"Though the rain it raineth every day.''

If I'd have thought a bit......Isn't that quote something about having only a tiny wit? Ho hum.
Well, it is raining more here now.

I think the commercial artist that came up with this image, that's all over Thailand, is a genius, it makes me smile every time I see it.
I think it's advertising Scotch, but it's one of those adverts that works too well, you remember the advert better than the product
As weekends look very much like weekdays now we tend to mark off the passing time in outings off campus, as it were.
Joan is outside one of our haunts where Dave, an English guy runs Bistro No 1. We try to call here to get a bacon butty if the need arises!
We are in fact going there tonight with a couple of the guests. (Their treat!) this is because we have been looking over some proposals they have for a guest house in another part of the world and bringing our very limited experience to bear on the business plans. You will see later that I went on an other outing with them (plus sons) of a very different nature!
Another evenings escape took us to the "Meeting House" not the "Society of Friends" or Quaker's but a small cafe/wine bar style of affair that also sells art works of various sorts.
This asparagus salad had smoked fish etc and was as good as anything you can get anywhere!

This team were way out in front, as they approached Putney Bridge, I mean the Narawat Bridge. but they soon ran out of steam as they saw the weir approaching! There was a short hiatus as they tried to decide to turn around to the left or the right, but going in a straight line, they were great!
The river is slightly higher these days (about 1.45 M) at the bridge; it isn't critical until it reaches 3.7 M, but we have to keep an eye on it. We don't want a Mr Noah type event at the Juniper Tree on our watch!
The increase in rain means that there is more wildlife visible around the river and from the deck of the "Antique House" coffee shop we saw a lot more birds and bats the other evening; one bird has even nested and raised young, in a tree that is inside the building!
This view of the marine aquarium with the new sump below, shows how I am developing the system towards the point when we can add some invertebrates and corals. Until we can control the water quality a bit better we will have to stick with a fish only set up; but that's fine, we have added a Yellow Tank and a Blue Tang so "Nemo" now has a "Dory" to play with!
One of the guests who previously gave me a lot of helpful advice in setting the tank up is due any day now, so I have to make sure everything is right.....

Another water-related story, is the saga of Somsak's drain.
There was so much water accumulating under house 19 that one of our guests spotted a wading bird and called at the Office for our bird book to identify it!
The old drain was hopelessly blocked and very difficult to clear, so we have been installing a drain with a removable cover so that it can be cleared out easily. A good theory, but it's proving to be hard work. As you can see it's a long run; 145, 1 M precast concrete sections will go into this trench. 
As the slope of the land is so slight, getting a good fall on the drain will be challenging.
I was called down to the site the other morning to arbitrate in a potentially troublesome conflict between our Head Gardener and the Builder, who is building our 2 new houses. They are both working in the same few square yards, and relations are getting tense. I think the builder thinks she should have been given the job and our man thinks she is criticizing his skills; but we resolved the issue without involving the UN!
Another pair of guests took us out the other day which was wonderful(like buses, they come along in pairs!)
This wash room is in the middle of a jungle clearing. The water spills over rocks. From the basins!! (what did you think I meant?) The whole restaurant is a jungle scene complete with trees waterfalls and a lake. They have resisted the temptation to have recorded bird song playing, but the normal Chiang Mai night sounds are enough!
What one guest likes to do in their spare time can be very different from another, as you will see in the pictures along side.
One man wanted me to join in this afternoon out at the shooting range.
Some of you may remember my "Elmer Fudd" Summer, when we where plagued with squirrels who were eating all our strawberries in the garden at "West Close Farm". You may remember that when I showed Richard how to shoot the air rifle safely, we shot holes right through our garden shed!
Well, these guns are bit more powerful. Mr H chose the 4 guns he most wanted to try and these were a hunting rifle with a scope, a more modern semi-automatic rifle that looks very military! A Beretta Pistol (007 style) and a 9mm Glock.
The 4 of us shared the ammunition between us and we all had 11 or 12 shots with the rifles and 7 or 8 with the pistols.
The target alongside shows why I wouldn't want to meet anyone with gun, even for the first time, as this is the target one of the boys achieved on his first attempt at 50 meters!
Apart from the extreme noise, it was a very challenging activity, I like anything that requires accuracy and skill and not having enough of either to draw on it meant using every ounce of concentration to at least give the boys a run for their money.

One weird aspect of the whole experience was that I was due to preach at Church the next afternoon, shooting 50 rounds or so doesn't usually feature in my preparation schedule!
We had good fun, however, pretending we were not at all competitive! The instructor was really good, very safety conscious and patient.
 It was thought that I should have been best with the Beretta; James Bond being British!-It didn't turn out that way.....

The day of the  preaching engagement finally arrived and seemed quite well received. I was told to preach at my usual volume as the mic was just there for reinforcement......not quiet accurate! The teaching voice, whilst unused for a couple of years, was still there and I think it took a while to get the balance right, perhaps we should have given out ear plugs!
One thing that gave us a laugh was that I had put a picture of Joe Root reaching his century in the 2nd Test Match, as my opening Power-Point slide; just to use to focus the projector etc. Due to a problem with the IT, my presentation kept flipping back to Joe during the sermon, making any Australians in the congregation think I was having a go! 
The picture here of a paper cup, shows a typically Thai solution to the problem of a Buddhist Holy Day. No alcohol can be sold during the 2 day festival. So the beer is put into paper cups and everyone is happy! It reminds me of a friend of our son, who told Joan once, that Allah can't see vodka when it's in orange juice!

The next picture shows how the need for more space for people to sign the walls is dealt with. The only problem is that this is the bit of wall we signed! We'll have to get there early next time and sit where we can get back onto the wall.










These two waiters at "No View, but Tasty!" could hold down a job anywhere in the world, entertaining, welcoming and attentive, they work so hard for what can't be a very well paid job, but they are always pleased to see us.
Need to sign off now, we are having a visit from the Makro (Cash and Carry) customer service department, I think we're on there "Friends and Family" list now!
Heading for Cambodia for new visas soon, so should have some nice pictures next time.
Thanks for reading this, 
See you soon!

Some of our 4th of July fireworks