Christmas has caught many of us in Nonhaburi and Pathum Thani off guard this year. The overriding memory of 2011 will be the unforgettable scenes of the floods and its after-effects, that still dominate my life amongst so many others.
Like many other ex-pats in Nonthaburi, I sat back with complacency as the waters closed in on my village. I frequently pointed out the high walls around my home and the high level of our front room. That same room was housing a metre or so of putrid, infested water for two weeks before the floods disappeared.
The only defence I can offer for such disgraceful myopics is inexperience. Until you've actually watched water sprouting up through holes in concrete as if it were oil, it's hard to accept it as real. About three hours before that happened, I went for a walk in my village and saw little amiss until I happened to glance down a covered drain to check the water level. There I saw three large fish, each looking up at me as bright eyed and curious as a new born baby. That's when my reality began to shake.
Muangthong have no excuse for complacency however, with the challenge of Buriram PEA being well established in the 2010 season. Concerns aside, they deserved their title win this year. There is still everything to compete for in this year's cups and in the future. We must learn from our mistakes, but this year's boardroom decisions have not yet acknowledged that.
But back to the bigger picture. In some provinces,Thais are still picking up the pieces of their livelihoods, quite literally in many cases. Most football clubs have offered to help, not just by putting hands in pockets - which is the relatively easy part - but actually getting out and about to do something. Even in unaffected areas, there are still a whole lot of other good causes which often welcome people simply offering to help, especially foreigners. Do you have the chance to make Christmas just a little better for someone this year?
To all the fans of all the teams, have a great Christmas and New Year.
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