mum Archives - Page 5 of 18 - Antony Simpson is an Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.

The Spectacular Shania Twain Live at Manchester Arena

Thursday 27 September 2018 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

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.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Harry Potter Studio Tour and London with Mum

Sunday 20 May 2018 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

This week mum and I went on a coach trip with National Holidays. We went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour and spent some time in London city centre.

Here are some collages of photos from the Harry Potter Studio Tour, click on any photo for full size image:

The Goblet of Fire Photos.	Forbidden Forest Photos.
Hogwarts Express Photos.	Props Photos.
Weasley Shop Props.	Knight Bus Photos.
Inside Privet Drive Photos.	Other Cool Stuff Photos.

Even though mum and I had been before, there were plenty of things we hadn’t seen on our last visit. I’ve only included photos things we didn’t see last time in this blog post. Things we didn’t see last time included: The Goblet of Fire, The Forbidden Forest, The Hogwarts Express and inside Privet Drive.

There were plenty of things that we saw last time. I was great to see that they had significantly increased the interactive activities for visitors.

It was brilliant to see that they are building an extension to include things from the new Fantastic Beasts films series (of which there will be 5 films).

Here’s one final photo of Mum with a Hedwig puppet. We took a similar photo last time, how many times do you have to do something before it becomes a tradition?

HPST-Mum-with-Hedwig-Puppet-May-18-8 — Mum with Hedwig Puppet.

The next day mum and I were released into the wild of London city centre. We saw the Houses of Parliament, the scaffolding-covered Big Ben, the High Courts and my favourite St. James Park.

St. James Park is a lovely park that is like a natural oasis within one of the world’s most busy cities. There’s a bit of a family story to 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.

Here are some photo collages from photos I took in St. James Park:

St-James-Park-London-collage-May-18-9 — St. James Park, London. Photo collage by me (1).

St-James-Park-London-collage-May-18-10 — St. James Park, London. Photo collage by me (2).

Mum and I had a fantastic time and will no doubt do the trip again in a couple of years.

Mum and I did a similar trip at the end of 2014. You can read and see pictures here: London Trip, Part 1 and London Trip, Part 2.

Write soon,

Antony

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Thirty Two Today – My Birthday Plans

Monday 14 May 2018 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Good morning everyone,

Today is my thirty second birthday. I’m not actually sat here writing this, it’s a scheduled post.

thirty-two-today-antony-simpson — I’m Thirty Two Today!

My birthday plans include a well-earned break from work for a week.

Today I’m off to Newcastle to see castles with Simon. In fact we are probably already on our way as this post is published. There are two English Heritage castles nearby that we want to see, along with Newcastle Castle.

Later in the week, mum and I are off to re-visit Harry Potter Studio Tour. You can see photos from when first visited the Harry Potter Studio Tour in 2014 here.

So expect to see blog posts about the above soon. In the meantime have an awesome week.

Write soon,

Antony

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The Fantastic Peter Pan’s Musical Adventure at Blackpool Winter Gardens

Saturday 6 January 2018 / Antony Simpson / 8 Comments

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Some days are special. Some days are when memories are made. Today was one of those days.

peter-pan-blackpool-2018-0 — Blackpool Tower

My mum, my brother, his girlfriend and my nephew went to to see Peter Pan’s Musical Adventure at Winter Gardens in Blackpool. We got into town early and headed to the amusements.

My mum and nephew took to the 2p machines with eagerness. They took their tubes of 2ps to the machines, started to feed them and collect tickets (that would be later exchanged for toy prizes).

Mum quickly got hooked and was like a crack addict getting their fix (joke!). At one point mum and I were looking for the others, she saw a 2p machine and made a be-line for it. Mum’s face, full of concentration and determination (to get more tickets), made me smile and chuckle no end.

peter-pan-blackpool-2018-1 — The 2p Machines.

peter-pan-blackpool-2018-2 — Mum feeding the 2p machines and feeding her habit at the same time.

Peter Pan was fantastic! Modern music, enthusiastic cast, lots of adult humour and plenty of flying. Children and adults alike throughly enjoyed the show from start to finish.

Peter Pan Poster at Winter Gardens, Blackpool.	Peter Pan the set (1).
Peter Pan the set (2).

Next year’s performance will be The Wizard of Oz. Are you a friend of Dorothy’s?

Spending the quality time with family today made me feel really blessed. I am greatful to have such close relationships with my wonderful, awesome and fabulous family.

Blog soon,

Antony

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