Showing 1 - 10 of 30
A plaintive song for the taxman
Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/03/2026
» I've just got back from filing my income tax and must thank the staff at the branch of the Revenue Department for their helpfulness and efficiency. It must be a thankless job knowing that nearly everyone they deal with would probably rather be somewhere else.
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.
All wiped out
Oped, Postbag, Published on 01/07/2025
» Re: "Trade deal optimism lifts Asian shares", (Business, June 28).
There's nothing like an odd book title
Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/12/2024
» For 46 years the English literary magazine Bookseller has been holding an annual award for the oddest book title, also known as the Diagram Prize. It is generally agreed that a snappy title helps the sales of a book, although some can be a bit too snappy, bordering on ridiculous.
Muslims tire of double standards
News, Karishma Vaswani, Published on 23/11/2023
» Washington's unwavering support for Israel during its ground invasion of Gaza is coming under increasing scrutiny in the Global South.
Spies in the sky blowin' in the wind
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/02/2023
» The current "balloon" wars have been quite entertaining in a weird sort of way with a strange mix of espionage, propaganda and porky pies that are just enough to capture the public's imagination. Perhaps secretly we would like one of these unidentified flying objects (UFO) to be something a bit more mysterious than simply a common weather balloon. But we haven't quite yet reached the "little green men" stage.
Mushrooms make their presence felt
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 16/10/2022
» The most exciting news of the week is that mushrooms were found growing on a seat of an active Bangkok bus. In addition to carrying passengers on the No 82 route from Phra Pradaeng to Phahurat, the bus featured a battered seat covered in newly sprouted mushrooms. Alas, the seat has now been replaced by spoilsport officials following complaints from passengers unimpressed by sitting next to a seat covered in fast-growing fungi.
Bully for them
Oped, Postbag, Published on 06/08/2022
» Re: "US shoots itself in the foot over Taiwan", and "Last thing we need is Pelosi backing down", (Opinion, Aug 5).
Healing depression requires compassion
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 04/07/2022
» Last week, the hashtag #UrboyTJ appeared on Twitter after famous rapper Jirayut "Urboy TJ" Paloprakarn disappeared. Music fans and his friends were worried because he vanished after he posted on social media that he suffered from depression, was bipolar and was burnt out. In that post, Jirayut believed that nobody listened to him. It is possible he may have harmed himself because his post said: "I did something that I should not have done, but it was not successful." Fortunately, he returned safely and decided to receive treatment at a hospital.
The green green grassing over of home
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/06/2022
» I am probably not alone in being a little surprised by the speed at which Thai authorities have performed a remarkable U-turn in their attitude to what is referred to variously as cannabis, marijuana, grass or, as it is most commonly known in Thailand, ganja. It wasn't long ago that the merest whiff of the weed would result in people being hauled off to the slammer.