Ashleylister

LATEST ARTICLES ( 2355 )

• Celebrity

  

  Some call it popularity, some call it celebrity, some call it fame. They are all pretty much the same thing, aren't they? And wasn't it Andy Warhol who first... Read more

  Posted on 21 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Celebrity

  

  I think that the most famous celebrity I’ve ever met was Seamus Heaney. He was coming out of a newsagent in Hay-on-Wye as I was going in. He said “Good... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lancashire Dead Good Poets' July Open Mic Night

  

  Summer's here, and coming soon is our July open mic night on zoom...You're most welcome to join us, either to read or just to listen in, wherever in the... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Barnacles

  

  . Not a very sexy topic, I think we can all agree. They are just like carbuncles (almost a pseudo-anagram) on the surface of any object that spends long enough... Read more

  Posted on 14 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Barnacles

  What with celebrating some significant birthdays (including mine) and the opening of a new bridge then time has been a bit of a problem this week. Especially... Read more

  Posted on 10 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Ancient Cities Of The Heart

  

  Earlier this week I had been thinking about the blog theme and what to write about ancient cities. When I woke from a dream (which I'll relate shortly) I had th... Read more

  Posted on 07 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Classical Cities

  

  I met Steve for lunch today and promised him a short blog and a poem for this week's theme. It was a great lunch, great pizza, great talk about Rome and the... Read more

  Posted on 05 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Ancient Cities

  

  Two of the problems when it comes to writing about ancient cities are a) what is ancient and b) what is a city. I was reading an article the other day that... Read more

  Posted on 03 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Transport

  

  I drove from Blackpool to Durham today, musing on the allotted blog theme of transport as I motored along. It was a beautiful morning. Read more

  Posted on 02 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Ancient Cities -- Bedrock

  

  Thinking of ancient cities and my lack of personal experience in the real world, took me back to childhood and my love for the cartooned world of the... Read more

  Posted on 02 June 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Transport

  

  This morning I strolled along the river path to the newsagent to pick up my newspapers. Exactly the same mode of transport that I would have used 5,000 years... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lancashire Dead Good Poets' June Open Mic Night

  

  Never be eclipsed. Our next open mic night on zoom is for you, if you'd like to join us. Details below -You don't have to be from Lancashire. Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Tax

  

  Preston might seem an unlikely source for one of the most famous quotations about tax, but Christopher Bullock's one act comedy 'The Cobbler of Preston' (1716)... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Tax

  

  For me one of the more irritating phrases used in the media is Tax Burden. I’m with the American Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr who stated "I... Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Old School/New School

  

  I'm going with a literal approach to theme this week in blogging about my old school - which also happened to be a new school in premises barely three years... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Old School

  

  Britain’s oldest schools offer a remarkable window into the country’s religious, political and educational history. Long before the modern school system emerged... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Old School

  

  I attended Elmslie Girls’ Independent Grammar School here in Blackpool, founded by two sisters named Brodie and sited on Whitegate Drive in a substantial... Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Old School

  

  There is old and there is old. The oldest schools in continuous operation are the Shishi High School, 143 BCE, in Chengdu, China and The King’s School,... Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Old School - New Technology

  

  One of my grandchildren is doing Key Stage 2 Standard Assessment Tests, otherwise known as KS2 SATs exams this week. He’s on track, so I’m sure he will be... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Old School

  

  I recently asked AI about myself. It told me was I was one of the leading figures in educational developments in the twentieth century, which came as a... Read more

  Posted on 11 May 2026 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION