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December 2016

Christmas: Fabulous Food, Drunken Drinks, Family Fun and the passing of George Michael, Liz Smith & Carrie Fisher

By Friends & Family, Games, Happiness & JoyNo Comments

I’ve had the most brilliant Christmas! Filled with fabulous food, drunken drinks and family fun.

I’ve had two Christmas dinners and one buffet, plenty of Prosecco and the occasional Bailey’s coffee. My family and I have played Bingo, The Game of Life (junior edition) and Minion Monopoly with my five year old Nephew.

I have been treated to some terrific presents, each one I am extremely appreciative for, including: Tickets to see Sister Act next year, two Yankee candles (cosy by the fire & Christmas cookie scented), five books (Cell by Stephen King, The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, More Moaning by Karl Pilkington, Insomnia by Stephen King & 11.22.63 by Stephen King), lots of Harry Potter goodies, a minion cup, some chocolate, some clothes and other stocking fillers.

2016 has been a year of losing some great creative people. Death comes to us all, but this year we’ve all felt these deaths. We started in January with the loss of David Bowie (which I blogged about here: The Life of David Bowie), then it was Alan Rickman. In April we lost Victoria Wood (which I blogged about here: Today the World has Lost a Great Source of Laughter). Unfortunately Death wasn’t going to give us a break over Christmas. Over Christmas we have lost George Michael, Liz Smith and Carrie Fisher:

Christmas-2016-GM-LS-CF

Past Away This Christmas: George Michael, Liz Smith & Carrie Fisher

Lets hope that Death is kinder in 2017 and doesn’t continue to take so many of our wonderfully creative people. Lets also hope that currently unknown creative people have the right luck and opportunities to find their public.

Write soon,

Antony



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A Review of Goals & New Experiences for 2016

By Books & Authors, Happiness & Joy, Life, ThinkingNo Comments
goals-and-adventures-large Goals for throughout the year:
Unticked Box Read & Review at least 20 books.
I have read 19 books this year and reviewed 17 of them. The two books that I have not reviewed yet, will be reviewed in January 2017. See my Book List 2016 for a list books that I’ve read this year, along with links to reviews I’ve written for each book.

Unticked Box Watch & Review 6 films.
I can remember watching at least 5 films this year, they include: The Giver, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Good Dinosaur, Star Trek Beyond and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. However I’ve not done a review of a single film this year.

Tick Box Bullet Point To create more time for creative projects.
I am more than happy with my creative output this year. I’ve reduced my working hours, so that I can still afford to live, but so that I have more time for creative projects. I have also been careful about how I use the limited time and energy I have to get the most out of it. This combination of working less and using my time and energy better has significantly increased my creative output.

Tick Box Bullet Point To complete 2 creative projects.
I’ve completed 12 creative projects this year. This is a massive achievement when compared with my creative output in previous years. For more details of my creative projects see: 11 Creative Projects That I Never Intended To Do… This Year and The Finished Project (candle making project).

Tick Box Bullet Point To get up-to-date with my financial obligations and continue to reduce the balance on my debts.
I am up-to-date on my mortgage and other household bills. I have continued to reduce the balance on my debts. I have paid monies back to family that I owed monies to.

Unticked Box Save up for and buy a new rug and corner sofa for the living room.
I still need to do this. The sofa is getting in desperate need of replacement. Both of these will be goals for 2017.

Unticked Box To give up smoking.
I’m still working on this on a semi regular basis.

Monthly Goals

January
Tick Box Bullet Point Start a new creative project.
I published my latest short story Soulmates, here is an excerpt:
Soulmates-by-Antony-Simpson-Short-Story-Excerpt

I also wrote two blog posts that I’d been thinking about and planning to write for at least the last few years: 5 Wise Quotes from Albus Dumbledore and A Tale Of Overcoming Adversity.

Unticked Box Take it easy.
This didn’t really happen. This year has was exceptionally busy. Most of time due to circumstances beyond my control.

February
Tick Box Bullet Point See Mary Poppins with Mum, etc.
Done. I blogged about it here: Mary Poppins Live at The Palace Theatre, Manchester: Marvellous, Magical and Magnificent.

March
Unticked Box Treat yourself to a reiki treatment.
I haven’t had a single reiki treatment this year. At the start of the year it was due to lack of money. Towards the end of the year it has been due to my Reiki Pracitioner changing where she works.

April
Unticked Box See a sunrise.
This has been a goal for the last few years. I think I need to take a day of annual leave off work to experience this next year. So this will be a goal/new experience for 2017.

May
Tick Box Bullet Point Celebrate your 30th in style, including a night out in Newcastle and a family meal.
I didn’t manage the night out in Newcastle, but did do the family meal which was wonderful. I blogged about the family meal here: My Thirtieth Birthday.

