Come to Panacea this NYE!

Are you stuck for something to do this New Year's Eve? Do you want a party? Can you get to Manchester? Do you like cool, trendy places and don't mind paying a little extra for your night out?

If you're still nodding, join Manchester Cool Bars and Clubs this Saturday. We're heading to luxurious Panacea on John Dalton Street. Expect good company, décor and RnB, and probably a few celebs if you look around. Panacea are hosting The Enchanted Ball, a new year party to remember.

There's still time to get involved. The only hurdle: you'll need to pick up a £25 ticket from Panacea's reception. They might sell out, so get organised quickly!

Don't be intimidated by the image of the club. I've pulled the last 2 times I've been to Panacea, and if a regular bloke like me can do it, you can too. If you want. Plenty of people there seemed friendly and down to earth, as far as I could see. And, granted, there'll be the odd gold digger, but you get them everywhere. Essentially, it'll be a brilliant time. There's me and a girl mate going so far. Join us!

Beating Old Gym Records: Result!

Tape Wednesdays at Ark on the Locks last night. Can't complain! #Manchester #nightlife

A photo posted by Matt Tuckey (@matttuckey) on Dec 29, 2016 at 2:33am PST

A month ago I set myself a gym challenge- to beat 10 of my longest-standing personal bests at the gym. A lot of these records dated back to the summer of 2012, on movements that I'd since neglected- either through not trying at all after the initial attempt, or failing on so much that I gave up and moved onto other movements.

A month has passed, I've put in the graft (until the Christmas period, of course, where I've eaten so much I've probably undone all the improvements) and I've set some new PBs. What are they?

Wide grip chinups- 1 more

10 minute walk- 0.1km/ph faster

10 minute reverse cross trainer- 0.04km further

1 hour on cross trainer- 0.33km further

So a few minor improvements, but not as many as I'd been hoping for. The wide grip chin-ups was my oldest-standing record, from June 2012, so it's great to finally bash through that one. I realised, through doing this, that Oldham Community Leisure's new central gym- that has been open over a year- doesn't have a pec deck, so I was only attempting 9 out of 10 of the movements.

I'm not sure how much I weighed in 2012. I remember being 68kg when I moved out in 2010, and I ballooned upwards over the years to 80kg a few months ago. I'm now down to 72kg (or I was on the 23^rd. Dreading getting back on the scales.) I can lift a lot more these days, so some of it will be muscle, but I never got my 6-pack back after leaving the parents' gaff.

Let's see what happens in the new year. I have another month-long gym project in the pipeline that you might want to give a shot yourself.

Space Ibiza Classics in The Albert Hall

Wowsers. Aging but still-skilled DJs Danny Rampling, David Morales and Roger Sanchez banded together to bring us Space: Ibiza Classics last night in Manchester's iconic Albert Hall on Peter St. Their Facebook album is here.

Joining them were Herd 'n' Fitz and their vocalist Abigail Bailey, who performed a live PA of their classic hit I Just Can't Get Enough.

Although strangely never quite hitting capacity, the club still filled with people, some of whom I knew from one group of friends or another. I was surprised by the familiar faces I spotted. Meanwhile, giant balloons of various colours bounced off the walls, and off the hands and heads of the crowd, while animated abstract designs pulsed with the classic house songs. Great atmos although Sanchez started to play certain tracks that I'm sure were played by some of the DJs that had been on before him. Rampling and Morales I'd never seen play before, but I've taken in their names and music over the years of listening to house music radio shows and it was great to see them in the flash (and dance my arse off to their music).

 

 

Abigail Bailey

Abigail Bailey

Abigail Bailey

Roger Sanchez

Out you go

David Morales

Another removal

Danny Rampling

What to do in the last week of 2016

Well, if you're reading this blog you're supposed to be an adult, so make your own mind up, yeah? Sound. That said, can I give you some ideas?

Friday night / Saturday morning- the morning of the 31st- UFC 207 broadcasts live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The headline fight- long time female bantamweight champion- now former champion Ronda Rousey- makes her return after a devastating loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November last year. Next, somewhat unfairly some people believe, she'll jump straight back in with a title shot against current champion Amanda Nunes.

