I am forever telling you all about my childhood and how great it was. I was a lucky girl with a steady family and a pleasant upbringing, being able to achieve anything I wanted and always top-of-the-class. This is something I really value now I’m old enough to appreciate it, and I know that I am one of the minority who had this.
My abilities and idyllic surroundings brought forward feelings in me that I was in some way… Exceptional. I thought that everyone was placed there for my benefit; like everything was created to please, or anger, or confuse me. I am not sure how common it is, but when I was a kid I thought the world was made for me alone. It was a “God Complex” – a feeling that I had unlimited personal potential and control. Think a Hermione Granger in the Philosopher’s Stone mentality… (But don’t worry, it doesn’t last.)
Everyone has regrets, but I find the biggest regrets in my life are often the things I didn’t do. Of course, it’s completely cliche and some would probably think I would count my wonky, odd, fan-girling, terrible tattoos as regrets…
I’ve now been to Switzerland twice, and seen a fair amount of the countryside and towns. I have to say, I absolutely love it! It’s somewhere you can get some real relaxation, or check out vibrant city-life, or just pause while you take in the breath-taking views.
There are so many reasons to visit Switzerland that aren’t on here, because I’m just one girl and I’m not the authority on Switzerland but, here are a few things I’d recommend!
Who doesn’t want to go to a ball? Events like this are so few and far between nowadays. Masquerades, black tie dinners and glamorous balls – they don’t happen enough! So when I learned of a Starry Night ball being held at one of my FAVOURITE places to be (the National Space Centre) I thought, I AM SO THERE.
We all know that there are a LOT of sci-fi stories out there. I mean, there are whole sections of book shops dedicated to the genre. Speaking of which, I now sponsor one! I pledged to help my local BookShop’s expansion and they let me brand their sci-fi section. In celebration, I decided to explore what makes a good sci-fi story?
To answer this question, I took 2 sample texts, from “Amy’s Storys” (sic) written by 8-year-old me, to analyse as core texts. It’s as good a starting point as any…
Part of my 30 goals to complete over the next two years involves going to see a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. I chose Salome by Oscar Wilde as he is one of my favourite writers. So here’s my write up – a chance for me to exercise my long-lost analytical skills and offer a mini-review of the play. The play is described as “a tragedy in one act”. For a plot write up you can click here but otherwise, let’s carry on!
Last weekend, my other half and I went to the National Space Centre! It was super fun and informative – definitely worth at least one trip if you want to broaden your mind and get some new information about our universe! I thought I’d write a National Space Centre Review as it was amazing and I would go again for sure. We got an annual pass for the price of one ticket (!) so we plan to go again with friends.
Intergalactic
We had a ticket to see a planetarium show which was held in the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium. You can choose from a look at the universe as a whole or stories behind some of our constellations. The lady who presented the show was very enthusiastic and I loved hearing more about the Greek mythology related to the constellations.
Some things I learned from the planetarium exhibit:
Some space objects are named M followed by a number because Charles Messier just labelled things he found with his initial and a number in the order he found them – how very imaginative!
We can’t map all the galaxies because our own galaxy blocks the half of our view.
The big and little dipper constellations are named for a Greek legend of a mother and son who were turned into bears and thrown into space!
Would you kindly increase the magnification?
Interactive
I really liked how they relayed the information in the centre to you. It wasn’t centred around children only which it can often be at science museums, it was perfect for us too. The level of interactivity was so high! There were whole areas where you could test your skills as an astronaut, a simulation of a moon landing and you could lose hours watching all the videos and playing the mini-games.
They had some real rockets in the eating area with a multi-layer mezzanine so you could see them from top to bottom. That was certainly a highlight of the day!
Information
There were SO many facts in there that you’d have to visit a few times to really take it all in! There were whole areas dedicated to rockets, sci-fi, the life of astronauts. So many planetary facts and the entire history of space exploration across the world. Here are just a few things I learned along the way:
The first ever Sci-Fi movie was French and called “La Voyage Dans le Lune”. It involved scientists that looked more like wizards.
What it’s like to wash your hair in space. (You gather a very small amount of water droplets as best you can and pull them through your hair.)
Saturn if very small (or we had a huge bath) would float in water
Inspiration
I wanted to buy EVERYTHING in the onsite shop but as it’s my birthday coming up I wasn’t allowed! In the end, I bought some “astronaut” food which I will try out soon. Once my birthday is over I am definitely going to go back for more!
I am constantly searching for inspiration for my space themed stuff. The National Space Centre was definitely full of that- for both my blog and artwork. I discovered that I really love how space exploration changed throughout history and the links between the old and new methods. The history of the constellations was definitely a highlight for me!
Anytime I feel spaced out (pun intended), I am going to revisit and fuel my thoughts!
