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It's 2026. Honest! Snaps here, bringing the local Isaan news. Quite a lot has happened in the last week. A wedding for starters. Mrs Snap's sister's husband's daughter. i didn't go. Mildred took a couple of pics. Bride in the middle Wedding feast. Mildred met up with some friends at WaterWorld. Again; pics by Mildred. Mildred said the big slide was very quiet. It wasn't a warm day. Being in the water was OK. But once out it was cold. So a lot of paddling and wading. Food probably more of an attraction than the water. Some beautiful fish in there. Used to be a fishing resort. Fish for koi carp??? Get out pf here! Everything at the farm is OK. Took the little dogs there one day. Following me about, as I walk round feeding the fish. Tit Tin and Robert tuck into the duck's grub. Tin Tin stays at whatever farm has food on offer. Ducks are probably fully grown now. I must say; they are fantastic. They could go anywhere. Fly off to another area. Or even another Province. But they stay put. So must be happy. Or they can't fly! Next door to our fam #2 is the Buddha rubber plantation. Street light maintenance out during the holidays. Market in Ban Dung over the holiday. Plenty of clothes on offer. Hey ladies; cheaper behind you. Mildred eying up the bargains. Didn't bring me back much; but they still managed to spend a couple. The local ATM is suffering from the 2022 roadworks. This is the one that swallowed my card last year. View towards Ban Dung. View west away from Ban Dung. Most days I go down the soi and pick up any trash. Very clean. The envy of the rest of the village. Baccy production is getting underway. First thing after cutting; put out the leaves to dry in the sun for a day or so. Building the curing sheds. That's two sheds on the go. Curing underway. New shed ready and waiting for leaves. +++++ Footy over the holiday as usual. Gunners stay top after smashing the EPL form team 4-1. Wolves grab their first point for 6 weeks at Old Trafford. Pool draw at home. In Thursday's matches all four games were draws. Only two goals scored. Topsy turvy in the Championship. Tractors go second. Steelmen (Motherwell) do Jam Tarts (Hearts) a huge favour beating Celts (Celtic) and putting the leaders back in control; north of the border. My pick in the darts, Gian van Veen, meets up with the world number one, and hot favourite, Luke Littler, in today's final at London's Ally Pally. A million squids for the winner. England beat Oz in just two days in the cricket, to win the series. +++++ The Mrs daughter, Nan, has been brought back from Khon Kaen. They are in Ban Dung right now getting some paperwork together for Nan to go to some beauty school in Udon tomorrow. Although, I'm staying well clear, it is costing me an arm and a leg. 1000 for this, 1000 for that. Dear me. Nothing heard from Black Jack's garage. No rush. The door can wait. Car drives vert well; I'm informed. Solar lights arrived today for the front of the house. Me and Mildred will take the old down, and put them up tomorrow. Little dogs are at that 'ripping apart' stage. Can't put anything low if yer want it to survive. The worst nut cut on record between the hols. Had the nuts in the Mazza until yesterday. 245kg at 5.80 a kg. Noisy, noisy noisy! A couple of parties and the fireworks!!! Glad it's all done and dusted for another 12 months. Mildred back to school Monday. She did well in her subject exams and art. First overall in her year. Second for the whole school in the art. Gradually getting better at darts, after a 10year break. Had some games with Mildred last week. Had to go round the numbers. Daughter had to hit the number. I had to hit the double, Last match, I was on the last but one number, when she finished up with a 25 and bull in just two darts. Just lucky! Great fun. That's it folks. Have as great 2026 if yer can. Take care out there. +++++ Mildred's latest. Took me a while to suss it out. Devil on the left shoulder, Angel on his right. Young life dilemma in a painting?. www.mildredart.com

It's December already. Time goes so fast nowadays. Snaps here, trying to make sense of a Topsy Turvey world. 180! Yes, the dart board is nearly finished. Started painting it up earlier. Both of us were painting. Took it in turns to do a few segments. Will finish it all off for Wednesday. And it's just at the right time cause the World Darts Championships get underway this week. Dogs and cats everywhere right now. Have to be careful when yer walk about. Trip yer up they will. Little chickens sent in by mum to eat the dog food. I just love it. Mrs Snaps chases them out. Across the soi, at Bella's house, they are getting the chickens ready for a gala. Best of grub. Just the right exercise. Discuss fighting tactics. The lady next door to us has let out her house. We know the people. They had a little celebration. Noise was horrendous. I went outside and asked them to make the music a little quieter. All fell on deaf ears. Although mine have not yet recovered. Went out and took the pics as they were packing away. The road is coming along. Found out a few stats. Cost, wait for it, 450 million Baht. Road team of 65, 17 vehicles; not counting trucks carrying soil, that get paid on a daily rate. These are local lorries. The section they are doing now is 11 km long. Finishing date 2027. There was a notice on the village notice board about the road for a few days. Found out too late. Not there now. Gone when I went to take a butchers. There is a small village, where they all rest up,.6km to the west along the 2022. Looking east towards the new flyover. Filling up the trucks for land fill. Me pineapples outside the house gate. A bit slow; but coming along. The section of water drains out of the village has been nicely capped off. The lady doing food in the mornings is very popular. She probably gets well over 10 customers every day. Meat on a stick. cooked over charcoal. Mildred has them a couple of mornings a week. Plenty of dogs hanging about expectantly. Very nice food farang. You gonna get some? Nice with a cup of rosy. A challenge last week. Kun cut through the toilet water pipe when cutting the grass at Mrs Snap's mums. Unfortunately it was right on a joint that was cemented in. A new section of pipe work was in order. Plus two new valves. Fixed it up with some decent rope. Finished the job. Mrs Snaps was thrilled. Time to vote soon. Guess it's the same all over. Local officers. +++++ That EPL is crazy. Forest go to Anfield, whack the champs 0-3, and then decide they can't win any more. Two form teams went head to head yesterday; 2-1 to Villa. Big one today, north of the border. If Jam Tarts can't get at least a draw, their title aspersions are ended. +++++ Mrs Snap's car is in the garage in Ban Dung. Took it in Friday. She was moaning about it not being right. I took it for a decent drive and the only thing I could find wrong was the driver door window wouldn't open. Have to pick it up Tuesday. I'm dreading the bill. Picked up a lovely unwanted kitten a couple of days ago. Only a couple of weeks old. Mildred has named him Carfix. Gets nagged big time by the two puppies. Mildred says they just want to play. We will see if it hangs around. Weather at the mo is just perfect. A bit chilly at night. Fresh in the mornings and warm after 10ish. Everything at the farm is OK. Fed the ducks this evening. Doing great. we had ducklings some years ago. Mildred would play with then when they were little. Then, one day we went to the farm; not there. Never saw them again. Mildred was big upset for ages. Me too. Mildred had another art project at school. The poster was 1.2metres x 1 metre. Three students were in the team. Spent hours on it last week end. Two came over and they spent all day designing and painting. Took it to school last Wednesday. She tells me it's not yet finished. That's it folks. More next week. Take care out there.

Hi folks. It's Sunday evening - 22nd of June 2025. Just heard that 'Voice of America' is to be dismantled. There is one such broadcasting station, covering 2.300 rai, quite close to us. I'll keep an ear to the ground, and an eye on things. There was so much water in the paddy that it was not possible to sow seed or hand plant the rice. The water had to be dropped. A new underground pipe would do the trick. There is one, but It got damaged during the euca cutting last year. Had a look. The bamboo rod only went 1/3 of the way across. And at the other end, the paddy end, just a couple of metres. We dug down and found the pipe. Decided that it was not worth repairing. A new one. 10 x 1 metre sections would sort it. Filled in the old excavation and began the new one next day TBH, I didn't do much graft. Sorry guys, have to go. Keep up the good work. All done. Tintin, the dog, likes it. Water level dropped alright. But the pipe wasn't deep enough. Still was plenty of water in the paddy. Too much. My idea was to drop the pipe lower. I don't think Kun and Rooney were too delighted with that idea. We will sort it out tomorrow (Monday). At the other end of the paddy, the pond end, water was pouring into the paddy from the ponds. The 4 inch overflow was out into the pond about 2 metres. So I had to go swimming and cap it off. Robert ready to jump in if I needed saving. The new kittens are now perfectly at home. Lovely little creatures they are too. Number one lesson for the new kitties. If you don't want a whack; keep off Mrs Snap's car. I'll leave it to Mildred to explain to them. They are named 'Seveen' and 'Lucky'. We had some more work done in the garden of the new house. General clearing, but some serious cutting. ''That is good better.'' Said the Mrs. There is still a lot of clearing to do at the back. Wait for the dry season to finish. The buffs are coming. The one on the left has ginormous weapons. Wouldn't want the Mazza scratched. Better move. Too late. Always doing road repairs around the farm. The water in the paddy has virtually gone for now. As soon as the ducks see me they come over. There was me just taking a couple of pics and they knew; grubs up. Water levels are great. There is a ditch along the road at the Buddha end. Bamboos will stop anything! The mozzie guys came round yesterday. +++++ Can't be bothered with even looking at the footy results. Can't name one of the present England Cricket Team. Perhaps Mr Root. There was a time when I knew most players from the top teams in the world, not just England. Have I lost interest in sport? +++++ Virtually every day there is some rain. Some days not much. But after a big one, I have to open the ceiling in my bedroom and bring down the big bowl. Mildred has the window open ready, and it's one smooth movement from roof space to the yard outside. Usually about 5 litres. +++++ It's warming up in the Middle East. Before the US planes had got back to base The Don said he wanted peace. What a president?! Still waiting for that fuel price to shoot up. The UK is gonna get its 'Grooming Gangs' whatever, after all. All it really takes is the peelers to do their jobs proper. These pics are rubbish. Because the camera screen is damaged I can't get to the settings. Don't want to get anew one. Might go back to me phone for a while and see if they are better. I must say that Mildred's Apple takes pics that put mine to shame. Maybe its simply the photographer! Had a couple of swab kits arrive today. The village boss wife brought them round. a pre-runner for the Gardasil jab I reckon. I told Mrs Snaps to bin them immediately. Gonna make a reishi brew this week. I definitely need picking up. Slipped over again yesterday while I was snapping the mozzie lads. Fell in the mud outside. Fortunately the camera was undamaged. Bathroom yoga still proving its worth. It's hard. But worth it. Better than going to a gym. Didn't do the Thai lottery last time. Bit of a shame that, as I would definitely have won 6 million. But, what would I have done with the dosh? Just put it in trust for Mildred. After giving Mrs Snaps her 3 million of course. And speaking of Mildred. She has just finished a new painting. I'll put it at the end. Squeamish people don't dare look. Only one thing left to say; take care y'all. Called it 'Feast'. www.mildredart.com

A bit late posting. Like to post on a Sunday. But better late,,,,. It's Tuesday 17th June 2025 Yesterday, in the UK, was the most eagerly awaited day of the year for the fishermen. Anglers as we are known. Perhaps only 'Primrose day' could match it for excitement. When we were younger, 12 o'clock midnight on the 16th meant that we could cast a line into our favourite pond. Those were the days. Here in Thailand there are no such restrictions, so the big anticipation, for me at least, is looking forward to a nice cup of Rosy. If the spat in the Middle East gets serious, and Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, my nuts will be worth a fortune. But no cutting for another couple of weeks. We wait with interest. I'm keeping an eye on the fuel prices. The ducks are becoming brave. A week ago they were walking between ponds 3 and 4. With all the rain recently, the rice paddy with ponds 1 and 2 are the same level. It was a bit of a surprise to see them in the rice field two days ago. Looks like one big lake. Here they come. Feed them dog biscuit and fish pellet. they are growing into the most beautiful ducks. The wife's new house is finished for now. At the front, 9 glass windows had to be fixed up. Not all broken. They had just fell out over the years. A lick of paint in the dry season will be in order. Also put a new lock on the front door. Slight problem. The lock wouldn't adjust down to a narrow enough size. Was meant for a wider door. Soon had it sorted. A couple of screws made it secure. Looks the bizzo. Very professional job. Oh dear! Every three months I take pics for the record. Started in September 2020. Lost a few when the computer had an accident. So this week, Look North. Look North East Look East. Don't know what the sign says. The Mrs put up three. Something to do with telling bar-girls to keep out. Here is another. At the corner of number 4 farm. The water in number 5 was quite high. Pond next door, number 4, was lower. A little bit of pipework was in order. Rather than dig right across we only went half way to the drainage well. Length of 3inch pipe did the trick. Cover up. All done. About an hour's work. The grand new building next to Tescos is still not finished. Mrs Snaps says it's gonna be a hotel. No real clues yet. Bump up the curb to get in. Another well loaded vehicle. Seen lots recently. The huge compound is virtually fenced in now. Barbed wire and all. Gates soon. Well over 100 posts, Mrs Snaps says monks are gonna live there. Tanks in place up the water tower. Mimi and Chompy looking after me pineapple when I go out. The cross-road girl gang posing for a pic. +++++ That World Club Championship is a joke. No goals in the first two matches then 14 in the following two. Well done Northern Ireland for taking the International Darts Trophy. Beat Wales in the final. Great match it was too. Best of 19.Went to 9-9 and NI won the decider. The darting Lukes; Littler and Humphries get MBE. So too did David - lost us the - World Cup - Beckham. Will that Northumberland Park noose be taken down now? +++++ A lot of rain since mid May. The ponds don't usually become full until September. But this year, it's the second week in June. However, as wet a period as it has been means nothing. We could easily go a few weeks without the wet stuff. Climate Change is with us. Gonna start the rice this week But before we do, the later level has to go down in the paddy at least a foot. A new pipe across the road is a necessity. Camera ready. Mildred has made me proud. But has gotten herself into her mum's bad books. There were five abandoned cats at her school. Someone put them in a big box, and left them outside the security office. The word went round, and Mildred said she would take two. I went to Ban Dung this afternoon to pick them up. A boy and girl. Absolutely beautiful creatures they are. And friendly too. Mrs Snaps was not a happy bunny. She has calmed down now, but not before giving me a few whacks. Pics next post. The water went off in the village for 24 hours. Came back on yesterday just when we were down to the last stored drop. Water bill last month 205 baht. That could be the highest ever. Didn't think we had used that much more than usual. Bill is usually 140ish baht I reckon someone left a tap running and kept quiet. Who was the culprit? My left eye - the one that collided with the flying pillow - has virtually recovered. Slipped over on the wet floor in MinL's house. Hit my left elbow on the floor. A few days rest and it will be OK. Have ordered 10 white ducks. No sign of them for now. Bathroom yoga is holding up well. Up to 60 seconds for each exercise now. Iran and Israel going at it. Will there be nukes? I'm ready with the well at the farm. 7 metres deep. A tad wet gown there. And I'll need o have a dozen cases of water at the ready. Forget food. Can easily go a week without eating. The Mrs will be moaning though. Hope Mildred can get home from school if it all cuts loose. Half way between us and Ban Dung is the huge Voice of America transmitting station. Rumour has it, that it does a bit of listening also. Was a CIA 'dark' site in the past. That's it folks. Only one thing left to say; take care out there.

