Journal Club: The Space Between

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I missed the last of Hinterland’s Journaling Club nights because it clashed with the recent solar eclipse – I’d seen that from Hartshead on the Oldham / Ashton border. This time, on the 23rd, I got some food and got seated, just about. Popular event. The theme this time: 

THE SPACE BETWEEN 

Organiser Fi asks the group, when an event happens, what do I do before I react? What occurs in that space? The first writing prompt of the night: 

WHEN I HAVE TO WAIT, I FEEL  

Usually impatient. I’m not a good waiting person. My normal reaction to these times is, ‘can I use this time to my advantage? Can I read? Write? Or am I going to reach for my phone as per?’ Why do I feel this discomfort with inaction? I’ve wasted so much time on the internet over the years, why do I have this horrible feeling of life slipping away from me? Just because I have to wait and have nothing to keep me busy? Also, why am I forgetting how to chew? I’ve nearly choked about 8 times this week. 

- 

Next up, a discussion and a few pointers on the board: 

• Culture of immediacy 

• Speed = value? 

•  Waiting as an active process 

• Something happens [gap] response 

• Space                 

• Not avoidance 

Next, a 6-minute prompt: 

‘THE SPACE BETWEEN FEELING SOMETHING AND ACTING ON IT IS…’  

In that space, what kicks into effect is known as ‘inner game.’ Inner game is like your metaphorical ‘engine under the hood,’ your psychology, your ability to regulate your own emotions, act on them. Will you steady your breath, pause, analyse the situation and deal with it in an appropriate manner? Sometimes, responding immediately can mean you react angrily, based on emotion, lacking critical thinking. But other times, you can pause, plan to speak up properly about someone’s behaviour, but then end up putting it off, stewing on it. Where’s the middle ground for this? 

Am I starting to sound like The Log Lady from Twin Peaks? 

- 

Next up on the board, the title: 

SPACE IS VALUE 

Under this, a list of prompt words. 

NOW 

DISTANCE 

MOMENT 

STILL

HOLD 

SOON 

LATER 

ECHO 

CREATE 

EVENTUALLY 

SEASON 

HESITATE 

PAUSE 

In a 10 minute burst, we wrote something with these words as prompts, on the theme of ‘Space is Value.’ I decided to make it extra difficult for myself and put it into rhyme.  

Pen to paper, words, they form fast 

Space is value, forming a contrast 

A month of excess, time is all filled, 

But now in the moment, pause and fall still 

Pen to the pad, now a time to create 

No time in this vegan café to hesitate 

Alcohol-free night, reprieve for the liver 

Between all the lines, inspiration delivers 

Breathe, retrieve words mentally 

Sentences form on the page eventually 

- 

And that is as far as I got in the time we had. I read it out to the group; they seemed to like it. 

Great to be back at Hinterland’s events. I’ve missed being creative, and I’ve missed their food too. I also listed the event on the Manc Mates meetup group and got a couple of attendees. No confirmation if they were at the actual event. 

Journal Club is back on the 14th.

Come to the new Australasia Bar Saturday

Leilani May liked my guess at her ethnicity. No confirmation yet. 

Looks like Spinningfields bar Australasia has had another refurb. Hence, let’s take a look this coming Saturday with Manchester Nightlife. I’m taking a look there with the Meetup group. Cocktails, quiet house music and good décor. 9pm Saturday.

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On the blog: a review of the small but fantastic Comic Con North East that took place over the weekend. I was there on Saturday. I’m on leave today to write it all up. Found a good museum too. I’ve also got a write-up of a recent journaling event, and an update on this ridiculous Excess project.

Excess Month 2026 Take 2

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I had some plans for the year of being 44 but forgot to include 1 thing that it seems is once again necessary: an ‘Excess Month’ involving a load of drinking. I have a cupboard full of alcohol, mostly whiskies, and genuinely have no space for more. Quite a few of these bottles are about 7/8ths empty. It’s time to make a bit of space by drinking it as much as possible.  

What an enjoyable challenge! I may crack open the Get High Now Without Drugs book and see if there are any potential experiments I could attempt, and power through a few books and movies on that theme too. There are other books in my To Be Read pile that fit the theme quite well. I might also try to get to some conventions that are a little further afield, requiring a hotel. 

I’m going to try to counter the onslaught of my liver with plenty of fruit and vegetables. I currently weigh 81.8kg. For fitness I’ll largely be trying to beat a dips record of 170. I doubt I will, but it’s a great movement for watching films. The bar is already set up in front of the TV. 

An expensive month awaits.

Journal Club, Comic Con NE, Lee Child in Todmorden

A lot of travel this week. 

