Showing 1 - 10 of 36
Take this tea tale with a pinch of salt
Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/02/2024
» Last month a US scientist caused bit of a stir in Britain when she suggested adding a pinch of salt was the secret to a perfect cup of tea. Not surprisingly this bold assertion from someone across the pond did not go down too well with the traditional tea-drinking English public. In some cases the reaction almost reached "boiling point".
A painful ride with a certified horn honker
Roger Crutchley, Published on 04/02/2024
» Despite the frustration of sitting in endless jams, I've always felt Bangkok motorists display remarkable restraint when it comes to using horns. Unlike many cities in the world it is rare to hear a chorus of angry car klaxons. Things are admittedly a bit different on the provincial highways with buses and trucks not averse to giving a blast on their air horns with the clear message "Get out of the way."
There ain't no mountain high enough
Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/01/2024
» In the final weeks of 2023 the old chestnut of introducing a cable car system on Phu Kradeung (Bell Mountain) national park resurfaced. It came as no surprise when a Bangkok Post headline concluded on the very last day of the year that the project "faces uncertainty".
History comes alive in those pub names
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/06/2023
» The news has been so dull this week we might as well continue to pursue last week's investigations concerning the historical value of English pub names. If nothing else it may prompt readers to recall some of the more exotic inns where they have supped ale. It beats politics anyway.
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.
Once upon a time there were no mobiles
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 21/08/2022
» The other day in a restaurant I watched some Thai youngsters who appeared much more interested in their smartphones than what they were eating. Their obvious phone skills made me quite envious but also just a little melancholy -- a reminder of how much things have changed since my early days, otherwise known as the Stone Age.
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.
In defence of the Yank chimney-sweep
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/03/2022
» A Londoner who lives in Bangkok has made a spirited defence of Dick Van Dyke's much-maligned cockney accent as a chimney-sweep in Mary Poppins, which was mentioned in last week's column.
An unlikely place to have a good laugh
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/09/2021
» The news has been so gloomy lately I have spent some time scouring newspapers for something remotely cheerful to write about … and failing miserably. I would even settle for silly news which is usually abundant in Thailand, but even that is in scarce supply these days.
It's time for 'cautious cuddling' in the UK
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 16/05/2021
» PostScript recently discussed how the month of May is looked upon fondly in Britain, partly because it heralds warmer weather. Admittedly summer in the UK can be rather brief, especially if the occluded fronts start misbehaving. It's no coincidence that the most common forecast in the British summer is "outlook changeable".