Something for the weekend.

The Urbis has a new exhibition on running until 27 September 2008.





Its exciting.....





HOW MANGA TOOK OVER THE WORLD.





Finally something interesting to look at!





The Exhibiton is located on Level One of the Urbis building and admission is..wait for it..FREE!!



The Exhibition covers all aspects of manga, showing how it has influenced the modern world and has something for everyone, kids and adults, hardcore fans and novices alike.

The Manga exhibition covers:

Cute Manga- especially for kids really, lots of bright colourful characters and includes soft toys and figures.

Action Manga - This showcases the darker side of manga, cyberpunk and the more violent action films are very popular here, the exhibition shows clips of the infamous manga film Akira which is said to have been the logic behind the box office smash films the Matrix trilogy.

Manga in Art, Fashion and Design- Showing how manga has influenced the high street in things such as advertising, clothing and much more.

Manga as Communication - Showing how manga is used in everday life and used in things such as study books.

Erotic Manga (For the Over 18s)- showcasing things which are socially acceptable in Japan that still cause a raised eyebrow in this country!!

This is definetley a great way to spend a day, not costing anything and a chance to experience something different.

Low Price Supermarkets!

I think its about time that low budget supermarkets were given some credit!!

As Manchester is a city home to many students, i thought it would be appropriate to give you all some info as to which are the best value for money supermarkets to save on those pennies!!

The obvious choice has got to be the German supermarket Netto. Located all over Manchester they really are cheap as chips!! As Peter Kay so famously said, Netton is the only place where a carrier bag is more expensive than a tin of beans!!

Most of their products IE tinned goods are imported which is why they are so very cheap! They sell fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables as well as a wide range of fresh meats at extremely good prices. In a supermarket such as Somerfield it is about £3 for a packet of mixed chicken drumsticks and thighs, meaning you get about 4 of each. In Netto you can get a packet of fresh chicken thighs containing on average 8 large ones for £1.39!!!! A tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice is 24p!!!! You really cant go wrong!! Not forgetting the student staple of noodles at only 8p per packet!

As well as being a food supermarket, they sell all sorts of other stuff like furniture, shoes, toys, trampolines, hoovers anything you can think of! They have a kind of rotation system, they get new stuff in every monday and thursday and you really will find anything! Some of the stuff is so random but the prices are just fantastic!!

Im a netto shopper and proud!!!

Something for the guitarist in you!!

I happened to come across this by accident. It was advertised in a newsagents shop window and I didn’t even know it existed until then!

The Northwest Guitar show is here! The regional guitar show is going to be held in Manchester on Sunday 11 May 2008. The venue is New Century House on Co –operation Street (opposite Victoria Train Station). The time is 10am until 5pm and admission is £6.00 for the whole day. Get your teeth into that!!

With over 60 exhibitors the show is set to be very interesting indeed. All exhibitors are from the regional areas and offer special prices and bargains on all kinds of stuff. If you are looking for some picks, a new strap or a new strat this is the place to come. Exhibitors include Soundcontrol, Adrenalin Cases, Bulldog pick ups, Dawson music, JJ Guitars Ltd, Rothwell audio, Daydream guitars and Johnny Roadhouse to name a few!!

If you are interested in trading yourself you can contact Peter on 01925 813185 with any enquiries you may have. Trade and private sellers can buy a space for the day starting from £55 upwards.

As well as all of the stands and stalls, there is going to be live Music from the following bands and artists:

COLD SHOT: A note perfect Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute act.
RIOT: NOISE: 5 Piece Heavy Rock Shredders from Bristol
MATT MARRIOTT – Presented by Cort Guitars.

And if all of THAT wasn’t enough for you, there will be live demos and workshops throughout the day including the Bailey Guitar Experience Workshop.

For more info please visit www.guitarshows.co.uk.

If you are after a day out, then get yourself down to the Lowry!

There is plenty to do for the young and old alike!

First of all you have the Lowry Art Galley, which obviously showcases the outstanding work of the infamous L.S Lowry. Admission is free which is a bonus and it is open from 10am until 5pm every day. Sunday opening hours are 11am until 5pm.

