Thursday, 30 November 2017
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
You've changed
Writing
warmup exercise from Writers Connect
with the above phrase as a prompt. 10 minutes on the clock. I
produced this:
“You
went to Avici White without us?!”
“Well,
yeah.”
“Where
was my invite?!” Hudson throws his arms out slightly, like this
admission has stung him in both his armpits.
“Well,
would you have come if I'd have asked?”
“Yeah,”
he blurts, as if it was the most obvious answer.
“Last
time I asked you you didn't wanna go; you were out in Oldham,”
I stress, “again.”
“But
it doesn't matter where you go,” he says, jamming his thumbs into
his jeans pockets.
“Hudson,”
I say, rolling my eyes, “Come on. That's just a bullshit phrase
people use to, uh, to get people to do something they don't wanna
do.” I stun myself with how confident I can be since the last time
I saw him, and remember that it was that phrase, his group's mantra,
that pushed me away from his group in the first place.
“Matt,
you've changed,” he says.
“Yeah,
Ferro said that on Facebook,” I remind him. “Because I won't go
to Yorkshire Street. I don't go to Oldham.”
“But
we're your mates,” he says, “and that's where we go.”
My
blood runs cold as I stare into those black pupils, and remember the
discomfort I felt when I first met him- my instincts telling me, I
now realise, not to get involved.
“Hudson,
Oldham's a shit night out. The only change is I won't put up with
it.” I walk off.
Tuesday, 28 November 2017
Filling in a gap
Well,
the gap in my stomach was filled with egg mayo sandwiches, Galaxy
chocolate and Aberlour single malt tonight (the bottle is now empty).
But what about the gap in my blog? What about tonight's post? I've
listened to a load of Immortal Technique rap songs to see if I can get
inspiration- no luck- and I've watched I'm a Celeb to see if
there's any celebrity-related gossip I can drag out- void.
My
weight yesterday was 84.1kg, shockingly high, but today I got it down
to 82.2 thanks to a Total Body Workout gym
class. (I've probably already put it back on, though.) Looks like this is a regular Tuesday thing for me from now on.
I've
met no celebs, I've not finished reading any books, I have no
particular thoughts on anything...
...so
why not unwind and go to sleep. Maria from Gentlewhispering will help
you to do that. ASMR is a growing trend on Youtube, and is helping
millions of people to relax and fall asleep. The Russian-American
Maria is my favourite.
Monday, 27 November 2017
Almost there...
What
is more dull than a discreet diary? One might as well have a discreet
soul.
-Henry
Channon, British politician and diarist
The
#NaBloPoMo
/ Excess Month: Practical final day is Thursday! After today's post:
Three more uploads. It can be done.
With
the theme of excess in mind, I've been making an attempt to polish
off almost-empty alcohol bottles in my cupboard; a little sample
bottle of The Arran Malt, Southern Comfort, Highland Park, and I've
got an 8th of a bottle of Jack looking at me right now.
This
week- Manchester Cool Bars
are going to History. I'm not, but if
you like RnB and a few celebs to spot, plus some of the craziest
podium dancer outfits ever, get involved.
The
Meetup scene will be quiet until Christmas.
Sunday, 26 November 2017
So, what has happened this week?
First,
Calum Best liked the fact that I corrected his grammar.
I
went to Proof, the Friday night in Panacea.
The weather- sleet- really put a
damper on proceedings, in more ways than one, and the club was dead.
Their glass collector looks like Stamper from Tomorrow Never Dies.
Would have been good if busier. The nightlife scene will, until the
main Christmas nights, be similar to this. Didn't stay long.
Yesterday
I ticked off a few bars from the Hit List, which has been heavily revised over the years as new bars and clubs
have opened up. My date and I started at West Corner, a nice little restaurant on
Hilton St in the Northern Quarter, and made our way around a few new
venues in that area.
Next:
Turtle Bay for some rum shots (must
try the food here). Busy with good happy hour deals.
We
found a drunk stag do in Flok, a
Spanish-style place which the MEN
describes as 'Manchester's first sherry bar.'
Unique décor with a tiled floor, strange mounted decorations and a
full-sized bank vault downstairs, the bar stands out from its
neighbours for it's low key visuals mixed with upmarket deep house. I
like. I did think it was a bit unfair the management to tell us off
for singing swing classics with the stag do, though.
We
moved on to Soup Kitchen, a
fragrant little venue serving, you guessed it, soup, to people on
long rows of tables like a scene from Oliver! Or something. I would
have been up for soaking up the atmos a bit longer but my date wasn't
feeling it.
A
satisfying night all in all. In February (after we've been paid and
the sales are over, and it gets warmer and the nightlife scene picks
back up) I'll probably set up a meetup to go around this area with
Manchester Cool Bars.
Last
night we'd started off in the early evening, so I was actually sober
enough to get to Writers Connect
for the first time in ages. More on this on Wednesday.
Saturday, 25 November 2017
I am confused by this dentist's fine
This
is not a cry for help, nor is it a whinge. It's an attempt to
illustrate the problems that I face having memory difficulties. This
week I received a penalty charge from the NHS because I indicated
that I was 'receiving NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate.' They
want £120.60 by the 11th December.
It's
something I will definitely need help with: formal documents like
this make very little sense to me, and they arrive in the mail so
thick and fast that I can't keep on top of them.
I've
mentioned before, I have brain damage, memory difficulties and
depression. I've worked most of my adult life, with minimal success,
and since I was 29 I've been in receipt of some low-rate benefits- I
was on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Working Tax Credits
(WTC). I've needed a lot of help getting them and staying up to date
with information relating to them.
In
January my DLA was stopped, as the government was replacing this with
the controversial Personal Independence Payment (PIP), something I
had to apply (and fight tooth and nail) for. In February I was still
in receipt of WTC and by March I had been allocated an award of PIP
(albeit less than I was getting from DLA.) Around this same time, it
now seems, my WTC were stopped. I was, for some reason, under the
impression that the two were now being paid together and that WTC
were part of the PIP payment. This is the kind of mistake I make, due
to the condition that makes me eligible for PIP in the first place.
I
thought my finances were under strain; it now seems I'm getting to
the bottom of the issue.
On
7th September, I went to my dentist and claimed that I was
on WTC, making me eligible for free treatment. I was not. The PIP I'm
receipt of apparently does not cover me for dentist visits, so it looks like I'm going to have to pay £120.60. This is an honest
mistake, one of many I make every week.
The exemption certificate that I have, a plastic card the size of a credit card, expired at the end of April. I, typically, forgot to chase this up.
I
guess there's a few options- I work in social services so there are
colleagues I could ask for advice, and I could always push the boat
out- on my PIP application form I explained that formal documents
like these make very little sense to me. Unfortunately, because I
speak well and have decent written skills, social services will have
nothing to do with me and any NHS support I receive is always
short-term (I'm not meeting any NHS people right now.) The only
talking support I get are my ever-loyal and over-relied-on parents,
and my line manager. I suppose I could bring this to Andy's Man Club
and see what advice they could give. And ultimately, I could try to
get the fine waived on disability grounds. It's not like I tried to
blag them. This happened because of the condition.
Another
issue: I'm on Sertraline, an antidepressant, and have been for some
time. I've been telling the chemist I'm eligible for free treatment.
This site doesn't suggest I am: there's no mention of PIP, only the
tax credits that I forgot had been stopped. I don't know what I told
the chemist I was in receipt of, so am I about to be bombarded with
numerous fines for claiming free prescriptions? I did have an NHS exemption card in my wallet but
I
started by suggesting that this blog post was not a cry for help.
That said, any advice that anyone can give me, I'd be grateful for.
matthewtuckey@hotmail.com.
Friday, 24 November 2017
10 Things to Leave Behind in 2018
Religion
You'll
get every benefit you could get from this and more if you study
psychology instead. All the wonder and life lessons you could ever
need are in science, and they apply to every human on the planet.
The
word 'peng'
Sounds
to much like 'pong.' A fad which will pass.
RnB
nights where women aren't interested in any white guys
I
don't just go out to pull, but, for fuck's sake, it would be nice
once in a while.
Wasting
time on social media
Don't
forget the real world, and your life, which is passing. But please
read the rest of this post.
Selfies
with random girls in clubs
They
don't know what you're going to do with that picture, and how you're
going to caption it, so they might be a little uncomfortable. You're
not Dan Bilzerian, and your
drunk-girl-themed Insta page doesn't make you look popular.
Cheap
umbrellas that go inside out when it's windy
Time
to shell out on something sturdy, or buy a formal raincoat.
Chocolate
binges
You
know how you've had no visible abs since 2010? This is why.
Fast
food
See
above.
Charging
your phone next to your bed, and occasionally looking at it when
you're supposed to be falling asleep
This
is why you've been an insomniac since 2010 too.
Breakfast
first thing in the morning
Consider
this
to get in shape.
Thursday, 23 November 2017
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Plan for tonight (Sessional Haiku)
Straight
home from working
I'll
double drop sertraline
and
The Arran Malt
A
sample bottle
I
got for Christmas one time
Then
'The three S's'
Dressing
sharp tonight
Although
nothing too fancy
Bailey's
Hot Chocolate
Manchester
Markets
Pork
sandwiches, alcohol
And
chocolate fruit treats
We're
starting nearby
in
the Slug and Lettuce bar
then
wandering round.
Party
time later
will
be in Voodoo
Wednesday
night clubbing
Birdcage
student night, can't wait
So
please get involved!
Expect
a writeup
later
in the week, Friday
Anyway,
must go
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
What happens if I skip breakfast?
 |
| If I don't look like thisin a month I'll give up and go full-on 'Mr Creosote.' |
We
all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Right? I
certainly struggle without it. Or do I? Sometimes, on my days off
work, I get up and go to the gym on an empty stomach. I do okay, and
eat when I get home.
