Came across this story in the British paper the 'Daily Mirror'

Diamond geezer: Oliver the cat wolfs down owner's prized necklace

12 Nov 2012 17:36

Greedy moggy has to have jewellery surgically removed after snatching it from the coffee table along with his usual treats

Hungry moggy Oliver was in the dog house - after swallowing his owner’s valuable diamond necklace.

The five-year-old cat polished off the piece of jewellery as it lay on a coffee table next to a pile of his favourite treats.

Owners Steve Digby and Francine Lace thought the pendant and chain had been lost after searching for it without success but finally turned their suspicions to Oliver.

Francine, 44, took him to an RSPCA hospital where an X-ray revealed the pendant and chain, which is 24-inches long and features diamonds and opals, was in his stomach.

Vets waited to see if nature would take its course, but when the necklace got stuck, they removed it surgically.

The operation was a success and Oliver is now recovering at home in Wythenshawe, Manchester,with Steve, Francine and their four other rescue cats.

Alarm repair man Steve, 51, said: “You don’t want to get in the way of Oliver when he’s eating.

"He’s quite a large cat, and quite ferocious when he eats the treat sticks.

“His treats were down on the coffee table in the lounge.

"When my fiancee Francine came back into the lounge the treat sticks had gone, and so had the pendant.

"She searched high and low, all over the house, but couldn’t find it.

“When I got home I looked again, and in the end we came to the conclusion the cat’s eaten it.”

The necklace, which was a birthday present from Steve to his fiancee, has now been returned to Francine - after a thorough cleaning.

Here is the link:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/oliver-the-cat-eats-owners-diamond-1431982

Have a great day 

I find it strange that so much store is placed on trying out your mattress before you buy it.

How helpful is this in reality? I mean you lie on the mattress for what, 10 seconds, in a situation with a salesman in close attendance pestering you? It's hardly the circumstances or enough time to come to a decent decision. It's like with a car, a seat that seems comfortable when sitting in it for a few moments in the showroom may well give you backache on a long journey.

We, on the other hand, offer a 30-day money back guarantee; so you have the opportunity to really try the mattress out and ensure it is suitable for you.

Of course we are confident you will be happy and sleep well but if you don't, send it back, we will refund your money and even pay for the mattress pick up, anywhere in Thailand.

Have a great day.

Andy

I have been ill the last few days, started feeling dizzy all the time and being unable to walk straight.

Obviously, being a chap, I thought it must be a brain tumour!

It isn't.

The doctor took away some of the problem immediately by having me lay down with my head hanging off the end of the bed, turned to first the left then the right, while she supported it. She said that would reset the 'crystal' in my inner ear which had shifted out of position, clever stuff!

She also gave me some tablets and, after a couple of days spent mostly horizontal, on my lovely hugs mattress (sorry, had to get a plug for our mattresses in!) at home here in Phuket, I feel much better. I'm still not 100%, so there is still some lingering doubt in my mind about the brain tumour, but I think I might just survive...

I guess the moral of the story, more directed at me than anyone reading this, is that I must go to the doctor when I have a problem. The trouble is, having spent many months in hospital when I was younger, I just don't like them.

hugs!

There is a word in Thai that always makes me smile. It is 'rot fai fah tai din'.

I first heard it in the run up to the opening of the MRT subway in Bangkok, I laughed and said to Karn, "did I hear that right? They just called it the 'underground skytrain!" ' (the BTS skytrain is called the 'rot fai fah').

To be totally accurate the full name for a train in Thai is 'rot fai fah' but this is seldom used, in the same way that 'motor car' is shortened to 'car' in English. Usually the Thai's call a train 'rot fai'. the 'fah' part is spelt and spoken in exactly the same way to mean both 'sky' and 'electric' - as the last part of 'fai fah' to mean electric.

To avoid this problem in recent times I have noticed that the subway is more frequently referred to as the 'rot fai tai din', but I still hear 'rot fai fah tai din' too, most recently yesterday on the news.

So, it really is 'Amazing Thailand' the only country in the world with an underground skytrain!

Take care.

Some people may be concerned that our mattresses don't have a 'name' or a pedigree.

In fact they are made by a highly reputable local manufacturer that mainly (but not only) make mattresses for high end hotels.

Their mattresses are used at the Dusit Thani & Landmark hotels in Bangkok, the Marriott Resort & Spa in both Bangkok & Hua Hin. The JW Marriott, Club Med & Millennium in Phuket & at Amanpuri hotels throughout the region, among many other luxury resorts & hotels.

So, though you may think you have never tried one, chances are you actually already have!

Andy & Karn

Yesterday was a national holiday in Thailand to honour the date revered King Chulalongkorn died.

In Phuket it was also the conclusion of the annual Vegetarian festival, which lasts 9 days.

We didn't go, though I did accidentally see a couple of the processions when traffic was halted to let them pass.

Could certainly hear it going on last night too, there were thousands of firecrackers.

If I hadn't had such a comfortable mattress I doubt I would have been able to sleep through it all

The following link includes some pictures from the festival, they aren't for the faint hearted; part of the festival is about suffering pain to cleanse the soul and many people pierce them themselves with some quite large, and strange, items.

http://www.ibtimes.com/phuket-vegetarian-festival-2012-where-purity-painful-photos-850829

Andy

Could this be the cure for all our problems:

A British firm has produced the first 'petrol from air', it emerged today - in a pioneering scientific breakthrough that could end mankind's reliance on declining fossil fuels.

Air Fuel Synthesis in Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside, claims to have made five litres of petrol since August using a small refinery that synthesises the fuel from carbon dioxide and water vapour.

Experts have hailed the incredible breakthrough as a potential 'game-changer' in the battle against climate change and solution to the globe's escalating energy crisis.

As always with these things there are plenty of caveats as you read the article but it's a start. After all the Wright brothers only flew for 12 seconds, covering 120 feet, on their first flight and now less than 110 years later look at what aircraft can do.

Andy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2220044/Pioneering-British-firm-produces-petrol-air-breakthrough-solve-worlds-energy-crisis.html

It is really addictive all this stuff to do with websites.

Last night I even dreamt about PR's & web crawlers, scary!

Actually web crawlers to sound a bit scary, but when you realise it is just the name for the software that Google & Bing (Yahoo now use Bing software) use to check out your site, they become somewhat less so...

We are thinking about going in for some manufacturing. It is surprising how expensive a memory foam mattress can be in Thailand and I am sure I can do it cheaper whilst retaining all the quality and benefits of this amazing material.

I think I will make 3 types. Standard, Back Care and Premium and reckon I will be able to sell them at prices starting under 20,000 Baht, rising to around 40,000 Baht. That may seem expensive at first glance but some of these mattresses go for well over 100,000 Baht in the shops and they will be of similar quality. Watch this space.

Have a hug filled day!

Andy

As this is my first post in the blog I guess I'd better introduce myself.

My name is Andy and I run this business along with Karn, my better half.

In fact I guess I work for her as, at the moment it is all in her name!

I have lived in Thailand for nearly 13 years, mostly in Samutprakarn near Bangkok but for the last 2 years in Phuket.

I can speak Thai pretty fluently having had lessons at a school in Bangkok for a few years and also speaking it every day.

As mentioned in the 'about us' part of the site the idea for this business began with the surprising difficulty I had trying to find a fire retardant mattress in Thailand. That actually goes for many other items too, safety certainly seems low priority here...

If you would like to leave a comment or a question then please do so, we will be happy to hear from you.

Andy