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Other
Dabbers
I
NOTE that if you enter the word Dabber in an Internet search engine you
are pointed to sailing websites, among others.
I
drew a blank on why Drascombe Dabbers were so called. The boat's name was chosen
by the builders in 1971.
The
builders were Honnor Marine who formerly built Drascombe Boats in Totnes, Devon.
The boat could be beached without shipping the rudder - a bone of
contention with early Lugger owners, apparently. The late John Watkinson was a retired Royal
Navy officer when he designed the Dabber. He grew up on the Wirral and could well
have known the name for Nantwich people. The boat name
could
have been chosen because it was alliteration. Another theory was that it was
something to do with the way ducks feed. My thanks to Mr Luke Churchouse, former
MD of Honnor Marine, Kate Watkinson, widow of the designer, and especially Tim
Lodge, webmaster of Drascombe
Association website, for all their help.
THE
name crops up in other fields, too.
lPeople who are good at something
are said to be "dab hands". As I was saying (above) about the wattle and
daubers . . .
lDabbers are
used in painting, plate making for artistic prints and for taking brass rubbings. In antique
map making they were used to rub ink into the incised parts of the printing
plate.
lIt is the name of the broad pen used by bingo players to mark, on their
bingo card, the numbers that have been called off (there is even an auto
dabber!). I suppose anything that you dab with is a
dabber . . .
lIt is a name given by grammar schools, etc, to a mortar
board.
lNot unnaturally, when
Clewlow's, the Nantwich butchers, devised a
pork, cheese and pickle pie they gave it the name Dabber - cheese being an
important local product.
lI have even seen the
children's treat called a sherbet dabber - although I always called it a sherbet
dab.
lAlex Johnson's village games page on the Burn
Family
website tells us a dabber was used in the game of hopscotch. He says: "The
skill was throwing the 'dabber'
into the circle you needed. Starting from one you had to go to eight, hopping in
each circle without touching a line. Having mastered this game you went on to
"Hitchy Dabber". This was a very diflicult game and certainly
strengthened your leg muscles. You had to hop on one leg and kick the dabber
into each numbered circle without it landing on a line. The dabber was a piece
of flat sandstone or tile and was carried in our pockets so we could play the
game at any time." [Incidentally, if you use the link above, select
Contents and then Village Games. The link only takes you as far as the home
page.]
NOTHING to do with the origin of Dabber, but
interesting nonetheless:
AN actress called Tisha Dabber was born in
Shelbeyville, Indiana, USA,
on December 14, 1977.
In Charles Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby", these lines appear: "Kate's
picture, too, would be in at least half-a-dozen of the annuals, and on the
opposite page would appear, in delicate type, 'Lines on contemplating the
Portrait of Lady Mulberry Hawk. By Sir Dingleby Dabber'."
There are others listings on the Internet. Make a search some time.
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