Showing 1 - 10 of 11
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.
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.
A medley of moonlight, stars and pines
Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/09/2023
» The answer to a crossword clue I recently tackled was "Vermont" which immediately triggered memories of the beautiful 1950's song Moonlight in Vermont. When I first heard the tune as a kid it created such an alluring image of moon rays amid sycamore trees I dug out the atlas to find out where Vermont was actually located. It even looked nice on the map, tucked up in the right-hand corner of the US.
Tasty UK 'masterpiece' takes the biscuit
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/03/2022
» Despite last week's cautionary column about special supermarket offers which are often not so special, it will come as no surprise that a couple of days ago I succumbed to a "special offer".
Boris battling Binface and Buckethead
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/12/2019
» It is hard to get too excited by this week's UK election as it seems to have come down to a question of who is the least unpopular. This is not as simple as it sounds because they are all unpopular, so it could turn into quite an entertaining scrap.
Of lords, ladies and gentlemen
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/09/2019
» Congratulations are in order to former Bangkok Post journalist Natalie Bennett who has been made a House of Lords peer and is now named Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle. Natalie, or rather Lady Bennett, who had been the leader of the Green Party for several years, was given this title in former prime minister Theresa May's resignation honours list last week.
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.
The choice is yours, and best of luck
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/03/2019
» There's an old dictum, "democracy is the right to make the wrong choice", and one suspects there are plenty of wrong choices available out there, but hopefully also a few good ones as we enter the final straight leading to March 24.
2018: The rescue that gripped the world
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/12/2018
» It ended up as a truly inspiring feel-good story, but could so easily have been a heart-breaking tragedy. That was why the tale of the Wild Boars football team -- 12 young Thai boys and their coach trapped in a flooded cave system in Chiang Rai -- held the attention of the world for more than a fortnight.
The day the tree came tumbling down
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 13/05/2018
» Last week I suffered the distressing experience of watching the biggest tree in my garden be chopped down to a stump. The tree had been there for a decade, growing rapidly every year, and it felt almost like losing a favourite pet. I should explain that although I love trees, this arboreal assault was given my reluctant approval as the tree had grown to a such a height that if it came down in a storm it would demolish half of the house. All the same, I felt very uncomfortable watching it being hacked away branch by branch.