The Dumb Waiter

Hello, I'm back! 2015 is upon us and I'd love to say I've been incredibly busy. However, the truth is I haven't been particularly rushed off my feet (other than exams), so I don't have a great deal to tell you. Well, that's if you don't count my recent trip to see The Dumb Waiter at HOME...

The What?

The Dumb Waiter! A Ransack Theatre production, part of HOME's Re:play Festival 2015, which was performed on the 15th and 16th January. Taking place in HOME's new home on First Street, The Dumb Waiter was a production of the play written by Harold Pinter. If, like myself, you're not familiar with the works of Mr. Pinter, I'll give you a brief synopsis of the play, watch out for spoilers!

1.) Show starts. Two men, Gus and Ben, both in suits, are waiting in a grotty basement. The younger man (Gus) asks the older, more weary man (Ben), a series of questions about their next 'job' and other related (and unrelated) topics.

2.) The two men bicker about a series of items, ranging from whether Man City are playing this weekend, to the term 'put the kettle on'. It becomes evident the two men are actually hitmen (shock, horror!)

3.) A series of food orders arrive from the floors above, the two men panic. Hilarity ensues.

4.) Hilarity ends when the men receive their orders for the next 'job', causing betrayal.

Gus waiting for the next job. Photo: HOME

So there's a brief run-though of the play, without ruining too many plot details. At an hour long, this was a one-act play, which was well-received. Any longer and the story line would have been stretched thin, like butter scraped over too much bread. A two-man play can be a tricky thing to master, as if the actors don't fit together, then the audience will be lost relatively quickly. However, James Warburton (Gus) and Alastair Michael (Ben) were perfectly matched, with Michael's performance as the short tempered, wearier, Ben being of note.

The simple set design helped portray our duo's lack of control over their next job, a dingy, windowless room with two beds and a gas cooker which doesn't light. Almost a third companion, it helped amplify the rising tensions and the claustrophobia that accompanied the darker moments of the play.

How Much?

Tickets to the play cost £8 for students, and £10 normally. The play was run as part of the Re:play Festival, where the best fringe drama from the last 12 months in Greater Manchester is brought together for another run. The Re:play Festival has ended now, but I am in no doubt that HOME will run it again next year. 

Indy Man Beer Con

Hello again! I'll start by asking you a simple question. Have you ever been to the land of beer? Sadly this land is fictional, however the Independent Manchester Beer Convention (IMBC) acted as an embassy for four days last week. Taking place in the Victoria Baths over 9th-12th October, the IMBC brought together the most progressive breweries to show off their wares in the most impressive of surroundings. As a volunteer, I got to have a wander around and try a "few" beers.

What was it like inside?

The food hall. There were balloons everywhere.

Using the full space of the Victoria Baths, along with part of the car park outside, breweries clamoured to get your attention with their newest ranges. Any flavour of beer, you could probably find it. Want music and strobe lights? Just head to the Turkish Baths. Thought of a bizarre name for a beer? They've already got a stranger one. You could forget about traditional alcohol content as well, with certain stouts and ales reaching the lofty heights of 11 per cent. These weren't beers you'd find in Sainsbury's, these were boundary-breaking thirds, ready to blow the cobwebs from your tastebuds and dull your other senses.

What kind of beer was there?

Music! And more balloons.

Snazzy glass.

There was a plethora of different beers, more than you could even imagine. However, you probably worked that out already! But what was my favourite beer? Well that would have to be the "Earl Phantom", a 'lemon iced tea sour' beer, served up by Beavertown Brewery. Upon first taste you were greeted by a jolt of lemon zest, immediately followed up by the soothing taste of a cup of Earl Grey, all finished off with your body screaming for more. Either that or "Rapture" from Magic Rock. An incredibly hoppy red beer, with an intensely colourful flavour, it was another which really made you stop and appreciate what you were tasting. With drinks being served in the traditional one-third pint glasses, it was easy to try a wide range before you were ready to collapse down onto the bean bags in front of the music stage.

How much was it?

