Getting out of the Comfort Zone - Part Two the Day After My Birthday

The day after my birthday, we returned from Pakse on the 15:30 bus to Ubon.  It arrived on schedule but sadly, the last bus to Trakan had already disappeared along Highway 2050.  We turned to the new TaxiMeter service, but the taxi driver thought it was too far to drive to Thamuang.  I greeted this astonishing piece of news with a mild remonstration, but, nobody was listening except a gang of Thai youth who may have agreed with me, or, more likely, found it amusing that a farang had dumped on, again.

We decided to stay with Pell, Khamma's daughter.   She has a small room close to the university, where she stays during the week.  After a quick phone call, Pell arrived and shuttled us back to her room.  Within half an hour, Khamma's sister had telephoned, and hearing our plight, invited all three of us to a karaoke restaurant.

The Thai's love a good singsong and by the time we arrived, the party was in full swing.  The restaurant has private dining rooms complete with a karaoke equipment and the facility to choose the tracks to sing-a-long to.  This arrangement reduces inhibitions and embarrassment so that instead of standing up in a room full of strangers and making a complete fool of yourself, you do so with greater intimacy in front of your friends.  It is that simple, and it gives the allusion that you have some control, whereas, in fact, in makes no difference to the end result, which remains an unpolished performance.

However, as the farang, the Thais perceive me as the novelty act.  I feel a shockwave of pressure coming towards me from the twenty odd people in the room who vocally demand that I sing.  I decided there was no escape, except because all the tunes were in Thai, I might be excused of assaulting the Thai language and music.  The crowd, to some extent respected to my plea, but the techie (there is always one) in the group found a range of English songs and the pressure upon me intensified.  I had no escape; I had to get on with the act.

I admit I am shy to performing in public.  Even though I can blast out a few tunes on the harmonica, and bang out some beats and rhythms on the bodhran, I find it embarrassing to unleash my talent on people I do not know.  There was no way out of my comfort zone - again - two days in a row.

I sang Song So Blue with my old mate Neil Diamond, the Green, Green Grass of Home with king of the music hall - Tom Jones and Oh Carol with Neil Sedaka.  Most of the Thais said they enjoyed it, except about half of them who chose the moment to visit the toilet. 

I actually quite enjoyed the experience.  I only did what everybody else was doing with ease; I joined in the fun and had a laugh, with good food, good company and a good glass of Beer Leo. 

It was amusing that the taxi driver's refusal to take us home resulted in a cracking night out, and me facing my fear of being outside the comfort zone.  I had conquered another fear, but was somewhat deflated that they only wanted to hear three songs from me.

Next morning we squeezed into the bus with about 60 other people and returned to Thamuang, smiling and pleased with our week’s adventures.

Getting out of the Comfort Zone - Part One My Birthday

I have always assumed that as one becomes older, the balance between being adventurous and opting for an easier life tilts in favour of the easier life.  Certainly, the body seems less inclined and slower than it once was, and the mind develops demonic filters to question the sensibility of an apparently foolish scheme or activity.  Such is the ageing process.

However, I try hard not succumb to travelling on this one-way road and, like a salmon swimming against the current, I cling onto the vestiges of my youth.  Sometimes I think it is hopeless to think I can replicate my youth, even more so to do things I never had the guts or confidence to do twenty or thirty years ago.

Some adventures are physical, but others are adventures of the mind and especially those that take you out of your comfort zone.  These adventures involve either challenges where the outcome is at best uncertain and at worst costly, physically, financially or both.  However, the reward is pleasure and satisfaction at having done something different.

Not all adventures and challenges require planning, nor need they be expensive or time consuming.  Two such occasions arose unexpectedly last week.

Last Thursday was my 58^th birthday.  I panic when I think how quickly time passes, and I am almost beside myself when I wonder how much time is left.  There is so much to do.

However, to celebrate my birthday, Khamma and I decided to take the short trip to Pakse in Laos.  It is only three hours away by bus, and that includes the border formalities.  We stayed in the Champasak Palace Hotel, which really was a Royal palace before Laos became the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos.  Nowadays it is a bit quirky, but not expensive, and not a bad place to stay.

As usual, we did not have a particular plan regarding activities for the day until we came across a shop renting motorcycles.

