Club LIV is Moving

New Meetup Group Manchester Weekly Bar Crawl opens this week. No events are uploaded yet, but I'll be keeping my eye on it. The group's URL is a little disconcerting, though.

Club LIV are moving venue to 111A Deansgate, formerly the home of Suburbia / Avici White / Club V. Looking forward to seeing the new, larger place.

On the blog: Keep your eyes peeled for a meeting with a Hollywood screenwriter with some hilarious behind-the-scenes stories, the launch of some scented candles with a few celebs, and a club night with a famous rapper.

London September '19

Travelled to London recently for a 'cinematic experience' – a great one, but one that is still running, so I've promised I won't discuss it until about a week into October once the run has ended. That aside it was still a packed weekend of fun, with my sister giving me a tour of Kings Cross and Coal Drops Yard, London's answer to Spinningfields.

Originally the drop-off point for trains coming in from the north, loaded with coal, the area has retained its pit formation but now the sides of the area are populated with craft shops and trendy cocktail bars, some of which we dropped into.

We had a great pizza at Happy Face, underneath which we found Supermax bar, an uber-cool cocktail place with underplayed hip hop on vinyl and décor not a million miles from the Korova Milk Bar in A Clockwork Orange (patrons much better behaved, though). I recognised this track from this body popping contest. 

 

I have Wolf and Badger in my notes as the next bar we went to, but it seems this is a clothing brand. We definitely went to The Lighter Man, a bar that looks like an 80's luxury condominium, with a beer garden, (I liked it) and The German Gymnasium, a huge building, which formerly was the first gymnasium in the UK. Worth going just for the sheer size of it. The Tropical Escape cocktail was a good shout.

 

Samsung UK Headquarters

Google UK Headquarters

I'd be keen to check out the area again.

Andy's Man Club Wins Diversity Award

Community Organisation Award for Gender. Brilliant. So proud to be part of the movement.

In other psychology-related news, I've been eating clean and working the gym. I managed to beat my leg press record, now at 200kg. To beat this again I'd have to use the smith machine, something that would require a spotter, which I rarely have. So I'm considering doing isolated leg exercises: hamstring curl, quad extension, calf press etc.

I'll return to clean eating next Saturday.

British bookworms will immerse themselves in 696 books over a lifetime

This arrived in my inbox and I found it quite interesting.

British bookworms will immerse themselves in 696 books over a lifetime - with crime and thrillers the most popular, a study has found. (I'm at 393 aged 37, not including a few schoolbooks, and I'm hoping to live long enough to read more than 696. We'll see.)

Each year, the average adult will get through 11 books, with almost one in five saying they read every day.

Crime is the most popular genre (42%) along with thrillers (38%) and drama (35%).

But the study, by eBay UK, found 42% are too busy to read as much as they would like with the average adult owning at least 10 books they are yet to get to the end of.

Rob Johnson, Co-Founder of Wordery, eBay UK’s online bookstore, said: ‘”There’s no doubt that we’re a nation of readers, but it’s really heartwarming to see that reading books and getting lost in fiction is still a hobby Brits love to take part in, especially in the days of box sets and instant viewing.

“At Wordery we have an incredible selection of all the latest books, as well as recommendations for when our customers are wanting to try something new but not sure where to start.

“It’s great for us to see people fall in love with new genres and authors, and discover them for the first time.”

The study of 2,000 adults found summer holidays are the optimum time to get your nose into a good book, with 65% saying that reading on holiday as a good way to relax.

In fact, the average adult will get through two books during a week-long break, getting lost inside an exciting tale for one hour and 20 minutes a day while on a break - twice as long as they do when they are at home.

And 36% happily re-read a story on holiday that they’ve already enjoyed before.

It also emerged 51% said reading helps them get lost in another world, and 44% enjoy a good book as part of making time for themselves.

The top three spots to read on holiday include a comfy sofa, a cosy bed and beside a pool.