Tickets were £10 for a session, which would be approximately six to seven hours long. I must admit, as I was volunteering, I didn't buy a ticket, so I can't tell you what exactly was included in the ticket price. However, I do know you at least got entry, a fancy one-third pint glass, IMBC pencil, programme and the opportunity to sample dozens of beers! IMBC has been running for a few years now, so tickets are moving increasingly quickly. However, increasing ale awareness means that this will soon be an event on any beer drinkers calendar.

Pint Of Science

Hello, I'm back! Yes, exams are over and I'm free to write up posts to my heart's desire! That means I can tell you all about my latest escapade, which included a pub, pints and a lot of science!

Fancy a Pint of Science?

Yes, the event I attended was the "Pint of Science" festival. The aim of this event was to bring science to the masses, in a laid-back environment. But where can you find an environment that is laid-back, but serious enough that people will pay attention? The pub of course! By having researchers and academics talk about their work in a pub, the gap between the universities and the general public shrinks. Plus, by going to one of these events, you might even learn something!

The logo was a pint glass with glasses and a brain!

The nights I attended were part of the Manchester physics and chemistry branch, being held in the English Lounge, in the Northern Quarter. However, there were nights running simultaneously across Manchester, on a variety of topics. The main set up of the evening was that there would be a introductory talk about the subject at hand, followed by the main talk of the evening. These were always followed by a Q&A session, which could get a bit dynamic, especially later on in the night!

Dr Jon Hargreaves giving the introductory talk about
acoustics. Look at how captivated the audience are!

The first night I attended was all about acoustics, with the main talk from Professor Trevor Cox of the University of Salford. He spoke about his travels across the world, finding and recording the strangest sounds he could find. This ranged from the call of seal (recorded underwater) to a record-breaking echo! The second night was about nuclear waste, with a talk all about the subject, the stigma and the issues surrounding the topic, given by Matt Gunther, who runs a blog all about the subject (here). His Q&A session quickly became a discussion, amongst the audience, all about nuclear power. This really showed how passionate people could get about science and it was fantastic to see.

How much?

Each night was ticketed, at a cost of £2 a ticket. This fee wasn't to make a profit, as any money gained is reinvested back into future events and the nights are organised and run by volunteers. Taking these facts into account, you can see that the each night was very good value. 

Where and when?

Pint of Science was an international event, held in 8 countries over 3 nights. This was the 19th-21st May. In the UK it was held in Cambridge, London, Oxford, Manchester, Bath, Bristol, York and Glasgow, but it has plans to expand further into more cities and countries, so watch this space!

Secret Supper Club

Hello again and happy (belated) new year! I'm back and ready to blog, so lucky you! So what have I been up to recently? Well, I've been a little bit boring (revision) but don't worry, I've still managed to venture out of the norm and try something new out. Sit back and relax while I tell you all about it...

Secret Supper Club

A what? A secret supper club in one school of thought is having dinner with people you don't know, in a secret location, eating food from a mystery menu. When put like that, it sounds terrifying. However, let me assure it was quite the opposite, it was a delight.

Wendy's House Logo, if you didn't
guess.

Booking

There are several supper clubs spread around Manchester and spread around the country. The one I went to was "Wendy's House Supper Club". I found this particular one through the utilisation of tools such as Google and Twitter, you just have to search for "Manchester supper club" and enough results should appear. Anyway, Wendy's House is a vegetarian supper club, run by a lovely chef called Wendy (funnily enough). The event I went to was titled "Mexico Monday" and, being very true to its name, was on a Monday and consisted of a lot of delicious Mexican food.

Food!

Tortillas with dips, image from here.

Yes, food! Upon arrival I was treated to a tequila based cocktail named Paloma, which was dangerously drinkable. The dinner began promptly as soon as all the guests had arrived, with 5 courses being served in total. Even better, it was all home-made. It began with tortilla chips, guacamole, salsa and sour cream, all very tasty. We were then treated to a black-bean soup, with hints of chilli, which was one of the best things I've tasted. The main course was served up, consisting of rice, corn on the cob (cooked in chilli and lime), baked Mexican cheese, refried beans, a delicious salad with avocado and almonds. There were other items, but my brain was being subjected to such a pleasure overload from the food, it couldn't take in all the information. The pudding was served up soon after, which was mango cooked in tequila and chilli, served with ice cream and a Mexican sauce (once again, I apologise for the lack of information). It was all topped off with a hot chocolate. It was all luscious and I would not hesitate to eat any of it again, if the chance emerged.

