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Day: 2 February 2018

Review: The Lowry Hotel – £15.95 three course Jan/Feb menu

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Situated on the banks of the River Irwell, just a stone’s throw from vibrant Spinningfields, is the Lowry Hotel, part of the prestigious ‘Leading Hotels of The World’. Upon entering, I whispered to my dining companion “I really shouldn’t have worn trainers”. We were absolutely blown away by the style and luxury surrounding us, our student bubble was certainly far from sight.

A glass staircase led us towards the restaurant via the bar that looked incredibly James Bond-esque; I did feel a hint out of place. However, this feeling of non-belonging was completely swept away as soon as we were greeted by our wonderful waiter for the evening, Daniel. Daniel, the most hospitable, attentive, and friendly character, at once made us feel completely welcome.

We were seated in a semi-circular booth surrounded by elegant décor, modern art, with a view overlooking the river against the backdrop of city lights. The slightly dimmed lighting added to the ambience and felt wonderfully intimate and far away from the chatter of the other diners.

For the starter, we opted for the beetroot buckwheat risotto and the salt and pepper calamari. The latter was cooked to perfection, however, the beetroot and buckwheat risotto tasted slightly acidic, but still, pretty tasty.

Salt and pepper squid
Salt and pepper squid

 

Beetroot and buckwheat risotto
Beetroot and buckwheat risotto

For the main, we went for the W H Frost grilled beef onglet steak and the Josper grilled bread of chicken with a parsnip mash. The steak melted in the mouth, it was succulent and was topped with a gorgeous basil sauce that added the perfect cut of sharpness. However, the chicken dish was overall just too sweet.

Josper Grilled Breast of chicken
Josper Grilled Breast of chicken
W H Frost grilled beef onglet steak
W H Frost grilled beef onglet steak

Desert was the sticky Medjool date and toffee pudding and a cheese board. The sticky toffee pudding was “heaven and hell in a mouthful” and the cheese board was put together with skill, matching each cheese to its partner chutney.

lowry cheeseboard

Sticky Medjool date and toffee pudding
Sticky Medjool date and toffee pudding

The wine, although not included in the menu, is definitely worth mentioning. We opted for the New Zealand Pinot Grigio which was exquisite and complemented each course. Although slightly dear for the student purse, the whole meal is still pretty reasonable working out at £30 per head for half a bottle of wine and a three course — luxurious — meal.

Each course wasn’t rushed, the waiters gave us plenty of time to savour every mouthful and catch up on one another’s tales. We started at around 9:00pm and didn’t finish until 11:30pm, stumbling out of the restaurant with rather large food babies. The service made the meal an absolute delight and compensated for the sweet chicken and acidic risotto. Overall I would 10/10 recommend this menu, it is incredible value for money, the perfect spot for Valentine’s Day or a special occasion.

Photo: stefuhnee_kayy @flickr

Wins for UoM Water Polo

Written by Charlie Benny on . Posted in Sport.

UoM Men 14-8 Northumbria          UoM Women 15-7 Liverpool

After ending the last semester on a high, following an emphatic 19-3 win against Leeds, the girls showed no signs of slowing. They put on an excellent, professional display on the 31st of January, on home turf, showcasing exactly why teams so far have found them impossible to stop. Most impressive perhaps was the aggression and desire to win on show, which proved the foundation for another valuable victory, this time 15-7 against Liverpool.

In the early exchanges, Manchester began the brighter but the opening goal was somewhat unspectacular, after fantastic and persistent play from Llilians Calvo Gonzalez, which forced error in the Liverpool defence. The next goal, from Kathryn Fowler, was quite possibly the goal of the game, only rivalled by a later effort from the same player. Taking the ball in the pit level with the left post, a ferocious backhand slammed the ball into the top right hand corner. The quality unmistakeable-not just to have the technique to execute such a difficult shot, but the awareness to sense the opportunity.

