Nature Archives - Page 11 of 13 - Antony Simpson is an Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.

My Yearly Review – 2014

Friday 26 December 2014 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 4 minutes

This year I did very little in the Spring, a lot in the Summer, bits in the Autumn and Winter. Here’s what I’ve been up to this year, click on any photo for full size image:

March

Sye and I went to see Barry Humphries: The Eat, Pray and Laugh Farewell Tour. We had a great time. Here are some photos:

Penrhos Cottage near Corris Adam and Andy's cottage — Simon popping his head out of The Lovely Cottage

May

Simon and I went to Mid-Wales to The Lovely Penrhos Cottage for the weekend. While there we took the time to relax. The Saturday it was gloriously sunny and hot, so we went to Aberdovey Beach. On the Sunday we went to King Arthur’s Labyrinth.

I published my short story The Good Teen. The Good Teen is a modern-day telling of The Good Samaritan parable, with a hint of magic. I wrote it after I saw a call for submissions from the BBC Radio 4 ‘Opening Lines’ programme. Unfortunately it wasn’t accepted, but it’s still a good story – even if I do say so myself.

June

I spent several days walking around Rivington. I feel fortunate to have such a beautiful and gorgeous natural place close by.

My at-the-time boyfriend and I went to Blackpool to the Sealife Centre and Madame Tussauds. We saw various fish and waxworks respectively.

Steve and I went watching The Lady Boys of Bangkok in Manchester. We were both slightly disappointed with the Lady Boys to be honest, but it was still good to get out and we even managed a few alcofrolic drinks afterwards.

Manchester Museum Gorgosaurus Skeleton — Gorgosaurus Skeleton

July

I watched After The Dark (The Philosophers), which became my favourite film of 2014.

My at-the-time boyfriend and I went to Lancashire Science Festival 2014 which was both educational and intriguing. Plus it had free parking!

My at-the-time boyfriend, his housemates and I visited Manchester Museum. I loved the dinosaur exhibit.

August

I had my blog Theme Redesigned by TRH Development. I started Being Creative Everyday and sharing some of the results on the blog.

I felt saddened at the unexpected death of Robin Williams and began thinking about the importance of good mental & emotional health.

I read and reviewed Light by Michael Grant, which was the last book in The Gone Series. I thoroughly enjoyed The Gone Series which was about kids being trapped in a Dome without adults and developing powers.

Wales animalarium lemur — Animalarium: Lemur

September

I got some Amazing Illustrations from the Talented Sye Watts for my blog. I am so lucky to have such a talented friend.

A friend and I went to stay for a weekend at Penrhos Cottage and visited the Animalarium, which is Borth’s Zoo on the way home. There where some lovely animals there that looked well cared for.

October

Chrys, Simon, others and I celebrated Samhain!

harry-potter-studio-tour — Various Magical Creatures.

November

My at-the-time boyfriend and I broke up.

I made small Charitable Donations to JDRF, The Human Rights Campaign (US), The Brain Tumour Charity (UK) and to make a film about the sell-off of the NHS.

Mum and I went on a Trip to London where we shopped and visited The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour.

wrapped-christmas-presents-2014 — Some Presents I’ve Wrapped for Christmas

December

Christmas has been relaxed, enjoyable and fun. I have celebrated it with family and friends. People have kindly bought presents for me:

christmas-presents-2014 — Presents Kindly Bought For Me.

But the best thing was the opportunity to spend time with people that I love.

Next year I’ll be spreading out activities, experiences and goals throughout the year. So keep an eye out for my Goals & New Experiences for 2015 blog post.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Back To Penrhos Cottage & Visiting Animalarium Borth Zoo

Sunday 28 September 2014 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Last weekend a friend and I went to stay at the lovely Penrhos Cottage for some rest and relaxation. I’ve previously stayed at Penrhos Cottage, see my blog post: Mid-Wales, Part 1: The Lovely Penrhos Cottage. We spent the time catching up, enjoying nature, watching TV and reading books. It was great to have no schedule.