Right then. It's time to report on the local events in Isaan. Across the soi. What happened there Guvner? Son Poom, set light to the hut. Lucky I say. The whole building could have been lost. The outside post lights had gone kaput. Got up there an cleared the junk off. Ready for the new uns. And up went two solar lights. Very nice too. Fixed them in place with some sturdy wire. But are they gonna get enough sun to light up after dark? Might have to do some serious twig trimming later. Went to the monthly market with Mildred. Had to buy a couple of things. Milly bought me a new hat. A blue trilby. A bit pricy at 70 Baht. But never mind. Gonna start wearing it soon. The market used to be right in the centre of town. Then it moved to the east, towards the river, and for the last couple of years it's next to the 2096 south of Ban Dung. As usual, work on the 2022 widening, races ahead. At the local ATM, there is a safe place to stop and take a pic or two. Looking towards Ban Bung. And to the west. I'm never slow to catch some pics of the animals. Shots of them enjoying each other's company. And sometimes a couple of funny ones. Next door but one's sisters. Or are they mother and daughter? Nice garden by the new residents. Who hiz dat hin der road? Oscar the poseur. Let me out!. Can't leave the ducks out. Cousins come to town. This is Mrs Snaps' aunt's two girls. That's Minowl and her mum Diss. Not sure about the spellings there. Me and Bye. Oscar!! You think you are the only one who can pose for the camera? Bye is famous. She is on You Tube. Been there for over 8 years. 2 million views, and she didn't know. Mildred and Bye tearing up the soi about 8/9 years ago Every few days I check the 4 solar systems. But our worker, Kun. keeps an eye on things. Underside. All in order. Mildred said it was time to change the pond that got the solar water. Run it into number 4 pond, she said, and set about making sure the channel was clean and clear. The leaning tree. Been thinking it might come down for a few years now. Still leaning. +++++ There is only one team in town! The Silkmen of Macclesfield. Beat the FA Cup holders, Palace, 2-1. and are rewarded with another home draw against London's Bees. And what happened to the team that Palace put to the sword in last season's final; Man City? Well, they just about crawled over the line, in their match, with a 10-1 win. That Luke Littler has certainly helped to put darts on the world map. There is talk of making darts an Olympic sport. But! The numbers on the dart board have to be changed around. I'm all for it. Getting practice in every day. Just imagine it; It's SnapDragon representing Thailand in the Olympic Darts final. Three in a bed; no problem. In Luke's after-match interview, he used the word 'obviously' 50 times. True. Can be checked out below. Man City in the League Cup Final. Chelsea and Arsenal tonight. Anyone care? +++++ Wara's daughter, Nan, has enrolled in the Beauty and Natural Health Academy. It's in Udon, opposite MACRO. Must say, I'd never noticed the place before. Every incentive costs me a few 1000 Baht. Well. that's what money is for. We would only use it for lighting our cigars, or starting the little village fires when it's cold. Sent away for a new cordless drill on Lazada. The DeWalt works fine, but the batteries wouldn't properly charge. Milly said they got wet last year. News to me that! Have to move on with these things. Not dwell too much on who moved them outside. Bloody solar lights. Only just put them up. They don't give out enough light. The Mrs said she is gonna smash them if they don't improve. However, I got out of jail, by explaining that they don't get enough sun at this time of year. "It will all be OK teerak." I will say, it's like a madhouse at times with the cats & dogs. Love it. Gas run out this morning. No dosh til I get to the local 2022 ATM this afternoon. See what's occurring with the road widening when I'm there. Been quite chilly in the mornings of late. It should start to get warmer in a few days. I even put socks on a couple of days ago. Only to be told they were not matching. Coffee and cream I said. Are Bam Bam - GOT7 - and Lisa - Blackpink - an item? Mrs Snaps says it's all over TikTok. Shame on me for not knowing. I try to keep up with world affairs. Missed that one. Exciting news though. She didn't get it. Gold got to its highest ever value yesterday. I use a 2kg block as a bedroom door stop. Thinking of keeping it in a safer place. Pound on the up. Went from 42 flat on Monday, to 42-4 this morning. Word on the street, is that The Don has his beady eye on Scotland. "Great country. Great people. Great food. Great golf." Mrs Snaps still waiting for Black Jack to take delivery of the damaged Ford door. Taking me Vit C every day, and keeping up with me bathroom Yoga. Keeping me in tip top condition. It's a dilemma! What trilby to put on me head when I venture out. I've got red, pink and now blue to choose from. Mildred says to colour coordinate with the other clothes I'm wearing. I just grab the one nearest to me. A contrast in generations there? That's about it folks. Take care out there.

Hi folks. Everything on the platform seems to have been sorted. As I was saying; the dart board is finished and mounted. Put a couple of water bottles on the stand base to stabilise it all. Measured the oche. Wouldn't want to be getting big scores and then find out we are too close; and set them nullified. Then time to throw a dart or two. And there we have it. Mildred got three in the 25. Hope for her yet. I asked her. What would you rather be know as; a great artist, a great chess player, a great darter? Made a batch of reishi wine a couple of days ago. Didn't put too much other stuff in; this time. Just 3 peeled limes, along with the reish strips. All told made 4 litres. That will do me far about 8 days. We went to the farm, and Mildred grabbed the camera and took a pic. I didn't even see anything. But after downloading the pics later; there it was. A beautiful green bird. Mildred says she has only started seeing them since the leccy was put in last month. Baccy production has started up. First curing sheds were constructed a few days ago. The lady next to us has started clearing up. This is the wife's cousin; Tier. Married to an American guy. He don't come to the village much. Once there were 5 of us farangs in the village. Now just me. This one just of the main road in Ban Dung. Although a bit sad, these houses must have a pic taken. Hidden secrets. I think they all have a story to tell. And not always nice tales either. Interesting to see how concrete and mortar have wiped out wood in recent years. Moved the water pipe from number 7 to number 5 pond. I don't think we will have any water problems this dry season. Plenty of water in the ponds, and evaporating rate is about one cm a day. Should be fine. Who is that sunning himself? Been some stonking skies recently. This one Saturday; early afternoon. Looking south. New little cat gradually finding his place in the menagerie. Well, more like a animal hostel. He knows already what cats and dogs to stay away from. And what ones to take liberties with. He is tiny. The puppies are trouble. Want to rip just about everything to shreds. But at least they don't get in the roof space, and knock down the ceiling tiles. Good they all get on well together. Some of the time! +++++ The F1 champ is crowned. Well done Lando. Well done the McLaren car. Well done the Mercedes engine. +++++ Game on at the Ally Pally, with virtually all the big guns comfortably through so far. I watch every session. +++++ Pick of the week end results; Man U 4 - Cherries 4. This Forest team have me scratching me head. Go to Anfield. Smash the Toon 0-3. Then lose to Seagulls at home next match 0-2. Go to Wolves and win 0-1. Visit Toffeez new ground and get done 3-0. Relegation form? And then what? On Sunday, they easily put Spurs to the sword 3-0 at home. No wonder Forest fans are frustrated. Going nuts even. +++++ Oh dear! The step-daughter has arrived in the village. The Mrs wants her to go be a resident at a special Buddha hangout for six months. ''Make her getting better''. Says her mum. The place is near Khon Kaen. They plan to go tomorrow. I'm keeping well out of it. TBH, the poor girl is a mess emotionally. Has three kids, and don't see any of them. No one trusts her. Let's hope the Buddha place can bring her round. +++++ Waraporn's car went into the garage. Came out with nothing more that the door window fixed, and cost me 2.800 Baht. +++++ Lovely weather at the mo. Just a hint of chilly at night and in the mornings, then beautifully warm until evening. +++++ Leccy went off for three hours on Friday afternoon. I'm sure it has to do with road works on the 2022. I think they get it shut off when they are uprooting the big trees. Just in case of a mishap. +++++ That's it for now folks. Take care out there. Don't let the peelaws get you. +++++++ Mildred painted a couple of ceramics earlier in the month. The round one is just 7 cm in Dia at widest. A change in art direction? I like it. Done in oils. www.mildredart.com

It's Friday Morning: 07-11-2025 What a catastrophe? Started well out enough, but went to pot. The whole sorry saga, from start, to where it is now, is detailed below. Warning! Any darters out there; have a box of tissues at hand. Bought some PVC fittings for the frame. Put them together, and all was good to proceed. The frame was just under a square metre. Then the dart board arrived. With two sets of darts. Straight from Wuhan. Didn't know if played darts in China. But they certainly knew how to make bargain priced dart-boards. On the flip side. A game for beginners. Me and Mildred bought a nice mounting board from Ban Dung. Cut the board to size and mounted it on the frame. Fixed on a bit of reinforcement with a stick of bamboo. Next step. Attach the dart-board onto the frame. Keeping in mind the regulation height. 5 feet, 8 and a quarter inches to the exact centre of the bull. The middle section was moving. And we started playing. I got a nine darter and a big fish almost straight away. Mildred had a bit of trouble getting three actually in the board. Early days for her though. She had to find the best way to hold the darts. And the stance; most important. I was showing her the throwing action. Individual, but consistent, style is crucial. What lets most darters down. Bad action. But then! The centre section fell away. Not to worry. I had a really good idea. Fit the centre section back and soak the lot in a bowl. The thinking being it would all expand and tighten up. Left it in the water over night. Next morning! Lifter it out. And!!?? That was that. The centre section was still OK though. I'll get something fixed up. Have a really good idea. Watch this space folks.

Snaps here. It's Monday 29-09-2025 Well it was like this. Everything was going fine until I stopped to take an up-close pic of the damaged palm tree. I was on me Jack Jones. Got back in the pick-up to go home to the village,,, and!!!! Yup! Stuck in the mud. My own fault. Should have stopped further along in the higher area. Cost me 200 baht for the tractor to get me out. We were going along to Ban Dung two days later. So the following day Mildred said to wash the mud off the pick-up. I explained to her that pick-ups were working units, and didn't like to be washed. She didn't take any notice of me though. Gave the animals a stroke first. Out came the hose While she was messing about with the water, I went off and did some snapping. Chickens at the side of the house. Absolutely fearsome!! The X-road gang. Don't very often see the twins wearing different clothes. The fighting chickens out of their cages for a while. Ban Dung. The hotel is nearly ready for customers. That's interesting. Is that a grape farm? I'll have a good look next time I'm over that way. The big parent meeting at Mildred's school, last month, was really a cap-in-hand fundraiser. We donated naturally. As yer do. But I didn't know what for, until a few days ago, when Mildred showed me some pics she had taken. I think it's an open air, but undercover, assembly hall. A bit of internal sorting out; and it will be good to go. The ducks know the sound of the pick-up. First stop is usually number one pond. And over they come. They have found out that running is quicker than swimming. They are doing great. There are 4 now. I've named one 'Loner', and Mildred has called one 'Orange'. Because it has orange feet. Was waiting at the corner shop for Mrs Snaps while she got a few bits and bobs. I was just looking about observing the nature, when I noticed that the very slim bamboo across the road was shimmering every few seconds. It did carry a leccy cable, and was no thicker than me finger at the top. It was birds. Very flimsy. Typical Thailand. A couple of pics of the animals. The bigger cat is Little Jack Wagger. We call him Little Jack, or Wagger, Oscar is either fully on his front or laying on his back. Strange dog. So gentle. A gentle giant. And here's Wagger. Helps me with the Thai Lottery, and win the TT quizzes. Took a load of pics at the farm in the last in the last few days. I do like papayas. Should be ready next month. Number 6 pond. Full of lilies. Looking West towards the farm house. Views from the road end of number one pond. Looking South East from the farm house, +++++ Pool drop their first points pf the season at Palace. Last gasp winner for Gunners. Seagulls go to West London and rob The Blues 1-3. Thoroughly deserved too. Six of the 12 Championship matches end in 1-1 draws. Can't recall that before. I go onto the BBC www, and half the footy results are from the women's games. I don't like it at all. I've nothing against the ladies, but, they do have their own section. What is the BBC up to? Steve Bunting wins the Swiss Trophy darts week end gone. Beating Luke Woodhouse 8-3. +++++ Read the world news, and it's drones this, and drones that. Seems like it's a 'drone world'. +++++ Get into gold. Can't go wrong. Latest check 60,400 Baht for fine. 58k Baht for 23k (96.5). +++++ Last day for Mildred tomorrow. Then she's off school until the 20th Oct. That's great. we will have a few games of chess. and I'm gonna put up a dart board. Just to see if there is any hidden talent there. For her; not me. +++++ Leccy went off yesterday afternoon for an hour. Then the www went down for the rest of the evening. All OK today. I'm on WiFi. The Mrs uses the special phone number that is in the True contract. +++++ I'm rotating my breakfast meal. I like to eat protein first thing. It's #1 Boiled eggs. #2 Chicken. #3 Cheese. The rest of the day I usually eat fruit and veg. And sometimes a liitle rice. Started a new exercise. Just before bed. Only 20seconds. Keeping up with me bathroom yoga. Also doing micro-exercises on the legs. All because I'm not getting out and about as much as I once was. When the dry season arrives, I'll get me bike out of storage. +++++ Leccy bill for our house this month 2150 baht. For the Mothers 350 baht. Not bad at all. +++++ Baht still strong. 43.3 Bhat for one squid at the mo. When I first came to Thailand it was 72 for 1. +++++ That's it for now folks. Take care out there. Issan skies. www.mildredart.com

