by Lang Reid
A
very local publication this week, with a hardcover book, Bridging the Gap,
written by well established columnist Kriengsak Niratpattanasai and
published this year by Asia Books (ISBN 974-8303-67-5).
Bridging the Gap has been collated from the weekly
newspaper columns written by Kriengsak, and following that format, the
book is divided into four main chapters containing very readable small
sections that can be picked up and put down at will.
The four major sections cover ‘The Way We Are’ - an
insight into the cultural make-up of Thai people, complete with the
socio-historical reasons for many of these features; ‘Spotting the
Gap’ - a review of studies into the perceptions of each group to each
other (Thais and foreigners); ‘At the Workplace’ - presenting true
case studies and the effects and how to counter them; and finally ‘Out
of the Workplace’ - an expats pocket guide on etiquette and behaviour at
functions outside of the workplace, including weddings and funerals.
Author Kriengsak leads the reader gently into the Thai
society in the first chapter, with an introduction to the history of the
monarchy and a description of the reasons for the respect given to the
current monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great.
Other facets of Thai history that impinge on today’s
outlook are also covered, including the religion, the military, the
government, the education system and the family.
The mini-study on attitudes and perceptions from both
groups is very interesting. The way the Thais see the expats they work
with (in most cases work ‘under’) is very revealing, and while there
are two pages of good attributes that the Thais feel the expats show,
there is a similar number of pages that delineate just where the expats
can go wrong, in the Thai eyes. Inadequate understanding of the cultural
interaction amongst Thai colleagues and intolerance and even ignorance of
other cultures and disrespect rate high. It seems that ‘ignorance’ is
certainly no excuse, something that should be remembered by newcomers.
The third chapter is weighty, with explanations of the
“kreng jai”, “nam jai”, and other expressions used to describe
Thai customs and mores.
With an RRP of B. 650, it is not a cheap read, but for
a hardcover reference book that can save the expat manager many hours that
would otherwise be dedicated to frustration and recurrent staff
replacement interviews, it is a small investment.
Kriengsak writes in easily followed English and gives
both the Thai and ‘farang’ viewpoints all the way through the book. He
does not take sides, nor does he make moral judgments. In these
situations, there is no ‘right way’ and ‘wrong way’ vis-เ-vis
the two cultures. There are only ‘different ways’.
However, the pervasive thread that runs through the
book is that we are all living in Thailand, working with Thai people and
we (the minority expats) can gain much by the way we work and integrate
with the Thai (majority) society. This lesson is often forgotten,
unfortunately.
There is no expat who will not gain something from this book, even
those retired from active workplace responsibilities. A ‘must read’
and a ‘must have’ for all business bookshelves!
Rummaged by Mott the
Dog
Sorted by Ella Crew
5
Stars *****
‘Legend of a Mind’ is a collection of songs from
bands between the years of 1968 and 1974 from the off-shoot record label
of Decca Records, neatly called Deram. Deram Records was actually set up
in 1966 by the suits at Decca, who had already made the cringe-worthy
mistake of turning down the Beatles. They realized then that the young
folk of the day did not only want to buy Englebert Humperdink records,
but needed something with a bit of street cred that they just plain did
not understand.
This was a lucky break for them. In the summer of
1967 the Beatles turned the rock world on its head with the release of
‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band’, allowing all serious
minded musicians to break out of the 4/4 structures of 3-minute songs.
There were literally hundreds of bands out there wanting to sign up to a
record company to get their sound out to an eager public; some with 2ฝ
-minute songs of cleverness, others with 20-minute epics. Deram was keen
to sign them all - the good and the bad - (How would they have known the
difference?) and here, spread over three 77-minute discs, is a selection
of arguably the best.
Some bands on this collection went on to be household
names, like Thin Lizzy, The Moody Blues, and Camel; some miraculously
are still going on today in one form or another like Caravan, Savoy
Brown, and Ten Years After; and some went on to become bigger and better
things, namely Giles, Giles & Fripp of course became King Crimson,
who went on to be both household names and are still going strong today.