The study also named The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as the most read book, with 33% of adults enjoying the tale, closely followed by The Da Vinci Code (30%).

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came in third (29%), despite J.K. Rowling topping the list of preferred authors with 26% of the vote.

King of horror, Stephen King is considered one of the top authors by 24% while Charles Dickens was chosen by 18 per cent of respondents.

Interestingly, when it comes to the battle of the sexes there’s a clear divide, according to the research carried out via OnePoll.

Women's favourite books are more ‘modern’ classics and include:

Gone Girl (26%), Girl on the Train (34%), Fifty Shades of Grey (28%), Bridget Jones’ Diary (30%).

But men’s top reads are Nineteen Eighty-Four (28%), Lord of the Flies (23%), Treasure Island (28%) and Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy (21%).

Based on Wordery’s sales, the top best sellers for the summer are The Salt Path by Raynor Winn and Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott’s Can You See Me?

Also in the top 10 are Three Women by Lisa Taddeo and John Grisham’s The Reckoning.

Tilda Molho, trading director of media and entertainment at eBay, said: “Our online book stores are always incredibly popular, but the roaring trade definitely comes during the run up to the summer months, when we as Brits generally make more time for reading and spending time offline.”

Top 50 most read books by Brits:

1. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

2. The Da Vinci Code (terrible, and lifted from The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail)

3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

9. Nineteen-Eighty Four (masterpiece)

10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

12. Treasure Island

13. The Wind in the Willows

14. The Hobbit (couldn't get into it)

15. The Girl on the Train

16. Jane Eyre

17. The Lord of the Rings

18. Lord of the Flies

19. Wuthering Heights

20. Bridget Jones' Diary

21. The Catcher in the Rye

22. A Tale of Two Cities

23. Gone Girl

24. Fifty Shades of Grey (read small passages of this, utterly cringe-worthy)

25. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

26. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

27. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (superb)

28. The Lovely Bones

29. Tales of Huckleberry Finn

30. Murder on the Orient Express

31. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (fascinating book, although characterizations were thin)

32. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

33. The Hunger Games

34. Anne of Green Gables

35. The Time Traveller's Wife

36. The Wizard of Oz

37. Jamaica Inn

38. PS. I Love You

39. Twilight

40. Brighton Rock

41. Life of Pi

42. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

43. The Kite Runner

44. Memoirs of a Geisha

45. American Psycho (incredible, but if you don't have a strong stomach don't bother)

46. The Handmaid's Tale

47. My Sister's Keeper

48. Me Before You

49. One Day

50. Jack Reacher: Killing Floor

Meeting BBC's North America Correspondent Jon Sopel

“If I'd have said that Donald Trump would be the next president, they would have put me in a room with only soft furnishings,” says Jon Sopel. Not that he would have. The BBC's North America correspondent, tasked with interpreting for a British audience the vast outpouring of unfiltered babbling coming from the now president's mouth, quickly accrued a huge amount of news- solid, hard facts- from his time reporting from Washington. What he learned out there, though, was that facts didn't matter to the Trump administration- making Mr. Sopel's time covering this presidency totally unique to any other assignment he'd ever been given.

It's Wednesday 18^th September, and we're in Manchester's Dance House Theatre for the launch of A Year at the Circus: Inside Trump's White House. Interviewing him is BBC's political editor Jim Hancock.

“If Hillary had won,” claims Mr. Sopel, “My golf swing would be better. I never have time now. Every time I got away, Trump would do something batshit crazy, and I'd get called back to DC.” He goes on to reel off some of Trump's falsehoods- claiming he'd predicted the outcome of Brexit while at a golf course with Sopel himself, when the plane's flight manifesto clearly showed him landing the day after the result, for example. There were plenty more. Some you'll remember from the news, some may have passed you by.

