• OPINION

  Sad tale of a sycamore and a chainsaw

  Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/10/2023

  » Every now and again there is a news story that leaves you scratching your head prompting the question "What were they thinking?" That was my reaction on reading of the destruction by vandals of an iconic sycamore tree in the northern England county of Northumberland.

• OPINION

  Possibly time to look on the bright side

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/01/2018

  » Having just about scraped through the Year of the Chicken, here we are seven days into 2018 and wondering what's in store during the Year of the Dog. It probably won't be all that great, but we'll leave the gloom and doom to the experts. Let's just hope it's a least a bit more enjoyable than the past couple of years which have really been quite awful, and almost of an annus horribilis nature.

• OPINION

  Another year to remember, or maybe forget

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/12/2014

  » Well, we've just about scraped through another 12 months, although at times things did look a bit on the shaky side. At least all the whistle-blowing has abated. Here are a few reminders of events and characters that graced the year 2014, although some you may prefer to forget.

• OPINION

  A painful ride with a certified horn honker

  Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/02/2024

  » Despite the frustration of sitting in endless jams, I've always felt Bangkok motorists display remarkable restraint when it comes to using horns. Unlike many cities in the world it is rare to hear a chorus of angry car klaxons. Things are admittedly a bit different on the provincial highways with buses and trucks not averse to giving a blast on their air horns with the clear message "Get out of the way."

• OPINION

  Well, it's only a slogan after all

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/05/2020

  » The Tourism Authority of Thailand has decreed that the "Amazing Thailand" slogan will need rebranding once the coronavirus situation is sorted out. So from October, we will be treated to "Amazing Trusted Thailand", emphasising safety and aimed at "high-end" tourists. Well-intentioned as it may be, this new slogan doesn't exactly roll off the tongue and the middle word may prompt a few wry smiles.

• OPINION

  Bald pride and the curse of the comb-over

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/01/2020

  » Last weekend, the Bangkok Post published an entertaining letter from the always perceptive S Tsow, who delivered an impassioned defence of being bald. Mr Tsow, who proudly describes himself as "a person of baldness", was particularly upset after observing on television one of Rudy Guiliani's associates (Lev Parnas) brazenly displaying a "cowardly comb-over".

• OPINION

  Always look on the bright side of life

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/01/2020

  » We have just scraped through the Year of the Porkers and are hurtling into the Year of the Rat, which admittedly doesn't sound too promising.

• OPINION

  Thailand will always remain amazing

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/06/2019

  » I must admit to thinking that the "Amazing Thailand" slogan was a bit over the top when it was first introduced by the tourism authorities about two decades ago. But over the years I have grown quite fond of it in a funny sort of way, probably because it is more or less accurate.

• OPINION

  'F' word makes a major breakthrough

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/05/2019

  » Important news from the world of wordplay. The latest edition of the Collins international Scrabble dictionary lists 2,862 new words, most of which I have never heard of. But most importantly for us in Thailand, a significant newcomer is one we are familiar with … farang.

• OPINION

  Thailand through the looking glass

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/01/2019

  » I trust everyone is recovering from the silly hats and hangovers season. Soon it will be back to the grim reality -- hangovers without the silly hats.

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