Dec
Manchester Christmas Markets
For the last few weeks Manchester has been hit by the European markets in the city centre. The market has now been extended to seven locations with more than 400 stalls across Brazennose Street, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street, Exchange Square, Piccadilly Gardens and The Triangle. People are expected to travel from all over the UK and beyond to enjoy what’s on offer in what has become the country’s number one Christmas city.
It really begs the question though as to why do we feel we need German or European input for these markets? Everything is overpriced and it just seems a bit strange that Christmas is suddenly hit by this Eruopean influence. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy it and walking around taking a look at what is on offer. It is something different and I think to offer the chance to the foreign traders is something that Manchester can be proud of. The number of locations that the markets are situated make it impossible to stroll around town without either seeing the markets or smelling them. Some of the smells are amazing – beer, sausages, pork sandwiches and much more. Get yourself down there before they finish for another year!
Dec
The comfort of your local pub
Apparently pubs are shutting down across the country. Well as long as my local stays open I will continue to go in a few times a week and enjoy chatting to my friends and catching up on the weeks’ news. I really enjoy the odd night out in town for a dance or checking out the wine bars but sometimes it’s nice to go down to your local, have a gossip with mates and play the occasional pub quiz. Going down to the local pub may seem a bit dated to some people, but you know what you’re getting. You aren’t going to get fleeced for a taxi fare home, you won’t feel the need to buy a kebab, the drinks are reasonably priced and you won’t get your feet trodden on all night whilst trying to avoid sweaty strangers. As I say, I do enjoy the odd night out but it baffles me why people don’t enjoy having a nice drink with friends in the pub anymore.
Nov
Danny Boyle to make ‘Mountaineer-Epic’
According to reports in the United States of America legendary film director Danny Boyle may be shooting another film based around a true story. It will be about a climber who was forced to ampitate some of his arm. All from the director who has won the Oscars (Slumdog Millionnaire).
The movie, which reports are saying is going to be called 127 Hours has not been cast yet and would largely feature one actor, said the industry paper Variety.
In 2003 Aron Ralston who was the climber had to sever his arm when it became trapped under a rock whilst out climbing.
Nov
Banner Stand Pain
A recent night out for myself ended up being very painful and very embarrassing.
Due to it being a special birthday for a friend we decided to head out into the capital for a nice meal and few drinks. Everything was going very well until we reached our final destination, as it was a Saturday night it was very busy so the queue was quite large outside.
We joined the queue and waited to enter. Every 10 metres in the queue there was giant banner stand advertising various drinks, which were brilliant for wetting our appetites before entering.
The only problem is we didn’t enter without a lot of pain for me. With about 3 of the large banner stands still to go i turned round to my friend but continued to walk – big mistake. As i turned to see where i was up to i walked straight into the large banner stand and busted my nose.
After clearing the blood with the bouncers we did enter the club and enjoy the night but a very painful lesson was had – watch out for a giant banner stand before entering a club.
Oct
Chavs.
Chavs, Scallies, call them what you want, there is no getting away from them on a night out in Manchester. It seems everytime I find a nice enough place to go out, it starts to get invaded by bunches of tracksuit wearing yobs that have drunk far too much and are busy trying to intimidate anyone and everyone.
Deansgate locks has been fully taken over, the northern quarter isn’t far off, leaving us with the University area an a whole lot of nothing. It’s a shame, but the only real way to deal with the chav problem is for bouncers to get real tough on dress code and general behavior or to crank up the prices to a point where only rich people can afford. Any thoughts?
Oct
Bluu Bar
One of my favorite bars in Manchester is Bluu Bar. It’s apparently situated in an old fish market in the northern quarter of manchetser. It’s quite a high class bar with a decent atmosphere. Its a pretty nice place to start the evening, but I’d make sure you stay only for a couple of drinks as it is quite expensive. The place is deceptivly large, with a basement, large bar area and an outside terrace.
Although I have never eaten there personally, Bluu bar has a resteraunt section that serves a range of very tasty seafood snacks.
If you are heading up there I’d recomend their cocktails as they have a very extensive selection.
Oct
Font Bar
The Font Bar in Manchester is a really nice bar in the middle of the student area of Manchester. It pretty much always has a couple of real ales that change over every couple of weeks, so there is always something new to try.
Its a littble bit quirky in places. There is an XBox in the corner of the room playing Pro Evo Soccer which usually keeps the lads busy. There is also a pretty decent selection of music, not the usual crap they play in some of the trendier places.
If you havent been, I’d give it a shot.. Its quite hidden away so it never really get too busy.
Oct
Top 10 Bars in Manchester
I read an online article that claimed these are the best bars in Manchester:
- Lammars – A bit of a hidden Gem this one. Well decorated and a good corwd make this place really nice.
- Walrus – Another viberant Northern Quarter Bar with a decent crowd and fantastic decor.
- Odd Bar – A great bar to relax in, this one is one of my favorites.
- The Northern – Open late with a dance floor. This place is a celebration of all things manchester.
- Bluu – Huge Queues at the weekends, but well worth the wait. Great cocktails.
- Cuba Cafe – This one is over 25s only at the weekends, but has a great cuban style.
- Bar Odder – Odd Bars odder and brighter sister, this is a great night out.
- Apotheca – The pharmacy Cabinets are a little odd, but this themed bar is pretty nice.
- Old Nags Head – A very popular old style pub with pool tables. very cool.
- Cinnebar – It’s a bit far out from the city center, but its big, bright and very nice inside. Well worth the 30 minute walk.
Oct
5th Avenue’s Psycho bouncers and staff
I used to love 5th avenue, yes it was a bit of a dive, and admittedly the playlist sometimes got a little repetitive, but the people and music wer great (as long as you don’t mind the same music every night)
The one thing that put me off about the place is the complete lack of any manners, polliteness or niceness of the staff that work there. I understand that the vast majority of the people that have problems are simply drunken fools, but there is no way that they should be elbowing people who are just having a good time off the dance floor because they decide that they need to drag a massive bin through the middle to puck up the odd plastic cup. Ho about they just do it all afterwards?
Oct
Tiger Tiger (Manchester)
So I went out last night in Manchester for a Monday night. I try not to go out too much on a week night as it does tend to make one feel a bit rough in the morning.
We ended up in Tiger Tiger, which is one of the better know clubs here in Manchester. Its not a bad night out if you steer clear of the Dance room at the back. The place consists of 4 main rooms, ground floor is a really nice bar area, with a normal club night above it (about 3 flights of stairs above!) There is also an RnB room that gets pretty busy and hot later on and a pretty chavy dance are up the back. There’s pretty much something for everyone at Tiger Tiger (unless you are into heavy metal) so its a pretty decent night for a Monday.