To Poland, to one of those towns that has had at least a couple of names over the last hundred years, and more than one population. No matter how successful Poland becomes – and it is a very successful place – I wonder whether it will ever dispel the atmosphere ... Read More...
About Author Profile: Bill
On his birthday we pay tribute to a great actor - and one of life's scrappers. Dustin Hoffman celebrates three-quarters of a century this month. Obviously a great actor, but just as obviously quite funny looking. He had to wait until he was 29 for his break - in The Graduate ... Read More...
Last weekend I was back in the Cotswold village I’ve recently given up calling home (I’m now resigned to being a Londoner – it’s bringing little Londoners into the world that does it). I was impressed once again with how much booze the residents manage to put away. I asked ... Read More...
A collection of archival clips puts to shame a seedy corner of today's TV... I just caught a wonderful programme on BBC4. That's a sentence I could write a few times a week: the channel's worth the licence fee alone, unlike that nice Mr Attenborough who used to be, but has ... Read More...
If you're back at the office and feeling a little rough after the long Jubilee weekend, take consolation from the Dabbler archives, as editor Gaw recalls a strange night of vodka-fuelled Russian hospitality... A Russian doctor takes the connoisseur's approach to combining vodka and food: Russian men drink vodka shots. They drink vodka with gusto while making ... Read More...
Something to tide you over our epically wet drought. A couple of days a week I wander to work through the back-streets of Chelsea, between the Kings Road and the river. They must be some of the most charming streets to be found in any city; pricey charm though - I ... Read More...
In the second of our Easter Sunday posts we explore a flower-covered car wreck and a rain-sodden graveyard to consider what Easter has meant to two of our grumpiest poets. I keep returning to the two Thomases - Hardy and R.S. - even though they must be two of the most ... Read More...
Gaw recalls a Welshman who was a self-made hero to some, a self-romanticising show-off to others. Brit's clip of Richard Burton reading Under Milk Wood from Lazy Sunday Afternoon the other week sent me looking for more opportunities to hear that voice. Here's a spell-binding excerpt from an interview where he talks about mining. ... Read More...
The Dabbler is proud to draw your attention to a prize, which, for the avoidance of doubt, is not an invention of Mr Frank Key. The shortlist for The Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year has been announced. It contains seven titles "one more than the traditional ... Read More...
Gaw ponders the attractions of the Big Event. Everyone knows that we philistine Brits only queue overnight for things like the Next Boxing Day sale, Centre Court Wimbledon tickets or squatting rights to a pavement stone with a view of the latest royal matching or despatching. So what's all this about ... Read More...
