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PILC hosts fun-filled Quiz Night at Fountain of Life
Faye Vawdrey
A warm and balmy night on June 16 saw an enthusiastic and boisterous, nay,
competitive throng of 95 Pattaya International Ladies Club members, partners
and family descend upon the Foundation of Life Centre (FoL) bursting and
bridling with anticipation to “beat the world”, well, just all the other
tables really, for the annual Quiz Night; alias, I know more than you do!
 Punnapha
Manbumphen from Rayong happily sits on the new Yamaha motorbike she won in
the raffle, as George McDonald looks on.
FoL had been polished and decorated to within an inch of its life; tables
were strewn about the room (thank you to the local wat) and beautifully set,
there were balloons galore (thank you Party Shop and Amber), pretty posies
of flowers adorned the tables and room (thank you Sr Joan and Cindy). There
was a table drinks service, which given the warmth of the evening, was very
much appreciated, and 1/3 of the taking from this was donated to FoL.
We supped on a marvellous array of scrumptious food, provided for us most
graciously by Michael, from the fantastic New Orleans Restaurant; not an
easy task to prepare food elsewhere for such a large throng and then
transport it to FoL, hot and ready to go. Fabulous effort. Then having been
contentedly fed and watered, it was time for the real business of the
evening to begin … the quiz.
What a great night it was! So much noise that our more than able and
proficient MC for the evening, Gillian, had to put on a schoolmarm voice and
scold to get us all under control. There were moments when Gillian thought
she might have to call in the local riot police (are there any in Pattaya?)
when overly passionate and or could we say obsessive (?) participants did
not concur with the MC’s answer sheet. Well, okay, I admit I was more than a
little perplexed with the Blue Flyer answer, as were all the other
Australians I might add. Never heard of it! The questions were tough, they
were gruelling, they were curly, but most of all they were entertaining. Our
table thought it was just as much fun trying to work out an answer, hoping
it might be the correct one, as it was in knowing the answers.
During the evening the Yamaha motorbike raffle was drawn. The winning ticket
was one that George McDonald had sold at his workplace to a colleague,
Punnapha Manbumphen from Rayong. The raffle raised 72,160 baht, a truly
enormous effort, and our many thanks Roseanne for ‘cracking that whip’ so
well on ticket sales.
The Quiz Night itself raised 69,621 baht on the evening. A great success in
any one’s estimation. The winning table was formed from the Regents school
teachers (unfair advantage I say!, ha ha), at Table #7, “Good for Nothings”.
Hmmmm, I think not! Obviously their superior general knowledge skills paid
off for them.
Second was table #8 “AM-U-KA (comprising, as the name eludes too American,
British and Australian players); Third was table #9 “Lucky 9ers” and Fourth,
table #3 “Pink Ladies”. A big round of applause for your adept answers and
your expertise in so many varied and staggering fields. Bravo!
It is so wonderful to enjoy a PILC function and a night out with the men
there too. And many a man was heard to enthuse about what a great time they
were having and there should be more opportunities like this evening. A very
big thank you to Michael Wilkinson, the general manager of AGS Four Winds
International Movers for the generous sponsorship they give this event every
year. Not only that, but Michael also booked a table, ‘Team 6 winds’ and
participates himself. Our sincere thanks once again Michael. A gigantic
thank you to Cindy and the welfare team for all their work! Many thanks to
Gillian for doing such an admirable job MC-ing; you are a brave woman! A big
thank you to Sr Joan and her staff, in fact, a huge thank you to all
involved in this fantastic evening. Can’t wait until the next quiz night,
and I know I’m not the only one.
PCEC members learn
about local US VFW
John Lynham
Settlers injured in the Pequot War of 1637 were the first Americans to receive
compensation after battle. Scandalously, benefits were consistently denied to
American Civil War Confederate survivors until 1958. “Given time, the United
States can be merciful,” quipped Al Serrato who, as senior vice-commander of the
Pattaya branch of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), was the speaker at the Sunday
June 24 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club at Henry J Bean’s.
 Al
Serrato talks with the Pattaya City Expats Club about the Pattaya branch of
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Al, a PCEC member, presented a review of American conflicts throughout history
in which government assistance to veterans has usually been too little, too
late. A fierce patriot, proud of the Maltese Cross-based emblem of the VFW
representing the ideals of courage, freedom, compassion, Al attacked the Bush
administration for failing to honour its commitments.
“Men and women come back with broken bodies and broken hearts,” he said - only
to find that the latest budget slashes health benefits for veterans and imposes
a $250 charge for government medical services. “These people have made extreme
sacrifices for their country,” he said. “It’s time their country honoured them
in return.”
