Showing 1 - 10 of 15
A trip to the far side of the Moon
Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/04/2026
» The current Moon mission has been a most welcome distraction from the depressing events in the Middle East. Watching the launch of Artemis II from the Kennedy Space Center it was hard not to feel that tingle of excitement which accompanies such a liftoff as the crew headed into space. They will even have a rare look at the far side of the lunar surface. We wish them a safe flight.
Cheating in exams now a sophisticated art
Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/07/2025
» It was Oscar Wilde who once observed: "Exams sir, are pure humbug. If a man is a gentleman he knows quite enough, and if he is not a gentleman, whatever he knows is bad for him.''
The night I was eclipsed by the Moon
Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/10/2024
» I had planned to view the super full moon last Thursday night but unfortunately forgot all about it. My apologies to the Moon. That's the sort of thing that happens these days. It went down as another failure in my rocky relationship with the heavens and ranks up there with a lunar eclipse fiasco I was involved in many moons ago, if that's the right expression.
Make way for the Bold Gendarmes
Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/08/2024
» The Paris Olympics have sparked memories of the time as an eight-year-old I was dressed up as a French Gendarme for a Christmas concert at a church hall in England. There were four of us and we had to perform The Bold Gendarmes, a popular song in the mid 1950s by French operetta composer Jacques Offenbach. It made gentle fun of the French policemen as the opening lyrics suggest:
Leaping lizards on a Sunday afternoon
Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/03/2024
» Last Sunday I was sitting on the garden porch of my Bangkok abode grappling with the crossword and watching the birds hopping around the garden. My wife, who was away in Chaiyaphum, had just called and I had reassured her that everything was fine and very tranquil... a perfect Sunday afternoon.
The cuckoo-clock tune that went to No.1
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/05/2021
» It was amusing to see that the UK entry to the Eurovision Song Contest last weekend attracted a grand total of zero votes. However, singer James Newman shouldn't fret too much as not getting any votes is almost a badge of honour in this annual festival of kitsch where music takes second place to gaudy, garish, glitter.
Familiar places gone but not forgotten
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/04/2021
» Last week I was walking along upper Sukhumvit after an excursion to the somewhat inappropriately-named Trendy building on Soi 13. I decided to drop in on my long-time travel agent nearby who I hadn't seen for a while, just to say hello. The lady in charge has an appealing personality and always cheers me up.
When steamrollers saved the day
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/12/2020
» In recent street confrontations in Bangkok the police have regularly used buses as barricades against the protesters, hopefully letting any dozing passengers off first. People tend to fall asleep on buses and might get a bit of a fright waking up in the midst of a street showdown.
Possibly the worst job in the world?
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/11/2020
» On the day Americans went to the polls four years ago the Miami Herald ran what must have been its shortest-ever editorial which simply read: "Her, Not Him, Enough Said". In light of what ensued, it must have been tempting to blame the proof-readers and come out the next day with: "Correction: Him Not Her."
A triumph of imagination over intelligence
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 16/02/2020
» I am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but considering the awful events of recent weeks, a bit of "love", however contrived, was a welcome break from the daily diet of depressing news. So this week, it feels like an appropriate time to dwell on matters of the heart, as long as it is not a cardiac arrest.