Where are they now?

[Oliver2]

In memoriam "Tiger."

Many old-timers from Boyztown will remember this guy. He even gets a mention in Michael Burchill's unmissable history of Boyztown.

Tiger was one of the original go go dancers in the early days of the gay scene. A toothless urchin, cute and willing, he was provided with a set of false teeth and went on to entertain falangs for many a year.

By the time I arrived, Tiger was long- retired but retained an ubiquitous presence at the Pattaya Second Road end of the soi, doing odd jobs for all and sundry and each evening strolling the length of the soi waving and chatting to friends as they drank their early-evening Singhas.

My last memory of him was when he appeared just as I was putting my luggage in the taxi for my return home to earn a tip. Not untypical behaviour as that sort of thing was how he survived.

A few weeks later, I read that he had died in hospital.

He was a true Boyztown character, an original. In some ways, i am pleased he didn't live to see its decline; on the other hand, he was a permanently, cheerful presence who is missed.