Local ladies tuned out in their very best traditional outfits and lots and lots of jewellery for the second Phuket Traditional Costumes Contest at the Provincial Museum near the Heroines monument today (August 8).

Jaguar Cars has chosen Phuket over everywhere else in Asia for the regional launch of its new luxury, superfast XJ model, which has an electronically limited top speed of 266 kmh and a 0-100 kmh time of 4.9 seconds.

Now here’s the deal, y’all: Ya bah a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and ya git another one free. Or, if you’re of the girlie pre-suasion, bah one of Suh-then Cumfut – and git one fer free. Or ye kin bah a Glass of Independence and git a second one free. And if all this drinking makes ye hungry, git yeself on the ahtside of 12 inches of patriotism – the classic Red White Blue Burger (nope – the meat is the red part, not the blue wun).

Laguna Phuket is about to launch its annual Summer Family Festival, with a new twist – families can now star in their own professionally-produced Hollywood-style motorbike tour of Phuket.

July 24 has been set as the date for this year’s Third Worldwide Photo Walk and, as with last year, Phuket will be joining in with at least one walk.

Western films set in Thailand up to now have all pretty much had the same characteristics: The stars are Westerners and Thailand is simply an exotic backdrop. Thai actors and actresses are all taxi drivers, gangsters or gogo girls.

Bitter/Sweet, which had its Thailand premiere in Phuket last night (June 11) as part of the Phuket Film Festival, deliberately sets out to break that mould.

The final was between Australia and Iran, but the match the local crowd came to Surakul Stadium to watch yesterday was the battle for third place in the Seniors World Cup, between Thailand and New Zealand.

Professional soccer players ranging in age from 38 up – some in their 50s – might be thought to be too far over the hill for a shot at the World Cup. But in Phuket over the next few days one lucky national side has a chance of glory, in the Football Senior World Cup 2010, currently being played out, mostly at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town and Karon Stadium.

As seems to be the case all too often, word has leaked out of the Thai grapevine at the very last minute of a treat for jazz fans tomorrow – May 22.

Heads up all you 40-somethings: androgynous Culture Club icon Boy George will be deejaying in Phuket on May 26, at Seduction disco, just off Soi Bangla.