Before going into any modifications, the owners must make sure that they face lift their BMW to the latest specifications according to their car series. The first step to creating an attractive BMW is to color-code the bumper for those cars that do not come with color-coded bumpers as standard. Color-coded bumpers make the car look fuller, lower and very much pleasing to the eye. There is nothing less attractive than a BMW with such attractive colors but has a Grey underside (bumpers). Especially if they have a light color car, they will find huge improvements to the look of their BMW just by color-coding the bumpers.

When it comes to BMW parts, care must be taken to ensure that the parts are bought from the best dealer. Selectivity among the best manufacturer of BMW accessories should always be the top priority. Parts like tail lights, wheels, headlights need to be chosen with care since they form the crucial part to the look of the BMW.

The next step is lowering the car. A car with color-coded bumpers and lowering springs will look much better than normal. This will improve both the handling as well as the look of the car! They don’t have to change the dampers or suspension kits if they are on a budget, springs will do the trick. But they must make sure that the car doesn’t get too low, as that would pose a lot of problems during the ride.

Alloy wheels are certainly the most visual changes one will find on any car. It will change the whole look of the BMW car. A different look will be created for different types of wheels. Choosing the wheel that best suits to the individual’s car is a task that must be taken with at most priority.

Once the exterior is modified carefully, modifying the interior with accessories won’t be a big deal. There are many more things one can do to with their BMW and they are unlimited, from interior upgrades, sound system upgrades to engine upgrades and even body kit upgrades. Some people might like a fast BMW, and in that case they must upgrade their engines. If they need comfort out of their BMW, then by all means they should upgrade their interior and sound system.

Before opting to modify their BMW, they should plan well, set a budget and then follow this guide to get the most out of their BMW.

The article about BMW parts is pen down by author Peter Lundberry who contributes articles on BMW wheels too!

No discussion of English cheese could be complete without speaking about Cheddar, indeed this cheese is so famous, it no longer signifies a particular form of local English cheese, but instead is used as a broad name for a whole bunch of cheeses produced around the globe. Traditionally Cheddar comes from the Village of Cheddar in Somerset, the cheese is still produced locally and a taste of real Cheddar is something to savour. A pale cheese with a sharp taste, it was first produced in 1170 and sold to King Henry II for £3 per tonne.

Single and Double Gloucester are a pair of cheeses that originate from Gloucestershire. They are both a hard cheese, often very crumbly, and were traditionally made from unpasteurised milk from Gloucester cows. Unfortunately this breed of cow is now virtually extinct. The difference between a single and a double Gloucester is simply that Single is made from skimmed milk, and double is made from full fat milk. Double Gloucester is also left to age longer.

One of the milder English cheeses is red Leicester; it takes its name from the dark orange colour that is introduced to the cheese by adding annatto extract as part of the manufacturing process. Often a crumby cheese, it has a mellow taste and is exceptionally well suited to grating and grilling.

If Cheddar is the logical opening for a discussion of English cheese, then the legendary Stilton must truly be the perfect close. Being one of the only English cheeses to hold protected designation of origin status, meaning that only cheese produced with the English counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and manufactured to strict standards may be named and sold as Stilton. A soft and crumbly cheese, streaked blue with a very strong taste. The characteristic blue streaking is encouraged during the manufacturing process, Stilton cheese is never pressed, instead it is turned daily so that it dries slowly an evenly, this creates an open texture, allowing the cheese to breathe and blue. Most often eaten with a selection of crackers or with a stick of celery. It is also a very frequent ingredient in soup, the fact it will render easily when heated and will impart a huge amount of taste when used in small quantities make it the ideal cheese for a soup recipe. Something of a stranger in the camp when viewed alongside other traditional English cheeses due to its highly individual texture and colour, Stilton stands out as one of the most attractive and tasty cheeses produced in the UK.

There are many more fine English cheeses, most of which are full bodied and flavoursome, differing from other traditional European cheeses which are often very soft and fairly mild. A great way to appreciate English cheese for the first time is by ordering a traditional cheese board as part of a meal. A wooden platter will be delivered to your table with a selection of fine cheeses for you to sample, usually whilst sipping a glass or two of vintage port.

