Goals for throughout the year: Read & Review at least 20 books. Watch & Review 6 films. To create more time for creative projects. To complete 2 creative projects. To get up-to-date with my financial obligations and continue to reduce the balance on my debts. Save up for and buy a new rug and corner sofa for the living room. To give up smoking.
Monthly Goals
January Start a new creative project. Take it easy.
February See Mary Poppins with Mum, etc.
March Treat yourself to a reiki treatment.
April See a sunrise.
May Celebrate your 30th in style, including a night out in Newcastle and a family meal.
Goals For Throughout The Year Read & Review 30 books. Watch & Review 12 films. See a show/gig. Give up smoking for good. Write, Edit and publish a Novella. Arrange & Have a Holiday. Study Something Pagan/Druid with Chrys & Simon.
New Experiences for 2015 by month:
January To start Writing again. To write a series of blog posts with a ‘Mental Health Focus,’ publishing one a week throughout the month.
February Try Yoga. Take a Yoga class.
March Visit a Museum.
April See a Sunrise. Visit a new place. A city or town that I’ve never been to.
May Celebrate my birthday. A night out to celebrate in style. Possibly in another city or town. Visit a Castle or a Pagan site.
June Spend time Walking in Nature. Take time out to celebrate Litha. Watch Jurassic World at the cinema.
July Attend Mum’s events. Birthday, etc. Watch Minions at the cinema.
August Visit Chester Zoo’s new Islands exhibit.
September Learn to Knit. Donate to charities.
October Celebrate Samhain.
November Take some time out to relax.
December Watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the cinema.
I recently discovered The Independent: Save The Elephants Appeal. Elephant’s are being hunted to extinction by poachers after their ivory tusks to sell. It seems that the ivory trade is booming, with up to a hundred elephants killed everyday. These wonderful animals are likely to be hunted to extinction in our life time, unless something radical is done.
Elephant’s are incredible animals and I want to share some interesting facts about them you may not know:
Elephants are Altruistic
Generally elephants are altruistic animals, meaning that they will go out of their way not to harm other animals and people. There have been cases of elephants staying with injured humans until they are rescued.
This doesn’t apply if elephants are under attack. When under attack they will do what is necessary to survive and protect their herd. But most of the time they are big softies.
An Elephant Never Forgets
Yes, the saying is true. Elephants had superb memories. This was demonstrated by a test on a herd in Africa. The elephants recognised two distinct tribal colours. One tribe had been aggressive towards the elephants and as such when the elephant saw people dressed in this colour they became frightened and defensive.
The other tribe had been kind towards the elephants. When the elephants saw people dressed in this tribe’s colour they were more relaxed as well as more open to contact with the people.
Female Elephants are the Boss
Elephant herds (families) always have a matriarchal head. This is usually a grandmother or great grandmother elephant who is in charge and the whole herd benefits from her long life experience.
Elephants are Family Focused
Elephant herds usually consist of a grandmother, mother, her sisters, daughters and their calfs (babies). Adolescent male elephants break off from their own herd and create bachelor all-male herds, which have a very loose structure. Adult males join female herds when there are females that are in heat. Once the adult male has mated, he will usually go back to their bachelor all-male herd.
Elephant herds vary in size from three up to twenty five. Herd sizes depend on the availability of food and water, natural predators and inter-social relationships within the herd.
Elephants are very social animals that have strong family bonds. Female herds will share responsibilities, so you may have one mother elephant looking after up to thirty of the herd’s calfs. While she does this, the other herd members will do other tasks such as finding food and water, watching out for predators, etc.
Calfs Have Temper Tantrum
Calfs can be naughty and have terrible temper tantrums like children on that TV programme super nanny. When they do, they will throw themselves on to the ground and flail about in the mud until they have exhausted themselves.
Elephants Protect The Most Vulnerable
When a herd is attacked by a natural predator – usually a lion, the stronger elephants create a circle around the most vulnerable members of the herd to protect them. The most vulnerable are the calfs and the elderly. Elephants will remain in this protective circle for as long as it takes and most of the time the lion will give up, walking away without a meal.
