A day in the life...

[armstrong]

Without A Levels those options are a lot more limited. I think that four years boarding in Thailand will give her the best chance of a decent set of IGCSE and A Levels to give her a good start in life.

She's artistic and has already expressed an interest in design, architecture and stuff like that, not a world I'm part of, although I would think anything 'arty' will be hit hard by AI.

My web design degree was outdated by the time I graduated. You've got to keep up with the trends otherwise you end up teaching in Thailand.

[david44]

It carries interest, bank base rate +1%.

Thanks I was unaware of that so the Truss hike must have hurt some !
Fortunately I have only ever been in debt for 2 mortgages both paid off in the last century so perhaps out of touch.

I do however regard a worthwhile marketable de gree in science engineering economics as an investment , some of the others while academically rigourous at better Unis are in little demand though popular like Media Studies.

According to various sources, some of the least useful UK degrees include: "Surf Science and Technology", "Floral Design", "Horology" (study of clocks and watches), "Viticulture and Oenology" (study of wine), most specialized "Creative Arts" degrees like Fashion Design, and certain niche areas within Media Studies, as these often lack broad career applications and may not lead to well-paid jobs compared to degrees in fields like medicine, engineering, or law.

Great thing about commercial law there are always wrangles, conveyancing , divorces, bankruptcy , willls and of course interpretation disputes re new and all the new legislation.A close friend in Sussex has practiced mainly public defence of criminals fpor 40 years and admits he'd have been financially better off of as plumber, aand aslo admits would not have married a delightfil hi-so English rose out of his league had he been in what her family regard as something as vulgar as "Trade"

For loot alone a degree specializing in Intellectual property rights in EU or malpractice in Hollywood cosmetic surgery/dentistry etc in USA could be the motherlode.

P.S. I study wine , but on a DIY PAYG basis!

[Bonecollector]

[QUOTE=Mendip;4645255]In addition to her UK passport/Citizenship she also has Aussie... and the Aussie government are an awful lot more generous to educating their Citizens, even if non-resident. That's why she may end up going to Perth. I also have an apartment there that will help reduce costs enormously. I also think that long term, Australia will offer her better opportunities and a better standard of life than the UK and will encourage her to head that way, but ultimately all decisions will be hers.

Totally forgot she had an Aussie passport, well fuck the UK in a handbag mate and lets put another shrimp on the barbie! Aus is definitely the place for her if she so chooses. The UK is rotten to the core I'm afraid. All the best to mini Mendy in all her dreams!

[Edmond]

..... http://https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/how-graduate-salaries-vary-by-degree-subject


salary by degree.

they all seem a bit low, even by UK standards, especially on the left hand side of the table.

I would say never choose a career based on the salary.

Base it on what you enjoy doing.

Edfucius.

[Mendip]

I'm going to have a good read and digest all of this. Thanks everyone for all the input.


^ Tax, I told the daughter to study what she's interested in and not go for the money. Easy to say though, after a lucky life.

I sold out years ago and went offshore, and have made decent money. One of my sisters pursued a career as a violinist, somethings she loves, but has been skint her entire adult life. So I guess I'd recommend a happy medium.

^^^ 39TG, strangely enough the daughter absolutely loves the cold of the UK... she's made annual visits since a toddler the first decade of which were made during the cold of Christmas, until she no longer believed in Santa.

But of course, the novelty of three cold weeks at Christmas is very different than an endless dark, bleak winter of endless horizontal sleet and rain.

I think Oz is her answer for a number of reasons, the one good thing that she's inherited from her mother... but... Australians!

Joking.

[cyrille]

I would say never choose a career based on the salary.

Base it on what you enjoy doing.

Edfucius.

It's like Steven Hawking giving out basketball tips.

[Edmond]

I couldn't be happier with mine, thank you very much. Though will be happy when I can palm it off to the kid and enjoy a life of scrabble 24/7/365.

[david44]

It's like Steven Hawking giving out basketball tips.

[Joe 90]

Having her own home rent free in Oz is a massive plus.

I believe Australia has more going for it than the UK.


At the end of the day it's her decision and all you can do is guide and provide support, financially and emotionally .

It's tough being a parent and she's a lucky girl to have a father like you.

[Joe 90]

I would say never choose a career based on the salary.

It's all well and good to have that outlook in life when you are born with a trust fund as a fall back.

I've guided mine down the high earning route because I don't want them to struggle and graft like I have done.

Although there is an element of truth to your comment and money doesn't buy happiness.

[david44]

a life of scrabble 24/7/365.

or scribble eh?

A DTAC with a heart full and TRUE,
Sought a lover whose passion was glue,
With a text and a cy,
He would always comply,
And they danced through the night, oh our Lulu!

