The most encouraging news of the week was the senior Thai politician being quickly cleared by the Customs Dept of tax evasion charges concerning a Rolls-Royce. Well that's alright then. The gentleman, a well-known advocate for the downtrodden masses, can now drive around the city in his luxury limousines with a clear conscience.
You cannot stress enough the importance of politicians having the right car to go with their image. It is no coincidence that the first cabinet meeting of a new government in Thailand often resembles the opening of an international motor show. You can almost guarantee a fine gathering of the latest limousines purring their way towards Government House to unload these pillars of democracy.
Indeed, any minister who arrives for work in a less than glittering vehicle is looked upon with some suspicion. Eyebrows were raised a few years ago when a newly appointed cabinet minister, known to possess a rather "modest" car, suddenly appeared at parliament every day driving a sleek Jaguar. He later explained that he borrowed the Jag from a friend because he felt it was not appropriate for someone of his status to roll up for work in an unfashionable car.
You can sympathise with the fellow. I used to have much the same problem _ whether to arrive at the Bangkok Post in a samlor, or on the back of a motorcycle taxi.
Gently Bentley
The aforementioned politician with the "Roller" is also the proud owner of a pink Bentley, which displays a discerning taste for cars, if not colours. But there is a valid explanation. The good man was born on a Tuesday, which according to Thai tradition is "Pink Day". At least the Rolls-Royce is not pink.
There are said to be only two pink Bentleys of this model in the world. The other is owned by Paris Hilton, that's the lady whose occupation is, er ... being famous _ not a bad job if you can get it. Bentley was reportedly not too happy with her choice of colour for one of its precious cars, but for the money she was paying it was not going to complain too much. And Bentley wisely refrained from commenting on her diamond-encrusted dashboard.
Tickled pink
Of course, there is nothing wrong in having a pink car.
The very first vehicle Elvis Presley bought, in 1955, was a pink Cadillac which he called "the most beautiful car I have ever seen". He stayed up all night just looking at it in awe. Unfortunately the car was destroyed in a fire, leaving Elvis heartbroken.
Elvis went on to tour in another pink Cadillac which he eventually gave to his mum and is now arguably the most famous car in the world. Whether the pink Bentley in Bangkok will achieve such status, we shall have to wait and see.
Pink vehicles do not have to be confined to cars, however. The creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came up with Elvis owning a pink spaceship, which was a nice touch.
Tuning up
Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded a song titled Pink Cadillac which includes the lyrics "They say that Eve tempted Adam with an apple/But man I ain't going for that/I know it was her pink Cadillac". I suspect Bruce was right.
The song later became a big hit for Natalie Cole, while the Chipmunks also recorded a version, which I'm relieved to say I have not had the pleasure of hearing. There was also a highly forgettable Clint Eastwood movie called Pink Cadillac which one critic neatly described as "in serious need of a tune-up".
Just a scratch
It doesn't matter how flashy a car is, the thing still has to be parked somewhere. There was a lovely story in Bangkok some years ago about the chauffeur of a city official succeeding in accidentally hitting six different cars during a delicate manoeuvre in the City Hall car park. His tally included a couple of Benzes and four other vehicles that would qualify for "limousine" status. To put it another way, he succeeded in hitting every bigwig's vehicle in the car park, which at least showed he had some taste.
To his credit, the driver refrained from adhering to the local tradition of fleeing the scene. This was possibly due to the presence of half a dozen irate chauffeurs wondering how they were going to explain the dents to their bosses. The driver's excuse that there was "something wrong" with the steering, failed to save his job.
Pedal power
Periodically there are suggestions that MPs abandon their pink Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Batmobiles and so on and instead ride bicycles to Government House to set a good example for the public. It will come as no surprise that such suggestions are usually greeted with a deafening silence.
Actually it would not be the best of ideas. In reality, traffic jams would get worse.
The police would have to close all of the roads to ensure the VIPs didn't get knocked off their bikes by motorists for whom anyone daft enough to ride a bike is generally regarded as a valid target.
It could be a money spinner though. The public would happily fork out a few baht to watch a tubby politician pedalling furiously to work. Even better, they might even see some of them fall off.
Contact PostScript via email at oldcrutch@hotmail.com.