Showing 1 - 10 of 151
The moggy that rules Downing Street
Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/02/2026
» Important news from London. This past week Larry the Cat has been celebrating his 15th year as chief mouser at 10 Downing Street. During that time the tabby has served six different prime ministers and has arguably been considerably more popular than any of them.
Let's hope 2026 is not too amazing
Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/01/2026
» Well here we are on the fourth day of a brand new year. I trust everyone is holding up well after the festivities because it can be quite gruelling pretending to behave in a jovial fashion if you are not feeling jovial at all.
Not even the penguins were spared
Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/12/2025
» Well, we've just about slithered our way through the Year of the Snake. Suffice to say, 2025 wasn't much fun. At least the previous year we had the "Happy Hippo" which kept us vaguely amused in a daft sort of way.
The last word on weird book titles
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/12/2025
» Being somewhat old-fashioned I still love browsing in bookshops. It provides a brief escape to a completely different world, both relaxing and therapeutic. Alas it is a pleasure future generations are unlikely to experience as these days bookshops are something of an endangered species.
A word that has me at sixes and sevens
Roger Crutchley, Published on 09/11/2025
» I try to keep up with the ever-evolving English language but after seeing the buzzwords provided by Dictionary.com this week I fear I am being left way behind.
The time I really put my foot in it
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/10/2025
» A half-hearted spring-cleaning session at home during the week came to a welcome halt when I unearthed a couple of my father's wartime RAF books under a pile of disintegrating paperbacks. The Air Ministry books, published more than 80 years ago, always serve as a reminder of when as a kid I made a faux pas of embarrassing proportions.
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.
On top of the world in Kathmandu
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/09/2025
» I was sorry to read about the unrest in Kathmandu this week. As a kid in the UK during the 1950s I used to daydream about far away places with strange-sounding names. One of those places was Kathmandu.
New words I probably won't be using
Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/08/2025
» The Cambridge Dictionary recently announced the inclusion of 6,000 new words mainly derived from their common usage in social media. I fear those words will simply be added to an already lengthy list of vocabulary I am totally unfamiliar with. As one observer noted "internet culture is changing the English language."
In Isan it's all just a matter of taste
Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/08/2025
» There has been too much depressing news lately so let's lighten things up a bit. There was an article in the Post a few weeks ago concerning a shop in Khon Khaen that is serving ice cream heavily topped with grilled chicken. I haven't tried it and to be frank have no intention of doing so, but by all accounts it is going down very well amongst people in Isan.