Pic above: Aiden with Nanna. We have a new little companion to join us in our adventures. Aiden was born on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 2009 (the remembrance day story made quite an impression with all the Thai's in the family, as you might expect.... And with us also).
Pic above: Aiden with Thai family, his great grandmother tieing a string around his wrist - inviting good luck, and passing on protection to him from the eldest member of the family to the youngest...
I have a nipper on the way.
Being British myself, that automatically means kiddie will be British. As long as one of the two parents is British, the nationality transfers (and as long as you register the birth with the British embassy).
It actually looks like the process is more straightforward than I supposed.
Basically, when kiddie decides to make an appearence, he/she automatically get assigned a Thai birth certificate from your local Thai district office.
Once you have your hands on one of those, all you need to do is get x 2 passport photos of kiddie (one counter signed), plus the following originals (plus 1 photocopy)
- Both parents birth certificates
- Marriage certificate (if you have one)
- Parents passports
- Birth registration form
- C2 passport application form
Plus 10,000 Baht fee, you're all done.
The fee works out that for approx 5,000 Baht he gets registered as a British citizen in Thailand and UK, and so he'll get assigned a British birth certificate, plus, the other 5,000 Baht goes towards him getting his first British passport, valid for 5 years.
On paper, this all sounds a bit too straightforward... haha.
All the info is on the UK in Thailand site here.
Well, it's been a year in Thailand now, I know because I attended this exact same temple event last year. I didn't have a clue where I was, or what I was doing.
I am a bit more used to Thai ways these days. The whole blog thing is a great way to diarize, and look back on old opinions, and sometimes realise how naive you were. I wonder if in another years time I will look back and tut-tut about how naive I am now?
I have learned to dodge just about every tom and dick on the Highways, how to sleep in Bangkok traffic, how to arse kiss Thai cops. I have studied animals I have never seen, looked after ones that would surely have died. I have learned a little of a new language, and the ways and mannerisms of a unique people. I have seen absolute untouched beauty, and death up close and ugly.
Thailand really is a complete contrast of all that life has to offer. I don't know how long I will be here, but I am very much enjoying 'the now'.
Thanks for reading this blog, now in it's second year
Ben.
This post isn't very Thai oriented, but being that I have written about my love of 'Muay Thai' and sports in general, it was a great pleasure to go and see 'An audience with Joe Calzaghe' at Southend's Cliff's Pavilion last week.
If you don't know him, Joe Calzaghe is a Welsh boxer who has 46 middle weight matches undefeated, which for his weight class, is unprecedented.
He is a true great British champion, beating and ending the careers of some of the best boxers in history - Robin Reid, Chris Eubank, Jeff Lacy, Mikkel Kestler, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Junior, are just a few of his victories.
All of these guys were the toughest fighters in probably the most competitive weight class; and Calzaghe beat them all.
Not only did we get the chance to listen to Joe, he was introduced by another great iconic British Champion, Henry Cooper, who looks great for his 75 years and is as funny as ever.
Interesting boxing facts that came out of the night.
1. Cooper explained why Ali is in so much trouble now - Apparently, Ali was so quick, his unorthodox style of throwing his head backwards to avoid punches meant that, over time, he took many blows to the back of his neck / base of his brain (instead of to the top and side of his head). This has left him in the physical condition he is in today.
2. Calzaghe explained that his toughest fight was.............. Chris Eubank! Apparently Chris explained to Joe that 'he would take him into the trenches.' After Eubank was knocked down in the first round, Joe continued the fight thinking 'this is going to be easy'. It wasn't, and Eubank very nearly beat him.
3. Calzaghe confirmed his most satisfying victory was over Jeff Lacy, who fought him in Manchester. Joe, although undefeated, was widely considered the underdog. 'When we met at the weigh in, he knew' said Calzaghe. 'He shit himself'.
4. Calzaghe on Frank Warren 'the a**hole still owes me 2 million from the Hopkins fight. This will be one fight I won't lose' (in court).
5. A girl from the audience asks Joe 'So.......... when your girlfriend is in the bedroom, standing in front of you, with all her gear on, the night before the fight, do you really say 'no'.
Joe laughs and talks of one of his old boxing friends (can't recall who) who apparently abstained from sex for seven weeks in the build up to a big fight, only to be knocked out in the 2nd round!
'It's bullshit, a myth' explained Joe. The longest I went before a fight was 3 days, and that was the Jeff Lacy fight'
6. Joe was actually a victim of bullying when he was a nipper, and now dedicates a lot of his time to campaigning against bullying in schools.
Here are some of Joe's best moments (he confirmed that he wouldn't be tempted back into the ring). However, TTP is not so sure that Calzaghe quite believes this himself.......
