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Father Ray Brennan turns 70!
Pattaya’s well-loved priest celebrates with his huge family
Father Ray’s birthday was actually on December 7, but
he celebrated two days earlier, on December 5, to combine his birthday with
the celebrations for His Majesty the King.
Father
Ray, whose birthday was actually on December 7, celebrated two days earlier
on December 5 (Father’s Day in Thailand) to combine his birthday with the
celebrations for His Majesty the King. More than 650 of “his” children,
plus all the staff from the various groups of the orphanage and Redemptorist
Center, his colleagues and very close friends came to wish him all the best
for his 70th birthday.
All of “his” more than 650 children, all the staff
from the various groups of the orphanage and Redemptorist Center, his
colleagues and very close friends came to wish him all the best for his 70th
birthday.
Many of Father Ray’s foreign friends from Pattaya added
to the crowd of well-wishers, and a few even came from Germany and Denmark
especially for this occasion.
Amongst them was the vice-chairman of the Danish support
group of the Pattaya Orphanage, Jorn Kamp Larsen and his wife Nee, as well
as the renowned ‘Santa Claus’ of the Orphanage Bjorn Falkenbrinck, the
chairman of the Danish support group of the Pattaya Orphanage.
Bjorn presented Father Ray with a wonderful painting from
famous Danish painter Ole Zieger.
Of course, this was not the only present Father Ray
received on his special day. Everybody brought something along to express
their gratitude and thanks to this priest who has devoted many years of his
life to the Catholic Church and especially to the Pattaya Orphanage with all
its subsidiary groups.
Father Ray almost drowned in a sea of flowers when the
children got in line to present him each with a flower to show him their
love and gratitude for the new and better life he has provided for them.
The following song was composed for Father Ray and it
expresses the feelings of “his” children towards him:
Unsung Hero
You’re an unsung hero.
You’re always there to help us Father Ray.
And you’re right beside us everywhere we go, everyday.
And our lives are so much brighter
We can reach the highest star
And the world’s a better place, it’s true.
Thanks to unsung heroes; a ray of sunshine like you,
You’re an unsung hero;
You don’t want the glory or the fame,
You just keep on giving and sharing all your love just
the same.
And our hearts are so much lighter,
We can dream the biggest dreams,
And it’s all because of what you do.
You’re an unsung hero Father Ray, we love you.
You’re an unsung hero Father Ray, we love you.
Local organizations donate to Banglamung Home for the Elderly
Thai Inter Law Consultant joins with Pattaya City and local clubs to donate clothing and milled rice to seniors
Suchada Tupchai
As a part of an ongoing campaign under the theme of
‘With love and care’ a generous donation was recently presented to the
residents of the Banglamung Home for the Elderly. Pattaya Mayor Pairat
Suttithamrongsawat led representatives from Thai Law Consultant, Pattaya
Sports Club, Jesters Pattaya, and the Katrena Club on December 12 in
presenting clothing, rice and other necessities to the senior citizens who
live there.
One of
the residents of the home says thanks, as Mayor Pairat looks on.
In this
time of caring and generosity, a group of representatives from benevolent
Pattaya groups donated much needed supplies to the Banglamung Home for the
Aged.
During the presentation, Katrena Wannasakda of Thai Inter
Law Consultant said, “The elderly who reside in the home also need love
and care and we should not let them feel neglected. It is our duty to be
responsible for each other in society and do what we can to help.”
Many clubs in Pattaya sponsor the campaign. The latest
donation included 283 winter jackets and 40 rice packs.
The Banglamung Home for Elderly was initiated by HM the Queen Sirikit in
1968 and was the first home for the aged that was built with funds raised by
both the government and private sectors to look after homeless and elderly
people from poor families.
Vegetarian Club Pattaya officially chartered
Elfi Seitz
A gathering of more than 45 people came together to
witness the official charter of the Vegetarian Club Pattaya on December 9.
Not all who attended are vegetarians, but many are members of various other
clubs including Rotary, YWCA, PAWS, Lions Clubs, and PILC.
Vegetarian
Club Pattaya Vegetarian president Pastor Viorendra Arora and his wife
present General Saiyud Kerdphol with flowers
Guest of honor, General Saiyud Kerdphol, past president
of the Vegetarian Club from Bangkok and chairman of the World-Vegetarian
Congress organizing committee addressed the group. He spoke about the future
of vegetarians in Thailand and told his audience that he has been a
vegetarian for a decade.
