Halloween is upon us again this Friday. Saturday will be busier though, hence ManchesterNightlife Meetup group are headed to possibly the busiest place in Manchester – Peter St – for a bar crawl. Expect cocktails, fancy dress, music, and probably idiots being arrested at 2am. No one I know though. 9pm in Dirty Martini.
The Rules of Attraction. James Van Der Beek fresh from Dawson's Creek, pre-Justin Timberlake Jessica Biel, pre-Vampire Diaries Ian Somerhalder, a fading Eric Stolz, an aging Faye Dunaway, Thomas Ian Nicholas off American Pie and - for at least a second - DJ Paul Oakenfold. https://t.co/zzDGWd6IqJ
— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 (@matthewtuckey) October 25, 2025
Went to a vegan alcohol-free bar to read a book. Hinterland in Manchester’s Northern Quarter hosted the Sober Silent Reading Club, a chance to sit in silence and read yet still be part of a community. Their principle for the event was to build a community without alcohol and companionship without communication. A relaxing evening. May be monthly. Check back.
Ran a meetup with Manchester Nightlife to watch UFC 321 in Joshua Brooks. Good group of lads showed up. Tables were booked, but one of them was empty as the group hadn’t showed, so we had it. Small screen at the end of the table, nice tidy venue upstairs. Shame the main fight ended in a no contest due to accidental eye poke. House music DJ downstairs. Seemingly no charge to get in. good music. Went to Yes bar after this, which has 3 floors of music. Mostly house I think. Here’s the flyer:
Went to Yes bar in Manchester after #ufc321 last night for eclectic electronica and pizza
— Matt Tuckey 🇬🇧 (@matttuckey.bsky.social) October 26, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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Will be back in Yes soon.
A simple, different approach to roast fish, this one from Rukmini Iyer’s India Express book is a spiced up version of what otherwise have been a bland fish - and - veg dinner. Chilli, Coconut and Lime Salmon with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.
I don’t have many notes on it and I cooked it a month before writing this post, but hey, this is why I started Psychology Saturday – to illustrate memory difficulties and what it’s like to live with them. Sometimes I guess the cooking isn’t that eventful.
I seem to remember liking it though.
‘Now the leg, huh?’
-Hector the Toad, Scarface
I have a problem with my left knee. An old injury. Not sure what it’s from. I’ve spent my adult life doing martial arts and running and weights, so it’s probably a cumulative issue. I weight train regularly without pain, but I could barely run to the end of the street the other day, so booked in with the Muscular Skeletal doctor, the MSK, and he ran a few practical tests.
The upshot: it’s not the knee. Not Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS), as a friend suspected. There’s no tear to any ligament. However, the muscles around the knee could do with being built up. (This came as a surprise as I do pump class 3 times a week and I’m lifting more all the time.)
MSK Dr gave me a 2-week gym plan with leg stretches, hamstring curl and stiff legged deadlift to work on. Quad curl isn’t listed but it would make sense to include it in the workout. Hence, between the 22nd this month and the 5th November, I’m going to hammer these exercises and see if I can beat some PBs on these particular movements. The plan suggests 30 reps x3, which is a ridiculously high number of reps. Sorry, I’m sticking with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 12, 10, 8, 6 reps with increasing weight. I’m still doing pump class, which seems fine because most of the movements include movements with planted feet, and don’t involve the kind of impact that has been giving me pain. Circuit class, which has a lot of jumping around, is out for the moment.
I’ll review when the programme is over, and I’ve seen the MSK guy again.
But no, no amputation is necessary, unlike Scarface’s Hector and his choice of dismemberment.
Thursday night things go a little left field.
Vegan alcohol free bar Hinterland host the Sober Silent Reading Club, ‘a chill session of reading with like-minded folks. Bring your favourite book and enjoy the quiet.’ There’s a meetup with Manc Mates to coincide.
Next: big contrast here, but different strokes and all that...