As a cooking ingredient, English cheese is exceptionally powerful. In most cases relatively small quantities will carry the flavour across into an entire dish; certain English recipes such as cauliflower cheese and Welsh Rarebit would not work with a less flavoursome cheese. For a real taste of rural England, try a ploughman’s lunch, replete with homemade pickled onions for a taste explosion; add a flagon of rough scrumpy cider and a hot summer’s day for total perfection.

Don’t go thinking that it’s only milk from dairy cows that is used to produce cheese, ask any fan of goat’s cheese! More exotic types of cheese can also be made from sheep, buffalo or yak’s milk. Although in England cheese is predominantly manufactured from the milk produced by a dairy herd, alternative manufacturing techniques using goat’s cheese have been gaining popularity in recent years. The UK is truly underrated as a producer of fine cheeses, most people would consider France to be the European nation with the most prolific amount of cheeses, so it may come as a surprise to discover that although France does list 84 separate cheeses produced within the country, the UK actually boasts 85. Anybody who enjoys pizza will be familiar with Mozzarella cheese, you would presume that Italy was responsible for the major slice of Mozzarella production, this would be a wrong assumption, as the UK is responsible for the largest percentage of total global Mozzarella production by far.

The process involved in cheese making is fairly straightforward, if you have the stomach (or maybe nose) for it you can even try making cheese at home. First an amount of milk is left at room temperature to curdle, usually for around 24 hours until it has the consistency of yogurt. This starter culture is then added to a much larger quantity of warmed milk, this is again left overnight at a temperature of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and this will produce lactic acid. A substance called rennet is then added to the milk, this contains an enzyme which promotes coagulation and curd will start to form fairly quickly. The curds (lumpy bits) are then separated from the whey (left over liquid) by draining through cheesecloth. The curds are then salted and hung for a short while to start drying. The curd is then shaped and pressed, usually overnight and a rind will begin to form. Finally the cheese is sealed in paraffin wax and left to cure. Nothing complicated a very natural process from start to finish. Obviously this is a very basic description of the cheese making process, slight changes in ingredients, temperatures and timings are what produce different flavours. By changing the method in which the curd is separated from the whey, a cheese can be encouraged to become soft or hard. In a similar fashion, changing how the cheese is cured and preserved will change how strong the cheese will taste. A soft cheese cured briefly will usually have a mild, buttery taste similar to Brie, a hard cheese, cured for a longer period will become a cheese with a much fuller flavour.

The moment you enter the car park you know this is something different, the only slight tell tale is the palm tree in the front garden. The rest of the grounds have been furnished with wooden bench tables and umbrellas and the foliage has been chosen very carefully to look less tropical than you would normally find on Koh Phangan.
Moving inside you find a full bar along one wall, a pool table, proper seating in the restaurant area and the best toilets I have ever seen in a bar on Koh Phangan.

Currently only Singha is served on draught (in pint glasses of course) and a variety of English lager and ale is kept in cans in the fridge behind the bar……
I’m not sure if the owner, Shawn (or should we call him the landlord?) is planning to introduce more draught beers. I did ask him if he could spare me five minutes before I left to get some background and information but in true English pub style I was somewhat inebriated by the end of the evening and thought it best not to subject Shawn to my drunken condition.
It was fairly amusing watching some of the Thai ladies trying out John Smiths for the first time, they had only ever seen lager before, bitter was a completely new experience for them.

The food menu is also something quite different, for a start there is absolutely no Thai food on it. It looks and reads just like the menu in my local back in blighty, including things like a mixed grill, scampi and macaroni cheese. Although not cheap the portions were generous and the quality was top notch.
All in all I think The Masons Arms is a brave venture, certainly completely different to everything on Koh Phangan we have seen so far.
So cheers to Shawn, mines a pint of Singha next time you see me.

The food here is a complete bargain, usually less than 50 Baht for a meal including a coke. Song Youth speaks fairly good English, so he will be able to tell you what’s available. I recommend the kow moo daeng and the kow ka moo, both very tasty…..
When ordering anything with pork you can request that the fat be cut off, otherwise you will be served a portion of both meat and fat, but it’s very tasty fat!

Most meals are served with a small bowl of thin soup, tasting surprisingly better than it looks. Another favourite is soo ki, which is a noodle soup with egg, you can choose either chicken or pork, very filling!.
If you are after a bargain lunch, this place is probably the best on the island, indeed the amount of locals you will find eating here testifies to this.