For what it's worth, there is a meetup for this. UFC fight nights in Genting Casino are always great fun- exciting viewing on big screens in a smart, clean venue with good service. There's always a few people from across greater Manchester who have made it there in the wee hours to watch the matches. It'll finish around 6am UK time, so expect a late one.

Once you've slept off the Friday, you'll be more than ready for another late one on Saturday night. It's New Year's Eve, and either you've got plans or you haven't. If not, Meetup has come to your rescue. Socialising in the City currently has monopoly on New Year's Eve events- I've not seen a great deal else happening, but it's great that organiser Ann Marie has put this on. It's a fairly laid back meetup for people aged 25-45, starting in tapas bar La Tasca on Deansgate. If you fancy a pre-countdown meal, join us there for 7pm, then it's a few drinks in the northern quarter with an interim of watching the fireworks at Albert Square at midnight. This is subject to change, but as far as I know this is the plan! There are 14 of us at the time of writing, but it wouldn't surprise me if this number shot up at the last minute.

I've seen a ton of other nights advertised relating to New Year, with the odd Z-list celeb making an appearance in one club or another, but there's nothing on Meetup. These prospective posts are always an attempt to bring people together who would be at a loose end otherwise, so I'm not going to name anything that isn't easy to turn up to alone. But there's no need to stay in watching Jools Holland, for God's sake. Get out and meet people!

One other thing: Meetup group Manchester House and Techno
will close down without someone stepping up. I don't think I ever went out with them, but that's my music. I might if you want to take charge and pay up! If nobody does, Keep your eye on Manchester Cool Bars. There's nothing at the moment but I'm likely to put some house music events up from February onwards.

#tbt: An Urban Legend about the Manchester IRA Bomb

Back in 2006 when I was doing agency work getting nowhere with my life, I was working in a postal room in the old CIS tower in Manchester doing a very tedious job for minimum wage. I remember a conversation surfacing about the Manchester IRA bomb on Corporation St, which had happened a decade beforehand. It was probably the tenth anniversary, and the radio news would have been discussing it retrospectively.

One of the people working in the post room- some guy, he may have been young or old, I dunno- he claimed he knew one of the ambulance workers who'd been called to the scene. The ambulance worker had entered the Marks and Spencer, its glass panels smashed by the explosion. The detonation had ruptured the sewage works under the building, and this had led to rats scurrying out of the split drainpipes, some of them as large as small cats, grown obese on the city's waste.

After evacuating the building, the ambulance worker then emptied the shop's tills and walked out with fourteen grand stuffed into the pockets of his overalls. And fourteen grand in 1996 would have got you a fair bit more than it would today.

Talk about perks of the job.

Is this a bullshit rumour, or is there some truth to it? Drop me a comment if you know. I'd love to hear from you.

Sugar Buddha to take over Baa Bar Unit?

The longest-standing brand on Deansgate Locks, BaaBar, closed a couple of months ago to address 'serious leaks.'

pic.twitter.com/we6IUslA4l

— Baa Bar Deansgate (@baabardeansgate) November 1, 2016

I hope it bounces back, as I have many fond memories of the place, including working there in 2002 and getting footballer Trevor Sinclair thrown out in 2003.

It's a great down-to-earth affordable joint and a good starting place.

There's a contradicting rumour coming out of neighbouring bar Sugar Buddha, however.

A member of staff claimed their bar's plan was to take over the adjacent unit that Baa has occupied since 2002 at the latest. Sugar Buddha is nice, but I'll be sad to see Baa go- if it does.

I've finished for Christmas!

I'm on leave from now until the 4^th. I've been out on Mad Friday and on Saturday, looking for stories for the blog, seeing mates and having a few sober drinks. I didn't see that much happening, to be honest, but true to form the Manchester Evening News got to the right place at the right time. They didn't find much either, other than people staggering around with no shoes on. A man was stabbed with a broken bottle on Princess St (video here), which is possibly the low-point of Mad Friday this year.

