Nige discovers something rather strange of the Isle of Man... So there I was, reading - for reasons that now escape me - the Wikipedia entry on the defunct BBC magazine The Listener, when I stumbled on something that made me rub my eyes in disbelief. I quote:  The first editor, Richard ... Read More...

Got some horrible old milk in your fridge? Just turn it into something lovely!... There’s something smugly pleasing about turning an inedible lump of food waste that was destined for the bin into a slab of tasty sponge cake. Albeit, only smugly pleasing if I ignore the fact that I allowed ... Read More...

In the sports hall a thin middle-aged man called Richard was hopping up and down on one leg while holding his arms out to twist an imaginary steering wheel. Before him, an unruly row of four-year olds enthusiastically tried to copy, with mixed results. And seated behind the children was ... Read More...

There was much more to Thomas Hardy than pessimism, as Edward Thomas observed... Edward Thomas knew English poetry backwards and forwards.  Not surprisingly, therefore, his comments on particular poets are very perceptive.  When it comes to the poetry of Thomas Hardy, Thomas (as is the case with anyone who reads the ... Read More...

  It's a good thing that the majority of today's weird Wikipedia article is copy and pasted, as there is not a chance that I would have been able to type this story out manually... Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff, Sr. (Wolfe+585, Senior) was the short name of a Philadelphian typesetter, who held the ... Read More...

This week Frank goes for a walk in London... The other day I was walking through the City of London and as I turned on to Crutched Friars I almost collided with a friar on crutches. “Oi! Watch where you’re going!” he shouted. “I do beg your pardon,” I said, for I am ... Read More...

Douglas muses on life, death and the meaning of Lou Reed ... You might have mistaken the cars out the window for lumps of sugar. A series of winter storms had come down from the Gulf of Alaska and dropped enough snow on Seattle to enforce a five-day hibernation. Queen Anne ... Read More...

For some years now, Dr M von Vogelhausen has been the go-to reviewer on Amazon UK. We're delighted to welcome him to The Dabbler, where we'll be showcasing some of his invaluable assessments of books, electronic devices and other goods. Never buy anything again unless Dr M has tested it ... Read More...

A few years ago bookseller Steerforth came across a remarkable diary, which he began to publish on his blog and which we now serialise on The Dabbler. If you're new to Derek, you can catch up with the previous instalments here... I looked at frilly nightdresses and underclothes today in a ... Read More...

Forced to move house, Daniel was facing the dreaded prospect of a book clearout. Luckily he managed to find a novel solution... This week I have been moving house, as my landlord decided to sell the building I was living in. It’s been a major pain in the neck, especially as ... Read More...