The Manchester Meet
Nov. 30th, 2009 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeSometimes it's hard reading the many negative comments that seem to be a staple in LiveJournal land at the moment. I don't know whether it's the time of the year, the economic climate or whatever, but I hope things improve for everyone soon *hugs*
I have just come back from the Manchester Meet in a weekend that could be described as mixed. We went to Crunch - the bar that they ruined once axm closed down. I liked axm but then being of a gothic, bondage bent, I was always going to love dark interiors and chains hanging from the walls. Since axm closed and they re-opened as Crunch, they have turned it into an American diner theme, with bright lights that make your head hurt and a red floor that was like the one in my primary school's gym-cum-dinner hall. I had images of me dancing around in my vest and pants trying to avoid the bits of stray sweetcorn that didn't make the cleaners' brooms. Added to the dismal nature of this venue was the lack of decent drinks - when Kronenbourg is the best lager/ale/stout that's on offer, you know you are in trouble.
Also, I have never been sexually molested in a bar before but it happened to me twice on Saturday - both in the toilets of Crunch (and both by non-furs, just to nip that one in the bud before it starts). The first time was at the urinals, where an old man was taking far too much interest in my penis as I was urinating. He was clearly staring down at it whilst masturbating next to me, groaning in a way that could only be described as in pleasure. The second time involved an Eastern European man who started groping my arse in a very intimate manner, again in mid-stream. He tried to get his hands down my pants and spent most of my trip to the bathroom trying to snog me, both on the lips and the face. At the time, I was a little drunk and laughed it off but the more I think about it, the more disturbed I become.
Apart from these incidents, the meet itself was a blast. My friend Tom, the photographer from Bizarre magazine, was down and he enjoyed speaking to more furries for his At Home With The Furries project. He is also a self-confessed fur himself now and he enjoyed his first meet away from the capital. Upon our arrival, we created a place right in the centre of the room where we placed our bags and fursuits. It was like a little campfire in the worst possible place. We had a little campfire dance around it.
Manchester is also a great opportunity to meet furs you don't get to speak to often and it was great catching up with Sora,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
frost_t_wolf , exiledwolf , calihusky and crystamartin amongst others. The latter had brought two tails that she had made for me - a husky tail in the pink and white style of my fursuit and a rainbow wolf tail. Being a prepared wuff, I got my belt on, strapped on the husky tail and paraded proudly. It was great being accosted by so many furs who wanted to speak to me and I only regret that there wasn't enough time to talk to a lot of people properly. Perhaps next time. The love that was shown was greatly appreciated, particularly after the last two months I have had so hopefully I will be able to have a proper talk with them when next we meet. For four of them - who live literally around the corner from me in Middlesbrough yet I still have to travel three hours to Manchester to see them - hopefully sooner rather than later.
Another first that happened to me on Saturday was (nearly) being pickpocketed. This happened down at the Christmas Market, which had a fine array of German sausages, Dutch cheese and City of Manchester tat being pervayed in an assortment of wooden huts. Unlike Leeds' Christmas Market, which was in one place, Manchester's covers many streets across the city so it was a fantastic excuse to go exploring. Granted, lots of the shops were the same ones, just in different locations but as we all know, Starbucks and Tescos are everywhere so why can't German Market stalls do the same? Anyways, Cerebus (who was with me because we both guided Tom to his bus and he told me we should call in on the Market on the way back to the bar on Canal Street) spotted what was going on and gave the potential criminal a good firm slap on the wrist, like the naughty boy he is.
The cheese was the best thing about the market and after sampling a disappointing naughty sausage (disappointing as it was dry, naughty as I had promised Wolfie we'd go and get some food (ssssh don't tell him *wags*) and a sausage because it was long, thin and full of gristle) we popped over there. I tried Red Pesto Cheese, Green Pesto Cheese, One Year Gouda (which is the nicest cheese ever - so salty and rich) and a whole host of other ones, before I bought some samples to take home with me and we headed back.
Baloki, Wolfie and I also went to the Christmas Market on the Sunday to try more sausages, delicious home-made pork pies and other delightful products. Unfortunately, at £4.50, £2.00 and £1.50 for a single coconut maccaroon, we decided against spending too much. I was also asked by the pork pie purveyor why I was wearing a collar and I had no real answer - I bumbled along until I got my pie. I had better think of something. I also spoke in German at the Bavarian Cheese place and they were suitably impressed.