General Saiyud explained that 10 years ago he was a guest
speaker at the Vegetarian Club in Bangkok. It was then he changed his
philosophy on food. “My nutrition is derived mostly from fruits and nuts.
I believe that had I not completely changed my diet I would not be here with
you today.”
The general went on to organize a vegetarian congress in
Chiang Mai and then founded a Vegetarian Union. “I was later asked to
found yet another Union comprising all types of healthy lifestyles including
the practice of yoga, tai chi and meditation,” General Saiyud explained.
At the end of his speech he urged all people to live a
healthy lifestyle and eat less meat to keep their health or even reverse a
disease.
Charter President VG Pastor Virendra Arora was the next
to speak. He said that this is another challenge in his life. Leading a club
like this will give him the opportunity to take care of his own health as
well. He pointed out that in a vegetarian club animal products are excluded
as well as smoking and alcohol in any form.
The Vegetarian Club Pattaya meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 18:30.
More info at [email protected] or tel. 0-1170-2701.
New 40 million baht entertainment complex ‘Rugby Karajuku Karaoke’ opens near Dolphin Roundabout
Veerachai Somchart
Investing in a new business venture is always tricky, and
in these tough economic times, it takes a brave and very confident
businessman to jump into troubled waters and stay afloat. But Chutipol
Kamolnart is not fainthearted and has just opened a hot new entertainment
complex in Pattaya.
Saensukh
Mayor Somchai Khunpluem cuts the ribbon officially opening the Rugby
Karajuku Karaoke as a host of dignitaries looks on.
Somchai Khunpluem, Saensukh mayor, Phisit Boonchung,
deputy governor of Chonburi Province, Vichian Chawalit, director of Urban
Region Ruling Dept., Sawai Phrammanee, Chonburi senator, Chanyut Hengtrakul,
advisor to the minister of tourism and sports, Pairat Suttithamrongsawat,
Pattaya mayor, plus deputy mayors Niran Wattanasatsathorn and Wuttisak
Rermkitjikarn, Tawit Chaisawangwong, president of Pattaya City Council, and
Poramej Ngamphichet, member of Chonburi parliament and Pattaya City Council,
recently attended the ribbon cutting ceremony of the “Rugby Karajuku
Karaoke” on the Astoria Hotel premises near Dolphin Circle.
Chutipol Kamolnart, chairman of the Rugby Karajuku
Karaoke said that in the middle of an economic crisis establishing a new
business is very difficult. He said he had to be certain that the business
would have something new and different to offer.
Chutipol explained that when he saw all the
sticker-photographing machines and karaoke-singing booths in so many
department stores he was inspired to come up with the idea of combining
these two fun activities.
Chutipol spent over 40 million baht to build the Rugby
Karajuku Karaoke, which is the only one of its kind in Thailand.
Customers singing and dancing in the karaoke rooms can be
stars in their very own music video. The rooms are fully equipped with a top
class sound system and big TV projectors. Afterwards they can take home
their video recordings as souvenirs of their memorable performances.
Members are privileged to many special offers including a discount on the
VIP room charge, food and drinks, and one free music video of their choice.
The pub is open from 7:00 p.m. onwards.
Talented young artist opens art gallery and marries on the same day
Songklod Kaewvisit
Talented artist, 20-year-old Sakorn Treesakorn opened his
art gallery and married his true love, Nidarat, Saturday, December 7,
combining two major events and symbolizing a very important day he and his
new bride’s lives.
Sakorn
and Nidarat, after saying their vows, together cut the ribbon to open their
art gallery.
The gallery, located in Soi Day Night, South Pattaya was
packed with family, friends and well wishers as the couple exchanged vows
and cut the ceremonial ribbon official declaring the Art Gallery open for
business.
The gallery is the result of hard work for Sakorn, who
says he loves to paint and enjoys all forms of art. The double shop house
features many works by Sakorn and artists from the University of Fine Arts
with traditional, contemporary and abstract styles. He added that he
invested in the project and will be managing the gallery himself.
Sakorn said that he and Nidarat opted for the double
ceremony, seeing it as an important day their life together.