People

Yes, a big part of the experience is dining with other people who you have never met. It may sound worrisome, but I found it to be a great way to meet a lot of people who you normally would never come across. For a student, it was a brilliant way to escape the "student bubble" for a little bit. The great bit is that you probably won't meet the same people twice, so it will be a different experience each time. If you are worried about who you might meet, then get a friend to go with you!

Somewhere in there.

Where?

That's another part of the experience, you won't know until you book the ticket! Rest assured however, it will be in Manchester. Wendy's House took place in, surprise surprise, Wendy's House. I'm not telling you where it is though, you'll have to find out by booking a ticket!

How Much?

The ticket for Mexico Monday was £25.00. Now this may seem expensive, but let's put it this way. You are being served top quality food cooked by a chef, in their house. You are paying for the company and for a experience which is out of the norm. You can take your own drinks, which was a nice touch.

Again?

Are you kidding me? Of course I will! As I mentioned earlier, secret supper clubs are spread all over Manchester and all over the country. They cater for several tastes and styles, so all you need to do is find out which one works for you. Good luck!

Hallé Orchestra

Hello again, you appear to have stumbled upon another blog post of mine! Very recently I was fortunate enough to see the Hallé Orchestra perform at Bridgewater Hall. So if you are interested in classical music and even if you aren't, this post will be perfect for you!

Hallé Orchestra

The Hallé Orchestra, for the vigilant, have been mentioned in this blog before (here). They are a world-class orchestra, based in Manchester. They do regular performances at Bridgewater Hall, but have been known to venture elsewhere, such as Jodrell Bank. For a complete novice in classical music, I have to admit I was skeptical as to whether I would enjoy an evening performance of pieces which I was unfamiliar with. Well, I had nothing to fear. The mixture of the beautifully designed hall (below) and the extremely talented orchestra ensured that I was in for an experience I'll happily have again.

Have a look at that. Breathtaking.

The Pieces

I'll list the pieces which they played, if you want to go and have a listen: 

Stravinsky-Symphonies of Wind Instruments

Mendelssohn-Violin Concerto in E minor

Tchaikovsky-Symphony No.5

If those mean nothing to you, you're in the same boat I was. But it didn't matter that you had no idea how the music went, as you could very easily lose yourself to the music. I think this was the nature of the Hallé.

The piece by Stravinsky was most probably my favourite of the evening, a 10 minute piece performed purely by wind instruments. It was short enough that you could listen to it when you had a small bit of time, yet it still contained all of the elements of classical music you would expect to find, if you wanted to delve into the genre.

The Orchestra, just warming up.

The piece by Tchaikovsky was performed in the 2nd half, after the interval. It was a piece which demanded its own section, a thrilling foray through the voices of many, many instruments, spaced with audacious pauses. These pauses could catch a beginner, like myself, out. Luckily, I had an experienced listener sitting next to me, so I knew when to react. So be careful when listening to that one in public, or risk looking the fool.

When?

The performance which I saw was part of the Thursday series by the Hallé, which takes place at Bridgewater Hall.

Cost?

The cost depends, if you are a student, then the cost is £3 on the door! Huzzah! You can get the experience of seeing a world-class orchestra for a shaving of what you would expect the price to be. Winners all around, so don't miss out!

MSF 2013- 21st Century Coffee House (Penny University)

Lucky you, you've stumbled across an explosive blog post, with lasers and fire! I'm not a liar, you really have. Recently I went to a the Penny University event at the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) 2013 and I want to tell you all about it. So grab a coffee, sit back and relax...

21st Century Coffee House- Penny University Live

Yes, you did read that correctly. University for one pence. I must admit, it's not technically a whole degree for 1p, rather some talks by experts in their respective fields for 1p. If you did the maths though, you would still see it is much better value than £9000 a year! 

21st Century Coffee House? Penny University?