The first quarter ended 4-1, with Manchester allowing controlled attacks and solid defending. As the second quarter began, Gonzalez grabbed two more goals in quick succession, before Dora Roughan scored either side of an effort from Hattie Burnell. In amongst a whole host of excellent performances, Roughan gave a stellar showing in both attack and defence. Manchester went into the break 9-2 to the good, and after half time continued to impress. Liverpool refused to give the game up, but Manchester reacted equally, and maintained their 7 goal advantage going into the final quarter, goals coming from Ellie Stewart-Dodd, Gonzalez and another screamer from Fowler-this time a long range effort finding it’s way past a helpless Liverpool goalkeeper.

Even in one of the closest games of the season so far against a strong Liverpool team, Manchester’s athleticism and team chemistry proved the difference between the two sides. The win was secured thanks to two penalty saves from Jenny Robbins, the first being the better of the two, tipping the powerful effort onto the post. 4th quarter goals coming from Rebecca Noël and Heather Lawson, after Gonzalez added her fifth goal. Vice Captain Anna Wynne was happy with the result, reflecting: “It’s the perfect way to start back. It was a tough game, but we have our coach to thank as we were prepared and able to show our ability”.

The men were equally impressive, running out a 14-8 winner against Northumbria. However, it was a well-contested start to the game, with both teams exchanging goal for goal. Edoardo de Caro opened the scoring, with Aiden O’Reilly and James Warman both getting on the scoresheet early on after being pegged back by Northumbria through the quarter. Manchester did end the quarter with the lead-Freddie Pearson’s precise effort making it 4-3.

It was only as the second quarter got underway, that Manchester managed to exert their quality and take control. After goals from Christoforos Vossos and Adam Sperry, a key moment in the match arrived. James Warman with a goal saving challenge with the score 6-3, showing strength and composure to avert the danger, and ensure a clean sheet was kept in the second quarter. This proved important as Manchester grabbed two more goals before half time, giving themselves a cushion and freedom going into the second half of the game.

After the restart O’Reilly scored again before Warman added a brace, the first of which an exceptional team goal-impressive chemistry so soon into the new semester. Harry King also found the net as Manchester continued to score consistently, restricting a Northumbria side to limited clear opportunities. The lead 12-5 at the end of the 3rd quarter, Northumbria had it all to do as the game neared its conclusion.

Despite facing a spirited response from their opponents, Manchester remained relatively resolute, though relying on goalkeeper Kieren Poland to make a string of spectacular saves. First tipping over from a powerful effort with the score still 12-5, he then did brilliantly to retrieve the ball in the very next attack, under the attention of two attackers. He followed this by going one better with two minutes to go, making a fantastic save facing a man-down attack. The game was rounded off with two goals from Harry Prestwich and a classy backhand from King, his third of the game. Certainly the men’s Firsts can be happy with their winning start to the Semester, a good enough performance but even more pleasing, the right result.

Reddit and weep: the influence of the forum

Written by Danny Jones on . Posted in Games.

17,574,855: as of the 29th of January 2018, that is the number of subscribers to ‘/r/gaming’. Safe to say, the gaming community has quite the presence on what is one of the most savage and unforgiving social media platforms. Reddit.

Better still, whilst it may be the primary location for users of the site to give their two cents on the latest titles and gaming news, this is by no means the only subreddit interested in video-games.

‘/r/Games’, though sounding rather all-encompassing, is a smaller, more critical and industry-focused thread, which despite being dwarfed by its older sibling up there, still clocks in at just under a million regular readers. We must not fail to mention either, the likes of the humorously named, ‘/r/pcmasterrace’, which represents an elitist subculture of gamers – around 1.3 million strong on the site.

There are hundreds more specific communities within communities. There are dedicated subreddits for League of Legends, Overwatch, even Pokémon GO, all of which compile and generate a swarm of social media around a single game, with the sheer mass and variety of users, resulting in some of the most unfiltered and thoroughly informed opinions you could hope for. Or does it?…

Now, I am not saying that Reddit isn’t a great place for spreading real fan opinion, but the issue I am proposing is that rather than giving fellow gamers a very honest and matter of fact review of a game — positive or negative — the worry is that this feedback often hijacks the opinions of others before they have even had a chance to play it themselves.

In 2010, NBC gaming writer, Winda Benetti, wrote an article on a recent study by Electronic Entertainment Design and Southern Methodist University, which detailed the extent of just how influential gaming reviews are on others experiences of a game after the fact.

