Previously my predecessor The Beetle requested readers help with naming her cheese, as produced on her farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Here are a couple of replies that might help other suggestions along and any marketing campaigns J
Audrey from Florida says “I vote for Dales Select. Anywhere I can buy it here ?”
Mac, our regular contributor writes that “Ribblesdale Goat is a modern vegetarian (I had never heard the vegetarian angle) hard cheese created in 1982 by Iain and Christine Hill. Ribblesdale goat is highly valued for its fresh simple flavor with its suggestion of chicory, almonds, and wild herbs from the misty Yorkshire hills. Ribblesdale Goat won a Bronze Award in the 1996 British Cheese Awards. Although normally a goats cheese it is also available from ewes milk and a smoked cheese . Ribblesdale cheese can be served as a table cheese or for grated toppings. All Ribblesdale Cheeses supplied are handmade and waxed coated giving the cheese a long shelf time of approximately 80 days. Sadly Iain Hill passed away in November 2006 but is succeeded by his niece Iona Hill who maintains the family tradition. Suitable for vegetarians, suitable for freezing…”
Mac also jokes “Groups of Americans were traveling by tour bus through Holland .. As they stopped at a cheese farm, a young guide led them through the process of cheese making, explaining that goat’s milk was used. She showed the group a lovely hillside where many goats were grazing. ‘These’ she explained, ‘Are the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produce.’ She then asked, ‘What do you do in America with your old goats?’ A spry old gentleman answered, ‘They send us on bus tours’
Mac writes even more – “George stopped me in the hallway all excited and said Hey Mac I tasted your friends Ribblesdale cheese in Meknes Morocco in about 2003 or 2004. He said he was on a tour bus and an English lady invited him to join him for a spot of tea on the beach. He said the lady had a little wicker basket and in it some Ribblesdale Cheese.
He said he remembered it first because of its unique name, then its unique flavor and that it was made from goats milk. He liked it. Maybe you should keep the name Ripplesdale since it made such an impression on him. I do think adding Yorkshire to word Dale would add more sophistication and not have some of us ignorant Americans think it is referring to a man’s name.
He thought the cheese was in a green wrapper. Maybe the English woman just put it in a green wrapper.”
George is quoted as saying “I Summit Your Friend New International Cheese Name Is : ” World Famous Yorkshire Dales Ribblesdale Cheese ” And Below A Picture Of A Bearded Goat, And In Smaller Lettering ” The Ribblesdale Goats Do It “
“Also Had Visions Of This Cheese In Eye Catching, Wrapped Green, With White Circle, With The Black Lettering Divided By A Golden Bearded Goat Head Figure.
There will be an exhibition in the Grosvenor Museum at beginning of next year and the organisers would like you travellers to be involved, so have a read and send your entries to: lucy.ashdown@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
According to Lucy what would look good in the exhibition would be a selection of photos from Chester Globetrotters showing different vehicles (defined here as transport with wheels or runners) they’ve come across or used in different countries, accompanied by a short piece of text.
Lucy is not sure how much space there will be available in the gallery, but she’ll try & fit in at least one photo from everyone who submits something.
For the text, she’d like to know where each photo was taken & when and also why/how the vehicle was important to each person’s experience of that particular country.
Globetrotters can email photos & text directly to Lucy by the end of September preferably.
BP oil spill – the reality. TravelMole US Editor David Wilkening explains how misconceptions are causing further damage to tourism in the Gulf Coast.
“Damage forecasts soon after the BP Gulf oil spill were bad. But then they got worse. Dead birds. Soiled beaches.
The reality, however, is that the spill led to the deaths of less than one percent of the number of birds killed in the Valdez spill.
The spill was enough oil to fill about one- sixth of the Louisiana Superdome.
“That’s not exactly a drop in the proverbial bucket, but it’s a strikingly different image from one emblazoned in people’s mind by the early reaction,” writes USA Today in an editorial.
Could there be unknown seabed damage? “So far, it seems the wildest predictions were just that — wild,” said the newspaper.
The publication suggested the news media did a poor job of providing accurate information about the event. There were many exaggerations.
Gulf coast tourism officials say the real problem with the spill has been perception.
Read more at http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1143673.php
European travellers to the US will have to pay an extra $14 from next month for electronic visas.
The visas, known as an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta), have been compulsory for UK tourists and other European visitors since January 2009.
