Showing 1 - 10 of 24
Watch your step these stormy nights
Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/05/2025
» The rainstorms during the past week have been really refreshing. They've cooled things down a bit which is quite a relief after perspiring my way through April. I also appreciate the accompanying rolling thunder which provides a stirring theatrical soundtrack for the rain sloshing down. It's just another reminder of how powerful Mother Nature can be.
It's getting to be tough at the top
Roger Crutchley, Published on 25/08/2024
» In these turbulent times around the globe you wonder why anyone would aspire to be a prime minister, president, dictator, despot, tyrant or whatever. Even in Amazing Thailand it can't be much fun being the PM. Just imagine waking up every morning and realising you are responsible for 71 million Thai citizens, all probably with some kind of grievance. Most of us have enough problems looking just after ourselves … and maybe the dog.
Those pesky pigeons and a plastic owl
Roger Crutchley, Published on 21/07/2024
» Fond as I am of our feathered friends I admit to getting in a bit of a flap over the rapidly increasing number of pigeons (nok pilab) that have been descending on our residence in recent times. Some people call pigeons "rats with wings", others more generously "doves without the PR". I must confess to be leaning towards the first of those opinions.
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.
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.
Stone me, the crows are back in town
Roger Crutchley, Published on 25/02/2024
» Having a small garden I am fortunate enough to regularly wake up to the sound of birdsong, although in recent dusty days some of my feathered friends have been suffering from sore throats. Even worse was the unwelcome sound of crows and their jarring "caw" call which Cambridge Dictionary describes bluntly as "a loud unpleasant cry".
Those elusive influential persons
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/10/2023
» Most intriguing news of the week is that according to a parliamentary House committee there are only 180 "influential people" in the kingdom and in 10 provinces there are none at all. For those unfamiliar with the term "influential person" in Thailand, it is usually interpreted as someone who is powerful enough not to worry about the "long arm of the law" and can go about their sometimes shady business without fear of arrest.
It's not easy getting a decent mug shot
Roger Crutchley, Published on 03/09/2023
» There has been some debate in recent weeks concerning mug shots as a result of a high-profile legal case in the United States which readers will be relieved to learn I am not writing about. Suffice to say there is an entertaining variety of expressions in the mug shots, ranging from deep defiance from a certain gentleman, to bemusement from others, while one of them looks like they've just realised they left the kettle on at home.
One fishy tale of becoming a Mister
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/03/2023
» I got into a tangle last week referring to the Italian immigrant restaurateur Caesar Cardini as Senor when of course it should have been Signore. Apologies to all. I should have known better than to start dabbling with foreign honourifics. I have enough problems dealing with Mr, Mrs and Ms.
Good chance of being caught on the hop
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/01/2023
» To mark this weekend's Chinese New Year celebrations for Year of the Rabbit it seems appropriate to dedicate today's column to our cuddly cottontail friends, otherwise known as bunnies. Let's hope not too many of them end up in a pie or stew. As a precaution, just be careful when you order "today's special".