Pagan. Greek learner. Welsh. Cursed by poetry, with no hope the night will end. At least, not in this incarnation. Έτσι είναι η ζωή. I feel old, and weary. Time is an illusion. The same phrase, always, in my heart: "I want to go home " Header: Wheel of Hekate; white patterned, perforated disc, on "starfield" background Avatar: black & white image, dark background; bearded male, short hair, round spectacles, pipe in mouth, staring at camera. Side of head to left of image in shadow.
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2026-08-17T12:39:49Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…hgrn Agreed. I am often faced with statements like: "Everyone [thinks] [does] [likes] etc..." Then the other person gets annoyed when I say: "Firstly, how do you know? Secondly, as I am not everyone, why should I care?" npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/117/011/255/809/723/429/original/6e91abb75447de3e.mp4 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Indeed – I know the dilemma. There can also be the issue of whether they need to be asked in a certain order. Anyhow, I take it you have waded through the Slough of Despond and arrived on dry land with a list... 😁 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz ... and you did come back. Goody...! 😄 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz 😆 I can put it it into Welsh valleyspeak, if you prefer, but thought I would be a little more delicate. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz The "getting wrong thoughts" you mean? Probably less common an issue. Don't put up with any nonsense, though. No job is worth that. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I have no doubt you are a perfectly capable researcher. I always tell my employer that I can deal with any volume, but I refuse to kill myself, and the more I'm overloaded, the longer it will take. Our work is likely very different, but if you feel the need to bounce around ideas of how to manage it, feel free. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…q3wd That sounds more sinister than stealing your words... 😆 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…q3wd I have converted mine to e-pub via Libre Office and Calibre. It is a fiddly process, and formatting does not, necessarily, survive as you want it. I think there is a programme called Sigil that can convert, but I've not tried it. I would tend to do it myself even when uploading to KDP or Kobo, as, at least, I know it will end up as near as possible to how I want it, rather than trusting their processes. But I do nothing overly complicated like links, footnotes... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…q3wd I did not intend to rob you of your words, honest, guv... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft #ScribesAndMakers 7th Jul 2026. What do you find compelling in a podcast? If you don't like podcasts, is there anything that could make you interested? Nothing compelling. Nothing known to pique my interest, given I have never listened to one. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft Timescales © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #SJAshcroftsPoems #poems #poetry #PoetryCommunity #MyWordsMyWork https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/739/600/170/921/124/original/f8c4ac65e624bd02.jpeg npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…54eq @nprofile…hq00 Thank you. I don't go quite as far as @nprofile…hgrn with her "I'll publish when I'm dead" (though that seems to be the best approach for commercial "success"...! 😆 ), but I would (and do) write stuff even if it may never be seen by anyone else. I suppose I see art as an expression of the individual soul, even something cathartic, if need be. But never a popularity contest. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…hq00 Actually, he was not interested in the financials - he sold a few, but it was never his priority. His words were purely observational as an indictment of the attitude that seems to prevail among those who consider themselves connoisseurs of art. It was his first love and what he went back to when ill health meant he could no longer work. My attitude toward writing is similar. Who cares whether I ever sell anything? I write for my purposes, not as a commercial endeavour. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…hq00 My father was an artist, in oils and water colours - in his later years. As a young man, he had the chance of going to art school, but in those days there was no finance and the family needed him to work. Anyhow, he would often comment that, as an unknown artist, it did not matter what he created. It would never be regarded as of value. If he became well known, it still would not matter because he could then chuck mud at a wall and it would be judged brilliant. Strange world. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…hq00 It leads into some logical acrobatics, seems to me. I am unsympathetic toward machine generated stuff - at least, unless the source material is fed into the machine by the artist for the purpose of modification. But... If an item is produced from art, it must be based on art. Perhaps it "contains" or "references" art, even though it should not exist, for any number of reasons. I suppose it also impinges on the question of what is art. Is it purely in the eye of the beholder? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…nety Non-reconstructionist Hellene here, if that is not too much of a mouthful. Also seen a succession of online pagan communities wither away (Dragonswood, UKPagan). We're still out there, somewhere... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…exag Job creation is not the same as cutting welfare and health, if that is what is being mooted. And yes, it's a problem, now, even for the highly qualified. Maybe something to do with too much wealth hogged by very few. Tax the arses off them. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Trying some ancient recipes? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft Smoke Take each thoughtless word each malicious act, hidden from a foolish world; cast them on an altar built to sacrifice our own hearts. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #tanka #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Don't need to... https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/569/623/339/249/237/original/177fa76f086820d7.mp4 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft Black Mirror Roads glisten, beneath the false warmth of street lighting; rain's dark reflections. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #haiku #senryu #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz There was me thinking scientists only had theories... 😁 Yes, "religious truth," in its widest sense. Any religious, social, political, cultural, philosophical, personal idea, from any source, which is advanced as being "right" and of general application. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz What is a "true" anything rather depends on one's worldview and its associated philosophy, I suppose. You appear to set yourself a better challenge than most. I'm just cautious of words like "true" and "truth". I've seen them too much misused. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…380n Can we get a larger boat and do the same with the Welsh version? Maybe, scuttle it half way across the Bristol Channel? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft Libation To Hell with today! Raise the bottle, drink to times long since become dust; to forgotten names, and lives now scattered, on ancient winds. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #tanka #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…hgrn We once had a decent harvest of pea shoots based on an old box of dried peas we found in the back of a kitchen cupboard. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft Broken Clouds Darkness holds its breath, as moonlight breaks night's mantle and paints the cracked sky. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #haiku #senryu #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft The City There is neither hope nor expectation, in this careless universe; the sky, blind to joy or pain, knows nothing of petty lives. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #tanka #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 It is a horrible experience, and one so young should never have to endure it. All anyone can do is hold her hand. But, I suspect she may yet surprise you more by how strong she is. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft The Lost The mountain's cold earth, stony, hard, swept by harsh winds, holds silent secrets; the living find no welcome, the dead no comforting grave. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #tanka #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 That is appalling. Rest up, and I hope it passes quickly. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…0k7t You are hoping for that on a train into Cardiff...? 🤔🤣 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 You are very welcome. The treatment will be gruelling, I'm afraid, so anything that may help is worth a shot. I hope she responds well. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 Rest well. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft That was unexpectedly quick. Ordered a new garage door yesterday, the old one having suffered a noisy and catastrophic failure to its mechanism whilst I was drifting off to sleep one night over the last weekend. Now, a phone call tells me it will be fitted tomorrow... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft #ScribesAndMakers 28 March: Does your day job (past or present) influence your creativity? I bloody well hope not. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 You are welcome. I didn't mention this as I was unsure I was remembering the name, but look up LifeMel honey. It is supposed to be able to support recovery between doses of chemo. I can't say it works, but when my wife was undergoing chemo, she never had to miss a treatment over low blood count issues, and the medics were surprised at how she was recovering. She took it throughout – but it is eye wateringly expensive. https://www.nirvanahealthfood.com/life-mel-120gms-jar.html.html All the best to the little one. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 Those may or may not help - depends on the chemo and how she reacts. But - expect her to be increasingly exhausted. That treatment is vicious. She may need to be in bed very early come the later treatments. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 I get issues with dermatitis / eczema, and know the anguish of persistent itching. It is horrible, though, for me, is under control most of the time. Do you get to catch up on sleep with early nights or late mornings? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 Well, I'd probably rather be asleep... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz 😅 I always knew no-one understood me... 🤣 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Being incomprehensible? Well, that is a quality of a lot of books dealing with religion... