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HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

The Shangri-La welcomes a new GM

Earth Day celebrations at Kad Suan Kaew

FERC Vice-Chairman and founding member celebrates his 60th birthday

Santi Music School presents unusual classical concert

A celebration in concert

Cookery with a Japanese flavour

Fitness, Health and Weight Loss

The Shangri-La welcomes a new GM

“Chiang Mai”, the true meaning of Asian hospitality

The new General Manager, Elaine Yue-Wibisana, with her reception staff.

The Shangri-La Hotel on Chang Klan road earlier this month welcomed a new general manager, Elaine Yue-Wibisana. For two years prior to coming to Chiang Mai, she was the general manager of the 400-room Traders Hotel in Penang. Last week she told the Chiang Mai Mail of her expectations. In the 10 days since arriving in Chiang Mai, she has visited the tourist ‘must-sees’ on offer and was impressed by what she has seen and experienced thus far. She was also surprised to see so many activities and sites catering to people of all ages from all different walks of life. Her main aim is to concentrate on the Shangri-La Hotel to make sure it represents the ‘brand name’ in the best possible way. She explained that one of her fortes was ‘building teams’, along with strong customer relations skills.
When asked what could be done to improve Chiang Mai’s tourist potential, she answered that the hotels and the local travel industry, local government and the TAT need to work & speak together with ‘one voice’. In the short time since she arrived, she has seen that the people of Chiang Mai embody the true meaning of Asian hospitality. Add to this the wide range of local attractions and great Northern Thai cuisine, and you have a winning formula, which needs more publicity. The lack of awareness of Chiang Mai as a destination needs to be addressed, as does the issue of direct flights, both for tourists and business travellers.

 

Earth Day celebrations at Kad Suan Kaew

Focus on environmental awareness

Saksit Meesubkwang
Kad Suan Kaew was the selected venue for the celebration of Earth Day, April 22, arranged by 20 local governmental and non-governmental organisations. The aim of the event was to promote environmental awareness amongst the people of Chiang Mai and to make a long-term commitment to protect the environment. Displays were set up which gave advice and information on environmental topics such as the need to stop illegal burning, the recycling and proper disposal of garbage, the construction of houses using materials that do not involve deforestation., and the recycling of reusable items. During the day a “Global Warming” song contest was held, with many young people participating. Techniques used to minimise the effects of global warming were presented at a seminar given by the Chiang Mai Global Warming Combat Club; knowledge was exchanged and long-term solutions were discussed. In the evening a concert of traditional Lanna music was presented, which included Hill Tribe musicians and Northern Thai folk songs.

A ventriloquist with his dummy was part of the Kad Suan Kaew Earth Day entertainment in the “green project” area.

The Director of the Environmental Office, Region 1, Apiwat Khunarak, explained that Earth Day, first held in the year 1970 in the USA, celebrates the natural gifts of our planet to its inhabitants, and focuses attention on the essentials of protecting our world from the threats it now faces. A symbolic switch-off of power at 7 pm for one hour emphasised the need to save energy.
It was mentioned that Sueb Nakasatian, former chief of the Huai Kha Kheang Wildlife Sanctuary in Udon Thani and a famous wildlife specialist, had, in 1990, together with 16 academics, urged the Thai people to realise the importance of protecting Thailand’s vast areas of forest against logging and other intrusions. Tragically, due to his concerns and correct practices, he was later killed by representatives of influential commercial interests, thus becoming a martyr for the cause of protecting the planet. A foundation was set up in Huay Kakeang to continue his work, and a monument was erected in his memory, visited annually by preservationists in order to pay their respects to a great man who gave his life for his legitimate concerns.

Residents visiting Kad Suan Kaew’s Earth Day celebrations view a display on using correct methods of recycling and garbage disposal.

A band giving its all at the concert which was held
as part of the Earth Day celebrations at Kad Suan Kaew.

Students and youth group members gathering at the celebration held
to mark the Earth Day at Kad Suan Kaew shopping complex.


FERC Vice-Chairman and founding member celebrates his 60th birthday

Frank Weicks - a lifetime spent caring and giving

CMM Reporters
Frank Weicks is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, and says that he’s never had a party in which his family’s turkey and Andouille sausage gumbo wasn’t served. His 60th birthday party was no exception.

Frank Weicks, accompanied by his wife, Becky, and a friend, being presented with a ‘Good Guy’ award on his birthday.