The discussion, including questions from the audience, covers Trump's child-like sharpie drawings tracking Hurricane Dorian, his paying off of Stormy Daniels (“Our job is not to normalise really weird behaviour,”) Melania's cluster of secret service agents filling an entire corner of a restaurant (That Mr Sopel found himself in) just days after the Stormy Daniels story broke (“the atmosphere was not great. Trump was sat like he was on the naughty step. I couldn't help but gawk”) and much, much more. Say what you like about Trump's politics, but his presidency is never dull.

If Mr Sopel had been American, he claims, the book could have been more damning. Americans are protected by the 1^st Amendment, which prevents the government from making laws which abridge the freedom of speech, or the freedom of the press. Given Trump has sued (UK news outlets) The Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Mr Sopel didn't want to take any chances. What remains in the book- at least what's discussed a the event- is still riveting. Mr Sopel has read the Mueller report (“He didn't conspire. But most reports are dull. The Mueller report is a page-turner”).

Mr. Sopel and his team had to discuss the precedent of dropping the F-Bomb on TV. (Trump, after hearing the guts of the aforementioned expose, had allegedly uttered, “It's the end of my presidency. I'm fucked.”) Mr Sopel describes the blatant difference between this presidency and any other in US history: “'Pussy,' 'shithole countries,' 'we're fucked...' The language I've used on the BBC...” He brings a fist to his head and expands his grip: mind-blowing.

After some skilled questioning from Mr. Hancock, we go over to the audience for questions. First off the bat: Who does Mr Sopel back in the 2020 elections?

“It's Trump. Due to the economy, employment, stocks. Biden makes a lot of mistakes. Elizabeth Warren, she's possible.”

Are you surprised there's been no assassination attempt?

“No- the people with the guns like him, and the Secret Service do an incredible job.”

Do you think when he ran it was a publicity stunt?

“He's having the time of his life. It was a branding exercise when he attacked John McCain, who was was praised as a PoW. Trump trashed him and everyone loved it. The original plan was to be in for 6 weeks and throw it to Chris Christie.”

If there's a US-UK trade deal, should we worry about the NHS?

“No. Johnson couldn't trade with the USA. He knows it would be devastating. The NHS is like a live rail: touch it at your peril.”

Trump encourages violence towards journalists- have you experienced it?

“Hell yeah. My cameraman was pushed over, and he's a heavy-set guy. I've been jostled, spat at. Secret Service were guarding the journalists. We weren't allowed out of the rallies until about an hour after they'd finished. Someone asked (then Press Secretary) Sarah Sanders how she copes, and straight off the bat she replied, 'bourbon.'”

Is Mike Pence dangerous or anti-women? And why is Trump orange?

“I'm mesmerised by Pence. When Trump is speaking...” Mr Sopel breaks off in impression, staring, statically fawningly at an imagined Trump. “Like a taxidermist had been there. Pence introduced Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which limits gay rights and abortion. Legislation changed, but public opinion didn't. Why is he orange? I took a photo in the (White House) Rose Garden and I knew that there was something wrong. He looked like he'd been tangoed.”

Can we have free and fair elections given the Facebook misinformation campaigns?

“I bloody hope so. It's never been more challenging. Social Media has a huge responsibility, and they're fumbling and groping towards that. We need swift mechanisms put in place now.”

Mr Hancock asks, will Russia try again?

“Yes,” predicts Mr Sopel. “Trump retweeted a video of a woman dancing, claiming it was a celebration on 9/11. It was total fake news.” It's this ease of manipulation, he suggests, that makes Trump and his social media use the perfect target for political hackers.

What do you think the plans are for the Trump family?

“There was a TV series called Succession, about a media empire ran by a man with children, where we're always wondering which child will take over. Donald Trump Jr is like his dad. US viewers loved the Bush family, now they love the Trumps.”

Given Trump's narcissistic tendencies, will he try for 3 terms?

“The republican party will not overturn the Constitution. Trump would be 83. People would push back.”

