I would like to thank all of our members and sponsors for a wonderful

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Sur les pages d’Internet Casino vous trouverez une ambiance extraordinaire des salons de jeux en ligne, tr�s proche � celle d’un casino traditionnel. event this year at our 20th Anniversary Masquerade Ball.  Many people came with their masks on and their beautiful outfits.  This year our sponsorships broke our record.  Last year we had raised 270,000 baht and this year the amount is over 470,000 before we even started with the auction.  This year we have some wonderful auction items.  Without the wonderful people that donated these items, we would have not been able to raise the money we have.  Our special sponsors were Ursula Antiques, Arlette Cykman, Jean Luc, Gulf Charters, and several others, without whom our auction items were donated. 

Our sponsors were Mermaid Maritime, Volclay Siam, Dana Spicer, Captain’s Corner, Emerson Climate Technologies, Emerson Control Technologies, Sheddon Uhde, The Mercy Foundation, Foster Wheeler, Laem Chabang Terminal One, Bechtel International, Laem Chabang International Terminal, and Premier Homes.

This will go down as a wonderful event that everyone who attended will remember. We had a past president Julie Garret come and join us. We also were honored with the presence of Pat Burbridge; she was one of the founders of the PILC 20 years ago. We were honored with Pat opening the Ball. It is great to see how far we have come in 20 years and the people we have helped. Rosanne and our committee did a wonderful job and the wonderful ladies in the show - You were great! Thanks for a good time. And of course, the Royal Cliff Beach Resort who out did their self again. Also, thank you Paul from Pattaya Mail TV for recording our memories.

If you missed this great party event, make sure you sign up next year. It if is anything like this year, it will be an event not to miss. I also need to thank a few PILC ladies for all their help with this event; first of all, Rachel Hoag, Kavita Lamba, Roseanne Diamente, and all the other ladies that had a hand in this process. It has been a great privilege for me to have done all these events this year. I hope someone will love to take over next year and enjoy it half as much as I did. Thanks again for allowing me to be your Special Events chair this year.

Cindy Logue

Rayong Bakery Project

Christmas Cakes
(Approx. 850 gms)
Cost: 400 Baht)

To order:

Phone: Lyne- 086-816-5342 or Sohini-085-148-6433
Email: Lowen@netwit.ne.au, sonya1971@rediffmail.com

Cakes can be picked up at the PILC & RLC Xmas luncheons;
The Regent’s school, G.I.S & St Andrews School;
Apt. F2-2, Eastern Star Ban Chang from Friday December 7.

Thank you,
Lyne Lowen & Sohini Goho
School order forms will be collected on Wednesday November 21
Phone / Email orders accepted up till November 30
Cakes can be prepaid or at time of delivery

(The Bakery will be closed over the Xmas period)

The winner of the Chang quilt, “Jewels of Thailand” made by the ‘Quilting Bees’ to raise money for “Our Home”, is Julie Littlejohn from Bangkok.  Julie and her husband are often in Pattaya to go sailing at the Royal Varuna Yatchclub. Congratulations Julie! Khun Tiew drew the winning ticket and we immediately phoned Julie to give her the happy news. Julie was surprised and delighted with her prize and keen to take procession of her quilt.

Background to this quilt:-
• This is the first project of the PILC Quilting Bees group. Most of the ladies have never quilted before, so this was a BIG ask.  A difficult project for someone with much experience.  I ‘fudged the truth’ and reassured them all, “It is all just straight sewing”; this in itself was so.  Baby steps will get us there…and it did!!
• “Chang” were chosen as Janis suggested to me “It must be something Thai”.  Chang are the dearly loved symbol and jewels of Thailand, so they were an obvious selection.
• “Jewels” is also a reference to the magnificent colours of the gemstones Thailand is famous for.  All colours of the rainbow are found in these stones and these vivid colours through the subtle shades of each colour make the Chang charming and lead your eye around the quilt.
• Each block (Chang) consists of 30 pieces; some as small as your little fingernail, and took an average of 1½ hrs to complete.
• 48 Chang blocks were required to make up this quilt; thus it took a minimum of 72 hrs to make these quilt blocks alone.
• 10 hrs were necessary to trim and sew blocks together, to make up the multi-coloured border and sew all the borders together.
• On top of this is the time it took the ladies at “Phuluang” to hand quilt this King Sized Quilt!  This required about 1 week full time.
• The sewing up of blocks was done by; Gillian Stewart, Kazuko Hattori, MegWalker, Echiko Tominaga & Faye Vawdrey
• Faye Vawdrey designed and put this quilt top together.

