Showing 1 - 10 of 11
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.
Thai police officer becomes the bee's knees
Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/04/2025
» The feel-good story this week involves a most unlikely hero, a Thai policeman. It is not often that the local gendarmerie are the subject of uplifting news, but that was the case in the Northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom when an alert policeman rescued a woman from a swarm of attacking bees.
The big black door which has no keys
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/10/2022
» In recent weeks whenever I have switched on the TV news bulletins I seem to have been greeted by the sight of the imposing black door at No 10 Downing Street. It must be the most photographed door in history.
Tokyo finally reaches the finishing line
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/08/2021
» It is no secret that the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics was not exactly plain sailing, primarily due to the Covid pandemic. For a start it was a year late through no fault of its own, and was being held at the hottest and most humid time of the Japanese summer when sensible people retreat into air conditioning. It was not just by chance that when Tokyo hosted the Games in 1964 it was held in October, Japan's autumn.
Things are warming up in Death Valley
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/08/2020
» The other day I was sitting in the garden fighting another losing battle with the cryptic crossword, but the afternoon heat was taking its toll -- it was the standard 34ºC -- and when several blobs of sweat landed on No.4 down, it felt prudent to admit defeat and retreat indoors.
2019 more a celebration of 1969
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/12/2019
» It is customary at this time of the year to take a look at some of the major happenings of the past 12 months. This past year has been rather unusual in that it marked a host of significant 50th anniversaries. In fact the year was almost as much about 1969 as 2019. So to kick things off, let's just recall a few of those events 50 years ago.
Once upon a time it was smooth as silk
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/10/2019
» Judging from what a leading executive of Thai Airways International (THAI) said last week, the national airline is in a spot of bother and needs to turn things around quickly. Quite what the solution might be is unclear, although one suspects a "miracle" would come in quite handy. It is common knowledge that things have not been "smooth as silk" for many years.
More a sorry scrawl than a signature
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/09/2019
» Visiting the bank the other day I had to sign a bunch of documents that no doubt would be carefully filed away to collect dust in a basement, never to be seen again. By the time I had finished I was uncomfortably aware that no two signatures of mine are exactly the same, even when written in close succession.
When the president said 'sock it to me'
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/08/2019
» My apologies for unwittingly being the purveyor of fake news in last week's column, mistakenly crediting Goldie Hawn with the "sock it to me" catchphrase from the Laugh-In show. It was actually the English actress Judy Carne who was the regular "sock it to me" girl, although Hawn did also come out with the expression on occasions.
A gentle look at uniform behaviour
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 13/01/2019
» Reports that Bangkok Christian College is allowing students to wear casual clothes once a week might seem a trivial tale, but it could cause a few ructions in Thailand. This is a country where even university students wear uniforms and any thoughts about breaking out from this conformity are frowned upon. After all, it might spark "self-expression" which will send shudders down the spine of the education establishment. The next thing they know, students even might start asking meaningful questions.