mum – Page 4 – Antony Simpson – Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.

My 2018 Review – The Busy Year filled with the Unexpected

By AntonyFriends & Family, Gigs & Shows, Happiness & Joy, Health, LifeNo Comments

In January my mum, brother, brother’s fiancee, nephew and I watched Peter Pan’s Musical Adventure in Blackpool. I went to Leeds to spend time with Robert and Neha. Robert & Neha are two of my most dear friends and favourite humans. Here are some photos:

Blackpool Tower	Mum feeding the 2p machines and feeding her habit at the same time.
Left to Right: Me, Robert & Neha.	Monopoly!

February started with a spring clean. I thought and wrote about The Cycle of Life. I shared some lessons I’ve learned from life.

In March I wrote about homelessness. I aided Steve, my housemate in his hunt for a cockatiel. Here is a photo of Steve’s cockatiel:

Another photo of the extremely cute and chirpy Chakuro.

April began with my attempt to answer some of the most difficult questions in life. Steve and I visited Beeston Castle in Cheshire. I got creative and made a number of Pumpkin Spice Scented Candles:

Me.	The entrance to the main ruin (2). From the bridge was a sheer drop of at least thirty feet.
My batch of handmade Pumpkin Spiced Scented Candles.	One of my Pumpkin Spiced Scented candles. They just need some witchy charms tying to each jar.

For my birthday in May, my good friend Simon and I visited Warkworth Castle & Tynemouth Priory and Castle. See photos below. I published a blog post about how to support someone with mental illness.

The most well preserved.	Remains of Walkworth Castle (1).
Tynemouth Priory and Castle remains (2).	Simon (right) and me (left) in the stone coffins. I couldn’t believe that we both fitted perfectly.

Mum and I visited Harry Potter Studio Tour and London. Mum shared a story about St. James park:

When my mum was a little girl, she lived in London with her mum and dad (my grandma and granddad). Every Sunday, while her mum was making the Sunday dinner, her dad would take her to watch the changing of the Guard and then into St. James Park to feed the ducks.

From My Blog Post: Harry Potter Studio Tour and London with Mum.

In June I was fortunate to unexpectedly see A-Ha with my good friend Jayne. Endless things broke including my boiler, car, new laptop and washer dryer.

July saw Jayne and I visit Chester Zoo. Here are some photos:

Butterfly (2).	A close up of the baby elephant.
My new lover! He’s the strong, wooden, silent type.	This gorgeous beauty came to say hello and flirted with me (by winking with her big eye and long eyelashes) when I said ‘Hello Gorgeous.’ to her as she passed by.

I found myself disappointed. It was unexpected, but I managed to find the positive side to disappointment.

In July I continued working hard to improve my health. This included starting on FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System.

September was particularly busy. A good friend, her son, two of his friends and I got close to wild animals at Blackpool Zoo. Here are some photos:

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.	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.
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.

Still in September I was unexpectedly (and lucky enough to be offered) a spare ticket to see the spectacular Shania Twain.

In October I self-published a poem Sometimes High, Sometimes Low:

sometimes-high-sometimes-low-by-Antony-Simpson

Click for Full Size Image.

My mum, Kelly, my mum’s friend, her daughter and myself saw Matilda.

In November I went to a wonderful wedding and I watched Fantastic Beats: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

In December I had a great Christmas, shared with loved ones.

Overall 2018 was a busy year filled with the unexpected. Hopefully 2019 will be less busy, but with many good times, shared with friends and family. I’d also like lots more creative output from myself.

Write soon,

Antony

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Friday 28 December 2018

A Wonderful Wedding and The New Fantastic Beasts Film

By AntonyFriends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Love & RelationshipsNo Comments

Sue & Iain’s Wedding Was Wonderful.

This weekend I attended a wonderful wedding. My Auntie Sue and Iain, her significant other for more than a decade, got married on Saturday (17/11/2018).

The ceremony took place in a lodge in a local park. The ceremony was lovely and emotionally touching. The groom and his best man had personalised cufflinks with images of deceased loved ones on. The bridal party had images of deceased love ones attached to their flowers.

Afterwards we went outside for photos. The day was bright, with clear skies and only a little cold. Then it was off to a venue to eat.

The venue had been decorated in a Beauty & The Beast theme with a high level of attention to detail.

After the meal there was an opportunity to talk, drink (the bar was open from our arrival), allow brief speeches and be entertained by a superb singer. Many took the opportunity to offer the happy couple their best wishes and blessings for the future.

The evening arrived as did some more guests. There was plenty of entertainment: face painting for the children, a Caricaturist doing quick portraits of Sue and Iain and many other of the wedding guests, a DJ, a soft-of sweet stand, a sort-of photo booth, the opportunity to write in the guestbook and the opportunity to write wedding wishes on wooden hearts that were posted into a frame.

Everyone at the wedding party was relaxed, enjoyed themselves and celebrated Sue and Iain’s commitment to one another. It was essentially a celebration of their love for one another. I felt fortunate, privileged and honored to be invited to share their special day.

On Sunday, mum and I went to the cinemas to see Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gindlewald.

The-Crimes-of-Grindelwald-cinema-poster-November-2018

Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindelwald (cinema poster).

The film was awesome and well worth the wait. I’m taking part in the #ProtectTheSecrets, so I can’t write more about my thoughts. As doing so would lead to me giving away plot points.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Sunday 18 November 2018

Matilda at Manchester Palace Theatre

By AntonyFriends & Family, Gigs & Shows, Happiness & JoyNo Comments

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:

Matilda Poster.	A Lego Matilda.
Matilda Stage (1).	Matilda Stage (2).

Blog soon,

Antony

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Monday 22 October 2018

The Spectacular Shania Twain Live at Manchester Arena

By AntonyFriends & Family, Gigs & Shows, Happiness & JoyNo Comments

Shania-Twain-Manchester-Arena-September-2018-0

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.