At present, they are free, but from September 8, the US will start charging $14, or around £9 based on the current exchange rates.
The move has been criticised by the European Union, which said it could deter or complicate travel.
Consumer groups are advising people planning a trip to the US to apply now, before the new charge comes into force.
Read more at http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1143622.php
If you enjoy writing & travelling, why not write for the free Globetrotters eNewsletter ! The Ant would love to hear from you: your travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 14,000 people currently subscribe to the Globetrotter eNewsletter.
Email The Ant at theant@globetrotters.co.uk with your travel experiences / hints & tips / questions. Your article should be approximately 1000 words, feature up to 3 or 4 jpeg photos and introduce yourself with a couple of sentences and a contact e-mail address.
Member and Globetrotters Club travel award winner in 2009, Doreen Tayler recounts the second half of her journey of a lifetime…to follow in the footsteps of Kim, Rudyard Kipling’s most famous character. Enjoy her very readable writing and be inspired to submit your own proposal for the 2010 award The Ant
To recap: Kim set off from Lahore to look for his heritage, while acting as a disciple (chela) to a lama who is searching for Buddha’s River of the Arrow. I picked up Kim’s trail at Amritsar station, en route to Ambala (then Umballa), which was his first stop.
During the British Raj, Umballa was an important garrison town. It was the permanent headquarters of the British military in India and of strategic importance being on the Grand Trunk Road, which stretches from the Khyber Pass to Calcutta. It is still a military cantonment, but of little significance, – a bustling, extremely dusty town and I soon had to ditch my contact lenses and resort to glasses. There is little of interest for foreigners here, and I met none, but there was an excellent English Book Shop with everything from John Grisham to Freud. Browsing for hours one afternoon, the manager to my delight asked me, ‘Would ma’am care for tiffin?’
‘Jains’ Sodawater Factory. Estd. 1940’ was a real find. Located on the main street, a bouncer guarded the entrance – that was weird! Why? Frequented mainly by parents and their offspring, I had visions of children rioting if they ran out of Hot Chocolate Fudges or Munchurian Pizza. Just inside the door and above the cashier’s head, smiling benignly down at the customers, are the Jain family portraits: the founder grandfather, his son, and grandson, the current owner, who graciously advised me on the dishes. Tough call, but I would recommend ‘Jain’s special Thali’ and ‘Jain’s Special Dream Boat’ – after having tried to munch my way through the American style menu.
Kim’s (and now my) mission in Ambala was to locate a certain Colonel Creighton’s bungalow. Here Kim delivered an encoded (espionage) letter, en route to Varanasi (then Benares). I managed to locate a bungalow of the right age and description, but who knows? In the same vicinity near the station, is the bomb-damaged remains of the church of St. Paul’s which was built in 1857 – a victim, and a memorial of the Pakistan- India war of 1965-6 (now standing in the grounds of a posh private school). It was built in 1857, and although photographs were not allowed, I managed to take some by saying my father married there in 1930. I doubt Kim paid much attention to St Paul’s as British churches were commonplace. He did though, inadvertently stumble on his father’s old regiment, and as a result lost his freedom and was sent off to be schooled at St Xavier’s (in reality La Martiniere) in Lucknow, temporarily parting company with his lama.
So next stop was Lucknow, and as with Ambala, I was a viewed as a curiosity, and instantly helped when I was lost or looked anxious. I hired a cycle rickshaw to take in the town’s many ancient sites, before exploring La Martiniere. The building was originally a Gothic chateau with four enormous octagonal towers and was built by a French soldier of fortune in 1793. He left instructions that he wanted it was converted after his death into a school for the rich and well connected. During my visit, a Bollywood version of St Trinians was being filmed and they were shooting a scene with nubile youngsters dressed in school uniform, who sang, and danced, with the girls provocatively sashaying through the many quads. Kim missed out there.
Not far away is The Residency, where the Indian Mutiny began resulting in a five month bloody siege in1857, which cost the lives of two thousand British and saw much hardship as well as acts of great sacrifice and bravery. The museum and cemetery are haunting and well kept. However, the complex is preserved to celebrate the verve and expertise of the rebelling Indians who overcame the cornered British residents. Nevertheless, within seven months the British had resumed power. Many boys from nearby La Martiniere (which closed temporarily) helped run dangerous missions for the besieged Brits – events not much before Kipling’s time. Kim did not though spend his school holidays in Lucknow, he roamed the country, and frequently was sent to Simla for extra-curricular schooling in the art of espionage.