[DrWilly]

It's all well and good to have that outlook in life when you are born with a trust fund as a fall back.

I've guided mine down the high earning route because I don't want them to struggle and graft like I have

Agreed. What a tosser he is.

Although there is an element of truth to your comment and money doesn't buy happiness.

It buys security though, which can lead to happiness.

[Edmond]

I would say never choose a career based on the salary.

Base it on what you enjoy doing.

I've guided mine down the high earning route

Sad.

Killing their passion before it evens gets a chance to bloom.


How not to be a father.

[Joe 90]

You try too hard Lulu

There's this thing called non working/spare time, something you have plenty off to pursue hobbies and interests.

Djing, club night promoting, music, art, designing, business,sports, gym, oh and trolling on the net to strangers.

The last one is pretty sad tbf.

[david44]

Multnicker's latest stunt


caught his dick in a khvnt


Her dad's a copper


Who cut off his chopper


Now she's a soprano runt

[malmomike77]

Erm, Mendip has of late been sharing some of his early life memories but for a real insoyt inta is loyf aroynd thee levels youm need ta be watchin The Change, tells ee all ee needs ta know abow tit

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/...mand/72980-001

[malmomike77]

Furgoat tee add youm mauyt need um zommerzet vpn tee watch eem loyke

[Mendip]

^ Oi'll check it aaat, thanks!

Incidentally, I listen to a lot of BBC radio, usually Radio 5 and sometimes for pretty much the whole day (the UK nightshift and early morning news). It seems that BBC radio will soon not be available outside of the UK, so a decent VPN is a must.

I'd be happy enough to pay for a BBC radio license if it gave access to the service outside of the UK, but that isn't possible.

[david44]

Me too plenty of paid VPNs out there Mendy

There are also some basic free ones which may sufficient for radio.

When I return from Europe my subscritions will be due to renew in the UK summer.

I'll wait til then I read good reviews of Nord, Surfshark

I think someone more techie than I will come along or start a thread on what actually works in LOS

Some browsers offer vpns but in addition to radio I use mine to watch TV from RTE BBC US Oz France Germany and UK.

For movies there obviously Netflix/Prime etc is also the streaming box route.

[Mendip]

The one I use has many different profiles so that if one is detected, I can just switch to another.

I only use one for the UK but there are many other choices, at a price of course.

[DrWilly]

I’ve been happy with ExpressVPN.

[Mendip]

The gardener is away for the weekend so I had to do all the morning chores today.

I've been really busy for a few months and so am out of the habit of all this stuff, but realise that I have created quite a labour-intensive household, even more so in the baking heat of the Isaan hot season.

The wife was out late last night, so Maya was lucky enough to sleep with her master. My first chore was to try and push this fat lump off the new duvet so I could get out of bed. I wondered why I was so hot last night until I realised that Maya had taken prime spot, right in front of the fan.

[Mendip]

As it's the weekend I spoilt meself and watched an episode of 'Death in Paradise' on my phone in bed before getting up, then a cup of tea and started jobs at 07:30hrs.

First up... cleaning out the chickens.

We lay down trays and sheets of fibreglass sheeting under the roosts every night. These are removed in the morning and the chicken droppings scraped into the compost bin. Chickens do 70% of their daily business while roosting at night, so catching all this is well worth while.



Then change the chicken's water and fill the feeders. It's a fair bit of work but we get around 10 organic eggs a day!

I like to give the chickens greens every day, and while at the 100 Years Market yesterday I spotted a vegetable vendor with a pile of peelings on the floor by her stall. I offered her 20 Baht for the lot... but she wouldn't accept it. She gave me a bag and just said to take it away. I tried to piush the 20 Baht note into her hand as not belonging to the Labour Party I feel uncomfortable with a freebie, but she just wouldn't take it.

So, a free breakfast for the chickens!



The noobie chickens looked suspiciously at the greens... they're not too sure about this kind of food yet. We called the one on the right 'Army'.



Veg no problem for the old timers.



Nice fresh water, the red water with vitamins added.



The time to prime the waterfall pump.





While the inlet pipe was filling I hooked out any windfall mangoes from the pond. This fish had had a go at this one.



I turned on the chicken fan (should have done that before cleaning them out, to be honest because that job gets a real sweat on this time of year).



And fed the catfish (future pla ra) in the tank.



By this time the inlet pipe was full, so I turned on the waterfall pump and then took a tin of pellets to feed the fish.



I like to feed the fish in the mornings so that they are hopefully hungry enough in the evenings for me to catch one.



All the while I keep an eye out for any squirrel windfalls to feed to the chickens. We usually get 4 or 5 over the night from our various mango trees.



