To be honest, it's somehow liberating to be part of a media organisation that has not just been covering the news but making it and living it. We should consider ourselves frontline-fortunate. Despite the regrettable casualty.

I was not on roster for the real dinger on Thursday. I was on the Skytrain headed for Paragon where thousands were suffering gross retail deprivation. Beep beep. "Is it crowded on the train?" "Crowded? It's like Schindler's List in here. And the demo's almost over."

I called one of the farang staff at The Nation about 3pm. How are things? "Oh, just stellar," she replied. "It's not exactly Paris outside, but then it's hardly Helms Deep in here either. Still, the guy with the megaphone on the truck has a temper like a spanked cat. It's a worry."

She wasn't allowed out - for her own safety - and for someone who was brought up in Daniel Cohn-Bendit's riot-wracked Paris in the late 60s and has been involved in demanding social work in Bangladesh and Cambodia, she bristled at that, and was an anecdote away from calling security to call someone in authority to let her out. Or there'll be trouble. Then she added: "You know, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else and I can't even imagine living here."

There has also been some confusion about certain events, so in the interests of objective journalism, here are the facts: The rumour that a large banner was hung from The Nation editorial window reading: "Help! Send Lawyers, Guns and Money", while we were in, ahem, "Bangnagrad mode" is simply not true. It actually read: "Help! The Air-cons Are Stuffed. Send Iced Champagne and Oysters."

It is also incorrect that we negotiated a settlement that included giving every protester Bt500 and free Nation caps. What we said was, here's a free Nation cap, now please go away - or we'll unleash the Chihuahuas.

However, we do give credence to the story that four hours after the bussed-in toughed-up crowd had dispersed, one pro-Thaksin member was a found in a bush near the entrance with his middle finger stuck in an empty beer bottle. On waking, he rubbed his eyes, and said. "Wow, great band!" - and promptly fell back into the greenery.

"Everyone is in favour of free speech," remarked Churchill. "Hardly a day passes without its being extolled. But some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like - but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."

The offer of Cabinet posts for opposition members in the new government is an old trick, but always a cunning plan, my lord. In fact, you can always tell when a top politician has really blown it up: they offer concessions without being asked for them, while, of course, admitting no wrongdoing at all. But the PM topped that with the line of the week: "This will be the cleanest election in Thai history."

The fact is, the PM is too busy promoting Thailand as a great democratic nation to actually do any democratising. He has placed his continued occupancy of office above governing. But let's not be too harsh. After all, politicians here aspire to modesty.

The people I have talked to - the hi-so, mi-so and lo-so - all agree on one thing about the selling out to Temasek: The prime minister should have done what was right, rather than what was legal.

Then we had the glorious: "The bombing of the Democrat headquarters was not political," megaphoned a senior policeman. Oh, really? What was it then, personal?

To say that this election is lop-sided is like saying the Army is desperately short of sailors. As Sherlock Holmes might have said, we are heading for deep and uncharted waters, dear Watson.

And if we need a final few words for any of our leaders' speeches, equivalent to "Vive la France" or "God bless America" or "God save the Queen", or "God is great", taking into consideration current public opinion, it might be best if they said: "God help us all".

Overheard on Skytain between Prom Phong and Siam to join the anti-Thaksin rally.

1.Why not invite the Dalai Lama to come and run things for awhile?

2.Cut the crap Somchai, and tell me what happened when you got to the last rally.

3 The woman in the condo upstairs has stopped using broadband, so I can't get on the Net anymore. Man, people are so inconsiderate.

4. Just shove everything in a blender. It will taste like the Black Death but it's probably good for you.

5.I need some headphones that don't go right inside my ear.

6.This kid was riding a motorcycle on the pavement and nearly hit me. Then he swore at me for getting in the way.

7. Why? Has your dad only got one eye?

8. You have to pay Bt400 to see the aquarium at Paragon and I hear half the fish are dead.

In America, the Aitkens diet company went into what they call bankruptcy protection. Nice phrase. In Britain we would simply say the company's gone tits up.

There are plenty of descriptions for the upcoming soccerfest in Germany. My current favourite: "The Bratwurst Lederhosen Scorpions Wind Of Change Schnell Schnell Schnell Fuji 99 Luft Balloons World Cup"

I often wonder why people aspire to hang off the coattails of the elite. What's the attraction? They live such soft lives; everything is done for them, and most of them haven't picked up anything heavier than a credit card in their entire existence. You have an army of maids and a privileged, gardened, chauffeured life. All very agreeable I'm sure, but I wouldn't want one of them next to me in a trench when the firing starts. For when the going gets tough, the pampered fly out. I still believe that to get the best out of Thai society, you don't go up where it's camp and empty. You go in, where it's real and full.

Still, I've always been partial to the Italian approach to life, especially their "dolce far niente" - the art of doing very little as elegantly as possible. But you don't have to be part of the elite to experience it. Just Italian.

A few of us are thinking of starting a new political party called: "The New Chivalry - putting romance back into politics!" As part of our agenda we realise that today, men and women are trained and qualified rather than educated and civilised, and this is something we'd like to reverse, or at least balance. We also think there are a few small things that could be done in central Bangkok to make it more attractive. Cherry trees. Women dressed as pirates. Female police on roller blades A large, rainproof, geodesic dome over the World Trade area, which would include Puffins. And Swim-up bars.

And we've only just begun.

Compiled by Roger Beaumont

The Nation