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Previous entries

Returning Home - Again

The God Illusion

Going Home

2022

A Change of Direction

Dogs and Pandemics

The Forgotten tenors

Nine Things I will Miss about Thailand

Circles

Just Do It

Ayr on a Shoestring

Oh Lonesome Me

Tipping Point

Movie Reviews

Putting Pen to Paper

A Year to Remember

A Year to Forget

10 Reasons I Cannot Go Home

China Girl

The State of Play

Veggies

Mind Your Language

New Horizons

Injustice

Honeymoon

Taxes and Death

Also-rans

Stinkhorns

Grey is the Colour

Beating Myself Up

Nothing More to Say

Better Late than Never

Staying Put

Musical Chairs

Wanderlust

A Dog's Life

A Sabbatical

A Welcome Diversion

A Guide to Business Ethics

Remembering the Austin Allegro

Our Lords and Masters

In Transit - Part 2

In Transit - Part 1

Nagging Doubts

While Bangkok Burns

An Evening to Remember

Thai Business Malpractice

The New and the Old

Christmas Lights

Groundhog Day

Singapura

Possessions

Adventure is Out There

Education

Grabbing it While You Can

A Few Ups and Many Downs

Limbo

Pack Up Your Old Kit Bag

Salmon

Bananas

Religion

Football

Grateful

Yummy

Ate Two Caesar

Swine Pie

The Thai Rollercoaster

Stuck in the Middle

There's no Regrets

Profit and Loss

Running on Empty

Getting it out Your System

National Mistrust

Bring in the Old, Out with the New

Humility

I am Reviewing, My Situation...

Wat Phrabhat Nam Poo

Today I will Mostly be Eating...

Mortality

The Thai Experience

Wat Khaowong

Reality Bites

Wat Simalais

Amazing Thailand

He Must have a Big Wand

Right Place, Wrong Time

Carousel

Tin

And it does go on

Mangos

Bring Him Home

Resurgence

Protege

Listening to my Reader.

 

Archives

Diary Archive 18.

Diary Archive 17.

Diary Archive 16.

Diary Archive 15.

Diary Archive 14.

Diary Archive 13.

Diary Archive 12.

Diary Archive 11.

Diary Archive 10.

Diary Archive 9.

Diary Archive 8.

Diary Archive 7.

Diary Archive 6.

Diary Archive 5.

Diary Archive 4.

Diary Archive 3.

Diary Archive 2.

Diary Archive 1.

 

 

Going Home

 

On Monday 24th of this month I will be on a flight to Thailand. It will only be my fourth flight to see my wife and dogs since I moved here nearly six years ago. But this time, it is not just a short visit, but I am moving back for good. Last Monday I packed up all my test equipment and a few personal items and they were stuffed into a crate to send back to Thailand. What is left I have tried to sell. The few items left will be thrown in a skip. On the 20th the skip is picked up leaving my factory empty, so I move to a hotel over that weekend before I fly.

Of course, missing Ploy and the dogs is a big part of the decision. But also, after making a casual enquiry, I found my state pension kicks in this year. It is not a lot, but in Thailand, where we own the house and car, it more than pays all the day to day bills. It provides what we have never really had - a stable income to supplement that of SingMai. With SingMai having to pay all our bills, it means we accept anything and everything that is thrown our way, many orders being accepted against our better judgement. Just before Christmas, two companies cancelled their orders after I had spent considerable time working on their special requirements. I had sort of suspected things were going that way, but you keep working, more in hope than anything else. Now we have that additional income we can be much more selective about accepting orders that require custom design.

Manufacturing will be subcontracted. So without me having to do that, and not having to spend so much time on custom design, I will get to spend much more time with Ploy. Call it semi-retirement if you wish.

I've had a few health issues since I been in the UK - nothing serious, but some of that is being alone so much. You become lazy. I finish work and slump in front of the TV, too tired to go out, and in any case not wanting to just sit in a pub by myself listening to a group of grumpy old men complain about immigration. I work seven days a week because - well what else is there to do? Thailand encourages a more outdoor lifestyle, if only because of the better weather - but also because my wife encourages me. Loosing a few kilo can only be for the good.

More time to write those books; maybe restart the maths degree? But also to restart SingMai. We had just introduced a new product (but the worldwide component shortages stymied its production) - however we had received orders from all around the world for it, so first job there is to workaround the component problems and reintroduce it.

There is work to be done on the house - Ploy has sent me a link to a cruise she wants us to make: this is far from retirement. But as my life has been since meeting Ploy, this is just the next step in our adventure.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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