Showing 1 - 10 of 10
A 10-day journey across snowy Iran
Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/06/2025
» Watching events unfold in the Middle East last week sparked memories of the brief time I spent in Iran a long time ago in more peaceful times. In February 1969 I travelled across the northern part of the nation during an overland trip from London to New Delhi. The country was still run by the Shah who was overthrown 10 years later in the Iranian Revolution.
The art of choosing the right words
Roger Crutchley, Published on 09/03/2025
» The word "diplomacy" has been making frequent appearances on newspaper pages in recent days and unless you have been in hibernation there is no need to explain why.
Telling fortunes 'a nice little earner'
Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/05/2024
» A recent Thai news story concerned a man nabbed in an online fortune-telling scam. He would inform customers suffering from misfortune that their situation would dramatically improve if for a small fee he made a few prayers on his "direct line" to the deities in heaven.
Lonely sheep survives real cliffhanger
Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/11/2023
» Some rare good news last week was the rescue of the "world's loneliest sheep" from a rugged beach in northeastern Scotland. The sheep, a ewe named Fiona, had been stuck on the beach at the foot of a steep cliff in an isolated spot of the Moray Firth for the past two years without any woolly friends or non-woolly humans for company.
It can't be worse than last year, can it?
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/01/2023
» Well, here we are on the very first day of a brand new year. There has to be something auspicious about that. A good day to purchase lottery tickets with a few number ones perhaps?
Words you don't really want to hear
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/12/2022
» It's that time of the year when publishers of major dictionaries bombard us with what they regard as the "words of the year". They rarely agree on the same offering, but there is one common theme -- nearly all words selected are frankly rather depressing.
The magical world of far away places
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/04/2021
» Earlier this week I was chatting with friends about which places around the globe captured their imagination most when they were kids. One was fascinated by Mandalay, while another said Pondicherry caught his eye. Zanzibar was another name that cropped up.
The smoking volcano and the disco queen
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/01/2020
» Nearly eight years ago, an item in this column concluded: "If the Taal volcano does ever erupt again, I'll put on my Donna Summer album for old times' sake." An explanation of this curious combination of a songstress and a volcano is required.
Once upon a time it was smooth as silk
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/10/2019
» Judging from what a leading executive of Thai Airways International (THAI) said last week, the national airline is in a spot of bother and needs to turn things around quickly. Quite what the solution might be is unclear, although one suspects a "miracle" would come in quite handy. It is common knowledge that things have not been "smooth as silk" for many years.
Possibly time to look on the bright side
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 07/01/2018
» Having just about scraped through the Year of the Chicken, here we are seven days into 2018 and wondering what's in store during the Year of the Dog. It probably won't be all that great, but we'll leave the gloom and doom to the experts. Let's just hope it's a least a bit more enjoyable than the past couple of years which have really been quite awful, and almost of an annus horribilis nature.