Hiya, I'm Raf. I'm a lifelong wildlife nerd in the slow process of varnishing a lifetime of interest and informal learning with education in the hope of ending up with some sort of usable (employable!) lacquer - now in year 2 of a half-speed biology degree with the Open University, with focus where I can get away with it on ecology and evolution. I'm studying part-time because I have a severe physical impairment and am a powerchair user with high level support needs: I'm a Londoner currently living reluctantly in Manchester and so have somehow ended up with two 'local' zoos, two hundred miles apart! I spend a lot more time in ZSL London than at Chester; think I've managed five visits so far this year, aided by the opening of a new hotel in north London with really outstanding accessible bedrooms, putting me within longish wheeling distance of the zoo for the first time in 31 years of regular visiting. Looking forward to joining in after some years of regular lurking on zoochat. Raf
