After Work Drinks Launches

A new Manchester Meetup group may have broken the record for becoming the most instantaneously popular group on the whole site. Or certainly in Manchester. After Work Drinks,  in the space of 3 or so weeks, gained 500 members. Around 160 of these piled into Dukes 92 in Castlefield for the First Ever Meetup on Friday 12^th.

Organiser David really seemed to have hit the nail on the head in regards to what the people of Manchester want from Meetup- a nice, spacious bar, a relaxed atmosphere, a group with no particular agenda or stipulations- as long as you're over 18 and dressed smart, you'll get into the bar and be welcomed into the meetup.

Dukes, like the whole of Castlefield, comes alive in the sun. You rarely hear of people going for drinks in the canal-side bar area unless it's a clear summer day. But when it is, it's stupidly popular, and Friday was no exception. Quite a few people at the event were regulars of the Meetup site and this cluster of people, myself included, agreed to head further into town as a group of maybe 10. After we'd moved on from the venue there was some drizzle but it only dampened the pavements, not our spirits. We got an Uber taxi to Tiger Lounge, a small but plush retro bar on Cooper St near the Town Hall. Good funk music but I had no phone reception in there. After this one of the attendees hosted an after-party at their flat just outside of the centre, which ran on until around 7am. Suffice to say, I went to bed as soon as I got home.

The only downside to the night was being stalked by a gay guy who tried to buy me drinks and followed me to the toilets at least once. A few people noticed there was something odd about him. No biggie though.

I can see the members list of this group doubling over the next few months. There's a meetup in the works for July, so it looks like the group could be a monthly affair. Get involved!