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Happiness & Joy

Trial Run

By Happiness & Joy, ThinkingNo Comments
candle-trial-run-october-2016

Trial Run – The 1st Batch of my homemade hot cinnamon candles.

 Here (photoed left) is the result of my trial run of making homemade hot cinnamon candles for Christmas/Yule presents. It needs some finishing touches: a final wax top up, trimming of the wick and then some possible design/patterns using glass marker pens.

Learning from the 1st batch:

  • I will need three times the amount of paraffin wax, red dye and hot cinnamon scent I thought I would need in order to complete all of the 24 jars.
  • They have come out looking great and smell amazing.
  • I probably wont need to use the glass marker pens to add designs or pattens on to the jars, as they look fantastic as they are.

I’ll be sure to share some photos when I have the finished products.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Monday 3 October 2016

A Visit to York and Knaresborough

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & JoyNo Comments

Yesterday my good friend Simon and I visited York and Knaresborough.

York is a brilliant place to visit. It is architecturally splendid and has more push bikes than I have ever seen in my life. The great thing about York is that it has both indoor and outdoor things to do.

The weather was great, considering the time of year. High temperatures and dry. So Simon and I saw York’s Abbey, York’s Museum Gardens and the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey. We walked along York’s wall, went shopping (York has a wide range of shops, selling a wide range of things) and generally explored York.

Here are some photos from our visit to York:

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Simon and I visited York for the day.
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York Abbey (from a distance).
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York Abbey (close up).
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A York Church with an interesting bell tower.
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York’s Museum Gardens. There were loads of squirrels in these beautiful gardens.
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The ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in York (from a distance). You can read more about St Mary’s Abbey here.
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The ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in York (close up). You can read more about St Mary’s Abbey here.
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Simon and I walked along York’s wall.
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Simon with a funky statue we discovered.

Then Simon and I travelled on to Knaresborough. Knaresborough is a small town with ruins of a castle. We walked around the ruins of the castle, took in the spectacular view and then went shopping. The shops in Knaresborough were mildly disappointing, however there was a pagan/witchcraft shop and spirituality shop.

Here are some photos from our visit to Knaresborough:

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We drove on to Knaresborough.
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Ruin of Knaresborough Castle wall.
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Ruin of Knaresborough Castle (1).
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Ruin of Knaresborough Castle (2).
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Stunning view from the Knaresborough Castle ruin.

Here are some other fun photos of me that we took:

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Me racing on a wooden sheep.
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My arrival at Knaresborough Castle.
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Quite a nice photo of me sat on the wooden sheep.

Write soon,

Antony



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Saturday 24 September 2016

A Visit to Southport Botanic Gardens (Churchtown)

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Inspiration, Life, NatureNo Comments

Yesterday my friend Simon and I visited Southport Botanic Gardens in Churchtown, Southport. It was perfect weather and we had a great time exploring a park bursting with a variety of trees and shrubs from across the world.

Southport Botanic Gardens features include a bowling green, a Cafe, an Aviary, a Victorian Fernery, a Victorian Garden, a children’s play park suitable for all ages and a lake. Here are some photos from our visit (click on any image for full-size):

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Southport Botanic Gardens (Churchtown) Sign.
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Southport Botanic Gardens entrance.
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A short stone tunnel.
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The Cafe & Aviary in the centre of the Botanic Gardens.
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The Aviary houses a variety of birds.
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Victorian Fernery notice board sign.
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Inside the Victorian Fernery is this beautiful fountain.
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Inside the Victorian Fernery is this small Wishing Well.
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Me inside the Victorian Fernery.
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The Victorian Garden (1).
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The Victorian Garden (2).
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The Victorian Garden (3).
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The lake is bigger than a pond, but not really big enough to justify the term lake.

Essential Info:

  • Admission Fee: Free.
  • Opening Times vary so check Visit Southport’s website.
  • Postcode for SatNavs or Google Maps is: PR9 7NB.
  • Free parking is available on the street outside of the Botanic Gardens.
  • Highly Recommended is the reasonably priced Cafe.
  • In the same building as the Cafe is a gift shop. It sells seeds for the birds in The Aviary There is also a gift shop, which sells seeds for birds at The The Aviary, toys & sweets and other seemingly random gifts.
  • Has Toilet facilities.

There were many trees that Simon and I admired, but weren’t able to identify. The only thing that could have been improved was more information about the trees and shrubs. A fun way this could be done is by means of a tree hunt. It would be great if visitors could pick up a leaflet from the Cafe, which directed visitors to trees and shrubs in the Botanic Garden. The leaflet could help visitors identify what species of tree or shrub that they have found and a give a bit of additional information.

Afterwards Simon and I headed home, stopping along the way for tea.

Blog soon,

Antony



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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Saturday 27 August 2016

Photos from Astley Hall Park Today

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Inspiration, NatureNo Comments

Today my good friend Simon and I went to Astley Hall park. Here are some photos of the beautiful park, click on any photo for full size image:

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Astley Hall
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Astley Hall Park/Grounds (1)
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Astley Hall Park/Grounds (2)
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Astley Hall Park/Grounds (3)
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Trees that Simon and I nicknamed ‘Teardrop Trees’ (1)
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Tree that Simon and I nicknamed ‘Teardrop Trees’ (2)
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Art installation (1)
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Art installation – Close up (2)

Essential Info:

  • Free parking is available in a reasonably-sized carpark.
  • A super-expensive cafe is on site. Avoid due to costs and take your own food/drink.
  • Toilets on site.
  • A Chorley Remembers Experience, guided tour of Astley Hall, as well as various events are on throughout the year. For more details including Opening Times, Admission Prices, etc. See Astley Hall’s website here.
  • Has facilities for children such as play area/park.

Blog soon,

Antony



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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Sunday 17 July 2016
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