Wednesday: Journal Club returns to Hinterland in the Northern Quarter for a night of writing. There’s usually prompts, with 10 minute writing bursts and the opportunity to share your writing with the group. Meetup group Manc Mates are attending – there’s 2 of us at the time of writing. Hinterland is a great, cosy restaurant serving vegan food, no alcohol and a quiet atmosphere. The antidote to today’s hectic Manchester environment. 

I’ll be starting a new month-long project on Saturday that should keep me very busy. And drunk. 

But before the alcohol consumption begins… a trip up north to Newcastle for a Monopoly Events convention. Comic Con North East sees a range of TV and movie stars fly in, including Alan Ford, or Brick Top from Snatch. That’s who I’ll be meeting.

I’ll probably have a wander around the city too afterwards. Amazing place. 

Todmorden Book Festival starts Friday with Jack Reacher creator Lee Child opening the proceedings at the town’s Hippodrome. Intriguing. It all seems to go downhill from there with a roster of obscurities, the only other anomaly being former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, which has raised a few eyebrows over socials. I work in healthcare AND I have a disability. I don’t remember his policies helping me or my clients. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

But yes. Newcastle will be awesome.

Weirdness at Nostalgic Oldham

 

Highlight of this week has been not starving into oblivion on that ridiculous Machinist Diet that ended Tuesday – but as a result I’ve already put on 4kg. 

Wednesday I tried to get to the launch of Clean Greens health food spot on Deansgate, but they’d ran out of food and were closing for a few hours while they restocked. I was starving, so went next door to Egg & Co for an egg sandwich. Simple. Fantastic.

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Saturday: a day of retro entertainment in Parliament Square with Nostalgic Oldham, featuring a cross dressing nun, classic cars, steam engines and Morris men. Funnier and more interesting than I had expected tbf. 

 

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The Machinist Diet is Complete… sorta

A month ago I set a challenge to diet down to a weight target by eating only a can of tuna and an apple every day. This was, if the DVD is correct, how actor Christian Bale prepared for his skeletal role in 2004’s The Machinist. 

 I started this on the 15th August. I know through experience that diets can be hugely wasteful if you’ve already got food in your fridge and freezer, as diets can end up lasting longer than you might expect and stuff goes off. So I alternated. A can of tuna and an apple for tea one day, a full meal from the fridge freezer the next. Very steadily, the weight started to drop. 

The month-long project ended with a deadline of 15th September. I started at 86.2kg and ended at 77.6kg. I had been 76.9kg at one point. A lot of skipping and gym classes kept me burning calories. The classes were HARD when you’ve hardly eaten anything, and skipping just gets very clumsy and it’s hard to work up a sweat when you’re constantly tripping over the rope through exhaustion. 

It becomes more confusing when you’re watching the first 2 seasons of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, trying to follow the incomprehensible plot.

 

But the diet is over now, and for the moment, I’m eating what I want. Weight is predictably flying back up, but I’m finding I’m fuller much quicker. A stomach has the tendency to shrink when virtually nothing goes in it. 

I may try The Machinist Diet again next year, by depleting the freezer first and solidly sticking to 1 can of tuna and 1 apple every evening.

Second Sheffield Comic Con '26

After February’s convention, Comic Con Sheffield returned to Ponds Forge for another day of celebs, stalls, talks and photo ops. This time, Red Dwarf’s The Cat – Danny John Jules – posed for photos. 

DJJ also played Baldy’s Lookout in prison movie Scum – the guy who lets Carlin (Ray Winstone in his breakout role) into the coal room to fight the number 2 guy. I would have liked to ask him about that but there was no Q+A for him. 

I’ll tell you who *did* do one, unsurprisingly... Boom-voiced actor 89-year-old Brian Blessed gave pretty much the same talk that he did in For the Love of Sci Fi back in 2019. 

Paul Chuckle of The Chuckle Brothers also made a guest appearance.

 

 A small but fun Creed Conventions event. 

Made a purchase

Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner

 

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A year or so ago I was passing through Holmfirth in Yorkshire and stopped off for a browse in the many charity shops. I came across Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, by Paul M Sammon. 

A big, detailed, generous account, FN describes the conception of the idea of adapting the book – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K Dick. It then follows the process through planning, adapting the screenplay, casting, shooting, editing and finally marketing and re-releasing the film several years later. I’ve been dipping in an out of it since then. 

Blade Runner is a classic movie of the Cyberpunk genre: dark nights, glassy cityscapes, futuristic vehicles and black, edgy clothing. It’s mainly, though, remembered for its largely impervious, neo-noir plot: a detective assigned with hunting down and ‘retiring’ criminal targets who happen to be replicants – genetically engineered almost-humans created for off-world work. They escape and land on Earth, knowing their lifespan is short, with the intention of extending it. Rick Deckard – the titular ‘blade runner’ – is intent on making sure that doesn’t happen. 

