• OPINION

  There have probably been better years

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/12/2021

  » Well we've just about scraped through the Year of the Ox. It was a strange time, rather like living in a vacuum, not entirely sure what would happen next. Nothing could have been worse than 2020, but 2021 wasn't far off. At the start of the year there was hope that the cloud of Covid could be shaken off and we would all become happy folks in the Land of Smiles again, but it didn't quite work out that way -- it's the hope that kills you.

• OPINION

  Foreign noses always good for a laugh

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/12/2021

  » Today's column is coming from the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum to where I periodically escape for a break from Bangkok. There was a quick reminder that I was no longer in the Big Mango while sitting in a village restaurant with my wife and friends. A Thai lad about 5 years old came up to our table and stared at me for a bit and giggled. I might add this is not an unusual reaction to Crutch in the provinces.

• OPINION

  A chimp that became a space pioneer

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 31/01/2021

  » Today marks the 60th anniversary of the first chimpanzee in space. Not a lot of people know that.

• OPINION

  The milkman who became a secret agent

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/11/2020

  » To briefly escape from the US election mayhem, an appreciation of actor Sean Connery who died last week aged 90, seems to be in order. I had somehow thought Connery would go on forever, just like the Bond films. It is an intriguing tale of an Edinburgh milkman who became the most famous fictional spy in the world.

• OPINION

  Early encounters with the Nite Owl

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/10/2020

  » A few words on former colleague Bernard Trink, who sadly passed away last week at the age of 89.

• OPINION

  Thailand will always remain amazing

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 30/06/2019

  » I must admit to thinking that the "Amazing Thailand" slogan was a bit over the top when it was first introduced by the tourism authorities about two decades ago. But over the years I have grown quite fond of it in a funny sort of way, probably because it is more or less accurate.

• OPINION

  Why 1967 wasn't just about the Beatles

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/06/2017

  » While writing about the 50th anniversary of Sgt Pepper a fortnight ago, it soon became apparent that 1967 was quite a remarkable year for a whole host of reasons aside from the Lonely Hearts Club Band. A quick glance at what was going on in 1967 might evoke a few memories among fellow wrinklies.

• OPINION

  Are you sure you're in the right job?

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/05/2017

  » Following last week's column on the perils of picking mushrooms, I received an email from a professional mushroomologist. I thought he might embark on heroic tales from the forests and how to avoid poisonous varieties of fungi. However, his advice was quite blunt. He admitted the mushrooms he consumes "have to come wrapped in cling film in an environmentally unfriendly polystyrene carton and from an air-conditioned establishment with a name like Sainsbury's, Tesco's, Waitrose etc".

• OPINION

  Time to chill out with the best of British

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/11/2016

  » In addition to those welcome cool November breezes, an annual reminder that the year is drawing to a close is the Ploenchit Fair, which takes place next Saturday at Bangkok Patana School on Sukhumvit Soi 105.

• OPINION

  In Thailand, there’s no need to go abroad

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/01/2016

  » Earlier this week I experienced a reminder that if you are living in Thailand you don’t necessarily have to travel abroad to experience world-famous sites. Just let those attractions come to you.

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