Yes, the name stems from 17/18th century coffee houses, which cost only 1p to enter. It didn't matter which class you were, as long as you paid 1p, you could enter and join in with discussions. They apparently very quickly became well-known as alternative places for learning, as you could speak with scholars outside of the traditional university environment. You could also get coffee there.

This event had a similar theme, where it cost 1p to enter and you could then buy coffee and listen to experts talk about their research in their specific fields. Hosted at MOSI's cafe, there were talks by 5 people, plus a quick intro about coffee and the old coffee houses themselves. 

The talks were about a wide range of topics, from bronze-age mummies to how we may have a possible cure for cystic fibrosis. The bronze-age mummy talk was very interesting for me in particular, as apparently quite a lot of mummies found in the British Isles were actually a mish-mash of various different bodies! Lovely. Another talk was on how smog is created over cities, especially in the morning, how this relates to climate change and some of the events being taken to prevent this increase in temperature. This included an example which involved oranges and lasers! 

Oranges and Lasers?

Science right there.

Yes, that famous combination, oranges and lasers. Originally, the laser was directed through the vial, but the beam wasn't visible. The orange peel acted as a pollutant, which reacted with some ozone which was already in the vial. When Sarah Moller (the speaker, pictured) shined a laser through the vial, the laser could be seen! This showed that the principle of how clouds work, by having particles which the water can grab onto. This creates bigger particles, which gets more water. You see the point. 

But this wasn't the only experiment of the night. No, no. No. Make way for exploding custard!

Exploding Custard!

Yes, exploding custard! Science communicator Ian Russell isn't a scientist. But he is brilliant science communicator and has been doing a show for years, all over the place, to get kids interested in science. This has taken him to places like the Royal Institution in London and even to Russia! He explained to the audience how children can notice things that adults can't. Why? Because adults are boring and have had most of the creativity drummed out of them at school. Startling, but it's true. 

Not to leave the audience on a low, he then showed us one of the tricks he uses in his show. That was exploding custard powder. By having the custard in powder form and mixing it with a lot of air at a high temperature, you can make it explode! So that's what he did. Have a look:

Put the powder in the tub, ready for all the air and fire...

BOOM!

Ta-dah! Exploding custard!

Cost?

It's in the name! Penny university! It cost one pence to get in and then you could buy coffee for extra.

Will It Happen Again?

Alas, this was a one-off event for the Manchester Science Festival. However, there are plenty more awesome science events during the rest of the festival. So have a look at the guide here and see what you fancy. If you want to find out more about the Penny University, their website is here. But for now, I'm going to try and cram in some more science festival fun! Bye!

Real Ale Festival at MOSI

Hello again! As you may have guessed, the majority of these travel posts are dictated by where I have been volunteering. Well done if you got that at home. Anyway, this post is no different. I was recently volunteering at the MOSI Real Ale Festival, which you can have the pleasure* of reading about.

I believe this was called "Black Magic". Yummy.

Beer

Yes, for those of you that know me, I do like a drink. So this was certainly the place for me. On offer were approximately 90 different types of beer and cider, so there was a wide range of choice. The beers were reasonably priced for a festival, being on average £3 a pint. The bottles, however were more expensive. It did depend on how fancy you wanted to get. I believe I saw several 33cl bottles for about £4. To be fair, these were bottles of beer which incorporated several different types of flavours and ingredients.

Cost

To get into the festival itself, it cost £5 for the general public and £4 for concession (members of CAMRA, OAP's, students). This did strike me as expensive, but the event was a fundraiser for the museum and they do have to make money somehow. The bars were cashless, meaning you had to buy redeemable tokens at the entrance. They were refundable, but an unfortunate by-product of this was that if you had 50p left over, it didn't seem worth trying to refund it. This could be avoided by clever spending, or you could deal with it and donate it to MOSI. The donation solution was used by several people, earning the museum a nice extra bit of cash. 

Glasses were free to use during the event, which was a nice touch. Obviously you had to give them back at the end, but if you liked the design you could buy a clean one for £3 on your way out. If you wanted one for free, you would very likely be having a word with the security guard on your way out.

Somewhere in there is the main bar.

Music

From what I can remember, it was very good music. Think classic rock and general rock. Good stuff.

