How many of your Christmas gifts were made in China? Ongoing upgrades in transport and technology will no doubt make the world an even smaller place in 2012. Translation innovation think tank, TAUS, believes that translation will become a ubiquitous service, “like the internet, electricity, and water, translation is one of ... Read More...
RetroProgressive
Dabbler style
As a Christmas treat, The Dabbler briefly goes 3D and with a very special seasonal slideshow (glasses not provided). 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… If you ever owned a 3D View-Master, you may be familiar with this endearing ... Read More...
Just over a year ago, I wrote a post on the subject of primeval style and the new Dark Ages. The design world seems to have picked up on this trend. For those wishing to kit out a cave, or adopt a primordial lifestyle, product designers have come up with ... Read More...
The annual Handel’s Messiah concert at St Paul’s Cathedral had a somewhat more edgy vibe this year. Tent City turned out to be a much shabbier type of encampment than I’d envisaged from the press. In the twenty minutes that I waited outside the cathedral, being blasted by the icy ... Read More...
Travellers in need of a good night’s sleep are hardly likely to want to stay at the nearest station hotel. And, if you’re a regular commuter, you certainly won’t relish the thought of a room that looks out onto a station concourse… These are some of the reasons why I ... Read More...
A couple of months ago, our building suffered a series of power cuts due to a faulty circuit breaker. I hadn’t realized quite how much we depend upon electricity. The first outage struck at around 10.30 am. My laptop had about half an hour’s charge before it went dead. I ... Read More...
I mentioned London’s Brixton Market a while ago in an article on upmarket markets. Brixton, a survivor of the original riots, remains relatively unharmed by the ‘how to spend it,’ designer-crazed brigade. Ignore the armed police standing guard outside the underground station, the mega-sized branches of KFC and McDonalds - ... Read More...
In London, almost every other tree seems to have a ‘low trees’ sign. The other day, I was driving along wondering what bus drivers did, not so long ago, before these ridiculously obtrusive signs were erected… Then I thought of an amusing challenge for fellow Dabblers: How about dabbling in a ... Read More...
A legion of new poppies has sprouted, thanks to some rather dubious rebranding.There’s no denying that all monies raised are in aid of a very worthy cause, but shouldn’t a little more respect be paid to the timelessly understated and universally recognized, bog standard Royal British Legion poppy? Personally, I ... Read More...
Over the coming week there are two major celebrations, but why has Halloween become so much more popular than Guy Fawkes Night in the UK? In view of current concerns over the preservation of our nation’s official faith, it seems odd that more is not made of Guy Fawkes Night, as ... Read More...
