Tag / Manchester

by Gareth

Gig stuff

Been to a couple of pretty big gigs over the last two weeks. First off was last week when I finally got to see Foo Fighters live!

I’d originally bought a ticket to see them play in 2022, but obviously with the sad death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins, the whole of that tour was cancelled. Anyway, I bought some tickets when this new tour was announced last summer, so had been looking forward to it for quite a while!

I bought 4 tickets in total, so a few weeks beforehand, Abhi took a couple of tickets off me for him and his friend Caz, and then Ali travelled up from Bristol to come along as well!

Ali, me, Abhi and Caz.

We all took the tram in together from East Didsbury, and arrived at Old Trafford Cricket Ground whilst the first of the two support acts was playing. I’d not heard of the first group, but the second support was from Wet Leg, and I do know a few of their songs. During this, the heavens opened, and we all got a bit wet – the weather forecast for the evening had said there’d be rain, but was supposed to clear by the time the Foo Fighters were to appear, and luckily it did!

Foo Fighters at Old Trafford.

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by Gareth

Mum visiting and more rooms sorted

It’s been a couple of months, so time for a bit of an update!

Mum came up to stay for a week at the end of April / start of May. She was last up with Chloe back in November, and I’d not seen her since before Christmas, so it was nice to get a visit. She arrived on Monday lunchtime, and it was quite a quite a chilled week really. The next day she went to visit a friend in Rochdale, so I dropped her off first thing at East Didsbury so she could get the tram up there.

Then on the Wednesday, we walked into Stockport along the River Mersey, and had a bit of a look around the town, and then I showed mum the new Stockport Interchange and Viaduct Park which they’ve built on top of it. By this point, it’d only been open for just over a month, so all felt quite new, but I think it’s really transformed the area and the park itself is a nice relaxing area to hang out in. I guess we could have walked back home afterwards, but since we were already at the interchange, a bus seemed the better option!

Mum on our walk into Stockport.

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by Gareth

Music and videogames

Bit of a catch-up…

Had a few good nights out over the last few months. Back in February I got to see Rend Collective play at the O2 Ritz in Manchester.

Rend Collective.

I actually thought I’d left a decent amount of time to get to the show. I’d not been to the Ritz before, so was quite surprised to see the queue to get in going from Whitworth Street, right round onto Oxford Road, stretching back quite a way. I originally thought it was a queue for Hamilton over the road at the Palace, but soon discovered it was the queue I needed to be in so joined the back of it. The staff were really slow getting people in, and it took ages to make my way down to the entrance. The support act was just starting as I arrived, so I moved towards the stage to get a good position.

Rend Collective.

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by Gareth

Live comedy catch-up

Just thought I’d make a quick post to document my last two comedy shows of the year. Last Thursday I was at The Lowry’s Lyric Theatre to see John Robins perform his latest comedy show, ‘Howl’. I’d had the ticket since the beginning of January and when I bought it, the only ones still available were on the back row of the lower circle – the furthest back I’ve sat in there!

‘John Robins – Howl’ at The Lowry.

When I was at the Edinburgh Fringe back in August, he was doing two shows – ‘Howl’ and a ‘Work-in-Progress’, so I decided to go to the WIP since I knew I already had a ticket for ‘Howl’ later in the year, and guessed that it would probably contain more stuff that wouldn’t end up in the main show. The Lowry show was in two parts and ran for about an hour and a half, and I was pleased to discover that whilst I recognised a bit of the material from Edinburgh, the majority was new to me. I thought he was really good… it’s a weird kind of show because it focusses a lot on mental health and dealing with alcoholism, so although it was quite dark and heavy in places, it was also pretty powerful and really funny, and I think the balance he struck was spot on.

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by Gareth

Half Term & Reunion Plan C

Over half term week starting at the end of October, Mum and Chloe came up to visit, and they arrived by train on the Sunday evening – a bit later planned because Chloe had originally forgotten her coat, and had to go back home to get it before returning to Tamworth to get the train with mum! On Monday, it was quite rainy, so I drove us all over to The Trafford Centre where we had lunch, and had a bit of a look around the shops. The next day was a bit drier, so we went into Stockport – mum had mentioned that she’d never been into the town on her previous visits here, so I gave them a bit of a walking tour, through some of the new developments to the Underbanks, the Market Hall and Produce Hall.

Chloe and me outside the Produce Hall in Stockport.

When Brandon came up to visit back in February, we all went to Junkyard Golf (where mum won!), so with Chloe here we decided to try another crazy golf venue in Manchester city centre – Treetop Golf. I’d found it by accident whilst doing a Google search – it’s basically above the Printworks, but the entrance is hidden away on Dantzic Street, away from the main bit. But I was really impressed with how they’ve done it. The theming is really good, and feels so much bigger than Junkyard Golf. Also, because we arrived early, we were able to go round both courses for the price of one, so we ended up spending a good couple of hours there.

Me, Chloe and mum at Treetop Golf.

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by Gareth

Video games and Bristol visitors

Lee at Arcade Club.

