Showing 1 - 10 of 12
A plaintive song for the taxman
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/03/2026
» I've just got back from filing my income tax and must thank the staff at the branch of the Revenue Department for their helpfulness and efficiency. It must be a thankless job knowing that nearly everyone they deal with would probably rather be somewhere else.
A magician from the trenches of war
Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/09/2025
» Last month PostScript mentioned the strange phenomenon of how the 1950s British ventriloquist Peter Brough and his schoolboy dummy Archie Andrews had a successful radio show called Educating Archie. Although Brough's ventriloquist skills was a visual art and seemed wasted on radio it didn't appear to bother listeners.
Joking aside, it's time for a quick groan
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/08/2022
» The news has been rather gloomy lately and it feels like an appropriate time for some light relief. What better than to check out which jokes from stand-up comedians were voted the funniest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which concludes tomorrow. Unfortunately this year's offerings are either not particularly funny or I can't understand them. Perhaps I'm getting too ancient to appreciate modern wit. Anyway prepare yourself for a few quick groans.
Bangkok still tangled up in 'sky spaghetti'
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/08/2022
» Earlier this week I was sitting in the customary traffic jam on Sukhumvit near Phra Khanong Bridge and found myself gazing at the tangled mess of overhead cables which have decorated Bangkok's streets for so long. It was not a pretty sight, especially dangling in front of ageing shophouses and filthy iron grilles that are not exactly a vision of splendour themselves.
Hot off the press on Ratchadamnoen Ave
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 03/10/2021
» After last week's column regarding old seafaring expressions still in everyday use, I thought we could take a look at a few sayings that have their origins in newspapers.
An unlikely place to have a good laugh
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/09/2021
» The news has been so gloomy lately I have spent some time scouring newspapers for something remotely cheerful to write about … and failing miserably. I would even settle for silly news which is usually abundant in Thailand, but even that is in scarce supply these days.
Spivs, wide boys and dodgy kipper ties
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/11/2020
» Every now and again a word pops up which I have not heard for ages. That was the case recently with an email from a London-born friend who complained about "spivs" who had contributed to ruining his local football club's finances.
The milkman who became a secret agent
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/11/2020
» To briefly escape from the US election mayhem, an appreciation of actor Sean Connery who died last week aged 90, seems to be in order. I had somehow thought Connery would go on forever, just like the Bond films. It is an intriguing tale of an Edinburgh milkman who became the most famous fictional spy in the world.
Why a teen girl in Korat cried all night
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/11/2019
» It is always uncomfortable to read about hard-working people who are taken advantage of by unscrupulous characters. This appears to be the case with "Orm", a 15-year-old girl in Korat who had been making krathong floats for tomorrow's Loy Krathong festival, only to be arrested and fined for alleged copyright infringement.
There's a whole lot of digging going on
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/06/2019
» This week the Bangkok Governor bravely announced that the tangled mess of overhead telecom and broadcast cables which have decorated Bangkok's streets for so long, will definitely be gone within two years. One suspects this might make him a leading candidate for the new post of Minister of Wishful Thinking.