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High tea, colored balls and mallets at The Chedi
Kirk, Dominique and John spend an enjoyable
afternoon watching
the croquet players.
All dressed up with somewhere to go are
organizer Mary with Sally, winner of the best outfit, Vanita and Beryl.
Aim for this wicket says croquet expert Neil
Robinson.
A picture perfect shot of Bradley and Laura.
She can’t help it - she just loves the kisses as
Bruce greets Mary.
Going back in time Jo, Rex, John and Judith
arrive in grand style for the match.
Yes Robin that really is Dr. Howard C. Graves
who won
best male outfit of the afternoon.
Difficult to leave the cake stands empty. Nai
and Mark relaxing at the Chedi.
We’ll just watch said Patrick, Ting, Putsadee
and David Salisbury.
Put that red ball through that wicket, that’s
all there is to it.
Maurice takes a shot and shows the crowd how
it’s done.
The Rooftop Charity Committee came up with a very chic idea to bring
together forty five members of the community at The Chedi for something
different, something fun and a chance to open up the trunks to look for that
1920’s outfit maybe someone’s grandmother used to wear.
Committee members Mary Berbae and John Cooley came up with the idea of an
afternoon event of high tea and croquet on the grass lawns of the riverside
hotel.
Under the expertise of Neil Robinson who spent his university days at
Cambridge playing croquet – guests were taught to hit the balls with a
mallet, moving through the course and scoring points for each wicket and
stake made in the correct order.
The lawn overlooking the Mae Ping River was a prime location, with tables
set outside the former British Consulate building.
When guests arrived – they could almost imagine life way back when the old
British Consul might even have organized such an event himself (and he
probably did)! One could hear quite a few British and fake British colonial
accents.
Tea was served along with sweet and savory treats piled high on three tiered
cake stands - more than enough calories to go around.
While the games were played everyone voted on the best dressed. It was
almost a foregone conclusion. The always understated Dr. Howard C. Graves
won best male outfit and Sally Wharfe won for the best dressed Lady of the
afternoon.
Door prizes galore were handed out. A very big round of applause was given
to the organizers Mary, John and Neil and to the staff of The Chedi.
Everyone concluded the afternoon was a splendid event and should be repeated
annually.
Ghosts, ghouls, zombies, witches and goblins
Halloween in Chiang Mai
We tried and tried but our Caption Editor is on
vacation and we couldn’t
come up with one for this photo.
At Tuskers Count Dracula Dave tries to talk
Countess Dracula
Mon into a little neck nibble.
The little devils Poo, Aul, Koy and I celebrate
Halloween with dinner at the Maze.
The Grateful Dead, Mrs. Sparrow and Nuts
about U gather behind the ever popular Pussy Galore at Tuskers.
The frightful and delightful Rachel and the “I
need a tan” Chas welcomed and/or scared away the guests with their witches
brew at Tuskers Halloween party.
(l/r) Bo, Joy, Vi, Nang and X at Halloween Night
at the Maze.
Boo! Tuskers Halloween party brought out some
scary looking folks.
That’s Chas on the right.
At the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel (l/r) Jai, Mam,
Joe, Bam, May and Yui hesitate before entering the dark dungeon.
Johnny, Warrie, Nicola, Naomi and Chris kept
asking everyone,
“Guess what I am dressed as?”
Film Festival opens with gala reception
l/r Maurice Lawson, João Azeredo (Co-ordinator
of the Portuguese Cultural Center), Kobkul Ratchakitti (Cultural assistant
for the Delegation of the European Union), Jean-Francois Cautain (Head of
the Political, Press and Information Section at the European Union) and
Thomas Olson - all attend the EU Film Festival opening at Kad Suan Kaew.
l/r Mike and Rose Dean, Judy Hardcourt, Lois
Schuster, John Richard and Dale Hardcourt attend the film festival opening
at Kad Suan Kaew.
Jean-Francois Cautain, Head of the Political,
Press and Information Section (Delegation of the European Commission) meets
the Honorary German Consul and the Honorary British Consul and their wives.
Mark Gernpy
Dignitaries and well-wishers in considerable numbers graced the
lobby of the Kad Theater at Kad Suan Kaew last Thursday night at the opening
ceremonies of the EU Film Festival. We were there to mark the start of ten
days of screenings of European Union films.
Leading the luminaries was Jean-François Cautain, representing the
Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand. Addressing the assembled
filmgoers, speaking on behalf of the EU, he said that in presenting the EU
Film Festival “we wish to open the eyes of Thai audiences to new cinematic
experiences, and to provide an insight into other cultures and lives.”
I was impressed by the words of João Azeredo, of the Portuguese Embassy,
representing the EU Presidency. He said, “A strong theme this year is
Europe’s recent past, and how individuals and communities have coped with
the enormous changes that have swept the continent. We look at globalization
as well as the legacy of Europe’s past.”
He could well have been talking about the opening night film, which came
from his country, and which did indeed examine his country’s troubled past,
in this case one of its colonies demanding independence.
The EU’s festival of films has been a highlight of Chiang Mai life for the
past 10 years. I wandered about with Kobkul Ratchakitti, Cultural Assistant,
Delegation of European Commission, who did a great deal of the day-to-day
work to bring the festival to Chiang Mai. She and I sampled the variety of
foods catered by the Lotus Hotel, courtesy of owner Suchai Kengkarnkar.
We all then adjoined to the cinema to see the festival’s opening film
Murmuring Coast, a well-reviewed 2005 drama from Portugal about the demise
of colonial life in Mozambique. I thought the film quite powerful, with a
uniformly excellent screenplay, written by the director, Margarida Cardoso,
together with Cedric Basso, from the novel of the same name by Lídia Jorge.
It was to my mind a rich, multi-layered literary story, handled with care,
brilliance and with a mesmerizing performance by the star, Beatriz Batarda.
Altogether, it was a fine evening of ceremony and elegance, and with some
food for thought.
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