Using a bit of TOIL up this week. Will be polishing off this absurd flexibility project. Expect a write-up. There’ll also be a couple of book reviews.
Also, singer Joss Stone went live on IG on Saturday. I asked her Popbitch’s conundrum: Who would win in a fight between a baboon and a badger? “Badgers are hardcore. I feel like baboons have dexterity. They have more of a chance." So, there you have it.
Meetup group Social Manchester – formerly Young Professionals in Manchester - met up in Northern quarter bar On the Hush again on Friday. I attended another of their meetups back in November, and after this went to Terrace with a few others that time. I figured I’d give the group another shot.
I got in late, just before 9, and the bar was heaving. It’s a popular group, but there didn’t seem to be anyone in charge welcoming newcomers or late arrivals. I introduced myself to this person and that person, but everyone seemed so disparate and the night had no agenda, no theme, no plans for later. It was just a room full of people. You can quite easily get ‘analysis paralysis’ in situations like these – who out of everyone here should I talk to? Why this person? Why not that one?
At least last time a few of us banded together and hit another bar. This time I stayed as long as I could before my disgust at humanity overwhelmed me and I had to duck out. I’d have had a look around town, but it started raining. I’d also dished out a few cards with my socials printed on them, but, like last time, I’ve not heard back from anyone.
I also never hard back from the Curated Meet group – from the same Meetup group - that met Tuesday last week. I’d tried to keep a group chat going, to no avail. I had high hopes for this group as we were put together based on interests and backgrounds, given in the questionnaire we filled when joining up.
I was reluctant to get back into the Meetup scene after COVID, as I knew exactly the type of people that would be there: flakes, the socially inept and garrulous twats. But I didn’t know what else to do.
I know so few good people who are able to go out and do something: barriers include people not having money, being too busy, having different tastes in nightlife, expressing anti-vaxx sentiment, Not grasping the necessity of the lockdown and what constitutes essential travel, being Tories or supporting Israel as they murder Palestinian children.
In short, not people I’d want anything to do with.
This week I also went to a traditional pub with my family. This was a much more rewarding experience.
4 strangers meet in Tariff and Dale in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. All they know is, they have a lot in common.
I’m one of them this rainy, cold Tuesday night in February. I’ve responded to a meetup called Socials Manchester – formerly Young Professionals Socials in Manchester – and this meetup group operates a little differently to others. It’s a ‘Curated Gathering,’ or a ‘Curated Meet,’ a play on words that took me an embarrassingly long time to pick up on. When signing up to the group, the applicant is forwarded to a multiple choice questionnaire – a ‘psychometric test’ of sorts – in which they input details of hobbies, interests, background, occupation and aspirations and other character traits. Behind the scenes, the organisers then group the respondents into clusters of 4 people – named by colour - who they expect would get on well. I’m in ‘violet group,’ and we’re given a WhatsApp group chat, a meeting time and a location.
Thankfully this gives me time to dart next door to craft themed bar Pen and Pencil and throw some food down me.
The group itself seemed a cool bunch - 2 other guys and a girl – and we chatted about careers, goals etc. I’ve tried to keep the chat going, but Friday was the last message. We will see what becomes of it.
Valentines Day may be over a week away but the Manchester Meetup scene is already in the mood for love – or at least, getting drunk.
Social Manchester (formerly Young Professionals Socials in Manchester) offers Mutual Meets, a series of small group events in the city. The event details explains, ‘instead of attending one big event we will use your answers to the survey linked below to match you with 4-8 like-minded individuals, chosen just for you!’ The next event is tomorrow night, location unspecified. Follow the signup link. £20 fee. I might give it a shot.
The same night, FIINU - Manchester’s fun and dating meetup – are running a social in Ezra and Gil on Peter St. Looks to be free.
Friday: meetup group Midnight Mass head to Joshua Brooks for a set by wAFF DJ. Can’t say I’ve heard of him, but the venue is a winner. Had some good nights there.
Saturday: Social Manchester head out again for Valentines Speed Dating. Tickets are on offer at £20 (standard price £25.) Will you find the one in Deansgate Locks’ Ark club? I doubt it, but be my guest….
It gets worse: for a chavtastic Valentines, join 20s and 30s Meetup as they head to glorious bowling alley Tenpin in The Printworks for ping pong, pool and potential pulling.
These are a handful that have been suggested in my Meetup feed. Each person’s Meetup experience will differ, down to the events that the site offers them, and these are based on the preferences you pick. Take a look for yourself at what’s going on.
Making progress with this fitness project: I’ve now beaten what was my oldest PB, a 10 minute run which I can now do at 14.2km/ph. I’ve not set a PB in this since May, 2013. Still can’t fit into my suit trousers, but the weight is steadily coming off. I was down to 77.8kg on Tuesday. I was 300g up from that on Saturday. Outdoor run record is still as it was.
I’m halfway through this bottle of Namman Muay, and my flexibility is for some reason reverting. I made progress until the 9th January, and haven’t been as flexible since.
Actor Carl Weathers has died. He was great as Dylan in Predator, and more commonly known as Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise. I met him at For the Love of Sci Fi in 2018. Seemed like a nice guy. Gave a fascinating talk.
Corrected Indica Flower’s grammar and she liked my tweet.
Singer Shola Ama liked my Insta story. It was her birthday. (I’d met her in 2016.)
— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 @matttuckey on Threads (@matthewtuckey) February 4, 2024
It was time I got back into cooking new recipes, so I dug out Rukmini Iyer’s The Roasting Tin and looked for something a little different. I settled on Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb with Harissa, Roasted Aubergines and Tomatoes.
Not a cheap meal, but lamb rarely is. I managed to find most of the ingredients in the big Tesco, bar harissa paste (some kind of eastern condiment, not a celebrity influencer from Brentwood). My mum managed to find a jar from some artisan outlet in Saddleworth. My dried mint pots it seems went out of date in 2015 and 2017, so there’s a possibility that the potency was somewhat underwhelming… but it’s a dried herb. What harm’s it going to do? I’d have to throw out 90% of my spice rack if I was going off date. I substituted with dill, something I use fairly regularly.
Prep time was supposed to be 15 mins. Took me 32. Standard. Overall, cooking time took about 4 hours. Not that complicated, and is mostly oven time.
Tesco’s vine tomatoes are bigger than displayed in the recipe book, so they were a little undercooked, and the aubergine was cooked through but not slimy as is the risk with this particular vegetable, as I understand. I’ve never cooked it before.