Manchester/Liverpool

When I had a proper job, I used to go to both Manchester and Liverpool quite a lot. A long time ago.

Both cities now have a much better beer scene.

We started in Manchester on Sunday, so managed to catch a few brewery taprooms. And some other places, new (to me) and old.

We even found a T2 for the dog to pose with, although it was a more recent version with one of those weird radiators on the front.

Liverpool was pretty good, even though there were no taprooms open on the Monday. The hound had their first Photo Booth experience too.

The dog also had her visit to Bolton, after getting on the wrong train.

Trouble

It’s mad that it’s the 20th anniversary of Trouble. But what an album. And song.

Ray Lamontagne was simply amazing tonight. No other words.

Jack Bauer

So we went to see Jack Bauer Keifer Sutherland at the Boilershop tonight.

And he was pretty good. His newer stuff has hit a whole new level.

A couple of covers too, including an unexpected ‘in the air tonight’, which was really impressive.

Hillbilly Moon Explosion

I was about to say that I’d been to see the Hillbilly Moon Explosion last night at the Cluny.

But, since it’s now nearly three in the morning, it was the night before last (today, or yesterday, was a very long day).

Anyway, I did see the band at the Cluny. and they were pretty good.

Radio

I don’t listen to the radio enough. Last week, Radio 5 Live were in the bar for a live broadcast. It was a two hour politics programme, with a focus on next month’s local elections.

This was one of four programmes, from Cardiff, Birmingham, Gateshead and Edinburgh. I didn’t think in advance to ask why Gateshead was included. There was something of a transport theme, so I could understand why they were interested in the bar. But Gateshead.

I was impressed with how well run the programme was. Yes, I know that the BBC’s been doing this a while, but there was a lot going on and it somehow fitted together seamlessly.

The dog made her radio debut too. It wasn’t planned, but we did learn that she either likes or dislikes tap dancing. Her reaction to this was very much the same as to cocktail shakers. She was pretty loud.

Matt Chorley, the presenter, proved to be a genuinely nice guy, as was Ian, the sound engineer. They stood out, but everyone was great.

Yesterday, a week later, a couple from Barnsley came in the bar. They stayed a while, longer than their one planned drink. They’re in the area for the beer scene; it happens regularly.

Weirdly, one does work for a beer related radio station. I’d never heard of it, and need to look it up, but she records short sections in bars and asked if it’d be ok to this.

They were really nice people too. Maybe the radio attracts nice people.

Birthdays II

The bar’s birthday party actually took place a couple of days early. Because bars can’t have a birthday on a weekday.

While a silly amount of planning was involved, the day was pretty special. People are still talking about it.

Some pretty cool people were there on the day too.

Birthdays

I’ve never really been into birthdays. Maybe I’ve had a lot of disappointments; I don’t know. But, since my late 20s (which was a long time ago), I just haven’t bothered.

But, four years ago, with three partners, I opened a bar. Because I wasn’t into birthdays, the bar opened on my birthday. I did say that I wasn’t bothered but, after weeks of hard work, I probably needed a night off.

The thing about a night (or day) off, it’s sort of expected that you have one on your birthday. Of course, that’s not always possible. I had a ‘proper’ job for a long time and having a birthday free was never an issue. Although I wasn’t too bothered back then.

Well, there was always the ability to get time off when you needed (or wanted) it.

It’s not quite so simple when you run a bar.

I don’t want to turn this into a moan about getting time off when running a bar. It’s not.

I think I’d have liked a day off on my birthday this year (it was a big one). I should probably have conveyed that to my colleagues. Things have been busy.

That’s four birthdays in the bar that I’ve worked. The last couple were start to finish.

Going forward, I probably just need to say I’m having a day off. Or maybe I should retire.