Snaps here. It's Monday morning - 01-09-2025 Last week on Wednesday, left for Udon at 9ish. The big machines were just on the move at the top of the road. Looking in the other direction towards Ban Dung. This majestic, and beautiful tree, has the red 'X'. It's gonna get chopped. That's what yer get when progress arrives. I hadn't been this way along the 2022 for some time. The road works were at least 3km in both directions. So we can look forward to about 6/7 km of super highway soon. But the narrow bridge over the big river at Noi T'lat? Will that be widened? Very big job to widen that. We might find out in 2026. Quite looking froward to visiting the Sum Sao Wat. Hadn't been there for about six months. Parked up and started snapping. Looked great from a distance. Some big glass sections up top. Concrete stairs. Last visit they were wooden. Rover keeping the 'riff-raff' out. Had a peek inside at the lower level. Didn't go in there as I'm close to 2 metres and the beams are only 6 feet up. Upstairs, the first thing I saw new, were big glass windows on three sides. I reckon, eventually, there will be a stairway outside for the revelers, when the big doors are opened. Sliding windows. The Big Gong had been moved to the side. So inviting. Thought about giving it a whack with the club? Decided not to. Treasures at the rear. Made my way back out. Cobras ready for a paint job. The white building below was the old meeting place. Wandered back; taking pics of the wonderful sculptures. Not noticed this pretty Princess before. Could do with losing a bit of weight though. Store place. Under the big guy. They have to hide all the gold somewhere. The smashed items were still in the same state. Sad to see. What's the story? So much to admire. Each tells a story. Read all about it. Back on the Udon Thani road. At the junction of my road and Highway 2 (H2), there is a pretty big construction in progress. Didn't get to stop until after turning onto the H2. Took the pic from someone's garden. Next visit to Udon is in November, to get my visa, I'll look again. And there was more. On the north section of the Udon Ring Road - next to TESCO - was an even bigger construction. Walkway in place. Gonna be something special for sure. Went to the new MACRO to the west of the ring road. New to me. Not as busy as the main one to the east of the city. Bought 4.5 kg of cheese. Met up with a TT member/poster, and he took me over to see his newly acquired 2 rai of land. Just about to have a walk round, when the heavens opened. It was as heavy a downpour as I've been in for for a long time. We had to leave. There was flooding on the roads all over. The Mazza couldn't go more than 10 kph. Dangerous to go faster. Finally found ourselves in a little coffee shop, where we spent a couple of hours chatting. Great time. +++++++ The buffaloes are coming. Just have to stop and wait. They seem so calm and peaceful, but they do have their moments. I've see them on the trot after they have been spooked. Mildred reckons the tree was hit by lightning, in the storm we had about 8 days ago. I'm not so sure. Hope it can recover. At the bus stop. Mildred and Oscar. The bus is waiting guys. Hurry you lot! +++++ Lucky Pool top the EPL. Palace are moving on up. Irons off the bottom. The two Sheffields prop up the championship. No score in the big one north of the border. Is this the season a club outside Glasgow can take the title. Have to go back to Sir Alex's Aberdeen (85/85) for the last time that happened. 40 years ago. Where is Hornchurch? In Essex of course, and The Urchins lead the National League South. My three unfavoured teams to do well this year are Toffeez, Cherries and Palace. All up there. +++++ That nasty, despicable ATM machine swallowed my card. So a week ago today, it was a visit to the bank. In there at 12-15, left at 14.30. Come back tomorrow at 10; they said. Computer glitch; they said. So the following day (Tuesday) I was awaiting the card activation success story. And would you Adam and Eve it; after 45minutes we went to the machine outside, and the card worked. Just goes to show how much we rely on the internet these days. Buddha help us all. Called into the old Home Hub store on the H2 on the way to Udon last Wednesday. Now named 'BnB home'. Quite impressed with the range and prices of the cycles. But just like the old shop, there were very few customers in there. How long before this one bites the dust? Can't see a 'For Sale' sign (yet) outside the Voice of America (VoA) on the 2022. The site is huge; 2,200 rai. Don't know who it belongs to. After all, foreigners can't own land. Maybe rented by VoA, or the CIA. Has a dark site history. Cries from below ground. And worse! According to Mrs Snap's brother, who worked there for a while, as a gardener, 20+ years ago. Be interesting to see what becomes of the place. Mildred saw a snake at the back of the house. I went out to find it, but it had disappeared down one of the many holes in the concrete. Hope the cats do not come to any harm. Rained virtually all day yesterday. Not monsoon rain; but steady. We were concerned about the ducks getting too wet. So for the second time, we went to the farm. Not to worry; they were in their house. Mrs Snaps got angry with me yesterday for taking Isaan rice to the farm for the ducks to eat. She was whacking me with a bamboo and threatened to kill the ducks. "But teerak, there is loads of rice in the cooker." "Falang stupid. Not same rice '' I simply have to be more knowledgeable and understanding. Nuts will be ready for cutting in about a week. Price has gone up to 6.60 a kilo. The Euro heads, and Zelensky, met up with The Don for a conflab. They agreed to agree according to Sir Kier (UK PM). That's all OK then. Sorted. The Thai PM has gone. She used that bad 'U' word. Can't say 'Uncle' when trying to stop a conflict. Hope she learns her lesson. No food today, or tomorrow, until 16-00. Bathroom yoga is keeping me fit and well. Lottery day today. It will be '9's & '0's. As in number nines and zeroes. Enjoy yer winnings people. I'll be buying some little ducks with mine. Easy money. That's it for now folks. Take care out there.

Good evening all. It's Sunday 17-8-2025 Had to take Mrs Snaps car into Ban Dung for some tinkering. I also went along in the Mazza as they said it would take a few hours. While it was being attended to, we did some Big C shopping. Also bought a new cutter. The store where we bought the cutter build them in the workshop at the rear. With a litre of 2 stroke oil (2T), the total was just 2,700 baht. I thought that very reasonable. Also get a pair of protective glasses. After doing our shopping there was a bit of time to kill until the Ford was ready. Had a walk around the Town Shrine. A few others walking round taking pics. Just like me. No fish in the pond that I could see. The animals are always at these places. Especially elephants. Always a monster or two guarding the main building. Think they are known as 'Nagas'. Interesting tree. Shame the gardener had left his equipment laying about. Off to the north-side 7-11 station. Fed the fish; Koi carp. Spotted a contender for the town's most confusing wire nest. Moved the solar light at the farm house. It was 4 metres up, but had a tree even higher blocking the sun getting to the solar panel for a good part of the day. Had to move it away from the big palm tree. A new place, and 6/7 metres up. Stays alight all night now. Work on the 2022 is progressing slowly. Hundreds of concrete sections been delivered and stored away. Roger, wife Yoo, and family left for London this morning. Yoo stocked up with goodies as wives do. "Gonna take all then chilies Yoo?" "Yes! All of them." Yoo got bitten by a Cobra a few years back. Looked terrible back in the day. Could see the bone. Didn't go to a clinic. A herbalist sorted it out. She said that the biggest problem with that area on her ankle, is that it itches like crazy. Has to stop herself scratching it to bits. There are a couple of young buffs wandering around our part of the village. I took the pic and went over to give one a stroke. It was having none of it; and ran off. Must have heard about farangs. Measured the other big tree in number 4 farm. Not quite as fat as the other. 78cm compared to 80cm. Both magnificent trees. Just 5 years old. Rooney plucking out the grass from the paddy. And the same lady tending to Mrs Snaps fruit trees. The local twins out and about. With their cousin. Delightful! Nadill and Nadene. Can't tell them apart. +++++ At long last the footty has kicked off. The lower divisions started a week or so ago. But it's the EPL we were waiting for. Pool opened with a 4-2 win against visiting Cherries. Also scoring 4 was City away at Wolves. Some great match ups later today. Luke Littler took the honours in New Zealand. Trouncing the other Luke (Humphries), world number one, in the final. This young man is something special with the arrows. The two world leaders met in Alaska. They talked golf, and bare-backed horse riding. Then they went home. All quiet on the Thai, Cambodia border. Thank goodness. But conflicts seem to be all over the place. Think there is a couple in Africa as well as the big two. Just highlights how fortunate most of us are. Still not seen a 'For Sale' sigh outside the local VoA. Perhaps they will keep it going as a 'CIA dark site' as it once was. Maybe still is! Internet been off for the best part of today. The Mrs has the phone number for the system, so she is OK. The ducks don't seem to be so enthusiastic over eating cooked rice as they once were. Bit of a worry that. Still gobble down the dog biscuit though. That is folks. Stay cool out there. Isaan nature.

Snaps here - Monday 21st July 2025 No rain for 5 days! What is going on? The little eucas are not doing all that well. I reckon 100 have died. Don't know why. Not the end of the world, as I can buy more. But at 4.5 baht each they were the fast growers. There are two sellers the other side of Ban Dung that sell different varieties. So this week I'll be making my way over. Filled the big drum up with water, and dunked every tree right in so they got a thorough soaking. The workers have already trimmed the trees on both farms. they have been at it a week now. Looking clear. Next step is to prepare the areas where the new trees are gonna be planted. Robert always ready to lend a paw. Three trees were saved from the loggers last year. Two in number 4 farm. This is a giant grown in just 5 years. Bella's mum stopping it from falling. Have not seen Bella for 2 and a half years. She is OK though. Working in Singapore. Next euca cut - if at all - in 4 years time. Robert and Oscar charging about. For once there was a bright morning. I took the camera (phone) to the bus stop instead of the brolly. See yer later Mildred. She will be back this afternoon Robert. Don't fret. 20 ducks. Not as good looking as our ones at the farm. The rice ready to be planted. This is outside the Big Mango lady's gaff. Looking down the soi at seven in the morning. Food man. They are gonna widen the big road. All the trees to be cut down have a red cross. It's not gonna be a quick job. In this section, the road drops away quite sharply in places, so hundreds of trucks with soil will be needed. I'll be there taking pics. Out with the mangoes. In with the papayas. I reckon 95% of the rice is planted now. Ours looking good. This tree is a cracker. Not even sure it's a proper tree. Maybe just a collection of creepers. The Post Road is finished for now. They have a new banana plantation. We give the ducks a good feed every other day. Today we had lots of cooked rice for them. They are not shy with me or Mildred. But when the dogs are with us, and that's just about every day, they are wary, and keep their distance. I've explained to them that Robert and brother Oscar just want to play. They also get dog biscuit. Inside their house, there is all sorts growing. The pineapple got snapped off. I put it in a tub with a drop of water for a week. It ripened up nicely. Mrs Snaps was kind enough to cut it up for me supper. Very nice it was too. Have kept the top for another grow. +++++ Well done Chelsea. Watched the highlights. If they play as good as that in the EPL this coming season, they will take some stopping. Windies bowled out for 28 by Oz. Gary Sobers hit 36 in one over a few years back. What has happened to that once dominant team? +++++ Mildred went to school yesterday; Sunday. Something to do with Buddha. However, she got today off. The 20 white ducks I ordered still have not arrived. Not seen Ginger, our big Tom Cat, for a week. Bit of a worry that. Simply must sort out the Mazza. It runs out of water after a few days. It's a time thing, rather than milage. Keep a couple of bottles topped up in the back just in case. Bathroom yoga really paying dividends. Mrs Snaps can't keep her hands off me. Can we expect WW3 in 50 days? The Don says he will have a big surprise for the Ruskies. The Epstein files were a giant hoax after all. I was looking forward to seeing them, but can't now. So what is the Maxwell bird doing in the monkey? And Jeff killed himself for nothing! Strange world. Over the week end watched the doc film; 'Killing Kelly'. Certainly makes yer think. That's it for now folks. Take care out there.

Hi people. Back; and alive, if not kicking as energetically as I once did. Thanks for your kind concerning words. I have a tale to tell. Wow! It will shake the very earth that you are on. Unless you are in a plane or on a boat. Might even cause The Don to rethink about a golfing holiday in Vladivostok Post in the next couple of days.

I'm here Owl. I've a serious problem with my left eye at the present. Down to about 5% or less visibility. Painful too. It has disrupted everything. On top of that dear Mildred had a wisdom tooth extraction last Friday that has left her really down and dodgy. So things are anything but normal at the mo. Please give me some time to sort things out. Supposed to get the Mazza MOTed tomorrow. No way I can drive to Ban Dung like this. Have sent away for some DMSO to help with the eye. I'll keep everyone informed of progress. Thanks for posting.

We are gonna get a flyover!!! Piles are in. Can't wait. It's Monday 17-11-2025 Where were we? Oh yes! The flyover. Just 100 metres from our road, the 4016, on the 2022. I will say the stream under the road does deserve a flyover. Gonna be great in the wet season. Robert doing an inspection. Meanwhile, the road is coming along fast. Looking west. Looking east towards Ban Dung. Mildred had her last day as a member of staff on the Special English Week. On the last day I got in Ban Dung early and had a mooch around; as I sometimes do. Went to visit two giant Yang Na trees. This one in the middle of the road. The other just a stone's throw away in a school play area. Found a couple of sad looking houses. We have leccy. Well not us exactly us, but at Bella's farm. The posts run along our road for about 250 metres. Here's the man himself doing the installing. Proper job too. Concrete and everything. On my way back from the farm the other afternoon, couldn't help but stop and watch. They were trying to get a couple of buffs into a pick up. One was already in, but the other was being naughty. TBH, I felt sorry for them. The buffs not the guys. Lay on the grass and wouldn't get up. They were obviously gonna take them to a nice new home. Did the black buff think something was not quite right? I couldn't watch any longer. And left them to it. Don't know how it all ended. Rice cutting in full swing. Ducks doing just great. Waiting for grub to be put out. Mildred doing the honours. +++++ No footy for the top two divisions in England. The England team make it 100% in world Cup qualifying. Well done the Irish. Not there yet, but have a play-off spot. Hungary 2-3 Republic of Ireland. And by the same score Thailand 3 Singapore 2 +++++ Rice threequarters cut now. Kun and Rooney planted ours very late this time. A few more days. Don't want wind or rain for a week. Talk about wasting money. The Mrs said some of the trees were not doing so good. She yak yaked. "You not care tree die?" So I bought a 50kg sack of Nitrogen. Rooney put some around the trees that she thought needed a boost. A couple of days later the Mrs was moaning that a lot of the trees had died. "Rooney put too close. Vitamin.." So tomorrow I'm off to the euca nursery for a couple of hundred more. So that's 900 Bhat for the Urea. 2000 Bhat to put it around the trees. About 1400 Bhat for new trees. 1500 Bhat to plant the new trees. Getting on for 6k because Mrs Snaps thought some were growing slow. Dear me. Have not seen our Ginger for about 3 weeks. Someone must have taken him in as their house cat. Bit of a worry. Hope he is OK. In his place as cat boss; top cat, has stepped Jack Wagger. Starting to see posters going up around the village for area voting. Asked the Mrs. "What you want know for falang. You not vote." I'll get Mildred to inform me. Me and Mildred have started on the new dart-board. She is about to paint it. Pics soon. That's it folks. Stay cool and calm out there. Mildred had to paint a pic in her weekly art class. Just four hours to finish. Split over two Wednesday afternoons. Topic; 'The sky' www.mildredart.com

Snaps here. Monday 27th October 2025. Road works on the 2022 progressing. TBH, it's dodgy going down one particular section; especially at night. For about one kilometer there is a drop of about two metres down into the mud. The edge of this drop is less than a metre away from the nearside wheels. And, there was a m/c going in my direction without lights. I was glad to get home the other evening from Ban Dung. First stop. Get petrol. Second stop. Get money. Third stop. Get some PVC parts. This tree outside has the dreaded red X. Picked up the PVC parts, and out they came. Pugs; 14 weeks old. Fantastic little things. Had to pick Mildred up from school on Friday. She finished early. And with no Mrs to yak yak me, I could take a few pics. Outside a small supermarket. Went closer and tried to get the gist of it. Halloween setting. Complicated. Bats. Cobwebs. A couple sitting on the bench with a babe. Bottles and a ladder? Went to investigate that covering near the new hotel. Still none the wiser. Mildred says it could be for a grape plantation. I'll keep looking in. Will not be long before the tourists arrive, Hotel nearly finished. Just landscaping left. Back at the farm, I did my usual quarterly snapping from the from corner of the farm. Should have been last month. I clean forgot. Looking North. Looking East. Looking Nth Est. Trees look very spindly to me. Wonderful surprise a couple of days ago. A baby terrapin. Making his way over to number 7 pond. First one I've seen for a year. I never put them in the pond this small. What's been occurring? Ducks are settling in. Still don't mix with the old uns. I think I made a small mistake. Should have released the newcomers in a different pond. Had to get some oil from the village garage. Not for the Mazza. 2T for the 2 stroke Honda Grass Cutter. The build next door has been at a standstill for about 2 years. Another failed project? Or they just ran out of dosh? +++++ Hats off to Black Cats and Cherries. Great to see the two of them in the top 4. Sky Blues running away with Championship. What a crowd at the match; 30k. Had to look up where they were playing nowadays. The Coventry Building Society Arena. Saturday scores in the WFA Cup. Millbrook FC 0 - AFC Bournemouth 11 Burnley 12 - Blackburn 0 What about those Jam Tarts? 8 points clear at the top of the Scottish. Absolutely fantastic! I want to see them break the 40+ year Glasgow domination. This season there is every chance for them. +++++ Mildred done more than good in her exams. So good, that she has been seconded into the teaching team, when the IEP (Intensive English Programme) is launched next month, for a two week spell. Only drawback is that I'll have to make the journey to Ban Dung every day, cause her bus will have left. Only went and bought another 9 ducks today. Not told the Mrs or Mildred yet. Maybe I'll just let them go at the farm and say I don't know how they got there. Went to see them this morning. Just couldn't resist sploshing the dosh. 100 Bhat each. Pics soon. Well done The Don. Permanently stopped the Thai v Cambodia conflict. That's sorted out for a few years. The Thai Queen Mother passed on last week aged 93. She was popular in these parts. Is there gonna be a US conflict in Venezuela? They have lots of oil. Oscar went missing for two whole days and two nights. He came back this morning, behaving as though nothing had happened. Where did he get to? Me and Mildred spent an hour going here and there yesterday and Saturday. No sign of him. No one had seen him. It's a doggie mystery. Fed up with the water. Went off three times last week. Good job we have about 500 litres saved in bathroom tubs. Bought a board for the dart frame. I'll get it sorted this week. Should be playing at the week end. Bought some Witch Hazel off Lazada. One litre. Expensive though. Nearly a tenner. But great stuff to have around. Got the leccy bills for last period. 2,550 Baht for the two houses. That's it for now folks. Stay safe out there.