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I was not suggesting you should – though I suspect it might prove easier than Gaelic. I'm too engrossed in trying to get my head round the mandolin fretboard to be learning another language at the moment...! Here's to incompehensibility... 🥂 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Όχι – θα προτιμούσα Ελληνικά, επειδή μπορώ να γράψω και να διαβάσω τη γλώσσα αρκετά καλά χωρίς μεταφράσεις απ' το διαδίκτυο. Λοιπόν, αν χρησιμοποιείς εσύ το Λότζμπαν κι' εγώ την ελληνική γλώσσα, ποτέ δεν θα ξέρουμε τι λέμε... No – I would prefer Greek, because I can write and read the language well enough without translations off the Internet. Anyhow, if you use Lojban, and I the Greek language, we'll never know what we are saying... 😁 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 🤔 I once stayed in an old hotel where the room was at a similar angle... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…aahc It's definitely a genetic thing. My mother drank huge amounts - my father used to complain that, when she and I were at home together, basically force feeding him liquid, he could feel himself sloshing from side to side as he walked. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…u54w The odd genes are the ones that drink Lapsang Souchong. It's best described as a liquidised kippers npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…u54w I'm an Earl Grey man, personally. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…aahc Ha!!! The mental image... 🤣 Be warned... my daily routine: By 09:30: 1 pint tea and 1 pint coffee. 13:00: 1 pint tea 15:00: 1 pint coffee 18:30: 1 pint tea. I add in the occasional glass of water as well. So, there is a danger your cells will need a snorkel. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…aahc Well, I drink tea and coffee, so maybe it is not you at all, and I am half-human... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…aahc In fairness, I have been told by a number of people that I am not human... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Cinnamon is a very good thing... I have a confirmed weakness for cinnamon buns. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz You want to learn Gaelic??? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz The honour and the pleasure would be mine. Though we may never agree on various transatlantic spellings and usages... 😅 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Not sure if we have not just co-authored your book... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz That he can't be arsed to do anything about it on his day off? (Well, "days off", depending on whether he follows all different flavours of Abrahamic prejudice) npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Ha! Since you are speaking to a former Christian, it's no secret at all. He can get around to it on Monday. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I would not bother. If a god has anything to do with it, he or she can make his or her own explanations. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft Melodies Unpeopled darkness extends between our short lives, marked by loneliness; but, the wind may carry songs of days touched by kinder dreams. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #tanka #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I always knew they were mysterious creatures, with danger hidden in plain sight. More seriously, I've taken to using olive oil with bread instead of bread and butter. It lends a distinct pepperiness. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz (You could try olive oil to stave off the rust) npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I hope you have fully regained your strength, by the way... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz 🤔🤣😉 I'll take both answers, as not being mutually exclusive... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Was it a lazy weekend to fully recover from whatever dreaded lurgy had affected you a little while back? Or just lazy for the sake of luxury? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 Never watched it. Skinwalker Ranch gets an occasional mention in the Fortean Times (my one monthly subscription) usually to the result that it all very odd... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Now that sounds like a good weekend... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…4df6 Morning. Is this your new permanent home or do you intend to maintain both accounts? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Really? How many lawyers do you know? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp Oops. I suspect I have mis-read... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp I would anticipate something square sailed, single masted, with oar banks, if they're starting from scratch over 2 centuries. Maybe some sort of cross between a longship and tireme. Or, I think, from memory, there are images of ancient vessels on a fresco from Santorini. I would find battery power jarring in you suggested scenario, unless you build in some mechanism for each to have survived. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft #ScribesAndMakers 1, How much time do you expect to have for creative work this month? I have no expectations. