Showing 1 - 10 of 16
Cornflakes, cats and grizzly bears
Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/03/2026
» Readers are no doubt aware that the official codename for the current US action in the Middle East is Operation Epic Fury which admittedly sounds more like the title of a martial arts B movie. It should not be confused with Operation Urgent Fury, the name given to the US invasion of Grenada back in 1983 during the Reagan administration. Israel incidentally has its own name for the current mission, Operation Roaring Lion.
The hippo, the pumpkin and the haggis
Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/11/2024
» From the moment Thailand's celebrity pygmy hippo, Moo Deng predicted Donald Trump would triumph in the US election it was all over for the Democrats and Kamala Harris. Their fate had been sealed by the taste buds of the megastar mammal from Chon Buri.
Those elusive influential persons
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/10/2023
» Most intriguing news of the week is that according to a parliamentary House committee there are only 180 "influential people" in the kingdom and in 10 provinces there are none at all. For those unfamiliar with the term "influential person" in Thailand, it is usually interpreted as someone who is powerful enough not to worry about the "long arm of the law" and can go about their sometimes shady business without fear of arrest.
Cops are queuing up for inactive posts
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/02/2023
» It has been quite an entertaining week although admittedly not everyone involved will see the funny side. An Air Force officer says he is happy he was caught after snatching a necklace at a gold shop because he wanted to get away from his wife and a prison cell would do nicely. A rather bizarre motive, but he got his wish. Apparently a lengthy spell in the slammer beats a daily nagging.
The Stones just keep rolling along
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/07/2022
» This past week marked the 60th anniversary of the Rolling Stones' first-ever gig which took place at the Marquee club in London. That makes me feel even more wrinkly than usual.
Familiar places gone but not forgotten
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/04/2021
» Last week I was walking along upper Sukhumvit after an excursion to the somewhat inappropriately-named Trendy building on Soi 13. I decided to drop in on my long-time travel agent nearby who I hadn't seen for a while, just to say hello. The lady in charge has an appealing personality and always cheers me up.
It could be fun, in a strange sort of way
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/01/2021
» A number of readers -- well, three -- have asked why last week's column did not contain the usual predictions for the coming year. My feeling at the time was that with the dark cloud of Covid-19 hovering over us it seemed a bit inappropriate to carry the usual frivolous PostScript predictions. However, I have had a change of heart and considering we are only 10 days into the New Year it is not too late to make silly forecasts.
A triumph of imagination over intelligence
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 16/02/2020
» I am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but considering the awful events of recent weeks, a bit of "love", however contrived, was a welcome break from the daily diet of depressing news. So this week, it feels like an appropriate time to dwell on matters of the heart, as long as it is not a cardiac arrest.
Why a teen girl in Korat cried all night
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/11/2019
» It is always uncomfortable to read about hard-working people who are taken advantage of by unscrupulous characters. This appears to be the case with "Orm", a 15-year-old girl in Korat who had been making krathong floats for tomorrow's Loy Krathong festival, only to be arrested and fined for alleged copyright infringement.
When bombers turned into butterflies
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/08/2019
» There have been an increasing number of news events lately serving as reminders that I am a bit on the ancient side. Last month it was the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing and it was rather disturbing that most of my colleagues were either too young to remember it, or in most cases hadn't even been born.