Showing 1 - 10 of 10
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.
Taking a dip in Hua Hin a long time ago
Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/04/2024
» It is not often I can remember what I was doing five days ago let alone 55 years, but a moth-eaten diary confirms that on April 14, 1969 I was in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin. A brief explanation is necessary.
Shaking off the laundromat blues
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/03/2023
» In last week's item concerning boutiques I wondered whether their influence could extend as far as the world of laundromats. My thanks to reader Jenifer Divine in Hamburg for informing me that in the German city's St Pauli district there is a laundromat dedicated to Jimi Hendrix which just about gives it boutique status.
A chip on the shoulder, or is it a crisp?
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 13/03/2022
» My reference to the Great British Chip as being related to "French fries" in last week's column caused considerable rumblings in staunchly proud British stomachs. "Shockingly unpatriotic," was one of the more polite observations.
It's all aboard for the Land of Nod
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/11/2021
» You may have seen a news item during the week on how Hong Kong has launched a special bus service named the "Sleeping Bus Tour" for citizens who are desperate for forty winks. Apparently there are a lot of insomniacs in Hong Kong as a result of the stress of living in one of the world's busiest cities.
Back in the cinema again with 007
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/10/2021
» Just got back from watching No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's fifth and final appearance as James Bond and the 25th film in the franchise. It was quite a decent send-off for Craig and entertaining enough to sit back and enjoy my first visit to a cinema in a couple of years.
Wrong turn in the Valley of Windmills
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/01/2020
» At my age, any new sensation tends to either be an ache or a pain, however, on New Year's Day I was up at 6am, which was definitely a ground-breaking feeling. I hasten to add this wasn't because I hadn't made it to bed after a night's revelry. Admittedly in the distant past there might have been several occasions in Bangkok when I've witnessed dawn on Jan 1 before hitting the sack, but we won't go into that.
Always look on the bright side of life
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/01/2020
» We have just scraped through the Year of the Porkers and are hurtling into the Year of the Rat, which admittedly doesn't sound too promising.
Once it was almost a botanical garden
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/11/2018
» About 20 years ago I was standing on the steps of the British ambassador's residence in Bangkok after interviewing England and Manchester United football legend Sir Bobby Charlton. Shameless name-dropping again, l know, but there is a point. While we were waiting for transport, Sir Bobby surveyed the embassy grounds and remarked what an idyllic scene it was, with all the trees, ponds and well-manicured lawns. He was definitely impressed. With traffic gridlock only a stone's throw away, it was a truly tranquil oasis presided over with aplomb by the statue of Queen Victoria.
Is everybody happy? You bet they are
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 25/02/2018
» It was nearly four years ago the powers that be announced the "Return Happiness to the Public" campaign and since then we have all been insanely happy, like it or not. So last week's news that Thailand has been named the "least miserable country in the world" for the fourth successive year by the Bloomberg Misery Index, hardly raised an eyebrow. However, there was some debate if there is any subtle difference between "most happy" and "least miserable".