Topic locked. Will be reopened later. For the good and benefit of the forum, I (and we) would appreciate it if @Rookiescot and @23RD would ignore each other on this and other threads. Regards BH

It's Monday morning - 11-8-2025 Went along to the local petrol station for some juice. The road widening is steaming ahead. Now that the wet season has ended, there is no stopping them. It's gonna be great. An extra lane. On both sides I presume. Did a nut cut last week. Not one of the better harvests. Only 435kg. Price of nuts had gone up to 6.5 baht a kilo. It will keep creeping up. It's that time. The nuts being cut now started out life between November 2023 and January 2024. Very dry then. So yields now are poor. Our first solar water system went live in January 2024. So yields should/could improve from next month onwards. At the wholesalers, a couple of cassava loads arrived. First thing is to reverse onto the loader. Strap the tractor down. Let the fun part begin. All the cassava roots out. All done. Unstrap and drive off. Another load waiting. The lady in the office, weighing the trucks, pick-ups and trailers in and out, is quite dishy. She always has a nice smile for me. Mildred off school today. Just asked Mildred why she's not at school. Got a shrug of the shoulders and a 'don't know dad'. All kids are off, she went on to say. Children going to the local school on Friday morning. She's at it again. Hiding in the rice paddy. Really must get the Mazza door sorted. It was Robert who done the dastardly deed yer honour. Do yer feel guilty? Well do yer; Robert? Mildred feeding the ducks. The ducks don't trust any dog. Even Robert. Who only want to play. The mozzie sprayers were out doing the biz around the village last week. The stuff they spray lingers in the air for about 20 minutes. So best to keep the animals in for a while. Mrs Snap's Ford had a problem Saturday. Fortunately she was in Ban Dung 'cause she had taken Mildred to school for music lessons. The passenger door wouldn't shut. Well! It would shut, but not stay shut. So a new locking unit was fitted. 5,500 baht. Just had the grass cut around the ponds. Looks great. That will look good for about 4/6 weeks. Euca trees going OK. +++++ The three clubs relegated from the EPL were in action at the week end. All did well. Tractors got a good point at Brum. Both Saints and Foxes won. Blades involved in the 'shock' result of the first round of matches; going down 1-4 at home to The Robins. Well done Palace. Not that it means much to most. Although it certainly did for the thousands of Pool's supporters who spent their hard-earned dosh watching their team lose on penalties. Don't think penalties have a place in a friendly game TBH. Could easily share the community shield/cup. Whatever it is. Should only use penalties when there has to be a winner to move to the next stage of a competition. Even a FA Cup final could be shared. Orient win at home. Is this the start of a surge up the table? +++++ Where is the rain? Climate change is here. Very difficult to get any info on the Thai v Cambodia skirmish. Terrible shame that it has caused injury and death to anyone. No idea what the latest is. Mildred has started music classes at school on Saturdays. She has opted for the piano. We will see. Have some friends visiting the village for the first time for two years. They live in South London (Kent side) now. The wife - Yoo - is Thai. She got badly bitten by a cobra some years back. The eldest son - Rodell - shows promise as a footballer. I have turned 100% nature. I told the wife; ''Without nature we are nothing.'' ''What you say falang? Give me money.'' Still keeping up my bathroom yoga. When I walk around the village shirtless, I can see the admiring looks from the locals. The other day I walked into the bathroom, with just a towel around me waist. As I passed the wife she said quietly; ''Brad Pitt''. Made me feel quite good. A couple of days later, the Mrs was watching a film on TV. I happened to look up and saw the man himself. ''Look Mrs Snaps. Our hero Brad.'' ''What you saying stupid falang?'' ''There he is teerak, Brad Pitt. You said I looked like him, just the other day. You called me 'Brad Pitt'.'' ''Falang stupid. I not call you Blad Plitt, I say you 'fat pig'.'' Been trying to establish if Mildred has any dosh in a 'Child trust fund' in the UK. I find the Gov.uk web-site devilishly complicated. That's it folks. Only one thing left to say; take care out there.

It's Sunday 6th June 2025 It's been a tricky and quite hectic last few weeks. Hurt my left eye by bumping into an airborne pillow. And my laptop suffered also. Busted! Screen and internals terminally damaged, Along with it went about 4 months of work and pics. But!! That's all in the past. Have a new laptop. a real cracker. A BMAX running on on Windows11. 32RAM, 512HD. I'm hoping it will be more robust than the last one when that time comes around again. Not used Windows for a couple of years. I'm finding it so complicated. The screen after the unfortunate collision with the floor. Doing well on the nuts. Last month over 5,000kilo. And this month even better; 6,300. Making sure all is secure. Tried a new way of keeping the nuts in place. Takes longer to load with the mesh in place, and much longer to get the nuts off. But at least they are stable when on the road. Biggest load this month 1,515 kg. However! No sooner did the new way of securing the nuts come in, than I was informed that a new wholesaler was matching the far away ones on price. So went to the new place to have a butchers. This one only 4k from the farm. And it was a decent price. Only 5 satang difference. So they got the next 3 loads. While i was there I snapped a new contraption, that I'd not seen before, for unloading cassava. This new place does hundreds of tonnes of cassava a week. And comparatively little in the way of nuts. Unlike the firms the other side of Ban Dung; who do the reverse. Seem to be seeing a lot of overloaded pick-ups lately. Caught this on as it tore past the Mazza. We had a big wind a couple of weeks back. It uprooted two bamboo clusters at the farm. Almost impossible to handle them when they were over. So, cut the bamboos off and pulled the roots back. that left a lot of bamboo lengths. Some of them have already disappeared. Bamboos always handy out here. Got a couple of big rings on site. The Mrs took control as she sometimes does. Then leaves it to others to maintain. All done. The recent rain, and the water pump have filled pond 6 and 7 to within 8 inches of the overflow. The water don't usually get that high til September. Been the wettest May, I can recall. Must say; the ponds look grand. The ducks finally realised that the house I built was for them. Been a lot of activity next to the super highway. Posts, posts and even more posts. Concrete rings everywhere. Must be the best part of 200k baht spent so far. What with all the back-filling and the concrete items. Reckon the rings are for plants or trees About 100 posts in all. A team putting them in place and fixing the barbed wire. To stop the cows, buffs and bar-girls? My pineapple is nearly ready. Had to tie it up. Leaning over a little. The mangoes arrive so quickly. There are so many that most are just left to rot where they fall. Counted over 70 from this tree alone. We probably harvested a couple hundred. So many, that we have to eat one each at every meal to get shot of them. They are not all low hanging. Have a special tool for the higher ones. On a 5 metre long bamboo pole. Saw a nice house tucked away in Ban Dung. Does seem like the walls are all cladded in bamboo. Next time II go that way, I'll get close and take some decent pics. We are destined to become famous. Mildred found the biggest mango leaf ever. I'll be contacting the 'Guinness Book of Records', if it's still going, to claim our spot for the next edition. +++++ The top of the EPL was a disappointment for me. After two thirds of the season it looked like Villa, Toon, Seagulls, Forest and even Cherries were in with a shout for Ch Lg next season. Turned out to be business as usual. Pool. Gunners, City and Blues top 4. Be interesting to see how 'money bags', Black Cats get on in 25/26. TBH, Saturdays don't seen the same without the footy. +++++ Plenty of drama in the family. What with the lappy fiasco. And also Mrs Snap's mum wanted to go back to her old house. The one that the Mrs bought a while back. Just 30 or so metres from us. I spent the best part of a week fixing up windows and doors. She is back now. The Mrs spends the nights at the house. Mildred does too, if she don't have school next day. +++++ On the world scene, nothing much has changed. Just got worse for some unfortunates. The Don and Musky have a fall out. Sir Kier says the UK is gonna be on a war footing soon. Might go back and see if I can be of any use fighting the Ruskies. Or perhaps the Chinese! +++++ No fast this month. Didn't think i needed to. Still doing my bathroom yoga. And I have to do eye exercises for a while longer. Perhaps another few weeks But all seems OK. Three mangoes a day for another week or so. Getting fed up with them. +++++ The Mrs and Mildred have gone to Dan Dung, so I'm gonna indulge in my favourite music on the TV, and just chill. That's it for now people. Only one thing left to say; take care out there.

Snaps here. Latest news. Solar system #2 had a problem. The stout timber (not so stout in the sun as it turned out) deteriorated and broke, causing the weight of the down-pipe, plus water, to break the joint. Also the cable was broken at the joint, that me and Mildred put in 12 months ago, in order to drop the pump 6 metres. The breaking of the pipe also showed that the rope, that was about 50% suspending the pipe-work and pump, was not doing it's job adequately. First job was to lift up the whole unit to get to the broken cable that had fallen down the well.. Started at 10-30 and it took just two hours to sort out. We decided to replace the bamboo rods with metal ones. All three of us fixed up the PVC joint OK. Put in a 'T' junction instead of the old elbow. Then me and Mildred got to work sorting out the cables. Disconnected the panel juice. Removed the face of the control box. Mildred sorted the wiring. Kun looked after the protective tubes, My job was to record the repair. Kun tied up the cables to relieve stress. Job done. Tomorrow - Saturday - we have to do another repair on solar #3. A simple task on the face of it. We will see. Gonna start at 10 before the heat sets in. +++++ World still in turmoil. Ceasefire number 7 gonna happen in West Asia? The Don says 'job done, objectives achieved'. No idea about the Russia v NATO conflict. Not too much news on that. +++++ Can't recall an Easter Week End without EPL footy. Well done Saints anyway. So the semi line up is City v Blues. Saints v Percocks. Jam Tarts still top in SPL. Just!! Fingers Xed for them as they enter the last phase. +++++ The eye, although not improving, is not getting any worse. Not so good when the pain sets in though. Taken to dropping an Ibrufen. Just get on with life. +++++ Wow! Is it hot, or is it hot. Got to 43C on Wednesday. Bought two new big 18inch fans. One for Mrs Snaps and one for the cats and dogs. +++++ Mildred just got sent her scores from end of year exams. Overall; 82%. Best being English; 95%. Her not so good subjects were Thai History and Geography. Her friend, Ice, who she sits next to at school, also scored well. Very similar. Those two; top of the pops. +++++ Cut nuts all last week. Three long trips - 72km a trip - to the wholesaler the other side of Ban Dung. And three local trips; each just a couple of km. 6 trips for a total of 4.325kg. Average price of nuts 6.9 Baht a kilo. Coming back from the last trip filled the Mazza up with juice; 1350 Baht for 26 litres. That's 52 Baht a litre. And that's cheap, but not the cheapest. Saw one place 50.99,,,, and one at 68 Baht a litre. Most stations closed. gonna get worse. Much worse. +++++ That's it folks. Only one thing left to say; take care out there.

Snaps here. There have certainly been a few hiccups recently. Tried to post a couple of times but gremlins prevailed. Our Buddha wall has undergone a transformation. Saw a guy doing something a week ago. Didn't know what he and wifey were up to then. The wife (his wife) followed him with the paint pot and got to work. Gave me the thumbs up. All done. Well almost. Don't think it will see much paint at the rear. Did a nut cut at the w/e. Not bad. 1455 kilos at 6.3 baht a kilo. The wind arrived and bent over a few euca trees along the super highway. It can be a problem with young euca trees. Kun sorted them out. A farm along the way has done its own wiring. Very professional too. New house build just outside the village. Gonna be quite big by the looks of it. But only one floor. Talking of wind. It came and blew a window in at Grandma's house. Just as well it blew inwards and not out. No glass broken though. Did a temporary fix. That'll do for a few months. My new director's chair is popular with the pussies. Chompy and Fixie having a kip. Mildred took the pic of this cute bird at her school. I didn't notice until she told me. Just one leg. Crystal waiting to go back to the village. Kun's wheels. Elephants in the village. Mildred went to the supermarket, just at the right moment, and did the biz. Much bigger than the one I saw on a pick-up a couple of weeks ago. The leccy people forgot their bamboo ladder. New bug house. What an earner rearing these critters must be! Next door to the baccy farm. Baccy doing just great. Rain the other day. No idea what happens to the leaves not undercover. They get wet. But are they ruined? These one are fine. +++++ Wife has stopped beating me. Two weeks non-stop. Must be having a funny turn. +++++ Mildred off school for the next 2 months. She reckons she did well in her exams. Will get sent the results on her telephone. +++++ Gremlins at TT. Site on and off for a few days. Uploading pics not too easy. Some up straight away, others get rejected. All have gone up eventually though. +++++ The lady painting the Buddha wall also a wizard - or would that be wizardess or a witch even - at fixing leccy equipment. Sorted out our washing machine, and a couple of fans this month. +++++ Still keeping with the good-eating plan and bathroom yoga. Keeping me in tip-top shape. Left eye down to about 10% now though. Am trying different things to get it back to normal. +++++ Thought it was gonna be a record. 125 dry days, and then the rain came and spoilt it. +++++ Little Jack Wagger has hurt his back leg. He limps about but cannot jump. +++++ Mildred has burnt her leg on the hot exhaust of her friend's m/c in Ban Dung on the last day of school (Monday). Gonna take a couple of weeks to heal I reckon. Has a giant blister formed now. +++++ Mrs Snap's sister has arrived from Oz. Gonna stay for two months. I'm keeping me head down. She came to see us yesterday with her two grandchildren; Bye and Minaar. I'd done a couple of vids many moons ago of Mildred and Bye outside. Been on YouTube for 8 years. Had 114 million views. Put one of the vids at the end. +++++ Anyone noticed just how expensive cartons of drinks are now. Went to get my favourite in Big C - an apple cider one liter carton - and it had gone up to 99 baht. Obviously didn't buy any. Rather drink water at that price. +++++ Road works progressing slowly on the 2022. Be all done in 2027 for sure. +++++ Not seen Ginger for two months now. He is a lovely cat. I'm sure he is being cared for by someone in the village. Hope so. +++++ That's it folks. Don't let them get you down. Take care out there. Till next time. +++++ Out down the soi. bike ride 01.mp4 And back. bike ride 02.mp4 bike ride 01.mp4 bike ride 02.mp4

