You can be your own “Greatest Showman” with the Synology DiskStation DS218j, a cost-effective cloud-storage system that turns living rooms into entertainment centres.

This is more than just entry-level, two-bay NAS (network-attached storage). It’s like a computer server without the monitor, keyboard or mouse.

You use “clients” – like a smartphone, tablet computer or notebook computer – to interact with the server and conveniently access your files when you’re away from home.

Inside is a Marvell Armada 32-bit dual-core processor running at 1.3GHz and 512 megabytes of DDR3 active memory (RAM).

The two drive bays can handle up to 24 terabytes stored information as installed on two 12-TB drives. If only one bay is used, you can plug in and play a drive of up to 16-TB.

The drive bays will take a 3.5-inch SATA hard drive or a 2.5-inch SATA HDD, but to use them you need a 2.5-inch disk holder and 2.5-inch SATA SSD.

There’s also an RJ45 1GbE LAN port for connecting to your home router and two USB 3.0 ports for external drives for copying files onto the NAS drives.

Among external drives, the DS218j is good for partition formats EXT4, EXT3, FAT, NTFS, HFS and exFAT. But only EXT4 format can be used on internal drive mounted in the bays, meaning you’d better back up any precious data before plugging them in.

The DS218j is compact in size – 165x100x225.5mm – small enough to keep still keep your desk pretty clear. Its 92x92mm fan is quiet, too, and the NAS system is eco-friendly, using only about 17.48 watts during drive access and about seven watts in hibernation mode.

The performance is good enough to transfer multimedia at 113MB per second and back up files at 112MB/s.

Testing the device with a Seagate IronWolf 4GB HDD, I found the NAS system easy to set up for both hardware and software. No technician needed to be called in for assistance.

You pull the cover forward to reveal the drive bays. The drive is easily attached with four screws provided. I figured the screws holding the middle and rear parts of the drive to the bay were secure enough, but you can tighten it up further secure with a provided holder for the front part of the drive.

Setting up the software was just as simple. The NAS system runs on Synology’s DiskStation Manager Version 6.1.4, a Web-based operating system tailor-made for it. This DSM features an intuitive user-interface and is just like setting up a desktop, with minimal effort to explore and manage the NAS.

You attach a LAN cable from router to the DS218j. Switch it on and type “diskstation: 5000” in your Web browser. A prompt appears for downloading and installing the latest version of the DSM operating system.

Once installation is complete, there’s another prompt to register for an account at Synology. The account is used to get a free QuickConnect.com account that provides the link to your DS218j online without the hassle of setting up port-forwarding rules, DDNS or other complicated network configurations.

Once you assign a QuickConnect name to your DS218j, you can access files stored on it from anywhere in the world, using a Web browser or apps (Android or iOS) provided by Synology.

I registered the QuickConnect name “PaisalNAS” and can access my DS218j NAS by typing “PaisalNAS.Connect.to” as the Web address.

You can further enhance the DS218j’s abilities as a computer server with more functions (packages) from Package Centre.

There are several packages to turn the DS218j into a multimedia hub – Photo Station, Audio Station, Video Station and Media Server.

Media Server is a multimedia service where you browse and play the content on the DS218j via DLNA/UPnP home devices such as a smart TV.

Video Station is a powerful app for storing and organising movies, TV shows, home video and RV recordings. All of this can be streamed to your computer, phone, tablet or TV set.

Use Audio Station to build your own music library and to stream tunes from the DS218j with your other devices, even an Apple Watch.

Photo Station lets you share pictures and keep them organised in one central location.

File Station has a browser-based user-interface for organising and sharing everything. Files are moved and uploaded with a simple drag-and-drop. You can create file links and file requests to share large files in storage.

File Station also allows for full content searches in case you forget a particular file’s name. In Document Viewer, you can look at files without having to download and open them in Microsoft Office or iWork.

You can install DS photo, DS audio, DS video and DS file apps on your iOS or Android phone or tablet to access them on the DS218j.

The Cloud Sync package is for seamlessly synching and sharing files between the DS218j and whatever other public cloud services you use, such as Dropbox, Baidu Cloud and Google Drive.