I have a bit of a love-hate fear of motorcycles, as a couple of my friends will testify.  I fear them because I can see it does not take much to have an accident, and I ‘love’ them because I can understand the freedom and exhilaration they provide.  I have never owned one, save for a scooter in the distant Mods and Rockers era of the sixties and seventies.  I have never driven a proper motor bike save for pottering around on Khamma’s Honda, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Nevertheless, the rental offer was a bargain at 50,000 kip (£4) for a full day.  Compare this to the ‘comfort zone’ alternative guided tour at $65 each per day, and you can understand why my brain started to work in the way that it did.

There were many disadvantages in taking up this challenge.  My first thought was that I had reached 58 years relatively unscathed, and this was neither the time, nor the place, to blemish this achievement.  The second thought was I had not seriously ridden a motorcycle, never mind passed any kind of road proficiency test.  In Laos, they drive on the right hand side of the road, if they drive on any particular side at all!  However, most important consideration of all was Khamma would have to ride as pillion passenger.  Not that appeared to worry her unduly, but she did not realise the limitations of my experience, in particular the lack of experience driving a motorcycle with a passenger on the back!  With this mental list of disadvantages rapidly forming in my mind, I signed the ‘contract’, paid over the money, left my passport in the shopkeeper’s capable hands and we rode off, before I changed my mind.

There are critics claiming that males cannot multi task.  My counter claim is that they have not studied the myriad of thoughts running through my mind as I started the bike and Khamma clambered onto the back.

—        Where are the gears, brakes etc

—        Keep to the right of the road

—        Where is the traffic coming from and where is it going to

—        Where is my confidence to move and join the traffic?

—        Balance the bike with Khamma on the back, who, by now realised this is not easy.

—        We need fuel, where is the petrol station

—        Watch that bike and car coming towards me on MY side of the road

—        Careful of that car overtaking me on the left

—        Where is second gear?

—        Is 30kilometres an hour fast enough?

—        Where are we actually going?

—        Look at the state of the road – pot holes more like craters

Was this a good idea for a 58-year-old novice?  The answer was of course yes.  We had a fantastic day out with lots of laughs and about 130 kilometres under our belts. 

Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival 16 July 2011

When I visit Thamuang, I really enjoy playing in the 'Glong Neow' band.  It is a loose collection of the some of village men folk playing traditional Isaan drums (glongs) to the accompaniment (or is it the other way round?) of a pin, which is an ornate three string guitar.  The music is not varied, it is not particularly melodic to the western ear, neither is it necessarily in tune; but it is authentic and a great deal of fun.  It is my way of communicating with the village and joining in, and they seem to like my company, or at least tolerate me.

I have blogged several times before on events involving the band - from the ordination of monks to a battle of the bands, but playing at the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival parade is a real treat.

Firstly, not all village bands are invited, and secondly as far as they know a farang has not performed in a band at the festival before. Naturally, I have been looking forward to this for a long time.

The events leading up to the parade involved a few practice sessions in the streets around the village.  Khamma's son Yo is a very keen dancer, and very good as well I might add.  The dancers had most work to do as far as learning the intricate movements and shaping the hands and body to represent the dance.  As far as the band was concerned, it was as much to provide the music as anything was, because I do not think there are any more then three tunes they can, want or are able to play.  That is not decrying from the sound they create, because it is very authentic of the village.

The way in which the village comes together for such events is very interesting.  As many as forty or fifty dancers and twenty odd members of the band, make an event involving nearly every family.  This is very special.

Khamma's son was up at 1:30 am on the great day!  There is a lot preparation required for making up and dressing correctly, and with the parade starting at 9:00am, there was not a moment to be wasted.

As for me, 6:00 am seemed early enough to wake up and a saunter up to the meeting point for 7, as planned (for once) for the traditional blessing, followed by a quick practice to get the adrenaline pumping.

We loaded up the truck with the amplifier and six speakers powered by a huge battery that probably takes a week to fully charge.  The drums were safely stowed away, which is more than can be said for the thirty or so passenger’s squatting and hanging on to any available space in the back. 

We arrived in Ubon and parked the truck in a temple close to the start point.  One of the reasons for the Candle Festival is celebrate the end of the rainy season, unfortunately, it had rained the night before and the temple grounds resembled scenes similar to Glastonbury when it is wet and muddy. 

