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UK Club of Pattaya drinks for charity
Brendan Richards
The UK Club of Pattaya raised over 50,000 baht for the
Camillian Social Center in Rayong during a sponsored pub crawl last week.
Around 20 avid ‘crawlers’ braved the wilds of Soi 7 and South Pattaya
for the club’s charity project.
Eileen
Denning (left) and club mascot Bertram the Bear, complete with tailor made
outfit, and Cristina Boden lead lubricated crawlers to begin the UK Club of
Pattaya’s sponsored pub crawl.
Starting from the Pig & Whistle, the already
well-lubricated, fastidious group descended on the Taverne Restaurant across
the road for a few, then down to the Nags Head for a few more, and onto the
Sportsman in Soi 13 for more rounds of drinks and some pool.
Club president, Ron Hall was well in the score for the
evening after being snookered by his opponent. It wasn’t until one the
Sportsman’s customers bought yet another round of ales and the likes for
the group before they staggered, albeit via baht bus, up to Ali Baba for the
next leg.
Bearing in mind some had wet their whistle at ‘The Pig’
beforehand; at this stage some legs were becoming rather weak. Including the
scribe’s.
Ron
Hall, club president, lines up a shot at the Sportsman on Soi 13.
From Ali Baba it was back to the Pig & Whistle for
the night’s raffle and yet more libation. The end result was huge
hangovers and over 50,000 in the coffers for Camillian Social Center in
Rayong, which takes care of HIV infected children and patients - well worth
the effort.
Stay tuned for more crazy and fun activities from the UK Club of Pattaya.
For membership details email: [email protected] or call Malcolm or
Christina at 09 545 4185
Image Power Band provides the power at Henry J Bean’s Amari Watergate Bangkok
By Miss Terry Diner
A flying visit to Bangkok saw the Dining Out Team looking
for somewhere to kick up our heels last Saturday night. Taking the
opportunity to call in on an old friend Pierre-Andre Pelletier, ex-Amari
Orchid Pattaya and these days GM of the Amari Watergate, he pointed us in
the direction of Henry J Bean’s Bar and Grill in the lower floor of the
hotel.
HJB’s at the Amari Watergate has a new restaurant
manager, Thanatep Chantarala, and a new group, the Image Power Band. The
music, the manager and the mood just seem to ‘click’ with the
Thai/Filipino band really coming across with some great music. Pink Floyd’s
"The Wall" comes out sounding as if were being played by Pink
Floyd themselves, not just a small group, and the lovely girls out front are
certainly a sight for sore eyes (and much better than Pink Floyd)!
The food (and wine) are of the HJB’s top standards and we can certainly
recommend the Amari Watergate’s Henry J Bean’s Bar and Grill as a fun
place for food and entertainment. Worth re-acquainting yourself if it has
been a while since you have been there.
Pediatricians host 56th annual general meeting in Pattaya
Suchada Tupchai
Over 500 pediatric specialists from around the country
attended the Pediatrics Society’s 56th AGM, held at the Dusit Resort this
past week. Professor Dr. Somsak Lolekar, head of pediatric medicine in
Thailand officially opened the conference.
Pediatricians
Society President Dr. Praput Siripoon.
The
GlaxoSmithKline girls were quite helpful and full of information.
This year’s annual conference focused on new techniques
and procedures for treating children for various illnesses, as well as
disseminating the availability of new research material in Thailand.
Throughout the 3-day meeting numerous presentations were
made involving treatment methods and a debate was held on current issues
affecting the country today.
Dr. Praput Siripoon, Pediatricians Society president
said, "This year’s AGM primarily stressed the importance of child
nutrition, adolescent development, infectious diseases, skin diseases,
allergies and SARS. We also debated the overall view of breast milk for
young babies. A return to breast-feeding infants is now a significant
project in educating mothers and a project well supported by Princess
Sirindhorn."
There
were lots of activities for the kids, including a "healthy baby
booth", games and prizes.
The meeting wound up on Friday April 25, with doctors obtaining new
information ready to use in the daily practice of medicine.
Skål members discuss SARS affect on travel industry
Brendan Richards
With Asia’s tour and travel industry all but crippled
from the threat of SARS, members from the Skål Club of Pattaya and East
Thailand at the April luncheon focused their attention on the effects
throughout the tourist industry in Thailand and specifically Pattaya.
Dr.
Iain Corness explains the current SARS situation to the interested Skål
Club of Pattaya and East Thailand members.
Pattaya’s hotels and tour destinations are suffering
from the vast economic downturn because of the disease, but guest speaker
Dr. Iain Corness shed light on the subject.
SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - are you at
risk? The good doctor’s reply to that question was an emphatic
"No!"
Citing World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, there
is a 90-95 percent rate of recovery from SARS. The fist cases of the disease
were recorded on November 1, 2002 and to date (April 24) there were 4439
cases recorded worldwide. The death rate at the same time, 263 as result of
infection, is approximately 6 percent death rate, worldwide.
