Oxford University Course

This week sees me embarking on another course with Oxford University, this is my fourth. This course does not carry any transferable credits but is a CPD or continuing professional development course. Don't you just hate TLAs?  A prize for the first reader to identify what a TLA is.
So, what is this course about? It's entitled Effective Online Tutoring. So far it looks great, based around Moodle; explore the link below if you'd like to know more about what that is. It uses blogs, wikis, VLEs (there's another one), and all manner of e-learning type tools. I figured it was time to update my knowledge in this area as the future is definitely along this path. Who knows, if I enjoy it I may pursue some postgraduate modules in e-learning. I've taken a peek at some blogs written by one of my old colleagues from the British Council and the content of these e-learning degrees interests me greatly. 
The best thing about this course though, is that the certificate will be in my name but the invoice will be in my employer's name. 

 Here is a link to the Moodle website  

Season of mellow fruitfulness

England is a lovely place! I had forgotten the smells of autumn, the colours of  deciduous leaves and the sounds of dried leaves underfoot. I watched my girls playing in dried leaves today; throwing them up and laughing as they fell all around them. Clad in warm jackets, scarves, hats and gloves; so different from Thailand, where I swear it was hotter when I left than the day I arrived. We bought pumpkins on the way home to carve into lanterns.  I'm very glad to be back again in England.

Air battle of the gulf states

England once more. Home this time via Manchester airport and train to York. I will never understand airline fare structures and have stopped trying to see through the illogicality to the kernel of sense; I don't believe there is one anymore. Those of you who know me will know that I have travelled inter-continentally by Emirates for many years. Sometimes another airline may undercut them a little but the good service and growing number of air-miles I am amassing on their system outweigh any serious financial considerations. Not so this trip. My wife and family were returning with me so we were going to book them on the same Emirates flight as I was booked on. Shock! even horror at the quoted prices. Suffice to say I flew home via Doha on Qatar Airlines. Even paying for train-fares from Manchester for four, then to Newcastle for one (my car was in Northumberland), it was cheaper by Qatar for me to forget my paid-for return and buy four new tickets plus rail fares. How much cheaper?
Well, I'm writing this on a brand new Acer Timeline Laptop, bought with the remaining difference. As I say airline pricing is a black art to me.

Visa at last!!

After months of waiting, my wife now has a settlement visa for the UK. She can now get on with life in the UK. The last few weeks have seen the whole family in limbo; not able to get on with anything. Now she can apply for a national insurance number, apply for further education courses, etc.; in other words - get on with life.
I appreciate that the new stringent regulations are to protect the country from 'undesirables', but the vast majority of applicants, particularly those asking for spouse visas, are not exactly high risk. You and I can see this, why can't the immigration authorities?

Back to Bangkok

Eight months, almost to the day, since leaving Thailand I landed here again yesterday. I flew by my usual airline - Emirates. Happy that they now allow 30 kgs. of baggage per passenger because I was carrying a lot of brochures and promotional material. I'm spending two weeks holiday with the family then a further week in the land of smiles promoting my school in York. I will be presenting the school to agents in Thailand and my wife will provide the Thai input for those agents with poorer English skills.
I have a few things lined up to do that I never got around to in my ten years here. A bicycle tour of the lesser known parts of Bangkok using the longtail boats as well as roads and paths. I'm looking forward to this a lot especially as the weather is not too hot at the moment.
I always wanted to eat a meal in the revolving restaurant in the Baiyoke Tower, Bangkok's highest building. This too is going to become a reality. I'm hoping for some good photos looking out over the city.
Photos as and when I see some interesting subjects.

A 'to do' list with a difference

A 51 year old male - the impermanence of human life hurtling towards him, coupled with several weeks of peace and quiet to contemplate what he has and, more importantly, has not done in his life.
I have decided to make an abridged 101 things you must do before you die type of 'to do' list. I am being sensible and only adding items that I can afford to do, in terms of both time and money.
So here is the list, in no particular order:

1) Learn to fly a powered light aircraft 
2) Write a short story and have it published in a magazine

3) Present a paper at a truly international conference

4) Learn to ride a unicycle

5) Teach my daughters to use a map and compass

6) Make my own cider

7) Plant a small woodland

8) Sponsor a micro solar/hydro project in a developing country

9) Write an online course using Moodle 
10) Learn to fly a glider

11) Find a Victorian bicycle (boneshaker or penny-farthing) to restore which costs less than a small house. 

12) Climb all 217 mountains and fells on A.W. Wainwright's list 
13) Fly in a hot-air balloon 
14) Learn to paint with the set of acrylics my mother bought me 5 years ago
15) Find something of value with a metal detector 

As these things get 'ticked off' or added to, so the list will change. I'm hoping it will give my life some focus as I feel the last 10 years in Thailand flew by with indecent speed. A sign of increasing age I fear.

