Has anyone else been watching the wonderful Yotam Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Feast? For those who aren’t familiar with him, Yotam is one half of the excellent Ottolenghi deli/cafés that have popped up in recent years in smarter parts of London. Yotam is Israeli and his business partner, Sami Tamimi, is Palestinian ... Read More...

Frank experiences Maryland culture at a transatlantic Dabbler summit - and then teaches the Americans a thing or two about British culture... I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas. But instead of being the claws, I was staring at them, piled high ... Read More...

Jonathon introduces Henry Mayhew: contemporary of Dickens, literary phenomenon, pioneer sociologist and hero of slang... The lexicographer records the vocabulary of slang, but, unless their dictionaries also  offer citations, they cannot properly record its use. The sources for 19th century slang are widespread but a relatively small proportion of these report ... Read More...

Last month's Dabbler Book Choice was Ian McEwan tricksy new spy story Sweet Tooth. Here's Brit's review. To be in with a chance of getting your hands on future giveaways, sign up to the Dabbler Book Club today! Pictured above is The Interior of the British Institution Gallery, a painting of paintings within ... Read More...

Nige resurrects a comic monster... The other day I found my mind turning to the Lancastrian comedian Frank Randle. I've been uneasily fascinated with this monster of comedy ever since reading King Twist: A Portrait of Frank Randle by - of all people - Jeff Nuttall, whose Bomb Culture was on ... Read More...

Does The Lone Star State want to go it alone? As you may have noticed, following the recent re-election of Barack Obama, many Americans got a bit upset. Indeed, they were so upset that they did what people do nowadays whenever they are outraged: they went on the Internet and grumbled ... Read More...

Steve, the Fire Training Officer, had tattooed arms, a sovereign ring and beautiful long eyelashes. My fellow trainee Fire Marshall whispered that she was jealous of the lashes. Looking closer, I could see what she meant; he had the eyes of Audrey Hepburn. In all other respects Steve was impeccably ... Read More...

Did Beethoven and Tchaikovsky write any bad music? Yes, says Mahlerman, but he loves it anyway. Here are his guilty pleasures... I'm on thin ice this week; I don't think I really know what I'm talking about.  A painting or a book is a physical object that we 'read' with interest, ... Read More...

You may have read the excoriating email that retired naval officer, Nick Crews, sent to his three children, complaining of his “bitter disappointment” with their “copulation driven” self-indulgence? Reading this made me want to have a rant of my own on the issue of modern manners – or rather, lack of ... Read More...

There’s a new self-help book out, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking. The nub of the thesis appears to be as follows: ...saying positive affirmations to yourself in the mirror can make you feel worse and … visualizing the future can make you less likely to achieve ... Read More...