Welcome to the first of this monthly feature – a roundup of activities, days-out, events and media that have been particularly memorable in the month of January.
If you’ve read my previous posts, it will come as no surprise that I’ve had a little more spare-time to enjoy and fill my days with. If, instead, you’re a new reader here – then firstly hi! And secondly, – to fill you in, I took the plunge in January to leave my full-time employed job and return to a life of self-employment. This, as a result, has given me the opportunity to try new experiences, immerse myself into hobbies and interests, and spend quality time with those I love.
I’ve umm-ed and ahh-ed over the best format for such a post, and thinking that the less-formal, bullet-pointed way is the way to go. And thus, without further ado:
Days Out & Activities:
- The Zoo – Me and my partner took advantage of Chester Zoo’s January deal where tickets were on offer for only £25pp. We visited mid-month, and this particular visit turned out to be our best one yet! We were fortunate enough to see all three snow leopards this time (made better by witnessing a grooming session by mum and baby), as well as many of the other new additions and arrivals. Our personal highlights, aside from the snow leopards, were the cheetah; the red panda; the baby tree kangaroo; the African painted dog; and the elephant – all of which were showing us their true personalities! Chester Zoo is always a great day out for us (in fact that was our third visit in only eleven months) as we find there’s always plenty to see, helpful staff and knowledgeable volunteers on hand to provide additional information, and, as far as zoos go, the animal welfare seems to be held to high standards.
- Pottery Painting – What started as a simple mindful date idea, stumbled upon us finding a little gem in the town of Stockport: a pottery painting café by the name of Brooklyn Pottery. We ended up making two visits here in January as my partner needed a second day to finish his design, and I was more than happy to tag along to paint a second piece. From the moment we walked in on our first day we were met with the friendliest of welcomes, and the warm, chatty hospitality continued throughout. Time flew by, but the simple act of painting whilst eating delicious homemade cake, provided hours of ‘switch-off-the-outside-world’ time, and we left both sessions feeling restful and happy. We need to go back to collect our pieces as they’re likely in the kiln as I type, but I can’t wait to see how our designs turned out. We ended up painting a cheetah, a horse, and a mug adorned with a lizard, snake and frog – a very animal inspired collection!
- Theatre Trip – One of our Christmas presents last year was a pair of tickets to a show of our choosing, and we opted for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe which was performing the tail-end of its tour at The Lowry Theatre in Salford. Neither of us had seen any previews nor reviews of this production so were very much going in blind. But what a welcomed surprise – we were completely immersed from beginning to end! It was a fantastic adaptation of one of CS Lewis’ best loved works, delivered incredibly by the talented performers, cast, and stage crew.
Hobbies and Interests:
- Study – There’s an overarching theme for the month of January, and this is going to be no exception to that fact. I’ve always been fascinated by the natural world and the creatures that call it home; there’s no hiding the fact my interest for the animal kingdom is the predominant one which I carry through life. And so, last year I enrolled on an online zoology course ran by Centre for Excellence. Whilst the course itself isn’t overly in-depth or detailed, I very much believe that studying is what you make of it, and it’s often worth putting in the extra effort to do further reading alongside the source materials. As life got a little in the way last year (as it often does), I found the weeks turned to months without any submissions of my assessments. In January, however, I set aside time to revisit the notes, and submit my assignments for both Module 1 and 2 – and glad to say I received pass marks for both.
- Writing – The relaunch of this blog (and the actual commitment to stick to it this time) has been a big part of the month. With the pressure I gave myself to write and publish one post a week, I’ve found the spark for storytelling return. The simple act of putting words to paper is providing great practice for one of my larger projects and I’m finding that when I reach that flow for blog writing, I’m gaining an even stronger desire to work on those, often daunting, manuscripts. In addition to the blog and the manuscript, I’ve been putting aside time to follow through with a daily diary too. I’ve always been a reflective and introspective individual but one of the things I struggle most with is expressing and understanding my own emotions. And whilst the intention was there for this diary to become a journal for more internal thoughts, it appears that my practical brain won the battle with the emotional one, and instead I’ve been left with a daily log of activities. The goal in the months that follow is to practice more mindful entries and really try to delve into how I’m feeling as opposed to what I did.
Physical and Virtual Media:
This section is going to be more of a list rather than a detailed account or review of the below, but I like to the idea of including some honourable media mentions from the month.
- Books – Peter Pan by JM Barrie.
- TV – Patience S2 on Channel 4.
- Film – Cheetahs up Close on Disney+.
- Games – Planet Zoo on Steam.
This certainly turned into a longer post than I initially envisioned – well done on making it this far if you did! But it’s been nice to look back and appreciate the memories, the progress, and the joyful moments we had in the month of January.
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