Flying to toyland - (again!)

I am flying to Thailand on Saturday 26th September. Why? As a person who has made no secret of his recent dislike of the place it seems a strange destination. Well, it has to do with more permanent roots in England. My wife is in Thailand as I write with our children. I work full time so could not look after the girls hence they are with their mum. Why is my wife in Thailand? One word answer - visa.

Having lived for the last few months in England on a  tourist visa and quite liking the UK experience she decided to make the move more permanent. With this in mind she has applied for a visa granting leave to remain in the UK. They have been back in Thailand since July. To quote a line from 'Casablanca' - they wait, and wait, and wait. An appropriate quote because the speaker is describing people who need visas for America in Casablanca during the war and the difficulty of obtaining them.

It seems incredibly difficult to get a settlement visa for the UK. let's look at the situation: married to a British citizen for almost 10 years, mother of two British citizens, registered at the consular section in Bangkok, as indeed was the marriage. Educational qualifications include a BSc and an MBA. Some of the interview questions included "Have you any evidence that this is a long term relationship?"

The cost of this visa? 800 pounds - yes!! EIGHT HUNDRED POUNDS. The waiting time? "for your benefit and convenience", about 16 weeks.

They wait, and wait, and wait...

Laws of Physics Revision

Take a look at the latest piece of kit I purchased for my trusty steed. Classic black, compact, multi-functional, reduced by 70% in the shop. I had to have it. A compass, coupled with a delightful sounding 'ding' bell; what's to dislike? The original price of 6.99 was knocked down to 2.49, it was mine!
Fitting took all of two minutes and off I pedalled; what's this, a rougue unit? The direction indicator slew wildly from North to South, at times inexplicably spinning - directionless - like a dog in a butcher's shop.
I should explain at this point that my trusty steed is a classic British roadster, a Humber Sovereign dating from 1951/1952. A distinguished looking upright bicycle, much more suited to York commuting than a day-glo mountain bike.
It differs from a mountain bike in so many ways. 25 fewer gears, classic black enamel, 1950s brakes. It has drawbacks I'll admit but the practicalities of it outweigh the shortfalls. I wouldn't swap it for the daily commute, perhaps at the weekend, but don't let her know.
Back to my problem, why does the compass refuse to settle down and direct me? One word will instantly strike chords with the more scientific of you: aluminium! Modern bikes are mostly constructed of aluminium, a non-magnetic material which does not attract magnetic things like compass needles. My bike is made of good sturdy British steel. Oh well, anyone like to buy a classic black, combination bell-compass?

Industrial chic

10 years in Thailand seemed to fly by. A couple of jobs and a few rounds of golf. Two children born, but it all seems like yesterday. Meanwhile in England things moved at the speed of light. I remember Leeds as a run-down, frayed at the edges kind of city. I visited last month, a school trip to the Royal Armouries and was stunned. The canal basin area, which I remember as industrially depressing and bleak, is full of life. Where there were rusty supermarket trolleys and decaying lock gates there are flowers and restored industrial heritage; lovingly cared for, cast-iron makers plates painted black with white lettering fixed to green lock gates. The warehouses of broken windows now airy balconied student accomodation. The cycles are no longer discarded in the canals but being ridden along the towpaths; all carefully signposted for a whole new generation of cycle commuters. I feared for England when the oil runs out, but windmills and bicycles are not dead yet. And they're so much more pretty to look at than petrol stations.

Birds in the garden

I'm writing this on a Saturday morning while looking out into my garden. My garden is in a suburb of York, England. I'm watching a bird feeding station I recently set up for the education and pleasure of my children. I am amazed at the variety of species that feed here. So far I have seen the following birds:

Robin, blackbird, thrush, starling, blue tit, coal tit, great tit, house sparrow, hedge sparrow, lesser-spotted woodpecker, magpie, collared dove, wood pigeon, wren, greenfinch, wheatear.

17 species, not a bad result for a garden. However the eighteenth and latest species witnessed this morning at about 6.55 a.m. simply took my breath away. A sparrowhawk! She, for it was a female, struck silently and efficiently in the garden, over in seconds, but we now have one less house sparrow to visit us.

I've seen golden eagles close up in Scotland. I was walking up a Munro in Glen Lyon just approaching the ridge while a Golden Eagle was using the updraught on the opposite side of the mountain to ascend, we met, eye-to-eye at the sharp edge of the ridge with perfect timing. I don't know which creature was most surprised, the eagle dropped some superfluous weight, as indeed I nearly did, and looped back into the wind and away.

