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!
