Tortilla Launch

Last night saw the launch of the Manchester branch of Tortilla, a Mexican fast food joint on Oxford Rd. 

Housed in the old Jilango unit, (the branch bought out all 10 of these spaces) Tortilla serves up a large range of meats, veg, spices and sauces. These come in taco, quesadilla, burrito and ‘naked burrito: the meal without the wrap, tray-served.

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The area manager oversaw the launch, where delicious free food flowed, as did funk music from the speakers. ‘Burrito state of mind,’ states the wall design, next to traditional-style Mexican artwork, woodwork, neon and LCDs. 

If you’re in the Oxford Rd / Peter St area, it’s worth a drop-in if you’re feeling peckish. You won’t be disappointed.

Mexican / American Happenings

On the blog this week: a fajita recipe review and launch of a Mexican food outlet in Manchester. 

Separately, I corrected Angel Youngs’ grammar and annoyed her hugely. I’ll be single forever.

What kind of pest would leave such a message for such an esteemed individual as Angel Youngs?! pic.twitter.com/MqkWIKsx2C

— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 (@matthewtuckey) September 24, 2022

Vision Club Soft Launch

Last night I dropped into the soft launch of Vision, a new club in Manchester’s Whitworth St- formerly Playground, and before that I think an exhibition space called The Green Room (where I’m sure I at least saw one poetry slam). 

Manager Charles took me on a tour of the space, a 2-floor, 3-room experience, playing hip hop, afrobeat, RnB and dance (the latter in it’s own room). The club is complete with bookable booths, bottle service, digital displays, lasers, lights and even gold-effect toilets. The ladies’ room is adorned with a chatting sofa. 

There’s a possibility, Charles says, one of these rooms will be playing house music soon. Think Chinawhite with more variety.

 

The unit itself has always had an issue with phone reception towards the back, which can’t be helped, but unique décor and friendly staff make for a potentially different experience to a weekend night out.

Why I got a Dopamine and Serotonin Tattoo

Before the pandemic I noticed a growing trend of people getting dopamine and serotonin tattoos. Serotonin and dopamine, two neurotransmitters, are the building blocks of anything we have ever liked. These chemicals enter the bloodstream when we experience pleasure, and are received by the nucleus accumbens, the pleasure centre found in the lower region of the brain, the basal forebrain. 

Immediately I knew I wanted that chemical structure tattoo, on the right wrist. 

It has taken me until yesterday to action that. I dropped into Inkin in Oldham, a studio I’ve been following on socials for a while. Among their clients are cyclist Bradley Wiggins, Tom Powell from Love Island, Maisie Gillespie from TOWIE and Chet Johnson from Ex on the Beach. Their artwork is top-notch. See their Youtube for celeb footage. 

I’m 40. I’ve spent much of my life battling cognitive issues like memory difficulties, depression, anxiety and a misdiagnosis of dyslexia. I’m not perfect, but thanks to NHS treatment and time spent in support group Andy’s Man Club, I’m a lot more in control (and happy) than I was. That’s what drew me to this particular design: a reminder that I can be happy too. I had a good chat with Amanda, who performed the tattooing, and Mike, the Managing Director, about their studio, their clients and about mental health in general. A rewarding experience all round!

Eric Prydz in The Warehouse Project

Friday night: I dropped into Warehouse Project at Depot Mayfield (my first visit to this venue) to see Eric Prydz, whose 2004 track Call on Me sampled Steve Winwood’s Valerie and came with this aerobics-based music video.

Pjanoo is another track a lot of people would recognise. 

Depot Mayfield is a huge, down-and-dirty, former railway station, then a parcel depot, and is now perfect for a contemporary rave. Imagine their former owners’ bewilderment at finding their venue still standing, 122 years later, a bar in the corner and a couple of huge sound systems installed blaring out what they would be later told was tech house? The owners themselves would also be standing, in bewilderment and possibly amazement. 

Anyway, I’ve been clubbing since around 2000, and I’ve done a lot of dancing in these clubs. Sadly, there’s a lot of standing around happening these days. As much as the music and visuals were great, the younger generations have no footwork. Great music though. No mainstream dance, as you might expect from a pop chart name like Prydz, as evidenced here in these high-quality professional videos I shot on my phone. Cough.

 

 

 

 

See also the Insta story highlights.

Not Clubbing with Nostradamus

Last Friday I blogged about Nostradamus - 14th Century refuted seer – predicting Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. 4 days later, Social Media company It’s Gone Viral reported pretty much the same thing. 

It’s Gone Viral, from KOMI Group, are based in Rochdale. I had a meeting at their office them some time before the pandemic, just to learn a little about their company. I’m wondering if they’ve kept an eye on my blog. Or whether a host of other places are keeping track of Nostradamus’ prophecies, and It’s Gone Viral is one of them. I still beat them to it. I’ve been on leave this week. 