We quickly prepared our traditional clothing of jackets and sarong like skirts.  Most items were co-ordinated, but the array of headgear and footwear left much to be desired.  Again, this did not detract from the fun we having, and the banter was as good as any I have experienced.

The sun made its appearance, and it became hotter as we grouped with our traditional dancers and a last minute addition of another group displaying traditional Isaan life of growing rice, fishing and general frolicking around.

We slowly made our way into the parade.  Many spectators pointed and smiled when they spotted the farang in the glong neow.  My ear tuned in to pick out the word 'farang' in their chatter.  Smiles, thumbs up, handshakes and posing for photographs became the routine for me.  I was in the spotlight, and I must admit, it was pretty good!

One enterprising young man gave each member a baseball cap advertising his insurance company, so at least now our head gear looked good, but the footwear was a right off.

We entered the main grandstand viewing area and the guests of honour greeted us enthusiastically.  The commentator introduced each group, and, most importantly, the cameras were in abundance.  It was a great atmosphere and everyone smiled and waved at our performance.  I think there were only a few glong neow bands in the whole procession, so we must have been a little different.  Of course, the star attractions in the parade are the magnificent wax carvings celebrating scenes from Buddha's life.  It is impossible to describe the fantastic detail of carvings and to relate their scale, for they are beyond the justice of words.  A tractor pulled each creation closely watched by several attendants whose job it was to make sure the overhead power cables did not get in the way, and to spray the wax with water to prevent the sculptures from melting.

Meanwhile, our route took us through the centre of Ubon and the crowds lined the streets.  In fact, it reminded me of the time I ran the New York marathon and the encouragement and banter with the crowds on Fifth Avenue.  That is an interesting comparison if ever there was one!

Eventually, after three hours and rising temperatures we reached the end of the parade.  Somebody bought the whole entourage an ice cream each, and we wearily made our way back to the truck for sticky rice and chicken.

What a fantastic morning I had with the village folk of Thamuang.  It was a privilege and I felt honoured that they took me into their lives.

I am looking forward to next year already.

As Khamma and I walked back to Owerrrouse, I spotted one of the band members in his rice field.  He was already back at work, in the searing heat, working in the same way they have worked in this part of the world for centuries.  In the morning, he had celebrated his tradition and in within ten minutes of returning home he was back into the reality of Isaan farming.  This was my abiding memory of the day.

Chae Son National Park - Lampang

Our superb hosts introduced us to the Chae Son National Park, about 80 kms north of Lampang on road 1157.  The journey takes you through spectacular forests and occasional rice fields, but in the full sunshine the views around every corner are memorable.  The scenery is more hilly than Ubon and makes it far more interesting with greater colour and variety.  With the excess of wood in this area it comes as no surprise that many of the houses are constructed by craftsmen skilled in the using beautiful timber to stunning effect.  There are several new houses, of unique design being built that would be the envy of Alpine villages in Switzerland and France.

There are many fine natural features in Chae Son, but the river has to be the jewel of its crown.  Waterfalls tumble down into a series of pools and lagoons, splattered by sunshine filtering through the trees.  The cool waters originate from the far far north, gathering pace on the journey through northern Thailand and eventually, somehow into the sea at the Gulf of Thailand near Bangkok.  We relished the cool shade and marvelled at the nature.

Idyllic lagoons

Cool as a mountain stream

Sun dappled water

Refreshing waterfalls

Chae Son also boasts hot springs.  As if we needed more heat!  Water bubbles out of the ground at 82 Centigrade, with the unmistakeable smell of bad eggs - sulphur.  We put some eggs into a bamboo basket and carefully placed them into a pool to boil.  Meanwhile we bathed in the natural jacuzzi soaking up the soothing powers and wondering what the poor people were up to!

Chae Son is a wonderful place to visit, the calming waters are a million miles away from Willwriting.

Hot springs - just like Iceland (not)

Chief Egg Boiler

The Thai Elephant Conservation Centre

After the experience of Ubon Ratchathani's zoo, ( Click here ) I was a little sceptical of what I might find at Thailand's elephant conservation reserve.  However, my fears were washed away as soon as we arrived in the car park.  The facilities are excellent, and it is obvious that the welfare of the resident elephants is paramount.

