HoHoHo, wishing a merry Nazi Christmas to all readers of The Dabbler and The Wikiworm! I'm looking forward to a 2014 full of questionable facts and eyebrow-raising articles from the deepest depths of Wikipedia. 2013 has been a blast, see you in the new year. The celebration of Christmas in Nazi ... Read More...
Year: 2013
The Dabbler apologises in advance for bringing you this frankly unforgivable story... The television presenter Adrian Chiles read the headline Porpoises rescue Dick Van Dyke and was consumed by jealousy. Ever since he was tiny, Chiles had hankered to feature in an exciting news story alongside sea creatures, and now his thunder ... Read More...
Toby Ash has just enjoyed a long weekend in Palermo. Just don’t mention the M word... From the moment you land, it’s pretty hard to avoid the mafia in Sicily. Palermo’s Falcone-Borsellino airport is named after two prominent judges slain in the early 1990s for successfully pursing the Cosa Nostra. On ... Read More...
Rita is struck by a Proustian recollection of her time in an eccentric 1950s orphanage... Last night I dreamt I went to Webbery again. The winding drive with massed rhododendrons on either side, the grey stone manor house shining in the moonlight… I’ve always wanted to write that. And it’s true. I ... Read More...
We enjoy a strange book, an imaginative, weird and uncategorisable exploration of the East London marshes... “What is this book?” you might ask on finishing it. Entertaining, enlightening and a fluent read, certainly. But as a whole it doesn’t fit any genre: ghost stories are mingled with memoir, local history with ... Read More...
At the science museum the girls were so absorbed in making rocket mice that Mrs B gave me leave to sneak off to the 11 o’clock Planetarium show. The Planetarium is housed in a giant mirrorball that sprouts like an abscess into Millennium Square. I slouched in a comfy seat ... Read More...
In this weekend's poetry feature Nige considers the use of enjambment... What is wrong with this poem? Why no! I never thought other than That God is that great absence In our lives, the empty silence Within, the place where we go Seeking, not in hope to Arrive or find. He keeps the interstices In our knowledge, the ... Read More...
The more I read this unusual wikipedia article, the less I understand. It seems to be some sort of situationist dadaesque wheeze for frenchmen who like to think that they're a bit 'kraaaazy'... 'Pataphysics is a philosophy or media theory dedicated to studying what lies beyond the realm of metaphysics. The ... Read More...
In this week's cupboard, some dreadful seaside ruffianism... A correspondent known only as C. L. S. had the following letter published in The Times on 16 August 1871: Sir, – On Monday last I had the misfortune of taking a trip per steamer to Margate. The sea was rough, the ship ... Read More...
Robert Mighall has travelled from the world of academic literature into that of brands and business. Here's why the boardroom needs to understand the relevance of a very old art form... About 2 years ago I was involved in an unsuccessful Annual Report pitch to a FTSE100 company. When they fed back ... Read More...
