Roomzzz Manchester

If you've ever tried to book hotel rooms in Manchester you'll know how difficult it is to get a good location and quality of accommodation, without having to re mortgaging the house. Generally your left with the enviable choice of sacrificing location, sacrificing accommodation or paying through the nose for it. That's why when i was looking to book for a recent trip, i was quite intregiued to see Roomzzz had opened a Manchester Aparthotel.


This photo of Roomzzz Aparthotel is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Roomzzz had crossed my path once when we were looking to stay in Leeds (where Roomzzz have 3 aparthotels,) although we didn't end up going to leeds i was very impressed by the pictures of their rooms and the prices. So when we were booking for our stay in Manchester i was happy to see that Roomzzz had expanded west to Manchester. The prices were very competitive and the rooms looked very nice online. So we took the plunge and booked a liberty suite for 2 nights.

We were not disappointed. Roomzzz Manchester is a wonder, its hard to tell on the map but i really can't think of it being better positioned. China town is literally across the street, picadilly gardens is 2 mins walk so debenhams, primark and the arndale are right on your door step. It is a 3 mins walk to the Palace theatre, 5 mins walk to deansgate with all its pubs and restaurants.

On walking into (or down to) the roomzzz lobby you can tell this is no normal hotel. Roomzzz has the boutique thing going on in spades. Lots of lovely, stylish and comfortable sofas fill the communal area, where the complimentary continental breakfast is served, their is also a pantry where you can buy all those little essentials you may need (including pizzas.)

Than into the room. The liberty suites are huge, they are positioned at each corner of the building with massive windows perfect to watch the city outside. The boutique style continues with a very stylish interior, complemented by a full kitchen, large screen tv with dvd player and apple imac!!! I've rarely been so impressed by a hotel room. The room was even ultra glazed (i counted at least 4 panes.) meaning we could hardly hear anything from the busy city outside.

The suite was so beautiful, so well appointed it meant we could just relax, and get on with weekend. Which as you could imagine was difficult when we really didn't want to leave our room.

Book 5/50 : Altered Carbon

A book by Richard Morgan.

Altered Carbon is a book that Amazon has begging me to read for years now. It seemed that every time I’d go to book recommendations I’d always dismiss it, and I have no idea why. I’m sure if it wasn’t for this challenge it would stay forever on my recommended but dismissed list. Well it turns out Amazon was right.

Altered Carbon introduces us the former UN Envoy Takeshi Kovacs. Kovacs lives in a society where people can upload and download from their (and other peoples’) bodies. Due to slow space travel the only way to travel from one planet to another at any speed is to be transferred electronically and re-sleeved (be put into a body) when you arrive. That is where the UN Envoy Corps come in. They are specialists trained to cope with the need to adapt to any situation they might find on transmission to a new world, and not to relay on the abilities of the body as they never know what the next body is going to be. Kovacs split from the Envoys corps following a harrowing war, and has been scrapping a living using his skills for crime. Following his capture early in the book, he is “released” thanks to the machinations of a centuries old man to investigate his apparent suicide. What follows is as excellent a Sci-Fi thriller story as I have read, it easily stands up to the Greg Mandel books (high praise indeed.)

I'd rate this book as 7.5/10. Again highly recommended!

Book 4/50 : Join Me

Join Me is a book by Danny Wallace. I like Danny Wallace’s books, he has the ability to instil a lot of fun into even humdrum events. Join Me is one of Danny’s first books and documents one of his (many) “Boy Projects.”

After the death of an Old Swiss Man, an event that Wallace informs us is at the heart of all great stories. This old man happens to be Danny’s great uncle, it comes to Danny’s notice that his uncle had once had a dream of creating a commune. A dream that dramatically failed and is ridiculed by his surviving relatives, that is except for our worthwhile author/narrator. His great uncles dream instantly wake his “boy project” powers. Powers that he has been keeping dormant for the good of his relationship. Danny decides to try and fulfil his uncles dream by simply asking people to “Join Me” in a local paper. That’s where the ride begins and why he describes this story as “how I started a cult by accident.”

Join Me is a very good read and I highly recommend it. Wallace’s righting style is very engaging and he also writes with deep sensitivity of less jovial matters. This is the 2nd of his books I have read which I seem to be reading in quite a chaotic fashion, while this did not spoil the book, as this is non-fiction there are obviously matters of his personal life that evolve through his books.

I rate this book as 7.5/10 worth reading.

