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A Brilliant 33rd Birthday (including a visit to Mother Shipton’s Cave)

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, PaganismNo Comments

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This week I have had a brilliant time celebrating my 33rd Birthday. I’ve seen my brother Shaun for coffee, had tea out with mum and papa, seen Jayne for coffee and cake, spent a wonderful day at Mother Shipton’s Cave and in Knaresborough with Simon and am seeing Kay tomorrow. I received some lovely cards and great gifts. The most brilliant thing has been catching up with people.

But a highlight has to be visiting Mother Shipton’s Cave. Here are some photos from the cave visit:

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Simon and I, the famous Petrifying Well behind us.
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This is Beech Ave. It has some of the oldest beech trees in Britain.
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The stream that leads down to the Petrifying Well.
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The top of the Petrifying Well.
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The Petrifying Well. Normally the rock above would have worn away due to erosion, but because of the unique properties of the water, that turns things to stone, a layer of stone has built up and protected the rock underneath.
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A side view of the Petrifying Well (1).
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A side view of the Petrifying Well (2).
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Ivy at the side of the well has began to crystalise from the water splash back from the Petrifying Well.
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The entrance to Mother Shipton’s Cave.
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A rock carving impression of Mother Shipton within her cave.
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The naturally formed Wishing Well (1). Simon and I both made a wish.
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The naturally formed Wishing Well (2).
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A sculpture of Mother Shipton in the small museum/gift shop.
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Just a silly photo of me.

A video I took at the Petrifying Well:

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Essential Info

  • Mother Shipton’s Cave includes: some of the oldest beech trees in Britain, a cave where Mother Shipton (a Witch in the 17th Century) was said to have lived. A Petrifying Well that turns things into stone (due to the unique make up of the water), a naturally formed wishing well, a park for children (with picnic benches) and a small shop/museum. It is located in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England. This attraction could be fully completed in about an hour.
  • Admission Price: £9-10 for an adult. This is on the expensive side for what is on offer, however it does include an all day come and go wristband. This means that you could leave the attraction to go into the market town of Knaresborough.
  • Opening Times: Vary, view here.
  • Parking: £1-2, with plenty available.
  • Toilets.
  • Has a small gift shop and museum combined.
  • Useful to know: Wednesday’s are market day in Knaresborough, so worth visiting on a Wednesday if you can. That way you can do the cave, markets and get something to eat in the many pubs/restaurants in the town.

I’ve had a fantastic birthday, but the week of annual leave that I’ve taken for my birthday has gone far too quickly as always.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Friday 17 May 2019

Book Review: The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Health, ReviewsNo Comments
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 Peters is a Consultant Psychiatrist, who is a Dean for undergraduate students at Sheffield University Medical School. He is also credited with helping athletes achieve success and has worked with: Sky Pro Cycling team, Olympic Gold medal winners and Liverpool Football Club.

The Chimp Paradox is not a new theory. Peters has taken an old theory and repackaged it, making it more accessible to more people. The theory goes that within our mind we have three aspects: the computer, the chimp and the human.

The computer stores autopilots (useful beliefs or behaviours), gremlins (destructive beliefs or behaviours that are removable/changeable in the computer) and goblins (destructive beliefs or behaviours that are difficult to remove/change).

All of these are based on past experiences. The computer also holds the values and beliefs that we live our lives by.

The chimp is the emotional part of your brain and is wired for survival and procreation. Whenever the chimp perceives a threat he will decide to fight, flight or freeze. The chimp can hijack you and is responsible for often irrational or destructive behaviours.

The human on the other hand is the logical and rational part of you. The problem comes that the chimp responds 5 times quicker than the human. So it is up to the human to learn to manage the chimp and to change the programming of the computer, so that all parts of the brain work towards the same goals without conflict.

Here’s a video that explains the concept:

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Anyone struggling with emotions, emotional intensity or regulation will find The Chimp Paradox useful. The book covers improving: day to day functioning, motivation, health, success and happiness.

Overall Peters should be commended for making the psychological theory more accessible. The Chimp Paradox is simple to understand and includes plenty of real life examples. The only downside to this is that Peters sometimes over explains the obvious.

If you’re into self-improvement, self-help or other similar topics, then you’ll enjoy The Chimp Paradox.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 31 March 2019

A General Life Update (with Photos)

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Friends & Family, Life, TechnologyNo Comments
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My first batch of 13 paperback copies. They have all been signed and sent out to people.. More have been ordered.

