Insomnia (Barking Dogs Mix) Faithless

Just when things started looking up, dogs howled and yapped all night long , that's why I'm in work at 6.30am writing this. Taking after my Dad for his love of barking dogs, call it nature or nurture either or, from 2am onwards I've had no sleep. At 5am the neighbours were berated and frankly put, if any of their dogs get within bamboo swinging pole reach of me I'm going to beat the living crap out of it or them.

Rhetorically, who in their right mind lets their dogs run round the moo bahn (estate) upsetting all the other dogs, all night long? Who never complains about problems because it's not in their "mai pen rai" quasi-nevermind culture? Why are problems never solved? Why does the white man come across as the crazy one?

Thankfully, I attained my compulsory 20 hours of Thai culture and language knowledge certificate the weekend prior, otherwise I may have gotten myself kicked out venting my spleen on this subject, like the drunk who stood up and said something like "when are the Thai people going to realise they are part of the international community, why is it always Thai this Thai that?" He was roundly booed but by then, he'd already upset the audience by screaming for the microphone and abusing the nice pretty well spoken lady orating the course.

In one way after a night of barking dogs no matter how far I've come to consolidate myself back with the "culture" since leaving Bangkok and a near two year fall out, it's like Tin Tin Out... always something there to remind me.

Take it East (Leave it West in a nod to Danny)

Burst into Heaven Kissing the Cotton Clouds Buckets of Rice and Fields of Rice I Can't Stop Coming Down

Fifty nine days without a smidgeon, but that's all been for good reason, we've been gallivanting with our families on idyllic tropical beaches, dodging cyclones and earthquake tremors, tubing down rivers - singing, swinging off rope swings into rivers (well I've not but more of that later), getting more friends, contemplating India from beautiful sultry stormy Ko Lanta and relocating and generally building up plenty of material for you lucky readers.

This morning there was strangely no brick dust in the air we breathed and the background noise was unusually silent. We could hear the monks chanting through distant loud speakers and in our back garden there's a mango tree full of ripe mangoes, eat as many as you like for nowt.

I was going to start this blog with a pun on confessions, you know the sort: forgive me readers it's been so many eons since my last blog and all that. But it's such a blogging cliche and as I've winded up working for the confessors (the same ones who educated me), I wouldn't want to be accused of such crassness. To be fair, this is the first time I've really sat at a computer properly (if you could entertain such a notion as sitting at computers properly).

Words, thoughts and situations encapsulate two great lyrics: The Smiths and then The Chilis; Stop me stop me oh stop me stop me if you think you've heard this one before and... Catholic School, Catholic School girls rule, yes read that again. And that's where I've wound up... again! Me, Paul Booth, in a Catholic Girls' School (how could they?) Ok the last one wasn't Catholic but it's as much of a Shakespearean muchness. No lesbians feeding the pony yet, but surely that could have only ever happened in Udon.

Bamboo is nearly walking and there is much, much more to follow.

Goodbye City Bus Fumes (Hello Country Bicycle Rides)

Blog On!