Laugh Local at Chorlton Irish Club: Friday 8th November

About twelve years ago I went to a comedy night in Manchester. I won't say where it was (although you can probably guess), but it was horrific: full of baying stag parties and hyped-up office nights out, with nasty overpriced drinks and a selection of comedians who were not only unfunny but were downright vicious to those unfortunate individuals sitting near the front. I cowered unhappily at the back, vowing never to set foot in such a testosterone-filled bullring ever again.

However, there are certain people whose judgement I trust, so when the lovely Alison (of mighty Bop Local repute) says that Laugh Local is an entirely different kettle of fish, I believe her. First of all, it's at Chorlton Irish Club, which - to the best of my knowledge - is not specifically known as a popular stag night destination. Secondly, the night is compered by Justin Moorhouse, who simply looks too cuddly to be unkind or vindictive (although I have been wrong about this kind of thing before). Thirdly, for this Friday's Laugh Local, anyone who works for the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service can get in for the reduced price of £7.50. This is not only generous, heartwarming etc but should also mean that the place is packed with handsome types who could rescue a kitten from a tree in the blink of an eye should the situation arise. Fourthly, there's a bit of a disco afterwards from the Bop Local DJs. And finally - and this is what really sold it to me - you get a pasty supper as well.

This month's Laugh Local features Archie Kelly, Caimh McDonnell, Ben Lawes and David Stanier, with tickets costing £13.50 from the Bop Local website or from Chorlton Irish Club. I'm actually really looking forward to it...although I will still be making sure I sit safely at the back...

Sweet Baboo and Olympian at Chorlton Irish Club: ONLY Clue for Local Girl that it ISN'T 1992

One of the unexpected pleasures of getting older has been the discovery that whilst one may no longer be at the cutting edge of fashion, one actually no longer cares that this is so. This brings with it a hugely enjoyable freedom - the freedom to do what you want, and eat what you want, and drink where you want, and wear what you like, and listen to the music you actually want to listen to, rather than worrying about what everybody else is doing and thereby spending a precious Friday night wedged in some dive or other whilst a child of about nine plays music that makes your head hurt. Even better is the fact that it really is true - if you wait long enough, all the things you have always liked become popular once more. Every day, for example, there is at least one student amongst my classes wearing a Smiths t-shirt, often with the insouciant air of someone who has done something terribly clever and discovered a band that NO-ONE has ever liked before. Almost all of the female students wear leggings and little flowery tea dresses, or skinny jeans with ballet pumps; in other words, the same default outfits that I have been rocking through thick and thin since about 1991.

In other early 90s news, my favourite album of the year is Suede's Bloodsports - a mighty return to form that has been marred only by the sight of Brett Anderson, now an uncomfortable-looking middle-aged family man, hamming it up on Jonathan Ross. In the last week I have booked tickets not only to see Suede, but also New Order and Johnny Marr at Jodrell Bank. Tonight, I am going to see Clint Boon and the Clone Roses, and maybe have a drink at Jabez Clegg first. There is a new Primal Scream album to look forward to. It is honestly as if the last twenty years have never happened, and it is MAGNIFICENT.

Occasionally though, I do deign to listen to something new. A few weeks ago I fell in love with a song by Manchester band Olympian, called "Kill the Lights Suzanne" - it features Badly Drawn Boy and it is beautiful, so I am most excited to hear more of their stuff when they support Sweet Baboo at Chorlton Irish Club on the 9th May. This is the first in a series of regular live gigs organised by Bop Local, who have always understood that people over the age of 25 are still quite partial to going out dancing but would also quite like to do it close to home and ideally be in bed with a nice cup of tea by midnight. Full details can be found on the Bop Local website, but this looks a real bargain at just £7 a ticket and has obviously proved beyond all doubt that my finger IS still firmly on the pulse. Now, just to pick out some nice leggings and perhaps a cardigan to wear on the night...

Bop Local and North Star Deli's Supper Club Lure Lazy Local Girl into Deepest, Darkest Chorlton

The very first house I ever bought (well, I speak as if I'd owned several hundred properties, rather than the slightly less impressive total of, erm, two) was in Withington, an ex-council property that I lived in for five years and loved very much. It had a lovely big garden that hosted many late-night barbecues, and a built in fold-down table in the kitchen that my friends christened "the smoking bar"; indeed, when I came to sell up I swear the reason it sold so quickly was that I had twelve viewings, back-to-back, on an evening when a friend was indeed perched seductively upon a bar-stool, smoking fags and drinking wine, and thereby modelling the smoking bar to its full advantage.