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Ooh, sounds good. I've had Greek egg and lemon soup based on a chicken stock. https://www.mygourmetconnection.com/greek-egg-lemon-soup-avgolemono-soupa/ npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp Never used Zoom, but it sounds in the same ball park as Teams, which my employer requires I use There's nothing to stop you creating a throwaway Zoom or Google account to be discarded at the end of the course. I dislike the idea of AI summarising, but if you say nothing that could cause a privacy issue, it cannot be summarised. You cannot be forced to turn on your camera. I suppose it depends on whether doing the course offends a desire not to support use of such a system. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz 🤔😱😱😱 Now, who is overthinking things? I would just rather not have others responsible for my discomfort. Blondes and Buddhists included, but all other categories as well. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz At least with whisky, I am responsible for my own pain... 🥃 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Well, you have a point. Though all have the power to be existentially painful in their own way, also, I suspect. No offence to blondes intended. Or Buddhist monks... There I go.. overthinking, again... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I knew boats had crews, but not surfboards... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Is that a riddle? Well, between platforms, I know at least one blonde (you know who), at least one Zen practitioner (you might know who - though I speak with him through his WordPress blog or e-mail, rather than his Diaspora account) and I regularly interact with a glass of whisky. The Zen practitioner is not a monk - but we have been known to discuss Dogen and I have a copy of that monk's "Extensive Record" on my e-reader. So, there is a sort of vague connection... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Και η αλήθεια βρίσκεται σ' ένα ποτήρι ουίσκι... 🥴 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I'm slightly inebriated, bring Friday. Current mood... https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/116/105/599/133/525/482/original/7ab5e9b5fe5e8dfe.mp4 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Sounds like it was in the category of being "So bad, it's good." 😁 npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Glad to hear it. What did you see? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp It's a different protocol to Mastodon, so I doubt you will see much from this end. Completely separate system. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp Can't help you there, but if you fancy having a nose around Diaspora as well, I can be of assistance. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz Απόλαυσε το κινηματογράφο και καληνύχτα. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp Teach yourself French wallpaper... an interesting concept... npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp That must be novel for them. I don't follow rugby, but thought Italy were usually the underdogs. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…vua5 I'm not going to play this in case I end clicking posts just to see how many boxes get ticked. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…30yh I rather suspect, under the current domination of the ultra-wealthy over a loaded capitalist economy, this shit is precisely what is supposed to happen. Unfortunately. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft #ScribesAndMakers 25, You're going on a creative retreat. What's the most important thing you need to bring with you? Quiet npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp Thankfully I have no such health issue, but my voice is getting more growly and gravelly as the years pass. I'm not sure that is an advantage for singing, though. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft #ScribesAndMakers 22. Do you have a blanket or article of clothing that someone made for you that you could tell us about? My mother knitted me a zip front, Aran sleeveless bodywarmer. That was probably 4 to 5 decades back. It has seen better days, but it is comfortable and a reminder of her care. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz That's rough. I've never had that particular problem. There are 18 years between me and my eldest brother and sister (twins), and 13 between me and the middle brother. He's the businessman; I'm the most academic of the 4, and utterly unimpressed by family politics. I suppose that always made me the weirdo loner, but it's never bothered me. You do not strike me as easily outsmarted or intimidated, though. I hope this does not affect you too badly npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft Faithless I will not worship, nor disrespect the Old Gods with meaningless faith; we share a spirit of life that never bows as a slave. © Simon J Ashcroft, 2026 #tanka #poem #poetry #PoetryCommunity npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz I have (by some considerable margin) two older brothers and an older sister. The middle brother always gained the biggest income, and there was an occasional element of parental (primarily paternal) comparison between us. But, in the end, it is your life to live as you see fit. I recall making it clear I preferred quality of life to quantity of income. npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…lesz LittleYou's scary side? npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…u54w Nah, stay for a cuppa @nprofile…82tp npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…u54w Except we are talking about WordPress...! 🤣 @nprofile…82tp npub1xz778s862r0mjpx4xd9u6sa5ndd58y82f27qmrc2u0nlqn7g37usu43p2l Simon J Ashcroft @nprofile…82tp I tried clicking on your name, but it presented a blank page with "no posts yet", so I assumed you had only just arrived. Also, no obvious way to subscribe to your posts.