Thanks to your generosity and that of the people who attended our bountiful Bazaar, and the solid work of the Quilting Bees selling tickets, we have been able to present Khun Tiew with a cheque for 28,150Baht.  WELL DONE everyone, and many, many sincere thanks to all involved. This money will be put to great use.  It will enable the new bedrooms to be built at Phuluang, thus Khun Tiew will be able to help more girls.

Whilst purchasing tickets, many of you mentioned that if you didn’t win (but you were sure you were going to!!) you really wanted this quilt.  If this is still the case, Khun Tiew and the girls at “Phuluang” can help you!  Just phone Tiew on    081-644-4432   and she can make you an exact replica.  Voila, problem solved!

If you would like to learn to quilt or you sew and think you might like to help with our next projects, please come along to the Quilting Bees next get-together at my apartment.  We meet the 2nd Wednesday of each month.  See Tropics Topics Diary/PILC Special Interest Groups pages for details.  We would love to see you!  We have all really enjoyed working on this project together and making new friends.

Faye Vawdrey

I cannot believe that I am writing for the December issue already. There have been so many activities, events and charitable work done, that the year has just flown by.
 
We are now planning for the AGM elections in February, with Nancy Bradburn heading up the Election Committee.  With our membership at over 230, I am hoping that many of you will want to take part in the running of this club.  I know that you are very talented women and taking a chair position or a co-chair position would help not only the club but is a great way to meet new friends. So don’t feel bashful about stepping forward! There are so many things to do and one of them is bound to suit you so please ask one of the existing committee chairs or Nancy and her team for any information you need.
 
As you are reading this newsletter, many of you will be reminiscing the great night you had at this years’ 20th Anniversary Masquerade Ball.  There will be an article and many pictures of this Charity Event in our February issue.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank Cindy Logue and her committee for working many countless hours to make this event possible.
 
I would also like to thank our generous sponsors for making this year a great success. Without their support we would not be able to accomplish all the charity work we do for the less fortunate in our area.  So, thank you to our 50,000 baht sponsors; Volclay Siam, Dana Spicer Rayong, Mermaid Maritime, Captain’s Corner and to our 40,000 baht sponsors Emerson Climate Technologies, Sheddon Uhde and The Mercy Foundation.  We would also like to thank the other generous sponsors; LCB Terminal 1, Foster Wheeler, Lam Chabang International Co. Ltd, Bechtel and Premier Homes.  All these companies have helped us raise 450,000 baht for the PILC charities next year.
 
The generosity of our members and companies does not stop there.  We had many items donated for this year’s auction that raised even more money at the Gala Ball.  A big thank you goes to the following people; Ursula Rothstein, Arlette Cykman, Robert Hagan, Jean Luc Sinquin, Gillian Thom, Ria Hesling, Manhattan Steak House Restaurant, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Thai Décor, Debbie Cavanaugh, Visa (from Pattaya Today) and many more that have given so freely.
 
At this time of year it is good to reflect on what has been a very busy year for the club and me personally.  I have enjoyed being President of the PILC and look forward to working more closely with Welfare projects this coming year.  I would like to thank my husband Mike for encouraging me to be the President and for standing by me all the way.
 
My best wishes for the Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

Rosanne Diamente

Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC) is the proud beneficiary of a generous charitable donation from The Villa Market.

Khun Sudaporn presented the check to members of the PILC Welfare Committee.  She explained that Mr Surapong Poosanakhom, Chief Executive Officer and his father Mr Pisit Phusanakhom, The Villa Market developer, are concerned about the welfare of Thai people.  They want to support disadvantaged Thai people in the local community.  They combined their efforts with donations from several vendors and supporters of Villa Market and were thus able to make a substantial donation to the PILC.  Villa Market Pattaya is the 12th store in Thailand with 2000 square meters of floor space.  It is a very popular supermarket with the expat foreign community.  Therefore, it seemed natural for them to develop a partnership with PILC that can have long-term benefits for both.