Photo: NBC (on behalf of SMU & EEDAR)
Photo: NBC (on behalf of SMU & EEDAR)

Whilst the study focused on primarily positive reviews, noting that 91 per cent of players exposed to positive reviews of Plants vs. Zombies would similarly approve the game and recommend it to friends after playing through it themselves, those exposed to negative reviews were conversely swayed by preceding opinions of the game, with only 65 per cent offering their recommendation.

Of course, this study operated on a much broader scale, after all, reviews existed long before Reddit and the likes of us lot! The findings were in light of a combination of the player’s experience of the game and their response to 5 mainstream reviews; so, the question is how would the results look if we were just talking about Reddit?

As I mentioned previously, the general vibe of a Reddit review is a much more brutal and unadulterated in how, say, an IGN reviewer approaches a game they weren’t a massive fan of; and to be fair, there is a gulf even in positive reviews, with a Redditor’s approval of a game often spiralling quickly into fandom.

For example, if you look at a game such as No Man’s Sky, which despite having deep-seated issues from top to bottom, still managed to get generous 6s and 7s from the big media outlets. Turn to the Reddit community’s reaction to the game on the other hand, and things get uglier rather quickly. Take this post which sums up the consensus of those who played the game:

Screenshot: reddit
Screenshot: Reddit

The point being is that the culture of those on Reddit tends to be one in which highly passionate gamers feel a strong sense of obligation to deliver what they see as the truth about the latest games. As a community, I’d like to think we’ve gone beyond taking a mainstream review as read, and that our Spidey-senses get a’ tinglin’ when we see a game hit a 6 or 7.

With that being said, I postulate that the same influence gamers take from reviews by IGN or Gamespot, can only be greater when it comes to Reddit, given how the straight-talking spirit of its community is held in such high regard.

This esteem is built on the basis that those behind gaming subreddits are gamers just like you or me, and therefore, we are more likely to trust their words than, perhaps, an “interested” mainstream media outlet.

This is all speculation of course, at the end of the day, I’m sure most reviewers would consider themselves a gamer. However, if gamers are indeed more likely to believe the opinions of a Redditor and fellow player, then whether they love a game or absolutely berate it — and given the pattern of the academic study holds up —, we usually take it on board.

Point being, reviews are all well and good, but nothing beats experiencing a game first-hand. So even if you’re avid user of Reddit, or any gaming media site for that matter, don’t let yourself be part of the statistic that doesn’t make up their own mind up.

 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Once in a ‘super blue blood moon’

Written by Aliya Ismangil on . Posted in News, Science & Tech.

On the night of the 31st of January, Australia, Asia, and some part of the United States of America witnessed a lunar event that has not been observed in the western hemisphere for 150 years.

This rare astronomical event is the combination of a lunar eclipse, a supermoon, and a “blue moon” — an appearance of two full moons in one month, occurring every two and half years or so.

A lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned. A shadow is cast over the Moon by the Earth, with only traces of sunlight refracted over the Earth illuminating it. This gives it a red appearance, which has lead this phenomenon being informally coined a ‘blood moon’.

A supermoon is when the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit. This means the moon appears 7 per cent larger and 15 per cent brighter.

The coinciding of these three lunar events has lead to the name ‘super blue blood moon’ being coined and last week saw many excitedly anticipating the event. However, in an article for The Conversation published on Monday last week, the University of Manchester’s Professor of Astrophysics, Tim O’Brien, shared a more reserved sentiment with regard to this rare lunar event.

Professor O’Brien writes: “the trouble is that a supermoon in itself is not really all that special.” The moon follows an elliptical, oval-shaped, orbit around the Earth, so the distance between the two bodies can range between 360,000km to 406,000km. The moon is at its closest to the Earth more often than we think. It is only when this coincides with a full moon that a ‘fuss’ is made.

Professor O’Brien goes on to explain that even though the moon will appear larger at its closest point to the Earth in comparison to its furthest point, the increase in size is often exaggerated. The moon can appear larger just through an optical illusion and most people will have observed a larger moon on occasions that aren’t a ‘supermoon’.