Tuesday night I decided to check out Twosday at History Club in Manchester. I’ve been in at the weekend a few times and couldn’t stand the place, but I’m aware that different nights in the same venue can have different vibes, so I took a look. 

It’s a student night, but photo ID was enough. Tickets online would have been £6, but they stung me a tenner. Saw me coming. I got in at midnight and the club was heaving already, with the only standing space being next to the toilets. Clientele were mostly white girls and black guys, aside from some Ron Weasley lookalike skanking out to songs that were overplayed before the pandemic, never mind by now. I got ticked off for leaving my drink on the back of someone’s seat, a booth for which they’d no doubt paid an extortionate amount. The DJ / MC character babbled about TikTok over the mic, and called women ‘bitches’ to their face, in front of the whole club. I lasted 2 hours. 

See the Facebook album for more. 

Thursday night I tried Thursday Club at Club LIV, somewhere I used to go to a lot before the pandemic. They claimed it was reservations only (bullshit), so I strolled over to Ark on the Locks for their Don’t @ Me launch. Students only, but one doorman checked my driver’s licence and was fine with it. The other knocked me back. Oh well. 

Friday night I saw the incredible Eric Prydz in The Warehouse Project. More on that later. Saturday, my legs were killing me. I stayed in. Is this my 40s now? Boo to that. It’s now a bank holiday but I have no plans for tonight.

Blue Badge Came Through

After several back-and-forths between myself and the Blue Badge scheme, I’ve managed to get mine renewed. It’s a massive relief as being allowed more places to park massively reduces the chance I’ll forget where my car is, something that has happened numerous times over the years. That’s me sorted until the latter half of 2025. 

Parking close to where I’m visiting reduces the chances of me losing my car, which has happened. 

Other psychology info to come next week.

No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy

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My aunt (now retired) was the Deputy News Editor at the Oldham Evening Chronicle. One of her colleagues there, Mark Hodkinson, recently released his 6th book, No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy: Memoirs of a Working Class Reader. She got me a copy for my birthday. 

Hodkinson, son of an electrician and a sewing machinist, was quite different to the rest of his family. Hands on, blue collar Rochdale people, the Hodkinson family were not the literary types. Unnverved by his obsessive book-collecting, his parents made attempts to discourage him from literature and head into a more traditional, hands-on career. He resisted, though, eventually getting an NCTJ from Richmond College in Sheffield and cutting his teeth at the Middleton, Moston and Blackley Guardian. 

Part autobiography, part investigation into the word of publishing and literature, NORHRT is a fascinating insight into a bibliophile’s world – his book-related anecdotes are interspersed with italicised tales of family life- strife, triumphs and curiosities. It sometimes lacks direction and it’s missing an index, making it difficult to write this review, but is a treat for any book lover, regardless of their upbringing.

Andy’s Man Club Walk and Talk

This morning, men’s support group Andy’s Man Club Manchester took a stroll around the City Centre raising awareness of men’s mental health, to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day. 

 

We chatted to a few people and gave out a few flyers, including a chunk of them to The Police. The officer we spoke to pointed out that their line of work deals with a lot of trauma. Here’s hoping he leaves a few in his staffroom and a handful of policemen drop in on the Monday night session. 

We also dished out a few wristbands and stuck a few cheeky stickers on lampposts. Any publicity is good publicity. 

We were too early, really, and Manchester hadn’t got busy enough. It’d be worth doing again in the afternoon, once people had crawled from their Saturday slumber. Also, Market Street patrons are overly familiar with people trying to get their attention, normally from salespeople. These days, they’re resistant to marketing types pushing flyers and striking up conversations. 

Regardless, here’s hoping we see a few new faces on Monday night. 7PM, Sedulo, next to Slug and Lettuce, Deansgate.

Nostradamus Predicted The Queen’s Passing

16th Century refuted seer Nostradamus has, if you believe the scriptures, predicted a number of world events, including The Great Plague, The Great Fire of London and the 9/11 Attacks. This week, another of his prophecies has partially come true. 

Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies for the Future was first published in 2006. Author and literature graduate Mario Reading translates a number of 4-line quatrains from Old French, interpreting metaphors and many plays on words. 

Most relevant now is Quatrain 6/72, which Reading claimed would occur in 2022.  

Through the pretend fury of divine emotion 

The wife of the great one will be badly wronged 

Judges wish to condemn such a doctrine 

The victim will be sacrificed to the ignorant people. 

Reading describes a ‘constitutional crisis on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, provoked by The Church of England.’ The crisis, not the death. Although feel free to theorise. Reading suggests The Church of England might be the next institution to topple. Well. I’d rather that than the NHS. 

