At the weekend, my mum, Kelly, my mum’s friend and her daughter went to see Matilda at Manchester Palace Theatre. We arrived before the matinee performance and had lunch out.
In Matilda the cast, mostly made up of children, were fantastic. The set was superb. The storyline followed that of the film. I’m not sure how closely it follows the book, as I’ve never read it.
The songs were good, but the show lacked any defining and memorable songs. Usually in a musical there is at least one catchy and memorable song. For example in Wicked you have defying gravity. In The Rocky Horror Show you have Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite. In Sister Act you have Take Me To Heaven and Fabulous, Baby!
Overall Matilda was an enjoyable show for children and adults alike. Here are some photos:
My mum, her friends and I went to see Shania Twain at Manchester Arena.
My mum and some of her friends had planned to see Shania Twain at the Manchester Arena last weekend. I offered to drive them there, pick them up afterwards and drive them home. I just wanted to make sure they all got home safe.
Then someone dropped out and I was kindly offered their ticket. I felt very fortunate and lucky.
Shania was spectacular. Shania walked through the crowd to the stage like a megastar. The audience sounded rapturous, hands were outstretched to meet hers and flash of smartphones was constant in her face.
Shania’s voice was perfect, her outfits lovely and her charisma shone for all to see. The chorography was reasonable and performed without mistake by backing dancers. The stage light show was fantastic, but the stage set and props were sparse.
Throughout the show Shania appeared to want to get close and personal with the twenty one thousand strong audience. She did this by inviting audience members to the stages in between songs, chatting with them and by allowing them to take selfies with her.
Shania spoke warmly to the audience, as if we were close friends. Here are some more photos from the gig:
The stage lighting was fantastic, although the set was very sparse.
Another photo of the stage lighting.
Shania (1) – Photo of video screen.
Shania (2) – Photo of video screen.
Shania (3) – Shania with a cowboy hat on. Photo of video screen.
Shania (4) – Shania with a cowboy hat on. Photo of video screen.
Shania (5) – I love this pose. Shania with a cowboy hat on. Photo of video screen.
Shania (6) – Shania sat on a step. Photo of video screen.
Shania (7) – Shania sat on a small stage at the back of the arena.
As Shania sang You’re Still The One the audience lit up the arena with the torches on their phones.
Yesterday a good friend, her son, two of his friends and I went to Blackpool Zoo. It was raining heavily, but we didn’t let the rain dampen our spirits.
Blackpool Zoo is a superb Zoo, I can’t believe I’ve never visited it before. It is the perfect size, allowing you to see everything in a day at a stroll.
Blackpool Zoo has all the animals you’d expect in a Zoo (plus a few more) and you can get really close to them. The animals look happy and well looked after. Here are some photos from the day, along with my comments, click any photo to see the full size:
The Elephants – Indoors sheltering themselves from the rain.
The camels didn’t seem to mind the rain or the temperature that was significantly lower than their natural environment.
Blackpool Zoo has Amazonia an exhibit where you can walk freely in an enclosure with monkeys and other wildlife from South America. It transports you into a rain forest like environment and is where we saw these cheeky little monkeys.
I saw these gorgeous pink birds and just had to take a photo.
A white wallaby. I’ve never seen a wallaby in real life, they’re so cute.
The kangaroos were all taking shelter from the rain. The first time I’ve seen kangaroos. I don’t blame them for taking shelter from the rain, it was bucketing down at that point.
Sea Lions. The photo was a lucky shot, as they were weaving around and in and out of each other quite quickly. As if they were doing some sort of intricate and improvised dance in the water.
A giant in the Orangutan world – just look at the size of his face, never mind the rest of him.
I am particularly proud of this awesome photo: This photo of a penguin is most probably the best photo I’ve ever taken. The penguin was swimming at great speed, although you wouldn’t have guested. I looked at this photo when I got home and it looks like it was taken by a professional. A total fluke.
Here’s even more photos:
Blackpool Zoo even has an exhibit of Farm Animals. These animals included two Shetland ponies, goats, donkeys, pigs and sheep (photo is of one of the sheep).
A pair of attention seeking otters. Wonderfully fun, playful and liked to upstage one another. I love the spirit of these animals.
Look how close we got to this tiger at Blackpool Zoo. In Chester Zoo I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tiger, let alone been able to get close enough to appreciate its stripy beauty.
Another of the beautiful tiger. Blackpool Zoo have two tigers from what we saw. The tiger is more than slightly moist because of the rain.
Lion: *yawn* Me: I totally understand how you feel. I’ve walked around Blackpool Zoo all day.