Elephants Grieve
When a member of their herd die the other elephants grieve. When elephants have been murdered, other herd members have even been known to undertake revenge attacks on the perpetrators of the murder.
Some Elephants are Gay
Some male elephants have been known to touch other males with their trunks (elephants see touch as essential for creating and maintaining a deep bond), kiss other males (inserting their trunk into the other elephant’s mouth) and even male on male sex (mounting). Relationships between two male elephants (usually one older and one younger) have been known to last for years.
Elephant Herds Do Breakup
Elephant herds breakup for a number of reasons such as particular elephants not getting on socially, limited availability of food and water in the area that they live or the death of a matriarch.
Chester Zoo: Safe Elephants
I’ve only ever seen these amazing animals in the likes of Chester Zoo. But these animals should be in their natural habitats.
The best way to protect elephants is to have Rangers out in their habitats and to create safe wildlife sanctuaries. The Independent: Save The Elephants Appeal aims to raise much needed funds for Rangers and to help create safe wildlife sanctuaries.
You can Donate online or like I have by text. To make a text donation of £5 text GIANTS to 70007*.
Write soon,
Antony
* UK only. You will be charged £5, plus one message at your standard network rate. A minimum of £4.97 depending on your service provider, will be received by Space for Giants, Registered Charity No: 1139771.
Another year passes us by, time flies by so quickly doesn’t it? For me this year has been a mix of passive times with periods of immense activity. In January I bought myself an iMac (see iMac Part 1 & iMac Part 2), promising myself to write creatively more often. In April I went to watch Steps to relive my youth with mum, Ian & Jodie.
(Above left to right: Ian, Mum & Jodie. Steps Logo on MEN screen. Jodie & Mum.)
In May I had two weeks of annual leave and celebrated my birthday at Alton Towers. If you’ve never been to Alton Towers…you must go; it’s a brilliant day out. During my time off I also visited Chester Zoo for Steve’s Birthday and visited Steve’s family in Hastings.
(Above left to right: Steve in Giant Turtle Shells. Two Cheetahs sunbathing. Me, Steve’s Friend & Steve in Masks at the gift shop.)
My Degree in Nursing results were released in June and I got a Upper Second (2:1) Honours. I felt a sense of achievement and a sense of relief that it was finally over after I previously had to put the final module back a year.
Sye came to stay in July for the Summer. With his arrival I felt a renewed level of motivation to get things done. He returned to Uni. in Salford in the Autumn, it was good having him to stay but I am glad that he’s back where he wants to be.
I had a day trip to Liverpool in August with my good friends Chrys & Simon. Chrys being a proper scouser (minus the accent) showed us round the beautiful city and for the first time I understood why people love the city: the architecture, the culture (music) and the seemingly relaxed nature of the people.
Just before the day trip to Liverpool I started experiencing some severe back pain. After seeing my GP I had an x-ray, was given some painkillers and was referred to Physio. My back’s still causes me some grief now, but the combination of co-codamol and physio exercises have massively reduced the amount of pain I experience.
Having continued to blog throughout the year including several book reviews, I was surprised in September when I had caught the eye of a Publicist (who works for several publishers). This Publicist, from Publishers Group UK asked me if I would review one of their books. I had a bit of a confidence crisis, as I had absolutely no confidence in my writing but Sye encouraged me to go for it. So I did…
The Publicist was that pleased with my review that he sent me another five books to read and at one point stated “a career as a book reviewer beckons!” This was a huge complement and has given me a little more confidence around my writing.
About a week or so ago, I was approached by a Publicist Manager for Headline publishers who have asked me to review a copy of Fuse the second book in a trilogy.
Among my plans for next year is to develop my writing further. But for now I’m focusing on Yule and Christmas. Things are changing this Christmas; for the first time ever Mum is working on Christmas Day, I am off work for the whole Christmas period and I am going to attempt (with Steve) to make Christmas Dinner. Ha ha should be fun at the very least.
Read & Review at least 20 books.
