Showing 241 - 250 of 258
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.
2019 more a celebration of 1969
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/12/2019
» It is customary at this time of the year to take a look at some of the major happenings of the past 12 months. This past year has been rather unusual in that it marked a host of significant 50th anniversaries. In fact the year was almost as much about 1969 as 2019. So to kick things off, let's just recall a few of those events 50 years ago.
Season of silly hats and hangovers
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/12/2019
» The festive season -- otherwise known in Thailand as "Jinger Ben" time -- is well upon us, not that there is too much to get festive about.
'Flying comma' suffers a bumpy landing
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/12/2019
» Although it didn't make the headlines, there was a small item of news last week that will sadden those who treasure the English language. It looks like the poor old apostrophe is coming to a full stop. Finally admitting defeat, the chairman of Britain's Apostrophe Protection Society dedicated to preserving the much-abused punctuation mark, threw in the towel and announced it was all over, stating "the ignorance and laziness in modern times have won".
Boris battling Binface and Buckethead
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/12/2019
» It is hard to get too excited by this week's UK election as it seems to have come down to a question of who is the least unpopular. This is not as simple as it sounds because they are all unpopular, so it could turn into quite an entertaining scrap.
Anthem angst and hits the singers hate
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/12/2019
» Rod Stewart is currently on tour in the UK belting out all his old songs, including Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?, which is admittedly pushing it a bit for someone the age of 74. The old rocker has confessed in the past that he dislikes singing that number, but the fans always demand it. This appears to be an occupational hazard among singing stars.
It all began with 'Newsgirl Nan' in 1960
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/11/2019
» Switch on BBC World Service television and there is a good chance there will be a female news presenter. Among the more familiar faces these days are Lucy Hockings, Sally Bundock, Philippa Thomas and Karin Giannone. I'm always amazed how calm and relaxed they look in what must be such a stressful job.
A ray of hope for Bangkok's foot soldiers
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/11/2019
» It was recently reported that the authorities plan to make life safer for Bangkok's pedestrians by introducing traffic light buttons at 14 zebra crossings. Fair enough. But the worrying thing is that it was presented as some kind of major breakthrough, a ''eureka moment'' for pedestrian safety. Cities around the world have been using this system since the 1960s. Still, it's a start.
Why a teen girl in Korat cried all night
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/11/2019
» It is always uncomfortable to read about hard-working people who are taken advantage of by unscrupulous characters. This appears to be the case with "Orm", a 15-year-old girl in Korat who had been making krathong floats for tomorrow's Loy Krathong festival, only to be arrested and fined for alleged copyright infringement.