We are up and running once again. It's now Boxing Day. Yesterday very quiet. School as usual for Mildred. Some guys at work in Ban Dung's 7-11. Artists in action. Trust it was quick drying! Found Black Jack's repair shop. He is gonna get in touch with the insurance people when he gets an estimate for the door. The other place was gonna bash it back into shape. Probably nothing to be heard until the new year now. Wires outside Black Jack's place. The insurance sorted, we stopped of at a busy little soi for some bit and pieces. Mrs Snaps luckily found a spot to park. Met up with an old friend. His name is Laocow. Getting tubby. Is he a Colorado Terrier? In the same soi; found some more wire clusters. This one beats the Black Jack ones. Back at the village. Lady next door is putting up Buddha decorations all round the house. Very nice too. Little dog getting a slight ridgeback. He is the quieter of the two puppies. The chickens know when the Mrs has gone off to her mums. They come in to eat the dog food and generally take liberties. Little dog wants to play. Animal rights; proceed no further. Was looking for cat food on Lazada and came across this Chinese stuff. "Raise A Big Fat Cat" +++++ Plenty pf footy during the next few days. Only one EPL match today. Two Uniteds face off in Manchester. Big game in Edinburgh tomorrow. Darts start up again tomorrow. Luke Littler firm favourite to retain his crown. I fancy Dutchman Van Deen to do well. Semis at least. Lady came round to borrow 1000 Baht. Left her bike as deposit. Something tells me we will be keeping the bike. I'm doing well on the darts. Reminds me of my old self. Unbeatable at times. No leccy or water stops for the last week. Mildred's last day at school today. Goes back on Monday 5th. Is there fighting along the border still? Not sure what's it all about. Real shame. Nuts very slow at this time of year. Good price though; 6.6 Bhat a kg. The Mrs daughter, Nan, has been sent to a Buddha place near Khon Kaen. Only for 10 days. We will see!? Very quiet Christmas. Only saw one tree in Ban Dung when we were there yesterday.. The quietest since I spent the 25th in Laos a few year back. Leccy bills not too bad. Just under 2,400 Bhat for the two gaffs. Gold is still rocketing up, Pound just hovering around 42 Bhat. That's all folks. Take care out there. Mildred's latest. Called 'wetland'. www.mildredart.com

It's Wednesday 25-11-2025 This is Snaps' weekly round up of events. New water way. This one the last section running out of the village to the east. Mrs Snaps has heard a rumour, or started one, that there will be some new drainage stuff in our soi soon. Can't wait. This chicken knows where it's at. She jumps over the gate, while her chicks, like little golf-balls on legs, get underneath. I encourage them. The Mrs chases them out. Conflict on the horizon I fear. It's all about rice at the present. If it's not being carted around in pick-ups, it's being laid out to to dry. Ours is cut, bundled, and ready for the machine. Everywhere in the village there is rice. Has to be constantly turned in the sun to dry it right out. 'Road Closed'. Rice drying in progress. Of course some lazy people use dogs to turn the rice. Others just use their hands and feet. Have to do repairs. Three of our favourite fish. Big Orange. Big White and Big Yellow. In number 6 pond. Big Orange is about 24 inches long. Big White has more tail than body. Absolutely beautiful. I didn't even know there was a family of lovely white ducks in the village. Never seen them before last week. At the next number 4 market, I'm gonna try to get some white duck chicks. Mildred reckons about another 10 will be enough for us to look after. That will be 30+. Mildred has began giving them names. Hold on guys. Food nearly ready. We pulled the duck house out of the pond. and put it on dry ground. Only seen them in their house once since the move. Some ducks like to congregate under the tree at the top of pond 5. I'll get some straw placed around the tree for them. Keep them comfy at night. Mildred took some great pick on her i-pad. Much better quality than my phone. Just love this one. Has nice balance. Big tree in the middle. To think the Mrs wanted to cut it down when the ponds were dug out all those years ago. My weekly visit to Ban Dung, resulted in a few pics. This is called The Pink House. Can't think why. Missed part of the roof. Must have run out of paint for the rest of it. Front needs a touch up. I remember the first leccy cart I saw in Ban Dung. Only just a few years back. Now they are everywhere. Our village has a dozen. TBH, our Sagomatic was a waste of dosh. It's parked at the rear of Mother's house, and only comes out once in a blue moon. But what else would I do with 20k Baht? What is that the other side of the road? Must investigate. Had to take a closer look. All items were priced at 950 Bhat each. That mark on the pic is indeed my finger. No wonder I got rejected at the pictorial school. All the pineapples are doing well at the farm. Have about a dozen growing. These are the best ones. The last lot of little euca tress have been planted. Don't want to see a eucaling until next April. +++++ Wow! Forest and Toon hit the big boys where it hurts. Pool are in relegation form. Palace up into the top 6. Can they stay there? Blades murdered The Owls. Dear me! Is there any hope? That Division one is some league. Only 7 points between the leader and 12th spot. Would like the EPL to be that competitive. Was it ever though. Foxes in 2016? Rovers in the League's early days? I'm sad! Jam Tarts lost to The Dandies 1-0. If you throw away any more points Hearts, The Celts will hunt you down. Best chance for 40+ years and you are letting it slip. World number one Luke Littler powers to victory for his first Players Championship Title over Nathan Aspinall in Minehead: 11-8 +++++ Everything OK at the farm. Had a big clear-out at home. Took three cart loads of junk away. Started on me dart board. Mildred is gonna paint it up for me. We have chickens eating the food left out for the dogs. Which is mostly Zoi Cat food. The cats only eat proper chicken from Big C. The ducks eat both fish food and Zoi Dog food. It's crazy here. MTG has thrown a wobble. a future POTUS? With Tucker as a running mate? Got a whack yesterday for suggesting that the Mrs has an easy life. She didn't like me saying that. 'Who make tea in morning? I not moan when buy ducks. You no good farang.'' Good job she only had a broom close by. Shoulder still a little stiff. Voting posters going up all over the place. Number one is a good looking lady. Number two is a clean shaven guy. Only seen those two. Perhaps there is only two of them. Mrs Snaps' sister Pook, want to borrow 30k Bhat from me before the week end. That'll leave me short for the whole of December. Bit coin falling. Gold climbing. GBP v THB steady at 42.5. It was damp out there for about a week. Just when the rice was being cut. That's why is was all over. One thing I really miss is me dear old mums bread pudding. It was great food. Some times it had a hint of ginger, other times cinnamon. All us kids loved it. "We want bread pudding Mum." "Well, get yourselves over to Parsloes Park and grab the bread before the greedy ducks and geese gobble it down. I've no money to buy a loaf." If I can recall, it was made from stale bread. Those were the days. That's it guys and gals. Stay safe out there.

Hi there folks. Ut's Sunday 09-11-2025. This is Snap's weekly Isaan log, and the very best of world news. More animals. I don't believe it. Two more pups? Mildred has named them Crystal and Diamond. More ducks. In their old house. Rooney helping me let them go. Now free to go where ever they want. 23 ducks now. They know where the food dish is, Mildred wants to get more. I'm cool with that. Later this month perhaps. Been picking Mildred from school due to her being part of the English Learning Week. One evening she didn't finish til 19-00. Gave me a chance to wander about and take a few pics. There's one road about 800 metres in length, that has solar lights all the way along it. And a business selling little houses. No idea how much they are. Mildred says at least 200k Baht each. I'm wondering they can be joined together to form a sprawling mansion. Been putting up a mesh to stop the dogs getting out. Three areas done now. But it didn't take long for Robert - we were sure it was he - to bust through and get his escape route sorted. More work for me. These Thai Ridgebacks are so strong; and cunning. Big 'Thank You' party coming up later this month. The farm next to us. I'll be there for sure. Started doing leccy for the farm next to us. Bella's farm. When it's all done Mrs Snaps wants to run the wires through to us. We will see later this month. Caught a snake on the farm last week. It got itself tangled up in some netting. Let it go in the wood. Big Mango Lady's crickets are nearly ready to be captured. I think she gets one Baht each for them. Don't know whether that is alive or cooked. Easy money. +++++ 18 goals from 5 matches, so far in the EPL this week end. Including two 2-2draws. The Blues go second. Big one today; City v Pool. Some really good crowds at Championship matches. At least 6 games well into the 20+k. Saints put three past The Owls. Don't look good for them. Hornchurch FC, still well clear in NL Sth. Used to go to their ground in Upminster for athletics many moons ago. Never did saw a footy math there. C'mon you Cherries and Jam Tarts later today. +++++ Had a bit of rain last week. That's it for the year now I reckon. Next rain; March 2026. No water stoppages last week. Makes a change. Three the week before. The BBC got caught telling porkies about The Don in a documentary. He is not best pleased. I reckon he will be putting a tariff on them. Last day for Mildred's English Learning Week. No more progress on the dart-board. Big month this. Visa, three driving licenses and Mildred's passports. Prisoners let loose in the UK. Lammy refuses to answer questions in The House. Two still out for 18 months. New Mayor in NYC. Wins easily despite have the big money against home. Muskie become a trillionaire. Give it all way like I did Elon. You'll be much happier. Get some ducks. The King of England has officially stripped brother Andrew of his titles. Tommy Robinson cleared of terrorism in Westminster court. The Don has claimed to have ended the Thai v Cambodia conflict. Good news; if it can hold. Off to the farm in a jiff. Feed the ducks and fish. Then it's off to Ban Dung for a bit of shopping before picking Mildred up at 5ish. That's it folks. Stay safe.

Snaps here. The trip to see the Mongkol duck Farm was lovely. The ducks, geese and chickens were all very pricey. We came away empty-handed. They have all sorts of fowl in the compound. Some out the back that we didn't get to see. Fluffy little things. Miniature whites. These were just fantastic. But at 3,500 each? Don't know these beauties. A right mix. Bottom left looks a bit like Mallard that we had in England. These were special geese alright. 12k for one. 20k for amating pair. They do get visits from schools kids. The boss lady said there was a Facebook Page. Can't find it though. Getting ready for the big dart's match. Not a lot of wall to put the board on. So bought some PVC parts and made a frame. Just need a fibre board, or similar, to wire onto the frame. And mount the board on that at the correct height. Been looking about for a suitable board. Probably have to wait until my next trip to Ban Dung. Bought 10 ducks this morning. Hope they can be friends with out 4 residents. Only Mildred can feed them like this. A good thing I reckon. Some people get hungry and might lure them over with a bug, or juicy worm.. When we went to the Mongkol Duck Farm about a week or so ago, we came across a water park that neither of us knew, or had heard, about. Just a couple of kms south of Ban Dung. https://www.facebook.com/groups/4571943949599114 Looked absolutely deserted. had a good mooch round. Main drive inside. Called 'Eden Gardens'? New little of puppies on the scene at the big supermarket as yer enter the village. Ten in the littler. Don't yet know who the father is. Don't look like Robert's kids. The Mrs got some work done at the big house. Cutting grass and general tidying up. Along the two sides and at the back. there was a squeal and I went to see what was up. Rooney had uncovered a scorpion nest. By the time I got the camera live there was just one big one left in the open. The others had scarpered. The big farm, on the corner of the Post Road, and Super Highway, has had some work done to the plants. Maybe they are trees? Covering them up to protect from the long hot days to come. Was at the petrol station when this monster roared in. One of the machines building the new road. +++++ Great game at Selhurst. 3-3. And thanks to United; Cherries stay third. But what about the win double; Hearts and Dundee? A change at the top this season? After 40+ years of Glasgow dominance. Come on you Jam Tarts. What are you doing Owls? Thought you had turned the corner?! lost again! F1 in the US. Didn't even look at the result. Don't even care. +++++ Waiting for the duck man to come home from work, and we will move the 10 ducks to the farm. Hope they don't scare off somewhere. Mildred back at school today. She did OK in her exams last month. Her best score - and I was somewhat shocked - Japanese studies. 98%. Reminds me of that song 'Turning Japanese; I really think so.' The Mrs has just came back from Ban Dung Hospital. To do with her Mother's medication. Very busy she said. Although she only had to pick up medicine, as the local clinic did the prescription first thing this morning, she was in there for three hours. Thailand; sometimes very inefficient. She brought me back some spicey sausage. Very nice it was too with a cuppa rosy. Looks like the dry season has kicked in. Just three drops of rain this month. Rice harvest has started. Hope these new ducks like dog biscuit. That's if folks. Pics of the new ducks later. Take care out there.

It's Monday Evening, the 22nd of September 2025. Snaps here. Trying to make sense of a crazy world. The 2022 widening is really moving along. Me and Mildred went along for a butchers on Saturday. Counted 17 mechanical monsters. Do a separate post later today. So many pics. Right out of the blue, Mrs Snaps told me they had cut down the high coconut tree in her mum's backyard. Not best pleased. I missed the chance of recording the tree being cut down. Why cut it down in the first place? The Mrs explained to me, that if a coconut fell on my head while working close by the tree; it could hurt, if it hit me on the head. Couldn't argue with that logic. The best I could get was a pic of the stump and the coconuts. About 20 big nuts all told. Very nice water. The Mrs had also told the workers to break down the concrete water tanks. Our usual man, Kun, was not feeling to well, so his son and his friend were doing the demolition. And, an hour or two later, it was all one and dusted. Just a pile of blocks, and other junk, for me to sort out another day. Cost me 1200 baht. But all was not finished. When the tree fell, it smashed the water supply pipe to the house. I told Mrs Snaps that me and Mildred would sort it. Didn't want those demolition experts anywhere near. Took off the meter and made sure that was OK. Six parts needed from the shop, Made ourselves comfortable. And 20 minutes later, all done; and good to go. Found the buffs in the front garden one day last week. Lovely little things they are. Then, for no reason, they decided that the grass, the other side of the soi, was greener; and they were off. I told Seveen. If Mrs Snaps catches you up there you'll get a whack for sure. He listened and took heed. Me and Mildred would sit in the shelter if we were early for the school bus. Can't now. Fenced off. Been trying to get a pic of the tiny chicks for ages. Came back from the other gaff, and they were in the yard. As soon as they saw me they ran off. But, I did manage to get a pic as they scurried round the back of the house. Lots of junk to be cleared out when the dry season arrives. You would think they would be scared with the dogs and cats about. Not a bit of it. Cats too busy doing their yoga. Oscar! He can't be bothered to even stand up. The Mrs had a word about the farm floor. Kun, and wife Rooney, made it much better. Will admit, as it was before the revamp, it was not up to anything approaching a high standard. Unless I go to far afield, Robert comes with me. Anything going on; he just chills and observes. At home he looks at me, thinking; 'we going out soon boss.' Who is that? The Mrs came to me fretting. What is it teerak?' 'A giant poison spider. Must kill; poison.' Went to the bathroom and tried to grab it. Escaped through the window! I would have let it go outside anyway. No big ducks snaps this week. But found a pic taken just a few days before they were released into the farm. Lent Bella's mum a few sacks of rice. The Mrs supervising. That's the best way to come down a ladder. All finished. +++++ Owls on the march. blades lose again at home. Three EPL matches yesterday (Sunday). Three draws. Lucky Gunners. Lucky Toon. Lucky Villa. And on Saturday; lucky Spurs. More Euro League this week. Pool lead the EPL pack. Hornchurch still top the N.L.Sth. Dagenham & Redbridge struggling in the same league. Red Bull win in Azerbaijan. Just can't warm to them one little bit. And I wouldn't drink a RB if I was paid a million. Well! I might then. +++++ Started raining at 9 this morning. Still raining now. Not heavy. Like Manchester rain. Mildred off school for today, and then Thursday and Friday off. Exams on school days. The Don made it back to the US OK. Hope he took on board what Sir Kier was telling him how to run a country. The Mrs tripped over a cat. Jarred her back. Hope she will be OK to make me cup of Rosy in the morning. Pook came round today to borrow 2k baht. I'll not get dosh back, but I'll get rice instead. Hopefully! All quiet on the Thai, Camby border. Hope that's that for another few years. That's it folks. Stay clear of those spiders. +++++ Mildred's latest. www.mildredart.com