"Putting this into perspective, almost 500 deaths
were recorded in Thailand over Songkran. In a developed country, such as
Australia, there are 1,800 deaths per year from pneumonia and in Burkina
Faso, a small town in Africa, a total of 3691 cases, including 542 deaths
from meningococcal disease since January this year. This is more than twice
the number of world SARS deaths in half the time - and there is no worldwide
panic about meningococcal disease. So your chances of getting SARS are not
high and your chances of dying from it are even less," said Dr. Iain, a
medical doctor for over 40 years and having worked in Australia, United
Kingdom and Europe.
"According to the WHO, about 10% of SARS patients go
into decline, usually around day 7 and need mechanical assistance to
breathe. The care of these people is often complicated by the presence of
other diseases. In this group the mortality is high," Dr. Iain
explained.
There is currently no 100% diagnostic test for SARS, but
be sure there is a vested interest in the disease. Methods used vary from
enzyme testing to see whether antibodies have been developed after a patient
has recovered, molecular tests from body fluid involving DNA examinations to
the long and very expensive use of cell culture tests.
"Knowledge of the disease is inherent in the
symptoms; high temperature fever (over 38C), coughing, difficulty in
breathing and shortness of breath within 10 days of the onset of symptoms
and in close contact with some one who has been diagnosed with SARS.
"Close contact means having cared for, having lived
with or had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of an
infected person. Unless necessary, take note of the WHO’s travel warnings
to the current hot spots. Basic personal hygiene is essential to minimize
any risks. But remember, if you do come into contact, there is a 94 percent
chance of recovery," added Dr. Iain.
The Doc concluded his speech and then opened the floor
for discussion. With many hotels in the region suffering the effects of
worldwide caution about the disease, as many tours and conferences are being
cancelled, armed at last with some positive information, ideas began
hatching from Skål members. Only time will tell as to how the region
recovers from the affects of the disease and associated media hype.
At the conclusion of the luncheon, Andrew Wood, Skål
club secretary mentioned the upcoming Skål Eco-tourism Awards. Initiated by
the club,with the support of the Governor of Chonburi, a committee was
formed involving provincial government officials and businesses to
participate in the awards as well as the upcoming Asian Congress in
Katmandu.
It should be mentioned that despite the seriousness of
the subjects at hand, or maybe because of it, Norman and Eileen Denning and
the staff of at Yorkies Pork Platter in Jomtien laid on a great 3-course
spread for Skål members.
The next Skål meeting will be at the Jomtien Boathouse and Grill on
Thursday May 15th.
BCCT Eastern Seaboard networking evening enters the Cool Zone
The BCCT networking evening, held on the grounds of the
Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa, was the place to be last Friday evening.
As the summer season is here, Cool Zone opted to sponsor the event, bringing
the stifling humidity and heat down to a comfortable level not only by
providing the liquid refreshments but also by setting up their mist cooling
system in the gardens.
(Left
to right) Marc Fitzgerald, managing director of Cool Zone, Darren Nathan,
co-managing director of Cool Zone, Dr. Iain Corness and Peter Malhotra
representing the Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd., Andrew Wood, general
manager of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Thomas Christiansen, resident
manager of the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa and Hans-Dieter Westphal,
managing director, Reickermann Thai Engineering Co., Ltd. keeping cool
during the BCCT networking evening.
Cool Zone Systems is an innovative company based in
Pattaya that provides outdoor cooling via the use of fine water vapor,
propelled into the air at high pressure and distribute by large fans.
"In most cases a drop in temperature between 5 to 10
degrees Celsius is possible depending on conditions. We have a comprehensive
website <www.coolzonesytems.com> in both Thai and English that
provides the information you need," said Marc Fitzgerald, Cool Zone’s
managing director.
The well attended event saw Greg Watkins, BCCT’s
executive director filling in for Graham Macdonald, who apparently is still
in quarantine after a recent trip abroad. Many of the region’s networking
stalwarts turned up and feasted on the spread put on by the Marriott Resort.
All were comfortably cooler during the outside function as the sultry
temperature was somewhat reduced.
Darren
Nathan (left) and Marc Fitzgerald (right), keep cool in the Cool Zone,
sponsors of the evening.
A lucky prize draw was held with Cool Zone’s MD Mark
Fitzgerald drawing the lucky winners of polo shirts. Max Richards and TRW
took the sweep, as Dham Dhamodharan and George Strampp won two of the
prizes.
Off to Italy in a few months, George took this
opportunity to thank many of the sponsors who contributed to the Bannuatong
School project he runs.
The next BCCT Eastern Seaboard networking night is due to take place on
May 23. Details of the location are yet to be announced.
Pattaya Sports Club and Panthakit Mettajit Foundation donate funds to help needy Pattaya students
Suchada Tupchai
Carl G. Engel, president of the Pattaya Sports Club, and
Sanae Srisa-art, representative of the Panthakit Mettajit Foundation,
donated 45,000 baht to Manas Kongwattana, director of the Nong Pang Khae
Pattaya School No. 7 at Victory Family Church Pattaya’s office on April
25.
Pattaya Sports Club and the Panthakit Mettajit Foundation
regularly organize sports events for charity and raise funds to donate to
young needy students in the Pattaya area.
The money was divided and given to 27 students from Nong Pang Khae
Pattaya School No. 7, Banglamung Vocational College, and Pattaya External
Education Center.
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