Last year we visited Twycross Zoo for the first time. Well, it was for me. As Carol lived in Leicestershire, in a village called Thornton, which is very close, she says she remembers visiting when she was at school. A one-and-a-half hour journey up the A5 and we found it fairly easily. I think it's quicker than going north on the M1, which, as far as I know, still has roadworks which means you have to drive at 50 m.p.h., which is somewhat annoying. These roadworks have been going on for far too long and what is more than annoying is the fact that they close off mile upon mile or motorway lanes and there never appears to be any work going on. I think something seriously needs to be done about this as it must be causing inconvenience to many people and must be frustrating to local businesses.
The day started out relatively cold, although bright. It was therefore quite difficult to decide what to wear and I wore my hooded fleece. As the day progressed the weather got warmer which meant I didn't really need the fleece and spent most of the day carrying it around with me.
We got to Twycross at 10.30 and immediately noticed that the carpark had been re-surfaced. Infact the whole place seems to have had a make-over, with not only roads and paths having new surfaces but a complete re-design of the logo and better signage through the zoo. We immediately made for the newly-opened Gibbon Forest exhibit, which was being build when we visited almost exactly a year ago. At that time it was under wraps and it meant you have to navigate the zoo too avoid any of the building work. There is an island exhibit, which looks as if it is still being completed. But you go inside the building and up several levels and can see the gibbons in very naturalistic environments. We spent some time watching these amazing creatures climbing and swinging about on ropes and what look like tapes and moving very fast across the ceiling of the exhibit.
We had something to eat in one of the many cafes and restaurants throughout the zoo. By this time it was getting quite warm and the place was beginning to get quite crowded.
Over-all, our stay at the zoo was around three and a half hours. You can never get to see everything, which means we can visit again and manage to see the rest of the animals that are exhibited. We left and returned home. We had to do shopping so visited Sainsbury's.
We had our evening meal, and Carol was concerned about a rather nasty rash on her leg. It has become very uncomfortable and itchy. She has a cream, prescribed by her doctor, but it does not seem to be clearing. She says that it has begun to swell and it may have something to do with the fact that she has type 2 diabetes. She said she needed a doctor's appointment. I was beginning to get somewhat concerned. She could have waited until Monday to make an appointment, but, considering how the appointment system works at our surgery, Ashfield Medical Centre, it would be almost impossible to get an appointment. So we decided to go to the Urgent CareCentre at Milton Keynes Hospital, formerly called the 'Walk-In Centre.' This is where you go if you have a medical condition which isn't strictly urgent enough for you to need to go to Accident and Emergency. It is staffed by doctors and nurses who are able to diagnose specific medical problems and refer you to other medical practitioners if they are unable to help. We were reluctant to go there, but as this rash was getting worse it was clear that something needed to be done. We drove there, arriving at around 8.15. Carol was questioned by the receptionist, a form of triage and we sat and waited for her name to appear on the digital board so she could see a staff member. The place was already very busy when we arrived, and more people came in in the time we were there. In all we were there around three hours. She got prescription for antibiotics and we had to go to Boots at Kingston, near the big Tesco store, as there is a night pharmacy which could dispense the medication she needed. There were other people waiting, who we'd already seen in the Urgent Care Centre. You had to press a bell and a young man appeared and hand over your prescription form for him to make up the prescription. Carol has an exemption card which means she does not have to pay the prescription charge as she is diabetic. We had to go home as we didn't have my wallet which had the card in it.
Over-all, our stay at the zoo was around three and a half hours. You can never get to see everything, which means we can visit again and manage to see the rest of the animals that are exhibited. We left and returned home. We had to do shopping so visited Sainsbury's.
We had our evening meal, and Carol was concerned about a rather nasty rash on her leg. It has become very uncomfortable and itchy. She has a cream, prescribed by her doctor, but it does not seem to be clearing. She says that it has begun to swell and it may have something to do with the fact that she has type 2 diabetes. She said she needed a doctor's appointment. I was beginning to get somewhat concerned. She could have waited until Monday to make an appointment, but, considering how the appointment system works at our surgery, Ashfield Medical Centre, it would be almost impossible to get an appointment. So we decided to go to the Urgent CareCentre at Milton Keynes Hospital, formerly called the 'Walk-In Centre.' This is where you go if you have a medical condition which isn't strictly urgent enough for you to need to go to Accident and Emergency. It is staffed by doctors and nurses who are able to diagnose specific medical problems and refer you to other medical practitioners if they are unable to help. We were reluctant to go there, but as this rash was getting worse it was clear that something needed to be done. We drove there, arriving at around 8.15. Carol was questioned by the receptionist, a form of triage and we sat and waited for her name to appear on the digital board so she could see a staff member. The place was already very busy when we arrived, and more people came in in the time we were there. In all we were there around three hours. She got prescription for antibiotics and we had to go to Boots at Kingston, near the big Tesco store, as there is a night pharmacy which could dispense the medication she needed. There were other people waiting, who we'd already seen in the Urgent Care Centre. You had to press a bell and a young man appeared and hand over your prescription form for him to make up the prescription. Carol has an exemption card which means she does not have to pay the prescription charge as she is diabetic. We had to go home as we didn't have my wallet which had the card in it.
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