June
Tick Box Bullet Point Visit Chester Zoo Islands Exhibit.
I actually did this in May, as part of my birthday celebrations. See A Day Trip to Chester Zoo.
Tick Box Bullet PointStart a new creative project.
One weekend in June I wrote, edited and then published an article on The History of the National Health Service (NHS). It was a creative project that I have been thinking about for sometime and I was proud of myself because I had finally done it.

July
Tick Box Bullet PointSpend time in nature. Go for walks in places of natural beauty.
I visited Astley Hall Park with my friend Simon. I would have liked to spend more time in nature during July, but the variable weather influenced what I was able to do.
Tick Box Bullet Point Visit a botanical gardens.
I visited Southport Botanic Gardens (Churchtown) with Simon in August.

August
Tick Box Bullet Point Visit a castle, one that you haven’t been to before.
Okay, technically I didn’t visit a new castle this year. But I did do a tour of acient sites along Hadrian’s Wall with Simon. See The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 1) and The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure (Part 2). A goal/new experience for 2017 will be the finishing off of The Hadrian’s Wall Adventure, meaning that Simon and I will have followed the wall from one end of the country to the other.

September
Tick Box Bullet Point Read in the horror genre. Maybe some Stephen King.
I read Under The Dome by Stephen King, which I reviewed here. I also read The Stand by Stephen King, which I reviewed here. Although I’m not sure that either of them was in the horror genre, I’ve ticked it off as completed.

October
Tick Box Bullet Point Celebrate Samhain.
Celebrated Samhain in style with my friends Simon & Chrys. Great food, drink, fire, music and company.

November
Tick Box Bullet Point Take it easy.
I tried to do the bare-minimum in November. This was probably why there were only a few blog posts in November.

December
Unticked Box Bring people together to celebrate Yule.
Yule fell on a Wednesday, which made it difficult to arrange a get together. Perhaps I will put this on future goals when it lands on a weekend.

This year I’ve completed 14 of 22 goals/new experiences for 2016. That’s over half and not at all bad when you consider the 12 creative projects I’ve completed this year, along with how busy the year has been otherwise.

Blog soon,

Antony

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My Top 10 Blog Posts/Pages in 2016

By The WebNo Comments

I’ve had a look at my stats to discover my top 10 blog posts/pages this year. Here is the list, click any title or image below to be taken to the blog post/page in a new tab or window:

Image Map

Note: If you are viewing this blog post on a mobile device. You will need to scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘View Desktop Version’ in order for the image map above to work correctly.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-neil-gaiman-book-cover Neil Gaiman shows off his legendary imagination in The Ocean at the End of the Lane. A work colleague lent me The Ocean at the End of the Lane and I’m so glad that he did.

The story starts with an old man, sitting on a bench looking at a pond at the farm at the end of the lane. He remembers his childhood.

He remembers when he was just seven years old. Seven years old when he saw the body of the dead opal miner in the back of his father’s car.

Seven years old when he met the Hempstocks’. Lettie Hempstocks, the girl that looks eleven years old, who speaks the first and most ancient language of the world. Lettie knows so much about everything and who he suspects is really, much older than she looks. Ginnie Hempstocks is the mother who cooks the most amazing food the boy has ever tasted and at one point in the story takes him into her bosom.

And finally Old Mrs. Hempstocks the woman so old that she remembers the moon being made, always has a full moon shinning on the back of the farmhouse at night and is full of wisdom, knowing how to solve the problems that the other two Hempstocks’ don’t know how to solve. (Madian. Mother. Crone. She what Gaiman did there?)

After the death of the opal miner, a malevolent spirit enters the seven year old boy’s life. This spirit appears as Ursula Monkton, a lodger who will pay her way by looking after the boy and his older sister. But Ursula means no good for the boy, quickly manipulating the boy’s parents and threatening to keep him in the attic. That is until she is done with him, at which point, Ursula will tell the boy’s father to kill him. The boy believes his father will listen to Ursula and do as she says, rather than listen him because he is only a child.

So the boy goes to the Hempstocks’ for help. What follows is a magical, frightening, exciting, heart racing and wonderful story told from the perspective of the seven year old boy remembering in his old age.

The description is vivid and allows the reader to imagine every scene perfectly. There are some scenes in this book that should go down in descriptive history for being so simple with very few words, but yet so effective and powerful. The plot is fantastic and full of twists and turns. It is completely captivating and makes The Ocean at the End of the Lane almost impossible to put down. Gaiman put a lot of what he remembers about his own childhood into the story. The ending is inventive, almost spiritual/god-like at one point and wholly satisfying to the reader.

Overall The Ocean at the End of the Lane is magnificent, even if it is a little difficult to describe just how magnificent it is.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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