No Regrets – A Night of Robbie Williams @ The Deaf Institute
Friday 1st February
Robbie Williams has always held a rather special place in my life. Sometimes I think he might actually be a decent fella, primarily because he hates Gary Barlow about as much as me, but then I see him prancing around on X Factor with his darby out and I just think “What a tit”. He was at the top of the world circa 98-01 though with him pretty much appearing on Top of the Pops in some form or another every single bloody week. This night at the Deaf Institute will feature all of the big hits, such as that one about the year 2000, that one about them cars and that other one about them things that he likes. They’ll also play some Take That too so don’t worry too much.
Zouk Cooking Class – Southern India
Saturday 2nd February
As a man of many talents I don’t need anyone teaching me how to cook. After all, I’m a multi-award winning chef, earning four winning pies in 7 years at my mum’s Pie Night (which incidentally is this weekend) as well as once earning myself 2 Merit Marks at school when Miss Quinn thought my Tiffin was the best in Food Tech class. If you’re not as good as me though (probably certainly true) why not give one of these brilliant cooking classes at Zouk a try this weekend. They’ll teach you a load of tekkers to make your curry the best in the world. They’ll also show you how to make the perfect naan bread every time which will be a very useful skill in the future and should go on your CV.
Annie
From Saturday 2nd Feb
When Anita Dobson got issued her divorce by Dirty Den in 1986 it was watched by just over 30 million people around the country. I don’t think anyone or anything can get any better than that – not even someone shooting Phil Mitchell or cracking Ian Beale across his weasel face could accomplish that nowadays. So Anita Dobson went elsewhere to try to re-capture the magic and so she headed off to the West End to appear in the likes of Wicked, Chicago and now – Annie. I’ve never seen it but from what I’ve gleamed from that song a while back – it’s about a ginger orphan who has ginger hair and grows hair that’s ginger. It’s on at the Opera House until the 16th.
The Hallé – The Magical Music of Harry Potter
Saturday 2nd February
Before becoming a goblin, Harry Potter lived a normal life in a house in Stoke, looked after by his 2 evil step-sisters. One day he wanted to become a real boy and not be constricted by his boring life and so decided to pack his bags and go to school in a big mansion somewhere in Yorkshire. Here he met a couple of friends; Boggle and Tidslip who were also goblins and could do magic and stuff. While all of this was happening over the course of 13 really long films there was actually some rather excellent accompanying music from the likes of John Williams, Nicholas Hooper and Alexandre Desplat. Relive these great tunes as the Hallé perform The Musical Magic of Harry Potter at the Bridgewater Hall this weekend.
Super Bowl 53
Sunday 3rd February
Holy smokes dude this weekend sees that narly sports event the Super Bowl hit the airwaves with all of those cool dudes wearing shoulder pads that would make Joan Collins green with envy. My attempt at being an American ‘dude’ failed halfway through the sentence then didn’t it?! I just couldn’t keep it up – I wanted to make an 80’s shoulder pad gag instead. This Sunday night sees the Super Bowl happen, which I know sweet fuck all about. If you’re a fan though there’s loads of places that are pulling out all the stops with all manner of 10p wings, beer pitchers, fried food platters and more. My personal selections would be to head to one of the following; Black Dog Ballroom, Dive NQ, Beatniks or Bunny Jacksons.
Six Nations Rugby
Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd February
Oh goodie – more sport. Even though the ball is the same shape and the basic premise is pretty much the same – rugby isn’t American football. Rugby is a proper sport – basically one that was founded by a bunch of posh blokes who grew up with hot crumpets stuck between their arse cheeks. It stayed like that right up until just a few years ago, with the likes of Will Carling and Rory Underwood prancing around at Twickenham between games of polo and shagging Princess Di. Nowadays though the game features some proper burly blokes who could eat your head and still have room for more. My point here is that the Six Nations starts this weekend – head to one of the city’s sporting establishments such as Dive NQ or Black Dog Ballroom to watch it.
Pippy Eats Workshops
From Monday 4th February
The wonderful Pippy Eats is going to be proper busy this week as she hosts not one but two of her extensive food workshops. The next 7 days see her get to grips with making noodles as well as those dead nice Chinese dumplings – all so that you can make them too. I once actually tried making dumplings in a small little shop in China once and they’re fucking WELL hard to do – so good luck with that one. I am a bit cack-handed with fiddly things though so that might be to blame. I’m sure Pippy will show you a nice easy way to do all of the folding and that. Anyway, I’m waffling – check these out.
Pippy Eats Noodle Making Workshop
Monday 4th February
Dumpers – Pippy Eats Dumpling Workshop
Wednesday 6th February
5 Course Wine Dinner at Brasserie Abode: Saint Clair
Wednesday 6th February
This week sees another one of Brasserie Abode’s brilliant wine evenings where they put on a slap-up 5 course dinner with a specific matching paired wine for your drinking pleasure. This month sees them introduce you to Saint Clair wines, which after a quick Google search, are all the way from New Zealand. I know next to nothing about wine except that it’s wet – so that’s all I can tell you. I do know a thing or two about eating and having a good time though, so I can whole heartedly recommend this evening and/or event.
Chinese New Year
From Thursday 7th February
Happy New Year to all of my Chinese readers! Yaaaay! Actually that’s a bit of a pointless thing to say seeing as only my mum reads this nowadays and I think even she’s getting tired of the same shite jokes and references to Robocop. My mum does enjoy a bloody good party though so she’ll probably be interested in the bash that the council have in store for 2019’s Year of the Pig. You can expect all of the usual Chinese high-jinx including dragons, jumping, fireworks and food, as well as a massive bit of art – the Piglet – in Exchange Square. Go and I promise to never use the phrase ‘high-jinx’ ever again.
