HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Charity Club of Pattaya’s receives its first Platinum Sponsor

Jammin for charity

PCEC communicates with the dead

Jumbo larb a hit at Nong Nooch

Father Ray’s Day to be held on August 16

Pagoda guests take a charitable trip down memory lane

Charity Club of Pattaya’s receives its first Platinum Sponsor

Malcolm Boden from the Charity Club of Pattaya arrived in Ban Chang to meet with John Richardson who has become the Charity Club of Pattaya’s first Platinum Sponsor for the annual Charity Gala Dinner which will be held on Saturday January 24 at the Marriott Resort & Spa Pattaya.

Malcolm Boden receiving the donation from John Richardson, director of U.T.S. Ban Chang at his newly opened Classic Car Museum in front of a 1967 MGB Roadster.

John is director of U.T.S. in Ban Chang and has been a sponsor every year since the formation of the club, which is now in its 5th year.
John has recently opened his Classic Car museum in Ban Chang which houses a Classic 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe. This car won Best Classic American Show here in Thailand in 2006. On that occasion John donated 100,000 baht to the club to help towards the fund raising for a 2 year old girl who fell into a fire and now needs several operations to treat the burns.

Jammin for charity

Friends of Robin Hood Bar in Jomtien complex collect funds
to support the Mercy Centre Orphanage in North Pattaya.

On Friday 1st August the Robin Hood Bar in Jomtien complex held their weekly Jammin Session to help raise funds for the Mercy Centre Orphanage based in North Pattaya.
Every week the Robin Hood Bar donates 10% of their Friday evening’s first floor turnover to support this charity who in turn with help from the local authorities allow farang musicians to perform free of charge, entertaining customers who also give generously to this great cause.
Students from the Mermaids Dive Centre, the largest Dive Centre here in Pattaya attended in great force. Mermaids student Cameron Alderton donated 24,000 baht to the bar’s charity fund which was raised by way of sponsorship for Cameron taking part in the 10km race within the Pattaya Marathon.
The Robin Hood owners would like to thank Cameron and his colleges for their generosity and also thank Mermaid Dive Centre for their continued support in helping to raise funds for this worthwhile charity.
More support is always welcome, so if you wish to help by playing, singing or just listening to some of Pattaya’s finest musicians playing all types of music, Join Mermaids at the Robin Hood Bar every Friday evening from 7pm to late.

PCEC communicates with the dead

The regular meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club on Sunday, August 3 got underway at the Amari’s Henry J. Beans Restaurant with MC Richard Silverberg making the usual announcements.
He then introduced the speaker for the morning’s program. Whether you believe in the paranormal or are a skeptic, you would still have been entertained, if not impressed, by Peter Close, formerly of the UK and now a fellow expat living in Thailand. Peter is an internationally known medium whose work has taken him on travels through four continents with appearances on radio and TV shows in the UK and USA.

English medium Peter Close entertains PCEC members by calling on the spirits.
Peter told everyone that he does, in fact, communicate with the dead. He started his presentation by giving a brief history of his experiences and his own, at first skepticism. Peter noted he was born and spent his youth in Yorkshire, England, later arriving in London where he served on the Metropolitan Police Force. Many years after joining the Force, Peter said he reached a crucial time in his life when he came near to a breakdown and found it hard to concentrate on his work. It was during this period; he met and befriended three people at a bar. They met frequently and on one rainy night they shared a taxi, which they directed to building with the sign out front of ‘Spiritualist Association of Great Britain.’
A skeptic himself, he was reluctant to enter, but with no other taxi in sight, he joined them inside. It was here that Peter, for the first time, saw a Medium at work. He said he was approached by the Medium who began to describe his paternal grandfather and then proceeded to graphically describe a motorcycle accident that he had been involved in some years previously. He often wonders who his three friends really were that introduced him to the spirit world as he never saw them again after that night.
Peter said this experience started him to investigating the world of mediums, primarily by going to watch them at work. It was at another event that he became fully convinced that people could communicate with the spirits of the departed. This was when a lady medium described events in the life of someone she claimed was a relative of his and drew this relative’s picture. Peter was not familiar with the person drawn and described. He sent the drawing to his mother and she confirmed that the drawing matched a photograph of his grandfather.

Pravit, manager of the Bangkok Bank on Second Road, advises PCEC members of new accounts, with a 3.8% interest rate.
Further, the events in his grandfather’s life the medium described were accurate. He said at this point, he was more convinced than ever and began to further delve into the world of spirits and mediums. As time went by, one of his medium friends told him he also had the gift and suggested he develop his abilities. Upon checking with his mother, she confirmed that he indeed had shown such abilities as a child; but, his mother, who was very religiously minded, said at the time she thought he was possessed by the ‘Devil.’ Further, she had dissuaded him from continuing to relate advice to the family he was getting from nightly visits by his grandmother that had died before he was born. To her satisfaction these episodes apparently disappeared.
After learning that he apparently did possess such a gift, he started taking classes to enhance his own ability to bring forth and commune with spirits. He progressed and now gives demonstrations through appearances, mostly in America, where he tours twice a year. At this point in the meeting, Peter said he thought it was time for a demonstration. He separately called upon two of the audience and, in each case, related information that he was receiving from spirits of their father and mother, respectively. Both confirmed that these individuals were deceased. Further, they generally agreed with the information Peter said he was receiving from their spirits. There was obviously a keen interest in the spirit world based on the many questions for Peter from the audience.
MC Richard Silverberg then introduced Khun Privat, vice president and manager of the 2nd Road Branch of Bangkok Bank. Privat said that Bangkok Bank has recently set up procedures whereby Americans could arrange for direct deposit of their social security funds to their Bangkok Bank account in Thailand. Whereas previous arrangements cost a US$30 fee, the current procedure uses their New York Branch, which is part of the US Automated Clearing House system. This new service costs 150 baht. He also said it was possible for those that receive a paper social security check to deposit it to their account for a similar fee. He also related some other banking information of interest and answered several questions from the audience about banking in Thailand.
MC Richard then brought us up to date on upcoming events. This was followed by the usual humorous and interesting Open Forum session conducted by Bob L’Etoile, ably assisted by Sig Sigworth.

