Manchester

  • There were a few things that saved my sanity during the year of we dare not speak its name (although let’s be fair, its heir apparent promised so much but whilst the start left a lot to be desired, we’re slowly but surely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel). I thank the…

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  • You will be familiar with Manchester’s very own People’s Choice Wine Awards, an annual event where we, the happy, passionate consumers get to lend our opinions, alongside the professionals of the wine world, in order to crown the year’s top tipples. You can read more about my own experience of being a judge and attending…

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  • https://vimeo.com/507293322 You may remember back in December I told you about the Manchester film company Serious Feather and their debut feature, Nobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve To Exist… https://honorarymancblog.com/2020/11/20/mcr-film-company-serious-feather-teases-debut-feature/ The low budget, experimental film is about a man, who, following the death of his best friend, begins to experience psychotic episodes as he…

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  • Remember that balmy day back in June 2018, when the socialising was anything but distant, substantial meals were for wimps masks were for gimps (it rhymes, I have no choice). And the mighty Sheds graced our tier-free little Castlefield Bowl in Manchester? I do, it was immense and now we can relive those blessed times…

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  • What do you mean there’s nothing to look forward to, we have no future, 2020 has nothing to offer us mancunians actuary, honorary or passing through (controversial – stick to your own tiered up towns, we’ve got enough problems). Retro rock and roll band, The Electric Stars, are bringing their brand new album, Velvet Elvis:…

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  • I was going to put the title of the film in the title of this blog post. But this would have led to the piece being a little top heavy and in danger of being all title and no content. Nobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve to Exist is quite frankly an excellent name…

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  • So near yet so far. Live theatre disappeared then little by little started to tease us with a return this autumn, albeit with challenges and reduced audiences, and mask-wearing and…you don’t need me to tell you. Well lockdown 2.0 came and it was a return to live-stream theatre and to be honest, with the right…

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  • It’s back. FilmFear returns to HOME this Hallowe’en and this year, slightly beyond, with an extended programme of chills, thrills and downright blood spills. Running from Wednesday 28 October to Thursday 5 November, Film4 and HOME have co-curated a line-up (coined Scream Now, Think Later) of modern genre classics that sink their teeth into politics,…

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  • It feels like there’s precious little to look forward to or enjoy at the moment (yes Debbie Downer at your service), but much of what we have had to look forward to in Greater Manchester has been courtesy of the brilliant platform United We Stream. And so, this Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, Headstock…

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  • It’s been a cruel cruel spring and summer for us all but you don’t need my take on all that’s going on, (if you do, I’ll create a bespoke ‘my take’ just for you – brace yourself…). I’ve missed the arts, the thrill of live theatre, music, performance, just life in general playing out without…

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  • The world of music, in particular our own very special part of that world, here in Manchester, was recently rocked and hugely saddened by the news that hugely acclaimed, simply stunning, vocalist, Denise Johnson, had passed away. Best known for the two albums she recorded and toured with Primal scream in the 90s, Screamadelica and…

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  • Film Review: Tenet

    This was my first visit to the cinema in months and since lockdown. As it was a sole visit in a reviewing capacity, it mattered not that I was socially distanced. Other measures taken were a groovy one way system and hand sanitiser stations. Elbows flailing to their hearts content, I settled down (extra points…

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  • There’s light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel, my friends. We all know the worries and concerns for the theatre, and indeed arts and entertainment industry as a collective. But as 4 July becomes some sort of D-day, a heralding of freedom, venues who have been left out of the loop…

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  • I last wrote about the wonderful Northern Chamber Orchestra when I visited the rather lovely Stoller Hall for the first time, back in May 2018 – https://honorarymancblog.com/2018/05/18/the-northern-chamber-orchestra-mozart-and-elgar-and-beethoven-oh-my/ Yes I was rather taken with the acoustics of the environment and hall, and I’m not going to pretend to go down the ‘but was it the location…

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  • I can remember the first time I heard those ticking clocks. It was a friend’s birthday party at her house and we all sat round as the video was put on. The excitement was real as those clocks ticked and the camera panned across the Doc’s home and workshop in a garage in the fictional…

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  • I will be honest, and I don’t mean this to be offensive to any film that is based on a true story about real people, with real life events and feelings, but I generally, and admittedly cynically, run a mile from anything that has a whiff of ‘feel-good’. But I’ll happily (yes i can do…

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  • I’ve only been to the basketball once in my life before (I know, shame.on.me.) Started off low-key at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, with the Brooklyn Nets. I had no clue what was going on. Not entirely helped by being in the nosebleed section. See, I know basketball words. One minute there was seemingly some…

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  • Film Review: Greed

    As a child i was terrified of the poem, The Lion and Albert, by Marriott Edgar. Set at a ‘famous seaside place called Blackpool’, it was all literally a bit close to home for me (growing up in a small village about 3 miles out….) It still haunts me. Anyway, I’ll just leave that here…

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  • The press release promised a run-down B&B which doubled as a swinger’s club, a gambling man, a fortune teller and an elderly deviant. My immediate thoughts turned to Benidorm. It’ll be leopard print, ‘bosoms’, nudge nudge wink winks, Carry On Abroad (at home), that glorious feature length film that took the cast of Are You…

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  • Friday nights can get a bit samey, don’t you think? Don’t get me wrong, they definitely remain my favourite night of the week. Ever since my school days when even the best telly was on on a Friday when you got home – Scooby Doo was on on a Friday. Byker Grove was on on…

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