In the 1980's the Thai government ceased the wholesale destruction of the forest areas in northern Thailand, and elephants became redundant.  They had been used for many years to break new ground to access more forests and clear them of felled trees by dragging logs to the nearest transport.  Their numbers declined and many were kept as 'pets' in poor conditions.  Their welfare was not looked after and cruelty became them.  The Forest Industry Organisation set up the conservation centre to care for the sick animals, but also to promote an environment in which Thai people could continue to appreciate one of their national treasures.  In 1992 a new centre was opened on the current site and included a hospital to care for the sick and abandoned animals.

Is it cruel to teach these animals tricks, and for whose benefit do they perform?  Personally I think they are hugely intelligent and need stimulation rather than just let them sit around being bored stiff.  You can usually tell by an animal's eyes if they do not enjoy their captivity, and these beasts seem to like being centre of attention and to be constantly pampered and cared for.

Just as we arrived, Sac spotted a Scolopendra crawlling on a ladies tee-shirt.  He instantly made to broad sweeping motions with his hand over the poor ladies back.  She thought somebody was attacking her.  In fact she was right, but it was the Scolopendra who was the villian.  These are giant centipedes and can bite hard making the poor victim sick with high fever for several days.  She had a lucky escape.  I found a video on YouTube if you want to see on on Thailand's less friendly inhabitants.

Scolopendra

Lampang - Northern Thailand

Lampang is 100 kilometres south of Chaing Mai in the north of Thailand and 800 kilometres from Ubon Ratchathani.  It is also the home of Mieow, Khamma's life long friend from Thamuang.  She moved there 7 years ago after getting married to Sac.  We decided to go and visit them, and after leaving Ubon on the over night bus, we arrived in Lampang 15 1/2 hours later - weary!  It doesn't take that long to fly from Bangkok to London.  However, even though our bus was a 'Gold' standard bus, it was a struggle, but at 800 baht each for a one way fare (that's £16) and seems reasonable enough to me.

The hospitality extended by our hosts was remarkable.  They run a roadside restaurant serving typical northern Thai food from early morning to late at night, but their profits are not exceptionally high.  They live in a small apartment type home with a front yard for the car, a living room, kitchen and downstairs toilet with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.  They have seven year old son called First, who is very bright and the apple of his Dad's eye.  They closed the restaurant for two days to take us on a visit to the Elephant Reserve, a National Park, an ancient temple and several excellent restaurants, including their own of course.



Khamma re-united with Mieow after 25 years, and Sac



The charismatic First

Khamma and Mieow never stopped talking about this and that, and it is was only afterwards that Khamma told me they had only met one time before in the last twenty five years. The reason being different circumstances in each of their lives took them to different parts of Thailand, and their paths failed to connect, even at important occasions like weddings and festivals.  However, they always talked on the phone especially when either of them had a problem or an issue to deal with.  True friends.

Sac could speak a small amount of English, that was probably equal to the amount of Thai I can speak.  It will not surprise you that our conversations were somewhat short.  But Sac was keen to make sure we did not pay 'Farang' prices to enter the parks, and drove a good bargain in the markets.
After a shy start, First came round to being a lot of fun.  I taught him farang tricks like touching fingers together behind your back and street-wise handshakes.  He responded by hiding under the stairs and touching my feet as I walked down them, making me jump a mile in the process. 

General Election in Thailand - Part 3 Voting Day in Thamuang

There are many special days in Thamuang, and the general voting day is about as special as it gets, except, of course His Majesty's birthday and various religious occasions. 

Khamma arrived at the temple just before 9am.  There was already a long queue of approximately fifty people waiting patiently and chattering jovially amongst themselves.

The temple acts as community centre or, in direct comparison to Diggle on these occasions, Wrigley Mill Methodist church.  There are no political party number collectors wearing anoraks and colourful rosettes, but a notice board where the electoral register is posted alongside details of every candidate.

The first thing to do is to take off your shoes because this is a building and it is customary to leave your shoes at the entrance.  This is similar to my house in Diggle.  So far, the comparison score is 1-1.

The first task is to identify yourself to the register clerk.  At this point, you have to produce an identity card, confirm your address and sign against your name.  A small observation occurs to me that the ID card in a country like Thailand, which is infamous for its disorganised bureaucracy, makes such prolific use of an ID card.  Where did the UK fail to make this work?