Then you have the Lowry outlet mall whose stores boast up to 50% off high street prices. It is a great shopping centre and is open until 6pm most nights apart from Thursday which is late night opening until 8pm. Stores include Austin Reed, Karen Millen, Marks and Spencer Outlet, Flannels, Trespass, Lilley and Skinner, Zavvi, Claire’s accessories, Bags etc, Antler luggage, Black and Decker, the works and Thornton’s to name but a few!!!

The Outlet mall also has many options in terms of food and drink. For something quick you might want to visit the food court which is home to Subway, Burger King, Harry Ramsdens (yummy fish and Chips!!!!) and many more! If you fancy something a little more sophisticated then the Lowry is also home to a Pizza express Restaurant and Café rouge. IF you’re in the mood for a quick drink there is a Lime Bar on the site too.

As well as all of the above there is a Vue cinema to finish your day off with a film!!

Parking is free for 4 hours with any purchase you make in the Outlet centre. The Lowry is easy enough to get to if you don’t drive, you can just jump on a metro straight from Piccadilly gardens in Manchester .

Not forgetting the Lowry Theatre, this is where you will find entertainment of all kinds! Concerts, theatre productions, ballet and dance, stand up comedy, you name it you’ll probably find it on here! Coming up over the next few weeks are:
Adele in concert: Weds 30th April : Tickets £15
Sunday Jazz Sessions: Sunday 4th May & Sunday 1st June
The Kirov Ballet: 13th – 17th May: Tickets range from £35 to £95.
The Scarlet Pimpernell: 20th – 24th May: Tickets £15.

Feast your eyes on all of that then!!!

Getting my goat!!

Well i think it is time for me to get off my chest one of the bad things that can come with living in a city such as Manchester.

On saturday morning, for those of you who understand, i got up at 5am to go to the M.E.N arena to queue for tickets for the upcoming WWE Survivor Series Tour in November. The great thing about having somwhere such as this just down the road is the advantage of being able to get really great seats for events directly from the arena.

My point into all of this is that i is something fun to do, its fun going down there, with other wrestling fans, theres a buzz around the place and of course the excitement of getting your tickets at the end of it.

But it is so very irritating even a bit upsetting that people who are too interested in lining their pockets can ruin that for everyone.

TICKET TOUTS. PAYING PEOPLE TO BUY TICKETS FOR YOU TO EARN A PROFIT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. WHAT ABOUT ALL OF THE PEOPLE YOU RUIN IT FOR???

This got me SO mad, we were queueing away and then it hit 9.00am, the tickets were officially on sale, very exciting indeed, and the first people went up to the counter. People who clearly were NOT wrestling fans, people who clearly could not afford £60 for one ticket, people who clearly normally sleep on the streets every night. A ticket tout had paid at least 30 people to camp at the box office the night before and buy them tickets, at least 6 per person!!! They sit and just watch then, and you watch the filter of young kids and homeless people handing over envelopes. By the time we got to the box office there were no floor seats left. The M.E.N exclusively has at least 500 floor seats that you can only get from the box office. Its just so wrong and the fact that the police cant even do anything about it.

BEWARE OF TICKET TOUTS!

Rant over....

Comic Book Fairs

ATTENTION!!!

Calling all geeks and nerds!!!

On saturday i attented the sci fi, comic and card fair in Sachas hotel on Tib street in Manchesters city centre, located near Piccadilly gardens.

Where to start?! Admission to this little geeky gem is £2.00 and you can come and go as much as you please. Opening times are midday until 4.30pm. Refreshments and the bar are open all day. This fair isnt on weekly, but I thought it was better to let you knw the ins and outs rather than what was going to be going on! The next fair isnt until June 29th 2008 unfortunately but its worth the wait!

The fair sells comics in their truck loads, old and new, toys, collectible film and tv magazines, posters, books and graphic novels, games and so much more!! If you have ever imagined what a comic book fair would be like, this is exactly it!!! Stalls laid out, lots of people with spots and glasses and those who know a little bit too much about Dr Who!!!! All of the stall holders are so friendly and very helpful with whatever you are looking for. For someone on the outside like me it is amazing how much people know about this stuff, you only have to mention the name of a comic and they know the exact number and everything!!!

