The 34-year career of Vikrom Koompirochana, Thailand's ambassador to the United Kingdom, reaches a defining peak on Saturday and Sunday with a statistical spectacle.

He leads a 300-member committee that is honouring His Majesty the King at London's Wat Buddhapadipa.

Britain's 36,000-strong Thai community is in ecstasy. Some 5,000 expatriates from across the country will join the weekend celebrations, which will have as guest of honour Her Royal Highness Princess Somsawali.

Somdej Phra Maharatchamangalacharn of Bangkok's Wat Paknam will guide the religious proceedings, with 50 monks from Thailand being joined by UK-based Buddhist monks from Japan, South Korea, China, India and Sri Lanka.

"This will be a great day of all of us here in the UK," says Vikrom, 60. "His Majesty the King has been one of the world's hardest-working monarchs, a fact that is well known to the international community.

"We are very glad and excited that the Princess is making a visit to the temple. And all members of the community are very proud to be taking part in the event."

This year is also the 40th anniversary of Wat Buddhapadipa's completion.

 The ambassador is clearly retiring on a high note with the dual celebration.

"This will be the biggest day for Thais in the UK. It's also the biggest in all of Europe, I believe. Thais from all over the country are coming together to honour His Majesty."

The Thais in Britain, he says with satisfaction, are well connected and service-minded, so this weekend's royal occasion is benefiting from a wide pool of resources and commitment.

"They're very anxious to take part in one way or another," Vikrom says. "And the fact is, the huge network of Thai restaurants here has given the event a wider dissemination."

It will be a milestone in his three-decade diplomatic career and his eight years in London at Thailand's oldest embassy. The weekend festivities will both strengthen the Thai community in the UK and open a new chapter in the history of Thai-British relations.

As ambassador, Vikrom finds it hard not to feel nostalgic.

Those relations date back to the early Bangkok era. King Rama IV underlined the importance of English culture by employing a British governess. Rama VI spent nine years studying history and law at Harrow School, Sandhurst Military Academy and Oxford University's Christ Church College.

King Rama VII was educated at Eton College and the Woolwich Military Academy, which still honours his legacy with the Siam Garden.

The warming bilateral ties in Rama VII's day opened opportunities for Buddhist missions overseas. The initial group of Thai monks used Wat Buddhapadipa as a base from which to disseminate the religion.

Since then eight Thai temples have been built, and a ninth, Wat Sanghapadipa, is planned in Wales.

"We're now raising funds for the construction of the new temple," Vikrom says. "We hope there'll be at least one temple in every region of the country."

Wat Buddhapadipa, under royal patronage since 1965 and relocated years ago from its original site to London's Wimbledon area, is beloved by worshipers and tourists alike for its fascinating murals, painted by Chalermchai Kositpipat.

Vikrom, who spent the first half of his eight years in London as the embassy's No 2 before becoming ambassador, lately seems restless.

Invariably composed and charismatic, he nevertheless admits that the pace is hectic at the embassy at Queen's Gate. All the public appearances and consular duties demand more energy than the diplomatic life might suggest.

"Being an ambassador means you take care of everything that comes the embassy's way, all sorts of things," he says with a weary pride.

"Besides the normal duties, there exist some challenging missions in promoting Thailand and Thainess overseas."

Vikrom embodies the creative side of the Thai enclave in Britain. The embassy sponsors London's Thai classical-music society, stages cultural and religious programmes and organises exhibitions and festivals.

"Every weekend the embassy is busy with children learning and playing classical music. So far our youth ensemble seems to be the best one outside Thailand."

Vikrom's promotional chores are no doubt aided by the global appetite for Thai cuisine. There are a staggering 900 Thai restaurants cooking up "tom yam supremacy" across the country.

He reckons that the food's popularity has a lot to do with all the Britons taking holidays in Thailand - 620,000 last year alone. Thai Airways ferries them back and forth 14 times every week.

"That's an impressive figure," Vikrom says. "So many British tourists have come to love aspects of Thai culture, like the food. When they come back from a holiday, they relive the experience by patronising Thai restaurants here.

"I'm glad to be able to say that now Thai restaurants are second only to Chinese restaurants in popularity."

Another good sign is the Imperial College's new tuition-free PhD scholarships for talented Thai science students. The programme stemmed from Vikrom's lobbying.

"Now there are 90 Thai students at Imperial College," he says.

"The five scholarships - each worth Bt5 million a year - mean Thailand will see more talented scientists."

There will be more such educational cooperation, he enthuses, since Thai students increasingly choose UK universities over those of the United States.

Currently there are 4,300 Thais studying in Britain - 1,400 at primary level, 800 on Thai government scholarships and 50 on Foreign Ministry scholarships.

As impressive as the statistics are, Vikrom reserves his greatest delight for this year's royal anniversary - and this weekend's celebration in London.

After that, he will always be able to look back on his British sojourn with fondness and deserved pride.

 Manote Tripathi

 The Nation