Showing 1 - 10 of 12
Playing cat and mouse at Downing Street
Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/10/2024
» Important news from London. Larry the Cat has a new housemate at Downing Street. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced the arrival of a white Siberian kitten called Prince. This breed of cat is apparently "good at problem solving" so considering the state of the UK at the moment it should be kept very busy in the PM's office. It is unclear if it will attend Cabinet meetings as being a Russian breed it may face security issues.
The day Sukhumvit almost sunk
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/09/2024
» Reading about the extensive flooding in the North and Northeast got me thinking about the worst inundations experienced in Bangkok. It was probably back in 1983 when much of the city was underwater for several weeks. However one that really affected me was a few years later in 1986 after a huge storm had left the eastern part of Bangkok awash.
A country full of Eastern promise
Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/06/2024
» Watching the current Euro football championships has served as a reminder that the official name of the country known to most of us as Turkey, is now Turkiye, pronounced "Turkiya". This name was approved by the UN in 2022. The change was believed to have been made partly to disassociate the country from the large bird of the same name and other negative interpretations of the word "turkey". You can understand why Turks could be irritated by silly newspaper football headlines such as "England roast Turkey".
Being ginger adds spice to life
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/06/2023
» I have been reprimanded by a reader of ginger persuasion for failing to mention two significant days in the calendar for those of us who have grown up saddled with nicknames like "Ginger Nut", "Ginger Bonce", "Tomato Head", "Carrot Top", not to mention "Freckle Face". I plead guilty to allowing the recent "Cuddle a Ginger Day" and "World Redhead Day" slip by without a single bleat in support of gingers.
You can't beat mangoes and sticky rice
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/05/2022
» I was tucking into some delicious khao nieo mamuang (mangoes and sticky rice) at a friend's house the other day and the conversation inevitably turned to teenage Thai rapper Milli, (Danupha Khanatheerakul) and her eye-catching performance at the Coachella music festival in California.
It's all aboard for the Land of Nod
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/11/2021
» You may have seen a news item during the week on how Hong Kong has launched a special bus service named the "Sleeping Bus Tour" for citizens who are desperate for forty winks. Apparently there are a lot of insomniacs in Hong Kong as a result of the stress of living in one of the world's busiest cities.
Desperate times for the old normal
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/07/2020
» Every now and again a buzzword or phrase appears which you know is not going away in a hurry, although you wish it would. One such expression which we have become accustomed to in recent times is "new normal". Admittedly it sounded quite trendy and even clever when it first emerged, but it has been so overused it is already something of a cliche.
A lovely bunch of coconuts and all that
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/07/2020
» The humble coconut (ma prow) has been in the news lately following allegations of abuse of Thai monkeys used in harvesting the fruit. I admit to not being familiar enough with the training of the monkeys to know if they are maltreated as alleged and certainly would not endorse any cruelty. But if they are treated well it shouldn't be a problem. On sporadic visits to the South I've seen the monkeys at work and play, and they appeared to be quite happy scampering up the coconut palms. They certainly have more fun than those used in medical research.
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.
Mutiny that sparked a bounty of films
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/04/2019
» Today is April 28, and out of curiosity I checked to see if anything of historical significance had taken place on this day through the ages. The answer is... not a lot.