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Sisaket Tommy (Stephen Bell) passed away on Thurs pm after a fight against cancer. His cremation will be on Monday May 21 at the main Wat north of the railway station. His coffin is due to be moved to the crematoriam at 2 pm and be ignited at 4 pm.

In April I ordered a Nissan March from our local dealer for my wife's 60th birthday, to be delivered on June 2. We agreed to pay the list price (in cash) and paid a deposit with the order and all payments made and due were listed on our receipt. However, yesterday we had a call from the dealer to say that the delivery was delayed, until at least June 25 (due to the tsumani in Japan) and they required a further Bt5,000. I went along to the showroom and pointed out that we had a contractual agreement which I expected them to honour, although I accepted that some delay may be acceptable and that if they broke the agreement I would be looking for compensation.

We then went to the Honda dealer to see what they had - they are now taking orders for November/New year delivery! They told us that Toyota et al were in the same situation.

Anyone else having problems with Nissan taking orders which they cannot fulfill?

A number of members have talked about installing an irrigation system on their farms. I hope this may be useful to those contemplating such a project.

I have a farm of about 15 rai adjacent to a river which doesn't dry up. It is currently used solely for rice production. I have been in Thailand for 4 yrs and have been improving the yield of the farm each year. The objective of the irrigation system is to improve yield, minimise the use of noxious chemicals and possibly achieve a second annual harvest but I am told that birds will eat the crop as it would be the only one in the area at that time - but worth a try. I will also try other crops as a fill in.

The system consists of a Lucky Pro MNF/130A pump on a raised plinth with lockable hut, about 500m of 3in pvc piping and valves etc., flexible inlet with filter from river, about 200m x 2 of power cables with eucalyptus poles. The cost of the system was about Bt35,000 with two Thais working for best part of a week. I also use a portable Honda pump to supplement water on raised ground (about another Bt10,000 with hoses).

A pic is att. showing the plinth/hut with the "lid" open. Behind is the power cable, to the left foreground just planted rice seedlings, behind that is the nursery field where seedlings are growing, to the left of that workers are planting seedlings. The river is just behind the camera.

The system works well, it takes about half a day to flood the field where the workers can be seen planting. One drawback we have found is that it is necessary to open two valves when the pump is running or the pressure is too great and can burst the pipes (we used the cheapest pipe, a tougher pipe may overcome this).

Anyone in the Sisaket area interested is most welcome to come and look.