Where Wireless Road meets Rama 1 stands the British Embassy. Many years ago, the fine garden which you can see through the wrought iron gates stood open, but in these security-conscious days, that is no longer the case.

Standing back from the gate, there is fine statue of Queen Victoria in blackened metal, and thirty years ago, a custom arose on the part of the locals. Each day they would bring flower loops and pay merit to the statue, so that the statue was always flower-bedecked.

Nobody minded; incense blew in the wind; the flowers looked beautiful and Victoria enjoyed a new lease of life as an object of worship.

It’s still worth a visit, because the garden and the fine building behind it serve as the official residence of the Ambassador. IT is probably the finest ambassadorial residence in the city.

Alas, there are no longer flowers bedecking the statue, but it’s nice to think of as time when security was not everything.

You can see the statue however, once a year, on the occasion of the Ploenchit Fair.

Perhaps you could take some jasmine along and renew the custom!

Bob Wilde is a freelance writer, teacher, translator, proofreader and report editor who has been living in and associated with Thailand for some 27 years. He welcomes comments on his articles and all aspects of living in the Kingdom.