Showing 1 - 10 of 30
Hedgehoppers in search of good news
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/02/2026
» Being the very first day of February it would have been nice if there was some good news worth celebrating, but unfortunately nothing immediately springs to mind. Cheerful news is an increasingly rare commodity these days. It all seems to be gloom and doom and hardly portends a joyful 2026. It can get a bit wearying grappling with news reports featuring contradictions, cover-ups and cock-ups, often accompanied by half-truths, prevarications and porky pies. But this is the world we now live in.
The time I really put my foot in it
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/10/2025
» A half-hearted spring-cleaning session at home during the week came to a welcome halt when I unearthed a couple of my father's wartime RAF books under a pile of disintegrating paperbacks. The Air Ministry books, published more than 80 years ago, always serve as a reminder of when as a kid I made a faux pas of embarrassing proportions.
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.
It's a bit on the warm side in the UK
Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/07/2025
» It seems a trifle strange to be sitting in Bangkok and reading about a heatwave in London, but at times last week it's been hotter in Britain than Thailand, while the rest of Europe has also been sizzling. You know something is wrong when at Wimbledon the umbrellas have been going up not for the rain but to protect spectators from the sun.
The bombers that look like giant bats
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/06/2025
» Anyone who has observed those B-2 Stealth bombers used by the US in Iran last week will be aware of the unique futuristic design that some say makes them resemble giant bats. Opinion is divided on whether these planes are an inspired example of beautiful modern engineering and technology or just plain ugly. They certainly look a bit sinister, but then so do most planes designed for dropping bombs.
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.
Probably the saga to end all sagas
Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/06/2025
» The latest nationwide crackdown on motorcyclists not wearing crash helmets kicked off on June 1. Whether it will prove more effective than countless previous campaigns remains to be seen. But don't hold your breath.
It was not exactly life in the fast lane
Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/11/2024
» It appears the bicycle lane launch on Sukhumvit 39 last Tuesday didn't get off to the most auspicious of starts. In fact it had to be hastily abandoned after one day. All it succeeded in doing was to create a massive traffic jam leading to gridlock on 17 major roads along with a communal sigh across the city.
Beatniks, beards, duffel coats and music
Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/08/2024
» There seems to be daily protests going on around the world including England. It is uncomfortable witnessing in my home country scenes of bricks being lobbed through windows, doors kicked in, businesses boarded up and terrified shopkeepers pulling down the shutters. Thankfully, things appear to have temporarily calmed down and hopefully it will stay that way.
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.