• News & article

  The remarkable lady from Nutbush

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/05/2023

  » Tributes have poured in for Tina Turner who sadly passed away at the age of 83 this week in Switzerland. I would like to add a small, if inadequate thank you to this wonderful performer who brought such joy to millions. In addition to having a great talent she was also a lovely lady and her Buddhist faith played a strong role in her life. Tina had soul.

• News & article

  It's hard to beat a bit of Idle chatter

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/08/2021

  » Thanks to readers for pointing out that in a recent column on quaint place names I failed to mention the village of Idle, now a suburb of Bradford, West Yorkshire.

• News & article

  There's no excuse to be lost for words

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/06/2021

  » It is always nice to come across new words and last week I discovered a tiny treasure trove of fancy locution thanks to the Grandiloquent website which specialises in flowery, but genuine language. Grandiloquent means a "pompous or extravagant style of language" and there is plenty of that about.

• News & article

  Reflections on a love supreme

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/10/2017

  » Observing the overwhelming sense of grief of the Thai people from all walks of life during the cremation ceremonies for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, it is an appropriate time for reflection.

• News & article

  Things are livening up in Dull and Boring

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/09/2017

  » Readers who have been following the gripping saga of Dull and Boring will be pleased to learn there have been exciting developments in these previously somewhat somnolent communities.

• News & article

  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".

• News & article

  We can’t all speak like the two Kates

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/06/2014

  » The BBC reported recently on a 600-pupil school in north London where there are 42 different languages spoken in the playground. Now that’s what you call cosmopolitan. You can even hear the odd word of English if you listen hard.

• News & article

  A great escape, or a comedy of errors?

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/06/2013

  » Every now and again you come across a story in Thailand that you couldn't make up if you tried. If you've been attempting to make sense of the case of the disappearing German ex-convict Carlo Konstantin Kohl, while under the escort of Australian civilian security guards at Suvarnabhumi airport, you will know what I mean. He is now back in custody, but it's one of those tales that grew more and more bewildering by the day.

• News & article

  You simply can't beat a good cup of tea

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 03/03/2013

  » In a letter to ''Postbag'' during the week a reader attributed his mother's longevity partly to having a taste for ''expensive tea''. This is encouraging news, as I can't get started in the morning without a couple of cups _ OK, mugs _ of English breakfast tea, which definitely isn't cheap.

• News & article

  Season's greetings, or maybe it's bleatings

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 23/12/2012

  » It is, of course, the Jinger Ben season in Thailand, and anyone who hasn't heard that jolly refrain in recent days must have invested in earplugs, not a bad idea in Bangkok. But considering all the depressing news of late, the festive season is actually something of a welcome break before we return to grim reality. And the sight of those lovely department store salesgirls with their reindeer ears and silly Santa hats, always raises the spirits.

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