Showing 1 - 10 of 17
It can even get a bit chilly in Hell
Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/04/2026
» The pause in the Middle East conflict is very welcome although with the opposing elements both claiming a "great victory" it's all a trifle confusing. Prior to the ceasefire, we had witnessed increasingly belligerent exchanges from both sides containing sombre warnings that the opposing forces were destined to end up in "hell". In fact the word "hell" was appearing so frequently it was in danger of losing its intended impact.
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.
Where there's Muck there's puffins
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/11/2025
» Important news from Northern Ireland. For the first time in more than 25 years puffins have been spotted on the quaintly named Isle of Muck. The isle is a nature reserve on the Antrim coast and derives its unusual name from the adjacent town of Portmuck.
The amazing paddy fields of England
Roger Crutchley, Published on 05/10/2025
» Important news from Blighty. Rice has been grown for the first time in Britain in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. Apparently this is a result of an unusually hot summer. For a project that had once been dismissed as a joke it's quite an achievement. Let's hope the notoriously fickle English weather doesn't spoil it all. It will probably start snowing tomorrow.
A country full of Eastern promise
Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/06/2024
» Watching the current Euro football championships has served as a reminder that the official name of the country known to most of us as Turkey, is now Turkiye, pronounced "Turkiya". This name was approved by the UN in 2022. The change was believed to have been made partly to disassociate the country from the large bird of the same name and other negative interpretations of the word "turkey". You can understand why Turks could be irritated by silly newspaper football headlines such as "England roast Turkey".
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".
The curious case of the missing column
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 16/04/2023
» Many thanks to readers who expressed concern about the non-appearance of PostScript last Sunday. Some feared Crutch might have been under the weather or had even departed for the Great Typewriter in the Sky. Others thought I had fled the scene in a bid to escape Songkran, which in retrospect would not have been a bad idea.
There's always something worth a laugh
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/12/2022
» Recently I watched on television the 1992 film Chaplin, starring Robert Downey Jr as the great English comic actor, best known in Thailand simply as Charlie. It brought back happy memories of the mid-1970s when a series of the Chaplin movies were re-released in Thailand and proved a huge hit. The Thai public loved Charlie.
Hot and a little bit bothered in the UK
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/07/2022
» It seems a bit of a paradox to be sitting in Bangkok and reading about how hot it is in London. But this was the case last week when for the first time Britain experienced temperatures exceeding 40C. Heathrow Airport was the first to clock that magic number. Last time I was at Heathrow it was more like 4C.
Come on baby, let's do the Twist
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/04/2022
» The other day I heard on the radio Chubby Checker bursting forth with his 1960 hit 'The Twist'. It's not the greatest of songs but it sparked fond memories because it launched a dance craze which proved a social life-saver for me and many other shy teenagers.