• OPINION

  A new year and a new experience

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/01/2012

  » At my age, any new sensation tends to be an ache or a pain, but this year on New Year's Day, I was up and about at six in the morning, which was definitely a new experience. I hasten to add this wasn't because I hadn't made it to bed after a night's revelry. Admittedly in the past there have been occasions when I've seen dawn rise on Jan 1 before hitting the sack. But this was a genuine early rise and shine occasion. Some explanation is needed for this unnatural behaviour.

• OPINION

  The festival that never seems to end

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/04/2012

  » Songkran appears to have been going on for even longer than usual this year. There's an awful lot of city folks who disappeared a week ago for a ''long weekend'' and haven't been seen since. They probably won't be spotted again until the end of the week, which no doubt will be just in time for another long weekend.

• OPINION

  Hot and maybe a little bothered

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 06/05/2012

  » It was Oscar Wilde who observed: ''conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative''. He might have had a point, but it means there have been a lot of unimaginative folk in Thailand lately. I can hardly recall a conversation in recent weeks without a reference to the heat. It definitely has been ''a bit on the warm side''.

• OPINION

  Thailand welcomes the creator of 'inspired silliness'

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 02/12/2012

  » Unless you've been in hibernation, you will be aware that Thailand has been graced by the presence of Korea's Psy, whose Gangnam Style song and dance routine is the most-watched video in YouTube history.

• OPINION

  They're flogging a dead horse in Europe

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 17/02/2013

  » Horses, or to be more specific, dead horses, have been galloping away with the headlines in Europe this week following revelations that horse meat has been turning up on dinner plates, masquerading as beef in bolognaise (or ''bologneighs'', as it has become known), lasagne, burgers and assorted creations featuring mincemeat. The expression ''I'm so hungry I could eat a horse'' has taken on a whole new relevance.

• OPINION

  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.

• OPINION

  A dip in Hua Hin, 44 years ago today

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 14/04/2013

  » It is not often I can remember where I was four days ago, let alone 44 years, but a sorry-looking diary confirms that on April 14, 1969, I was in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin. The place was jammed with Songkran holidaymakers, but virtually no foreigners. I had only been in Thailand a few days and hadn't a clue what was going on. I had seen people throwing water at one another, but thought maybe it's what they did all the time just to keep cool.

• OPINION

  Blowing the whistle on the whistle-blowers

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/11/2013

  » One would think a highly lucrative business to be involved in at the moment in Thailand must be making whistles. You can't go anywhere in Bangkok without someone blowing a wretched whistle at you, whether it be protesters on the streets or those irritating guards directing traffic outside hotels and parking lots.

• OPINION

  Thai railways back on track ... well, sort of

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 15/12/2013

  » Good news from the State Railway of Thailand. Since they reopened the northern route a fortnight ago, only one train has fallen off the rails, which isn't bad going for them.

• OPINION

  It must be cold when hell freezes over

  News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 12/01/2014

  » The Arctic-like conditions in much of the US this past week put into perspective somewhat the ''cold spell'' Thailand experienced over the festive season. When it gets cold in the US, it really gets cold.

1 2 3 4 5 6 Next Last