Showing 1 - 7 of 7
We can always live in a dollhouse
Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/07/2024
» Thai tourism authorities are always quick to make the most of any new fad, which might explain the appearance of a life-sized Labubu doll on the front page of the Bangkok Post this week. Apparently, the mascot is part of a promotion to attract Chinese tourists. I confess to not knowing anything about the Labubu craze although the Post's doll correspondent informs me the designer doll is a "kind-hearted monster with pointed ears and serrated teeth". Hmmm.
If it's 'early doors' there's plenty of time
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/06/2023
» A Thai reader asked recently the meaning of the expression "early doors" which he had heard used frequently in English football commentaries. It has become quite a familiar observation in sport to indicate a game is still at an early stage. It also creeps into everyday language although perhaps in the more common form of "early days".
Mushrooms make their presence felt
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 16/10/2022
» The most exciting news of the week is that mushrooms were found growing on a seat of an active Bangkok bus. In addition to carrying passengers on the No 82 route from Phra Pradaeng to Phahurat, the bus featured a battered seat covered in newly sprouted mushrooms. Alas, the seat has now been replaced by spoilsport officials following complaints from passengers unimpressed by sitting next to a seat covered in fast-growing fungi.
The day the filming had to stop
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/10/2020
» An article headlined "The man, myth and legend" on Wednesday by Tatat Bunnag marked the 50th anniversary of the death of Thailand's biggest-ever film star, Mitr Chaibancha. The actor plunged to his death at the age of 36, while filming a helicopter scene at Jomtien for Insee Thong (Golden Eagle). Mitr had insisted on doing his own stunts and was clinging from a rope ladder dangling from the copter but couldn't hold on. He truly is a legend.
You can't beat that old black magic
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/06/2019
» It is well-known that superstition is deeply ingrained in Thailand, from the poorest farmers to the richest businessmen, politicians and even prime ministers. If things go wrong, malevolent spirits often get the blame and the only way to solve the issue is to indulge in exotic ceremonies to appease them. It makes sense really -- in Thailand you won't get anywhere until you've got the ghosts and the supernatural on your side.
End of a sorry saga for mushroom pickers
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/05/2019
» The best news of the week is that the mushroom-picking couple have been released from jail following a royal pardon by His Majesty the King. It is a most pleasant surprise and hopefully puts an end to a grim nine-year saga that reeked of social injustice from the very first time it surfaced back in 2010.
Lady Mondegreen and electric boobs
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/04/2018
» In a futile attempt to escape the Songkran madness, I have holed up at home this week, soaking in lots of music and in doing so have rediscovered the wonderful world of "aural malapropisms". This is not an obscure medical condition, but involves mishearing something, as in song lyrics.