I came a bit late to oysters: I was well into my twenties when I discovered I'd somehow lost a physical aversion to shellfish brought on by the catastrophic and surprisingly persistent consequences of a dodgy brochette de moule eaten on the harbour at Toulon as a boy. I've been trying ... Read More...

Stephen Clarke is the author of A Year in the Merde and numerous other books which take an irreverent look at the French and at Anglo-Gallic relations. In an exclusive post for The Dabbler, he explains why Les Rosbifs have been irritating their continental neighbours for a millennium... 1000 Years of ... Read More...

I think Mark gets the cream bun this week, but well done also to Jonathan, Steve, Gadjo and anyone else who got some of the elements. If you've given up, click continue for the full answer. 8524 ... Read More...

This week's fiendish Round Blogworld Quiz question (see the previous ones and their solutions here) has been sent in by expert puzzler Adelephant. As usual, find the link between these cryptic clues. A point for each item you get, and an imaginary cream bun if you get them all. If you ... Read More...

Our friends at Slightly Foxed (the real readers' quarterly - buy a subscription now!) have once again kindly allowed The Dabbler to dip into its rich archives. We have handpicked this gem for you from the Autumn 09 edition, in which author Andrew Martin looks at the 'Upmanship' books of Stephen Potter... I first encountered ... Read More...