We are already in the merry month of May, not that there's much to be merry about these days.
Even if you wake up in the morning determined to be jolly, a quick glance at the newspaper is enough to make you go straight back to bed.
I can recall a time when May was merry, although admittedly it was back in the 1950s and about 9,500 kilometres away. There are memories of dancing around the maypole at school at the age of nine and singing flaky folk songs about flowers, birds, sunbeams and how wonderful everything was.
May has certainly prompted a positive feeling in literature over the years. A big influence, especially in Britain, is because the month coincides with the arrival of summer and alleged warmer weather. It is the month when flowers bloom, trees blossom and England indeed resembles "a green and pleasant land".
Geoffrey Chaucer was very impressed by the month. In The Canterbury Tales he refers to the squire being "as fresh as the month of May". Alfred Lord Tennyson and William Wordsworth also waxed lyrically about May. William Shakespeare referred to the "darling buds of May", more in reference to the tree, a variety of hawthorn, which blossoms at this time. For the curious, it is the only British plant that is named after the month in which it flowers.
If you are not convinced by the magical delights of May, perhaps American writer William Sydney Porter, known better as O Henry, might help: "It is a month presided over by the spirits of mischief and madness. Pixies and flibbertigibbets haunt the budding woods."
So there is no excuse about not enjoying this month. All you need is a maypole, dodgy poems and pixies. But just make sure those flibbertigibbets behave themselves.
Dear diary
The only time I ever kept a diary was in 1969, so I thought it might be interesting to see what I was up to in May of that year. I had only been in Thailand three weeks and was trying to fathom the place out. In fact I'm still trying to fathom the place out. I had just got a job teaching at a college in Makkasan which really started everything off.
So what was I doing exactly 53 years ago today?
My entry for May 2, 1969 came as bit of a shock as it mentioned a delicious meal at the Oriental Hotel, far and away the most exclusive hotel in Bangkok at that time. I hasten to add it was paid for by the college principal who was trying to impress me and fellow traveller and teacher Clarence Shettlesworth -- and he succeeded.
As much as we enjoyed the Oriental ambience, we felt a trifle uncomfortable in such a plush setting. The previous three months we had been roughing it in Asia on the overland trip, sleeping in the back of a bus and sometimes eating with our hands. I just hope that at the Oriental I remembered to hold my knife and fork properly.
After that it was back to reality with a three-baht Khao Phad at Pratunam market.
Free speech
The next day, May 3, wasn't bad either, being invited to a wedding reception somewhere in Chinatown. I was dragged up on stage to give a speech about the lovely couple who I had never met. No one understood a word I said but they were gracious enough to clap heartily, thankful no doubt it was a very short speech. I began to learn that a key part of my role as a farang teacher was of an ornamental nature, including grinning at all times and generally looking stupid.
May also involved the delights of numerous visits to the Immigration Department on Sathon Road before it moved to Suan Plu. I will spare you that.
Neighbours
May 7 proved to be an important date in the big scheme of things. Clarence and I moved from the college dormitory to share a small house in Makkasan. It was a relief to be in our own place, although it was rather small. But you couldn't complain considering the rent was a total of 800 baht a month. However, my entry on that day was not entirely upbeat: "Moved into house, slept on floor, no furniture -- no nothing."
Although we would only stay there for six months, that house was a wonderful learning experience. In a relatively poor neighbourhood it was like a crash course in Thai culture. Every day I learned something new about the Thai way of life and every day I would meet somebody new.
In those times the Thais were incredibly curious about any farang, especially if they suddenly appeared on their patch. The braver kids tried out their English on us while in return we picked up an invaluable basic Thai vocabulary. There was also plenty of laughter, always a good sign.
Magic moments
Apologies for all this self-indulgence, but my first May in Thailand was a magical time. In fact, the whole of 1969 was quite wonderful and Thailand wasn't even called "Amazing" in those days -- hardly anyone knew where it was for a start.
We could certainly do with some of the 1969 magic at the moment.
Contact PostScript via email at oldcrutch@hotmail.com