This morning's episode was even more shocking however, in part due to the brutality of the kill; a set of talons through the throat. The speed of the whole affair was, and I shall use a word which is beginning to lose its power but is the only word I can use for the scenario - awesome. Nature at its most brutal, life goes on and all that, but this kill left a deep impression on me. Efficient, mercifully quick, but so damn fast!

Isn't nature wonderful? - scary but wonderful.

New country, new job, new hobby

Blighty once more. It has taken me a little while to adjust to England again - reverse culture shock after all those years in S.E. Asia. However I have my feet firmly under the table now and life is good.

I'm still teaching English, for a lovely school in York, but only in the mornings; afternoons are for my new job: Resource Manager for the school. I am sourcing and writing IELTS questions, writing exercises for the school's guided e-learning site, training teachers on IWBs, the school has 4 shiny new Promethean interactive whiteboards. And a hundred other varied little tasks. Very refreshing after 10 years plus of teaching. Best of all, the job carried a payrise.

Now the new hobby, it's not really new but something I have returned to after far too many years; cycling. I cycle to work in the city consistently voted Britain's most cycle friendly place. There are traffic free cycle lanes into work, 20 minutes travel time along the river side, versus 30 plus minutes of stressful motoring followed by truly unbelievable car parking charges. Leisure time too is pleasant by bike, I have taken to the national cycle network around York for pleasure, the English countryside is so green. I had forgotten the myriad shades of green, the smells of nature - mushrooms not in a supermarket, squirrels, fish jumping.

England, a poor substitute for New Zealand, but way better than Thailand in so many ways.

Hi readers,

An update and the first post in a while. I am settling down at my new job in York, Yorkshire. The family have arrived and are getting to know the surrounding area. Photos later.

My Facebook details

The straw that broke the camel's back

Still in the UK and really furious with the PAD. I was supposed to be flying back to Toyland today but the actions of Sondhi et al in closing suvarnapoom (sic) have forced me to stay here another week.

After paying the British Council about 200 pounds to sit my DELTA exam in Bangkok it now seems as if I will have to pay again to sit it in England.

I was booked on an Emirates flight via Dubai into Bangkok tomorrow (Friday 28th) the Bangkok leg has been cancelled and my only option is flying back on the 4th December via - wait for it - Dubai, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Krabi and then bus to Bangkok.

This is the final nail in the coffin for Toyland; I am now desperate to leave the place forever and quite frankly I would be happy to never see it again. I was unimpressed with Thaksin and his antics but the alternatives are a complete joke. I doubt if their combined knowledge would be enough to pass an 'A' level economics exam; what are they thinking? For a country that depends heavily on tourist revenue they have really shot themselves in the foot; well both feet really. They (the PAD) have condemned Toyland to remain, for the foreseeable future at least, a 'little people'. To draw loosely on a speech of Churchill's, my thoughts can be summed up thus: Never have I seen so many people so proud of so little.

I certainly don't want to be here when the current king meets his demise; I predict that there will be utter chaos and quite possibly fully fledged civil war (throughout the whole country as opposed to just the south).

Toyland, your attractions were not that appealing to me earlier, now the balance has tipped, the things which used to compensate for the heat, corruption and general lack of competence no longer matter so much. I have even given serious thought to taking a six month teaching contract in Afghanistan!

Guiness at 1.50 a pint in Kilburn, despite the weather, seems much more attractive right now; I never did like Singha anyway.

Which Social Networking site to use?

After careful consideration I have decided to stop updating my Hi5 profile, I shall display a link to both Facebook and LinkedIn in it and leave it.
I believe that Facebook has won the most subscribers and has the greater functionality; that said I think LinkedIn will be of most use throughout a person's life, I have already received a serious job offer through the site.

Doing some study in London

Right now I'm doing a diploma in teaching English to adults (DELTA), specialising in teaching academic English, at International House, Covent Garden, London. Hard work but I hope it will make me more employable and enable me to break into teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP).

I'm living in Kilburn, an area popular with the Irish so there are lots of 'genuine' Irish pubs.
On Saturday night I went out with my landlady to a bar called The Castle in neighbouring Cricklewood to see an Irish band called the Wolfe Tones. As I like folk music it was a good night for tunes: the lyrics however were a little too 'rebel based' for me. For example we sang along to 'The rifles of the IRA', and the words of another went like this:
'The devil is dead, the devil is dead and he's buried in Kilarney, others say he rose again and joined the British army.'

Never a dull moment in London.