On the Saturday I took the opportunity to walk up into the hills and found a private garden with some miniature buildings. I hiked further up the hills and found some abandoned slate ruins. See some photos below:

Wales Garden Buildings — Private Garden Miniature Buildings 1

Wales Garden Buildings 2 — Private Garden Miniature Buildings 2

On the Sunday we stopped off at Animalarium, Borth’s Zoo on our way home. Animalarium is a small Zoo that also takes in unwanted pets. You can really get close and interact with the animals at this Zoo. You can even buy pots of food and feed some of the animals. This animal interaction makes it an ideal place to take children. Throughout the day it had a number of free talks about some of the animals and some opportunities to see animals getting fed. My friend and I had an enjoyable time, here are some photos of the animals:

Animalarium Monkey 1 — Animalarium: Monkey 1

Animalarium Meerkats 1 — Animalarium: Meerkats 1

Animalarium Meerkats 2 — Animalarium: Meerkats 2

Animalarium Wallerby — Animalarium: Wallerby

Animalarium jaguar — Animalarium: Jaguar – Sunbathing.

Animalarium bird — Animalarium: Some sort of Bird

Animalarium calf cow — Animalarium: Calf

Animalarium Pythons — Animalarium: Pythons

Animalarium pythons sign — Animalarium: Pythons Sign

Animalarium is a small Zoo and as such felt like a place that needs more financial support. My friend and I talked about maybe adopting an animal or two there, it’s something I certainly intend to do when money is less tight.

Hope you enjoyed the update and photos.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Manchester Museum – Lots of History to See

Sunday 20 July 2014 / Antony Simpson / 2 Comments

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The other weekend Boyfriend-A, his housemates and I visited Manchester Museum. Manchester Museum is on Oxford Road, in the heart of Manchester City Centre and has free entry. It has lots of history to see including (click on any picture for full size image):

Manchester Museum Gorgosaurus Information Board — Gorgosaurus Information Board

Manchester Museum Mammoth Skeleton (front) — Mammoth Skeleton (front)

Manchester Museum Mammoth Skeleton (side) — Mammoth Skeleton (side)

Many vases, bowls, etc. to view — Many vases, bowls, etc. to View

Manchester Museum A great Classic Weapons Collection — A great Classic Weapons Collection – If there’s ever a zombie apocalypse, I’m looting my weapons from here.

Manchester Museum Slavery Chains — Slavery Chains

My two favourite sections were the Egyptian section and Geology section. In the Egyptian section I was fascinated by the Soul Homes (photo below) and creepy looking mummy (also photographed below):

Egyptian Artefacts Manchester Museum — Egyptian Artefacts

Egyptian Soul Homes Manchester Museum — Egyptian Soul Homes

Egyptian Sarcophagus with Mummy Manchester Museum — Egyptian Sarcophagus with creepy looking Mummy

In ancient Egypt soul homes were for people who couldn’t afford a tomb to be built. Somewhere for their soul to live during the afterlife. Boyfriend-A couldn’t believe how bad my geography was, after I thought Egypt was in Europe. Apparently it’s in Africa.

We moved on to Geology section, with this rather nice quartz crystal cluster that I wanted to take home:

Geology Section Manchester Museum — Geology Section

Geology Section: A Large Quartz Cluster Manchester Museum — Geology Section: A Large Quartz Cluster

We finished with the main attraction a complete T-Rex Skeleton:

T-Rex Skeleton Manchester Museum — T-Rex Skeleton

A Random Room-sized Fish Skeleton Manchester Museum — A Random Room-sized Fish Skeleton

There’s lots of history to see at Manchester Museum, but more interactivity e.g. videos/staffed tours would have added to the experience.

Even so we had a great time. If you’ve never been, go and check it out. Oh and it has a good gift shop that is reasonably priced to.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Blackpool Part 1: Sealife Centre

Sunday 22 June 2014 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

sealife-centre-2014-blackpool — Bob – The Fish

At the weekend Boyfriend-A and I went to Blackpool. We had pre-booked tickets to the Sealife Centre and Madame Tussauds. In this post I’ll write about the Sealife Centre.

The Sealife Centre was alive with all sorts of marine life in its well-stocked tanks. Boyfriend-A and I wondered around leisurely, starting with seeing shark eggs and recently born baby sharks (click any image for full size photo):