It sounds simple enough, until Deckard becomes involved in a target and starts to doubt his own memories and existence. Could he be a replicant too? 

There’s a lot in the film that’s hinted at and not properly explained, which makes the film debatable – should a director spell out every idea in his film? Should elements be open to interpretation? Well, certain facets of BR – who’s a replicant, who’s not, the mystery conditions that blight different characters, and yes, what that unicorn is all about – it’s all explained as best as can be by contributors in the book. These include screenwriters Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, director Ridley Scott and other contributors. 

Towards the end of the book – published in 1996 - rumours of a sequel swirl long before Blade Runner 2049 is written. The planned story is quite different to the film that arrived in cinemas in 2017. 

If you’re a fan of Blade Runner, it’s a valuable companion.

Last Day of this Machinist Diet.

I cannot wait for this ridiculous, painful fasting experiment to be over. Yes, it’s self-inflicted. Yes, I’ve lost *some* weight. But no, it has not been fun. More later. But at least Monday’s my rest day, so I’m not staggering about with a skipping rope trying to understand Twin Peaks, which has made up most of the time of the project. 

I’m on leave today to catch up with a ton of blogging. Expect also a write-up of Sheffield Comic Con yesterday with a certain British sci-fi celebrity, a sci-fi book review and a bar and restaurant review. 

Wednesday night: Manchester holds host to former White House Communications Director Anthony ‘The Mooch’ Scaramucci on his All the Wrong Moves book tour. Scaramucci famously lasted 10 days as Trump’s comms guy before being unceremoniously sacked, after which he turned on his former boss, speaking out against many of his policies. Tickets, including a copy of the book, are £40. As for the event, there’s definitely a Q+A. No word yet of if there are photo ops or signings with it. I’m still undecided. 

Thursday: Ryan Murphy’s latest Monster series drops on Netflix, this time covering Lizzie Borden, who I understand may or may not have hacked her parents to death in Massachusetts in 1892. Murphy’s previous Monster instalments have frequently been intriguing, violent and fun, but scattered and repetitive. 

There was a Lizzie movie that came out some years ago with Chloë Sevigny in the title role. I never got around to that. 

Saturday: retro entertainment day Nostalgic Oldham arrives in Parliament Square in the town centre, with classic cars, circus entertainers and the official unveiling of a huge community-created mural. I’m intrigued by the cars. 11am-4pm. 

Saturday night: Manchester Nightlife this time tries out the new Dahlia Stereo, the food and house music venue in The Northern Quarter. Last weekend saw their first Saturday Night, and the Insta story looks fantastic – great music, a real club atmos, and even branded t shirts are available. 8pm, Lever St.

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My Patience with Meetup People is at an All-Time Low.

Friday night: ran a meetup with Manchester Nightlife to Blinker, the new cocktail bar near Parsonage Gardens. Had 2 attendees listed. Got down there on time, waited. Nice bar. Good décor and atmos with funk music. Cocktails £12-13, mostly, although I wasn’t drinking. Got evacuated due to a suspected gas leak. 3 fire engines, an ambulance and an ambulance car later, and we were allowed back in. No apparent injuries.

Waited til 10. Nobody from Meetup showed. The 2 other attendees, 1 a regular, the other not a first timer but I hadn’t seen her in ages, neither got back to me. I really should block them both from the group. 

You might be asking… why do you do it? Why do you pay to run this group just to have to deal with a load of disorganised flakes, racists, homophobes, ablists and general social dunces? 

The answer is, I’m 44. Everyone else I know is married and settled. They don’t do anything any more. And I don’t want to go join ANOTHER dance group or writer’s group only to find there’s nobody there I click with either. And there are things I want to do in the city.

In other news, I discussed Weetabix with Paralympic tae kwon do champion Matt Bush.

Then I went to a Comic Con. More on that later.

Well, I’m still trying this Machinist Diet.

Nearly a month ago I embarked on this idiotic, exhausting and unproductive project: trying to eat the same food that Christian Bale ate for his skeletal performance in 2004’s The Machinist. 

Unfortunately, I have neither the willpower not the willingness to waste food, so throughout the month I’ve – on occasion – eaten only a can of tuna and an apple, as Bale reportedly did daily. But usually my sole meal has been something else – freezer food, soup (until it went off), or roast dinners at my mum’s weekly. The weight is not particularly dropping off. I started at 86.2kg. I was 79kg this morning. 78.1 yesterday morning. Considering how little I’m eating, and how much skipping I’ve done, I can’t understand how this weight is staying on me. I dunno if the 2 kilos of peanut buter I've mullered through have anything to do with it. 