Jumbo larb a hit at Nong Nooch

All the winners in the North-Northeast Larb Cooking Competition
at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden.

Patcharapol Panrak
The Tourism Authority of Thailand worked together with Sattahip District and Nong Nooch Tropical Garden on July 27 to organize the North-Northeast Larb Cooking Competition.

Mayor Itthipol Khunplome tastes the larb and agrees it tastes great.
The event, which attracted crowds of visitors, also included two female baby elephants named Morakot and Christmas, who tried their own hand (or trunk) at cooking, to great applause.
Nong Nooch director Kampol Tansajja and assistant general manager Manit Narinrak organized the competition, which was jointly opened by Sattahip District chief Narong Chantarangkul, Mayor Itthipol Khunplome, and TAT director for Pattaya Chaiwat Charoensook.
Morakot and Christmas started the contest by preparing their own larb, which visitors were then invited to taste. Everyone agreed it tasted delicious!
Designed to promote Northern and Northeastern Thai culture in Pattaya, as well as to give the city’s many Issan natives a nostalgic treat, the competition was held in the Butterfly Garden at Nong Nooch.
Narong said that the event was a good boost for tourism and for Nong Nooch during this traditional low tourism season.
First prize of 10,000 baht in cash went to the Sam Sao Dao Kra Chai Team, which cooked North Thai Larb. The Chang Noi Team, which cooked Northeastern Thai Larb was the first runner up, and was presented with 7,000 baht in cash along with the Mae Ban Phan Thong Team, which cooked Northern Larb, and the Mae Ban Nong Hian 2 Team, which cooked Northeastern Larb.
The last title went to the second runner up, which was the Police Housewives Phan Thong Team, which cooked Northern Larb, and the Larb Nakorn Phanom Team, which cooked Northeastern Larb. Both teams were presented with 5,000 baht in cash and a trophy.
Morakot and Christmas didn’t win any cash prize, but they were happy to be the stars of the show.

Morakot and Christmas tried their own hand (or trunk)
at cooking, to great applause.

Father Ray’s Day to be held on August 16

Vimolrat Singnikorn
Father Ray’s Day will be celebrated on Saturday, August 16, in memory of Father Ray Brennan, who passed away five years ago but whose work lives on in so many ways in Pattaya.
The event is being organized by the Father Ray Foundation at the Redemptorist Vocational School for the Disabled and the Pattaya Orphanage, and will start at 9 a.m.
A wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the Father Ray Museum, and a procession will then make its way to St Nikolas Church at 3:30 p.m. for the placing of flowers.
There will be a Father Ray exhibition to show Father Ray’s office and his belongings, and refreshments will be available for visitors.
Father Ray was an American Redemptorist priest who established the Orphanage Foundation in the early 1970s, after a baby was left in his care. In the early 1980s a young deaf boy was left at the Orphanage, and Father Ray was unable to find a local school for him. This led to the opening of the Sotpattana Kindergarten School for the Deaf in 1983.
The Redemptorist Vocational School for the Disabled was founded in 1984 with just four students. The School for the Blind was founded in 1986 after a young blind child was left at the Orphanage, there being no school locally specializing in teaching the blind.
Pattaya has grown quickly, and the numbers of stray children have increased. In 1990, building work for the Redemptorist Center Children’s Home started, providing homeless children with a refuge far away from the dangers that face them on the streets.
Raymond Allen Brennan was born on December 7, 1932, in Chicago. He came to Thailand in 1961 as a volunteer to assist impoverished and disabled people, and from that day until his last day, August 16, 2003 he devoted himself to assisting Thai society.

Pagoda guests take a charitable trip down memory lane

The Pagoda Restaurant in Jomtien Complex held its first musical charity night on Monday 4th August. The evening was organized by Helmut Zimmermann, director of Pagoda Restaurant and Ben Hansen, a well-known pianist in Pattaya. Due to their combined efforts there was not a spare seat available in the house.

The artists and organizers gather at the end of a great musical evening at the Pagoda Restaurant.

Guests were treated to a glass of the house cocktail, followed by a wonderful six-course meal in a very elegant setting. With two breaks between courses, they were able to enjoy those favourite songs which quite often bring back special memories such as ‘As Time Goes By’, ‘Lil Marlene’, ‘Blue Moon’ and many more, performed by Jimmy London, Monika Petra, Gadnipa and Barry Pethig, a real treat for a Monday evening.
For every ticket sold, Helmut Zimmermann donated 500 baht to the Mercy Center for its ongoing projects in Pattaya. Jack Monshouwer, President CEO of Hanky Panky Toys Thailand Ltd made a special donation of twenty gift box magic sets for the children in the Mercy Center shelter. All in all, a great night.

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