The clerk issues a ticket, which is handed to a second clerk who issues the first voting form.  The problem is that the queue for this clerk stretches back, at the time Khamma joined it, more than fifty people long.

ID card produced, name checked, signature, ticket issued - NEXT!

The queue stretches back to receive voting papers

It struck me that in the UK there would be protest about the length of the queue resulting in mild unrest and uneasiness amongst the electorate.  The scene in Thamuang was so different; the Thai people take the situation as it comes, without protest.  No doubt there was a rush as the polling opening because there is so much to do during the day - the rice fields are being planted, which in itself is a major task this time of year.

The second clerk allocated a ballot paper for the election of the main MP for the area.  The main difference was that the voter had to sign a receipt for his paper and show the ticket provided by the first clerk.

The voter then joined the queue for the third clerk who provided the voting paper for the election of the second MP, which is based on some proportional representation for the area.  I could not obtain a satisfactory explanation of how this works.  The voter has to sign the counterfoil and the clerk ceremoniously folds the paper before the voter enters the booth to enter their 'cross'.

It appeared chaotic, but there was order and process

Finally, the voter can now vote and make a difference to way the country is led for the next five years, or something like that.

Finally, the vote is placed in the ballot box.

It was estimated that 75% of the village turned out to vote.  To me that is biggest difference between Thailand and the UK.  There appears to be a passion in Thailand to way the country is led.  It has been seen in the last five years - the airport closure, the city centre siege, the military coup - we might not approve of the way it is done, but these people care, they care a lot.  Many of them are poor, and cannot hope to escape the poverty, but they have a vote and they use it to try to speak out.  In my humble opinion, I do not think that is evident in the UK.

The red shirt party have won the election.  Thailand has its first lady PM, but she has a lot to do to prove her ability in government.  She will receive advice from her brother, but is it enough for Thailand to emerge from the shadow of recent violence.  We hope so.

Thank you to Thamuang for allowing me to use your pictures and trying to understand your politics.

General Election in Thailand - Part 2 The build up to voting

During the five years of post Thaksin politics there has been a pre-occupation of a battle for control of power.  There are so many interested parties: the 'red shirts' who are mainly the agricultural poor and pro Thaksin supporters, the 'yellow shirts' who are the middle classes and support anybody except Thaksin, the military who are supposed to be neutral but will state their position when they want to do so.  In addition, there is the powerful and respected influence of 83-year-old His Royal Highness the King of Thailand to consider.

The battle for control has led to the closure of Bangkok airport by the yellow shirts, the siege of the centre of Bangkok by the red shirts in which 90 people lost their lives and various skirmishes and postures between the antagonists.  Since the coup, the military have remained loyal to government.  However, they were instrumental in clearing the city of the red shirt siege in the city centre.  The King, who has served his country since 1950, is in poor health and denounces all violence.  His voice is powerful though and many Thai people look towards him for guidance.  He is a remarkable King, and we hope and pray for his health and long life.

After last year's siege, it was agreed that elections would take place in July 2011.  I arrived in Thailand ten days before polling day and the only evidence of an election I could see was several posters, identical except for the life size portrait of the candidate it was promoting and their election number, which appears on the voting form.  It was a massive difference from the expensive campaigning of American or British political battles.  There were several pick up trucks touring the towns and villages blaring out political messages, but it seemed the main rallying was reserved for the big cities, particularly Bangkok.

Sadly, I do not speak Thai so I could not find out what the main party messages are, but it does seem that in the latter stages, a smear campaign began on both sides.  No differences there then.

All I could establish was that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government had brought in improved roads and bridges to the village Thamuang where my wife lives.  This has significantly improved the village, and, perhaps helped them to decide which way to vote.

However, issues on the economy, education, transport, benefits and policing are insignificant to agricultural societies.  In these communities there is no money, transport is limited at best to a poorly maintained motor bike, there are zero benefits (no family income, no old age pension, no unemployment benefits) and policing is more or less left to the village leader (except major crimes like murder and drugs).  The people of the poor northeast would like consistency of the price of rice, compensation for flooding and greater medical facilities.  Unfortunately, I am not sure if the main parties engage in a national level discussion on these issues.

Nevertheless, there was a build up to the expectation of casting a vote, scheduled for Sunday 3 July 2011 between 8am and 3pm in the local temple.  This in itself is a big difference to the UK, where it is always a Thursday between 7am and 10pm.