Saturday evening we spent at the hotel after Wolfie started feeling a little ill. He thinks its a rum/vodka/whisky mix that did it - but we also went to McDonald's in the Arndale (and had an argument about Mancunian geography) so that may have caused it. We needed a room so we hung around the lobby of the Ibis until one became free. Granted, it was in the other Ibis hotel and there was no functioning toilet but we took it anyway as Wolfie was particularly bad. We had intended to stay atkenno_fox and go to Jilly's Rock World but we were so bad so all we did was have our traditional cheese sandwiches, Appletiser and Road Wars/Night Cops TV extravaganza. Actually, it's quite a tradition and great fun. I also chatted up the Lithuanian barmaid, who was from the town of Klaipeda - a place I visited in September 2003. We spent a lot of time talking about the Soviet missile silo that is near there. She was a very interesting lady :-)
On Sunday morning, we awoke to the verdict that Jilly's was either great or boring depending on who you asked. I probably should have gone down but I have had too many indifferent nights there and I was so tired I just didn't have the energy. Plus it was cold and rainy. Perhaps next time.
We headed down to The Bank pub and on our way, via Canal Street, we met some furs who were at a loose end and didn't know where everyone was. We decided to drag them down to The Bank and many more furs turned up before either a) staying, b) going back to Crunch or c) going to a coffee bar called Nexus. I preferred to stay at Bank, not wanting to be molested in the toilets again nor wanting to sit and drink coffee when there was a whole selection of delicious gins. Also, there was some nice specialised sausages - I opted for steak and black pepper toad in the hole and it was gorgeous. Excellent value for money - £6.95 for a gut-busting plate. Some people expressed the view that The Bank was too stuffy and dark - something I didn't understand at all but each to their own. If I was an arbiter of taste then the world would be very different :P
On our table, there were seven of us - some old friends (stuart_otterson , baloki ) and some new faces I had never met before (Ahsha). Also, I got to spoke to tr_wolf properly for the first time and it was great to finally chat, particularly after the Saturday when I threatened to pour a pint on his head from a height. We all had a good laugh, particularly when I tried to drink a candle, and it was a great afternoon being in the company of friends. We also talked a lot about fluffing. Some would say too much to be healthy :P
After this, some went to Nexus whilst Wolfie,baloki and I did a little shopping in the Arndale Centre. We met a dog fursuit character from a set of greetings cards standing outside Clinton Cards in the Arndale, I bought the Peppa Pig advent calendar for my office that I have been meaning to buy for a while (they had sold out completely in Middlesbrough) and I tried to find new Button Moon DVDs. After this, the three of us had a few drinks and a chat in Spirit before we went to the Christmas Market again. It was a nice chilled day in many ways and a good end to the meet.
So yep - mixed in many ways and a strange old weekend. I feel that I didn't get to talk to as many people as I would have liked on the Saturday and I feel a little bad about missing Jilly's. Still, another good Manchester Meet all told.
I have just come back from the Manchester Meet in a weekend that could be described as mixed. We went to Crunch - the bar that they ruined once axm closed down. I liked axm but then being of a gothic, bondage bent, I was always going to love dark interiors and chains hanging from the walls. Since axm closed and they re-opened as Crunch, they have turned it into an American diner theme, with bright lights that make your head hurt and a red floor that was like the one in my primary school's gym-cum-dinner hall. I had images of me dancing around in my vest and pants trying to avoid the bits of stray sweetcorn that didn't make the cleaners' brooms. Added to the dismal nature of this venue was the lack of decent drinks - when Kronenbourg is the best lager/ale/stout that's on offer, you know you are in trouble.
Also, I have never been sexually molested in a bar before but it happened to me twice on Saturday - both in the toilets of Crunch (and both by non-furs, just to nip that one in the bud before it starts). The first time was at the urinals, where an old man was taking far too much interest in my penis as I was urinating. He was clearly staring down at it whilst masturbating next to me, groaning in a way that could only be described as in pleasure. The second time involved an Eastern European man who started groping my arse in a very intimate manner, again in mid-stream. He tried to get his hands down my pants and spent most of my trip to the bathroom trying to snog me, both on the lips and the face. At the time, I was a little drunk and laughed it off but the more I think about it, the more disturbed I become.
Apart from these incidents, the meet itself was a blast. My friend Tom, the photographer from Bizarre magazine, was down and he enjoyed speaking to more furries for his At Home With The Furries project. He is also a self-confessed fur himself now and he enjoyed his first meet away from the capital. Upon our arrival, we created a place right in the centre of the room where we placed our bags and fursuits. It was like a little campfire in the worst possible place. We had a little campfire dance around it.
Manchester is also a great opportunity to meet furs you don't get to speak to often and it was great catching up with Sora,
frost_t_wolf , exiledwolf , calihusky and crystamartin amongst others. The latter had brought two tails that she had made for me - a husky tail in the pink and white style of my fursuit and a rainbow wolf tail. Being a prepared wuff, I got my belt on, strapped on the husky tail and paraded proudly. It was great being accosted by so many furs who wanted to speak to me and I only regret that there wasn't enough time to talk to a lot of people properly. Perhaps next time. The love that was shown was greatly appreciated, particularly after the last two months I have had so hopefully I will be able to have a proper talk with them when next we meet. For four of them - who live literally around the corner from me in Middlesbrough yet I still have to travel three hours to Manchester to see them - hopefully sooner rather than later.Another first that happened to me on Saturday was (nearly) being pickpocketed. This happened down at the Christmas Market, which had a fine array of German sausages, Dutch cheese and City of Manchester tat being pervayed in an assortment of wooden huts. Unlike Leeds' Christmas Market, which was in one place, Manchester's covers many streets across the city so it was a fantastic excuse to go exploring. Granted, lots of the shops were the same ones, just in different locations but as we all know, Starbucks and Tescos are everywhere so why can't German Market stalls do the same? Anyways, Cerebus (who was with me because we both guided Tom to his bus and he told me we should call in on the Market on the way back to the bar on Canal Street) spotted what was going on and gave the potential criminal a good firm slap on the wrist, like the naughty boy he is.
