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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



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Saturday 27 August 2016

A Day Trip to Chester Zoo

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, NatureNo Comments

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Chester Zoo Invite To Friends

On Saturday some good friends and I visited Chester Zoo. It was a belated birthday celebration event. It was lovely to see the friends and the Watts family that came along. I was super excited to see the new Islands Exhibit.

The day before I got this email below, telling me about the return of the dinosaurs. Last time I visited Chester Zoo was 4 years ago, when the dinosaurs were last there.

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The day before I got this email about the return of the Dinosaurs, on the very day of our visit. I love dinosaurs! Yey!

I love the dinosaurs and had no idea that they were even coming back. That’s lucky I immediately thought and then remembered that I’d recently burned the Hot Damn candle created by Dorothy Morrison (for more info on this see Dorothy Morrison’s Wickedly Wonderful Magical Mystery Packages). This isn’t the only lucky thing that’s happened to me recently, but that as they say: is another story.

Here are some photos from the day trip to Chester Zoo:

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Islands Exhibit Sign
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Islands Exhibit – Was well designed but lacked good signage to direct visitors.
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Islands Exhibit – Mask with smoke.
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Me in a makeshift tent on the Islands Exhibit.
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Islands Exhibit- Hogs (1).
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Islands Exhibit- Hogs (2).
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A ginormous exotic plant.
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The Elephants.
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A Donkey.
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The best photo of the day – a butterfly in the Butterfly House.
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The Giraffes (1).
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The Giraffes (2).
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The Chimpanzees (1).
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The Chimpanzees (2).
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Turtles having a Mother’s Meeting.
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The Flamingos.
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Dinosaurs have returned! The dinosaurs and display were exactly same as we saw 4 years ago.
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Lioness.
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Lion.
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Penguins.
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Fountain.
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I finally got a photo of the Speckled Bear (1). I tried last time I visited the zoo (4 years ago), but the bear walked off and went behind a bush before I could get a photo.
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Speckled Bear (2).
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Black Rhino (1).
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Black Rhino (2).
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Black Rhino (3).

In 2011 the Western Black Rhino was declared extinct in the wild. According to Chester Zoo’s website there are only 500 Eastern Black Rhinos left in the wild.

I was fortunate to see and watch an Eastern Black Rhino majestically eating. As I watched and videoed I reflected the sad realisation that generations to come might never see Black Rhinos alive. Nor will they see the thousands of animals that are already extinct. I reflected on the cruelty of human poachers. Poachers have hunted Black Rhinos close to extinction, hunting them for their horns and for sport.

Here is an edited video of an Eastern Black Rhino’s eating:

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Write soon,

Antony

Edited 30/05/16 @ 15:25 – Changed information about Black Rhinos. There are two subspecies of Black Rhino, the Western Black Rhino and the Eastern Black Rhino.

The Western Black Rhino that has been declared extinct in the wild and there are only a few left in captivity, all of which are the same gender, so they will be unable to breed.

Chester Zoo has the Eastern Black Rhinos. There are only 500 Eastern Black Rhinos left in the wild and a good number in Zoos around the world.

The post above has been changed to reflect this fact checked information.



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Sunday 29 May 2016

My Thirtieth Birthday

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Life, Thinking3 Comments

Yesterday I Became:
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Thirty years old. It was a busy day with many highlights. My close family and I went out for a meal in my favourite restaurant Gallimore’s. I was so pleased that almost everyone could and did come. Here are photos of my cake and balloons:

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My 30th Birthday Cake: Minion Bob.
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My 30th Birthday Balloons.

Gallimore’s Fine Restaurant served sublime and tasty food and the service was excellent. My thanks to Gallimore’s for making my birthday even more special.

I was completely overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity from my family and friends on my birthday. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the Facebook messages, the cards, the balloons, the gifts and the money from family and friends.

At the end of the month, some good friends and I are going to Chester Zoo to see the new Islands Exhibit.

Big birthdays always cause me to reflect on my life so far. I think about what I’ve done and not done. What I’ve experienced and haven’t experienced. I play what if scenarios out in my head for both the past and the future.

We are all a work in progress. We are constantly growing as we experience life and learn. I am proud of what I’ve achieved in life so far. I could list my achievements like overcoming adversity, becoming and being a good Nurse, being creative and my ongoing recovery from a mental health illness.

But the thing I’m most proud of is to have a wonderful loving family and a bunch great friends whom I would trust with my life.

Write soon,

Antony

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Sunday 15 May 2016
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