 This is a general life update. As most of you will be aware my new book Mental Health Wisdom has been released. It was due to be released in May, but was moved forward due to the way Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Works. I realised that it is also available on Amazon internationally. You can learn more here here.

The whole process of writing, editing and publishing the book has been a huge learning curve. It’s awesome to see my own work in print. I feel really happy and very proud of myself.

I’ve managed to get my book on Goodreads. I’ve reached out to some bloggers who have agreed to review my book. I now need to get some reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

As I spent the end of last year and the beginning of this year working on my book, I’ve used the time since to catch up with family and friends. I’ve met with my mum and she’s shared her excitement about going to Thailand and Cambodia. My brother Shaun and his girlfriend are adding to our family. My brother Neil and his fiancee are excited about a move.

My friend Kay has shared her experiences from a recent trip to Australia. A family I’m close to (they have all but practically adopted me!) have shared stories of their children and grandchildren. My friend Sye shared that he has passed his theory driving test.

There’s been so much going on for the people that I love and it’s all positive. It is wonderful to hear.

My iPhone 6 Plus had fingerprints on the camera that no amount of lens cleaning would remove. The battery was beginning to die. This is the second iPhone I’ve had in two years and I really look after my stuff. So I decided to upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S10+:

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Samsung Galaxy S10+ SmartPhone.

This phone is superb. The only annoyance is that often the fingerprint scanner doesn’t recognise my fingers. Here are some features on the phone:

  • A massive screen.
  • A long-lasting battery and fast charging.
  • Three camera lenses on the back and two on the front.
  • A sensor that can detect you heart rate, the oxygen saturation in your tissue and levels of stress.
  • It was quick and easy to transfer my data (contacts, photos, music, calendars) from my iPhone to the S10+. In fact Samsung has an app that does it all for you.
  • The settings make the phone highly customisable. You can download full themes, or just wallpapers and icons.
  • All Apps available on iPhones are available in either the Google Play Store or Galaxy Store.
  • It has plenty of RAM.
  • A huge amount of storage, the amount customisation on order. It can also be extended by Micro SD.
  • It can be wirelessly charged and can be used to wirelessly charge other devices.
  • Has a headphone jack.
  • Dual speakers that are really loud.
  • Affordable accessories made by third parties.
  • The list could go on.

I’ve planned and booked my annual leave off work until the end of January. I am in the process of make plans for my time off.

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After Life by Ricky Gervais is on Netflix and a must watch.

 I’ve been enjoying Star Trek Discovery on Netflix. I also watched After Life written by and staring Ricky Gervais.

After Life is a must watch. It’s about a man (Gervais) whose wife dies due to cancer. It is about how he deals with the loss and gets on the path to contentedness.

After Life is funny, pulls at your heart strings and is overall brilliant. The ending felt rushed, but the reasons for this are understandable.

Here’s a trailer:

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Finally, I’ve recently had feedback from a 360° online anonymised questionnaire as part of a Leadership Programme at work. This questionnaire was sent to a wide range of people that I work with. I don’t discuss work on my blog. But I will say that it was hugely positive, with only a few minor areas for improvement. This affirms my beliefs that I am good at my job and perform well.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Sunday 17 March 2019

Christmas 2018 – No Coal, Lots of Lovely Presents & Seeing the Magical and Musical Mary Poppins Returns

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, LifeNo Comments

Christmas was great. The best thing about it is always the precious time spent with loved ones. The food, drinks and presents are just huge pluses. This year I must have been extra good because I didn’t get any coal (the traditional gift for the naughty) and instead got lots of lovely presents:

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Christmas presents I was fortunate to receive from friends and family (1).

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Christmas presents I was fortunate to receive from friends and family (2).

My good friend Jayne and I went to watch Mary Poppins Returns (MPR):

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Mary Poppins Returns Cinema Poster

MPR is magical, musical and all-round marvelous. It had a number of brilliant cameo appearances by: Julie Walters, Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury.

My Christmas was finished off by seeing Adam Lambert perform Believe in tribute to Cher. A gorgeous man with an amazing voice. This performance made me cry the first time I saw it. I have watched the performance numerous times since. You can see the performance below:

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Blog soon,

Antony

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Friday 28 December 2018
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