But
on a standard work day, the idea of not having breakfast horrifies
me. It sounds like a lot of hard work. But a few weeks ago I came
across an advert on Youtube that changed my mind. As it was an advert
I can't actually link to it, but it was a video from the very
knowledgeable Thomas DeLauer. In
it he discussed how, when we are asleep, our bodies are breaking down
the food in our stomachs. When we wake up, our bodies go into
fat-burning mode, and that's when we start to lose weight- unless, of
course, you dump a load of breakfast food on top of it. Then your
body goes straight back to burning the carbs in your stomach.
If
we 'break our fast' in the early afternoon, we'll burn off reserve
fat for hours beforehand while we go about our morning.
DeLauer
explains a lot more than I ever could, so check him out. What I'll be
doing is skipping breakfast for the next month, and actually
'breaking my fast' at 12:30.
I
currently weigh 83.3kg. I'd like to be 10kg down from that please. I'd also like to beat a few PBs in the gym.
Let's see how that goes.
Monday, 20 November 2017
Party Party Party
ALRIGHT!
Just before advent starts and we all go into social hibernation,
There's a few events planned that YOU can get involved with.
Wednesday
night: Manchester Cool Bars
heads to Voodoo at The Birdcage, a
good party that fills up every term-time week and offers some decent
drinks deals and a young, good-looking crowd. Me and one other mate
are definites so far.
Friday
night: Cool Bars
heads back into town to a place with a very different vibe: Proof at Panacea.
Great RnB, a stunning venue, gorgeous people and probably a celebrity
sighting if you keep your eyes peeled.
Sunday:
I'm at Writers Connect
in Nexus, offering feedback to other
writers. If you fancy giving it a shot, Come down to the Northern
Quarter cafe, 1pm. For this I'm sacrificing the
Bisping fight in
UFC, so it'd better be good!
Oh,
and in theme with Excess Month, I downed the remnants of a bottle of
Wild Turkey... then found another bottle on offer in Tesco. And I've
started it already. Oh, and ALSO, I met the gorgeous Jemma Lucy from Ex on the Beach / Celebrity Big Brother on Wednesday in Kettlebell Kitchen. Forgot to ask for a pic so you'll have to take my word for it!
Sunday, 19 November 2017
Awful Scene Outside History
There
are two roads into History nightclub on
Longworth St- Camp St and St John St. Last night, 3am, on the
latter,
I saw a man punching woman a in a car.
The
guy was huge- sat in the driver's seat next to her. She was screaming
for help, but I wasn't going to get my face punched in, thanks. I was
on my own. I went straight to the doormen outside History. They told
me that the two of them had been 'fighting' in the club, and that he
had been thrown out. She'd been advised to stay in the club, but she
left with him. Now that they were outside, the doormen couldn't do
anything.
After
a few other people complained, the doormen eventually intervened. I
left the scene looking for the police- I suppose I should have rang
999, and I'm embarrassed that I didn't. I walked up to Peter St, just
around the corner from the club, where there are a handful of other
bars and usually a few police vans waiting for something to happen.
The police were nowhere to be found.
I
went back to History and the car, the man and the woman had already
gone.
I
had been out looking for stories for the blog, hoping to photograph a
few things, but I wasn't wasting time with a camera when someone was
in trouble. I'm disappointed that the door staff were reluctant to
help- regardless of club policy, they should have a conscience.
Also,
I'm not one for victim-blaming, but if you're given an opportunity to
be kept safe from a violent man and you don't take it, and you end up
getting punched, you have part- PART- of the blame.
Saturday, 18 November 2017
Cottonopolis Turns 2!
Manchester Northern
Quarter bar Cottonopolis threw a
second birthday bash on Thursday. Cocktails and canapés galore (the
latter was free), good funk music and chilled out people came
together to make a great party atmosphere.
DJs Will Tramp,
Oldboy, and Andy Smith
(formerly of Portishead fame) kept
people dancing. A healthy flow of cocktails and prosecco accompanied this.
If you're trying a few Northern Quarter bars is well worth dropping into Cottonopolis on Newton St.
Friday, 17 November 2017
More Manchester Construction Work, November 2017
Manchester continues to grow upwards. Here are a few new inclusions to the city's skyline...
...Starting with Angel Gardens near the CIS buildings.
Further along Great Ancoats Street we find what I am assuming is this Mulberry development...
...Or it may be this one a block down.
Actually, it seems this Oxid building is this development.
Towards Piccadilly, we find the soon-to-be-demolished Mecure Hotel.
Finally, here's the groundwork being laid foroffice tower development 125 Deansgate.
...Starting with Angel Gardens near the CIS buildings.
Further along Great Ancoats Street we find what I am assuming is this Mulberry development...
...Or it may be this one a block down.
Actually, it seems this Oxid building is this development.
Towards Piccadilly, we find the soon-to-be-demolished Mecure Hotel.
Finally, here's the groundwork being laid foroffice tower development 125 Deansgate.
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