It’s fight week. UFC 321 on Saturday night has the UK’s Tom Aspinall, from Atherton Bolton no less, makes his first defence of his heavyweight title against Frenchman Ciryl Gane. Joshua Brooks is showing the main card, starting from 7pm, and Manchester Nightlife meetup group will be there. I’ve got my free ticket. JB’s isn’t far from Circle Square, so it might be good to have a look around that area after.
Movie convention For the Love of Horror happened this weekend. I wasn’t there: the lineup wasn’t my thing until they announced Linda Blair – Reagan from The Exorcist – at the last minute. The whole event sold out by the time I got around to trying to book. I had a wander around town last night to see if any guests were knocking about. No luck.
Went to Inkblot Comic Festival Saturday.
Underwhelming fair in Sugden Sports Centre down Oxford Rd. Nowhere near enough stalls for the size of the venue, very few complete graphic novels on sale, and the main Aliens comic they were touting on the promo material was only part 1 of an anthology and cost £13! No sale. I was in and out in 10 mins.
Had a wander around Manchester in the hope that some of the Horror guests might be knocking around. No sign of them.
Some good news for disabled people in Greater Manchester: the concessionary travel passes return to 24/7 use at on Bee Network trams and buses, for the month of November.
It’s a trial again, provided by Transport for Greater Manchester. On the 14th I received an email detailing this and, like last time the rules and hours of eligibility changed, TfGM have made no mention to the fact that before the pandemic the passes were 24/7 anyway. But from 1st to 30th November, the passes are for use at all times again. I guess it saves a bit of money for people with disabilities who do work – these people exist, contrary to what Labour and the BBC would have you believe. Previously the pass was only for use after 9:30am.
Would be great if local and national news outlets would point that out!
Been a massive bookworm for a month (when I wasn’t checking out filming locations of following recipes or trying to get in shape for the Santa Dash.) It’s one of 8 plans I have this year. I read:
1) Rendezvous with Rama
Arthur C Clarke’s 1973 follow-up to his groundbreaking 2001: A Space Odyssey, Rendezvous with Rama follows some astronauts travelling to a cylindrical metallic planet, which itself is hurtling towards the sun, and they investigate its potential as a second home.
Massively inventive, scientifically fascinating, dialogue now quite dated and the plot didn’t seem to go anywhere. Certainly an enjoyable read though.
2) Stan: Evil Rises
Short comic free on entrance to 2022’s For the Love of Horror convention. British take on The Evil Dead with a livestreaming wannabe influencer in the lead. Pretty funny.
3) For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond
Times journo Ben Macintyre’s mission is to guide us through the life of one Ian Fleming, also a former Times hack but – earlier, in the Second World War, a Naval Intelligence Officer. This life of dreaming up schemes against Britain’s enemies, planting limpet mines on submarines and downing (literally) crippling amounts of hard liquor gave plenty of inspiration for his writing life.
Before long, he devised the ultimate post-war fantasy of the secret agent: James Bond, suave MI6 operative with a licence to kill, seduce and down insane amounts of vodka martinis yet still be able to drive sports cars without careening off a cliff. Someone that men and women could fantasise about in one way or another – transported from their bombed out city, they could imagine themselves in tropical islands, living the high life, eating fine cuisine, firing hi-tech weaponry and getting the girl.
The book is a biography of the author, but also an investigation into the Bond character: the background, the role at Q branch, the missions he’s sent on.
It’s also a comparison of how Fleming’s and Bond’s lives cross over, and how the lives of the people he knew inspired Fleming to create the ultimate spy (not to mention, a few supporting characters too). There’s a great anecdote about Fleming crashing the filming of Dr No in 1962, plus many others. A must for Bond fans.
4) Maus
Maus, by New Yorker magazine artist Art Spiegelman, tells the story of Spiegelman’s father Vladek, a textiles trader and all-round handyman, and how he survived Auschwitz.
Published in 1992, it’s the first and to date only graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize. This weighty, generous book, set mostly in the ‘30s and 40s, depicts the Jews as mice – including the narrator and family – and the Nazis as cats, all in bleak monochrome.
