Sunday, 28 August 2022
Tim Farron Gossip in Popbitch
Good week. Good weather, food, exercise and time spent with friends playing Twister and Giant Jenga.
Also, I asked former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron the immortal baboon vs badger question, the response to which made it into the weekly celeb gossip Popbitch email.
Saturday, 27 August 2022
Five-Spice Pork Chops
Next up in Rukmini Iyer’s The Roasting Tin: Five-Spice Pork Chops with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Ginger and Garlic.
The purchase of the star anise spice has now led to my spice rack being completely full. It’s only taken since November 2011. It might be time to concoct some bizarre curry to polish off the nearly-empty pots clogging up my rack. Stay tuned for that.
My spice rack is now full. Which is your favourite? pic.twitter.com/OiPFZNa4d2
— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 (@matthewtuckey) August 27, 2022
Overall time should have been 50 mins. Took me 75. Not too bad, considering. Instructions were, as per, simple and straightforward. My pork steak pack had 4 in, so I threw in all 4 and ate 2 with each dish. No-one could stop me!
Friday, 26 August 2022
Gooey Cafe Launch in Northern Quarter
Great news for those with a sweet tooth: cookie and donut outlet Gooey have expanded their operations. Starting in a kiosk in The Ducie Street Warehouse, Gooey have been serving up freshly made donuts and cookies for around 2 years.
As of today the team have expanded, opening the Gooey Cafe on High St Northern Quarter, in the site of the old Cat Cafe. As well as their famous cookies and donuts, this branch also serve up hot and cold drinks, hot and cold sandwiches and a couple of healthy salads. A quick scan of a QR code brings up the PDF menu to your smartphone, after which you can order at the till.
A clean venue, tasty main course and one of their now-famous cookies for dessert. Win.
Saturday, 20 August 2022
Why I Tidy for Only 10 Minutes
We all have good days and bad days. On a bad day, we might not feel like attacking the household chores, or doing much of anything depending on our mood. Other days, maybe we can do a little more of the things that keep order – the laundry, taking out the rubbish, filing away important mail, etc. Other times, we might feel like tidying is the only thing we can do – if we’re putting off another important task, for example.
Either way, there’s a system that helps bring balance and order to your home, even when you’re stuck in the depths of a depressive episode. I call it the 10-minute tidy.
Pretty self-explanatory: I used the timer on my phone, set to 10 minutes. Whichever room I’m in, that’s where I start. I pick something up, take it to where it’s supposed to be, and there – whichever room it is – I’ll look for something else. Straighten the bedsheets. File some paperwork. Shove clothes in the wash basket. Take a bin out. Whatever’s needed. Then, when the timer goes, I stop. Everything else, that’s tomorrow’s job.
On good days, you might not find that much to do. On bad days, you always have the relief that it’s just 10 minutes. It might not look much different after one attempt, but a few days of 10-minute bursts can make a lot of difference. These days, my home is pretty tidy, for a bloke living on his own, and it's down to this technique. I’m planning on keeping it that way.
Sunday, 14 August 2022
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote’s 1965 account of the real life Clutter murders- a family brutally murdered in rural Kansas in 1959- is as raw and as eloquently emotive as any other crime book of its ilk published today.
This semi-fictionalised novel, compiled at the time of the events, starts slow as we’re introduced to this upper class farming family, and told of the parents’ roots and coming together. But before long, their deaths at the hands of two gunmen are discovered, and the soon-introduced murderers are already on the run.
There have been countless murders just like this one over the years, and there are no clever twists or narrative tricks. There’s no need when the original story – told with a decent amount of accuracy – is as tense and as devastating as this one. Brilliantly researched, the book takes in the perspectives of neighbours, law enforcement, judiciary and other folk who crossed paths with the Clutter family, and the murderers.
Chris Sullivan at (folded) lads’ mag Loaded says, ‘this book has not dated one iota.’ He’s right.
Sunday, 7 August 2022
Indoor Skydiving / Teppenyaki
Birthday celebrations continue. I had a few ideas for memorable experiences to mark my 40th, one of which was indoor skydiving, a virtual experience (not descending through a gutted skyscraper or anything). As a gift, the family got me a slot at iFly in Trafford Park.
Instructor Kenny had sent me a video guide beforehand explaining how it all works, and what we’d need to do (posture, hand signals, etc.). On arrival a group of perhaps 10 of us were welcomed in, given more instructions, handed blue overalls and taken into the waiting room.
Next to this was a narrow room with a high roof and a huge underfloor fan, and one at a time Kenny took us in, over the mesh flooring, and we were blasted upwards. The second rotation, we all chose to go high, so the operator blasted the fans and Kenny guided us by the cuffs and hems and we were blown skyward into the chamber. A great experience!
Before the evening meal, we took a look around a few city centre bars:
For the evening meal: Sapporo Teppenyaki, Castlefield, for Japanese cuisine cooked at the table. The seats form a square shape around four cooking stations, one of which was dedicated to my booking.
