Murray was the main organiser of the falang clique in and around Phichai and had been for about fifteen years. When he was in the country, he enjoyed getting everyone together in Ben’s Coffee Shop by the station in the centre of Phichai on market day and Saturday afternoons. Most weeks, he could count on five or six people turning up and their wives. It was useful for sharing the local gossip, keeping up to date with changes to immigration law, which were many and often unannounced, and just being able to speak English with people who were proficient at it. Most of the wives spoke English well, but not well enough to hold a fluid conversation especially on subjects that they knew little about such as modern technology or European politics.
Not that all of the attendees were native Englis