Shimla is a real joy. I took the sleeper train back to Ambala for the journey to Shimla. Then at nearby Kalka I changed trains and took the little toy town train that climbs the sixty-five miles up to the hill station – and takes six hours! Honeymooners thronged my train, the giveaway being the brides’ hands decorated with henna. Shimla is where the British Raj spent seven months of the year escaping the heat of the plains. No traffic is permitted in the Mall, nor is spitting or littering. Bliss. Peeing wherever though still proliferates.
I loved Shimla: it was cool, fresh and compact and despite the profusion of concrete, still retains its colonial aura. The stately English Renaissance Vice regal Lodge atop Observatory Hill, shows how our viceroys lived in splendour. The ghostly reminiscence of Victorian grandeur seeped out of the town’s ‘Ridge’ area, wandering round the British built library and the Gaiety theatre at Scandal Point (named after the reputed abduction of a British lady by a Maharaja in the nineteenth century), I envisaged the thrill of amateur dramatics and state balls with the ladies being ferried from their bungalows by manual rickshaws, wearing all their finery and bedecked in jewels. Kim spent much time here at Lurgan Sahib’s (really A M Jacob’s) antique shop, learning camouflage and observation techniques, and although I could not find the shop, I found Belvedere where Jacob lived, by asking a lady in the street if she knew its location. ‘You mean Jacob the magician’s house?’ she responded, ‘Belvedere is just further on from the library and is now a girls’ school. I’m the headmistress!’ Maybe he was working his magic again, for most characters in Kipling’s book were based on real characters.
It was with reluctance I dragged myself away from Shimla, which is surrounded by hills and houses precariously atop houses, is running alive with mischievous monkeys. Kim too enjoyed its refreshing atmosphere, and every autumn returned reluctantly to school. When Colonel Creighton deemed him ready to leave and join the Great Game – (spying), he rushed off to meet up with the lama in nearby Benares, (now Varanasi), and so that was where I now headed.
‘Varanasi is fruitcake’ said an American tourist I met in Delhi, and he wasn’t far wrong. I did not get to the hostel I intended, I was back in the tourist nightmare of being a walking wallet, but no matter, my rickshaw driver’s choice was just fine – the food was watered down and de-spiced somewhat but that is apparently to suit foreigners’ taste. Western bakeries abounded and most people who approached me were trying to lead me to silk shops, assuring me they gave any commission they made to charities! I had not even put my bag down before I was booked into a river trip to see the burning gnats and the nightly river ‘show’ following on from my hostel’s ‘temple tour’. At less than £5, excellent value I figured.
Eyes followed wallets and rickshaw drivers followed tourists, with holy bolies everywhere. The craziness of Varanasi has to be experienced to be believed. Kim does not mention much about the oldest city in the world but met up with his lama at a Jain temple. However, it was not clear if it was the one in Varanasi or Sarnath so I visited both. Sarnath is greener and less manic than Varanasi but full of coaches waiting for Indian tourists to return after visiting the many temples and interesting museums in this holy old enclave where Buddha was purported to preach under a tree.
My trip ended with Kim and his lama at Saharanpore after travelling up to the hill station of Missorie via Dehradun. Saharanpore is an industrial town surrounded by fruit farms. I stayed just one night. On walkabout, it seemed full of drunks and rough sleepers. I had been warned several times by well-wishers not to stop there, but I felt totally unthreatened and again spent much time in an English bookshop. The short train ride to Dehradun, famous for its public schools (Gandhi went to one), is where I caught the bus up to Missoorie, which is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Missorie does not ban but does limit traffic driving through its centre. It is a magical place surrounded by woods and snow-capped mountains. You only have to walk some half hour out of the small town and you are in a trekkers’ delight. This area again attracts honeymooners and weekenders from the plains. Unlike Shimla though, there is no civil service industry. The shops just sell souvenirs, most from Tibet and Kashmir. The British presence can still be felt: there are Christian churches, polo schools and private schools. Kim went further into the mountains in search of foreign spies, nowadays if he did the same, he would meet mainly Tibetan refugees and the occasional foreigner who attends one of the several language schools at nearby Landes. Next to the clock tower (the British built many, as the locals did not own watches) is the fabulous Clock-house Cafe which caters mainly to the language students. It is not quite up to Jain’s Sodawater Factory, but their homemade cheesecake, brownies and apple pie take some beating. Kim missed out there as he loved his ‘sweetmeats’, but he thwarted the foreign spies; his lama found the River of the Arrow back at Saharunapore and we leave Kim poised on the cusp of being a latter day 007, albeit alone.