Last month, I spent a fun evening at Arcade Club in Bury with Michael and Lee. We went there back in January, and they have 4 floors of arcade machines and some other classic games from the 70s up to now! Just like my first time, my gaming skills weren’t the greatest, but it was really nice to catch up with both Michael and Lee – I’d seen Lee briefly whilst in Edinburgh in August, but I don’t think I’d seen Michael since our last time doing this.

Michael and Lee.

Michael at Arcade Club.

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by Gareth

Sounds of the City

This week, I went to ‘Sounds In The City’ to see the Inspiral Carpets and Blossoms play at the Castlefield Bowl. I saw Snow Patrol play there last year, so was hoping for an equally decent gig this time!

Inspiral Carpets.

There was an extra support act before the Inspiral Carpets, but I didn’t make it there in time to see them! Anyway, I got myself a decent position, and when the Inspirals canme on, I hadn’t realised how many of their songs I actually knew! I haven’t listened to them loads in recent years – obviously I heard them quite a bit on TV and radio during the late 80s and early 90s, just as I was finishing school and starting uni – but the memory was still there!

Inspiral Carpets setlist:

Joe
She Comes in the Fall
This Is How It Feels
Two Worlds Collide
Find Out Why
Move
I Want You
Dragging Me Down
Saturn 5

Before Blossoms came on, there was an idiot not too far away from me that though it’d be fun to throw pints over the crowd, which he found hilarious, but others less so! At one point, someone who’d got hit by one pushed his way through the crowd and tried to deck him! Even after this, he was very arrogant about it, and carried on with it… but there was a real sense of justice when security eventually came over and took him away!

Blossoms.

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by Gareth

Penn & Teller

Last night I got to see two of the world’s most famous magicians live in Manchester! Back in 2021, I spotted that they had planned to do a UK tour then but it’d been pushed back to 2023 because of Covid, so I checked to see if there were any tickets available and there still were a very limited amount on sale for the new date.

Penn & Teller.

I think I first saw them doing stuff back in the 90s when they had a TV show on Channel 4, where they’d do tricks with chainsaws and the like, often including a lot of fake blood! And obviously they’re massive in America, with a Vegas residency and appearing on TV quite a bit over there. They opened with a gag about them now performing age-appropriate magic, since they’ve been working together for 50 years, so started off with an escapology routine with them in rocking chairs with on oxygen cylinder on hand to help with their breathing!

Penn & Teller.

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by Gareth

Music Of The Spheres

I saw Coldplay live this week and they were awesome!

I bought tickets when they went on sale last year, and it was really difficult getting any! The last 3 times I’ve seen them, I’ve been able to get a spot down on the main floor, but by the time I did manage to get through to buy some, there were only a few seats left up in the highest tiers, so I ended up buying 3 seated tickets pretty close to the stage, but way high up in the top section.

So about five or six weeks ago, I mentioned on Facebook that I had a couple of spare tickets for Thursday’s gig, and the first to respond was Ali, closely followed by Jon (who actually came with me to see them back in 2012!)

Me, Ali and Jon waiting for Coldplay!

Both Ali and Jon arrived in Stockport in the afternoon – Ali drove up from Bristol, and Jon came from Bedford via a combination of buses and trains after his National Express bus left without him (just to add some jeopardy into the day!)

We then took the tram to the Etihad Stadium, and got there just before seven o’clock, so decided to buy some food before going in, so we bought pie and chips for tea! We made it to our seats just in time for a support set from the band Chvrches. I don’t know loads of their stuff, but what I have heard I do like, so had been keen to see them play before Coldplay.


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by Gareth

Half term adventures

I had some fun adventures last month, coinciding with February’s half term holidays, in Scotland, Bristol and at home!

It started on the 9th February when I took a train up to Glasgow… well, as usual, that didn’t go entirely to plan! As I was on the train to get my connection from Manchester to Glasgow, I discovered that the Glasgow train had been kind of cancelled, in that all the stops prior to Lancaster had been scrapped because of a lack of drivers. I managed to get on another train that was heading north, and by some miracle got myself to Lancaster ahead of the time that my original train was leaving there, so I did eventually get on my actual train!

So I checked into my hotel in Glasgow city centre late afternoon, and then met up with Steve to grab some food ahead of our trip to the Highlands the next day!

Steve & Tanya picked me up on the Friday morning and we made the long trek up to Inverness where we were meeting up with Ali and her kids who were flying up from Bristol. We’d arranged it so me and Ali would hire a car between us, and split the cost of that and accommodation/trips so that it wouldn’t be too expensive! We’d booked a family room in a Travelodge in Inverness, so I had a camp-bed set up in the corner, whilst the others had use of a double and single bed. It wasn’t the biggest room, so was a bit ‘cosy’, and it was a bit of a new experience for me to be holidaying with kids and all the extra clutter they bring! Also we discovered that the bathroom door didn’t close properly, so I had to wedge it shut with my trainers when using it!

Tea in Inverness with Ali, Tanya, Steve, me, and the kids.

To take a break from the room, we nipped down to the marina to take a look around before returning for an early tea at the pub across from our hotel. That’s another thing when holidaying with kids – meal times are different!

