Not since the 9th of September in the last year of last century has fate provided us with such an auspicious date (except the one sometime toward the end of March this year when my Irish relatives informed me that I was Tirty Tree and a Tird and somehow found this amusing).

   My Thai friends affected not to notice the date but the papers on the eighth were full of lottery winners and a Bangkok Taxi driver, license number 777, had a woman successfully give birth in the back of his cab (though not to septuplets) - he seemed happy in hindsight, which was big hearted of him, but I do bet he wished he's bought a lottery ticket instead.

   For us, not only did we get on television (see previous blog) for our operations at Four Seasons it was the launch of the silly season in the elephant camp at Anantara, a week or two of absolutely flat out elephanting for guests and staff alike, the day was made bigger by some important visits to camp.

   We had our first blind student in camp doing the one day mahout training - to my mind a very brave man but took to it like a natural, the elephant as a seeing eye animal does have several advantages and perhaps there's a future in this?

   On the same day we continued our quest for global domination by entertaining two very nice gentlemen from Deutsche Welle TV in camp;  they got good footage of an impromptu and quite uncoordinated football match between Lynchee and Pumpui, interviewed Lynchee and myself about life in camp (not that I get to go there all that often nowadays) and, using Lamyai as a camera platform, got some good action footage...



...getting in amongst 'em for the ride to the pond...



...parade away, not quite in formation, but this is TV not a military exercises...



   ...for some reason they decided not to following the camera platform into the bath may be a bad move - just as well as even Lung Pat was dumped on this occasion.

   Down at the pond 100 odd students from the local Mae Fah Luang were waiting to learn a little about the elephants, have their pictures taken but mainly run away in terror every time one of my sweet beasts even so much as looked at them...



   ...meanwhile back in camp elephant family trustee Dugal Muller had bought some friends to meet Lynchee and Poon Larb, the ef elephants, think they were pleased with what they found (approved of little Miss Lynch in spoiled brat mode) but, as with everyone, found their attention a little stolen by Pumpui.

   Still Lynchee got her TV interview that day so she can't really complain.



...big plans for camp this July, the babies have done their week or so in camp and are ready to move out to the wet season camp on top of the hill, best views in the Golden Triangle - some have it so good!