Phuket Fashion sets the scene

Phuket Fashion and SKAL do it for the kids

After a weekend of storms and torrential rain the annual SKAL International Phuket and South Thailand fund raiser “Red Passion”  looked like it was going to be a wash out as the event organizers and all the helpers and volunteers headed to Zazada Beach Club at Surin Beach, Phuket.

Eka Liu

Fortunately the brand new Zazada Beach Club had everything in hand and a weather contingency was in place and after a few requests to the “man upstairs” the rain yielded and the wind died down.

The Phuket Charities

The evening kicked off with a cocktail reception and musical rendition from Eka Liu which was followed by the first of the evenings LIVE auctions with the benefactors being the SKAL Scholarship Fund, Phuket Sunshine Village, Phuket Has Been Good to Us and Phuket International Women’s Club, all supporting the education of Thai Children.

Dinner was served in a organized and well planned manner and a credit to the Zazada team as they catered for over 160 guests, and while they all ate and drank there was a wonderful opera set from the Grand Opera company from Bangkok.

Following dinner and after a few short showers everything moved onto a Phuket Fashion Show supplied by the lovely Katalina and here seven models and all the staff that helped make this an evening to remember deserve a special vote of thanks.

Katalina and her models

Full Monty Cast of 2012 Appearance.

More LIVE auctions and a tombola fund raising and then the finale of the evening, a guest appearance of the Full Monty Cast from 2012. The video will follow shortly.

Overall an excellent fund raiser, the Phuket Fashion Show a highlight and along with everyone else including the two MC’s from local Phuket radio station 91.5 FM Paul Norris (aka DJ Doris) and Steve Johnston SKAL can be proud to have pulled off such a successful event in the weather situation.

Thank you sponsors

Steve Johnston, Kanyarat Jones and Paul Norris 91.5FM Phuket Island Radio

Of course any event like this needs sponsors and The Phuket Gazette and Phuket Island Radio 91.5 FM   once again were there promoting the tickets sales well in advance and PG TV capturing the evening along with a host of other sponsors from B B&B, Chalong Bay Rum, W Cafe, Choice Foods, Swissotel, Gourmet One and Katalina Collection.

Well done SKAL a fantastic initative to share fund raising amongst four local charities and a credit to everyone that was involved.

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Kathu Street Culture 2012

Kathu Street Culture

gets going with a huge paarde in the centre of Kathu Phuket.

Today saturday the 4th August was the opening with a beautiful parade of the Street Culture Kathu fair which is open until the 6th .

Please take the time to look at the gallery we have just uploded.

Youth sailing in Phuket

Phuket FM Radio and Sunsail get together to promote Youth sailing in Phuket

Absolute World Group

Absolute World Group Promotes Mike Hall to

Managing Director Asia Pacific

(8 May 2012)  Inline with the recent completion of their Bali operation and continued expansion throughout Asia Pacific, the Absolute World Group are delighted to announce the promotion of Mike Hall, the Group’s current General Manager for Thailand, to Managing Director Asia Pacific.

Mike Hall joined the Absolute World Group in February 2011 and has worked alongside the Group’s strategic Management team to spearhead a range of exciting initiatives from new sales operations to lead generation programs to resort openings, whilst managing an extensive sales force across Asia.

Mike Hall is one of the early pioneers of vacation ownership with a wealth of global experience in resort and vacation club operations. He has also worked with fractional sales in the marine and real estate industries, which has proved instrumental in the set up of Absolute Fractionals Marine Division and the recent shared ownership launch of a stunning Elan 42 Motor Yacht in Thailand. His international business acumen from time at companies such as Ford Motor Company Europe, ensures Mr Hall is well positioned to continue the Absolute World Group’s growth as one of Asia’s leading vacation ownership organisations.

Bryan Lunt, Absolute World Group Chairman & CEO said,“Mike joined us at a time when global markets have been experiencing a downturn, however he has continued to drive growth of the Absolute World Group in key areas such as Bali and Australia and to that effect, he has been deservedly promoted and will continue to assist in our growth throughout Asia.”

Phuket International Women’s Club

Monthly Newsletter May 2012

Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC) is a social network providing educational opportunities for needy children. A not-for-profit organization, the club was set up in 1989 and has been growing ever since. It promotes friendship among women of all nationalities- including welcome support and information to newcomers living in Phuket, Thailand

Current Monthly Activities

Regular Weekly activities

Phuket Cricket Sixes 2012

“MG7 Crowned Champions at the Phuket International Cricket Sixes”

US$6,000 raised during ACST Phuket Cricket Week for Junior Cricket Development

MG7 from Kuwait were last night crowned Cup champions for the first time of the 9th annual Phuket International Cricket Sixes following their victory in the Cup final over compatriots the Skylarks.