Snaps here. The Mrs bought some food off a travelling vendor on Tuesday last. I ate it 'cause I was hungry. It didn't taste nice; or fresh. Upset my belly for a couple of days. So didn't get out and about too much. Better now though. It's Sunday Evening - 24-06-2025 Plenty of earth-moving machines on the 2022. I reckon there will be a new stretch of about 2km sorted before the end of the year. Only one of the entrances is in action at the gas station. The big water pipes are being buried and more are arriving. About one metre long so well over 1000 needed I reckon. They are stored all over. It is not all guesswork. No way! Found a big net, tucked under the tree. Only 6 metres from ponds two and three. Someone might have just left it there and forgot about it. The avocado is coming along; but not that fast. Started growing it from seed a couple of years back. Slow progress. Leaning tree to the rear. The other avo - also grown from seed - is not growing much faster either. The two pineapples are not yet showing. But doing OK. The papaya tree is shooting past it. Hope for some great fruit next month. Done some serious tree pruning last week. Not so much me. I went along to take the pics when it was all done and dusted. Is that wood suitable for making charcoal? Plenty of it. Now the sun can get to the solar panels until five in the afternoon. Some serious cutting there. Itis all about the ducks at the mo. Everyone thinks they are so cute. A couple of guys I don't trust, are taking an interest, though. I have made it clear they are pets and not for the pot. They understood. The loner. The cooked rice is mixed with dog biscuits. Sometimes Robert gets in first. The loner is not keen on water. Maybe can't swim too good. Or is he a she? Who is that? It's Chelsea. Mildred's niece. Try to chuck the fish food into the water Chelsea. Job done. Running ducks. They know food is a'coming when they hear the Mazza. Running to the feeding station. That tree is certainly a giant. 10 years old. +++++ Owls fight back from 2-0 down. Peacocks and Irons in the doldrums. Both let in 5. Well done Spurs. Not the first time they have taken City down away. 0-4 and 2-3 victories in recent years. Now a 0-2. And much deserved I'm informed. Mansfield smash Orient to stop the O's resurgence. Black Cats finding out that not all games are pushovers in the EPL. One of my old local teams; Hornchurch, doing really well. In the same league as Dagenham and Redbridge this season. An impossible thought a couple of seasons back. 5 years ago they were 4 leagues apart. +++++ Had plans to go to Udon tomorrow. But it's not always easy trekking here in Thailand. Went to the ATM machine on the 2022 this morning. The lady before me was taking ages, and muttered something when she finally let me in. Put in me card, entered the details and the amount; as yer do. Up came the message. "Bad luck farang. Machine kaput." No money. And would you Adam and Eve it. Me card got swallowed up. So! It's off to Ban Dung for a replacement tomorrow. Udon trip later on the week now. All the important European leaders met up, in the White House, with The Don last week. They discussed golf, chlorinated chicken and liquid gas. When the Italian bird started talking about footy, The Don would have none of it, saying it was the US that had proper football, and told them all to leave. Still keeping up with me bathroom yoga. Although last week I wasn't at my best with the belly playing up. Mildred got 6 hours of homework this week end. That is terrible. Given up on getting those 10 white ducks from the local guy. There is a duck farm about 10km away in a remote place going south towards Non Mek. When I get some time I'll pay a visit. The Mrs just left for her mums place. Mildred already asleep. I'll check the footy results and get me head down. Take care out there guys and gals.

Many, many kudos to @EdwardV, @rattlesnake, @23RD, @cmsally and others who who exercise the greatest patience in dialoguing with the likes of @Grumpish, @butterfly, @Fanta and others to try to explain to the the actual reality of so many issues. For myself, I have always understood the futility of it all because I've always recognized the source of the problem. None of these people are looking for what the truth of things are. Their only interest is in confirming their personal truths. They believe what they believe and their only intent is to argue for what they believe to be true. The actual truth of things? That's not their concern or interest. Until these folks actually have an interest in the truth they will never change their positions. And so it can only and ever go round and round and round, with not a single issue ever being settled upon.

Snaps here. It is Sunday 13th July 2025 The camera finally gave up the ghost. I only took two pics and it conked out. I got it wet and it never recovered. Now If I was to put it in the micro wave to dry it out? Maybe I'll try that. These are the last two pics, leading to the buddha along the newly named Post Road. Road end looking towards the forest. And looking from t'other end. Still a bit of work to do. I'll have a look in the week. That's that. No more pics from the camera. So!!! Had to revert to me old smart phone. Kun's charcoal hut looking down in the dumps. The Euca in the far corner of number one farm is a giant. Never gonna cut it down. Can see why the Mrs is getting me confused with Brad Pitt (in his prime). Teaching Mildred to drive. Only around the farm though. As we passed our old farm I took some pics. Called this farm Number Three. Gone now. Looking west. And from a bit further along. Number 8 pond . Water level getting higher. Can't get that close to the ducks when Robert's about. They certainly had a feast today. Rice, lettuce and fresh water melon. I also threw them dog biscuit. Reminds me of me younger days. Growing up in East London. "You want bread pudding for dinner kids?" "Yes mum." "Better get over to Parsloes Park then. When they throw the bread to the ducks. Jump over the fence and grab it before the greedy sods gobble it down." Those were the days. Poor we were. But happy. Some views around the ponds. Number 5 pond. Between ponds 5 and 6. From the far end of Number one towards the farm house. Pond one from the near end. Looking west. The way into the farm. Eucas one year old this month. +++++ The big one tonight Chelsea v PSG. A good tennis match in prospect at Wimbledon. Seeds one and two. +++++ Mildred had two days off last week for big Buddha. She went with her mum on Thursday Morning. So the camera is kaput. That will teach me not to go sliding in the mud and lay in the water. The phone will have to do for the time being. And TBH, it's not doing bad. Did a nut cut in the week, No pics. Three loads to the local wholesaler;1015kg, 885 kg, 635kg, So 2535 total. Not a great cut this time. Price up to 5-25 per kilo. The 1000 baby eucas are growing like crazy. Kun and Rooney might be planting a few this week. I took some pics this afternoon, but they never came out. Stupid phone. Rain, rain rain. This is the wettest year that I can recall, and still have two months, at least, to come. Great stuff. Get that water table up. Feel sorry for those Englanders roasting in the sun. Daughter in Harlow (Essex) says it got up to 32C last week. 32C?? People would be lighting fires here to keep warm. Seems to be millions of these tiny ants about. Tiny little things. But are they stupid? Don't they know that if they climb up yer leg, under yer shorts, nipping as they go, they are gonna get crushed? Slow learners. Trouble in the Thai government. Some changes afoot? I asked the wife about it. Didn't even answer. Don't she care? Climate change. Thailand, Texas, New Mexico wet. Spain, Italy and UK hot. Same, same in Middle East and East Europe. Come on! Which one of you has the Epstein files? Bit light on the pics this week. Sorry bout that. Only one thing left to say; take care out there.

Hi all. Snaps here with the latest happenings up in the Isaan Boonies. Fixed up solar #3 last week. Not much to do but it had to be done to stop future problem. So, what was wrong? The very tough strapping that held up the pump, PVC pipes and cables had all but disintegrated in the sun over the pervious 15 month. If it had completely given up the ghost then all the weight would have been on the pipes themselves. I bought the strapping with a load rating of 250 kg, and with virtually no stretch. Had to cut the PVC pipes, lift up the whole thing about a metre and basically tie a new rope to the old. Easy enough. Quick words those. Wrong way round Kun. That's better. Robert came to help. All done. Time to leave. Try not to get stuck in the mud on the way out of the plantation. A new house being build just two farms down. Looks quite small to me. It's that time of year. Yes!! It's mango time. The tree next to solar #4 is doing great. Yum yum. We normally give away bucket loads. In the end you get fed up with having them every meal. +++++ Are Spurs doomed? They could well be. Replaced by The Lions. We will never hear the end of it in Saff London. South-coasters Cherries and Seagulls hitting form at just the right time. Have The Gunners about to lose top spot? The Championship is fascinating this season. For months, it looked like Sky Blues and Boro had auto promotion sewn up. Now it's already up Sky Blues, and either Lions or Tractors along with form boys Saints and Red Dragons no push overs. +++++ Both Lukes- Littler and Humphries (world 1 @ 2) - absent from the recent European Grand Prix held in Germany. Event won by Welshman Gerwin Price. +++++ The killer dogs came round and run riot. Killing 4 beautiful white ducks. All quiet for a few days, then they came again. Killing three more. Two left. Then there was one. Then there was none. I feel terribly guilty. Wanted to give these lovely creatures a good life and it all went horribly wrong for them. So what to do? Well! Both me and Kun have some plans. I left it to him. Pics next post. +++++ Mildred is more than halfway through her holiday, and there are still things I've not yet got started. Not yet had a game of chess. Not yet had a game of darts. One important thing is to get her to Phen to take her m/c test. The other is to renew her English PP. Must get myself sorted. +++++ Went to a Government Clinic last Friday for the eye. Come out with the predictable tablets and eye drops. Had a couple of terrible nights recently. Didn't get to sleep til gone 6 this morning, when Mrs Snaps came back from her mums. +++++ Within the next week, in London, we have the PM vs the Rent Boys trial starting. I'll be watching and reading with great interest. Wonder if Petee and Sir Kier shared a rent boy or two. Would explain a lot that. +++++ Bloody hot all right. Only two meaningful drops of rain since October. Last year was on the wet side. Are we gonna actually get a wet season? Climate change?! +++++ Take care out there folks. Seez yer all soon.

Well I'm not an expert, but I've heard a lot of them like to keep their d*cks.

Mate - both my Parents were in medicine - I was reading MIMs when I was a wee lad. An expanding dark circle in your vision combined with pain above the eyebrow can indicate a serious issue with the back of the eye, such as a retinal detachment, acute glaucoma, or a severe vascular issue. Nothing you do ill make that fixed and the longer you take to address the problem, the worse it will get. Please mate - get medical help. I understand you views towards medicines and the whole health industries - and for the large part you are right. BUT if you break your leg it will not grow back straight - it needs medical intervention. If you have broken something in your eye it will not heal well if at all - you need medical intervention. Eyes are like the brain - it does not heal itself very well at all and that is why it is 'protected' by that big thick skull. Eyes are 'protected' by a lot of 'blockers' and cleaning mechanisms (and you own primal reflexes to protect them). If the eye has is a retinal tear or internal damage, it cannot heal itself well at all. Perhaps the DMSO will help with some infection etc. but if it is a retinal tear or some other physical damage, it will do SFA. Go to the doctor or a hospital mate - there is a point beyond where medical intervention is needed - whether you like it or not. Having a heart attack? You cannot just wait until it fixes itself.

Gaddafi hit the nail right on the head, as he often did. Indeed the American people did not see any of this… but they do now and that is not a small event by any stretch of the imagination.

Hi all. Snaps here. Back after my computer mishap. All my own doing too. Never mind. I'm here, and this is the diary of Snaps in the boonies. The replacement car door arrived at Black Jacks. Not a white one; it was green. So a bit of work to do there. Took the car in on Wednesday. Might be finished this week end. Very busy at BJs. Guy taking a pic of the Ford. Did a nut cut earlier in the week. The best load for a few months. Then off to our local dealer. Price had gone up to 6-20 baht a kilo. Prices for nuts, cassava and sugar. Not too much sugar compared to another dealer down the road towards Ban Dung. Cassava better. Trucks not doing much. Was in there for 30 minutes. No other customer came in. Got unloaded. When they have 20 ton or so, the nuts go off to a factory just south of Khon Kaen. Since the new people got settled in next door, the soi is looking on the up. Not only do they pick up any trash - which helps me on my daily walk picking up mostly discarded plastic - but the lady of the house has a little garden at the front. Very nice. The biggest market of the year was underway for three days a week ago. Mrs Snaps and Mildred went along on the last day. I was quite interested in seeing how the huge AIS data centre was coming along. The river had been rerouted to accommodate the centre. The river here has been moved back 100 metres. Don't know what the little structures are for. Looking east across the river. The river finds its way into the Mekong about 50 km north, Must find the time to investigate further. The Post Road Farm is really getting a move on. Not only are the banana trees looking good, but so is the house. View from the super highway. View from half way along the Post Road. Looks like a celebration is about to happen. Both Robert and Crystal come with me to the farm on my daily visits. The pineapple outside the house has gone brown breaded However, the ones at the farm are shooting up. Little pineapples can clearly be seen. As for the ducks! They are doing just great. They keep in three groups. The 4 originals stick together. Then there is the 10 group. And then the last lot of 9. Sometime they are all in different ponds. Some big activity at Bella's house opposite. Had some pics of Soo at the top, chopping away, but lost them. +++++ Man Utd have raced from mid-table to top 4. Irons nearly out of trouble. The Championship is getting interesting. Boro top again. Millwall looking good. Owls really suffering. Jam Tarts still holding on north of the border. Gerwin Price wins this week's league darts in Belgium +++++ Elections have finished. Same, same. +++++ Worth saying what happened with the crash that caused me so much grief. I'd downloaded the latest version of FileZilla, and with it came a free anti-virus suite called Avast. Almost straight away I got fed up with Avast pop ups encouraging me to go to the paid version. After a month I decided to dump it. A few days later I started getting a system error and the computer would go on auto-restart. This was no good, so I decided to reload Win11. Half way through the operation I saw a tiny message in the bottom right of the screen saying the action will erase all data. Win11 was installed, and the data was gone. Took me three days to get all my emails and other links sorted. The worst ones being the three web-sites I manage. Had to contact the hoster and change all the passwords. All OK now. +++++ Mildred and her mum have gone to Udon today. Will visit Nan's beauty school, and see how she is doing. +++++ Have ordered a Director's Chair off Lazada. When I looked the prices ranged from 124 Bhat to 9,000+. So went for one in the middle. Just arrived. 250 Bhat. Not unpacked it yet. Waiting for Mildred to return home. I needed one to relax when I'm at the farm. +++++ Mildred had two days off this week. No idea what the occasion was. +++++ She had her wisdom tooth removed in Ban Dung. Went back a few days later to get the stiches out. Recovered well. Has to go back next month to do the other side. +++++ No rain for 104 days. Could this dry season be a record? +++++ That's it for now folks. Take care out there.