Frank grew up in a middle class family in a neighborhood filled with lively families. His father worked two or three jobs to support the young family, and his mother was active in organizing sports for the kids and in building a neighborhood playground. He was nurtured by a big extended family that was forever having birthday parties and picnics and shrimp boils in the back yard. Frank completed elementary school, helping with school bills by taking on a couple of newspaper delivery routes. He and his pals played ball, fished and explored New Orleans on the street car. They camped out; they even caught alligators. With the completion of his elementary education, Frank went off to seminary, intending to become a teaching monk. But he left after two years when his infant brother died, and his mother suffered a severe depression. He remembers his days as a seminarian fondly, and says he learned more about himself during those years than any other period of his youth. Back home, he helped his dad care for his mom and the younger kids, worked at a grocery store, and eventually paid his way through college with the grocery store salary and money earned at extra summer jobs in an aluminum refinery.
Between all of the jobs that were necessary for his education, he found time to volunteer at the Crippled Children’s Hospital in New Orleans where he helped children who had suffered severe burns. Later, during the flooded aftermath of Hurricane Betsy, he organized and delivered baby food by boat to the shelters near his home. Frank graduated from Louisiana State University, New Orleans, with a degree in diplomatic history, but his college years were marked by juggling work schedules and classroom assignments. The war in Vietnam weighed heavily on him, and his number was literally coming up. He was due to be drafted, so he chose instead to enlist in the U.S. Army. He went to basic training, was assigned to be a company clerk and learned his famous two-finger typing technique. He received orders to go to Vietnam, but his commanding officer intervened and sent him home. His father, a radar man in the U.S. Navy in World War II, was dying of brain cancer. So, Frank went home and saw his family through another crisis. Military veterans were coming back to New Orleans, and the local police department saw an opportunity. Veterans, especially those with a college degree, were welcomed. Frank walked into an accidental career, one that he loved and in which he thrived, and spent the next twenty years working for the New Orleans Police Department. He became a specialist in issues related to child abuse and exploitation, and became a U.S. court-certified expert in investigations related to children and the people who hurt them. He authored child protection legislation and wrote articles for law enforcement journals on investigations of child sexual predators. It was tough work psychologically, and the time came when he felt it was better to move on to another specialty. He transferred to drug investigations and spent the remainder of his career in that division.
He retired on a Friday afternoon in 1991, and went to work in federal law enforcement the following Monday morning. Again, he found an outlet for volunteerism, supporting a program for severely disabled children. Eventually he had an opportunity to move abroad. With the move to Chiang Mai came renewed opportunities to volunteer on behalf of children, and he became a founding member of the Foundation for the Education of Rural Children (FERC). In 2003, he was presented the United States Secretary of State’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad by then Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington, D.C. He presently serves as Vice-Chairman of the FERC Board and as Chairman of the Scholarship Committee. He is solidly committed to helping the children of Thailand. He became President of Rotary Chiang Mai West in 2005, and his club was responsible for Rotary International environmental, educational and humanitarian grants of over 10 million baht. He particularly enjoyed visiting the projects that the club supported in small rural schools. Frank retired for the second time in 2004, and started a law enforcement training business with a friend. He remains active in the field of child abuse and exploitation, serving as a consultant to several international committees and non-governmental organizations on human trafficking. He and his wife, Becky, reside in Chiang Mai but travel to the United States several times a year to visit their children and grandchildren.

‘Birthday Boy’ Frank Weicks, (centre on the couch),
 amongst his many special friends in Chiang Mai.


Santi Music School presents unusual classical concert

Tess Itura
Santi Saengtong, head of the well known and regarded Santi Music School in Chiang Mai, and himself an accomplished pianist and teacher, will present a most unusual concert of mainly 18th century classical arias written for the counter-tenor voice. He will accompany Thai counter-tenor Ong-ard Kanchaisak, who will be singing arias by Gluck, Mozart, Händel, Vivaldi, Bach and the 19th century French composer Gounod’s famous “Ave Maria”, which has been a standard at classical concerts worldwide. Also presented will be the well known aria “Che faro senza Euridice”, Orpheus’s lament at the loss of his beloved, from Gluck’s opera, Orfeo et Euridice.
The concert will be held at Santi Music School, 22/3 Sirimangkhalajarn Soi 5, (near Kad Suan Kaew shopping center), on May 3 and 4 at 7 pm. Tickets are free, but seat are limited. For reservations and further details, please call 053 224 344 or email to [email protected]


A celebration in concert

Gala evening in honour of Bernard Sumner

Ajarn Bernard Sumner, well-loved and accomplished Chiang Mai piano teacher, composer, and accompanist, will be honoured by his fellow musicians, students, and fans at a gala concert at Saisuree Chutikul Music Hall, Payap University, on Wednesday, April 30 at 7:30 in the evening. Bernard has lived in Thailand for over 20 years and has been deeply involved with the musical scene - teaching, giving recitals, and working with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra as pianist and arranger.
After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music, London, he joined the BBC as Staff Accompanist. Among his many accomplishments was his work as an arranger and conductor for the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra. As an official BBC concert soloist he performed with such illustrious conductors as Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Colin Davis, and Sir Alexander Gibson. In addition, he had his own TV show and recorded piano classics and jazz for EMI. Since living in Thailand his work with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra has enabled him to perform several times for members of the Royal Family.
In 1995 he appeared as solo pianist in two of the BSO concerts, “Bach to the Beatles”, and a special concert which was an attempt to combine a symphony orchestra with traditional Thai instruments. In the latter concert, he played his Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra on ‘The Waves’ by HM King Rama the 7th, and, after the concert, was presented to HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, elder sister of HM the King. In the same year a goodwill concert by the BSO in Cambodia included Bernard’s arrangements of songs composed by the Kings of Cambodia and Thailand.
On April 30, 1996, the BSO was joined by 75 of the world’s finest orchestral musicians to form the World Philharmonic Orchestra, which gave a concert, in the presence of HM the Queen, in honour of HM the King’s 50th year on the throne. The program included an overture written by Bernard Sumner based on ‘The Soul of the Nation’ by Lady Sasima Srivikorn. After the concert Bernard was presented to HM the Queen. Subsequently in 1996, Chitralada School invited him to arrange and record all of His Majesty’s songs, and in the same year the BSO produced a CD of his concert arrangements of the songs.
Bernard Sumner is certainly a familiar presence in Chiang Mai music circles, having performed with most of the leading musicians and vocalists in the area, including several concerts with world-renowned concert pianist, Bennett Lerner.
Most recently he has returned to a life-long love of jazz and popular music, performing with jazz guitarist John Smith and vocalist Mark Walder and their group, ‘Tangerine Blue’. His impish wit and brilliant improvisations will be long remembered by his numerous fans privileged to have heard this true master of the keyboard.
Chiang Mai music lovers are looking forward to a celebration of the life and vast accomplishments of the highly respected and much adored Ajarn Bernard Sumner.


