Showing 1 - 10 of 21
Let's hope 2026 is not too amazing
Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/01/2026
» Well here we are on the fourth day of a brand new year. I trust everyone is holding up well after the festivities because it can be quite gruelling pretending to behave in a jovial fashion if you are not feeling jovial at all.
The toothpaste which created TV history
Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/09/2025
» Last week marked the 70th anniversary of television advertisements in Britain. For years the BBC had been the only TV network in Britain and no ads were allowed. But in the mid-1950s along came Independent Television (ITV) which was launched to create competition, the big difference being that it was permitted to finance itself by showing advertisements.
The hippo, the pumpkin and the haggis
Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/11/2024
» From the moment Thailand's celebrity pygmy hippo, Moo Deng predicted Donald Trump would triumph in the US election it was all over for the Democrats and Kamala Harris. Their fate had been sealed by the taste buds of the megastar mammal from Chon Buri.
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".
No longer feeling under the weather
Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/05/2024
» Being woken up by a thunderstorm in Bangkok on Tuesday morning was a most welcome experience. I had been visibly wilting in the heat for a couple of months, but finally dear old Jupiter Pluvius came to the rescue in splendid style. Just the sound of raindrops falling on the leaves felt comforting and the thirsty birds chirped in with a chorus of thanks.
Making a name for oneself in Thailand
Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/09/2023
» Last week's PostScript noted how the use of first names or nicknames in Thailand saves everyone a lot of trouble considering the long Thai surnames. However, this does not totally rule out misunderstandings. Many foreigners find their names pronounced in a unique manner, but that's all part of the fun of living in Thailand.
Audience of one is better than none
Roger Crutchley, Published on 13/08/2023
» There was a story from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last week concerning English actress Georgie Grier whose one-woman show Sunsets attracted a grand audience of one. A tweet with pictures of a tearful Grier after the show prompted considerable sympathy and the following night she found herself performing to a near full-house which she joked felt the equivalent of "Wembley".
Going bananas over the 'Day-O' song
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/05/2023
» The recent death of the gifted Jamaican-American singer Harry Belafonte at the age of 96 inevitably sparked memories of when his biggest hit "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" swept the globe, including Britain.
Poster boys and girls near final straight
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/04/2023
» Try as you might you just cannot escape the forthcoming election with all those posters dangling from lampposts and the few remaining trees. The posters have been there for several months now and some are beginning to look a little the worse for wear, especially after this week's welcome rain in Bangkok. There is possibly nothing less appealing than a soggy political poster... apart from a soggy politician.
It seemed a good idea at the time
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/11/2022
» The annual elephant festival in Surin attracted more than the usual attention last week after featuring an attempt to enter the hallowed Guinness Book of Records. Alas, the only record achieved was that hundreds of student "volunteers" roasted in the sun, exposed for hours to high temperatures reaching 39C.