The Pattaya branch of the VFW, numbering 170, is the fifth-largest in the world
and, besides offering medical advice and help with making claims, is active in
such local charity initiatives as the used reading-glasses scheme. For further
information, email Al at [email protected]
Gary Brown, our relaxed and welcoming MC, reminded members to sign up for a
repeat of the highly successful visit to the UBC/TRUE VISION studios in Bangkok.
Cliff Hagerman announced the next members’ dinner on Thursday July 5 at White
Knights restaurant in Soi VC.
A new addition to the Club’s interest groups is the ‘How Do They Do It?’ group,
which had its first outing straight after the meeting. A luxury coach took
around 30 members to the Suphattraland fruit farm in Rayong, where a dinky
little tram ferried us round orchards growing dragon fruit, rambutan, durian,
mangosteen and other exotic delights, stopping to allow us to gorge ourselves on
samples of the produce. The visit ended with a fragrant but non-spicy som tam.
The group hopes to view other production processes in the future.
The meeting rounded off as usual with the Open Forum, where members share their
experiences of expat living in Thailand and ask other members for information,
hosted by Bob L’Etoile. He reported on the Hua Hin trip and how Gary Hacker,
ex-US Coastguard pilot, talked his way into a tiny 4-seater fibreglass plane
about to make a test flight and had himself a co-pilot’s aerial view of the
city. Other members had a high time of it in more down-to-earth ways.
For more information see the Community Happenings section of Pattaya Mail, or
visit the Club’s website at www. pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
Sikh community donates goods to AIDS sufferers
The Thai-Sikh community in
Pattaya, led by the community’s leader, Amrik Singh Kalra, donated essential
goods worth 30,000 baht to the Camillian Social Center of Rayong.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The Thai-Sikh community in Pattaya has donated essential goods worth
30,000 baht to AIDS sufferers, the donation being made to the Camillian
Social Center of Rayong on June 14 by the community’s leader, Amrik Singh
Kalra.
Items including bedding, medical gloves and chemical disinfectants were
presented to Yingbun Ramasut, head of administration at Camillian, which is
part of the St Camillus Foundation of Thailand.
The Camillian Social Center opened in Rayong in January 1996, and in
addition to taking care of adult sufferers gives treatment to orphaned
children with AIDS, and works with government departments and private
organizations to educate people on HIV and AIDS prevention and treatments.
Donations may be made at Ayudhaya Bank, Maptaput Branch, account number
229-1-29336-3 (AYDTHBK) and Krung Thai Bank, Maptaput Branch, account number
234-1-40727-7.
Obituary
Carl Engel
1936 - 2007
Carl Engle, Past President of Pattaya Sports Club for 3
consecutive years, MD of PESCO and owner of the Grapevine restaurant and
bar, passed away Sunday, June 24 after a battle with cancer.
Carl was born in Abilene, Texas USA February 14, 1936. He entered the
petro-chemical industry at an early age, and his employment took him to such
interesting places as Iran, UAE, Japan, Argentina, and finally to Thailand
in 1985 when he began working with Gas Plant Number 1 in Maptaput. He
settled in Pattaya and lived here ever since.
 Carl
was truly a self-made man, even once having shaken hands with Emperor
Hirohito in Japan. He progressed from pumping gas to working as plant
operator for the large El Paso Company in Texas. During this time, he
married and began a family, being blessed with two sons. Carl later went to
work as a contractor, training people to be plant operators.
Once settled in Pattaya, Carl formed PESCO, an international company
involved in personnel placement; married Som (who sadly passed away some
years ago) and was further blessed with one daughter and another son. He was
a dedicated father.
 Along
with his presidency of the Pattaya Sports Club, Carl was also chairman of
the PSC Fishing section for many years. His fishing expeditions were
legendary and were a big part of many people’s lives. Through the Pattaya
Sports Club, Carl maintained a full commitment to the more needy in the
community.
On Saturday, June 30, a large turnout of family members and friends from all
walks of life attended religious ceremonies followed by Carl’s cremation at
Wat Pothisamphan on Naklua Road.
We bid a fond farewell to Carl Engel, a man who, in his lifetime had done so
much for humanity in promoting not only sports in Pattaya and on the eastern
seaboard, but also for his compassion, dedication, leadership, commitment
and untiring service to alleviate the sufferings of the underprivileged
people in the world.
Your goodness is your everlasting symbol of honour. You will live in our
memories for all eternity.
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