Finals day of the 9th Phuket International Cricket Sixes was played under glorious sunshine at the Kata Group Sports Ground in Chalong, Thailand. The twenty-four teams competing in the ICC award winning tournament were ranked one to twenty-four and placed in Cup, Bowl, Plate and Spoon divisions following the completion of the rain affected Round One.

At the end of Round One Shepperton Sharks from Australia were ranked in first place after an impressive unbeaten run. Curtin Victoria Park were ranked 24th.

In Cup action, MG7 from Kuwait had earned themselves a place in the final with a solid victory over Gauhati Town from India. Gauhati put on a modest 34 runs which Audi and Faisal smashed off in just 10 balls.

Skylarks, also from Kuwait, made it an all-Kuwait final with their victory over St Frances de Sales. St Frances struggled to 35 runs against accurate Skylark bowling, Hammer top scoring with 24 runs. Skylarks knocked off the required runs with an over to spare.

The Cup final was a very one sided affair once MG7 had posted a challenging 85 runs. Audi, who was named Player of the Final and Player of the Tournament, retired on 30 not out and was supported by Ahmed and Casino. Skylarks in their innings quickly lost their star batsman Razzak for just 2 runs and then collapsed all out for just 28 giving MG7 their first Cup victory in Phuket. The trophy was presented by Khun Andrew of the Kata Group.

Southern Stars lifted the Plate trophy following a very narrow win over St Frances. St Frances had notched up 58 runs, Big Job top scoring with 25 runs. The Stars won the final with a single off the last ball of the match having Pinky to thank for guiding his side to victory with 33 not out. Pinky was named Player of the Final.

The Bowl final was an entertaining affair between the CBB SCs and the Singapore Slingers. Batting first the Slingers, featuring Vicky and Rajesh, put on 68 for 4, Karthik scored 23 and Mahesh 20 for the Singsongers. Reds then led the CBBers to the win with 31 not out as the Sixes veterans won with an over to spare. Reds was awarded the Player of the Final trophy.

The Spoon trophy was won by Baulkham Hills CC with 3 balls to spare against Pinjarra CC. Latts top scored for Pinjarra with 28 not out as they posted a handy score of 71. However their fellow Aussies timed their run chase perfectly led by Player of the Final Wijesekara who scored 33 not out.

The Sixes Gala Awards Dinner attended by all the teams and officials was again held at the Kata Beach Resort and was kindly sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

190,000 Baht Raised for Junior Cricket
It was announced at the dinner that the fund raising activities organised by Carolyn Latter had, thanks to the generosity of the teams, raised a massive 190,000 Baht (approx US$6,100), the highest amount ever raised and easily topping the 158,000 baht raised in 2011. The money raised is administered by the Phuket Junior Cricket Development Fund and used for local activities and programs which benefit the development of junior cricket in Phuket.

The Phuket International Cricket Sixes was the final event of ACST Phuket Cricket Week, a series of cricket tournaments, functions and parties organised by the Asian Cricket Sixes Tour. Thirty six teams plus supporters and officials participated.

For further information see www.phuketsixes.com or contact mark@cricketsixes.com

Wrap of the 1st Kata Group Phuket International Cricket 7s

Media Release
15th April 2012

Day 2 Wrap of the 1st Kata Group Phuket International Cricket 7s

It was another fabulous day here at the Kata Group Sports Ground in Phuket, Thailand for Day 2 of the Kata Group International Cricket 7s, the first event of ACST Phuket Cricket Week 2012.

The Vagabonds arrived for the first match of Day 2 short of players and soon recruited 3 young cricketers from around the ground: Ta, from PCDC Natives, Suburadip from the Singapore Slingers and Aiden from the CBB’S. The young recruits were not to be a good omen for the Vagabonds however as the Galahs won the match with a score of 3/42. Hersey so kindly once again contributed to the fundraising for the Phuket Junior Cricket Development Fund with his 2nd duck of the tournament.

The CBB’s once again set a cracking pace with a total of 1/68 versus the Thailand Rugby League. Ritchie Oliver once again showed his prowess with the bat retiring on 35. Bec Gray was the only bowler to take a wicket on the Thai Rugby League team, with figures of 1/7 in a losing cause as CBBs cantered to a win.

The Lesmurdie Mazenod boys and the Singapore Slingers were next to face the heat with Lesmurdie setting a challenging 52 runs for victory. They also achieved their first duck for the tournament so graciously adding to the coffers for the PJCD fund. Unfortunately for them it was not to be the plucky Slingers game as their final score fell well short of the mark with a total of 34.

Next up, NCL came out shooting with a breezy score of 0/58. Akram with 19 runs and and Faruque with 23 led the charge, both not out. The Mighty Spires from the UK answered with 4/46, not enough to take the victory. Athar and Jenel from the NCL team both ended with bowling figures of 2 wickets for 3 runs.