And being alone on my travels was not a problem, more a boon, and no doubt because I appeared approachable. It was flattering at one hotel where a wedding reception was taking place, to be asked my room number by several lascivious middle-aged male guests. My age, however, was a constant source of interest and when I was asked it, I always quoted Oscar Wilde, “Any woman who tells you her age will tell you anything!” This was greeted with hoots of laughter and seemed to suffice, people always wanted to chat and to ask me if I liked India. Finding a room – rarely more than £10 – was never a problem. So to those of you who have not been to India, I would merely say, ‘Just go!’ It is safe, it is cheap, it is fascinating, and the people are curious, helpful and enchanting. It has the lot. Oh yes, and the food is good too!
We are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still
e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of
travel reminiscences about Japan and shopping in Hong Kong.
When I was first stationed in Japan, the Chaplains would have to
counsel Japanese girls that wanted to marry GIs. They would explain
to them that they might get homesick in the States so far from
their homeland Japan, that customs were different in the States etc
etc. One Chaplain told me that the Japanese girl he was counselling
got tired of all his little talk and said to him: look here
Chaplain, I want to go to the States. I no bullshit you. Ha!
I was stationed in Japan for five and a half years and loved it and
it showed in my letters home. I must have gone to Hong Kong from
Japan at least a dozen times on our planes. Planes leaving Japan
would often stop in Hong Kong no matter what their destination
especially at Christmas time. I got to be kind of an unofficial
shopper for those that could not leave the base of Japan and this
included buying Rosewood furniture for the Commander who was soon
to leave for the States. I had to get it on one of our ships
returning to Japan and get it thorough customs in Japan. A buddy of
mine Nesi met me to act as my interpreter. The customs asked my
buddy if I was Important. He told them in Japanese. You dam right
he is. He is a Sergeant. (Low Sergeant, however, TSgt.)
We were supposed to be checking weather and intelligence but
shopping entered into things. One time I was proudly walking down
Nathan Road in Hong Kong in my new Hong Kong shoes when the soles
fell off. I bent over to pick them up and my new Hong Kong suit
ripped down the back. Chinese thread was not strong and Americans
learned in the future to bring American thread to their tailors and
hope they would use it.
You got a tailor made suit with two pairs of pants for $25 in 24
hours. Our crew usually stayed in modest hotels, either in the
Golden Gate or the Peninsula. They knew our needs, so much so that
when sometimes we had to leave early, they would store stuff for us
between trips etc. One time, my roommate was a new man in our
outfit. We entered our room and three Chinese followed into our
room. My buddy said: Mac, who are these folks? I said I don't
know. I thought they were with you. They were what we called tailor
pimps who tried to get you to go to their tailor shop. They would
give you a drink while about three people would be measuring you.
You felt like a King. The first time they asked me how I dressed.
Are they making conversation? I first put on underwear, then
trousers, then shoes. No do you dress left of right? An old timer
said to me: Mac they want to know which way your dong hangs to the
left or the right so they can arrange material to hide it. I said
as far as I know it just hangs and it isn't that big. I have
trouble finding it. Ha! The tailor pimps were better informed that
our intelligence. They would know our commanders name, when we were
arriving in Hong Kong and when we were to leave. One time in a hotel,
what we thought was the front desk phoned and said for us to have
our luggage out in the hallway by three o clock instead of four. It
was a con artist phoning. Our luggage was picked up and there went
our Hong Kong suits, souvenirs, military clothing. The works.
AFRH-W Stanley Sagura collects used eye glasses and volunteers to
go with a group including eye doctors to distribute them free to
needy around the world. I enjoy hearing about his travel
experiences. He was with a group of 38 in a tour that were taken to
the largest McDonalds in the world in Beijing, China. (Some had
gotten tired of eating Chinese food!) This McDonalds had 300
employees. Stanley counted 30 cash registers. They all ordered the
same items in advance and were taken to a second floor dining area
where they were all fed within five minutes! What service! We were
discussing the humorous signs we saw in Japan when the Japanese
print signs in English, obviously not their first language.
In Japan they have a drink something like Gatorade they call Sweat.