Location

If you hadn't guessed, it was in the power hall at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester. The power hall acted as an apt setting, providing several engines and steam-driven machinery from times gone by to marvel at.

Summary

This was the third real ale festival at MOSI, which I believe overall was a successful event. My only qualm is the cost of getting in, with the concession only knocking £1 off the price. Yet like I said earlier, the museum has to make money somehow. The festival should be running next September, but there is also the Manchester beer and cider festival in the new year if you can't wait until then. 

*Pleasure not guaranteed.

Brains at MOSI.

Hello all, I was worried that I wouldn't be posting in a while. How foolish I was. As a proof of this, I shall regale you with the following story, the story of my trip to the brains exhibition. Sit tight.

Exhibition

The exhibition was entitled "Brains: The Mind as Matter". The theme of the event, as you may have guessed, was the brain. The brain, the organ which determines how we spend our days, which decisions we make and which holds all of our memories. Yet the event is not as science-orientated as you would think. In order to not frighten anybody away with science, there was a large emphasis on science meeting art. This meld of science and art ensures that the event is easily enjoyed by all. As proof of art being on equal ground with science, the exhibition had commissioned a specialist artist to create some rather spectacular prints. I will come back to this later, as there is much more to be discussed.

Slice of human. 

The exhibition was split into 4 sections, each one regarding a different surgical practice involving the brain. The section  titles were vague, with titles such as "Giving/Taking" and "Cutting/Treating", to allow several avenues regarding the brain to be explored.

Sections

The sections were enjoyable for visitors of varying interest, there were articles explaining the different neurological practices for those who were fascinated, but it was just as easy to stare at brains in jars, if you so wished. The exhibits ranged from rare surgical textbooks regarding the brain (one from the famous surgeon Andreas Vesalius), through the aforementioned prints, to slices of the human body and the brain. One fascinating exhibit was of a human spinal cord, which was being preserved for all to see. I will admit, it was slightly strange to see that on a Tuesday afternoon.

Above: The work of Andreas Vesalius.

Above: Brains in jars. Lovely.

Above: The spinal cord, in all its glory.

There were also video exhibits, which explained different methods of testing, scanning, measuring (etc) the brain. I will leave those to you to watch. Get back to me, tell me how they are.

Location

The exhibition itself is currently (at time of writing) on the first floor of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI- http://www.mosi.org.uk/). In my opinion, MOSI was a bit of a strange location (My original thought was that it might have been better suited in the environment of the Manchester museum), however I was proved wrong. It serves as a pallet cleanser for those (like myself) who would normally visit MOSI for its exhibits on the physical sciences. Another benefit for MOSI being used is that the exhibits from Manchester itself seem to belong in the historically mancunian environment of MOSI.

Above: A resin cast of the blood vessels in the brain. The resin is 

pumped into the vessels, where it solidifies. The rest of the brain is 

corroded away with acid, resulting in this exquisite view of what 

feeds the brain.

Art

As previously mentioned, in order to not appear as another purely scientific exhibition, MOSI took some artistic influence. This came in the form of Daksha Patel, a wonderful woman who did some inspired work for the collection. Her works used the brain as the overarching theme, unsurprisingly for the event, to produce works which included a print of the human nervous system and an unstable piece of art depicting the brain. Like all good art, you can (like myself) look at it and just enjoy how it looks, or you can search for a deeper meaning. I think I'll stick with just admiring the pretty pictures. 

As I mentioned previously, the entire exhibition aims to put science and art on equal ground. The best example of this is to the right, in the resin cast of the blood vessels in the brain. Call me pretentious (go ahead), but I truly think it shows how art can come up from even the most scientific regimes.

Cost

Completely free! This is not a case of it being free to get into the main museum and being charged to get into the special exhibition. No, it is completely free if you want. If you do wish to show your gratitude, you can make a (recommended £3) donation to MOSI at their entrance.

Summary

An exhibition about brains, which isn't puts science and art on a level playing field. It sounds strange, risky even, but I think (or my brain does) that it is a risk which works. Why does it work? Well I've already tried to explain it, so I'll leave it to you. Go ahead and find out, it's open until the 4th of January.