Judy Hoppe

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following ladies for donating to PILC Welfare projects:-

Stephanie Moorhouse who donated a truckload of furniture that will be gladly used at the Pattaya Nursery project.
Dot Knowles who donated a lovely sofa and a brand new fridge, also to be utilised by the nursery.
Nonie Malholtra and family also donated children’s toys and 2 fabulous water coolers, much appreciated.
Nok Shepherd a new member to PILC donated 10 bags of clothing and goods.  The clothes will be used for the monthly ‘food and goods drop’ in the Bang Chang slum areas by RLC.  The nursery will use the kitchen goods.
Burapha Ladies Group for the donation of 9000 baht to the Welfare of PILC that was used to fund a fridge and Muay Thai boxing bag.  Lynn from Fairtex provided 2 sets of gloves at no cost for the boys at the Big Jungle/Small House project in Sunae Plaza.  I know when this was presented to the boys they were very happy and it will get a lot of use!  Thanks to Burapha ladies and also a BIG thanks to Fairtex for your continued support for the Welfare projects - you are all STARS!

If you have any unwanted items please contact any of the Welfare Team and we will get them distributed to needy Places.

Thanks again for your generosity ladies.
Kind Regards Ingrid Cunliffe
BIG Jungle / Small House

The 2007 Holiday Bazaar coloring competition results are as follows:

3 years old - Isabelle

4 years old - Rerske

5 years old - Sam, Twan, Jessica, Natcha & Eloise

6 years old - Puck & Victoria

7 years old - Aidan

10 years old - Charlotte & Salayana

11-13 years old - Suppaitva

It is great to see how well the houses have progressed since I left, they look really great.   Great credit is due to Marco and Khun Bic for all the work they have done in organising everything.

Many thanks also go to Rosanne, Ingrid and the PILC for your very generous donation, it really helped make this final phase possible.

I do not know my plans for returning to Thailand but I will let you know as soon as they are finalised so that we can arrange an official opening.  In the meantime I look forward to seeing the finished houses and hearing about the families who will live there.

Kind regards and best wishes to you all.

Dolores

I am often teased about living in Ban Chang.  To many club members, the 40-minute drive “to the country” seems to take an eternity.  While it really isn’t that far in terms of mere kilometers, its rural expanse and small town feel is a far cry from the traffic-filled streets of Pattaya.  While making the trek into the city for groceries can sometimes be a chore, I have begun to appreciate shopping at the wet market, getting to know many of the vendors, and having traffic consist of the occasional elephant blocking a narrow lane.  But, within the agricultural boundaries of Ban Chang, comes a level of poverty experienced specifically by the agrarian farmer, evident in the corrugated tin shacks set up on the edges of pineapple fields and mango groves.  Many of you may not know that there is a group of expat women in this area that have also established a club, the Rayong Ladies Circle (RLC).  As with the PILC, this club consists of a wonderful group of women from all nationalities, sharing good company, conquering the challenges of living in a foreign country, and working together to better the place that they live.  One of the ways they are doing this is through the food delivery program they have established in Ban Chang.  Working with the social worker at the local hospital, Khun Math, the RLC provides 5,000 Baht per month to purchase food for needy families in the area.

As the new co-ordinator for the RLC Welfare Committee, I have become very involved in this program.  In doing the monthly deliveries, the need of many of the children of these families became painfully apparent.  Many children are living with aged grandparents because their parents have died of HIV or are off working on construction sites.  The grandparents make a meager living at best, being limited in the type and amount of work they can do.  Many live in houses with no running water or toilet.  With families barely being able to provide enough food to eat, there is little money left for other needs, one of which is uniforms for school.  On a whim, I decided to find a way to provide uniforms for these children.  I am always amazed how one good work begets another, and how generous and giving people are.  On hearing of my intentions, two amazing benefactors came out of the woodwork to join me.  Working with my fantastic, English-speaking housekeeper, Khun Porn, and Khun Math from the hospital, arrangements were made to pick up 21 children and take them to buy uniforms.  On the first day, Leisbeth Reichert and I collected 12 children in Khun Porn’s truck and drove to the bookstore in Ban Chang.  It was a daunting process fitting all those children for pants, shoes, shirts, gym outfits and/or belts.  Figuring out grade levels and items needed would have been impossible without the kind staff at the bookstore and Khun Porn overseeing.  All of the children were on their best behavior and it wasn’t long before anxious faces were transformed with smiles as their arms were filled with clothing and shoes. 