Snaps here. It's Tuesday 27th January 2025. Only one pic of the 2022 this week. It all looks the same. Work is progressing. Might be finished in 2027. Gave little Diamond a nice send off. But there was a surprise awaiting us. Farm dog Happy, who we hadn't seen for months, appeared out of the blue. He came running over when he saw us. The baccy farm is in full swing. Can't say I understand it all. Why are some baccy leaves are drying outside, whilst others are in the sheds? Did my 3 monthly pics of number one farm. From the far corner. First pic is looking north. Looking north-east. Toward the farm house 300 metres away. Looking east. Trees look awfully spindly to me. There are others that are doing OK though. So not moaning. Yoong, the twin's grandfather, had some soil delivered. Twenty truck loads!!! What on earth is he gonna do with that little lot? Robert and Oscar investigating. Ducks are doing just great. Milly snapped me feeding them in number 4 pond. All 23 still alive and kicking. It's a miracle that. Had to do pipe work on the palm farm. There are still 90 trees that are not directly fed by the 3 solar systems. Was gonna put another system in, but that's been sidelined. Also the Durian growing idea. Finding the enthusiasm is not as strong as it once was. Must be an age thing. So, I decided to link two pipe system together. Not completely finished. A sad event back in England threw turmoil into me for a few days. The finished job. It's all a bit complicated. The section We, me and Kun, when I can be bothered of late, was originally designed to have the water run in the opposite direction. So, have to alter some of the valves. We have the water running from number 2 solar system about 150 metres now. Another 60 metres to go, to serve the last 90 trees. The house on the post Road is steaming ahead. Put the house posts in just before the new year. Then 10 days ago the roof structure was completed.. Half a roof on. The full monty, with some wall structure. View from the super highway. Mildred tending the ducks in number 5 pond. Water still high. Tree still leaning. Mildred had her school team over for a few hours at the week end. They are doing a project on local salt producing. She was gonna drive them about over the salt farms close by. So the Mazza had to have a clean up. Rooney growing her cabbages. She has not been about this month cause her son was in a m/c accident over the NY, and finished up in a Udon hospital. He was transferred to Ban Dung a few days ago, Don't know when he will be able to return to the village. The sign on the road out of the village, leading up to the 2022. 'Shoulder work ahead.' Other body parts also worked on. Next left. Ask for Nok. 99 Baht an hour. +++++ Manchester United are on the rise. Beaten the top 2 in their last two games. Jam Tarts (Hearts) and Celtic share the points across the border. Who is this Motherwell (Steelmen) team? Great to see. My old local club, Hornchurch, back on top of the National League South. +++++ Darts in the Middle East. Yes indeed. Bahrain and Saudi. MVG and Luke Littler take one each. Masters continues in Milton Keynes this week end. +++++ Mildred seems to have a wisdom tooth growing. Went to the Dental Hospital on Saturday. Closed. Went again on Monday. Full. There are two clinics in Ban Dung. Don't like one of them. Have heard bad stories. The other one is closed until next month. As usual, we are right in the middle of the long dry spell. Last rain 29th October. That's 90 days and counting. Thai elections soon. Not sure when. Posters everywhere. Still no news about Mrs Snap's car door. Not that I'm bothered. As long as it starts, goes, and stops it's fine for me. Got some bad news from England. My younger sister passed away after a short illness. That's it folks. Stay safe out there.

There's a knock on the Pearly Gates, and Peter opens the gates to find 5 gypsies standing there. "Yes, how can I help" asks Peter. "Well" replies one of the gypsies, "we were in an automobile accident and next thing we know we're outside these gates" "What all 5 of you" inquires Peter "I'm not sure if I can let 5 of you in at one time, I'll have to ask God" Peter goes back to ask God. "Well" says God "It's not for us to judge who goes to hell and heaven, if they're at the gates then you'll have to let them in". Peter returns to the gates, but within minutes returns to God. "They've gone" exclaims Peter. "What! All 5 of them" retorts God. "No, the fecking gates" Peter replies.

BREAKING NEWS Fanta and I agree on something.

Hi all. Second part of this weeks post. Had a right squeak and bubble yesterday. The site wouldn't accept the uploads, and when I gave up, and posted what I had, it all went crazy and found all the pics that it said were not uploaded. But! We are all good to go now. Two villages away, a 2,000 PVC water pipe is being run to the Buddha compound, which is some way outside the village. Just had to go over and have a butchers. TBH, a decent solar set up would have been more than enough; probably cheaper too. But, what fantastic stuff there was over that way for me and the camera. Isaan Jeeper Creeper is about to do a wall around his parcel of land in Udon West. He said about using a wall-build build method that is quite popular here. This is the wall round the Wat that is getting the water. It's - wait for it - over 2,000 long. And still not finished. Not gone round the back. Next visit for that. The North end. Looking south. From the other end. Some great trees at the village school. A closer look. And another. With half the branches missing. It was just about then, that the cow came over for a stroke. Couple of sad houses. A lovely looking cat. Gave me the eye. Back towards the farm. The scaffolding was still up at the entrance to the Wat, at the other end of the Super Highway, that runs past the farm. Been that way for at least 3 years. Planted the pineapple top outside. Alongside the same plant. Found a Duck Farm earlier in the week; the other side of Ban Dung. Wanted to buy some little ones and two fully grown domesticated ones. There are three families in our village that keep these beautiful creatures. House right on the main road. Me and Mildred did a bit of fishing at the week end. Caught a few Nin, and, two Yissopps. Mildred caught the other one. We let them go into number 7 pond. Not good eaters. Strange thing; when I caught mine in pond two, and Mildred caught hers just 10 minutes later in pond one. Never even knew there were any Yissopps in there. Someone camping at the farm right next to us. The wet season seems to have ended. Time for the planted Eucas to grow. Mrs Snaps inspecting the trees with Rooney. The most delightful occurrence last week. Mildred went to one of the fridges and found a little lizard, quite still in there. Thought it might be dead at first. I gently removed it and after a few seconds there was a movement of a foot. Put it somewhere safe and 30 minutes it had gone. +++++ Counted all the change that we save up all year, in two money tubes. Came to 5,200 baht. Has to be sorted and bagged for the bank to accept it. Mrs Snaps and Mildred are going to Ban Dung tomorrow for a bit of shopping, pay the internet, and to put the change in Mildred's bank. This is the same each year for her birthday (this week end). Last year she bought an Apple Ipad with her saved up money. Next month is a big un. Have to renew me visa. And both me and the Mrs have to renew our driving licenses. Also Mildred will get her first m/c one. Gonna do it at Phen/Penn/Pen not sure of the spelling. Nor are the people doing the road signs. The place is about 35km from the village. Did a nut cut last week. 600kn at 6.40 baht a kilo. It's that time of year. Will not get better yields for another two months. That's it folks. Take care out there.

XIt's Monday morning - 13-10-2025 Snaps here, trying to make sense of a somewhat baffing world. Big news since the last boonies post, was in the UK. Matt Cross, a Lincs lad, and Maggie Blake from Corby took the titles for the World Conker Championships. The event was held in the illustrious grounds of the Shuckburg Arms Pub in Southwick, Northants, on Sunday, 12th October, and drew competitors and spectators from around the world. I'm sure TT member Owl, of the Owls was on tenterhooks. There are always things to do at the farm. Mildred collecting snails. What yer gonna do with them Mil? Think I'll let them go into pond 5. Best not to disturb these little sods. Little red army on the move. Two trees in particular have these nests. About 6 or 7 in all. Someone has been doing fishy things. Found a net in the corner of one of the ponds. Well hidden. Owl-eye Mildred spotted it. The net had trapped a couple of pla nin. But there was one fish that was new to us. Ducks doing just great. Mildred almost has them feeding from her hand. Sorry guys. Been trying to load up the pics for a couple of hours. Bit hit and miss earlier, but right now can't upload any. I'll sort it out with Craig and continue later. ''Error 200'' ++++++ The two Lukes did battle in the World Grand Prix in Leicester. Littler 6, Humphries 1. Actually a lot closer than the score suggests. The darts arrived, but not the board. Went onto Lazada and saw that the order had been cancelled. Had to order again. Went to a duck farm yesterday. Wonderful experience. Lots of snaps. Post later. The conflict at an end in Gaza? Looks like it. At least for now. Good news. That's it. Post the full log later. Take care out there.

Sunday, October 5th already. Mildred goes back to school on the 20th. Must get some games of chess in. She says tomorrow. I have to admit it. It was me. Sat on the end,,,and!! Not even my bed. Mildreds. Luckily I had fixed some hooks in the bed, about 8 years ago. Now they were gonna come in handy. Cut the plastics to length. and tightened it all up. No probs. Very comfortable. Not so easy to sort out was the damage to the rear bumper on the Mazza. The tractor's dirty work. Pushing me out the mud, at the farm last week. But then I had a lightbulb moment. Leave it. At the farm every day. Looking after things. Feeding the fish in pond #5. Robert on the right road. Lilies are quite magnificent in pond #6. Nearby Banana farm doing OK. Very difficult to make money from growing fruit, or veg, in these parts. The baccy growers will get organised soon. In the village, the two little buffs go wherever they want. No problem for anyone it seems. They are delightful. Snapped them right outside their house. I was thrilled to see the pineapple outside the house, that had been snapped off, sprouting roots. I'd kept it in water for two months. Gonna plant it this week. Found a couple of pics of Mildred doing school stuff. This first one was when her year went to Khon Kaen Zoo in 2024. A more recent one, This one, I don't know where or when. Got her scout garb on. Wake up Robert. There's a delivery lady outside to bark at, +++++ Change at the top of the EPL. Gunners, and it could be Palace second, if they can win at Toffeez. Pool having a tricky patch. For a team to go away and score 5 goals, is always worth paying attention to. Owls 0-5 v Sky Blues. and they go top, Both Owls and Blades suffering big time. F1 in Singapore. It's Mercedes this time. As long as Red Bull don't do any good. Looks like a really good chance of a cease-fire in Palestine. Think they are negotiating hostage releases; then it's all settled. All the flotilla boats boarded. Don't know what will happen to the boats, when all the sailors are deported, the supplies taken off and delivered. Ordered a dart board, and a set of darts, from Lazada. Should be with us in a day or so. Want to see if Mildred has the skills of her Dad. Decent money in darts now. Even a top 10 lady can earn 50k squids in a year. Gas run out yesterday. Only got a new one delivered at 18-00 today. 520 baht. Baht v squid still about 43.6. Had a big problem getting me new debit card sorted from Barclays. Got the card OK. But I couldn't get a pin-sentry. Need that, to get on me site. Otherwise no dosh for teerak. Sure to get a few whacks over this. Drama in Manchester for the wrong, tragic, reasons. Another fishy occurrence. No rain for 4 days. Has the dry season arrived a bit early? That's it folks. Stay safe out there. Beautiful Isaan.

Snaps here. It's Wednesday 17-09-2025 The fans arrived last week. Mrs Snaps got a bargain on TicTok. Two wall-fans for 640 baht. Delivery free; although I normally give a tip to the driver. So; a bit on the cheap side. Probably made in China. Soon had them fitted together. So far so good. But no fittings to fix them on the wall. And it was quite a unique fitting, so I didn't have anything handy that would do the biz. Not to worry. Fixed up the first one in the big room. Rope did the biz there. And drilled some screws, with big heads, in the wall for the bedroom one. Everything fine. Took the last 400 little euca pots back to the wholesaler on Friday. Bought just 20 more. Not sure if we will ever plant them. The Mrs said to get them just in case some that are planted go brown bread. Might try to grow them in bigger pots if they don't get used. The hotel is nearly ready. Looking grand. Still lots of trees to be cut down on the 2022. Hundreds in fact. All the ones in this pic have the red 'x'. Yet more bird nests in the leaning tree. Not yet seen the nest builders. Mildred practicing her road awareness skills. One lap of the farm is about 2k. Gonna be getting her m/c licence this year. It's a bit strange how the pigeons just love to congregate on just one house roof. Not seen another house, anywhere in the village, they like so much. Why do dogs like to lay in the middle of the road? This time Oscar. Watch out! Bus approaching. Every morning the mobile food shop comes round; rain, wind or shine. Grasshopper house waiting for the new arrivals. In it's new location. Big problem with the village water a few days ago. None through the pipes for over 24 hours. We had used virtually all the stored bathroom water; about 500 litres; when it did come back on. Then everyone was replenishing their tubs; so pressure not normalised for hours. Pipe tangles like this all over the village. Where to start!? Twins out and about with there their pal. Bella's hubby opposite is getting his chickens ready for the gala next month. Bean farm near us. The ducks are getting bigger and braver. Watch out Robert. They are coming over. Nearly here. Once they have scared away the dog, they tuck in. Don't look so sad pal. Give you some grub when we get back home. Gonna be a great rice harvest for everyone this season. So green everywhere. Our soi is the Animal Soi. In its 80 metres, it has 8 dogs, 12 cats and 25 chickens. If the gate is left open just a little bit, they are in scavenging. Heard them outside, leaned out of the window, and snapped them eating Robert and Oscar's grub. +++++ Proper footy back at the w/e. Pool top, with 4 wins from 4. Same familiar faces at the top of the EPL. What! Cherries 4th? Have to check again. What has happened to the Sheffield clubs? Don't look good for them. Champions League starts up this week. 6 English clubs involved. Van Gerwin (MVG) wins the Dutch Masters on home soil, beating Luke - The Nuke - Littler (MBE) 11-6. Simply must get interested in the on-going World Athletic Championships in Japan. +++++ The Don is in the UK. Saw a pic of him at Windsor Castle. Didn't know they had a golf course there. +++++ Charlie Kirk died. Assassinated. It all seems very strange to me. +++++ No water for at least a day. Then, when it did arrive, it was just a trickle for the next 12 hours. Monthly water bill came today; 275 baht for the two houses. +++++ Very sad to hear of that baby being killed by the dog in Bangkok. Just terrible. Don't mind saying I shed a tear when I heard about the incident. +++++ Is Thaksin actually in the monkey? I've read that he is. Mrs Snaps says 'No', 'He has escaped already.' The guy is 76 now. Sleeping on a concrete bed will not be good for him at that age. Where is Yingluck? Is she not coming home? +++++ Nice weather at the mo. A decent drop of rain every three days, or so. Rice is looking good. +++++ Done a nut-cut last week. The worst cut for a couple of years; Just 320kg. Price has gone up to 6.6 baht a kilo. +++++ Mildred has her exams next week. She tried to explain some maths to me. I just couldn't grasp it. Can just about help her with the English. I'm past my sell-by-date. The wife agrees. +++++ Number '7' came up in the lottery, as I said. No 6 million for me this time however. But I'm very confident for the next one. Not yet worked out the winning numbers for the 1st October. Will post them when I've got them sorted. +++++ That's it for now folks. Take care out there. +++++ Mildred's latest. Can't say I like him much. Looks a bit; you know,,,,, floppy. Hope that's not her b/f. www.mildredart.com

