Saturday Night at Home

It is very pleasant to be at home with Luna in front of the TV watching Hull City versus Liverpool in the English Premier League. Luna, bless her, is huge and the boy looks as if he is going to pop out at any moment. I have jokingly asked Luna a few times recently if she forgot to tell me she was two or three months pregnant when we got married in October last year! Mind you Luna insists on wearing short trousers and they do tend to enhance the bulge. A further scan and visit to the doctor beckons tomorrow, Sunday, and we both hope and pray all will be will.

This time last week I had been having a very busy day following a busy week. We played Dragon Hills early Saturday morning to round off a week of golf with my friend Greg who returned to Canada last Monday. This was followed by a quick dash back to Ratchaburi for a massage, 2 hours for a mere 250 baht and very fine quality I hasten to add; thereafter a snack in Coffee & Steak, one of Ratchaburi's trendy coffee shop/eateries and then we took a lift down to Hua Hin with our friends Greg & Julie and stopped for a little bit of bird watching to the east of Khao Yoi; there is an excellent pool there where recently we have seen little grebe, cotton pygmy-geese,pheasant tailed jacana, bronze-winged jacana, common moorhen, purple swamphen, Indian cormorant, and they did not disappoint us on this occasion.

It was farewell to Greg & Julie, back to Canada to open up their inn in Nova Scotia for the start of the summer season. Greg has been a great companion on the golf course these last few months, a kindred spirit. So hopefully they will enjoy a bumper season and head back here November to avoid the bleak northern hemishpere winter. We had a final meal in one of our favourite restaurants in Cha am, right on the main drag, nameless but it does a fine crab curry and fried sea bass.

Unfortunately Friday previously my car broke down but fortunately it did not die until we got to Royal Ratchaburi golf course. Greg & I took advantage of the special offer and played 36 holes with a cart. After golf the repair vehicle arrived and towed our vehicle away and dropped us at home in Ratchaburi. The towing vehicle was a very old Datsun, probably about 1975, and I reckon pigeons usually live in it! Funny really. Couple of youngsters in it and whenit stopped they had to fill it with oil! So I picked up a replacement vehicle Saturday night and drove it back to Ratchaburi.

Sunday we did a little bird watching in the Khao Yoi area once more, I have a weakness for the pond. Later in the day we attended the perfection of Sister Appichayah, who became the first Thai national to join the Carmelite Sisters; in effect this was a mass where she took her final vows. What a ceremony, three bishops, one bishop elect, 50 plus priests and members of all manner of religious communities plus parishioners and teachers. I often ponder how those early missionary priests, mainly Italian, who established the original mission in Ratchaburi about 100 years ago, must be turning somersaults in heaven when they look at what their original efforts have in turn created. I also understand how proud the Thai clergy are that Sister Appichayah becomes the first Thai national to join the Carmelite Sisters - a very pleasant ceremony and evening.

We then had a few days away as reported above and Friday we took Mimi & Flor to the airport with a stop on the way home in Putthamonton Park in the western suburbs of Bangkok. This really must be one of the great parks of the world and a real gem for birds. We got sight of a small minivet, a really beautiful bird but hard to get the tools on as it was on the move. There will be many more trips to this park.

So I have been busy and it is boiling hot, so it is nice to sit here at home and watch the football and take it easy.