Whether you celebrate it or not, Valentine’s Day is becoming more commercial every year. And it seems to be getting weirder too. With just a few days to go, here are some gruesome gift ideas that will send a shudder down your spine… First up, from Ireland, a cojoined twins pin ... Read More...
Shopping
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...
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...
This time next year it will already be over. So how will we keep our memories of the 2012 Olympics alive? By shopping for souvenirs, of course. On visiting the Museum of 1951 at the Royal Festival Hall recently, I was struck by the high quality handiwork and timeless design ... Read More...
Susan is taking a well-earned holiday this week - her first since The Dabbler's inception last year - so here's one from the Retroprogressive archives... Rumour has it that fashionably retro-progressive gents are investing in the priceless heritage of a bygone era. For those who want to go one better than ... Read More...
Dabbler wine correspondent Henry Jeffreys reports on the new breed of wine merchants... Do you remember when bookshops started sprouting coffee shops? People will come for a coffee, browse and end up buying a book or so the logic went. Something similar is happening with wine merchants. Traditionally they were forbidding ... Read More...
The selection of apples available in Waitrose last week looked like this: There were plenty of varieties to choose from, but not one of them had been grown in the UK. And why aren't there any simple fold-up picnic chairs in either of my two local two branches of Homebase, or in ... Read More...
Sunday June 19th is Father’s Day. We’ve asked our style columnist, Susan Muncey from online curiosity shop ShopCurious, to suggest some uniquely retroprogressive gifts. As Dabblers are a highly cultured bunch, with a wide variety of interests, I’ve tried to reflect this in an eclectic array of gifts for Father’s Day:The ... Read More...
Dabbler Correspondent Toby Ash was left bemused whilst shopping on a flight from Boston to Atlanta. On an internal flight during a recent short break in the United States, I pulled out my notebook and pen to scribble down some thoughts on the key differences between Americans and Brits. But as ... Read More...