Originally Posted by martin_d

The way it works is if someone wants your mobile number, you get a text asking if you want to give them it. You can easily say no and problem solved. The service does not give out your number without your permission.

Originally Posted by SuzieK

Hello yes
did think youse lot were pretty cliquey to begin with been comin here for 10 years now only found out about this site this year. so this has been my day in my country went up to VFS office in Edinburgh another bl**dy indian holiday after our normal weekend. How many holidays do some people require!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway asked the good old jobs worth comissioner on the door then a representative from VSF popped out, i asked him the chances of gettin a 1 year visa and told him i had property in Goa to which a 1 year visa would be more desirable he told me we would only get 6 months i asked him is it true that we may be downgraded to 3 month visas to which Mr JobsWorth replied they all cost the same to which i replied do you mean a 1 year visa the answer was no:curse: 3 and 6 month visas cost the same. So i still dont know how you get a 1 year visa. VSF man informed me i should go back and sell it then apply for a buisness visa and do it legally. i told him it is as much to do with the seller should have known this before we got into it, a little advice on the type of visa would have went a long way 4 years ago. I did inquire if there was an Indian law society. As he was starting to talk about legalities. i told him my Goan lawyer was up to scratch on the law by advising us we lose our passports , to which Mr JobsWorth ran to a computer to look up law society India while his back was turned i felt like ripping Mr VSF's head off:curse: and inform him on our human rights in Goa. Mr VSF conviently bu**ered off. Mr JobsWorth wanted to phone the police thinking i had contravened on his human rights why doesn't this man just retire with his money to goa and see how good the indians he is looking after in rose street will look after him . All was good till i started going down princes street and all the tartan gift shops are now ran by pakistanis whats this a new peshmina type of tartan ? oh how we hope gordon and his cronies are gonna save us, when scotland seems to be selling its heritage down the road, had to go for a few feeling more refreshed and relaxed now, sitting down watching t.v and i watched BBC Panorama, i nearly choked on my dinner watchin the BBC's Jeremy Vine doing a human rights program on Indians, Bangladeshis and paks gettin a hard done deal in Dubai. With all your tax payers money, this program has been payed for and been shown on prime time bbc t.v and we are supposed to feel sorry, for sure it is not great just like our situation out in Goa. So if Mr Jeremy Vine wants to continue banging on about peoples human rights maybe he should look into the situation concerning all us brits (licence fee payers ) getting reverse discrimminated against out here, want too rip his head off aswell :curse:. To top it off i was trying too book a flight from Edinburgh to Southhampton no joy whatsoever phoned up the cheap rate phone line and was informed my card was not covered by this carrier, no disrespect to the girl who was doing her job in DELHI i feel like having a chinese tonight . followed with lots of asda wine to wash it down and clear my head.
still cant wait to get back to goa again but aw well. Can't wait to win the lottery either.

Sorry if this sounds like a blog but it is gossip and something to chit - chat about.

Originally Posted by noni

Welcome to all the new members - quite a few have joined in the last few weeks.

Join in and ask your questions - and hopefully have a laugh. Not everything is depressing in Goa - can't wait to go back.

Originally Posted by johnny five

Shock - Horror!

You have discovered a 13 month old "revelation" as to the moral standards of the Goan government. As usual this was brushed under the carpet and ignored. This is just a small example of why those of us who were trying to make a life there (without getting involved in the quasi-legal exercise of buying property) have given up and moved back to somewhere that the "theoretical rule of law" has some weight.
Apart from the sh*t, garbage, street level corruption, visa problems, over pricing, etc, the realisation that the whole state is being run by people who will un-constitutionally change laws to retain power starts to grind away at your desire to live in "paradise". If you are only going to be there for a couple of weeks............fine, ignore it! But if it is your (stupidly) chosen home?

Just try to imagine it.

Originally Posted by johnny five

During the recently ended brief session of the Goan Assembly, two journalists were singled out for criticising the government and issued with threats.
(This was extensively reported on Goan Voice - thanks Eddie)
Prior to this all the newspapers were noticeably unwilling to take on the government, even compared with a year ago, now it is non existent. This sudden gagging of the press suggests that the public threats to journalists were just the tip of the iceberg and many, many more have been threatened privately.

Welcome to Zimbabwe-on-Sea!

Originally Posted by babu1

Has anyone had a look at the photos of River Princess/ Sinquerim Beach on HT site?

They're on the 'Update on Candolim/Sinquerim beach' thread.

Excellent photos, but distressing environmental damage, the beach defences have been destroyed as has Palm and Sands garden and that ugly glass building, Calamari next if they don't move it back quickly, Santana hotel by next year?

Originally Posted by babu1

Has anyone had a look at the photos of River Princess/ Sinquerim Beach on HT site?

They're on the 'Destruction at Candolim/Sinquerim' thread.

Excellent photos, but distressing environmental damage, the beach defences have been destroyed as has Palm and Sands garden and that ugly glass building, Calamari next if they don't move it back quickly, Santana hotel by next year?