After a fine career Trapeze gave us Mel Galley for Whitesnake; Dave
Holland for Judas Priest; and Glen Hughes for Deep Purple, ensuring
gainful employment for the trio years after they bit the dust. Other
bands like Black Cat Bones, Leafhound, and Egg gained legendary status
years after they had disbanded.
Some bands were plainly a little too ordinary or too
way out to make it. East Of Eden had a massive hit single with
‘Jig-a-Jig’, which is included here, but their other material never
quite lived up to their early hit, although after the band’s demise
violinist Dave Arbus turned up on the Who’s Baba’ O’Reiley playing
the fiddle solo that brings the song to a rousing conclusion.
Others, alas, only lasted one album, but that is
where you come across some unexpected delights. If you like heavy metal
guitar riffing to bang your head to, then look no further than the eight
minutes of T2’s ‘No More White Horses’.
How Aardvark missed the boat to rock superstardom
will always be a mystery. I mean they even had the perfect name. When
you walked down your local record store racks Aardvark’s album must
have been the first album you came across, they would have even been in
front of Abba. The marvellously monickered ‘Once Upon A Hill/Put That
In Your Pipe And Smoke It’ is Aardvark’s tour de force over ten
minutes of keyboard mayhem that only Keith Emerson or Jon Lord could
have equalled.
The reason that Clark-Hutchinson did not last long is
evident in their sole contribution song title here.
It’s quite fun just to read the names of the bands
with the title of the song(s) they play and then to imagine the sound
and see if you were correct.
The set comes in a psychedelic cardboard box with
each CD in a full colour replica of one of the albums from Deram. The
48-page booklet includes essays from the people at Deram, plus a full
page devoted to each band and some very embarrassing photos from the era
(stand up ‘Mellow Candle’). At fourteen pounds and fifty pence, the
price of a normal single CD, this box set is a real bargain. Whatever
your taste you just have to like something.
Songs
CD 1
Moody Blues - Legend Of A Mind
Bill Fay - Screams In The Ears
Giles, Giles & Fripp - Suite No. One
The End - Introspection - Part One
Ten Years After - I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes
Bulldog Breed - Austin Osmanspare
Egg - The Song Of McGuillicudie The Pusillanimous
Johnny Almond Music Machine - Voodoo Forest
East Of Eden - Nymphenburger
Aardvark - Once Upon A Hill/Put That In Your Pipe & Smoke It
T2 - No More White Horses
Caravan - Hello Hello
Leafhound - Freelance Fiend
Granny’s Intentions - Nutmeg, Bitter Suite
The Rattles - The Witch
The Alan Bown! - Still As Stone
CD 2
Human Beast - Maybe Someday
Black Cat Bones - Chauffer
Pacific Drift - Tomorrow Morning Brings
Zakkarias - The Unknown Years
Clark-Hutchinson - Free To Be Stoned
Room - Cemetery Junction Part One & Two
Keef Hartley Band - Roundabout
Moody Blues - Question
Ten Years After - Love Like A Man
East Of Eden - Jig-A-Jig
Caravan - Golf Girl
Mellow Candle - Boulders On My Grave
Keef Hartley Band - Theme Song
CD 3
Savoy Brown - Hellbound Train
Khan - Stranded
Thin Lizzy - The Rise & Dear Demise Of The Funky Nomadic Tribes
Trapeze - Seafull
Caravan - C’ Lu Thlu
Thin Lizzy - Whisky In The Jar
Camel - Lady Fantasy: Encounter, Smiles For You & Lady Fantasy
Pete Brown & Friends - Nights In Armour
Curved Air - Propositions
Camel - Air Born
Darryl Way’s Wolf - The Envoy
To contact Mott the Dog email: [email protected]
Mott’s CD review: Legend Of A Mind - Various Artists