General Election in Thailand - Part 1 Thaksin Shinawatra

In 2006 Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted as prime minister in a military coup.  I was in Bangkok at the time, but it was only when I returned to England a few days later that I heard the news.  Such is Thai politics that its understated drama completely underwhelms the population.

Thaksin is (was) a tycoon businessman who made his fortune in the growth of Thai telecommunications.  He started his political career by forming the Thai Rak Thai (Thai loves Thai) party in 1998 and quickly gained the support of the nation's agricultural poor by introducing improved medical care, debt relief and denouncing Thailand's upper classes from a nationalist platform. Thailand's economy improved with a style became known as Thaksinomics and after years in the doldrums the Thai economy began emerging. 

On the other hand his handling of the crack down on drugs in which 2,500 people are believed to have died and accusations of corruption in his government began created a new level of uneasiness and tension about his tactics. 

The sale of shares in the Thaksin family telecoms business lead to a snap election in 2006.  The sale proceeds were $1.9 billion, avoided taxation and passed a national asset to Singaporean control.  Some argue this was a shrewed business move, but politically it made many more enemies for Thaksin.

After the military gained control, Thaksin started his life in exile but his influence over Thai politics has not wained.  He faces prison in Thailand after being found guilty of corruption, but has found refuge in Dubai from where he regularly transmits live video links to political rallies held by his 'red shirt' supporters.

His support is now with the Pheu Thai party which is led by his 44 year old sister Yingluck Sinawatra. 

Yesterday she became Thailand's first female prime minister and the fifth since Thaksin was ousted in 2006. 

Ubon Ratchathani Zoo

I am not a lover of zoos.  This does not mean I am against them, because if they are managed correctly they do add to our understanding and education.  However, to see animals in their natural habitat is much more exhilerating and unpredictable.  I have seen lions in the wild on two occassions where I was able to get within feet of them as they basked in African sunshine after a successful night's hunting.  The excitement of finding a leopard on the plains of Africa makes the blood run fast through your veins, and being chased by a matriarch elephant is another close encounter you don't get in a zoo.
My visits to Africa include Kenya's Masi Mara where I went walkabout in the bush with a local Masi tribesman.  It includes a couple of days in the unique Ngorongoro crater, which some say is the Eighth wonder of the natural world, and Samburu where we ran the gauntlet against the 'Shifta' gangsters and required armed guards to protect the camp.  I have travelled on the Okavango Delta in Botswana, visited Namibia's Etosha game reserve where we punctured a tyre in the middle of nowhere! The wild remote environments of the Botswana's Makgadikgadi Pans and Namibia's Skeleton Coast, only add to my perception that animals kept in zoos are deprived from their natural habitats and climates. 
Anyway, zoos are zoos and with nothing better to do on a rainy Wednesday we decided to visit Ubon Ratchathani's Tiger Kingdom and Zoo.
Like most places in this area, it does not exactly have a clean welcome appearance, but looks can be deceiving so we paid 30 baht each and wandered in as the first visitors of the day.
The first animals to be seen are the tigers.  There are lots of them, about fifteen or sixteen, and are kept in individual cages. 
We found leopards, a baby tiger, a black bear, a python, crocodiles, deer, various birds and a variety of monkeys.  There is a pond with large ravenous fish you invited to feed for 10 baht a bag.
Curiously there is a cow with five legs.  I kid you not.  It was quite comfortable lying on the ground, but quite clearly you could see a fifth leg coming out of its back.
I want you to make up your own mind about the zoo by watching the video;

Tesco Credit Card - Normal Service Resumes

After my huffing and puffing on the Tesco Customer Care Service, I can now reveal that normal service has resumed.  I was able to contact the fraud department by phone, by reverse charge call and discuss the transaction which resulted in freezing my card.
You will by now be completely bored with my ranting about Tesco, so to bring the shenanigans to a close it appears Tesco requested their store in Ubon to call them when the transaction was first transmitted.  The Tesco Thai store policy does not allow this, so the call was not made and the card frozen.
For my part when I called the UK I used the international dialling code 00.  It is in fact 001.  Better still I should have entered '+'. 
If both these events had happened in the first place, we could have prevented the issue.  Tesco apologise and so do I.
Now let's move on!