The tale of a young Polish man who endures and survives the most horrendous of environments tells a harrowing account, one that many others of his family didn’t live to tell. The creator – who puts himself in the frame as a central character as ‘Artie,’ also depicted in rodent form – interviews his father and coaxes out of him a memoir that haunts and sears into the mind.
Terrifying, poignant and more relevant than ever today.
5) Dynasties: The Rise and Fall of Animal Families
Author Stephen Moss joins a BBC film crew – headed up by naturalist legend David Attenborough – for a 2018 5-part documentary series following animal families over the course of up to 2 and a half years.
Each episode follows a different animal – usually an alpha male or female - and their families, and are given anthropomorphic human names, along with their kindred. Charm is a lioness on the plains of Kenya’s Masai Mara, defending her territory. David, a Senegalese chimpanzee, fights to maintain his position as group leader, when Luthor makes a strike to usurp him. (Their diet is described, bizarrely, as ‘catholic.’) Tait, a painted wolf native to Zimbabwe and alpha female, is the only one in her pack who will breed. But with whom?
Moss adapted the programme into a solid, beautifully explained and illustrated accompanying book, each episode forming a chapter. The section on emperor penguins was more general, as opposed to following one particular creature. I got the impression that as there were so, so many of them – thousands of seemingly identical birds are photographed – that there’d be no way to single them out and name them.
Finally in central India we join Raj Bhera, a 5 year old female Bengal tiger as she rules over the same land area that her ancestors have for the last century, possibly longer.
Brilliantly written with stunning photography, the team behind the programme pulled together to make an astounding TV show and literature.
Interesting to see a nod to naturalist Jane Goodall, who as it happens died this month.
Didn’t get as much read as I wanted, but made a dent on the To Be Read pile. Enjoyed it, though.
Horror movie convention For the Love of Horror is this weekend. The line-up had nobody who grabbed me until the last minute when they announced Linda Blair, Reagan from The Exorcist. By the time I got around to phoning (the website never works for me) the event had sold out. Never mind. There’s more going on.
I seem to have blown something in the back of my left knee, so running is out of the question. Pump classes seem fine, though, which involves weight movements with planted feet like deadlifts and squats. I’m skipping circuit which involves a lot of jumping around. Keep forgetting I’m 43. Will I be fixed for the Santa Dash at the start of December? Who knows. I guess I’m going to have to phone the doctors.
It’s the last week of this reading project I’m doing. Expect a review soon.
Saturday daytime: comic convention Inkblot promises ‘a day packed with comics, creativity and good vibes.’ Sugden Sports Centre, right down Oxford Rd, from 12pm. There’s a meetup with Manc Mates if you want to say hi to a few people.
Got pub food with the family Friday night. Good evening.
Shot over to Hoppy Daze in Ashton Saturday night for my mate’s house music night. Hype Drive returned to Tameside for a night of electronica with a bit of funk thrown in too. Good team.
Hype/Drive run events sporadically but they’re great friendly evenings, usually not too late either. We’re not kids. We need sleep.
2/10/25
This week was the first time, to my knowledge, I’ve tasted artichokes – the unopened bud of a thistle plant. But that is what Rukmini Iyer – author of The Roasting Tin – asks for in Rigatoni Al Forno with Pancetta, Artichokes, Creme Fraiche and Parmesan.
I couldn’t find panko breadcrumbs in the 3 supermarkets I went to, so blended a couple of slices of brown bread. The pasta needed a little longer to boil than directed. No biggie. But other than that, the instructions were straightforward and the dish was ready to serve in 1hr 20 mins including baking time. (Should have been 50 mins. I take a little longer.) Artichokes weren’t too bad, largely, I expect, because they were covered in a creamy, meaty, almost carbonara-like sauce.
