Showing 1 - 6 of 6
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.
I heard it on the radio, a long time ago
Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/03/2025
» News reports suggest the future of Voice of America (VOA) is seriously in doubt. I haven’t listened to VOA in five decades but there was a time I tuned in during my teenage years back in the Stone Age. It might seem strange for a spotty English kid to switch on VOA so I will attempt to explain.
Let's see what the ladies can do
Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/09/2024
» It was interesting to note the new Thai cabinet includes eight women which is a record for the Kingdom. This seems to be part of a trend as the recently formed British government features 11 female cabinet members.
Bow Bells rang out but not the accents
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 03/04/2022
» Firstly, a belated follow-up featuring the cockney accent from an American reader who wanted to meet a real cockney when he was in London a few years ago. Aware of the traditional definition of a cockney being "someone born within the sound of Bow Bells", he made a special effort to visit St Mary-le-Bow church, the source of the bells.
Rodents are simply a master of taste
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/08/2018
» There was a news report last week about the arrest on the Cambodian border of a gentleman smuggling 800kgs of dead rats. Imagine that. There are plenty of ways to make money through smuggling, but bootlegging deceased rodents is not one that immediately springs to mind.
Planes that made grandma's house rattle
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/07/2018
» Reports about the Farnborough Air Show which has been taking place in Hampshire this past week brought back some fond memories. Every summer in the 1950s and most of the 60s I would stay at my grandmother's home in the village of Cove, which backs onto Farnborough airfield.