Ashleylister

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1616 )

• Tensions

  

  Today is an anniversary of sorts. On this Saturday eight years ago, I first set eyes on my house on the strand. I was looking to buy a property in Blackpool... Read more

  Posted on 10 April 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Tension. A Nation Hooked

  

  I am a self-confessed TV competition junkie. I love my daily dose of The Chase and binge watch programmes like Bake off, Master Chef, The Great Pottery Throw... Read more

  Posted on 08 April 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Retiring Minds

  

  Last Easter, which was a week later than this one, we were already into our first national Coronavirus lockdown. What a bizarre twelve months it has proved to... Read more

  Posted on 03 April 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Out To Grass

  

  I flick through the retirement home pages: Twilight House, Sunset Days, Dunhopin’, Road’s End, Rest Easy, Nearly Home. It’s hard to choose. There are none I fee... Read more

  Posted on 01 April 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Retirement - Just Go With The Flow

  

  Retirement. That’s the time to wind down, take up a stress free hobby, go for gentle walks, watch daytime TV and meet friends for long lunches, right? Wrong.... Read more

  Posted on 31 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Retirement - Bring It On!

  

  I looked forward to retiring at sixty, as many of us did, and then, a bolt from the blue took away plans and wishes and sat firmly on our state pension for... Read more

  Posted on 30 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Doorstep Challenge

  

  They can be seen sleeping rough on the doorsteps of thousands of buildings across the country any night of the week, an indictment of our society. How many... Read more

  Posted on 29 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Cat On The Doorstep

  

  Well, once again I am going to feature the cat that visited me for four years. It was a surprise, for I had only recently buried my well-loved cat in the garden. Read more

  Posted on 26 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Coming In, Going Out, Kept There

  

  Definitely 'Kept There'Yes, women and housemaids did go down on their knees to scrub the doorstep; streets were dirtier in the old days, boots were stamped on... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• On The Doorstep

  

  Every morning I go out for a walk to freshen myself up for the day. It could be along the river path or by the allotments or over the old bridge. Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• On the Doorstep - Stretford 1958

  

  Stretford, 1958, me, my mum, my nanna and my great grandmother, Nanna Polly grouped together for a family photograph on the doorstep of Nanna Polly’s house. Read more

  Posted on 23 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• O.n.c.e.

  

  Despite the arrival of meteorological Spring, inspiration and enthusiasm are running a bit low this week-end, probably a sign that it's been a long old... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Once In A Blue Moon

  

  What does once mean? For the characters in the children’s book Once in a Blue Moon, who were all gargoyles from a university college, apart from Doctor... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Mini Eggs

  

  There have been some tremendous blogs this past week about tiny toy animals, dolls' houses, miniature vehicles, books and pictures, as well as theories seeking... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• It's a Small World

  

  This week's theme is 'miniatures'. Obviously young children are enthralled by small figures, animals, vehicles etc that they can hold in their hands, move... Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Miniatures

  

  The human race has always hankered after extremes. In the same way that it has tried to climb the highest mountain, explore the profoundest depths of the... Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Magic of Miniature

  

  I’m not quite sure where or when my fascination with all things miniature began. I wonder whether it was the love of my grandma’s button tin, lining up the... Read more

  Posted on 10 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Miniature - Small and Perfectly Formed

  

  I’ve been fascinated by my friend’s collection of dolls houses since I first saw them a few years ago. They take up the longest wall in one of her upstairs... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Small Worlds

  

  My first recollection of anything miniature was a farm I was given for Christmas in 1967. I still have it. Everything that ‘lives’ on this farm is really small... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Reverses

  

  A few weeks ago I tortured my brain (and yours too, probably) with a blog and poems based on the palindrome. This week it's reverses - not nearly so... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2021 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION