Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Windsor Castle back in the limelight
Roger Crutchley, Published on 21/09/2025
» Windsor Castle has been in the news this week for reasons that require no explanation. Suffice to say the Brits are still quite good at putting on a show with plenty of horses, hats and bagpipes.
You can look, but please don't touch
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/09/2024
» When we were kids, most of us heard the words "don't touch that!" from our parents if we were in the presence of something breakable and possibly valuable. That's probably what a father wishes he had said when he took his four-year-old son to a museum in the Israeli city of Haifa last week.
The art of rolling out the red carpet
Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/06/2024
» Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to enjoy the red carpet treatment he received in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this week. Over the years the Russian leader will have become quite familiar with walking on such plush carpets, but one wonders if he knows why they are red.
Delicate art of being nasty and nice
Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/03/2024
» One word we have been subjected to almost on a daily basis recently is "diplomacy" as politicians grapple with the world's woes without much success. A dictionary definition of diplomacy is "tact or skill in dealing with people". Unfortunately it is more complex than that as the world is in such a mess. Perhaps Ambrose Bierce was nearer the mark in his Devil's Dictionary when he described diplomacy as "the patriotic art of lying for one's country".
Shaking off the laundromat blues
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/03/2023
» In last week's item concerning boutiques I wondered whether their influence could extend as far as the world of laundromats. My thanks to reader Jenifer Divine in Hamburg for informing me that in the German city's St Pauli district there is a laundromat dedicated to Jimi Hendrix which just about gives it boutique status.
Situations vacant: Bouncer, must be polite
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/10/2021
» Troubling news from Britain. One in five nightclubs in the UK have not been able to reopen owing to a shortage of bouncers. For anyone unfamiliar with this terminology, bouncers are the big blokes at club doors whose main role is to chuck out undesirables. And if you still don't get the message, they are usually dressed in black. However, they are officially known as "door supervisors" which certainly looks better on a CV than "bouncer".
Hot off the press on Ratchadamnoen Ave
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 03/10/2021
» After last week's column regarding old seafaring expressions still in everyday use, I thought we could take a look at a few sayings that have their origins in newspapers.
Theme tune that lasts the test of time
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/05/2020
» Watching the BBC World Service's Panorama documentary on the coronavirus situation, it struck me that it is one of the few TV offerings in which the theme music is just right. You wouldn't want to hear it too often, but its distinctive authoritative tones with a hint of foreboding, suggests the show is of some substance, which it usually is. It was surprising to discover that this serious music was adapted by Francis Lai from the soundtrack of the 1966 hit film, Un Homme et Une Femme (A Man and a Woman), basically a love story. The music, which has introduced Panorama for nearly 50 years, is called Aujordhi C'est Toi (Today it's You). Well, that's enough French for one day.
A most entertaining war of words
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/07/2019
» An early frontrunner for word of the year could be "disinvited" which has featured in a series of not very diplomatic exchanges flying across The Pond this week.
Sometimes you just have to walk away
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 03/03/2019
» The Hanoi summit may not have gone quite as smoothly as planned, but I'll leave that for the experts to dissect. One suspects the expression "sometimes you have to walk" will be widely featured in forthcoming panel discussions. Nonetheless, the summit did have its entertaining moments.