Does the Trump media circus take attention away from Mitch McConnell and others who are dangerous?

“They'll see diminishing returns on attacks. And what else is there to say? Mitch will be played hard. The Dems will broaden their attacks to other Republicans.”

To what extent is Jared Kushner behind this?

“Jared was tasked with bringing peace to the Middle East...”

There are a few laughs from the audience. Mike Pompeo (Secretary of State), Mr Sopel claims, is the biggest influence.

In your travels around the world, has Trump's presidency damaged how others view America?

“Yes, but Americans don't give a damn. It's collateral damage of Donald Trump doing his job. But he has lost influence abroad.”

Are the Dems doing the right thing by not impeaching?

“When Bill Clinton was impeached he saw a huge surge in popularity.”

You come across as liberal and level-headed- are you ever drawn into Trump's appeal?

“I love his Twitter. With the Mayor Saddiq Khan or Boris Johnson, you know 16 people wrote it. Trump's spelling mistakes tell you, 'This is real.'”

As depressing as the geo-political sphere may be right now, the evening has been anything but.

The book tour was produced by Penguin Live.

Freshers Week 2019

I know I'm 37. What of it?! Freshers week is back again! But before I dive into the party night I've scouted out, let me tell you about a book signing on Wednesday night.

BBC News' North America Correspondent Jon Sopel has written his own 'Fire and Fury' style expose, 'Inside Trump's White House.' Dance House Theatre, Oxford Rd. Wednesday night. Details here. Michael Wolff's book was a jaw-dropping expose, and with Trump's mental condition and general circumstances visibly worsening (Today alone his arguments with the Saudis over oil are hiking up prices for Americans, his son Eric has lied about the cost of the Obamacare website, and he might be declaring war with Iran. Standard), not even 2 years after that publication there's mountains of controversy with which you could fill a book. It'll be interesting to see what kind of British spin Sopel has put on the shitshow that is American politics right now.

Anyway, as mentioned, Freshers week is happening right now. Eden launch Paradiso, their Thursday night weekly party, tomorrow night. Manchester Cool Bars will be dropping into the giant Printworks venue. Expect cheap drinks, freshers, and numerous rooms with different music. Starting in Hard Rock Cafe next door. 10pm.

Dropped into new club Cirque on Friday

View this post on Instagram

Scenes in @cirque.mcr Fri. Good night.

A post shared by Matt Tuckey (@matttuckey) on Sep 15, 2019 at 9:43am PDT

Cirque can be found on Deansgate behind the Up and Running store, opposite Australasia. The unit had previously housed the disastrous Toy Box, whose licence was suspended in January after a stabbing. If you go back a few years, it was the iconic and somewhat notorious Press Club.

The circus-themed club features people in outfits, but no real acts like you would get at Cirque de Soir or Theatre Impossible. There isn't the room. They charge a tenner on the door even if you're on the guestlist, which wasn't much of a surprise, nor was the ID scanning system on entry. Also predictable was the RnB music and at least 1 reality TV personality (Jordan Adefay, who lasted 1 week on Love Island last year).

A fun night, and one I'll be hosting a meetup to eventually. Not a favourite place though.

BBC's Jon Sopel Live Tour: Inside Trump's White House

BUY TICKETS TO SEE JON SOPEL IN LONDON, SOUTHAMPTON, MANCHESTER AND SHEFFIELD

On sale now!

At the heart of Washington, there is a circus. It's raucous, noisy and full of clowns. Reporting on it is a daily cacophony. In A Year at the Circus: Inside Trump's White House, BBC North America Editor, Jon Sopel, takes you inside Trump’s West Wing and explores the impact this presidency has had on the most iconic of American institutions. Each chapter starts inside a famous Washington room, uncovering its history and its new resonance in the Trump era.

This September, join BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel as he goes on tour to discuss his new book A Year at the Circus, telling all about his time with Trump and what really happens in the White House press room.