An article published in the Bangkok Post (Learning Post) 15th July 2008

Bagging peaks

The United Kingdom is an uneven place when it comes to height; there are large areas of ground at, or only a little above, sea level. However, for a growing number of enthusiasts, the interesting parts of the UK are the areas over 3,000 feet (914 metres) high. England and Wales have a few mountains over this height, but it is Scotland that has the most.
An interesting weekend activity is fast becoming a competitive sport: Keeping a record of mountains climbed, or "peak bagging". There are more than 200 peaks over 3,000 feet that have become the focus of a growing group of mountaineers and hill walkers.
The challenge
In 1891, Sir Hugh Munro (1856-1919), a Scottish businessman, made a list of 3,000-feet high Scottish mountains. There were, and still are, 284 of them. The Scottish Mountaineering Club maintains a list of over 4,000 people who have climbed them all.
For some, the climbing of the Munros is a pleasant activity for a fine weekend. For others, they present a challenge to be attained as quickly as possible. To complete all the Munros is a formidable challenge as some of them are many miles from a road and require a long walk across remote land before they are reached.
There are mountaineers who have climbed them all in one long expedition. In 1974, Hamish Brown became the first person to do this; it took him 112 days. The book Hamish's Mountain Walk tells the story of his feat and is probably the reason why "Munroing" has become so popular.
Charlie Campbell, a former postman from Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, holds the record for the fastest round of the Munros. He completed the round in 2000 in 48 days and 12 hours. There are two young men under 12 who are currently vying to become the youngest "Munroist". The oldest person to complete the round was over 70 when he bagged his last peak. In 1985, Martin Moran completed a continuous round during winter conditions; he took only 83 days to do it!
The Munros in winter conditions are a very serious challenge. By world standards, though, they are not particularly high. The severe and unpredictable weather conditions in Scotland make them seem much more difficult than their lowly height, by world standards, would suggest. Snow has been recorded falling on Scottish mountains in July, usually the warmest month in Scotland. In February or March, the snow can be many feet deep. Some mountains never lose all their snow from one year to the next.
The mountains
The majority of the mountains have names derived from Gaelic, the old language of Scotland. They are mostly descriptive names, such as Stob Ban, meaning simply White Mountain. The people who speak Gaelic nowadays live mainly in the far east of Scotland. However, the popularity of Munroing has also spurred an interest in the Gaelic language, if only to understand what the name of the mountain you are climbing means.
The highest mountain in the UK is called Ben Nevis, which is 4,409 feet (1344 metres) high. It is also, of course, a Munro. Because of its "highest" status, it is a very popular mountain to climb. Many Munroists reserve it as their final ascent, often inviting friends and family to climb it with them and hold a celebration at the summit. There used to be a permanent weather station on the summit plateau.
The mountain is also one of three that feature in the "Three Peaks Challenge". The challenge involves climbers attempting to climb the highest mountains in England, Wales and Scotland and travelling between those mountains, all within a period of 24 hours. The individuals and teams who attempt the feat are usually sponsored, and they frequently donate the money that they received to various charitable institutions.

A letter published in the Bangkok Post 12th July 2008

Proper driving needed
I am from the UK and lived there for 40 years without seeing a dead body. Since coming to Thailand almost 10 years ago, I have seen about 20 corpses, witnessing the death of two of them. They were all victims of avoidable traffic accidents.
After visiting nearly 50 countries, I believe Thai drivers to be the most ill-informed, reckless and spatially unaware of all. I have had some near misses myself whilst driving and believe that the root of the problem lies in the lack of road user education.
As I grew up in Britain I was exposed nightly to road safety and awareness adverts, the catch phrases are with me yet. "Clunk click every trip", "Look right, look left, then right again", "Speed kills", etc.
I fervently hope that this new government, coupled with a public information TV channel modelled on the BBC, can together help, primarily, to reduce the death toll and, secondly, the tedious traffic jams caused by the long wait for the familiar white spray-painted outlines of vehicle positions involved in minor accidents.
Perhaps we could start with a "make sure there are no surprises" campaign, encouraging drivers and riders to indicate and look before changing lanes or joining a line of moving traffic. If only one person benefits by not being mown down by a pickup truck, surely it would have been worthwhile?
IAN PAUL

A poem about Thai shoppers

What did you do at the weekend?

A high percentage tell me shopping
Used to think they only knew one verb
Ten years now of watching them; No! It’s what they really mean
Britons branded shopkeepers: the Thai are happier cast as shopper
Bangkok: city of traffic, face and shopping malls
Working Monday until Friday, only reason – spending power
Counting down to opening time, Friday evening forsake the tower
End of week now shopping calls
Central, Robinson and Paragon, venues for the weekend dash
Not for Thailand dreams of Rio or of Disney’s waking dreams
Marks and Spencer, Burberry and Harrod’s: these are prized as destination
Frigid temples to promotion, sale and bargain
High priests Bulgari and Armani, to worship at the cashier’s altar
descends the weekend shopping army
Credit card, debit card and store card, yet others proffer crinkly cash
What did you do at the weekend?