Download Station allows you to pull files off the Internet through the protocols BT, FTP, HTTP, NZB, Thunder, FlashGet, QQDL and eMule. It can also search for torrents directly, so you can download large files without having to keep your desktop or notebook computer running.

I found that the S218j performed very well. I could play Full HD videos stored there on my notebook computer and access and play stored music on my phone.

Synology DiskStation DS218j has a suggested retail price of Bt6,499.

– CPU: Marvell Armada 385 88F6820 32-bit dual-core 1.3GHz

– RAM: 512MB DDR3

– Drive bays: Two

– Compatible drives: 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch SATA HDD, 2.5-inch SSD

– Maximum internal capacity: 24TB

– Ports: One RJ45 aGbE LAN port, two USB 3.0 ports

– External drive file formats: EXT4, EXT3, FAT, NTFS, HFS+, exFAT

– Dimensions: 165x100x225.5mm

– Weight without hard drive: 0.88 kilogram

If you’ve got an iPad and take lots of pictures, grab the Affinity Photo app from Serif Labs to enhance them with various easy-to-use filters and functions.

The app can increase the value and usefulness of your iPad and it’s so useful that the Apple Store lists it as “The iPad app of 2017”.

Not all iPads can use the app, however – it only works on the iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and the latest edition released last year.

As well as handling the iOS 11 Drag and Drop function, the app is loaded with tools, filters and functions for jazzing up photos in such a way that your imagination is the only limitation.

You can use it to adjust colours and brightness, remove haze, replace the sky with some other background, crop shots and straighten the horizon.

It works with Apple Pencil to precisely edit and crop images, but it’s designed to be manipulated with taps, pinches and swipes. You pinch in and out to zoom in and out. In Selection mode, you tap with two fingers to view context options.

Affinity Photo boasts an intuitive user-interface, real-time pro-level dynamic tools, non-destructive Adjustment Layers and Live Filters, a comprehensive blend mode set, and liquefy and retouching tools.

There are tutorials to get you started in a builtin help file that has a vast amount of detail for each and every tool.

Serif Labs calls the working modes “Personas”, and each has its own set of tools. These help reduce clutter in the user-interface and thus improve workflow.

So you have Photo, Liquefy, Develop, Tone Mapping, Export and Panorama Persona.

Photo Persona is the default for photo editing, including crops, selection, brushes, retouches, erasing, warping and vector-based tools.

Liquefy is a stunning design environment for distorting images. Use it to retouch pictures or add special warping effects.

Develop Persona is handy if you shoot photos in the RAW format. Images can be developed with full control of colour and tone.

Tone Mapping is intended for 32-bit documents but can be entered from eight and 16-bit documents and adjust the tones of non-HDR images.

With Export Persona, you can output an image, layer or slice to a range of image formats.

Panorama is for stitching together pictures into a wide view and fine-tuning them.

I tested the app on a new iPad 9.7 tablet and watched it run smooth and fast. Some effects took a few seconds to process, but most appeared in an instant.

The diverse adjustments, filters and layer effects make transforming images easy and fun.

The adjustments include Black and White, Brightness and Contrast, Colour Balance, Curves, Exposure, Shadow/Highlights, Selective Colour, Posterise, Invert, Levels, Soft Proof and White Balance.

Exposure is handy for altering the overall brightness and contrast if a picture is over or underexposed or for giving the photo a high-key or low-key look.

With Shadows/Highlights, you can brighten shadows and darken areas that are too bright rather than applying a lighting adjustment to the overall image. It works on specific areas and the surrounding pixels so there’s no obvious transition.

Selective Colour subtly adjusts and enhances hues in each of the four colour channels.

Among the filters, Haze Removal is great for cutting through any haze, fog, rain or glare obstructing a subject. In a landscape situation, these environmental factors can wreak havoc with contrast and colour saturation.

Zoom Blur applies streaks to the picture that converge on a selected point to lend the impression of movement, similar to the effect of a long exposure during zoom.

