Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Telling fortunes 'a nice little earner'
Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/05/2024
» A recent Thai news story concerned a man nabbed in an online fortune-telling scam. He would inform customers suffering from misfortune that their situation would dramatically improve if for a small fee he made a few prayers on his "direct line" to the deities in heaven.
Take this tea tale with a pinch of salt
Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/02/2024
» Last month a US scientist caused bit of a stir in Britain when she suggested adding a pinch of salt was the secret to a perfect cup of tea. Not surprisingly this bold assertion from someone across the pond did not go down too well with the traditional tea-drinking English public. In some cases the reaction almost reached "boiling point".
Can't beat a good hometown name
Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/02/2024
» There was a brief US news item last week concerning Groundhog Day, an annual ceremony in Pennsylvania in which a large but docile rodent emerges from its burrow and predicts the weather for the coming year. No need for professional forecasters. It is celebrated in a small Pennsylvania town with the magnificent name of Punxsutawney.
It's enough to give anyone grey hairs
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/11/2021
» A recent letter to the Bangkok Post from the ever observant Ye Olde Pedant suggested that Bangkok's BTS and MRT executives should display more imagination in the naming of new rail lines and avoid colour coding. He cited the proposed Grey Line which for him immediately conjured up images of passengers with silvery hair, otherwise known as "the elderly".
You can't beat that old black magic
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/06/2019
» It is well-known that superstition is deeply ingrained in Thailand, from the poorest farmers to the richest businessmen, politicians and even prime ministers. If things go wrong, malevolent spirits often get the blame and the only way to solve the issue is to indulge in exotic ceremonies to appease them. It makes sense really -- in Thailand you won't get anywhere until you've got the ghosts and the supernatural on your side.
When paradise is just 10 minutes away
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/08/2017
» Roughly once a week, I have the pleasure of asking a taxi driver to transport me to paradise, or to get the pronunciation right, "paradye". And within 10 minutes we have arrived.
A gripping reminder of the Dunkirk spirit
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/07/2017
» I've just got back from watching the film 'Dunkirk' and recommend it to anyone interested in this remarkable event, codenamed Operation Dynamo, that was to turn the tide of history and ultimately see the British and their allies overcome Adolf Hitler.
From train whistles to monkey chatter
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/01/2017
» In the final hours of New Year's Eve, I was sitting with my wife on the porch of our abode in the middle of Nakhon Nowhere.
Those ‘do you know who I am?’ moments
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/07/2015
» It happens around the world. Someone important, or who at least thinks they are important, throws a tantrum when seeking special treatment. It often features an arrogant “don’t (sometimes ‘do’) you know who I am?” — an expression US columnist Leonard Pitts termed a “battle cry of the privileged”.