Scroll through this one for the videos. That’s the first time I’ve been serenaded by Japanese chefs in a restaurant! It’s also the first time I’ve had potato croquettes basketball-shotted into my mouth. A range of meats, veg, oriental spices and sauces, and raw heat from a fiery grill, all combine to make a unique restaurant experience. Great fun and great-tasting. With a little time to spare, we strolled down Deansgate and into Spinningfields, to the new Japanese-Brazilian fusion bar and restaurant, Sakku Samba.
I must come back here peak time. The restaurant has taken over the old Artisan unit after it being redundant for a few years, and has been done up exceptionally. A new celeb haunt rises.
Saturday, 6 August 2022
Filipino Style Garlic Pork Pot Roast
A very long, slow roast, this should have been commenced earlier in the day than I did. It’s worth the wait, though.
The instructions in Rukmini Iyer’s Roasting Tin asks us to ‘sear’ the joint for 3 minutes each side. I put the joint in and ovened it for the 6 minutes in total, turning half way through. I didn’t know you could sear in an oven. I think of that as a frying word. But, presumably, I did it right.
My roasting tin may be a little small, but I couldn’t fit in all the required pak choi. The recipe actually asks for ‘baby pak choi,’ which Tesco didn’t seem to have, which explains how 6 full size of these veg wouldn’t nestle in among the pork. I still need to bang the rest in a smoothie and neck them. No point them going to waste!
Rice was added to the dish in the last 55 minutes, but my rice was still crunchy when I took it out. The meat wasn’t done either, so I moved the dish up a shelf and gave it another 20 mins. This worked, and the end result was tasty and made a change to chicken recipes.
Recipe time was 2 hrs 50, I took 3 hrs 30. Is the delay there with my memory or my oven (that is new and I’m still learning to use?) Both, maybe?
Friday, 5 August 2022
Before 41
Life is short. I have plans for the first year of my 40s to do things that I’ve been meaning to do for a lot of my life. Some are the same, some are new.
Twitter project
I have a plan to push my blog views to over a million using Twitter. Now the pandemic is ‘over’ (it isn’t, but whatever) and I’m adding content to the blog, it’s a good time to dive into this.
Bodybuilding
For years, I’ve wanted to spend a month living my life like a bodybuilder: eating what they eat, lifting what they lift and seeing if I can increase my strength and size. I’ve actually done a lot of that as the years have gone on, touching 90kgs a few months ago, but I’ve not gone full-on and done 2 sessions a day on a strict diet. This is the plan.
Fit back into my suits
I was 30’ waist for most of my adult life until I went on antidepressants. I’m not on them any more, and it’s time to get back into the formal wear that’s been hanging up in my cupboards for years. Feed me all the veg. I’m considering using Tesco’s delivery service to keep me away from junk food. I might do this, whether purposefully or not, in conjunction with the bodybuilding project above. I’m also considering going totally veggie to achieve this.
Viking project
My surname Tuckey derives from the name Toki, a tribe that was part of the Viking invasion starting in 793AD. I’ve learned little bits of how my ancestors survived The Harrying of the North in 1069-1070; I’m planning to learn as much as I can about my Norse origins in a month. I have a few other viking-related ideas to include in that period, including watching a lot of Netflix’s Viking content- I have 3 shows in mind- eating what they ate, exercising like them and cutting my hair that way. Expect a big beard.
Get back on TV
Another plan is to spend a month applying to TV shows. Back in 2013 I made it onto Sing Date (and got to the end of the episode) and BBC’s The Year of Making Love (appeared in the background after all my scenes were cut). Both were great experiences, and I had it in mind to get back onto TV at some point. See if I can get myself a blue tick. Will it be dating shows? Maybe. Catchphrase is also worth a punt as I’m a dab hand at it. I’ll keep an open mind. One every 2 months.
Thursday, 4 August 2022
Before 40 Bucket List Review
This time last year I put together a list of things to try and fit in before I turned 40. At the time, we were still in lockdown, so I tried not to be overly optimistic about what I could fit in.
12-day smoothie diet
I tried this a number of times. First in February, then in June, then again in July. I had varying results, but I learned through trial and error how to do it right. I did dip under 80kg this way (and am now back up to 83kg. Devastation). I’m not done with it. I still have plans for dieting projects, which include some smoothies.
Month of Bodybuilding
I still have plans to do this. Things have, so far, got in the way: COVID lockdowns, other projects, etc.
Get Off Antidepressants
I managed this in May. I spent a few months on half dose, finding my sleep went up the wall to begin with. Having come off, I’ve felt good, seen my weight come down and had no dip in mood. Same mental health challenges I’ve had the whole time I’ve been on them, but things are much better these days.
Get Back on TV
It’s still my plan to dish out a load of applications after my stint on Sing Date in 2013. Again, COVID.
Complete this Teeline Workbook
I didn’t complete it, but I spent January bashing through it. I’m a little more skilled, and I’ve used those skills at a handful of conventions and suchlike, and find I’m getting more detailed blog posts as a result. I should really get back into it as a routine, 20 mins a night or something.
Visit Scandinavia / See Other Places
I’ve not even left the country since 2018.
Experiment with Echinacea
I did this but it was useless.
What a year. Considering there were some restrictions still in place this time last year, I’ve done pretty good. I’ve been to some brilliant events, I’ve met some amazing people and my mental health has been, with some falterings, positive. I have loads planned for this year too.
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