Actually Pocari Sweat. A small bottle of it in a vending machine
cost $1.65. They also have a drink called Calpis and a powdered
cream like coffee mate called Creep. They have a packaged
toothpaste brand of “College” toothpaste in the same
colours and layout as the “Colgate” brand. There is a
city in Kysushu by the name of Usa that manufactures table service
flat ware and had stamped “Made in USA” on it for export
until a Japanese agency Ministry of Industry and Trade stopped
this. Stanley saw a sign for a detour that read Please Go Sideways
and a sign wanting you to put your hand under the faucet that read
“Be near your hand when the water flows.”
One sign in a hotel stated “All the water in our hotel has
been passed by the Chef.” He saw a sign in a hotel near the
manually operated air conditioning that read “When you get hot
control yourself.” Control yourself, Mac! Sagara advises that
Japanese have difficulty saying “no.” If they disagree
they usually say “could you possibly be mistaken?” Or
something to that effect. If you ask: is Tokyo in that direction
(pointing) and it is actually the wrong direction you may possibly
get a “Hai” (yes.) You should ask “Which way is
Tokyo?” Answer: that way, (pointing in the right direction.)
To open McDonalds in Russia ,where they had difficulty teaching the
employees to smile, they first had to open an approved meat
processing plant at a cost of US $10m. Now McDonalds are in all
major cities in Russia and well patronised.
Did you know that Nepal is home to a quarter of South
Asia’s rhino population. The latest count of the population
has shown that rhino numbers have dropped to less than 400
from nearly 600 animals in three parks in 2000 due mainly
to poaching blamed largely on inadequate security caused by
the long-running Maoist insurgency. Trading in the horn of
the rhino is internationally banned, but experts say that
poachers are encouraged by the big profit margin.
This months meeting took place to the organ music from the
wedding taking place in the Church of Scotland upstairs. Our first
speaker was Tricia Hayne who gave us an interesting talk on
the Cayman Islands, which were first discovered by Columbus'
son and in 2003 celebrated their 300th anniversary. The
island's main income is due to its offshore financial
companies, but also tourism and it was obviously this area Tricia
spoke about. She showed us the local wildlife including the blue
Iguana and the Butterfly Farm. For the more energetic traveller
there is diving on the Cayman Trench and some rock climbing. Not to
mention the beautiful beaches.
After the break Pamela Goodall told us about her cycle
adventure around the world with a tent! Her journey took her through Europe, she made it to
Germany before her first puncture, where another cyclist helped her
out. She had quite an adventure, being propositioned by a dodgy
hotel manager in Rawalpindi and “kidnapped” by a
shopkeeper for 4 days in India. After a crash on her bike she went
on “Good Morning India” with two black eyes that the
presenters didn't even bother to ask her about! Her trip
continued through Asia where she visited Vietnam and China where
strangers kept appearing to take care of her. She came home via
Mexico and the USA. Pamela's talk finished to the accompaniment
of Bach’s Toccata & Fugue (thanks to Globie Sarah D for
identifying that) as the wedding upstairs ended.
John Gimlette will talk about his travels in Labrador and Newfoundland,
called a “Theatre of Fish” and Tim Mackintosh-Smith will
discuss his travels in India in a talk entitled “The Hall of a
Thousand Columns”.
Saturday 2nd July – 3.00 pmNB – change of meeting place
and time
This is the last meeting before the August break, when we'll be
back in September. There will be an examination of Members Slides
comprising eight mini-presentations from Globetrotters members.
London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court,
behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first
Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but
we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact
the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the
website: www.globetrotters.co.uk
Interested in a £1,000 travel award? A member of
Globetrotters Club?
Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year
for five years for the best submitted independent travel
plan. Interested?
Then see our legacy
page on our Website, where you can apply with your
plans for a totally independent travel trip and we’ll take
a look at it. Get those plans in!!
We are sorry to say that for the time being, New York meetings are
suspended as Laurie really needs a helper. If you have some time to
spare and are based in our near NYC, please contact Laurie on the
e-mail address below.
For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk
or register for email updates, click
here at our website.
New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher
Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St ), to the right of
Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month
at 4 pm .
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced
that the government had decided to give the go-ahead for
two casinos on Marina Bay and on Sentosa resort island.