A particular amazement for me was meeting a guy called David Golding. He is a comic book artist who not only draws the amazing artwork but he also writes his own comics and has had two published, they come by the name of The Hunter. I purchased the first issue and i might say it is truly amazing that someone can just come up with this stuff! Not only is he an amazing artist but he is a sound bloke and it was a pleasure to put some business his way, he deserves much more recognition than a mention on a blog! He is a local and comissions anything you would like. If you are interested in learning more about David comic or his artwork you can visit www.davidgoldingartist.co.uk.

For more info on the comic fair itself you can visit www.goldenorbit.co.uk or email info@goldenorbit.co.uk.

Dinner again!!

I recently experienced the Nandos take away service which I must say filled me with doubt at first. Will I be waiting ages? Will my order be right? Is it more expensive? Will my food be cold as soon as I get home? So I was talked into trying it by my very hungry husband!! And I must say I was pleasantly surprised! We went on a Friday night which I expected to be even more of a disaster! There was only one person in front of us in the queue which was pleasing! We made our order and the attendant was very helpful. She read our order back to us to make sure she had everything right. She also told us that we would be waiting for about 15 minutes which I thought was fine! They have a couch for you to sit on whilst youre waiting! Ten minutes later our food arrived bagged and ready to go! They have a system where there is a number on your receipt and they just call it out when its ready! I was impressed that the person who gave us our order took the time to go through the bag of food and point out everything to me to show it was all there! After that hassle freeness im torn between eating in the restaurant and taking it home all the time!!!

I also made a great discovery in the shape of F S Restaurant opposite the Library in Manchester city centre. It’s a lovely little Italian restaurant next to where the Dutch Pancake House used to be. It was recommended to me by someone in the street strangely enough! The restaurant has turned out to be another definite favourite of mine! It’s set out nicely, it has a warm and cozy atmosphere when you walk in and looks quite authentic. The staff are very helpful and friendly. We were seated straight away which was nice too. The restaurant was quite busy, this was due to the three course meal deal they do between certain times, I think its about £9 per person which is a fantastic deal! We ordered straight away and chose some ribs and mozzarella garlic bread which came quickly and very piping hot. The ribs were absolutely scrummy as was the garlic bread. For mains I chose a carbonara with a side order of fries to dip into the creamy sauce and my husband chose the fillet steak with a sauce and fries. The fillet steak was a generous portion and cooked to perfection! The carbonara was equally as beautiful!! The prices were very reasonable for what we had including a jug of cocktails, a large glass of white wine and a beer it cost just over £40 which I thought was excellent.

A Couple of things I've Checked out this week..

Firstly the supermarket giant that is Tesco have now gone into competition with places like Argos after launching their own service called Tesco Direct. It is a catalogue which sells all sorts of home stuff, TVs, sofas you name it they sell it. And now that the metro store on market street has been revamped they have a special area downstairs where you can place your orders and pick up your items once they have been delivered to the store. I’m not sure of all of the ins and outs but I am personally quite impressed at the idea and am definitely going to be checking it out!!

I also finally checked out the Gallery at the Odeon Cinema in the printworks. I must say I am very impressed! I always thought that £16 for a ticket to see a film was a bit much, and yes you get to sit in a fancy seat but is it really worth it? Well let me tell you, it is definetley worth the money! Before you go in, add up how much it would normally cost you for everything, tickets, food, drinks etc. You buy your tickets and then take the lift especially for Gallery users up to the top floor where you can then sit in a confortable lounge and bar area that only Galley ticket holders are allowed in and you can spend as much time in there before and after the film as you like. All soft drinks are free and you can have as many of them as you like!! Tea, coffee and hot chocolate is also unlimited and free, as is sweet and salted popcorn and nachos!! Fantastic!! The bar serves alcohol which you are permitted to take into the screen, and prices are more reasonable than you would expect! And then of course there is the seats! They are lovely and leathery and massive!! It’s a really great experience in general, ideal for a treat!!