• OPINION

  It seemed a good idea at the time

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/11/2022

  » The annual elephant festival in Surin attracted more than the usual attention last week after featuring an attempt to enter the hallowed Guinness Book of Records. Alas, the only record achieved was that hundreds of student "volunteers" roasted in the sun, exposed for hours to high temperatures reaching 39C.

• OPINION

  Well, after that things can only get better

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/12/2020

  » What a dreadful year. We found ourselves having to tackle a whole new vocabulary and most of the words were enough to make even the most optimistic among us depressed. It all began in March with "self-isolation", a horrible expression inferring you have become a hermit, hidden away, exiled, incommunicado, which in fact is exactly what we were.

• OPINION

  Say a little prayer for the Queen of Soul

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/08/2018

  » One sunny morning in 1968, I had settled down to my customary reading of the Sunday newspapers on Hampstead Heath in London, when a couple sat on the grass near me. I was a little irritated when they switched on a transistor radio and was pondering giving them a lecture on the sanctity of peace and quiet. But then I heard the piano intro to <i>I Say A Little Prayer</i> and all was forgiven. A rare sunny day on the Heath with musical accompaniment by Aretha Franklin -- what more could one ask for?

• OPINION

  A commuter's lot is not a happy one

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

  » Commuting in Bangkok has never been much fun and last week it got a whole lot worse if you happened to be a regular traveller on the BTS. The word "frustration" springs to mind, with perhaps a touch of "exasperation", "agitation" and a general feeling of "disgruntlement". It was definitely not good for the blood pressure.

• OPINION

  A concrete jungle where cars remain king

  News, Ploenpote Atthakor, Published on 30/06/2018

  » Pedestrians who use Asok Montri Road in the Sukhumvit area will have to brace for more inconvenience, starting next week, with police set to close one major pedestrian crossing during morning rush hours they blame for congestion.

• OPINION

  And the award goes to … not these films

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/03/2018

  » It's Oscar time again and as usual Hollywood is ignoring exciting Thai productions. Here are a few that caught the eye:

• OPINION

  Nothing wrong in being distracted

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 21/01/2018

  » Earlier this month in PostScript there was a reference to "distracted walkers", a term for those people who bump into you on the street or the BTS because they have their noses buried in their smartphones.

• OPINION

  A look back at another 'amazing' year

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/12/2017

  » It is customary at this time of the year to take a not too serious look back on the past 12 months, although there are some events you may well prefer to forget. If nothing else it will serve as a reminder that Thailand will always be Truly Amazing.

• OPINION

  Fond memories of Brazil's coffee culture

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/08/2016

  » With the Rio Olympics finally under way, I can't get out of my head the old Frank Sinatra song that starts: "Way down among Brazilians/Coffee beans grow by the billions …" It was entitled The Coffee Song and a big hit when I was a kid back in the Stone Age. In fact, that song just about summed up my knowledge of Brazil in those days.

• OPINION

  The day I realised Thailand was different

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/04/2016

  » I trust everyone has survived the Songkran Festival, suffering little more than a few damp clothes, and maybe stuck with a hint of a fixed grin. The festival brings special memories for me because when I first arrived in April 1969, it coincided with the start of Songkran, although I was unaware of it.

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