On the second day, Debbie Cavanaugh joined Khun Porn and I, as once again we traversed the back roads of Ban Chang, picking up 9 more children.  The bookstore staff welcomed us as we ravaged the isles for the second time.  It is difficult to describe the elation we felt as we watched these children’s faces.  One little boy had his arms packed with items, but refused to put them on the counter, worried that he would not get them back again if he did so.  And of course, no trip would be complete without the requisite stop for ice cream. 

While the children and their families benefited greatly from the purchase of the uniforms, Leisbeth, Debbie and I also came away changed.  The amount of baht required for each uniform seemed very cheap.   The feeling of joy and satisfaction the children gave each of us would have made any cost seem trivial.

Mari Parino

It is with a great deal of sadness that the Mah Jong group ‘officially’ farewelled Gail Ritchie on June, 15.  She does not leave Pattaya for a few weeks yet, but as many of the regulars will be overseas on home leave when it is time for her to depart, we decided to commemorate the occasion early!  We had a beautiful cake and cuppa and presented Gail with a key ring made from Mah Jong tiles and several pieces of PILC etched crystal.

Gail started this group of Mah Jongers at the North Star Library two years ago, not long after she and her husband Warren arrived here in Pattaya July 2005.  There had been a group before, but it seemed to have dissipated.  The Library was a great choice for an interested person to meet, as it is very central, is closely affiliated with the PILC, and if you can’t make it for a week or two, it doesn’t matter.  Others will be there anyway and it is a very social and friendly group of ladies. Gail and Warren are Canadian, hailing from Ontario; Gail born in Hamilton and Warren in Windsor.  Warren studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Windsor and Gail trained as a nurse at Niagara Falls, concentrating on Community (District) Nursing.  They have two children.  Carmen (35) married to Scott and they have 3 smalls; Paige Isabella, Chloe Elizabeth and Audrey Katheryn.  And Matthew (32) married to Nichole who also have 3 smalls; Leah Gail, Sarah Lynn and Alexander Warren.  These babes have all appeared in the last few years, hence their desire in retirement to be home and spend much time with the grandchildren.

The Ritchie’s have been on the ex-pat trail for 15 years now, their first posting being in Kuwait, followed by New Delhi, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and finally, Pattaya.  They have thoroughly enjoyed this episode of their lives and the experiences it has given them and their children.  It was in Hong Kong, 1997 that Gail first experienced Mah Jong, having read about it in a YWCA brochure and thinking she would like to give it a try.  She had lessons and thus a lifelong passion (or vice?) was born!  While they were posted in Malaysia Gail really got into Mah Jong.  After all, who could resist the sumptuous decor of Mrs HSBC Manager’s beautiful home with the long, deep verandas and ceiling fans where they played?  Added to this was the scrumptious afternoon tea the maids prepared for them every week!  Brings up a nice picture in your mind, doesn’t it?  This ritual was adhered to, even if Mrs HSBC Manager was away!!  No wonder it was such a happy and enjoyable time.  Gail plans to start up a Mah Jong group as soon as they settle in back home: this will hopefully be on the shores of Lake Eyrie where they plan to build on a family property.

This ideal setting is important to Gail and Warren as they love sailing.  They have recently sold their boat here, but Warren is already “shopping” in Canada for a replacement, so they might sail away the hours on the lake.  And of course, there are plans for travel too.  Warren has jokingly said on occasions that he “will be relieved when they can take a holiday not dictated by their children’s breeding habits”.  Well Warren, your time has come!  They will visit Australia and New Zealand before returning to Canada and also intend to spend a great deal of time with their children and grandchildren in Canada.  Gail will be able to spend more time on her other interests of cooking, reading and movies too.

I am sorry that my arrival in Pattaya is just when Gail is to set off home; she is a great lady, has a wicked sense of humour and has been a wonderful Mah Jong teacher.  We shall all miss you enormously and wish you much joy, excitement and happy memories in your journey ahead.
Faye Vawdrey