The Coronavirus has been a scourge on our lives for the past three years, with many of us facing long days of quarantine wondering how to use this unexpected break from our usual routine.
I found a solution. Since a young age I have always loved books, whether they were being read to me at night by my mother before I went to sleep, or when I proudly finished reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears by myself at the age of four.
Although I use a computer to write every day, I have never been a big fan of reading a book online, or on a laptop or smartphone. It just feels so much nicer to have something physical to hold, feel, read … and smell!  Indeed, the smell of a new (or very old) book is satisfying in itself … the content within is the added bonus.
Since the dawn of the digital age the publishing industry has been going through challenging times. I looked at what has been happening in the print industry in the UK since Covi and discovered that the news is upbeat. Just as there has been a big surge in the sale of vinyl music albums so there has also been a boom in purchasing physical books – and the ‘bricks and mortar’ bookshops have been busy, full of customers browsing the shelves, and buying printed books.  In 2020, over 200 million print books were sold, the highest number since 2012.
Many people turned to books for entertainment, with some doubling the amount of time they spent reading.  The movie industry, Netflix, other streamed services and the TV have also helped. There are a lot of first-time readers who want to delve deeper into the movie they have just watched, or they want to read the book before they go to see the movie.
The pandemic has shown that reading is still an activity highly valued by millions of people, particularly in situations whereby increased leisure time has,  and is, becoming the norm.  While recent results have shown that the publishing industry is undoubtedly sustainable, it also has to be flexible and innovative.
Are we seeing similar developments in Thailand?  Let’s look at independent publisher River Books, and seek the opinions of its owner Khun M.R. Narisa Chakrabongse.

A Bangkok resident for over 26 years Christian Schulz nevertheless still keeps very close ties to his childhood home in the south western part of Africa. Even the onset of Omicron early December did not stop him from visiting his many friends he grew up with together in his beloved Namibia. Christian was also able to catch up with Namibian wild life conservationist and author of ‘Capture to Be Free’, Annette Oelofse, and experience firsthand the passion she has for her work.
Africa has seen numerous female conservationists like Joy Adamson raising lioness ‘Elsa’  documented in the 1966 film ‘Born Free’; Diane Fossey’s dedication to mountain gorillas in Central Africa (inspiring the Academy Award–nominated film, ‘Gorillas in the Mist’); or Jane Goodall, spending years working with chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, just to mention a few.
Had these courageous women inspired Annette Oelofse or was it her own desire to fight for the survival of the wild rhinoceros in Namibia against the growing number of poachers? Together with Annette’s late husband Jan (a world renowned conservationist and animal trainer who started as a mass game capturer and whose knowledge and passion for wild animals earned him the role of animal trainer for the classic Hollywood film ‘Hatari’ featuring John Wayne and Hardy Krueger) and her son Alex, Annette founded ‘Mount Etjo Safari Lodge’ in the heart of Namibia.
While Namibia is home to many varieties of African wildlife this private game reserve on 36, 000 hectares of land not only hosts but also shelters many of those not protected in this wide open and rugged land. Rhinos have always been a top priority for the tireless conservation efforts by the Oelofse Family, and the sanctuary was rewarded in 1993 for being as one of the very first rhino custodians for the black rhino custodianship program in Namibia.

W​ith so much emphasis on sensible and healthy eating nowadays, the growing presence of Thammachart Seafood retail outlets and supermarket counters right across Thailand is a welcome development in helping to upgrade the nation’s diet and provide nutritious food for all.
Established in July 2007 by wife and husband team Yeeran and Julian G. Davies, Thammachart Seafood has grown into a major force based on a simple but important premise: “We are creating a healthy lifestyle community through healthy eating.”
Operating in more than 190 stores nationwide with 700-plus staff, the company is well on its way to achieving that vision.
Each Thammachart Seafood counter as well as the company’s own brand retail operations offer the highest quality and sustainably sourced seafood, including fresh seafood, frozen seafood, value-added seafood products and a number of gourmet imported items.
With two young children of their own, this enterprising Thai-British couple is perfectly placed to understand the need for safe and nutritious seafood for their family and the community at large.

I​arrived in Thailand on January 4, 1991 and a day later I found the British Club. Even at only 32, my knees had suffered a lot due to the excessive rigours of rugger, snow skiing and me developing into something heavier and bigger than my genes had intended.
But within two weeks the tropical heat had solved all my knee woes and I was a veritable spring chicken again. I had also found the British Club’s Rugby Section which comprised, as the species dictates, of massively gregarious, outrageously boozy and about as unfit as any un-rejected overweight army conscript could be …to a man!
My background is a simple tale of a public-school boy who gave up a prospective career life of easy City banking fortunes and chose instead the penniless contractor option. But during those early years I joined Windsor RFC in Berkshire UK where my Queen still lives. This was thanks to my Uncle Robin who had just left Saracens in the mid 70s. That’s the 1970s not 1870s!! That was a fabulous introduction into club rugger from the much protected and closeted school game to the seriously blood spilling activities of local derbies and seasons of drinking, singing (not me, I was banned from singing!), Easter tours and comraderie.
My first game for the BC (British Club) was against the Navy at some pitch in north Bangkok and, appropriately for a Navy game, a season starter during the Monsoon - and it had rained all morning. Not UK rain, but as Terry Pratchett would say: “It was like the sea with slots in!”. Upon arrival there was no pitch, just a lake with vague white lines shimmering through the murk. The game had no specifics other than our opposition exhibited none of the graceful Oriental manners I expected but punched, kicked and bit like Dervishes. We had heavy cotton long sleeved shirts and within minutes we were all sloshing about with orangutang arms and no hands! One of the immediate and heartfelt wardrobe results after the match was to have all our jersey sleeves cut off!!