Despite 30,000 people signing a petition against the idea,
Mr Lee said the casinos were necessary to help Singapore
attract more tourists. The casinos, which will be
operational by 2009, are central to Singapore’s goal of
doubling the number of tourists to 17 million a year. A
casino is believed to help Singapore recover much of the
$180m a year it is estimated that Singaporeans spend each
year in neighbouring Malaysian casinos.
For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka
Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca
or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.
Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May,
September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse,
133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.
Back in September last year, you may recall us reporting that
Ryanair were proposing to make in-flight entertainment available on
its flights. Passengers were to be charged £5 ($9.48) to access
films, cartoons and tv shows on portable lap top type units.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary who said in September
the units would become “as common as the in-flight
magazine”. These have been on trial since November and are
about to be abandoned. “It was lack of demand. They decided
not to follow it any further,” a Ryanair spokeswoman said.
Ryanair said it had not lost any money on the system, which was on
trial in only five planes before making a significant investment.
The latest money making wheeze is to have in-flight gambling. Watch
this space!
News comes of Ryanair selling
a brand of water called Blue Rock water, which costs £1.85 for a
500 ml. Reports state that this special Ryanair water isn't
from a pure mountain stream or highland spring – it is just
carbonated tap water. To purchase the same water from Thames Water
i.e. turn on the tap costs 0.06p per litre. The only difference
between turning on the tap in any London home and Ryanair's
Blue Rock is that the sparkling version has been carbonated at a
water treatment works in Beckton, East London, before being bottled
and labelled. While the label does not claim to be genuine spring
water, neither does it make it clear that it is tap water. Britvic,
which 'makes' Blue Rock, made exclusively for Ryanair,
claimed the brand was about to be replaced by a new product called
Pennine Spring, sourced from a natural spring in Huddersfield.
Two new bus services linking Muzaffarabad in
Pakistan-administered Kashmir for Srinagar in
Indian-administered Kashmir. The new service has been
hailed as a major boost to India and Pakistan’s developing
peace process. The inaugural service on 7 April was the
first in nearly 60 years. Before you get too excited, it is
still dangerous to visit this region and there is heavy
security all along the route including decoy buses,
escorted by the police and parafamilies forces. The
historic bus services has been welcomed by most Kashmiris,
many of whom have been divided by the decades-long
conflict. Many of them have defied the militants’ call to
avoid boarding the bus. “The desire to meet separated
relatives is proving stronger than the fear of death,” a
trader in Srinagar, Zaffar Ahmed, told the BBC News.
Due to bereavement in Christina's family, we regret to say that
Texas meetings have stopped pending further notice. If you have
time to spare and would like to take over Texas meetings, please
contact the Beetle on: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk
This is the latest advice from the
UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Thailand: there
is a high threat from terrorism throughout Thailand,
particularly in the far southern provinces of Pattani,
Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla. We recommend against all but
essential travel to these four provinces where, since
January 2004, there have been regular attacks including
bombings and shootings. On 3 April, three bombs exploded in
Songkhla Province, one at Hat Yai International Airport,
one at a hotel and one in a shopping centre. Further
attacks against places frequented by foreigners, including
tourist resorts, could occur at any time.
Watch out for crimes of opportunity. Theft of passports
and credit cards is a problem. Passport fraud is high and
penalties are severe.
Penalties for possession, distribution or manufacture of
drugs are severe and can include the death penalty.
There has been an increase since January 2005 in the
number of reported cases of Dengue Fever, in particular in
Southern Thailand and the area near the border with
Malaysia. In a very small number of cases, Dengue Fever can
be fatal if left untreated. If you suffer from a fever
whilst (or shortly after) visiting Thailand, you should
consult a doctor.
Mac, our regular contributor writes that “Ribblesdale Goat is a modern vegetarian (I had never heard the vegetarian angle) hard cheese created in 1982 by Iain and Christine Hill. Ribblesdale goat is highly valued for its fresh simple flavor with its suggestion of chicory, almonds, and wild herbs from the misty Yorkshire hills. Ribblesdale Goat won a Bronze Award in the 1996 British Cheese Awards. Although normally a goats cheese it is also available from ewes milk and a smoked cheese . Ribblesdale cheese can be served as a table cheese or for grated toppings. All Ribblesdale Cheeses supplied are handmade and waxed coated giving the cheese a long shelf time of approximately 80 days. Sadly Iain Hill passed away in November 2006 but is succeeded by his niece Iona Hill who maintains the family tradition. Suitable for vegetarians, suitable for freezing…”
