The Stone Roses, Heaton Park, Manchester - 30th June 2012

Anyone who really knows me knows that I LOVE The Stone Roses.

In the first six months of me and Tim getting together back in 2002, he asked me...

Tim: If you could go back in time to any year where would you go?
Me: 1990
Tim: What? Even if you could go back in time and see dinosaurs?
Me: I'd rather see The Stone Roses

I was a Britpop Queen in the mid to late 90s. I loved everything about it but The Stone Roses have a very special place in my heart. I remember hearing the intro for Love Spreads and it struck such a cord with the teenage me that I quickly and obsessively found out everything I could about them, bought their past singles on CD and had them on a loop of my player and in my brain for years.

I have no idea how I ended up finding all the info out about them that I did (what did we do before the internet) but the Rockumentary on Radio 1 (ah, those were the days) helped a lot....something I had recorded on tape that I'd listen to and play to anyone with a remote interest at every opportunity I could.

So it was with much delight that we secured tickets and on 30th June, me, Tim, French and Carl all went off to Heaton Park to see the wonderment that is The Stone Roses.

We got there, queued for an hour early doors and went hurtling down the field and secured front pit passes (YEAH BWOY!). I couldn't believe my teenage dreams had finally come true and here I was about to see the best band in the world, something I never thought would happen.

The gig was amazing, you could feel electricity in the air and it was topped off with a group hug by the band, a statement of "we're back!" and the best fireworks display I've ever seen. It'll always be one of the best days of my life and I savoured every second of it.

Highlights for me: Shoot You Down (my fav of all time!), Somethings Burning, Where Angels Play

 

Front pit gal! 

 

That was rain, not piss. 

 

The crowd behind us 

 

Check how close we were!!!

 

Zombietown on the way home 

Carl, after declaring it was the best day of his life, is somewhat broken at the tram stop

Slurp: The Knott Bar

Following on from our meal at El Rincon we made our way down Deansgate to The Knott Bar. One of our favourite Manchester watering holes, we’ve been visiting this place on and off for the past 8 years. I love that it’s situated underneath the railway arches.

A while back it was a regular occurrence but since things have got a little tighter cash wise and we’re not our early 20s drinking anything-that-comes-closely-related-to-being-alcoholic-phase and more in the fuck-me-I-feel-like-shite-if-I-even-look-at-a-pint-phase, it’s become a less frequent pleasure.

Knott has a lot of good things going for it, a relaxed atmosphere, a juke box, draught real ales, good food and (as if they needed something to back it up) they’re previous winners of the CAMRA Regional Pub of the Year 2009 and 2010.

The only thing I thought when I went in there was “oh, the ladies loos”. Previous visits have been marred by the grotty run down toilets, so this time as a gingerly made my way to the back of the room I was almightily surprised by the lovely refurbished ladies room, which seemed to have grown by half a metre.

I also notice a board which I hadn’t previously, detailing themed nights they appear to be running, all of which looked great but all of which had sold out. Something to keep an eye out for in the future.

The staff at Knott are always lovely and really helpful if you’re after an ale but like me (previously – still not boozing currently) you’re not really sure where to start.

We had a lovely evening and it was great to round the Tim's birthday night off with drinks in good company and great surroundings.

If you like relaxed pubs with a wide variety of ales and not on offer, get yourself down to Knott for a wonderful evening.  

Contact:

The Knott Bar, 374 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4LY. 0161 839 9229

Facebook: www.facebook.com/theKnottBar

Munch: El Rincon de Rafa

As you may have read it was my husband, Tim’s birthday on Friday.

To celebrate we went for tapas at El Rincon de Rafa in town. It’s been about three years since I was there last and I had such a good time I was looking forward to it very much.

If you haven’t been to this lovely little Spanish tapas restaurant, it’s located behind Deansgate (just after Sainsbury’s if you’re heading out of town) and it’s one of Manchester’s gems.

Trotting down the stairs and trough the doors to the right, we were met with the friendly staff who took us to a table within a couple of minutes. Drinks swiftly served, a pint for Tim and a diet coke for me, we set about the menu to see what was in store.