Scientists know that the moon appears larger when closer to the horizon than high in the sky, although the exact reasons why this happens are still not understood.

But Professor O’Brien also goes on to say that a lunar eclipse is a valuable event for scientists to observe and can still learn a lot from: “The details of how the sunlight we see reflected from the moon during eclipse has been altered, scattered and absorbed on its way through our atmosphere, and how this is affected by, for example, volcanic eruptions or even meteor showers, are still being studied.”

The world is set to further lunar exploration in the near future. India’s space agency, ISRO, plans to launch an exploratory rover to the Moon later this year. In December, US President Donald Trump commissioned NASA to plan a manned mission to the Moon’s surface, the first since 1972.

Lunar scientist from the University of Manchester, Dr Katherine Joy, hopes that the revival of lunar exploration interest will set the scene for human space exploration and perhaps even a lunar base. “That’s what makes the Moon ideal – it’s only three days away,” says Dr Joy. “You can do all of those things and plan ahead for where you would go next, but retain that infrastructure around the Moon.”

Five tips for eating vegan as a student

Written by Calypso April on . Posted in Lifestyle.

It’s a common misconception that a vegan diet is unaffordable and inconvenient, especially on a student budget. Whilst it’s true that specialist vegan products can cost a fortune, you certainly don’t need them to create balanced, easy and delicious meals. Here are a few tips that I learned from taking part in ‘Veganuary’.

Keep it simple

Don’t get sucked into buying pricey vegan substitutes like plant-based cheeses and meats. They are expensive, not particularly healthy and often disappointing. Instead, opt for recipes which don’t require meat or dairy products, or substitute them with vegetables. For example, make a bolognese with lentils and minced mushrooms, rather than a mince substitute.

Check the label

A surprising amount of foods that you would assume contain meat or dairy can actually be enjoyed as part of a vegan diet. Both ‘Veganuary’ and PETA have compiled lists of ‘accidentally vegan’ foods that you wouldn’t necessarily think could be enjoyed as part of a vegan diet.

This ranges from the weird, such as Sainsbury’s chicken flavour instant noodles, to the wonderful, including original Oreos, original and chocolate chip Hobnobs, Bourbon biscuits, Jus-Rol Bake-it-Fresh pain au chocolats, Co-op Jam doughnuts and many, many more.

It’s always worth checking the back of the packet to see if your favourite snacks contain dairy products or eggs, which will be listed in bold and don’t forget to check for gelatine too. Doing this can help save a lot of money on buying speciality vegan products, and, hopefully, allow you to keep eating some of your favourite foods!

Choose dried

Opting for dried rice, lentils and beans over their convenient pre-prepared counterparts is a massive money saver. Undeniably, pre-seasoned microwaveable sachets of rice and lentils do save time. On the other hand, learning to cook them for yourself is very easy, and you can get a vast amount more for your money.

The same goes for tinned beans, which are significantly cheaper if bought dry. However, a certain amount of organisation must go into the preparation of dried beans, which achieve the best results when soaked the night before cooking.

Go Local

Shun the big supermarkets and head to local grocery stores, such as those on the Curry Mile, for the best deals on fruit and vegetables. Not only are the prices cheaper, but these shops allow you to buy the amount of produce you need, rather than a predetermined packet size, which reduces both cost and waste.

In order to save more money, avoid buying pre-chopped packs of vegetables which are timesaving, but much more expensive than doing it yourself. For those interested in reducing their carbon footprint, try to choose vegetables that are in season.

Supplement B12

Most people worry that a vegan diet is deficient in protein or even calcium, which should not be a problem as long as you are eating a well-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Plants and grains provide an excellent source of most macro-nutrients.

The only exception to this is vitamin B12 — although certain foods are fortified with B12, such as non-dairy milk and marmite, it is much more reliable and advisable to take a supplement a few times a week, in order to prevent deficiency.

All ‘accidentally vegan’ foods were correct at time of going to print and sourced from the PETA and ‘Veganuary’ websites.

For more ‘accidentally vegan’ foods head to Veganurary Why’s ‘accidentally vegan’ website.

 

Photo: Album Artwork

Album Review: Fall Out Boy – M A N I A

Written by Ciaran McLaughlin on . Posted in Music.

