Showing 1 - 10 of 11
A missing item in the rural soundtrack
Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/01/2026
» As usual at this time of the year I have been enjoying life in the Northeastern province of Chaiyaphum for several weeks. However on this visit there was something slightly different which I couldn't immediately put my finger on. It took a few days before realising I was not being woken up by the usual early morning chorus of roosters or chickens of any sort.
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.
Lop Buri before the monkeying around
Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/06/2024
» One of the first towns I visited in Thailand in the early 1970s was Lop Buri, about 150 km north of Bangkok. Its main appeal was its convenient three-hour train journey from Hua Lamphong. It offered a chance to escape Bangkok for a couple of days and experience a taste of life in a small town.
A painful ride with a certified horn honker
Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/02/2024
» Despite the frustration of sitting in endless jams, I've always felt Bangkok motorists display remarkable restraint when it comes to using horns. Unlike many cities in the world it is rare to hear a chorus of angry car klaxons. Things are admittedly a bit different on the provincial highways with buses and trucks not averse to giving a blast on their air horns with the clear message "Get out of the way."
Well, at least 2023 shouldn't be boring
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/01/2023
» We are only halfway through the first month of 2023 and on the local news front we have already been treated to enough controversies, allegations and head-scratching explanations to keep us going for the entire year. For comic relief there is even a hint of a sex scandal.
A country so different to anywhere else
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/08/2021
» The dramatic events in Afghanistan inevitably sparked memories of my own brief experiences of the country more than 50 years ago while on an overland trip from London to New Delhi and beyond.
The everlasting appeal of Mrs Peel
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/09/2020
» I was saddened to learn of the death of actress Dame Diana Rigg at 82, best known by people of my vintage for her role as Emma Peel, the dynamic comrade of dapper secret agent John Steed in the idiosyncratic BBC series The Avengers. Rigg only appeared in two seasons, 1965-67, but she certainly made her mark, displaying a winning combination of charm, fashion, sophistication and martial arts. She was particularly proficient at karate chops.
Dust in the wind and down the throat
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/10/2019
» You know there's something amiss in Bangkok when you wake up to the sounds of birds coughing. Well maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but this week our feathered friends sounded decidedly under the weather. So it came as no surprise to read the gloomy headlines about "toxic smog" returning to Bangkok.
Where there's a rhyme there's a reason
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/09/2019
» Today we welcome in a new month, September. I have a certain attachment for the ninth month of the year for a rather simplistic reason. Whenever I can't remember how many days there are in a particular month, I still resort to the old rhyme "30 days hath September, April, June and November…" and so on. So much for my education.
Wonderful world of drongos and warblers
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/11/2018
» Having a small garden I am fortunate enough to wake up most mornings to the sound of birdsong rather than pile-drivers or cement trucks rumbling on their way to feed the latest condominium. Taking advantage of the recent beautiful weather, I spent some time loafing about on our porch observing the wildlife. Sounds like old age is really setting in.