The chickens love 'em.



Then it's time to water the veggies, including my 17 noi na saplings.



And also the wife's plant things.



I search out the night's dog turds and send 'em over the wall.



Change all the dog's water bowls... there are six scattered around the property. I always think that if you're in the habit of changing the water every day, then if for some reason you have an issue one day, they will still have pretty fresh water.



Any squirrel windfalls from the front go to the chickens.



Then empty the pool skimmer box and add a tab of chlorine, if necessary.



And clean the pool filter bag.



And then hang out the washing!



Nah, only kidding... the wife hung out the washing!

They say a woman's work is never done... well the wife finished hers in about six and a half minutes today, and yet I toiled on!!?

And then it was time to water the avenue.



I try to coincide this with the really pretty girl from the apartment's departure for work, which is usually around 08:51 or 08:52hrs, part from Sundays when it's exactly an hour later.

We sometimes exchange a good morning smile and pleasantries... well, I give my best smile and say 'Sawadee don chau' etc, while she continues to pretty well blank me.

Maybe she's a bit shy? She is very young, to be fair.

Anyway, the watered avenue.



All this while I periodically walk past the teenage daughter's bedroom and yell up at her to 'get her lazy arse out of bed' (while trying to ignore the fact that all of our fascia and soffit boards need replacing).

Can you believe that she has been slumbering in aircon while all this has been going on???



And then it's time for the dogs' breakfast biscuits.

This has to be done in strict order to prevent bullying and fights. The slowest eater and most timid dog first...

Coco!



The greediest eater and most boisterous last...



Maya!



Anna gets her breakfast biscuits in bed, and in a bowl. The gardener introduced this routine and I leave him to this stuff, as he does it a hell of a lot more than I. He adores Anna and I regularly see him giving her treats from his lunch, as he used to with Dan. He's a good sort.



And that completed the standard, had to be done, morning chores at Chez Mendip. I finished up around 09:30hrs when it was already 33 degrees (Feels like 37!) with 80% humidity.

The first T-shirt of the day, drenched sodden in sweat and in the washing basket after just 2 hours!

I don't know why I bothered wearing it, to be honest... well, incase of a chance meeting with the girl from the apartments of course. I've let meself go a bit this winter and probably look better clad just now!



And just when I thought I was all done with chores mid-morning, and could sit down under a cool fan with a cup of coffee and look at 'Asian bikini girls' on Tik-Tok...... the wife announced that we should have a roast lamb leg for Easter Day.

A roast leg of lamb presents certain challenges when you only have a bladdy convection oven.



But of course I say, 'OK darling, that's a good idea!'. And take the frozen leg of lamb out to the workshop.

As I drag out the circular saw from it's box, I discover a mouse nest, the nest made from the packaging and instruction manual. A big mouse runs off but it's so fukkin hot by this stage the dogs can't even be bothered to give chase.

And Yogi and Anna saw it, I'm sure!



But anyway, a job needed doing...



And it was done.

Left side, Easter Day roast lamb, right side, back in the freezer and a nice lamb soup in the future!



Oh, but fukk me!

Anna couldn't be bothered to raise herself from her bed for breakfast, or for the fleeing mouse, but she gets up to lick the floor of the water that dripped from the defrosting lamb leg.

FFS...



And I finally finished the necessary chores, when I remembered there was one more new one.

Recently self-inflicted, to be honest.

Mummy and Daddy pigeon were waiting on the office balcony.



Sorry it's late guys... I added a few cut-up bits of non-descript meat from under the wife's fly-net thingy in the kitchen.



Chores finished!



Two hours minimum, every day, for necessary stuff.

Chores? I dunno. Where do hobbies end and chores start?

This is maybe too much every day, this time of year, but I've done apartment living and that feeling of 'what the fuk do I do today' is not nice.

[Reg Dingle]

Looking good and nice pre- Saturday boozer read and piccies, well apart from the dogshit at uk lunch time, ...Green owed.

I've just been up Sainsbury's for my customary half price leg of Easter lamb.... how much did you splash out on that?

Out of coincidence, I read earlier that Shutree's Laughing Bird wine pairs really well with lamb, if you can get hold of another one of Malmo Mike's Fisher Price ovens

[Mendip]

^ The wife picked up the lamb leg at Makro and I very much doubt there was much change from 1200 Baht or so. Probably more than your yellow sticker UK one?

I hope you enjoy your Saturday at the boozer, I used to do stuff like that in a previous life when I was still alive.

While you're quaffing pints, I will be watching 'Death In Paradise' in bed with Maya, while battling for the best fan position.

Think on that. Despite popular belief, life ain't all beer and skittles in Isaan.

See you onboard in the Summer!