Showing 1 - 10 of 52
Cornflakes, cats and grizzly bears
Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/03/2026
» Readers are no doubt aware that the official codename for the current US action in the Middle East is Operation Epic Fury which admittedly sounds more like the title of a martial arts B movie. It should not be confused with Operation Urgent Fury, the name given to the US invasion of Grenada back in 1983 during the Reagan administration. Israel incidentally has its own name for the current mission, Operation Roaring Lion.
The last word on weird book titles
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/12/2025
» Being somewhat old-fashioned I still love browsing in bookshops. It provides a brief escape to a completely different world, both relaxing and therapeutic. Alas it is a pleasure future generations are unlikely to experience as these days bookshops are something of an endangered species.
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.
New words I probably won't be using
Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/08/2025
» The Cambridge Dictionary recently announced the inclusion of 6,000 new words mainly derived from their common usage in social media. I fear those words will simply be added to an already lengthy list of vocabulary I am totally unfamiliar with. As one observer noted "internet culture is changing the English language."
Paper bags, patriotism and mushy peas
Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/08/2025
» One of the more thought-provoking stories of the week was an unnamed Thai hospital being fined after it was discovered private files on patients were being used to make paper bags for popular street snacks. Apparently some people at the business entrusted with destroying the files instead took them home and made paper bags out of them.
A 10-day journey across snowy Iran
Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/06/2025
» Watching events unfold in the Middle East last week sparked memories of the brief time I spent in Iran a long time ago in more peaceful times. In February 1969 I travelled across the northern part of the nation during an overland trip from London to New Delhi. The country was still run by the Shah who was overthrown 10 years later in the Iranian Revolution.
Remembering a horse with no name
Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/02/2025
» Something I have always been thankful for is not succumbing to gambling. This is not because of any lofty moral stance but the reality that with my luck, I would never have a hope of winning. In fact, the only time I ever won anything by chance was at a church fete lottery at the age of 10. The prize was a large bar of soap which at that age seemed more of a punishment than a reward.
The lonely songbird in a gilded cage
Roger Crutchley, Published on 09/02/2025
» A few words on singer/actress Marianne Faithfull who died last week at the age of 78. I have followed her career with some interest because she lived in my home town of Reading in the early 1960s, attending St Joseph's Convent school.
Can't be much fun being a lame duck
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/12/2024
» From Washington we've been hearing the expression "lame duck" quite a bit lately, but it has not of course been a discussion about the health of the waterfowl population in the American capital but a reference to Joe Biden as he completes his final term as president.
Feline stardom doesn't come easy
Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/11/2024
» In the final credits of many American films you often see the "no animals were harmed" disclaimer, meaning representatives of the American Humane Association were present to ensure no animals were mistreated during the course of filming.