Anyway, another benefit of the Withington house was its location - perched on the borders of West Didsbury and Chorlton it offered an enticing range of going-out options, and as a young thing in impractically high shoes I thought nothing of a weekly teeter back down Barlow Moor Road after a night out in Chorlton. Since I have moved into Didsbury, however, I must make a shocking admission: I have not been out in Chorlton. Not once.

But all that is about to change. It has admittedly taken something irresistibly special to lure me out of retirement, but I can confirm that I will spending the next TWO (count 'em) Friday nights in Didsbury's frisky urban cousin. Next Friday, 1st July, I will be throwing some attractive shapes on the dance floor at Chorlton Irish Club in honour of Bop Local's first birthday party - this month's guest DJ is legendary former Carpet and King of XFM Clint Boon, and "a few birthday party surprises for everyone, as well as some fantastic raffle prizes" are promised (I don't like surprises, but I DO enjoy a good raffle - I'm hoping to win the dusty bottle of peach schnapps.)

And then - even more excitingly, for this one involves me eating lots of food - Friday 8th July sees the launch of the North Star Delicatessen's Supper Club, a collaboration between three independent businesses and therefore to be applauded (AND, just to repeat, they're FEEDING ME *applauds even louder*). The three course dinner promises a succession of seasonal gourmet delights, with fish provided by Out of the Blue and meat from W.H. Frost & Sons - both suppliers are attending the event to answer any piscine or, erm, meatine questions we may have.

Tickets must be booked in advance through the website and cost £25 each; however, if you follow them on Twitter (which is, as previously established, the font of all knowledge) you're in with a chance of winning a free place - simply follow them @JoinUs4Supper, RT the competition tweet, and tell them why you should win (presumably "I'm very hungry AND very greedy" won't be quite enough of a reason, which is why I haven't entered.) You'll have to be quick as today is the last day of the competition; if you're a bit too slow off the mark, a reward can still be yours - anyone who books a place before July 1st will receive complimentary coffee and petits fours after supper. Still here? Go and tweet/book NOW!

Bop Local at The Albert Club: The Verdict

So, last night Bop Local came to Didsbury. The tense pre-match build-up has already been documented in Friday's post; now, sitting here quiet and sober the next day, I can offer the following observations:

1. It is indeed possible to watch all of Strictly, whilst drinking a bottle of Prosecco and eating a range of party nibbles, before attending. This is a far cry from my student days, when we would sit in a flat populated by both mice and an array of luxuriant mould colonies, and watch Gladiators. Our drink of choice back then was something that called itself Chardonnay and cost £1.25 from Cellar Five (or, la cave cinq, as we so wittily referred to it), and was so revolting we somethimes had to hold our noses to swallow the last little bit.

2. After much deliberation, I chose to wear a little black jersey dress, mostly because this particular item reminds me of my favourite dress at university. The dress in question was a Miss Selfridge number owned by both myself and my best friend, necessitating constant planning over whose turn it was to wear it next. I feel its successor honoured its memory most fittingly last night, particularly in the classy detail of accessorising itself with sequined shoes.

3. The Albert Club is a lovely place for a bop, a little like having a disco in your living room (albeit a very big living room). When we weren't dancing, we sat in leather armchairs that had thoughtfully been positioned on the edge of the dance floor; more clubs should adopt this, I feel, for people who enjoy dancing but also appreciate a nice sit down.

4. Just like the old days, we were the first on the dance floor. The song was The Cure's In Between Days, in case you're interested.

5. Some, but not all, of our song requests were played. The ones that were played: True Faith by New Order, and Panic by The Smiths. The ones that were rejected: I prefer not to say, in a lame attempt to preserve some modicum of credibility.

6. We left just before twelve because the music had gone a bit rubbish. Address this in future please: some 90s dance records were appalling at the time, and sound no better for being played at ear-splitting volume in 2010 to a bunch of people in their thirties and forties.

7. I am tired today, and have been somewhat slovenly; I believe this to be the fault of Bop Local.

8. And finally, despite the fact that I honestly truly have bathed today, I see I still have a stamp on the back of my hand. Some things never change; if I scrunch my eyes up and squint at it slightly it could almost be 1995.

- The next Bop Local is at Chorlton Irish Club on Sat 27th November, with guest legend Clint Boon. Full details at www.boplocal.com