The cheese was the best thing about the market and after sampling a disappointing naughty sausage (disappointing as it was dry, naughty as I had promised Wolfie we'd go and get some food (ssssh don't tell him *wags*) and a sausage because it was long, thin and full of gristle) we popped over there. I tried Red Pesto Cheese, Green Pesto Cheese, One Year Gouda (which is the nicest cheese ever - so salty and rich) and a whole host of other ones, before I bought some samples to take home with me and we headed back.
Baloki, Wolfie and I also went to the Christmas Market on the Sunday to try more sausages, delicious home-made pork pies and other delightful products. Unfortunately, at £4.50, £2.00 and £1.50 for a single coconut maccaroon, we decided against spending too much. I was also asked by the pork pie purveyor why I was wearing a collar and I had no real answer - I bumbled along until I got my pie. I had better think of something. I also spoke in German at the Bavarian Cheese place and they were suitably impressed.
Saturday evening we spent at the hotel after Wolfie started feeling a little ill. He thinks its a rum/vodka/whisky mix that did it - but we also went to McDonald's in the Arndale (and had an argument about Mancunian geography) so that may have caused it. We needed a room so we hung around the lobby of the Ibis until one became free. Granted, it was in the other Ibis hotel and there was no functioning toilet but we took it anyway as Wolfie was particularly bad. We had intended to stay at
kenno_fox and go to Jilly's Rock World but we were so bad so all we did was have our traditional cheese sandwiches, Appletiser and Road Wars/Night Cops TV extravaganza. Actually, it's quite a tradition and great fun. I also chatted up the Lithuanian barmaid, who was from the town of Klaipeda - a place I visited in September 2003. We spent a lot of time talking about the Soviet missile silo that is near there. She was a very interesting lady :-)On Sunday morning, we awoke to the verdict that Jilly's was either great or boring depending on who you asked. I probably should have gone down but I have had too many indifferent nights there and I was so tired I just didn't have the energy. Plus it was cold and rainy. Perhaps next time.
We headed down to The Bank pub and on our way, via Canal Street, we met some furs who were at a loose end and didn't know where everyone was. We decided to drag them down to The Bank and many more furs turned up before either a) staying, b) going back to Crunch or c) going to a coffee bar called Nexus. I preferred to stay at Bank, not wanting to be molested in the toilets again nor wanting to sit and drink coffee when there was a whole selection of delicious gins. Also, there was some nice specialised sausages - I opted for steak and black pepper toad in the hole and it was gorgeous. Excellent value for money - £6.95 for a gut-busting plate. Some people expressed the view that The Bank was too stuffy and dark - something I didn't understand at all but each to their own. If I was an arbiter of taste then the world would be very different :P
On our table, there were seven of us - some old friends (
stuart_otterson , baloki ) and some new faces I had never met before (Ahsha). Also, I got to spoke to tr_wolf properly for the first time and it was great to finally chat, particularly after the Saturday when I threatened to pour a pint on his head from a height. We all had a good laugh, particularly when I tried to drink a candle, and it was a great afternoon being in the company of friends. We also talked a lot about fluffing. Some would say too much to be healthy :PAfter this, some went to Nexus whilst Wolfie,
baloki and I did a little shopping in the Arndale Centre. We met a dog fursuit character from a set of greetings cards standing outside Clinton Cards in the Arndale, I bought the Peppa Pig advent calendar for my office that I have been meaning to buy for a while (they had sold out completely in Middlesbrough) and I tried to find new Button Moon DVDs. After this, the three of us had a few drinks and a chat in Spirit before we went to the Christmas Market again. It was a nice chilled day in many ways and a good end to the meet.So yep - mixed in many ways and a strange old weekend. I feel that I didn't get to talk to as many people as I would have liked on the Saturday and I feel a little bad about missing Jilly's. Still, another good Manchester Meet all told.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 08:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 03:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 03:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 11:01 am (UTC)Also that part, where it was me, you, Ahsha, Wolfie, Baloki and Stuart... I really enjoyed that, it was one of my highlights of the meet, just sitting there in a small group, nattering :)
no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 03:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 04:10 pm (UTC)Still, good times, good times :D
no subject
Date: 2009-11-30 08:03 pm (UTC)