Despite Covid lockdowns and a huge decline in tourist arrivals over the past two years, Pattaya-based musician Barry Upton has been busy recording a 13-track album ‘Barry’s Tropical Beach Café’ which has now been released worldwide.
BTBC is an album of easy listening tracks, featuring various different styles that bring minds the likes of Sade, Matt Bianco, soft reggae / jazz infused with South American rhythms. The vibe of a tropical beach is easy to imagine.
To produce the album, Barry assembled a team of backing singers and musicians, including longtime expat Mark Hodgkins, a highly regarded sax and horns player from the UK.
Barry found fame as a musician on guitar and vocals after joining Eurovision winning band Brotherhood of Man in the early 80s, a few years after their song ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’ won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Chris Wegoda: 
The Comedy Club Bangkok ​
“During the two-year hiatus we’ve been keeping comically fit, working behind the scenes, and planning for the re-opening of The Comedy Club. We’ve already started our gigs again, since late January, and I’m happy to say all our regulars have returned, telling us how much they’ve missed the shows.
The ball has really started rolling now and we are once more having weekly shows, check our social media sites. We’re very excited for 2022, hopefully things will settle down quickly now, and we will soon be back at full strength. A good hearty laugh is great for the lungs!
Expect our usual top-quality live presentations with all our usual staples; stand-up comedy, open mics, showcases and headliner shows, plus ‘improv comedy gold’ with the much-loved Tinder and Deathmatch shows. All of this, along with the workshops – which are attracting newcomers all the time – we’re really looking forward to bringing back the laughs into Bangkok!’
It’s been fun starting everything up again, and there will soon be new specials in the pipeline, and headliner shows, plus brand-new improv gigs. What’s more we now have a regular Monday night comedy meet-up for anyone wanting to get a taste of making up comedy on the spot … for free!’
As the restrictions on entry are increasingly being relaxed, we have a selection of huge international comedians set for 2022 …  think Netflix and movie-star level comedians. They will be coming to do shows at some of Bangkok’s best concert venues. I can’t divulge any more than that right now, but with any luck this could well be our biggest year yet. And the buzz is already out that we will be opening some new smaller venues around town, so keep your eyes peeled! You heard it here first!”

Name: Jonathan Maxwell Wigley.
Nickname: Most cannot be printed but depending on various stages of life has been Wigs, Johnno, Tin Tin and now mostly Jo.
Early Life: Spent in UK, Hong Kong and Switzerland.
Family overseas: Mainly in US, UK, Austria and France. Two daughters aged 32 and 25 in New York and Vienna.  Also an almost 2-year-old grandson in New York too.
Education: High school graduated in the UK (too many schools to mention as there were some discipline issues) and university in Switzerland.
Career: Only ever in various hospitality industry roles based in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand.
Current Role: Chief Executive Officer/Founder of the Absolute Hotel Services Group which has business in 15 countries (from Germany in the west to Indonesia in the east) but is headquartered in Bangkok. Besides paying the bills, my role is grow the business of the group and support/guide my team members in our seven offices worldwide.

Providing a lifeline for Bangkok’s poor during the pandemic

For many thousands of impoverished people, Bangkok Community Help (BCH) has been an absolutely vital lifeline during the past two years of the Covid pandemic.
Set up in April 2020 in response to the obvious and growing need for food and medical supplies in Klong Toey and other low income districts, BCH reaches out to the needy on a daily basis thanks a small army of volunteers and sponsors. Its work has meant the difference between life and death for untold numbers of people in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.
Leading the charge is American businessman Greg Lange and Friso Poldervaart from The Netherlands who jointly founded the project, which has morphed from a small group of like-minded individuals into a complex operation involving hundreds of daily tasks. BCH is now registered as a charity with the Thai government.
Despite their daily proximity to hundreds of Covid sufferers, neither Greg nor Friso has proved positive for any virus.
The scope of their work is staggering. The following statistics tell an amazing story.

Launched April 9, 2020
Operates without a break
Free Covid tests given to over 250 people a day, each receiving a ‘bag of happiness’ filled with groceries toiletries, fruits and other goods
Hands out 3,000 meals a day

* One million kgs of rice
* 1.3 million packets of instant noodles
* 530,000 hot meals
* 840,000 cans of fish
* 210,000 litres of cooking oil
* 630,000 face masks
* 210,000 bars of soap
* 210,000 bottles of shampoo
* 210,000 bottles of alcohol gel
* 5,000 litres of oxygen
* 15,000 ATK tests
* 10,000 strips of paracetamol

Every day across the world at least 7,300 children are abandoned. Just outside Bangkok, there is hope for at least a few of them – thanks to Dr. Cleopandh Soorapanthu, a senior doctor at Bumrungrad Hopistal in Bangkok who runs the Chaiyapruk Foundation for abandoned and abused children in Thailand.
"When you think about how many children are left alone on the street or are born in prisons to drug-addicted mothers, and those who have been abused, you must open your arms and do something," says Dr. Cleopandh, who together with her husband Dr. Somsughi saw a chance to contribute and give some children a happy, safe childhood and an education.
An obstetrician, Dr. Cleopandh is not only a loving mother to her own children, but also a substitute mother to 48 abandoned children.
She was born to a Thai mother and a German father who came to Thailand to teach at Chulalongkorn University, while her mum worked at the US embassy. After her father's passing, her mother decided to move back to Bonn in Germany, where Dr. Cleopandh received her medical education.
For 20 years, she and her husband managed a successful practice in Germany before relocating to Bangkok. Since its launch in 1985, the Chaiyapruk Foundation has grown considerably and today consists of a three-building complex in Nakhon Nayok, north of Bangkok, where it provides the children with love and security.  The kids regard the doctors as their parents.