As the celebration continued, a foreign resident purchased a painting by
Surasak Srisakulsai titled ‘Vimuthsuk’ for 40,000 baht.
Park Lane Luxury Cocktail Bar celebrates grand opening
The Park Lane Luxury Cocktail Bar, situated on Pattaya
Second Road opposite Caesar Palace between Soi 8 and Soi 9, held its grand
opening on Wednesday December 4. The establishment is co-owned by Colin O
Brian and John Clements, and provides an extensive range of top-shelf
drinks, including port and brandy. The lounge has a comfortable and elegant
design, perfect for Pattayans and tourists wishing to relax, and enjoy
themselves till late.
A
likely group of customers enjoyed the night, which included some familiar
faces... John Clements (far right) doing what he does best, entertaining the
crowd.
The night was a tremendous success, with local businesspeople attending
to wish Colin and John well. John, who has dedicated more than 30 years of
his life to the entertainment industry, provided the live entertainment for
the night. It was an opportunity for all to mingle with colleagues, friends,
family and strangers, and allow Park Lane to showcase what they have to
offer.
The Hideaway Pub Restaurant in Jomtien re-opens under new management
The Hideaway Restaurant, situated in the Jomtien Complex,
re-opened on December 4 under new management and owners. The site was
previously a go-go bar, and has now been transformed into a restaurant/pub.
They serve excellent traditional English/Indian curry and ice-cold beer at a
very reasonable rate. The night of the grand reopening was an interesting
one, with well-wishers coming from all over Pattaya to join in the fun.
The
Hideaway has the perfect spot for a game of pool, as one of the lovely staff
members takes her turn on the table.
One of the co-owners of the restaurant is a trained chef
with worldwide experience, which includes managing the nutrition at the
British Olympic Village.
Hideaway is open 7 days a week, from 2 p.m. till late. The restaurant
provides music, TV, food, drinks, a pool table and a number of lovely
hostesses. The owners are interested in starting a regular pool league in
the Jomtien area, and will also start home delivery soon, providing an
extensive range of quality Indian and Chinese food.
Pattaya City and Horseshoe Point hand over proceeds from recent mountain bike competition
Money goes to local charitable organizations
Suchada Tupchai
Four local organizations in Pattaya received a financial
boost this week when Chainarin Srifuengfung, managing director of Horseshoe
Point Resort & Country Club joined Pattaya Mayor Pairat
Suttithamrongsawat and Deputy Mayor Niran Wattanasatsathorn - acting as head
of the Pattaya Bicycle for Health Club - presided over the presentation of
160,000 baht. The funds handed over were proceeds from the Mountain Bike
Competition held in November.
Chainarin
Srifuengfung (left), managing director of Horseshoe Point Resort &
Country Club presents funds to Mai Chaiyanit, village headman of Nongprue
District, as Mayor Pairat Suthithamrongsawat (center), Deputy Mayor Niran
Wattanasatsathorn (far right) and other supporters applaud.
The Volunteer Highway Police, Nongprue District
Administration Organization, Lions Club of Pattaya and Pattaya School Number
1 received the funds during a small ceremony on December 12. The funds will
be put to good use by supporting a number of activities around the city.
As for the Pattaya Bicycle for Health Club, Niran Wattanasatsathorn said,
“We currently have over 100 members with more support coming from the
Chonburi club, which is the largest in the region. We are primarily focusing
on cycling for health but also would like to promote the sport as a public
activity for charitable causes. We hope to hold similar races every year to
raise funds with two major events annually. Hopefully in the future, the
sport will become bigger and we can then hold an even more successful
competition.”
St. Nicholas paid a visit
to the Berliner Bistro
‘Beelzebub’ came along as well
Things were pretty lively at the Berliner Bistro at Soi
Potisan on December 6 when St. Nicholas made a visit.
In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Holland, St.
Nicholas wanders around from house to house on December 6, bringing presents
to the good and well-behaved children.
St.
Nicholas and Beelzebub give away presents to well-behaved children.
When there are some bad children around, he takes a
small, black hunchbacked man with him, called Beelzebub, who is armed with a
rod to take care of the naughty.
Of course, there were only good people at the Berliner
Bistro on this day and St. Nicholas had, through the afternoon and evening,
all hands full to give presents to the hundreds of guests who attended.