I have somewhat fond memories of Fall Out Boy. ‘Sugar, We’re Going Down’ was one of the first songs I learnt to play with my mates, and I remember the hype when returned in 2013. But since that comeback, their new material hasn’t sat well with me.

With this in mind, expectations were pretty low for their 7th album, M A N I A. So call me surprised when even I come out disappointed. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, has.

The last thing anybody Fall Out Boy wanted to do was EDM pop. It seems to be a recent trend for rock bands to drastically change their sound to stay in the limelight.

This band formed 20 years ago and they’re still trying to remain ‘relevant.’ But instead of achieving this goal, the album comes off as a desperate effort, with them not only doing an awful job of it but also chasing dead trends.

The change feels forced and heavy-handed. Loud bashing electronic beats dominate throughout and with little variation. It all begins to mush together as the songs follow the same structure: a build-up verse followed by a chorus that has a cheap beat thrown over it, then repeat.

There are some chiptune vocals here and there, maybe a piano if they’re feeling adventurous, but who cares? It has been done to death now, and their attempt at it is a weak one.

The biggest problem lies in the production; it’s so chaotic and compressed. The electronic beats are far too overpowering and completely destroy the structure of the songs. Songs like ‘Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea’ or ‘Champions’ have these beats slapped over the chorus, dominating over everything else.

And these are just some of the worst offenders — every song suffers the same fate. I’ve seen defenders of the album claim that “it’s meant to be that way, it represents the title of the album” which I find absurd. Remember, if you’re doing a bad job intentionally, then you’re still doing a bad job.

This becomes even clearer as some songs start with promise, like ‘The Last of The Real Ones,’ before also disappointingly following the formula, destroying any potential. Because why have any good ideas when you can lazily throw a dumb beat over everything. That’s what the kids like, right?

There are some decent performances here and there, Andy is great on the drums and Patrick Stump still has some impressive vocals, but as a result of the production they are thrown into a dizzying mess and get lost.

The only remains of the old Fall Out Boy are the lyrics. Don’t worry; they still sound like an edgy 14-year-old emo’s tweets. “I’ll stop wearing black when they invent a darker colour” is repeated throughout the chorus of ‘Wilson (Expensive Mistakes.)’ It just sounds like a parody — but then again, they were never known for being master wordsmiths.

Any trace of the old Fall Out Boy has been cleansed and what remains is a rotting corpse of not only the band but music trends of five years ago. Previous works seem like masterpieces compared to M A N I A.

This is a disgrace to Fall Out Boy, pop rock and music in general. Don’t even bother with this. Please. It’s not even funny.

 

2/10

Photo: Album Artwork

Review: Craig David – The Time Is Now…?

Written by Imogen Doyle on . Posted in Music.

Rising to fame back in 1999 when he featured on the Artful Dodger’s single ‘Re-Rewind,’ he has had a number of successful years in the industry.

During this time he has managed to obtain two number-one singles and had his Born To Do It album not only reach number one, but stay in the Top 40 for 71 weeks.

All this happened, and then he disappeared for a number of years. Six years on he returned with sub-par music — firstly with the album Following My Intuition, and now with The Time Is Now.

The music he has created in the past couple of years isn’t bad, but it isn’t good either. None of his new stuff can be compared to the likes of ‘Fill Me In’ or ‘7 Days’ — it couldn’t even be classed in the same league.

Those songs are classics, staples which people still listen to now. I can’t imagine any of the songs from this album having the same effect and being able to withstand the test of time.

The two singles released pre-album offered a promising glimpse of what was to come. ‘Heartline’ has an incredibly catchy beat, making it difficult to forget once stuck in your head.

Once you find out that the song was produced by Jonas Blue, this fact is completely understandable. But even though the song’s beat is incredibly current, I don’t think this is one that will make lasting ripples.

‘I Know You’ is another track which was released pre-album. Just one of the many tracks on this album which feature another artist, this surprising collaboration with Bastille’s Dan Smith works well; Craig David’s vocals combined with a deep bass drop and a simple chorus makes for a good song, and it’s been propelled to number seven in the Top 40.