This is how close we got to a Lion. Able to look in its eye and see the intelligence, along with the hunter instinct. He appeared to be eyeing us up as a snack. Blackpool Zoo had two male Lions living in the enclosure together from what I saw. They seemed pretty well bonded and one went and groomed the other while we watched.
Quickly becoming my favourite animal, the giraffes. What I love about giraffes is that every time I’ve politely called over to one (in different Zoos I might add), they come over. They look at me with their big black eyes and some times, if I’m really lucky, they let me take a photo before they walk off.
Another photo of the giraffes. I had politely called out to the one in the foreground.
Essential Info
Parking: There is an onsite car park, with overflow parking. It is charged reasonably at £2.50 for the day.
Admission Prices: Vary throughout the year, but are cheaper if you buy them online.
Facilities: Toilets, two gift shops, a cafe, a Starbucks Coffee at the entrance, a small train that takes passengers (for a charge) from one end of the Zoo to the other, an indoor children’s play area (separate to Zoo and doesn’t require Zoo entry), experience days.
Chester Zoo VS Blackpool Zoo
I couldn’t help but compare my many visits to Chester Zoo with my experience in Blackpool Zoo. Chester Zoo could learn a few lessons from Blackpool Zoo including:
Have more of the bigger and more popular animals. Chester Zoo’s selection of big and popular animals is pitiful when compared with Blackpool Zoo.
Ensure good viewing opportunities for visitors in enclosures. Blackpool Zoo have done this really well. It makes visitors feel that they can get really close to the animals. Chester Zoo hasn’t got this right.
Make it realistic to visit everywhere in the Zoo in one day. Currently to see everything in Chester Zoo you need about a day and a half of rushing around.
We had a brilliant time at Blackpool Zoo and I would highly recommend it to you all.
During my working and personal life I have met people who have told me that they are on the autistic spectrum or have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. But I’ll be honest, I don’t know that much about autism or Asperger’s syndrome.
So I’m writing this Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome Series to educate myself and others.
What is Autism?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the name for a range of similar conditions, including Asperger syndrome, that affect a person’s social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour.
In children with ASD, the symptoms are present before three years of age, although a diagnosis can sometimes be made after the age of three.
It’s estimated that about 1 in every 100 people in the UK has ASD. More boys are diagnosed with the condition than girls.
Asperger’s Syndrome is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder that falls within the autistic spectrum. It is a life-long condition, which affects about 1 in 200 people, more commonly in men than women. Those with Asperger’s Syndrome are usually of average or above average intelligence.
The condition is characterised by difficulties with Social Interaction, Social Communication and Flexibility of Thinking or Imagination. In addition, there may be sensory, motor and organisational difficulties.
The signs and symptoms include difficulties interacting with others and unusual thinking patterns. Behaviour is likely to be affected, as explained below:
Examples of Autism Spectrum Behaviours:
Communication
Echoing words/phrases without context
Taking an adult to the biscuit tin rather than asking or pointing
Taking language too literally
Social Interactions
Preference to play alone
Difficulty relating to other people
Not understanding other’s thoughts and emotions
Repetitive behaviours
Hand flapping
Toe walking
Spinning wheels
Lining up cars
Restrictive behaviour
Eating only yellow food
Insisting on walking the same route
Only watching Thomas the Tank Engine
…
People with autism may or may not have the following:
Exceptional attention to detail
Sensory differences, this is most noticeable when children are over-sensitive to stimuli e.g. distress at loud noises
Trouble with co-ordination
Unusual eating behaviour such as only eating certain foods
Additional learning disabilities
A very small percentage have unusual abilities for example with music or memory
People with autism and Asperger’s syndrome are at higher risk of developing or have these other conditions: learning disabilities, ADHD, epilepsy, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, OCD, depression, anxiety, bipolar, sleeping problems, Tourette’s syndrome or other tick disorders.
People get diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s syndrome by their GP referring them to a Specialist Team. These days people are often diagnosed as children. The specialist team usually includes a Paediatrician, a Psychologist, a Psychiatrist, a Speech & Language Therapist and a Occupational Therapist.
Treatment Approaches
As every person with autism or Asperger’s syndrome is different, the treatment for each person is different; depending on the individual’s needs. However treatment includes interventions around developing communication skills, interaction skills, the ability to imagine and traditional academic skills.
It is also useful for parents/carers and other family members to go on a parenting and autism course. This is because these courses are packed with strategies to best support a child with autism.
Parents/carers and other family members can also get peer support which will help them feel less isolated and give them opportunities to learn from others at a local support group. If there isn’t a group locally, there’s lots of message boards online.
In the next post in this Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome Series I’ll be listing useful websites around autism and Asperger’s syndrome.
