Despite his reputation as the World's Grumpiest Poet, R.S. Thomas wrote a number of lovely, short Christmas poems. Our resident Dabbler Verse expert Stephen Pentz offers a compendium... The word that comes to mind when I think of R. S. Thomas is fierce. However, having said that, I feel that I ... Read More...
Christmas
From Bugs Bunny to a zombie apocalypse version, producers have been resurrecting and then murdering Dickens' Christmas ghosts for many years... I had suspected there were a lot but it was not until researching an article on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for sofa.com that I discovered just how many adaptations ... Read More...
Merry Christmas to all our readers! In lieu of a card, here are some Christmas memories from the Dabbler Editorial staff, plus some lovely music... Gaw - Arguments About War Some of my fondest Christmas memories are of the arguments (and I don’t mean rows). There was a golden period for arguing: two ... Read More...
Professor Nick Groom explains the English tradition of the Christmas Eve ghost story... The nights are long and dark, the wind is bitter chill, the leafless trees are rimed with ice: winter has arrived with a sudden ferocity. What better than to lock the doors, curl up beside a log fire, ... Read More...
Christmas in America is a-comin' already - and Rita isn't too happy about it... “Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells” sang the little boys in the back seat, loud and enthusiastic rather than tuneful. “Really boys,” I interrupted, “it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!” I tried to interest them in a made-up turkey song, ... Read More...
Stephen brings you some poetry for Christmas Eve... Christina Rossetti's best-known poem is usually sung or listened to, not read. I suspect that many of those who sing or listen to the verses are not aware that they were written by Rossetti. Here is the first stanza of the poem: In the ... Read More...
Tired of Wizzard and Cliff? Here’s some alternative festive fare…. Scientific studies show that nobody can bear to listen to any of the standard Christmas pop hits (Slade, Band Aid etc) after 9am on Boxing Day. But here we are, still in bloody Christmas, so what to do on a musical ... Read More...
After reading this post, singing about a partridge in a pear tree will never be quite the same again... Twelve drummers drumming, Eleven pipers piping, Ten lords a-leaping, Nine ladies dancing, Eight maids a-milking, Seven swans a-swimming, Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings, Four calling birds, Three French hens, Two turtle doves, And a partridge in a pear tree! So they do sing. ... Read More...
Exiled in the US, Rita attempts to import an English Christmas... We don’t have Boxing Day in America, but it’s probably just a matter of time before we adopt it as we have so many other English Christmas customs over the years I’ve lived here. Christmas was a rather sad time ... Read More...
As is now a Dabbler tradition, here's Brit's Christmas poem... Ghosts of Christmas Christmas, like revenge or copulation, Is mostly fun in the anticipation. It’s weeks, it’s days, and now it’s here, it’s here! And now it’s gone, in a haze of port and beer, And leaves you wondering where the hell it went. Children learn this ... Read More...