Snaps here. September already. Only last week it seemed like July. Where did August go? 07-09-2025 Work on the 2022 is going OK. I want to be there when they cut down some of the monster trees. No luck so far. Must drive up there more often. Found out what they do with the big pipe sections. One of the many machines on the go. Just had to take a pic of my card 'gobble-upper' ATM machine. At least when it is outside a bank, there is someone to moan at. The Grasshopper House has been moved. Went across the road to see how they were doing. None in there. Looks quite a professional set up though. I'll have another butchers tomorrow morning, when I walk Mildred to the school bus. Went the back way to the farm one day last week. Found something of interest. What is that? Must be growing something. I reckon they put the pottle on the bamboo sticks to show where the plants are. At the farm, I only saw these last week. Although they must have been there for a while. Bird's nests. And lots of them. Also in pond 7. Must keep an eye out for our fathered friends. Spend hours in this area of the farm and not noticed any building their homes. The ducks are doing great. The only duck that has been named is 'Loner'. Because he/she seems to like being alone. Although when they are all together, they are difficult to tell apart. Tin Tin the inherited farm dog (bitch), is partial to duck food. Robert too. But when Tin Tin is not about, he don't bother so much with it. The ducks are not confident enough, yet, to muscle the dogs out the way. Had a couple more solar lights delivered last week. One for the corner. Just across the way from number one pond. The other went on the roof of the water tank store. They have a remote control function range of up to 10 metres. So the sleepers can turn the closer one off when they want. More work at the farm house, A new ladder. Mrs Snaps having a butchers. Is she pleased? I don't think she is. I'll get a whack later for sure. Looks scrappy to me. Across the soi from us in the village. There is something going on. Tomorrow, when I do me daily walk down the soi, picking up any trash, I'll have a good look. It could be for a big chicken run. +++++ No footy worth reporting. But wait!! What am I saying? Orient won away at Vale Park. Hornchurch (Urchins) are still top of their league, but dropped two at Ebbsfleet. Big tennis final today. Best two guys in the world gonna slug it out. Don't think Djokovic will ever win another big one. Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka again beats American Amanda Anisimova in the tennis. Closer than it was at Wimbledon. But still in two comfortable sets. Verstappen set the fastest lap time ever in the F1 at Monza. Could a F1 car beat the fastest leccy car? I'll have a check on that. +++++ Some good news, and some not so good. We were told that Happy, our old farm dog for 10 years had died. He was buried at the buddha next to number one farm. The good news was that Ginger turned up out of the blue, after going missing for a few weeks. Still had his collar on. Someone had been feeding him I reckon. There is a family of chickens right next to our soi house. 5 chicks in all. Three dark ones and two yellows. Every time i see them, I've not got the camera with me. Try to get a pic this week. The dogs, nor the cats, don't bother them. That's good. Had some very heavy rain for about 20 minutes last week. Just how hard? Over 90%. But short lived. All change in the UK. Shuffle was due to Ms Rayner's resignation. Lammy, a black guy, who thinks apartheid is perfectly fine, is now vice PM. And a PM, a human right's lawyer, who thinks genocide is OK. Thinking about stopping my subscription to the Party. I really don't know what's going on. Bad crash of that cable car in Portugal last week. I'm shocked and saddened. Another forced change at the top in Thailand politics. Gold and Bitcoin are steadily going up. The GBP v THB seems stable at 43.5. Two fans have arrived today for Mother's house. Put them up in the next couple of days. Probably have to do some wiring. Ordered a litre of Witch Hazel from Lazada. Works wonders on any bites, stings and rashes. Should get it tomorrow. 400 Bhat. Cut down on my bathroom yoga routine. Was getting muscle bound. Just do each one for 30 seconds now. Fasted for 36 hours last week. Feel great. The price of drinks in Tesco and Big C, have rocketed up. I used to buy the Apple C[der drink. For years it was between 50 an 60 baht a litre. Now 99 Baht. And it's been that price for a few weeks. I'll not buy it at that price. Just a joke. As the sell-buy dates get closer the price will drop for sure. What is happening to Google and Wikipedia? Type Wikipedia into google and it don't show. Is there some battle going on? I used to update a few Wiki sites before. Usually about swimming; but other topics too. Now can't be bothered. That's it guys. Thanks for visiting. Take care out there. +++++ Mildred's latest painting. www.mildredart.com

Ignore Sunmaster, folks. He doesn't really mean what he says. Honest.

It's Sunday 3rd of August 2025. Snaps here. Trying to make sense of a topsy-turvy world. Kun found a nut cutter hidden in the cut fronds. Not ours. Who owns it? The Mrs reckons it belongs to the son at a farm away from us. He is always up to no good; she explained. Now! I know how difficult it is at the best of times cutting nuts in daylight. To think some scallywags would get a bit of Lao Khow money by wandering about a palm plantation in the dark; well, I couldn't even think about it. Will we ever get to the bottom of it? And it had only a two metre long handle. Talking about nut cutting! Just bought a new one. 4 metre long pole. And not welded. Clamped. Next nut cut in about a week. And if I thought we had a big one. Today on the way to the ATM on the main road, what did we see? Cutters on the go. Nothing to do with nuts. PEA maintenance. Hard at it stopping future leccy cuts. Their poles must have been eight or nine metres long. Robert loves a massage. Sad to see this house go to pot. Right by the small river. Had to go to Adjun's gaff, to get a cover for Mildred's phone. Her father fixes up m/cs and pick-ups. I know where to go for my trailer now. The new hotel next to 'Go Fresh' in Ban Dung, is nearly ready. Will open this year I reckon. Very sweet. Not seen them before. At the side of Ban Dung's new minimarket. It was like this. Need extra trees. The 1000 originals not enough. So three trips to the 'local' grower. 500, 700 and 400 tree pick ups. Cost so far for new trees 1000 @ 4.5 baht. And 1600 @ 6 baht. Gonna cost 20k to get them all planted. Expensive this tree growing. But in 5 years time it will 'hopefully' be worth it. Had to take back the little grow pots. The Mrs counting them!? They go into the drilled tables. The lady selecting only the best growers for us. Me and Mildred were on the Saturday (yesterday) trip. No Mrs. Unloaded a couple of hours later. If they all grow up to be as big and strong as this monster, I could be a millionaire (again). 80cm round, measured at one metre above the ground. This tree was put in the ground in July 5 years ago. Absolutely fantastic. I held the tape. Mildred took the pic. And the planting continues. 'Hey Farang. I see something. Come here.' 'I tell you come Farang. You not understand English good now?' 'Sorry teerak; I was taking pictures.' 'You no good. Want me to break telephone? Come now.' 'What is it teerak?' 'Too slow. Gone.' What is she doing? Swimming in the rice field? A bit of swimming myself to put the overflow cap on. +++++ Footy started up yesterday with the third and fourth divisions locking horns. And also the very early rounds of the FA Cup. My bestist team got done in Huddersfield 3-0. Not a great opener that. Same as last season; bad start. But on the up side, a team I played for many years ago - Redbridge - won away 0-4 in the Cup. +++++ Is there still skirmishing on the Cambodia/Thai border? Seems too quite to me. The Don must have forced a deal. Was a bit under the weather last week. Not been ill for a number of years. So caught me out. About 80/85% recovered now. As usual, didn't take any medication. Just rested up and drank 4/5 litres of water each day. In the UK, Corbyn and Sultana team up and start their new party. Corbyn says to get together and oppose the anti-migrant hotel demos. Reform are loving all this. There are works starting on the 2022. Went past the section today. Big machines are back. Found out what the 4 hour leccy cut was about week before last. It was directly to do with the works. A leccy post was dislodged. They turned off the juice to get it all fixed. Not done a reishi brew for months. Need a tonic to get me back to normal. "Have to take it easy this month Teerak. Cut down on deliveries. Lot's to pay out in August. Tighten our belts a little." "You send internet Chinese lady money. Have none for family. Farang no good." Only one thing left to say. Take care out there folks.

U.S. intelligence had credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the salacious Trump-Russia collusion narrative—before the bureau ever launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe

Snaps here. It's Monday 28th July 2025 Not stopped raining for about three days. None of it hard though. Very dark at the mo. Just before 13-30. The work on the road (2022) widening had stopped for now. Big machines gone. To much water I reckon. Shame to cut down all those beautiful trees. Don't know why they are doing a big fix to the road at all. Just had to go along and fill in the holes every few days. Pay some locals to do it. Keeps some people in work I guess. And money moving around. Road drops off all the way along this section. Gonna be tonnes of back-filling needed. Robert don't care about no road works. He just wants to be let in to join the chilled-out crew.. Lots of rain, and lots of field flooding. Been planting new trees all last week. In the rain usually. Some don't care about that, as long as there is a plastic bag and a rice sack on hand. Tin Tin keeping Rooney company. Big areas are done. OK to be just left to nature. But, there are some big areas that need new trees. Put in the stake. Get rid of the grass where the new ones are gonna go; and there ya go. The tree delivery looked good. Lost around 150. Don't know why. Too much watering? Rooney reckons they were left in the plastic bags too long. Mrs Snaps says not enough watering! I went to the big supplier on the north road out of Ban Dung. Orders waiting to be picked up, or delivered. Bought 500. Will need more. I've arranged with Mildred that tomorrow (Tuesday), I'll get the trees, from the same place, and pick her up from school at 15-30ish. The two workers, selecting the best ones for me. Got them back and put them in trays. Will soon be in the ground. Ducks doing really good. In their house. They certainly love their grub. They come right up close. As long as the dogs are not about; and a bit of food is on offer. New banana plantation at the end of the Post Road. I reckon about 100 trees. Spotted at the lights at the south of Ban Dung. Would be; 'Ellow, ellow. What 'ave we got 'ere then.' In Essex (England). In Thailand it's fine. Seveen and Oscar. Freddy the resident frog, mesmerising the cats. +++++ Well done the English Ladies. Two running! Germany won six on the spin a wile back. So five to go to equal them. F1. Simply a procession. What on earth do Thailand want this nonsense for. Darts final in Blackpool last evening. Will watch it straight after posting. Luke Little came from 6-1 down to overcome Josh Rock in the semies on Saturday. In one leg. Both on a 9-darter after two visits each. Littler took out the 141 and the honours. What a match! +++++ Mildred off school today. No idea why. another Buddha day probably. Had half a dozen leccy cuts last week. One time stayed off for 4 hours. A relief to see Ginger come back home for a visit on Friday afternoon. Had some grub, got a stroke or two, and off he went again. Ants, ants, and even more ants. They are everywhere. Little tiny black ones. All the villagers are moaning about them. Not looking good along the border of Thailand and Cambodia. Should be safe up her. I blame the French. Just like the English; they were good at giving land away. One of our big fans packed up. I got it going, but it was only running on number 3, and was starting to smell. Sort of electrical smell. Chucked it out for the scrap man. Thai PM gone. Will the military step in to help? If you are south of Surin and Buriram, don't forget to don yer bullet-proof vest when yer goze out to the market. If yer have one of course. Can get them on Lazada. Or make them with strips of bamboo and twine. That Maxwell lady is going for a pardon; it's only rumoured at the mo. Not going down well in some quarters. Only one thing left to say; take care out there. Mildred's latest. www.mildredart.com

Snaps here. It's Sunday 29th June 2025. Still plenty of rain. Virtually every day. Not monsoon rain though. That is yet to come in a couple of months. Not been to town for over a week. Spend most of my time at the farm. Just love it there. It's that special time of year again. Getting the paddy ready. Big team move in and make short work of the planting. Never seen so many posts and concrete rings. The rings have been lined up and plants put in. Probably fruit trees. There is mud on every corner in our part the village. This part of the farm is not in use now. The concrete tanks hold 2,000 litres each. Back in the day I would pump water from number 8 pond, fill them and once the lever was turned, the water would start a 400 metre journey to where the main solar system now is. From here it went through pipe work and drip tape to look after over 100 palms. The other 250+ palms were fed by ponds one and two. Water pumped 200 metres into the big holding tanks, that are no longer there, and then through quite an intricate pipe, and fertilizer system. All in the past that. Things changed for a couple of reasons abut 6/7 years ago. One reason was the weather. We were going from late September to May with just a couple of rainy days. Didn't have the water in the ponds to pump. Just when the palms needed a drink most; in the early months of the year. Three years ago ponds 6 and 7 dried up. that's climate change inaction. The other reason was the extremely poor nut price. Dropped down to just over 2 baht a kilo. Wasn't worth harvesting them. In fact, I pulled up 192 trees, and planted eucas. That were harvested last year for a tidy sum. So not all gloom and tears. Gonna do a nut cut in the first week next month. The view from the concrete tanks looking east. A couple of pics from a farm visit last week. The leaning tree. Mildred's pal from school visited he farm on Friday. She only lives a couple of kms from the farm. Mildred said she was thrilled to see Big Orange. I planting the bamboos about 15 years ago. Must have 1000 sticks now. Tintin looking after the ducks. Mrs Snaps went chain-saw-crazy. Cut just about everything down next to her new house. Well not her. Kun did the cutting. There's a new kid catching the school bus. Just 4 years old. The two kittens seem perfectly at home. As much a part of the family as; well; me. Seveen and Lucky. Have to be careful. They follow me outside, and go to hide under the Mazza. Have to double check before I drive away. The avocado tree is doing OK. It's three years old. Don't seem to be very big to me. Not a fast grower when starting out from seed. The other one is in a ring with a pineapple and a papaya. +++++ This World Club Championship seems to be going on for yonks. Chelsea had a good win v Benfica. Brentford turned down 60+ million for their star striker; Mbeumo. Keep him Beez. Move on up. As much as I like the footy. The sums of money involved are mind-blowing. An EPL player can earn more in a month than some earn in a lifetime. I'm not envious though. I had my chances. If I had to be the best in any sport now I'd choose darts. Or chess. +++++ I've got three different bathroom exercises. Been doing them for about a year. Mrs Snaps says she has noticed a difference in me. Mildred is a bit under the weather. I'll try to persuade her to take a few days off school. Things do seem to have improved between Israel and Iran. All down to The Don of course. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize now. Forget the voting. A record common carp was caught in Hungary. What a monster. 105 lbs. Pic c/o Angling Times. My biggest ever was caught at Hainault, Essex. Weighed in at 20 3/4 lbs. Although, I caught a whacker in Spain; but didn't weigh it. Now days I'm content to see the carp in the ponds just cruising about. Wouldn't dream of fishing for them. Tea bags. Sent sway for a box of 200. Can't get them anywhere in Ban Dung. Not Big C, Tescos, SuperMart or the Minimart store in the Bus station. Cheese! Clean out. I'll try to get along to Udon next month to replenish stocks. Can meet up with a pal, that posts on TT, while I'm there. The camera. Can't adjust the settings on the camera while using it. But was able to change some by plugging it into the computer. Has the pic quality improved? A bit I reckon. I don't want to use my smart phone. Don't trust them. And they can take over yer spare time. Only use mine as an alarm clock. That's it folks. Only one thing left to say; take care out there.

The most beautiful Thai girl I ever saw. In Sawang Daen Din. I was with the Mrs in a restaurant. As soon as she got up and went to the loo, the beauty came over to me. I thought I was about to get her phone number. But no! She showed me her phone that had a translation app. She had obviously translated her thoughts of me into English. It read: "We have fresh dog meat in. Give wife big surprise with take out."

Just had an email from Snaps/Owl. He's fine but his laptop has bit the dust, he's playing catch up with stuff as he's lost a lot of info. Hopefully he'll be back posting soon enough.

Late entry. 1) C 2) D 3) B 4) A - 5) D