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by Gareth

The Lion King and Arcade Club

Last night I was in Manchester to see The Lion King at the Palace Theatre – it’s in the middle of a run that finishes at the start of March, and I’ve got stuff coming up next month so thought it’d be good to get a ticket to see it now. I’m a big fan of the soundtrack to original film – I’ve listened to it many, many times, so it’s definitely a musical I’ve always wanted see.

The Lion King at the Palace Theatre.

Anyway, I only bought the ticket last week – there were hardly any seats still available apart from a few really expensive ones, but there was a single seat available on the second row of the circle for a pretty decent price. It had a note on the booking site saying it had limited legroom, but the difference in price meant I thought I’d go for cost over comfort! And they really weren’t lying about the legroom – there wasn’t much room at all between the rows!

The show itself is absolutely amazing! I actually felt emotional at the start as it opened with Circle of Life, from the iconic music to all the performers swarming onto the stage from the sides and the stalls.

The Lion King cast.

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by Gareth

3rd Blossoms gig of the year!

Last night I was at my 3rd Blossoms gig of the year – which is probably a big excessive! I saw them at the Plaza back in May, and then in June they were supporting the Killers in – 3rd time… plus there was the film screening at the Savoy Cinema!

I arrived quite early, because it turned out that England’s World Cup quarter final game against France was also taking place last night and they’d decided to show it on a big screen, meaning the support act, Brooke Combe, had her set-time moved to just after 6pm! I do generally like to check out support acts at gigs, and I thought I could then also watch my first match of the World Cup with a crowd.

The screen came down at 7pm to show the match, with the plan that the band would then start their set at 9pm, but of course the game ended a draw which meant that it went into extra time! It was a pretty tense half hour, but the game eventually ended with a score of England 1-2 France, and I reckon I was probably the only person not hoping for it to go to penalties, because I wanted the gig to not be delayed anymore, knowing that there’d be a cut-off time later they’d have to stop at!

Blossoms gig at the Stockport Plaza.

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by Gareth

Weekend away, and more live music

At the start of the month, it was time for what has become our annual UCECU reunion, coinciding with Bonfire night. I got a lift down with Steve and Tanya – they drove down from Glasgow, stopping in Manchester on Friday night when I went out for food with them – and we arrived down at Phil & Mary’s in Worcestershire early afternoon. There weren’t as many of us this year because Helen and her two kids had car issues, so had to bail at the last minute, but it was still nice to get a few of us together.

In the evening we went to see a fireworks display at the Astwood Bank Cricket Club, which as usual had a really good turnout. It was pretty cold – it caused me to get get quite breathless on the walk there, but I pretty much recovered once we were just standing around in the field.

Fireworks at the Astwood Bank Cricket Club.

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by Gareth

Nights out and a weekend in Wales

Bit of an update of things I’ve been up to recently… last month I got to see Martin Smith perform at Night & Day in Manchester which was really cool. I’ve seen him play there a few times now, and it’s a really intimate venue, and I was pretty much at the front for the whole show, so had a great view!

Martin Smith at Night and Day.

I was wondering if I might bump into people I know, and I managed to go the whole gig without spotting anyone, but at the end of the night I saw Craig (who I used to work with back at MUTV) and his wife Ima. I’m not sure when I last saw them – it’s been quite a while, but it was really nice to catch up with what they’ve been up to.

Martin Smith at Night and Day.

Then, the weekend after that gig, I went to see a heat of the West Didsbury Comedy Festival, because Edi Johnston had travelled from Nottingham to take part in one of the heats of the ‘New Comedian of the Year’ competition.

Edi Johnston.

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by Gareth

House guests and another gig

I moved into my house in 2002, and it’s been in a state of renovation and decoration ever since then! In 2014, the carpet in my bedroom was removed after having the whole room replastered, so I’ve just had bare floorboards since then, and there’s been none downstairs or on the stairs & landing for 18 years!

But now, I finally have new carpets throughout the house! It’s amazing how much it changes the feel of the place – it really does mean my house is finally starting to feel more like a home!

New carpet in dining room.

And on top of that, I also have a decent bed! For years I’ve been making do with basic single bed whilst I’ve been sorting stuff out (at one point I spent months just sleeping on a mattress on the floor!), but now I have a really nice ottoman bed with a reasonably expensive(!) memory-foam topped mattress, so it really feels like I’m now living in luxury!

New carpet and bed.

To be honest, it did take something to kickstart all this after living so long without carpets and a decent bed! Basically, Ali rang me a few weeks ago saying that she and the kids were going to be on a family holiday in north Wales, and was wondering if I’d be able to put them up for a few days if they came back via Manchester (so they also could visit some friends in Buxton). I said yes, knowing the house wasn’t ideal – especially for kids(!) – so it forced me into going out and choosing what carpet to have, and then arranging to get it fitted just a few days before they arrived! Also, I’d put off getting a new bed until I had carpet down, so it meant I could then buy a new bed from Dreams and arrange to get it delivered on the Monday, with my guests arriving on the Tuesday.

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