On Tuesday, I’ll have been doing this Machinist Diet for a month. After that, I’m tempted to just fast it out until I hit 72.2kg.

Meet Red Dwarf's The Cat; Blinker Bar Meetup

Highlights of this coming week: 

Friday: Early meetup with Manchester Nightlife, this time to new Blinker bar which I hear is highly recommended. Friday night, right in the middle of the financial area off Fountain St. 9pm. 

Sunday: Sheffield Comic Con lands Sunday at Ponds Forge Sports Centre with Danny John Jules the guest attraction. DJJ played The Cat in Brit SF comedy Red Dwarf, a well-groomed, slick talking space traveller who evolved to a man-like creature after years of evolution from a pet feline stuck on a spacecraft for millennia. The actor was also Baldy’s Lookout in Scum – the guy who lets Carlin into the coal room to fight the number 2 guy. I just learned that. There are still tickets.

There’s a certain breast – related theme to this week's post.

Blake Blossom weighed in on Popbitch’s ‘baboon vs badger’ conundrum. I asked. 

 

 

I went to support the Manchester Boob Walk on Saturday, to help document the raising of awareness of Breast Cancer, and as part of this pharma experiment. If you read to the end, you’ll see I bailed on them to try and see someone famous, who is in Manchester at the time of writing. 

Who? Angela White, one of the most prolific porn stars of the last decade, is in the UK and in fact in Manchester right now. I gathered she developed a thing for Norwegian footballer Erik Haaland during the World Cup. He currently plays for Manchester City, who had a home game against Coventry FC yesterday. (1 nil to City.) 

Well, I kept checking her Insta stories in the hope of a quick photo with her. I went to 2 different Federal Cafes, still woozy from the caraway and probably dehydration too – she’d posted being in one venue, and I went to the other – not far from where I’d left people at the Boob Walk anyway. When I arrived at each one, there was a humongous queue to get in, but I doubt that was because of Angela. It’s just a popular spot. Her next update was from The Ethiad, the Man City stadium. So I got a bus, then had a long walk. I thought this was going to be utterly futile. I was right. A further update showed she was already in, meeting the squad, slapping their hands as they went into the complex. Her last post was of the players going onto the pitch. 

I went home. 

Manchester Nightlife Meetup group met in Oast House Saturday night with a plan to check out the new Sticks’n’Sushi bar in Spinningfields. We met, but the new bar / restaurant was dead, so we tried Sexy Fish which was full. I’d have liked to stay on Spinningfields, but we moved onto Box bar, which I just don’t like, sorry. Too chavvy. Got roped into pool games that I’m dreadful at. Moved onto Blues Kitchen, of which I’ve also had my fill. I didn’t last long. 

On the way out a trans influencer called Jessica Such collared me for some video interview. I’m assuming that’ll be on Insta soon. You can guess the question. And the answer.

Manchester Boob Walk… on Caraway

A month ago I attempted to get high on caraway, a seed available in many supermarkets, while attending the Manchester Day Parade. According to Dan Nestor – author of Get High Now (Without Drugs) – this is perfectly achievable. Minor dizziness and sickness was the upshot. 

I still had half the pot, so I figured a surreal – but very meaningful – gathering might be an ideal opportunity to try it out again. 

I don’t want to overlook the purpose of the event I attended today. Saturday 5th March, Manchester held host to the Boob Walk, raising awareness of Breast Cancer. There are around 59,400 new breast cancer cases in the UK every year, that's around 160 every day, according to Cancer Research UK. 

Hence, several hundred women dressed as breasts paraded from St Peter’s Square, down Oxford Rd and into Circle Square, where alternative event Manchester Psych Fest was taking place, with a rave, trippy outfits and yoga on offer. So fuck knows what a bunch of high-as-a-kite hippies thought when a barrage of literal tits rocked up for a photoshoot. 

 

Of course, on the way, I was chugging down this half pot of caraway seeds. These, Nestor says, give a sensation that’s ‘identical to taking an aspirin for a headache, but without having the headache.’ Maybe. We met at the Library at 11. By 11:30 I’d eaten the rest of the pot. Again, maybe a slight dizziness took over. I dunno. I made sure I kept drinking water; it was still a mild September day and when you’re walking, you notice the warmth. 

At this point, I noticed someone famous was in Manchester. I wanted to see if I could snap a selfie with them, so I bailed on the boobs and bussed to a different part of Manchester. But where? And for whom? Stay tuned...

Suffragette Annie Kenny getting in on the action