Throughout The Time Is Now it appears as though Craig David is grasping at straws to stay relevant, and as such, he appears a little behind the times.

This is further shown by the number of guest appearances on this album. With just under half the songs featuring another artist, from the likes of JP Cooper to Chase & Status, it appears as though he isn’t even the main focus of his own album. Not the desired effect I’m sure.

Rating is a 5/10 — for me, The Time Is (no longer) Now for Craig David.

Photo: Pixnio

UoM study finds sandwiches have same environmental impact as cars

Written by Becca Windsor on . Posted in News, Science & Tech.

Rarely do people think about the environmental impact of buying a meal deal, but University of Manchester researchers have done just that. A study carried out at the university has looked at 40 different sandwich types, recipes and combinations and discovered that the British penchant for sandwiches generates, on average, 9.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This is roughly the same amount as 8.6 million cars in one year.

According to the British Sandwich Association (BSA), around 11.5 billion sandwiches are eaten in the UK per year. Half of which are made at home and half are bought in shops. This means there is an estimated total national expenditure of £8 billion a year on this student lunch classic.

Professor Adisa Azapagic from the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, and head of the Sustainable Industrial Systems research group who conducted the study, says: “given that sandwiches are a staple of the British diet, as well as their significant market share in the food sector, it is important to understand the contribution from this sector to the emissions of greenhouse gases.”

The study focused on both home-made and pre-packaged sandwiches, considering the whole production process, including sourcing of ingredients, transport, packaging and eventual food waste. The largest contributor to a sandwich’s carbon footprint was found to be the agricultural production and processing of its ingredients.

Alarmingly, keeping sandwiches chilled on supermarket shelves contributes to a quarter of their greenhouse gas emissions. However, extending their shelf life and using less conservative sell-by dates could greatly reduce their impact on the environment, possibly by as much as half. The BSA estimates that doing so could lead to an estimated 2000 tonne reduction in food waste annually.

Out of the 40 sandwich types considered, the one with the largest carbon footprint was the “all-day breakfast” sandwich consisting of egg, bacon and sausage. It was estimated that this sandwich generates up to 1,441 grams of CO2 equivalent, comparable to driving a car for 12 miles.

The sandwich with the smallest carbon footprint was a classic ham and cheese. Pork meat (bacon, ham or sausage), tomatoes, prawns and cheese were considered the most carbon-intensive ingredients.

An important conclusion highlighted was that making your own sandwiches can reduce carbon emissions by half, compared to shop-bought or ready-made sandwiches. Using plant-based ingredients, rather than meaty alternatives, could greatly reduce environmental impact, reduce calorific intake and would be a major step towards a healthier, more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Photo: Millie Nettleton @ The Mancunion

Review: Drake & Morgan

Written by Millie Nettleton on . Posted in Food & Drink.

January rolls around and the eternal struggle presents itself afresh: sticking to resolutions. The likelihood is, you’ve made some arbitrary promises to drink less, eat better and keep fit.

But as we students flock back to uni, once again leaving the warm comforts of home cooking and laundry that magically does itself, university in January always feels like a shock to the system; the warm duvet of festivity is ripped off, and there you lie, naked, exposed, facing exams and deadlines alike.

That daily run looks a lot less appealing when it’s still dark at 8am, and drizzling constantly. You try to warm up with multiple servings of pasta. You push the guilt to the back of your mind, you’ve always got Chinese new year…

Well fear not, young and sleep deprived. If you can spare an hour or two from your daily schedule of revision and scrolling through Facebook, the Drake and Morgan has your back.

Yes, you can shun the guilt while going out for a dinner less than 500 calories, and it includes some of God’s greatest creations: steak and seafood.

For just £9.95 you can enjoy steak, prawns and a glass of prosecco, clocking up under 500 calories on your my fitness pal. And not the dieting type? Bulking? No problem, upgrade to steak, lobster and chips with a glass of champagne for £19.95.

Of course, to review, I had to try both, which included forcing my boyfriend to share his lobster and chips with me.

The Drake and Morgan in Spinningfields is a cool-looking establishment with a classy vibe; perhaps that was the work party going on, but it was packed with corporate suit-wearing types which certainly gave the shabby chic interior a sophistication.

