Ashleylister

LATEST ARTICLES ( 2178 )

• Poetry Readings - A Night at the Brewery Arts Centre

  

  The first time I stood at the microphone to share my own poem I was scared to death. At my request I was given an early slot before nerves might get the better... Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Poetry Readings

  

  When I was at school, which was a sink comprehensive in Liverpool, three things were definitely not ‘cool’; supporting Everton F.C., liking poetry and reading... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Who You Gonna Call?

  

  In the early 1960s the world felt like a much more dangerous place than it does today. That is probably not the case in reality (what with the spread of... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Who You Gonna Call?

  

  The Parable of the Good Samaritan25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”2... Read more

  Posted on 29 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Who You Gonna Call? - Not a Local M.P.

  

  Who you gonna call? Best friend? Tradesman? I suppose it depends on the nature of the crisis, what anger needs venting or what message needs to be passed on, bu... Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Buttons

  

  You didn't really expect me to write about buttons did you? Good. Then this could be my shortest ever post (LOL). It's all about the poem this week, but I will... Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Button Box Envy

  

  There is something fascinating about collections of buttons...a bit like looking at precious stones. You want to rummage through them, admire them, covet them! Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Language Of Buttons To Brood XIII

  

  There are buttons for clothes, buttons to push and chocolate buttons to savour. One can be asked to button up their lips to be quiet. On a rocky boat, better... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Language Of Labour

  

  The jewel of the north (and in fact the whole of Lancashire) went into Tier 3 Lockdown at midnight. But however depressing that is, don't be misled by the... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Mind Your Language - Wash Your Mouth Out!

  

  That soap. I can still remember the taste and the smell. Green Palmolive rubbed hard in my mouth by my very angry mother. All I said was ‘bugger or buggery’... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Sea, The Sea

  

  I've named today's blog twice, in imitation and recognition of Iris Murdoch's Booker Prize winning novel of 1978, because I happen to be re-reading The Sea,... Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Sea

  

  We are very fortunate in this country that no place is far from the sea. I was brought up in Aberdeen, but our house was on the very boundary of the city so we... Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Sea

  

  I was born in Blackpool in 1958 and I there is nothing that inspires me more than a drive along the promenade - car indows open, wind blowing the waves. Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Magic Has Never Dimmed

  

  Anybody who knows me, knows how much I love the sea. Not sailing on it. That’s a totally different story. And not swimming in it unless it’s several thousand... Read more

  Posted on 07 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Sea - My Bit of Blackpool

  

  When my parent's wish for a pub on Blackpool promenade was granted, I had the joy of having a front bedroom facing the sea. I was fascinated by the view. Read more

  Posted on 06 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Shakers & Makers

  

  Hmm - an odd title but I'm going to give it a go, if you'll indulge me in some reflections about those bad boys and girls of Greek divinity, shakers and makers... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Shakers And Makers

  

  “To understand history, you have to go on reading till you can hear people talking”, says James Campbell in ‘The Anglo Saxons’. At the start of the Covid... Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Face Furniture

  

  This is very bad! Six months after we first went into Covid-19-induced lockdown, the jewel of the north finds itself in lockdown again, as of midnight just... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Sideboards

  

  Some time after we moved to Scotland from London my parents bought a dining suite comprising an extending table with 6 chairs and a sideboard. These items were... Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION

• Sideboards

  

  The first thing that sprang to mind when I thought of sideboards was: if there are sideboards, were there just originally boards? Well yes, there were. Read more

  Posted on 24 September 2020 BOOKS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, SELF EXPRESSION