Motion Blur also suggests movement by blurring the pixels in a specified direction, much as you see when panning on a subject at slower shutter speeds.

For portraits with an attractive bokeh blur in the background, go to Lens Blur. It mimics the effect that occurs when a wide aperture produces a narrow depth of field. It improves composition by making the central subject stand out more against the backdrop.

The Lighting effects simulate ambient, point, directional and spot lighting. You can add light sources for more advanced lighting control. Different light source types can be used in combination, each one independently configured and positioned using onscreen handles.

For retouching photos, there are Red Eye Removal to get rid of the scary red dots produced in flash photography, and Inpainting, which means image interpolation.

This is how you restore lost or deteriorated image data or, in the context of digital photography, replace or remove unwanted areas of an image. You might want to get the ugly power lines out of the background, for example, or anything else that detracts from the image.

You use the Inpainting Brush Tool to paint over or identify damaged or unwanted areas. Complex algorithms then take over to harvest information from the surrounding areas and reconstruct what’s missing.

Affinity Photo has a suggested retail price of Bt699.

– Developer: Serif Labs

– Version: 1.6.5

– Size: 994MB

– Operating system required: iOS 10.3 or later

– Compatibility: iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad

June Kenton, 82, who is still on the board of the company, published her memoirs entitled “Storm in a D-Cup” last year but said there was “nothing” in it that should have caused offence to the royals.

Kenton described her first bra-fitting session with a half-dressed Queen Elizabeth in the 1980s and recounted a personal anecdote told by the monarch’s mother, the Queen Mother, British media reported.

It also said that Princess Diana would come in for bra fittings and take away posters of models in lingerie for her teenage sons, William and Harry.

“I can confirm the warrant for Rigby & Peller is cancelled but I can’t go into the details why,” a spokesman for the Royal Warrant Holders Association told AFP.

“A royal warrant can be cancelled at any time for various reasons,” the spokesman said, explaining that royal warrants are also reviewed every five years.

Royal warrants are the official mark given to suppliers to Britain’s royal family and often offer a major commercial boost for companies.

Only around 800 companies have the right to use royal coats of arms on their products and business cards.

These include Fulton, the queen’s favourite umbrella maker, leather goods maker Ettinger and tailor Henry Poole.

Luxury department store Harrods lost its royal warrant in 2000, after its owner Mohamed al Fayed accused the royals of masterminding the 1997 car crash that killed Diana and his son Dodi.

Rigby & Peller said in a statement it was “deeply saddened” by the decision but declined to comment further “out of respect for her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Warrant Holders Association”.

“However, the company will continue to provide an exemplary and discreet service to its clients,” it said.

Kenton said she had been told by Buckingham Palace six months ago that they “didn’t like the book” and she should no longer have a royal warrant.

“I’m very sad Buckingham Palace took exception to the story — it’s a kind and gentle story about what went on in my life,” she said.

“I think it’s unbelievable. It’s just upsetting at the end of my life but what can I do. I can’t fight with Buckingham Palace and I wouldn’t want to,” she said.

Legend has it that a Siamese monk travelling in Burma came across these unusual saa umbrellas, which offered protection against both sun and rain. He learned how they were made and shared the knowledge with the artistic elders of Bo Sang village, who embellished the technique and created a distinctive colourful but very practical umbrella of their own.

At first it was just a profitable hobby to supplement earnings from rice, but the parasols proved so popular that in 1941 the villagers formed a handicraft cooperative – the same body that now organises the annual Bo Sang Umbrella and San Kamphaeng Handicrafts Festival.

Bo Sang umbrellas are today made from silk and cotton as well as saa paper.

During the threeday festival, lanterns illuminate the streets and hundreds of umbrellas are hung from the rafters and beams of houses and shops. Bands play and villagers compete to design the most attractive umbrella.

The Bo Sang Beauty Pageant Bike Parade puts the young contestants on two wheels and there are concerts and lots of great food.

The star of this year’s show is the Dasada hydrangea, whose purple, pink and blue blossoms are 30 to 40cm in diameter. It’s a hybrid bred by Dasada over the course of five years.

Also not to be missed is a seven-metre-long gown made from blooms of the hydrangea.

You can admire a wide variety of phalaenopsis orchids in many different colours, a dancing fountain, flower mapping and magnificent arrays of chrysanthemums, actually dine inside a greenhouse, and explore a floral tunnel by night.

Admission is Bt250 (Bt150 for children).

A collaboration between DVF and Levis, the pop up store won’t be travelling to Bangkok anytime soon, but anyone wanting a pair of classic Levis jeans imprinted with vibrant and colourful prints designed by Jonathan Saunders can order direct at http://www.dvf.com.

The eyes of youth

The Body Shop adds a touch of spring to its Drop of Youth collection with the launch of “ Youth Bouncy Eye Mask” and Gentle Foaming Wash. Both are packed with natural ingredients that leave skin feeling replenished. The eye cream is a multi-use formula that can be applied during the day or used as a mask overnight. Totally vegan, it instantly cools and hydrate tired eyes.

Sparkling sensations

Since last year, Swarovski has collaborated with designers from the central academy of fine arts in Beijing to create the Asian Symbolic Collection. This golden collection, which is associated with good fortune, is a perfect gift for the upcoming Year of the Dog. Bring luck into the lives of those you love with “Money Tree”, which evokes the shape of bonsai and pine trees or set a lucky tone in the home with the “Lucky Bamboo” representing fortuity and strength. The “Chinese Zodiac Dog”, which represents loyalty and honesty, displays 849 facets of golden crystal and boasts a curved clear crystal base with the Swarovski logo and the Chinese character for dog. Or simply welcome the playful new zodiac year with the versatile “Little Dog” earrings that can be worn as simple studs or as dangling elements to dial up the glamour.

Shout out your love

NYX Professional Makeup invites makeup junkies to join its charity “Luv Out Loud” project to raise funds for Pratthanadee Foundation and help improve the quality of life for underprivileged girla and women. The event #luvoutloud Run (Way) will be held on January 20 with the run starting on the pink carpet at Siam Square. To join the event, take part in the game on http://www.NYXProluvoutloud. konvy.com or buy the LOL Charity Kit for Bt100. All proceeds will be donated to the foundation.

Windows on the world

Shakkei, a traditional Japanese architectural technique for bringing views of the outside world into a home, finds new significance in the new Bao Bao Issey Miyake Mado bags. Conjuring natural iconographies through delicate colours and meticulously cut triangular pieces on the signature tote, the Mado bags offer both beauty and practicality.

Just 30 minutes by car from downtown Chiang Mai, the streets of this small district will be illuminated with lanterns over the three days and are also hosting the Bo Sang Beauty Pageant Bike Parade, musical performances, local street food and a handicraft market.

Find out more details at http://www.TatNews.org.

Pachyderms to the chukka

Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort joins the King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament by offering a special package for guests booking a room for two-night stays between March 8 and 11.

The rates start from Bt7,650 and include daily breakfast, two elephant polo shirts, two tickets to the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament. Guests booking a luxury suite will get complimentary ticket upgrade to VIP access.

Online booking can be made at bangkok-riverside.anantara.com/Bangkok-Elephant-Polo-Package/

Love with a touch of luxury

Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur welcomes the Year of the Dog with the Romantic Rendezvous package that runs through December 29.

Starting at RM 1,089 (Bt8,750), guests can enjoy a one-night stay in Deluxe City View room, breakfast for two, spectacular hand bouquet upon arrival, Rose Champagne served with heart-shaped rose flavoured macarons, one butler drawn bath with aromatherapy bath oil, a four-course set dinner for two at The Mandarin Grill and late check out until 4pm.

Check out the best rates at http://www.MandarinOriental.com/kuala-lumpur/petrona-towers/luxury-hotel

Island in the sun

Vacationers planning a holiday in the South Pacific can save up to 25 per cent when booking a room at Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort from now until March 31.

The room rates start from FJD$989-plus (Bt20,000) per night and include full hot and cold buffet breakfast at Water’s Edge Restaurant or a la carte breakfast at Nuku Marau Bar & Grill.

Other benefits include a complimentary pass for a beach dinner for two adults with a bottle of champagne as well as five hours of babysitting and inner reef snorkelling and hand-line fishing for two adults and two children.

Young couples can choose the complimentary Aqua Pass to experience Banana Boat rides, two hand-line fishing and two outer reef and night snorkelling expeditions.

Sign up for the package at Outrigger.com.

Rolling down the river

Australia’s five-star Como the Treasure resort is luring vacationers with the Margaret River Seaplane Experience package that is available until April 30.

Starting from AUD 2,940 (Bt74,200) for a two-night stay in a Heritage Room, the package offers breakfast, return seaplane flights to Margaret River including tours, wine tastings and lunch at a winery, a sharing menu for two at Petition Kitchen and a welcome drink on arrival. Guests can also save money on additional nights, ranging from AUD 595 per night.

Book a room at http://www.ComoHotels.com |or email res.thetreasury@comohotels.com.

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House confirms the worst characterizations of the US president and reports of chaos, with gory details supporting one senator’s observation that the White House had transformed into an adult day care center.

Journalist Michael Wolff ridicules desperate attempts by White House staff and cabinet members to normalize an inexperienced, insecure president. Republican Party leaders, fearing their shrinking base, viciously turn on one another.  Most alarming for the rest of the world is that a sizable number of Americans, about 30 percent of the electorate, expect that political bullying, manipulation, lying, with the ends justifying any means, might produce policies of benefit.

The book warns that foreign policy is Donald Trump’s weak point: “If the Trump White House was as unsettling as any in American history, the president’s views of foreign policy and the world at large were among its most random, uninformed, and seemingly capricious aspects. His advisers didn’t know whether he was an isolationist or a militarist, or whether he could distinguish between the two. He was enamored with generals and determined that people with military command experience take the lead in foreign policy, but he hated to be told what to do.” For some leaders, Trump’s lack of experience opens the door to a “do-over” in relations with the United States.

Much of the book is gossipy with coarse language because its subjects are this way. Few White House staff will appreciate the portrayal. Despite the campaign’s populist anti-globalist messages, many staff members are described as crassly ambitious, coveting the chance to join “the ranks of former government officials profiting off the ever growing globalist corporate-financial-government policy and business networks.”  A few endure humiliation for a higher cause, not abandoning the country to even more fools, and Wolff suggests “this sense of duty and virtue involved a complicated calculation about your positive effect on the White House versus its negative effect on you.” Working at the White House centers on pleasing the president, and staff use tragedies like the April chemical weapons attack in Syria to make Trump seem more “presidential.” Professionals like Dina Powell, deputy national security advisor, openly worry about being linked to Trump’s brand or, worse, becoming part of “historical calamity.” For Trump, when others win, he is losing. Staff are on an unending quest via trial and error for unattainable balances of flattery and self-assurance, submission and sophistication, wealth or background of hard knocks that might convince him to listen and heed advice.

The Trump team might have regarded Wolff as a savior had the author settled for recording the administration’s first 100 days as originally planned. From the book’s start, Wolff proffers a likely possibility that the Trump team, despite attracting a swarm of people with questionable Russia connections, was too naïve for deliberately colluding with the Russians to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The family’s election goal was to magnify the Trump brand, not win. But win they did, and chaos and panic ensued.

The book highlights former White House strategist Steve Bannon’s ongoing feud with the Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner. The couple, newcomers to Washington, were handed top advisor slots and a hefty portfolio including bringing peace to the Middle East. The couple sought out experts, but Wolff describes the amateurs as “less interested in bending to advice and more interested in shopping for the advice they wanted.” Ivanka and Jared long for respectability while Bannon’s goal is revolution.