You’ll hear about where the tense relationship between the media and the President is played out. Jon will reveal the inner workings of the Trump White House and detail the key moments and conversations that have unfolded within its walls.

From Kim Jong-un and Kavanaugh to Merkel and the Mueller Inquiry - this is your insider insight to the Washington Circus. Roll up, roll up...

Comments from Sopel’s last book:

‘the sanest man in America’ – Bill Bryson

‘Jon Sopel nails it’ – Emily Maitlis

Jon Sopel's book A Year at the Circus publishes on 5th September 2019.

This tour is produced by Penguin Live. The Manchester event will be held at the Dancehouse Theatre on Oxford Road, next Wednesday.

Mind, Body and Spirit at Hollingworth Lake Saturday Morning- Get Involved

What are you doing on Saturday morning? Hollingworth Lake Country Park are hosting 'Mind, Body and Spirit at The Lake,' a wellbeing event. Andy's Man Club Oldham have a stall there and will be talking to people about mental health, and encouraging people to try out the Oldham group on Monday nights. The group aims to improve mental health through talking. The long-term goal is to reduce the suicide rate in men, which is currently the biggest killer of men under 45.

Along with AMC, there'll be reiki, mindfulness, yoga and karate- and much more. Get down to the Littleborough lake from 10am onwards to get involved.

Today I read Sin City, the graphic novel from Frank Miller. It's a moody, rainy neo-noir tale of a hitman, his dead girlfriend and a lookalike that draws him in. Vertigo meets Road to Perdition. Or something.

It's fast-paced, inventively illustrated with quirky angles, printed in full monochrome and a rip-roaring twisty story. A brilliant find.

There is a movie adaptation but, as per, it isn't on Netflix.

Use Unfollowspy on your Ailing Twitter Account

If you're a social media addict like me you've probably noticed that Twitter has died on its arse as of late- that Instagram is now a thousand times more popular and people aren't finding the need to head back to Twitter. This is a pain in the arse.

As a blogger, I rely on other people with bigger Twitter accounts to retweet links to my blog to get page views. Now, though, people have neglected those twitter accounts, not unlike those that followed them- my audience. Instagram doesn't have the ease of use that Twitter has.

Twitter has always been great for sharing links. Instagram only allows you to put a link in your bio. Links in photo updates don't work, nor do they on the story feature. Accounts with more than 10k followers have access to the 'swipe up' feature that allows links in stories that will be accessible for only 24 hours, before the story is deleted.

Hence, I still want to use Twitter but who's going to read my stuff? Who's going to retweet my links? Not many. Also, I'm assuming I'm following a massive number of now-inactive accounts. It's time for some mass-unfollowing.

I've just logged into Unfollowspy, another website offering some analysis of your Twitter account- the type of third-party site Twitter are actively working on shutting down. It allows you to sign in with your Twitter or your Soundcloud, and can offer info on either of these platforms. On Twitter it allows you 100 unfollows per day. It doesn't offer as much info as, say, Statusbrew, which was great for filtering out inactive accounts. Statusbrew allowed you (it may still do, but it currently charges) to order your results by who last tweeted the longest ago, hence showing you all the inactive accounts first. Unfollowspy has no such function. The site starts to monitor your account the moment you join, so after a few days I'm still waiting to be notified if anyone unfollows me. Perhaps I'll get used to it, but it's a poor imitation.

I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a graphic novel adaptation of the Jane Austin 'classic.' I understand there's a zany novel that came between the original and the graphic novel. Jesus Christ. I've never read the original, nor would I want to, but no amount of charming monochrome artwork or undead rotting toffs levered into the plot can mask the intolerable dullness of the original text. It's just a load of dated aristocrats trying it on with each other.

The new slant not just brings a marrying of horror and period, but a load of plot holes with it; a few 'how-would-they-know-that moments. Not a favourite.