|
Fashion ‘n Concert at the Empress Hotel
Tananan Willson’s highly acclaimed new collection
Text by Vincent Leutwiler
Photos courtesy of the Empress Hotel
The Empress hotel was the venue for the fashion show to
display the creative talents of a young Chiang Mai designer, Tananan
Willson. This designer has already had an overseas salon show where the
leading products were fashion shawls.
 From
left: Tananan Willson, Antoine Garth, and David Wilson at the show.
Tananan began fashion design just for fun when he
enrolled at the Polytechnic College Chiang Mai two years ago, only to find
out he was very quickly top of the class.
With the help of his teacher, Ajarn Pornthip Sawatasuk, he was able to
get to advanced design and found he could launch his own creations at a
professional level.
Kenneth Loynes -late
Chiang Mai Artist
Robert Tilley
Works by a former English artist in residence at Chiang
Mai University can again be seen in a posthumous exhibition at the Writers
Club and Wine Bar. Kenneth Loynes painted and exhibited at Chiang Mai
University in 1996. He died two years ago, at the age of 77.
(Left to
right) Francois Villaret, Robert Blair-Porter (famous Chiang Rai artist),
Nonglug Porter, Gay Hammamouche and Paul Herman were fascinated by the work
of English Painter Kenneth Loynes which can here be seen in the background.
Loynes was a friend of Philip Moysey, an exhibition of
whose works has just closed at the Writers Club, and for a time the two
worked closely together. Moysey was a pupil of the great Austrian
expressionist painter, Oskar Kokoschka, and a trace of Kokoschka’s bold,
uncompromising style can be found in Loynes’ own work. Unlike Moysey,
though, Loynes was entirely self-educated in art.
He returned home from World War II with impressions of
violence and horror that were to occupy him in more than a half century of
artistic endeavor. He witnessed and reacted to other conflicts, in Europe
and Africa, and they also colored his art.
Art, he once said, “remains among the few, free ways in
which a society can, through the power of imagination, recognize and
recreate itself”.
The Kenneth Loynes exhibition runs until August 31 at the Writers Club
and Wine Bar, 141/3 Rachadamnoen Road (between Tapei Gate and Wat Pra
Singh).
Marcel you will be missed!
Death due to very unfortunate circumstances
Vincent Leutwiler and
Gerard Krebs
In the early morning hours of July 16 Marcel Giese, a
former student of the Christian German School Chiang Mai (CDSC) was found
dead in a ditch after being involved in a motorcycle accident involving a
large truck in Doi Saket district. He was only 14 years old.
The boy was not wearing a helmet and the driver of the
truck fled after colliding with the teenager’s motorbike, so there are no
eye-witnesses.
 One
of the last pictures with Marcel was a class photo of Grade 7 and 8:
Starting in back row, from left to right: Marcel Giese, Paul Tandetzki,
Denny Wagger, homeroom teacher Ulrich Ziehms, Thomas Dobrowolny, Jonas Dorn,
Jan Schmidt, Vincent Leutwiler, Siggi Eckert, Clemens Meurer, Victor
Wachholz, Leah Sommerfeld, Jael Sommerfeld and Muankhian Lekkamon.
There are many factors in this unfortunate and sad
occurrence. Marcel was a troubled boy. His parents had divorced. Was this
the reason he was out late at night? He was riding a friend’s motorcycle
and he had no license. Should his friend have refused to lend the
motorcycle?
There are so many questions left unanswered. What was he
doing away from his home at one in the morning? Had he been drinking? Was
alcohol a factor in the truck driver’s fleeing the scene? Whose driving
was at fault. Marcel’s or the truck drivers?
Unfortunately ‘hit and run’ offences are all too
prevalent in this country, on top of speeding, driving under the influence
of alcohol and flagrant disregard of traffic laws. A disregard of the laws
that has been highlighted by this newspaper on more than one occasion.
Marcel had been attending Grade 7 of the Christian German
School Chiang Mai (CDSC), but had been there for only a month. We believe he
had experienced several personal difficulties in his family, resulting in
his leaving of the school and he never returned.
His former classmates regret the circumstances leading to the premature
death of their friend. With a little understanding it could have been
avoided. Marcel, you will be missed.
New outlet for people
with digital lifestyles
Jiraphat
Warasin
Sony Thai Co., Ltd. and Chi Chang Computer (Thailand)
Co., Ltd. celebrated the grand opening of Chi Chang’s second branch with
the theme “My Sony by Chi Chang Digital Lifestyle” at Panthip Computer
Plaza this month.
Everyone
is relieved after the successful presentation during the grand opening
spectacular.
Pinyo Sa-nguansethakul, division manager of the IT
Product Sales Division of Sony; Chakrit Keeratichokchaikul, general manager
of Sony’s Consumer Products Division; and Ajarn Chaithawat Saowaphon of
Chiang Mai University joined in the ceremony with over 300 guests who
enjoyed watching a fashion show.
Sumalee Lukuan, marketing manager of Chi Chang Computer,
said the new branch served everyone “who has a digital lifestyle”.
Chi Chang showcased new products and offered a free Sony
training course at Chi Chang worth 3,000 baht for its customers.
Its new branch has professional technical staff to help its customers. It
is located on the 1st floor of Panthip Computer Plaza and is open Mondays to
Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Fridays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to
10 p.m.
Condoms sniffing, barking dogs to promote safe sex
Best to place condoms in easy sight
A leading Thai politician and personality
has proposed using dogs to sniff out people who fail to carry condoms on
them.
The idea is to help promote “safe sex”, according to
Meechai Viravaidya. He was responsible for an earlier campaign in
Thailand’s promoting the use of condoms and family planning.
The condom-sniffing dogs project could be launched
without waiting for government support and funding, said Meechai.
It could begin with the selection of a few dogs which
could easily be taught to sniff for condoms, and bark when a person does not
have a pack of condoms on them. Meechai appealed to anyone who wanted to, to
donate dogs to the project.
Meechai made his suggestion at the 15th International
AIDS Conference in Muang Thong Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok on Friday.
He saw police dogs sniffing for drugs at AIDS conference. This, he said,
gave him the idea of using dogs to sniff for condoms.
The idea, he said, struck him as an interesting way to
keep people interested in AIDS prevention campaign activities, especially
promoting the use of condoms among today’s sexually liberal youths.
Meechai is an internationally renowned AIDS prevention
advocate, who is widely known as “Mr. Condom” in Thailand. (TNA)
|