The two sides were irrevocably divided with the early rollout and failure of a travel ban for refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations. Other staff members, contending with the bitter factions, struggled to get policy drafts approved or decisions made. Trump appreciates praise, but the flattery works for only a short while. He is capricious, at times toying with staff, playing them off one another, and at other times frustrated and bored, demanding a single easy answer. He is irresolute and avoids accountability as in summer of 2017 when he tried to get Secretary of Defense James Mattis to make the decision on increasing troop strength in Afghanistan. Mattis forced Trump to make the call. More ominously, it “was sport for the president to defy [Chief of Staff John] Kelly.”

Few remain close to the president for long before other staff members, nervous about losing influence, target the latest favorite with criticism and subversive leaks.

Wolff relies most heavily on comments from Bannon who claims to have staunchly opposed firing FBI Director James Comey. Bannon also described a June meeting with Russians organized by Donald Trump Jr. as “treasonous,” but since Fire and Fury’s publication, Republican donors are said to be abandoning Bannon and he has revised the characterization. Bannon tried to put up a firewall to stop the president from talking about the investigation, but in a fateful July interview with the New York Times, Trump suggested that Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian influence over the US election, would cross a red line and violate his authority by examining the family’s finances. Bannon was outraged, pointing out that such advice put the investigators on a trail for money laundering. Bannon’s firing the following month likely ended Wolff’s access.

Bannon’s departure could impact Trump’s China policy. “To Bannon, if not to Trump, the linchpin of Trumpism was China,” Wolff explains. “The story of the next generation, he believed, had been written, and it was about war with China. Commercial war, trade war, cultural war, diplomatic war – it would be an all-encompassing war that few in the United States now understood needed to be fought, and that almost nobody was prepared to fight.” Meanwhile, reports suggest that the Securities and Exchange Commission and a US attorney general are investigating Kushner Cos. for its use of a federal investment-for-visa program.  Wolff suggests that Trump is fundamentally an appeaser who does not want to cross the Russians, Chinese or other adversaries.

Politics during the first year of the Trump administration employed the art of conflict, not compromise, for both domestic and international affairs. Foreign leaders and diplomats should heed this book as a warning: Expect little in the way of reliability, mutual loyalty or confidentiality from this White House. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Kushner in February and, as recounted by Wolff, offered a rumor that the British may have had Trump campaign staff under surveillance. Blair denies the claim, and the CIA advised Kushner the information was incorrect.

Rich with intrigue and irony, the book will disappoint meticulous readers who want to discern which anecdotes were witnessed by Wolff and which came secondhand. He also admits that some tales have multiple versions. Still, the reporting rings with truth, confirming patterns of behavior on full display since Trump hit the campaign trial. ““It took absolute discipline not to acknowledge what everyone could see,” notes Wolff. The political gossip is entertaining, a fast read, until we remind ourselves of the subject matter and the consequences.

Fire and Fury does not diminish the presidency. The occupants of the White House did this on their own with damage to their own reputations – “We look like buffoons,” was Bannon’s assessment. Meanwhile, people around the world openly question the judgment of the Trump administration’s staff and the American people.  Normally, most would not fear a small group of inept bumblers, but these are not normal times as Congress fails to perform its oversight duty. Instead, there is everything to fear.

Susan Froetschel is editor of YaleGlobal Online and the author of mystery novels set in Afghanistan, the most recent of which is Allure of Deceit, published by Seventh Street Books. The books explore the influence of globalization at the local level.

Located on the second level of Central Embassy, Kly describes Sretsis Parlour as a cosy den to entertain friends and family. “It’s a rendezvous for like-minded souls to converse over tea and cakes, a place to live out the Sretsis fantasy with sweet treats, savoury snacks, drinks, music, and home decor all made in the Sretsis Universe.”

Walking through the intricate hand-carved and painted wooden facade on a soft carpet bordered by walls covered with flowers and a hand-painted fresco mimicking the sky, you’ll discover a paradoxical world of alternate realities. Olive green shelves line the corridor, showcasing delicate desserts that look almost too good to eat.

As your eye travels within the space, details bloom in abundance with custom-made furniture, a hand-painted ceiling that changes with the hours, going from cloudy sky to starry night. Last but not least, the custom wallpaper created in collaboration with renowned luxury British lifestyle brand House of Hackney covers the interior while Sretsis’ signature “Tamed Lovers” print appears on the fine bone china tea sets and tableware.

