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The month began with a very wet day, I know because I had arranged to meet some friends in Walking Street t hat evening and after catching the bus to the nearest point it could go, I alighted into a cloudb urst. By the time I reached the shelter of a nearby awning I was already soaked, so as soon as the rain eased a little I continued my way there more or less oblivious of the water coming at me both from above and from the flooded road below.
It was not a major event, just a drink with Malcolm who was down from Bangkok and then on to one or two showbars. At least the one pictured here was honest about what it had to offer.
Having survived that relatively unscathed, the next event on the calendar was on  the 4th of July - American Independence day.
To celebrate this (and in Thailand, any event even not specifically Thai, is an excuse for a celebration), the Wine Club held another of its spectacular Gourmet Dinner and Wine Tasting events, this one naturally enough featuring American Wines, specifically those from California.
As has become the norm with these events, although each of the several wines supplied  with the meal were meant to be for tasting only and therefore a single glass of each was all that was supposed to be provided, in fact copious quantities flowed and a merry time was had by all.
Oh and the food was good as well - in fact as always it was superb again having an American theme starting with seafood from that region and progressing to a tenderloin of US certified Angus beef..
Just two weeks later found us back at the Royal Cliff for a very special wine tasting to celebrate the club’s second anniversary. For this event a very special selection of wines were provided from the cellars of Baron Phillipe de Rothschild, including at the end, a glass of one of the most expensive and exclusive wines ever tasted in Thailand - this single glass alone would cost several times the annual membership of the club, thus making our membership seem a real bargain.
As I was due to leave Thailand towards the end of this month for a 4 week trip back to the UK and Europe, a fair amount of my time was spent in preparation for this.
However I did find time for my first outing to the Bira Motor Racing Circuit just outside Pattaya. This track, named in honour of the legendary Thai racing driver, Prince Bira, features a number of events throughout the year, and although only of national standard, nevertheless the whole layout and organisation is of a very high standard with races run to International regulations.
Amazingly there is no admission charge to the track which boasts a proper grandstand, pit lane area, control tower with winners balcony, starting lights similar to those on Grand Prix circuits, and marshalling posts around  the circuit.
From our chosen vantage point on raised ground under some sheltering trees close to the final bend, we watched a number of races for both sports, saloon, and single seater racing cars, several of them closely fought. And although the commentary over the public address system was naturally in Thai, we found that with the aid of the start line control boards we were able to see in the distance, we were able to follow the events quite well.
For food we took some sandwiches kindly made by Foo and for drink well there was of course the always present Singha Beer tent, all of which contributed to a most enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
In conclusion to this month, with a weather mix of several heavy storms and also hot humid sunshine, we had some spectacular sunsets, the best of which can be seen in the header picture above.
And on the 24th of the month I departed for foreign shores.
To view any of the above photos in full size, just click on it.
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