Sitting down, my man and I ordered straight away; we had a game plan after all. Drinks arrived first, the prosecco was okay, a little tart perhaps, but the champagne was undoubtedly a step up. To my amazement, our food arrived in less than ten minutes — definite brownie points there.

The food looked gorgeous too, though unfortunately no amount of presentation could have made the prawn and steak option look like a plate full.

Being carnivores, we’d both asked for our steak to arrive rare, and it was gorgeous, pink in the middle, but seared nicely on the outside, if a little small.

The prawns were bursting with flavour, a good sign of both well-cooked and fresh produce, but there were only two. I personally felt the lobster was a little wanting, but my date insisted that it was delicious. The chips were great too, crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. The salad, undressed, might as well have not been there.

All in all, especially with the cheaper portion, it just wasn’t enough. Perhaps it was my stomach used to gorging Christmas dinner style portions, but I finished the meal wondering where my food had gone, and desperate for a dessert.

Their dessert menu suddenly felt overpriced considering the bargain of the meal itself. Instead of getting a £6 crème brûlée to share, we swung by Sainsbury’s on the way home and bought a £3 cheesecake for 6.

In short, though the food was excellent, don’t expect it to save you calories, as you will probably end up eating later (possibly even three people’s worth of cheesecake).

Photo: masao_nakagami @ Flickr

Live review: The Charlatans

Written by Jack Greeney on . Posted in Music.

Old time UK band The Charlatans performed at the O2 Apollo on December 2nd. The alternative rockers had come to Manchester on a nationwide tour to celebrate the release of their latest album Different Days.

And it has been happy days for the band so far, with the album highly acclaimed by both critics and fans alike.

The Manchester date surely holds some special significance for the band, having been associated with the city for decades, and with lead vocalist Tim Burgess and guitarist Mark Collins hailing from the Greater Manchester area.

Even the freshly released album contains Manchester in abundance, featuring contributions and collaborations from members of New Order and Johnny Marr.

They survived the rise and fall of Britpop, and so too the ephemeral Madchester scene. In fact, it seems like this band will outlive any of the fleeting musical trends to which they have often been assigned. Despite a music career fast approaching 30 years, The Charlatans are keeping material fresh and fans happy.

Some might say the act are even experiencing a renaissance of acclaim gone by. Their newest album, 13th in number, and its equally revered predecessor have entered them into what could be a second golden age of production — and to think that most bands who experience early success spend the rest of their careers playing out their first album onstage.

No such early-work homogeneity here. During the performance the band pinballs between different ages of their long recording history with ease. This recent emergence of a creative high allows them to play songs from the new records alongside the well-loved classics without the feeling that they are included as part of an advertising campaign, as they are equal in quality.

The crowd seemed overwhelmingly pleased over the course of the two-hour set, despite some of the slower songs not appearing to grip the audience as comprehensively as the energetic pieces preceding them.

On the vast majority, however, the audience was treated to a great onstage performance from the plenty-experienced act. It’s clear they know how to make an entry that will grab the audience by the ears.

Perhaps it is the energy and seemingly permanent youth of Burgess too, baggy jumpers and moppy hair looking like he rolled straight out of bed from the 90s, that brings a great positive energy to the show throughout, his voice still as good as his snake hips. Get our kid on Strictly.

It is clear too that the band respect live performance as an art form, to the benefit of all watching on. Burgess may say “everything sounds better live,” but it is clear that additional effort has been put into rendering this show a particular example.

An expansive lighting show, at times impressive and others blinding, takes a good stab at supplementing the overall performance. Among the highlights were a recorded spoken word performance from fiction writer Ian Rankin and old footage in tribute to passed keyboardist Rob Collins and drummer Jon Brookes.

The last couple of songs in the main act, the original hit ‘The Only One I Know’ and ‘Let The Good Times Be Never Ending,’ particularly got the crowd moving, providing a well-planned climax to the show. A two-song encore including the great ‘Sproston Green’ left the crowd appearing satisfied.

Whilst many fans in the music world mistake nostalgia for relevance, The Charlatans are no such case.

8/10