Showing 1 - 10 of 100
A good time to hail Caesar Salad
Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/03/2026
» For anyone planning on doing something important today and who might be just a little superstitious, it may be a good idea to stay at home and play with the dog. It is the 15th day of the month, perhaps better known in Roman times as the "Ides of March" which marks the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC.
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.
Recalling the 'the quick brown fox' era
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/03/2026
» Every day of the year has its own niche in history and March 1 is no exception. On this day 152 years ago the first typewriters went on sale in the US. It was 1874 and the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, invented in Milwaukee, was proudly presented by Remington & Sons in New York.
Greenland enjoys a taste of Thailand
Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/01/2026
» We are only 11 days into 2026 and I am already worn out trying to keep up with what's going on in this crazy old world. In addition to Venezuela, countries which must be a wee bit nervous about what lies in store include Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Iran and Greenland. However, we will leave the heavy news to the experts.
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.
Words of the year are bit of a worry
Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/12/2025
» More words or phrases of the year have been drifting in courtesy of the major dictionaries and I'm afraid most of them are not particularly encouraging. In fact some are a disturbing indication of the direction in which the English language and society are heading.
Good time to celebrate verbal gaffes
Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/10/2025
» Tomorrow happens to be Plain English Day which has in recent years morphed into International Plain Language Day designed to promote the proper use of language. In other words the aim is to cut out all the gibberish, mumbo jumbo, codswallop, balderdash, tripe, tommyrot, twaddle, tosh and bosh you may have become accustomed to… heaven forbid, some of it even in PostScript.
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.
On top of the world in Kathmandu
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/09/2025
» I was sorry to read about the unrest in Kathmandu this week. As a kid in the UK during the 1950s I used to daydream about far away places with strange-sounding names. One of those places was Kathmandu.
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."