, boosting the funds
raised for the PGF charities that night to a total of 63,300 baht.
Charity night raises 22,600 baht for kidney dialysis patient
The Somporn Night fundraising events on April 6th
raised a total of 22,600 baht for the friends of Somporn Medical Care
Fund.
Somporn is a kidney dialysis patient, and the money
raised during the night will be enough to pay for 9 life-extending kidney
dialysis treatments (each dialysis treatment costs 2,500 baht).
The dinner hosted by Eldorado Restaurant and the
desserts from the White Night Restaurants in Sunee Plaza realized a net
profit of 9,000 baht. The Somporn Showtime hosted by the Wooden Brew in
Sunee Plaza raised another 13,600 Thai baht, for a combined total of
22,600 baht.
To date, the Friends of Somporn - A Life Worth Saving -
Medical Care Fund have raised 236,263 baht through gifts and fund raising
events, including the Od’s Spot/Leichhardt Garden Centre “Aussie
BBQ” held in Sydney, Australia, which raised 11,540 baht. The fund
raising drive’s goal is 300,000 baht.
Doctors recently allowed Somporn to live outside the
hospital with his mother in a nearby room rented for him and his mother by
the Friends of Somporn. He will be receiving outpatient kidney dialysis
treatments 3 times weekly until such time as his kidney transplant can be
finalized. His prospects for his kidney transplant operation are nearing,
and are now pending favorable lab tests from his sister’s offer to
donate one of her kidneys to save his life.
Somporn was in the hospital nearly 7 weeks. Significant
medical progress has been made, as Somporn has gone from being “near
death” on Saturday, March 2nd to becoming an outpatient.
Oh crowned Miss Alcazar 2002
Wins 100,000 baht, plus diamond necklace and tickets to Samui
Born Mr. Phutinan Saelee, but now known as Miss Praew
Leelakul (‘Oh’), won the 2002 Miss Alcazar Contest which ended Friday,
April 19 in Pattaya.
The contest, now in its 7th year, is aimed at promoting
tourism in Pattaya and improving the image of “women of the second
category” in the eyes of the community. Over 2 million baht in cash and
prizes were up for grabs this year.
Ms
Praew ‘Oh’ Leelakul (center) won this year’s Miss Alcazar contest.
Oh, aged 24, who was crowned in front of a large
audience (the final round was even broadcast live on national television),
won 100,000 baht in prize money, a diamond encrusted necklace, roundtrip
tickets for two to Koh Samui from Bangkok Airways and various beauty
products from well-known companies in Thailand.
Oh has just completed his bachelor’s degree from the
Silpakorn University in Bangkok and plans to continue his studies to
complete a master’s degree.
There were over 90 applicants for this year’s Miss
Alcazar Contest, including 34 foreigners from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The
field was whittled down to 40, then to the final five before Oh was
crowned the winner.
Runner up, Mr. Naowalee Chaiwatanpotekaew received
50,000 baht in prize money and a variety of goods.
3rd place went to Aphasant Jantchome, who also won the
“Most Beautiful Skin” and “Best Dressed” prizes.
Other prizes went to Mr. Prapasara Pornprohmthep for
the Miss Congeniality award and Mr. Oarkar Theppratarn for the Media’s
Favorite award. Both received cash prizes and plane tickets from KN
Travel.
As part of this year’s contest, contestants visited
the Khao Kheow Zoo and the Butterfly Garden to go with the contest’s
nature theme, and provided lunch for children at the Redemptorist Center
for the Blind.
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