Kept discreetly at his side were the tools that mark him out as one of the Thai Red Shirt's "Rocket men" - a long stick of bamboo primed with an improvised gunpowder charge, and a steel tube that acts as a primitive bazooka. While his home-made missiles would be no match for the sniper's rifles, they would, he hoped, at least put their aim off a little.

For those of you that like to root for the underdog ...