“We came across Sretsis when we discovered Matina Sukhahuta had created a world of House of Hackney in her home in Bangkok. We were so inspired by her creative interpretation of the collections, which we saw in Harper’s Bazaar and we learnt then that she owned the equally magical Sretsis brand. Then it all made sense!” said Frieda Gormley and Javvy M Royle, founders of the House of Hackney.

Gilded stairways lead to the mezzanine level. A two-seat opera enclave overlooking the entire parlour, complete with plush curtains for added privacy and intimacy makes an ideal spot for dates. Stepping into the further reaches of Sretsis Parlour, a wooden door separates the main hall and the exclusive Swan Room. Inspired by the private dressing rooms of Marie Antoinette, where she used to entertain her closest confidants, this floor-to-ceiling pink room is a saccharine dream come true. A luscious sofa bed with draped curtains and dyed-pink ostrich feathers complete the fantasy for this private function room, which is perfect for baby showers, bachelorette parties, or birthdays.

The menu is conceived on the idea of unique delicacies. The fantasy, humour, and cliched-but-kitsch sensibilities of Sretsis seamlessly translate to fantasies on the plate. A variety of set menus offered within the Parlour reflect the individuality of Sretsis as a brand and its core values.

The Sretsis Parlour Signature set features Swedish inspired savory Sandwich Cakes, Daisy Princess cake and Ludo Chocolate Cake served with a selection of fine teas, coffee, or refreshments of your choice.

Health-conscious individuals with a sweet tooth need look no further than the Forest Faeries set, which introduces a selection of aesthetically pleasing raw cakes. These healthy alternatives, assembled with no flour, sugar, or heat, forego the misconception that raw cakes need not taste or look beautiful. Seven Berries Cake, Lemon Bells Cheesecake, and Poppy Carrot Cake are served with a choice of fine tea, coffee or refreshments.

The allure of the Orient inspired the Siamese Delight set. Comprising local delicacies that have been transformed to mimic gems and semi-precious stones. Emerald Pudding, and Pineapple Princess Cake are the crowning jewels on top of a very decorated crown.

The Picnic in the Sky set offers a vertical dining experience complete with curated picnic hampers served on the mezzanine level opera seating. Indulge in a selection of logo-printed heart-puff, cheese plates, sparkling pomegranate juice, fine tea or black tea and surprise gift box.

Running from January 26- to 28, this ninth edition of the market brings together more than 200 vendors in a special setting that boasts Taksin Bridge as its backdrop. It’s easy to get to as well via BTS (Taksin Bridge Station), followed by a quick boat ride across the river from Sathorn Pier to Taksin Pier.

Visitors can spend time browsing everything from vintage and antique items to vinyl records to designer brands to local crafts as well as a massive collection of classic cars and motorcycles. As always, food and drinks will be available and can be enjoyed to the sound of vinyl tunes from classics to country to contemporary.

Every MBL flea market has its own narrative with a special theme, highlight or twist. This year, local communities of nature lovers and eco-purveyors will be selling flowers, plants and gardening items. Their shared passion for nature will be manifested in various “green” spaces, intended not merely as photo-ops but as sources of understanding and appreciation for the environment.

Made by Legacy is a community of shared cultural appreciation—not only for all things vintage or old-world, but equally for relevant global movements and emerging subcultures that are shaping the everyday world around us. Ideas, opinions and know-how are expressed and exchanged without ego or judgement and beyond an agenda of materialism or money-making.

The Made By Legacy flea market takes inspiration from the American-style flea market and has been held annually — and sometimes bi-annually — for six years running. It serves as a marketplace for our members as well as the public, encouraging them to meet, connect and bond over similar (or diverse) interests.

The current network is made up of over 300 collectors, members and vendors, both Thais and foreigners, from all over Thailand as well as international members hailing from such countries as Japan, Singapore, the US and beyond. Six years since its humble beginnings on a small rooftop, the Made By Legacy flea market has grown to become a highly anticipated event, drawing in over 10,000 visitors annually.