I was right on the whitebait. I love it!

Tim only east fish (no meat) so we wrote a list of what we’d like and tried to ensure we got a good spread of everything.

We ordered:

Hot bread topped with garlic and parsley                              

£2.95 (number 1 on the menu)

Spicy hot potatoes                                                                

£3.95 (number 5 on the menu)

Whitebait, vinegar, olive oil, garlic and parsley                       

£3.95 (number 4 on the menu)

Silver hake deep fried in garlic and parsley butter                   

£5.15 (number 10 on the menu)

Mediterranean king prawns                                                   

£6.95 (number 13 on the menu)

Small octopus, garlic, onion and white wine                           

£4.95 (number 16 on the menu)

Paprika chorizo sautéed in red wine                                      

£4.95 (number 26 on the menu)

Best mushrooms baked with blue cheese and cream            

£5.25 (number 32 on the menu)

Piqullo peppers filled with tuna and potatoes                       

£5.25 (number 36 on the menu)

We also go an extra order for prawns in filo pastry, but I’m not sure how much this was or what number!

In total it came to just over £50.

The whitebait, chorizo and mushroom were my favourite dishes out of those listed above.

Tim starts

 

Tim finishes!

The staff were attentive and friendly, clearing plates as they were finished with and asking if all was okay, which it was better than. The food was delivered to the table as and when it was cooked, ensuring that everything that was meant to be was piping hot and very delicious.

In short: lovely food, lovely staff, no other tapas place in Manchester compares to it.

They get very busy so it might be worth booking a table if you plan to eat after 7 on a weekend evening (details below).

Go, eat and enjoy :D

Contact:

El Rincon de Rafa off St John’s Street. 224 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4BQ. 0161 839 8819.

Munch: Afternoon Tea at Sugar Junction, Manchester

On Saturday my friends and I went for a rather civilised afternoon tea at Sugar Junction on Tibb Street in Manchester.

I have heard super things about this place and I couldn't wait to try it out.

So off I went into town dressed up in my finery including my lovely 1960s lemon coat with the broach Tim bought me for our first wedding anniversary when we were in Paris.

I stopped along the way to buy some fabric (another blog coming soon!) and raid the discount hosiery section of Primark (classy, right?). I'm not sure if I've said this before but I am obsessed with pretty tights, anything to make my workwear more appealing!

The teashop is absolutely stunning with vintage furniture pieces, although at odds with each other, creating a wonderful mish mash of cosy comfort. The table was decorated in floral tones with flowers in jam jars with doilies to decorate.

The 7 of us sat down (having pre-booked our table - something you should definitely do if you're planning on a weekend visit) and looked at the menu to order our sandwiches and choice of tea.

I opted for the Prawn Marie Rose and the Cream Cheese, Radish and Pink Peppercorn for the finger sandwiches and a pot of Diamond Jubilee which had ginger and lemongrass in it. It was absolutely gorgeous.

We all got on with the gossip (as per) although I have noted over the ten years (or thereabouts) that we've known each other the conversation is slightly more mature, saying that we ended inevitably talking about poo. Some things.....

We got our cake stand of goods (2 stands between the seven of us), and we all had in addition to our yummy sandwiches: a fruit scone with jam and clotted cream, a piece of fudge (in a heart shape - how adorable?!), a lemon drizzle cupcake, a strawberry tartlet, a fresh cream filled meringue.

It was a bit of a "wow" moment when that came to the table I can tell you!

I managed to much down all of the delicious sandwiches (read: stuffed my face) and moved onto the scone, which was really, truly gorgeous. I love scones and haven;t tasted one this good since I worked at Charlie's years ago! I then moved onto the tarlet and finished with the meringue. 

By this point I was absolutely super stuffed. So I asked for the leftovers to be bagged up to take to my cake hungry husband at home. 

It was a really lovely day, with great company and gorgeous food and drink. 

I cannot recommend Sugar Junction highly enough, if you want a lovely, home-made treat for yourself in gorgeous surroundings with excellent services, look no further, you've found it, right here! 

I hope you enjoy your visit too :D xx