Since there were only nice people around, Beelzebub felt
truly bored and he tried to hit a few with his rod, but St. Nicholas, alias
Wolfgang Bordt the innkeeper, had his eyes everywhere and at the end,
Beelzebub, alias Micky the manager, was the one who had to take the beating.
Once again the Berliner Bistro showed that even in a foreign country one
can hold high the traditions of the “old homeland”.
Final surge takes Pattaya Gay Festival 2002 over 3.5 million baht raised for charity this year
A very successful final 4 days marks end of 2002 fund raising
In an emotional speech to the crowds gathered in Boyztown
(Pattayaland Soi 3) Dr. Philippe Seure, who runs Heartt 2000 (the main
beneficiary of the PGF funds), suggested the street should be renamed “The
Street of Life”, such has been the effect of the monies raised in saving
hundreds of lives of those affected with the HIV virus. He went on to thank
all of his sponsors and supporters for their hard work and generosity and
emphasised that without the help of them and the PGF in particular his work
would be impossible.
Robert
Scoble (right) of Utopia Asia presented Bruno Forrer (left) with the
organization’s lifelong achievement award.
This took place at the final PGF event, the Rainbow
Street Party, on the evening of Monday December 2. The street was filled to
capacity with cheering supporters who gave generously, helping through
individual donations, entrance fees, raffle sales and percentages of food
and drink sales. The total raised on this night alone was more than a
staggering 480,000 baht.
This followed the “Walk for Life” on World AIDS Day,
when the PGF joined with many others to form a procession along Beach Road,
South Pattaya Road and back along Second Road to celebrate the worldwide
fight against HIV/AIDS. There were many colourful floats, bands and a large
number of groups of marchers. Despite the inclement weather, the rain
started just as the procession did, a warm and carnival-like atmosphere
prevailed throughout the whole of the parade with supporters and
well-wishers cheering all of the participants along the whole of the route.
When, at the end of the march, the PGF floats and walkers returned to
Boyztown to find there was no electricity, they refused to let that dampen
their enthusiasm. Everyone was smiling and the overall feeling of goodwill
was clear to all. No one wanted the moment or the mood to stop.
On Saturday November 30, over 100 people attended a gala
dinner at Bruno’s Restaurant. The food was excellent; the service
impeccable, and once again, a good time was had by all. A raffle followed
which raised an incredible 150,000 baht (from only 100 people!), bringing
the total for the evening to over 200,000 baht
The highlight of the evening was a presentation made to
Bruno Forrer, himself a re-presentation really, from the organisers of the
Utopia Awards for his lifelong contributions to the gay community and those
in need. Bruno, who is recovering from a serious illness, was there to
accept the award to loud applause.
Robert Scoble of Utopia Asia made the presentation
saying, “Restaurateur and philanthropist Bruno Forrer is a shining example
of what one individual can do to change society. An active member of
Pattaya’s business community for more than three decades, Bruno has
quietly provided much needed support and made generous contributions to AIDS
victims in particular. He has gladly offered the resources of his business
for dozens of fundraising events. He is an outstanding and unassuming
philanthropist and a role model for businessmen throughout Thailand.”
In total, the final 4 events raised more than 795,000
baht for the PGF charities, the major one being, of course, Heartt 2000
which continues to do so much for those suffering from the HIV virus, people
who would surely die from the disease if not given the necessary medicines
which they cannot afford. The number of patients who have received help from
Dr Philippe is now close to 600 and increasing daily. Money continues to be
required to enable this work to continue and the organisers of the PGF are
now going to take a short rest and consider how they can help further in
2003.
The incredible success of the final 4 days brought the
total raised by the PGF in 2002 to an amazing 3.5 million baht. This
surpasses the 2001 total of 3.2 million baht, something no one thought
possible when they sat down in January to plan the year’s events.
The PGF would like to thank Mayor Pairat and the
officials and staff of city hall for all their help and support for the Walk
for Life Parade and other events of the four days of the Festival.
The total of 6.75 million baht for the 2 years the PGF
has been in existence is beyond everyone’s dreams and all concerned are
truly delighted at the charitable works made possible by these wonderful
results. Thanks to all who have supported the events and given generously
during the year.
Rumour has it that the Pattaya Gay Festival may be changing its name to
“Pattaya Pride” next year. With the fantastic results of the last two
years, it would be a well deserved name change.
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