Thai Port territory

Today I visited the HDF Mercy Centre in Klong Toey, Bangkok, the place I plugged in my Christmas blog. The Centre itself was a very interesting and cheerful place and well worth a visit for anyone who can donate time to help out - teaching, entertaining, cooking or child caring, etc. - or  donate cash or goods.

I had never visited the proper Klong Toey district before and I was taken by the character of it. There are slums, real slums with homes basically made out of loose metal parts. There are also

modern and up-market buildings. However the majority of the area is made up of narrow sois in the traditional working-class Thai make up. People go about their way selling goods from a stall, laying bricks or doing whatever else they do all day, every day. Children gaze and call out, smiling cooks serve up cheap and tasty khao pat and so on.

With the exception of the Thai Port Authority docking area, it could be any one of many parts of Bangkok. One thing makes it different though, and that's the number of people wearing shirts of their local team -  the bright stripes of Thai Port's home shirt walked or motored past me every ten minutes.

Clearly the camaraderie and sense of community in Klong Toey has been enhanced by the local football team. This is something we English are familiar with but it's a new
phenomenon in Thailand and let's hope it grows. Of course, in the case of Thai Port we must also hope the community erase the minority of trouble-causers from their ranks, too.

I played a quick game of footie with some locals and called them to take a picture. They were all very happy to do so and pulled some great poses at the the exact time my Blackberry battery decided to die on me. Never mind though, I'll be back soon and I'm sure they'll still be there.

The Christmas blog 2010

Hands up if you think FIFA are bent!

This is normally the time when I type a big, soppy Christmas entry for my blog. This year, I'll spare you.

Last year we visited the Ban Kruu Noi over the festive season.  This year, it will be the Mercy Centre. The Mercy Centre is a charity that provides homes, schooling and support for children from poor areas, children with HIV and abandoned, orphaned, or trafficked children. You can visit them at www.mercycentre.org. It's run by a religious figure but you don't need to be religious to support them, I'm Agnostic myself.

The Centre always require support, not just in cash but anything that is of use to small Thai kids including books, clothes, milk and any form of education or laughter. So I want to ask anyone who has found this blog useful, helpful, informative or of any other positive use at any time: do you have just a little cash to spare for a damn good cause? Even one hundred baht (two quid, three dollars) would make a difference but of course more is always welcome.

The Centre can be contacted directly for bank transfer details or if you're near Bangkok and have a couple of hours free, why not make a visit yourself? Or if that's not practical, how about finding a good cause nearer to home and spreading a little good cheer?

Regardless of anybody's decision, I hope everyone enjoys the Yuletide. I'll be spending it with family in Thailand (no return home until next year) and looking forward to many things, including the 2011 season.

So whoever and wherever you are, all that's left is for me to wish you a very, very Merry Christmas!

Well, except Pompey fans, obviously.