Meetup is a little quiet this week. A lot of the people who populate the site are people who've moved here from other parts of the UK- or the world- and have gone home for Christmas, so there aren't that many events listed. Added to this, the students are going home for a couple of weeks so many of the midweek nights aren't going to be busy. But keep your eye on Manchester Cool Bars and also Socialising in the City which will have events in the near future.

One event to catch my eye is the Miss Swimsuit UK competition in Leeds on Thursday. The last one in Manchester was superb. I haven't put up a meetup as it's too far, but if I can't convince anyone locally I might lone-wolf it to Oracle nightclub. I met loads of celebrities including some gorgeous girls, plus non famous stunners- one of which, a scouse milf, I pulled. So who knows.

More to come. January will be dead, so I'm piling in as many parties as possible in the meantime. Get involved with them!

Tape Wednesdays?

Who can do a Wednesday? Manchester Cool Bars are headed to Tape Wednesdays, the new night at Ark on Deansgate Locks. Brought to you by Organised Chaos, the team behind Socialite, Tape is a night of RnB in the trendy Deansgate Locks area. In attendance this week: Love Island's Scott Thomas.

I finish work for Christmas on Friday so expect some carnage over the next few weeks. Keep your eye on the Cool Bars group on Meetup!

Does Sophie Dalzell Breastfeed her Dog?

Of course not. Banter. Ex TV chat babe and model Sophie definitely doesn't suckle her handbag-breed dog. Although, that said...

Soft Machine review / Goat story cut-up

'Got to be kidding!' A goat has head-butted a pensioner Perhaps not the strongest advert for a classic book, but a fairly accurate description, those familiar would agree. It takes a bit of stomach to get through the forecourt of the shop, He said the goat "butted" Billy in the back short surrealist novel by a gay dead heroin junkie. I think the point is, it's open to interpretation. The shop manager told BBC News NI t never shies away from its content, up on its hind legs and jumped on two cars, one belonging to a customer and another to a staff member. "We had to trail him inside, "to use the ATM when she spotted the goat and ran back to her car. The goat proved to be a tricky customer even if it does cut from one subject to another. But that's the point of it. the pensioner was not injured. Speaking to the Carrickfergus Times newspaper, the manager said: It reads more like poetry than prose, by which I mean we're left to make our own assumptions and conclusions as to what it all means. The manager said his employee replied: "Yeah, right" and jumped on cars after being refused entry I'm not totally sure what it was about- the stray goat charged at one of his regular customers, named Billy. A man sent to investigate a scientist using mind-control powers? Another customer shouted a warning to a member of staff who was the first in a trilogy, a 'cut-up' saga in which a County Antrim shop was into the baskets eating all the plants and running round the car park, I thought: 'you've got to be kidding me!'" Gay people having 1950s illegal sex? He looked up and saw the goat outside the door, adding: "It seemed to want to break into the shop and it was staring straight at me." he Soft Machine is random words are spliced In the goat walking in to the shop to start work. He said one customer tried ome kind of bizarre murder cult? But when she spotted the goat she dove in to the customer's car for cover. Or all of those? Or none? into the text to the point that the narrative isn't clear any more and you just go with it, before he managed to drag the pensioner into the shop for safety. I enjoyed it, but I didn't see how, over the decades, the goat began eating flower baskets outside the shop on Victoria Road and then frightened staff and customers as they tried to get into the building. picturing your own scenario. The incident ended when t rose from 'jibberish' to 'classic.' a man, believed to be the goat's owner, arrived at the shop and dragged the goat off by the horns. thought it was the bread man knocking."

Soft Machine by William Burroughs, reviewed, cut-up with Stray goat goes wild at Carrickfergus shop, BBC.

Dollar Mondays in Tiger Tiger Tonight- Get Involved!

Like cheap drinks and fit young people? Silly question. Perhaps "Can you handle a Monday night?" is more the relevant question. If the answer to both is "Yes," get invovled with Manchester Cool Bars tonight. We're heading to Tiger Tiger in the Printworks to see what the new Dollar Mondays night is all about. Their Tuesday night is great, so I have high hopes. Let's start next door in Hard Rock Cafe at 9!

Came down with a cold this week so not done a great deal.

Except maybe get into a Twitter spat with Katie Hopkins.