Cookery with a Japanese flavour

Morning cook-in, lunchtime eat-in

This month’s cookery class goes Japanese, and welcomes Emi Osato, who will be demonstrating her skills with a menu of Japanese-style curry, (completely different from Indian or Thai curry), steamed rice and tonkatsu, (a tasty deep fried pork cutlet), served with shredded cabbage, tonkatsu sauce and that delicious and nourishing accompaniment to every Japanese meal, miso soup. Everyone gets to cook, and the results will be thoroughly enjoyed at lunch! The class will be held from 10 am on Saturday, May 3, at Carolyn Piet’s home in Bain Compound, 2/2 Naa Wat Kate Road, and will cost 150 baht for the ingredients. To sign up or for direction and further info, please call 053 244 820 between 9-12 noon, or ring Janet Greenleaf on 087 180 8040. The class size is limited to 15, so don’t delay!


Fitness, Health and Weight Loss

John Bailey
There is one book which is used as a standard reference for professional fitness trainers at all levels - believe this or not, it’s called “The Arnold Schwarzenegger Encyclopaedia of Body-Building”! Once you’ve stopped laughing, I’ll explain. Whatever your theatrical or political ambitions, you don’t become the world’s top body-builder 7 times in a row without knowing a lot more than a little about the subject! So, you may ask, what the **** has that to do with little (or larger) old me? Simple. Whether you are the Terminator or an overweight and slightly older person, the same principles apply. The term is “progressive resistance training”, and anyone can adapt it to their own requirements. When you lift a weight, you utilise the appropriate muscle fibre; when you repeat that action, the muscle fibre already used becomes tired and more adjacent fibres are brought into play, which results in an increased number of fibres being used. This is good. Two factors are involved, the weight itself, and the number of lifts you perform, known as “reps”. Depending on which of these two factors you increase, you will progressively increase the strength, size and efficiency of the muscles involved. What you want to achieve by this is up to you, however, there are two huge benefits which come as part of the package of improvements. Firstly, the fitter and stronger your muscles are, the more calories you will burn regardless of which activity you choose. Secondly, you will lesson the problem of the dreaded excess skin folds, (particularly in the underarm area…) which occur when subcutaneous fat disappears! This is very good to know…
Don’t be afraid of using either free weights or machines which use weights, as there are many medical studies which affirm their benefits. To quote “Arnie”, “Your muscles don’t know that you’re a woman, a muscle is just a muscle, and a bench press is just a bench press!” Of course, your programmed workout will be different from that of a man because you have different goals, but the fundamentals remain the same. The correct techniques have to be learned, but once they are learned they work well and have many health benefits such as protection from osteoporosis.
In these days of “staying young”, a great many women use weights regularly with great success as part of their exercise lifestyle.
Try this example of correct technique: Stand up very straight with a “dumbbell” weight in each hand and your knuckles facing forward. Keeping your arms and your back absolutely straight, raise your arms to the side until they are at shoulder height, breathing out as you do this. Slowly lower your arms, gently breathing in as you do so, pause, and repeat. Once you have the rhythm of the exercise, find the heaviest weight you can lift, e.g. 10 kilos, then reduce this by 25-30% - to, say 7.5 kilos. Most women unused to weight training find that 2.5 kilos is quite enough to show results in the beginning without doing damage. You should be able to repeat the exercise using three sets of 8-12 reps - without dropping the weight on your foot out of exhaustion! You can also add to this by using the same weight but raising your arms in front of you, again to shoulder height, remembering your rhythm of breathing and maintaining your posture. You should be noticing a number of other muscles coming into play to support your posture, particularly in the areas of your abdomen and lower back. Hang on to this feeling, it’s good and right! After you become used to this exercise, you may feel you should increase the reps. Do this with care, and you will soon find yourself doing three sets of 15-18 reps. Now is the right time to increase the weight and return to 8-12 reps until you are comfortable with the increased weight. More on weights and motivation next week!