House music fans unite Saturday, only not in Manchester Centre. Ashton’s Hoppy Daze holds host to DJ collective Hype/Drive, featuring underground house and a friendly bunch of people. There’s a meetup if you fancy joining. I can introduce you.
Steadily chugging through this reading project.
Other than that, I‘ve picked u a huge pile of DVDs and Blu-Rays from a college friend who moved abroad. A very generous donation! Now all I need Is a Blu-Ray player… not to mention a new PC as this one is on its arse.
Ran a meetup last night to the Northern Quarter. Last night of drinking before dedicating myself to this Santa Dash fitness project.
The event had been up all week but the RSVPs only rolled in in the last couple of days. I ended up with 15 supposed attendees. 4 of us showed on the night. Me, 2 regulars and 1 guy who’d been to 1 before. He turned up in Flok already steaming, and tried to engage us in a political debate in which he completely misunderstood the Israel Palestine situation and exposed himself as a batshit Zionist. His arguments completely fell apart under questioning. We went to Dusk til Pawn, then moved on to Eastern Bloc. Then he just disappeared. He seemingly walked out of the bar.
I’ve booted him from the group. It can be tiring running meetups and dealing with, on occasion, the inept who use the site as a crux. But as Daniel Plainview would say…
It’s 2 months to the 2025 Saddleworth Santa Dash, an annual race in which a thousand locals dress as Father Christmases and dart 5k across Oldham’s countryside to raise funds for the Round Table, a local charity organisation. It’s great fun. Saturday, 6th December sees the High Street of Uppermill awash with a sea of red and white outfits, with lots of serious runners but mostly people who just want a fun run with family and friends.
The race usually has a local DJ or public figure at the meeting point, hyping everyone up before the starting banner is held up and the whistle blown. At the end, there’s music, stalls, food, drink and games.
I currently weigh 82.1kg, an entire 10kg more than I need to if I want to fit into my suit trousers, one of my tasks for this year. I also want to beat the 31 minute run time I got in both 2018 and 2024. I’ve got a local 5.4km running route that I’ve done in just over 36 mins. It’d be great to beat that. Currently, running is sluggish and gym classes are getting harder. I just had a chicken burger meal last night, and I’m getting drunk in the Northern Quarter tonight, but after that… militant health kick. Lots of soup. Lots of recipes. Adonis figure pending.
Watched Saw III. It was drivel, but I tagged Dina Meyer - Dt. Allison Kerry - in a couple of Insta stories and she liked them.
Saw X, another in the series that surfaced on Netflix, was equally forgettable.
House of Guinness has landed on Netflix last week currently sitting at no.1 in the series chart. Back in October the filming took place in Manchester. I got these shots.
This coming week:
Tuesday night chicken anyone? Bird of Prey, a new fried chicken joint out at Circle Square, hosts Tender Tuesdays, offering 50% off chicken tenders. Fancy taking a look with some other people? Manchester Nightlife has you.
I’m off work Friday so thought it would be good to do something on Thursday night, but I haven’t actually found anything happening. Club LIV used to have a Thursday night thing, but the club is now Runway and is closed Thursdays. I uploaded this meetup but I still have no idea what to do on a Thursday. Nothing seems to be open.
Saturday night, however, should be much more successful with a bar crawl around Stevenson Square. Loads of good quirky bars, a range of music including some house, cocktails aplenty and rarely any entry fees. If the weather’s shit, all the bars are right next to each other. Meet me in Flok, 9pm.
At the time of first writing this post – early August – I was ploughing through this Viking project, trying to fast, build strength and watch a ton of Norse themed Netflix.
I returned to Craig Brooks’ Eat Like a Viking cookbook, a guide to 9th century eating, and picked out Oat Rolled Cod. I only had Basa, though, a fish native to south-east Asia. Hardly Norse. Yeah, they would have traded non-perishables like fabric and spices… but not fish. Oh well. A fairly simple recipe: beaten eggs help the oats to stick to the fillet of fish. Fry for a few minutes each side.
Plain, but filling. Ready from scratch in 20 mins.
