Time for a boys’ weekend… So some of the members of the London gaming club organized a road trip up to Manchester. The crew was myself, Richie, James Wella and Westie. We left Friday night from Euston, It was quite an experience running with the masses to the train when the platform was announced. Puffing and panting we managed to secure a table on the train which was ideal for playing a bit of 500 and a having a few beverages. It was only a two hour trip on the fast train, when we arrived we picked up a few drink and food supplies. We stayed at Richies work apartments which were a bit out of Manchester but we managed with taxi’s ok. We dropped off our gears and had a few more drinks then headed back into town to experience the infamous Manchester night life, well known for its all-night raving. It was definitely a very ‘colourful’ scene, with all shapes, sizes and sorts out ‘on the tiles’. We went to a typical club first, then a DJ dance club and somehow ended up at a ‘gentlemens’ club. It was a big night and everyone was shattered by 4.30 so we taxi’d home, by some fluke we managed to remember where we lived! The next morning we had a ‘fry-up’ then headed to Old Trafford – home of the famous Manchester United. We wanted to check out the museum but because it was match day, it was closed early. The weather was miserable so we had a quick look through the massive merchandise store. We turned down offers from scalpers of 100 quid for a ticket to the game (Man U v Tottenham) before heading back to the city. The city was a lot different by daylight, we wandered past Granada studio’s where Coronation Street was filmed then into the heart of the city.
Here is a little bit of history before we proceed. Manchester is dubbed the capital of the north. Manchester was well known for its cotton manufacture during the industrial revolution. It city now boasts 2.5 million people (all with terrible accents). The city has had a rough history, it was bombed extensively during WW2 and even by the IRA in 1996. After a number of rebuilds the city today is a centre for the arts, media, higher education and commerce.
We didn’t really have a game plan and we soon discovered we were wandering aimlessly, so we headed to the information centre by the impressive town hall. We fixed a game plan which was to head to the northern quarter and find somewhere to get something to eat and see the trendy cultural part of the city. We found a nice café for brunch then headed down past printworks, the Manchester eye, the triangle, the cathedral to deansgate. Tried to find a pool hall to carry the games theme of the weekend, but these are few and far between because apparently the locals get quite aggressive and start smashing each other with pool cues and glasses. We discovered this was entirely possible at a local sports pub when watching the football, an epic game down 2-0 at halftime Man U came back to win 5-2. We would have been fearing for our safety if Man U lost! I got a few dirty stares when I accidentally cheered when Tottenham scored, whoops. Next we went out for dinner at GBK, then we had a few drinks at various pubs and tried to find some live music, but in the end we turned in at around 11.30 p.m as another night in Manchester was just starting to wind up! We must be getting old! Headed back on the train to London at Midday on Sunday. We tallied up all the competition results we had had that weekend from 500 to paper scissors rock to stone thowing at targets and unfortunately I finished 4th. Ah well still a great weekend.
Here is a little bit of history before we proceed. Manchester is dubbed the capital of the north. Manchester was well known for its cotton manufacture during the industrial revolution. It city now boasts 2.5 million people (all with terrible accents). The city has had a rough history, it was bombed extensively during WW2 and even by the IRA in 1996. After a number of rebuilds the city today is a centre for the arts, media, higher education and commerce.
We didn’t really have a game plan and we soon discovered we were wandering aimlessly, so we headed to the information centre by the impressive town hall. We fixed a game plan which was to head to the northern quarter and find somewhere to get something to eat and see the trendy cultural part of the city. We found a nice café for brunch then headed down past printworks, the Manchester eye, the triangle, the cathedral to deansgate. Tried to find a pool hall to carry the games theme of the weekend, but these are few and far between because apparently the locals get quite aggressive and start smashing each other with pool cues and glasses. We discovered this was entirely possible at a local sports pub when watching the football, an epic game down 2-0 at halftime Man U came back to win 5-2. We would have been fearing for our safety if Man U lost! I got a few dirty stares when I accidentally cheered when Tottenham scored, whoops. Next we went out for dinner at GBK, then we had a few drinks at various pubs and tried to find some live music, but in the end we turned in at around 11.30 p.m as another night in Manchester was just starting to wind up! We must be getting old! Headed back on the train to London at Midday on Sunday. We tallied up all the competition results we had had that weekend from 500 to paper scissors rock to stone thowing at targets and unfortunately I finished 4th. Ah well still a great weekend.
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