But let’s take a look at the next quatrain in the book, 10/22.  

Because they disapproved of his divorce 

A man who later they considered unworthy 

The people will force out the King of the Islands 

A man will replace him who never expected to be king. 

22 relates to the year, (although these numbers – confusingly enough – don’t always marry up to the year in which the interpreted event happened). But we can assert that Nostradamus was bang on the money there. 

Charles is now King, due to be crowned, but Nostradamus and Reading suggest his tenure won’t last. 

‘The resentments held against him by a certain proportion of the British Population,’ claims Reading, ‘following his divorce from Diana, still persist. The pressure on him is so great, and his age so much against him, that Charles agrees to abdicate in favour of his son.’ 

Well, no sign of that yet. 

‘The question is, which son?’ 

Well, if Reading were still alive (he died in 2017), he’d know now which one. This could only be William: Harry has ditched the Royal Family as they were – shock – discriminatory towards his mixed-race wife. 

Perhaps William doesn’t expect to be King because of the increasing resistance to the idea of a monarchy, a lauding family of millionaires we’re supposed to idolise while the rest of us wallow in a mire of austerity. Perhaps he’s expecting abolition. 

So, Reading / Nostradamus may have got the year of Queen Elizabeth’s passing right, but there’s some question over King Charles’ tenure. Will his divorce and second marriage in fact lead to the disestablishment of The Church of England? Will he abdicate? And how long will the Royal Family last?

Shapeshifters’ Flying Mishap; Bobby Norris’ Tattoo Debate

This week house music group The Shapeshifters (Lola’s Theme was their 2004 debut, and a big hit) had a bit of an airport mishap. I riffed off their lyrics and they liked my tweet.

You'll be a different person after they've turned the plane around.

— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 (@matthewtuckey) August 29, 2022

Also…

I asked TOWIE's Bobby Norris the baboon Vs badger question from Popbitch pic.twitter.com/Gmnkip5vFP

— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 (@matthewtuckey) August 29, 2022

For the second week in a row, my baboon-vs-badger gossip has made it into celebrity gossip email Popbitch. I’m on fire!

Passes of different kinds

 

I work in a part of the public sector. I avoid specifying which on this blog. I also have short-term memory difficulties, which impedes on my life on a pretty much daily basis. My phone, the device with which I store most of the day-to-day info I need but could never remember- is constantly in my hand. 

Throughout my life I’ve received support from here and there, different charities and organisations, and from the NHS (with varying results). Sometimes the support has been practical, sometimes financial, sometimes emotional. 

I’ve mentioned on here that I was using a concessionary bus pass, provided by TfGM, from I think 2008 onwards until the latest one expired in 2021. I’ve asked for this to be renewed, but they have refused. They’re splitting hairs over what is a ‘learning difficulty’ and what is a ‘learning disability.’ The disability team at the local authority have given them all the information they could need. They’re still refusing. 

The GP at my surgery, Dr M – possibly a locum, I’d not met him before – suggested he’d be happy to sign anything proving the condition I had. He suggests TfGM can ring the surgery for info, and that they can write a letter to TfGM for £31. I met with Dr M not entirely sure of what I was asking him for – I guess whether he knew what the ideal thing to do would be. Question is, do I want to pay the money just for TfGM to throw it back in my face again? 

Meanwhile, my Blue Badge – for parking – is about to expire. I’ve reapplied, with them this time asking for my PIP award score – a new restriction that typically the press have not picked up on. I’ve met the threshold, but there was more information that they needed. I could have sworn I’d sent the Blue Badge team information like: 

• Photocopied evidence of some form of identity· 

• Proof of your address. This can be a recent Council Tax or utility bill· 

• A recent passport style photograph· 

• Photocopies of any relevant documents to support your application, e.g. medical evidence· 

• A £10.00 administration fee. 

Turns out the photo I sent was too old, and again I could have sworn I’d sent them my updated one via their website. Well, I’ve done it (again?) via email this week. 

These are the kinds of problems that occur with memory difficulties – not only can you forget to do things, you can, seemingly, imagine that you have done things that you apparently haven’t. Sure, everyone has these problems, but with memory difficulties it happens a lot more. 

Anyway, the badge is now on order. My current one expires around the end of the month. Stress. 

Thirdly, as an essential worker, I’ve found another benefit for which I’m eligible: The Blue Light Card. Describing themselves as ‘The UK’s No.1 discount service for emergency services, NHS, social care sector and armed forces,’ the scheme have sent me a card after I recently applied. A colleague told me about it. 

Adidas, River Island, Harvester and Trespass are among the brands offering discounts. I’ve yet to use it. The connection to psychology here is tenuous: I got my job through a scheme for people with disabilities, back in 2007. I’m somehow still with the same employer. 

 This is, so far, where I am up to.