Tuesdays Ten "Interesting" Facts 9

1. In 1960 Penguin Books where tried under the 1959 Obscene Publications Act after publishing an un-censored version of D.H. Lawrence's book "Lady Chatterley's Lover". Penguin where found not guilty as they were able to prove the book had "literary merit".
2. D. H. Lawrence in his letters to Bertrand Russell revealed himself to be deeply right wing although never accepting fascism. He bemoaned the rising rights of the working class, and wished for an absolute dictator to keep them in check.
3. Author Iain Banks ripped up his passport and posted it to Tony Blair following the invasion of iraq in 2003. He did this after he "abandoned the idea of crashing my Land Rover through the gates of Fife dockyard, after spotting the guys armed with machine guns."
4. When giving readings of his work Charles Dickens was well known for working himself up so much he would faint!
5. Dickens was also an insomniac, and would demand his bed be pointed due north.
6. The national Anthem of Greece is 158 verses long.
7. Thomas Edison (the inventor of the light bulb,) was afraid of the dark.
8. 7% of Ireland's entire crop of barley is used to make Guinness.
9. At 16 Walt Disney tried to enlist in both The US and Canadian Army, but was rejected due to his age. Instead he joined the red cross and served as an Ambulance driver in France.
10. During world war 2 Sir Alec Guinness captained a ship in the Royal Navy.

Tuesdays Ten "Interesting" Facts 8

1. At 18 William Shakespeare married 26 year old Anne Hathaway, their first child was born 6 months later.
2. Actress Anne Hathaway wanted to be a nun until the age of 15, at which point her brother came out as being gay. She could no longer be part of a religion that would condemn her brother.
3. Sir Isaac Newton refused a Sacrement on his deathbed, most scholars believe this to be sign of his conjectured Antitrinitarian beliefs.
4. Fermat's Last Theorem remained unsolved for almost 350 years, following the "loss"* of Fermat's original proof.
5. Lord of the Rings Author J. R. R. Tolkien as a child was bitten by a baboon spider. Although he stated he could not remember the incident many point to this as the source of his famous arachnid monster shelob...
6. ....Also as a baby he was once taken by the house boy to his kraal (homestead), he was only returned the following day.
7. Tolkien's friend and contemporary C S Lewis author of the Lion the which and wardrobe. was injured during world war 1. When an english shell fell short and landed on his trench in the Somme Valley.
8. Harry Houdini was part of a special scientific comitee, that offerd a cash prize for any medium that could demonstrate supernatural abilities. His magic training allowed him to expose the tricks used by those that attempted to claim the prize which was never collected.
9. Arthur Conan Doyle author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, was a good friend of Houdini's. their friendship ended after a public falling out over Doyle's inability to accept that Houdini's feats where illusions with Doyle convinced that he had supernatural powers.
10. As a child, Actor Sean Bean smashed a glass door due to an argument over scissors, he ended up with a large glass shard in his leg. This lead to an end of his dream to pay professional football.**

* No one ever saw the proof it was alluded to in the margin of a text book. Fermat's wrote that he had "discovered a truly marvelous proof of this." but this proof was never seen.
**My mum always said i'd lose an eye playing with scissors, glass shards in the leg would have worked loads better.

Book 3/50 : Moab Is My Washpot

Moab Is My Washpot a mini review.

I'll start this mini review by stating for the record I'm not a biography person. I like my narratives fictional. That fact stated if any book breaks this rule it is this one.#

Moab is my Washpot is an Autobiography of famous "actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter, film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club"(~wikipedia)Stephen Fry. It details some very formative events of his early life.

As you would expect from Stephen the writing is impeccable and its easy to get lost in the events he describes even when he breaks the fourth wall (what is the literary version of breaking the fourth wall?) he only drags you back to his Apartment. He cleverly tells his candid tales in a form were it could be a frank discussion with friends, tears and all. It seems quite a cathartic experience for him, and I hope it was. As he says unlike other biographies (auto or not) this is less a finger pointing quest of a hero to succeed against all odds, but Stephens heartfelt apology for anguish he caused those who cared about him and a story in which he sees himself as more of an anti-hero.

As a description of teenage angst it is easily the equal of masterpieces such as The Catcher in the Rye. Though i would love to use the real life example of his redemption from the edge, as proof of the benefit of social justice over social revenge as espoused by the tabloids. Though I'm not overly sure he would appreciate my politicising of his personal triumphs and demons.

I would give Moab is my Washpot 8.5/10. A very good read. Also at less than £3 its a bloody bargain.


The Challenge Update

So I'm back from Cyprus. I took 4 books with the express intention of getting a proper handle on this challenge. Unfortunately this book demanded I take my time with its consumption and it was the only book I managed to finish.

Grand National 2011 Sweepstake Kit - Updated

After today's declarations I have been able to update the kit with the most likely field for the big day. Enjoy and good luck.


Sweepstake kit