Showing 1 - 10 of 76
A good time of the year to chill out
Roger Crutchley, Published on 21/12/2025
» Normally at this stage of the calendar PostScript attempts a festive flavour, welcoming in the season of silly hats and hangovers, but this year it's a real struggle to find something to be festive about. At least the weather has cooperated, the lower temperatures giving us more of a wintry feeling. In that respect it is the most pleasant time of the year.
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.
The time I really put my foot in it
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/10/2025
» A half-hearted spring-cleaning session at home during the week came to a welcome halt when I unearthed a couple of my father's wartime RAF books under a pile of disintegrating paperbacks. The Air Ministry books, published more than 80 years ago, always serve as a reminder of when as a kid I made a faux pas of embarrassing proportions.
Thai RoboCop walking tall at Songkran
Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/04/2025
» The most important news emerging from the recent Songkran activities is that Thailand finally has its own "RoboCop". The kingdom's first AI police robot was spotted on active duty in Nakhon Pathom province keeping an eagle eye on water-throwing activities. It has been given the name Pol Col Nakhon Pathom Plod Phai, which is admittedly bit of a mouthful but roughly translates as "Nakhon Pathom is safe".
Great debates… and some not so great
Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/03/2025
» No-confidence debates similar to that which took place in the Thai parliament earlier in the week have become something of a tradition in the kingdom, but I can’t recall any such motion ever being successful. Still, at least it gives the MPs an opportunity to share their words of wisdom with us hoi polloi.
Slow horses playing a strange game
Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/03/2025
» Last week's account in PostScript of the painfully slow horse I bet on at the Epsom Derby back in the Dark Ages prompted a reader to enquire if I had seen the British television series Slow Horses. I'm pleased to say I have and for those who are unfamiliar with the production I should point out that it has nothing do with the equine world but is an absorbing British spy thriller laced with dark humour.
Season's bleatings and other nonsense
Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/12/2024
» It looks like we are in the thick of the silly season again, otherwise known as "Jinger Ben" time (Jingle Bells to the uninitiated). Considering all the depressing news this year the festive season is actually something of a welcome break. So we might as well make the most of it especially as the coming 12 months are not likely to be a bundle of laughs.
There's nothing like an odd book title
Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/12/2024
» For 46 years the English literary magazine Bookseller has been holding an annual award for the oddest book title, also known as the Diagram Prize. It is generally agreed that a snappy title helps the sales of a book, although some can be a bit too snappy, bordering on ridiculous.
Thailand's most unlikely A-list celebrity
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/09/2024
» Unless you have been in hibernation for the past few weeks you may have noticed that making the news has been the two-month-old female pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng (Bouncy Pork) which has been attracting large crowds to Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chon Buri. The little hippo, which acquired its name due to its "bouncy" behaviour has become an internet celebrity and indeed, an international star. She even made a guest appearance on the BBC World news.
A perfectly British public paradox
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/07/2024
» Much has been made of the "working class" background of the newly-elected government in the UK and how very few of Sir Keir Starmer's Cabinet attended posh "public schools". This brings us to one of the paradoxes of British and particularly English culture. The institutions which are called "public schools" in England are anything but public and are actually elite private fee-paying institutions.