Game 5 of the day saw the Rowdies take on the Chennai Super Sevens. Batting first, the Rowdies set a modest total of 5/23. Ram & Vonky of Chennai both posted impressive bowling figures of 1 wicket for 2 runs from their overs. The Chennai boys cruised to victory, reaching their target with 2 full overs to spare, earning themselves a bonus point in the process.

In the next match up, the Mighty Spires posted a competitive total of 49 against the Singapore Slingers, with Jonathon top scoring on 13, closely followed by David on 12 not out. Once again the sundries were the top scorers of the game with both teams posting 13 and 14 extras. The Slingers gave it their all, but unfortunately couldn’t reach their target. They ended their run chase with a valiant 41 with T2 once again top scoring with 11.

In the last Shield division game of the day the Thai Rugby League took on the Vagabonds. Thai Rugby League made a solid 41 from their allotted overs. In response the Vagabonds took the win after scoring 0/ 45, earning them the victory.

The battle continued to reach the top 8 positions for Cup & Plate honours with the NCL coming out to face the Lesmurdie Mazenod team. The game featured the least amount of sundries for the entire day of play, Lesmurdie having 3 and NCL 0. The game was won comfortably by NCL with a score of 1/48 against which the Lesmurdie lads could only muster 11 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.

In the final completed match of the day, the local Thai boys of the PCDC Natives scored a modest total of 13 runs. This was knocked off by the Chennai lads with three and a half overs to spare. Whilst it was a short game, it was played with the positive spirit for which these Phuket cricket tournaments have become known. The PCDC lads still walked from the pitch with a smile on their faces and a spring in their step.

Unfortunately, due to rain, play was stopped during the match between the Da Bang Boyz and PCDC Natives. Both this game and the final scheduled match of the day between the Da Bang Boyz and the Rowdies will be played tomorrow morning.

On Finals Day of the Kata 7s the top 8 placed teams will compete in Cup and Plate divisions, they are: The Rowdies, P.C.D.C Natives, Singapore Slingers, NCL, Dabang Boyz, The Mighty Spires, Lesmurdie Mazenod and Chennai Super Sevens

The four bottom placed teams: The Galahs, CBB SCs, Thailand Rugby League and The Vagabonds start the days play in the Shield Division.

For more information: www.phuketsixes.com and here

Lights out Phuket 2012

Lights out Phuket 2012 this year is held on the 31st March.

At 20.30 local time, pleas switch something off for an hour to  help save the WORLD!!

Lights out Phuket is one of great event to get INVOLVED.

10th Annual QSI Fun Run

The QSI International School of Phuket, a non-profit organization, to hold the QSI 10th Annual Fun Run.  This year the event will be on March 10, 2012 at the Bang Wad Dam and consists of a 1 km and a 6 km runs for all age groups, and for the more serious racers  a 12 km race along with a 6 km team challenge relay event.

This year’s QSI 10th Fun Run will include the running events with an awards ceremony giving out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers in each event by age groups a very nice medal and also team trophies for school combined team efforts, a raffle and a silent auction, some bouncy rides and other attractions for the young children, along with food and drinks to make this an enjoyable family day.

Our goal is to raise funds for the students at QSI, to give all Phuket students an opportunity for some sports competition.

A lot of family FUN!

For more information please visit http://phuket.qsischool.org/

Phuket Radio News and 91.5 FM Blues wrap up

Phuket Radio at Blues Festival

This year The Phuket International Blues Rock Festival presented by Phuket radio 91.5 FM and held at a new venue Laguna Phuket which turned out to be ‘the best year yet’ according to the many Phuket people that attended and the Phuket tourists were also well pleased.

Topping the bill on Saturday was Chris Thomas King and he provided a set that had the whole crowd using the ‘wow’ factor after over an hour on stage. Akasha the Malaysian band topped the bill on Friday to a packed house and even with the typical Phuket weather delivering just one rain storm that can ruin outside events in Phuket the show did not miss a beat.

Local bands Colin Hill and Rockin Angels were seen and heard and also interviewed at 91.5 FM

Colin Hill at Blues Festival

Rockin Patrick

The Saturday night show was broadcast LIVE on 91.5 FM Phuket FM radio across it’s terrestrial and free online radio networks for not only Phuket radio listeners but also the worldwide audience, thanks to ever improving technology LIVE Phuket radio events are planned throughout 2012 and onwards.

Andy all smiles as usual.

With big credit to the event organizer Andy Andersen an all the Phuket people that step up each year to make this event happen whom without the volunteers and support of all the International as well as local artists this show would not be possible, the Phuket tourist Police also were there along with many other organisations including the Rotary Club of Patong beach.

Phuket Radio post the event.

There are many more pictures of the Phuket blues festival throught websites based in Phuket and on the Phuket radio websites here  and many of Chris Thomas King here.