Drinking at three meetups in one day is hard work.

Saturday was packed to the rafters with meetups- I joined Manchester High Life for Cocktails at The Alchemist in Spinnningfields. As it was an afternoon meetup I let myself off driving duties and got on their brilliant cocktails. I recommend their Pornstar Martini and Bubblegum Mohito.

Moving on to Elixir, we all chipped in for a Birdcage, a wire contraption holding many shots for a group. Great drinks and chocolates, uniquely presented. My whisky cocktail came with a hip flask and a stress ball.

 

 

 

Most of us were ravenous by this point, so we checked out Spinningfields' Thai restaurant Thaikun. Dreadful mistake. Badly organised and designed, the venue gave us problems from the moment we sat down. The waitress (who I'm pretty sure was transsexual, but that's a side point) gave a service that could have been streamlined more effectively, the food wasn't amazing (mine was a little on the cold side and didn't taste great) and to top it off, the wooden benches we were sat on hadn't been varnished or even sanded. As a result one of the girls in our group found her dress had been ruined just from sitting down. Thaikun apparently agreed to pay for two new dresses for the inconvenience.

I've not been to any other Manchester Thai restaurants, although I (usually) love Thai food. I'm aware of Siam Orchid and Try Thai- have you tried them? Comment below!

Because I was steaming, and I hadn't eaten, I picked food over the 20s and 30s group happening in Missoula. Did you go? How was it? Add your thoughts...

Next up: my first event as an organiser, the reopening of Bijou with Manchester Social Group. The swanky club on the edge of the city has recently had a makeover, so I arranged a meetup, starting in nearby pub Sinclairs Oyster Bar, and heading to the club later. One of the people from the High Life meetup wanted to check out the club, and although there was a waiting list on the Bijou event page I welcomed her in. I expected there would be at least one no-show- there always is on these events.

What I didn't expect is that only one other person would actually show up. I was let down by 5 people, and there was a wait list of people who may have been more reliable. I wondered if I'd arranged the meetup too far in advance and people had forgotten, but with the site sending you email reminders, and with most people owning mobile phones that can remind them of appointments one way or another, it isn't really excusable. So at this point I'd like to thank my attendee and my tag-along for coming with me. I went to a swanky club's reopening party with practically a girl on each arm! Can't complain!

According to the Manchester Evening News, Coronation Street's Brook Vincent and Hollyoaks' Gemma Atkinson were there. I must have missed them (although I'd be damned if I'd spend more than 5 seconds watching a soap opera so I'd never have recognised them).

In Bijou: impressive plush leather and low-key lighting, with old-school R'n'B soundtrack. Complimentary Amir Khan-lookalike doorman. Good-looking clientele, mostly in 20s. Impressive range of whiskies, including this rare Aberlour a'bunadh. Stronger than the signature Aberlour at 46%, it was sweeter and sharper on the tongue, but great-tasting. I'm keen to head back there in the coming weeks, so keep your eye on Meetup.

The best part was spending time with cool people in great places. The most difficult part was trying to stay comfortably drunk, but not wasted, despite drinking for 13 hours straight when you don't normally drink at all anyway. But you know me to like a challenge!