I’m getting back into the swing of Mancubisting – and one thing that has drawn my attention lately is this:

Stuart Maconie, co-host of the Radcliffe and Maconie Show on BBC Radio 2 and host of The Freak Zone on 6Music, will give a reading from his latest book, Adventures on the High Teas, and talk about the quirks and delights of his travels in the pursuit of Middle England … via Manchester.

High Tea with Stuart Maconie takes place at Mosi on Liverpool Road this coming Sunday. It’s £8 for a ticket – and with that you get a traditional English cream tea. Click here to book online, or call 0844 847 2261.

[I spotted this event via the increasingly useful Visit Manchester Blog.]

Show & Tell is an exhibition by the Urbis Creatives art collective; a collective comprised of Urbis staff. The exhibition will give the Urbis team a chance to show their work and tell the visitors about what they do outside of the creative environment of Urbis. It will comprise of many different disciplines from photography to illustration, painting and also projects the members are involved in such as community work and music events.

You can get a sneak peak of the kind of talent on show by reading more about Urbis Creatives artists. Show & Tell opens on Tuesday 29 September and runs until 12 October.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t write about Urbis without mentioning the potential transfer of one of Preston’s star attractions, the National Football Museum, over here in 2010. I’m sure it would be a great addition to this football-rich city – although Kate over at the Manchizzle expressed the other side of the argument concisely: ‘Art 0, Football 1′.

This website has been lovingly crafted by Manchester Museums Consortium, a group of nine museums and galleries in Manchester, separate venues that have a single vision: the desire to stage intelligent, thought-provoking exhibitions and events. Oh, and to celebrate the city in which we live, work and play.

We are rightly proud and passionate about this city of ours; we hope that, by reading about some of the things happening here, and finding out more about our outstanding historic collections, you’ll start to feel the same.

This celebration of our fair city is what has particularly drawn me to the project – the promise of original, substantial editorial coverage of Manchester, the likes of which is a rare treat right now. The launch content ties in with Manchester International Festival of course – Marina Abramovic and Jeremy Deller both make appearances – but there’s also a feature connected to the Videogame Nation currently on at Urbis, for example, and another about ‘Manchester hermit’ Ansuman Biswas.

The blog section is shaping up nicely too, with the Manchizzle’s Kate Feld doing a MIF ‘cultureometer’ roundup, among other posts. Kate’s another member of the CreativeTourist team, which is being overseen by editor Susie Stubbs – winner of last year’s Manchester Blog of the Year no less. Check out the site now, and if you find it interesting sign up for regular email updates, follow it on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook.

We are a collective group of cab companies operating in Manchester United Kingdom. Follower our group and next time you need a cab tweet us

What a great little idea. If I didn’t live on Europe’s busiest bus route I’d be tempted to try it out.

Has anyone else spotted any fun or innovative Twittering in Manchester?

VERY IMPORTANT
PLEASE NOTE

IT IS VITAL THAT YOU WEAR SENSIBLE SHOES WHEN YOU ATTEND THE PERFORMANCE OF
IT FELT LIKE A KISS AT THE MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL THAT YOU ARE
BOOKED IN FOR.

PEOPLE WEARING FLIP FLOPS, OPEN-TOED SANDALS OR HIGH HEELS WILL NOT BE
PERMITTED TO ENTER.

YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT THE PERFORMANCE CAN TAKE CONSIDERABLY LONGER THAN
THE ADVERTISED 75 MINUTES. SOME PEOPLE ARE STAYING IN THE EVENT FOR UP TO 2
HOURS.

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SHOW, OUR PERSONAL ADVICE IS TO HAVE A DRINK BEFORE
GOING! IT IS PRETTY SCARY!!

On the other hand, I know that people aren’t lasting the full duration. The theatre/film/music performance is generating as much chatter as Kraftwerk, which is obviously very impressive – even if the reviews haven’t been overly gushing.

Soup o’ th’ Day offers a week-by-week guide to events happening in the city, in a visual calendar form. Next week, for example, you choose between Sketch City’s Sketchbook Sessions at Odder on Wednesday, a Blur aftershow party at Ruby Lounge on Friday, Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry, or even ‘Women on the Edge of HRT’, both at The Lowry.

There’s also a Soup o’ th’ Day blog with videos, from Not Part of, Islington Mill and gigs, for example.

And remember to check out The Shipping Forecast if you’re interested in music event listings in particular.

Yup, the Best of Manchester Awards posters have been re-imagined as ‘Best of Manchester Notions’ – click above for a larger version, and check out the ninja symbol top right in particular.

The (official) organisers love it and are appealing for the designer to come forward. They’ll get their space within the BoMA exhibitions. Alternatively, anyone who helps out with some detective work will get a couple of tickets to the awards night. Email marketing at urbis dot org dot uk.

It’s our 10th year anniversary and are celebrating by giving you the chance to win VIP tickets to see Antony and the Johnsons perform at Manchester Opera House on 3 July. Simply go to http://www.cityinn.com/tenth-anniversary/,  select the exclusive event you wish to be in the draw for and submit your email address.

The prize this time includes two tickets to the show and champagne reception, plus a room, three-course meal and full English breakfast for two people.

The chain is also offering the same prize for the Kraftwerk/Steve Reich show on 2 July – click here for more information.

Thought you’d be interested to know that the good people at Boosey & Hawkes are giving away 2 tickets to the sold out Kraftwerk/Steve Reich gig, complete with hotel, dinner and… backstage passes!

And in fact the prize includes two nights at the Radisson Edwardian, dinner at The Market Restaurant – plus a chance to meet Reich. To win, you need a Twitter account and then to visit @SteveReich for a series of questions. Check out the latest answers here, and get your own answers in by Friday.

The American composer (a bit of a hero of mine) will be having his new work 2×5 premiered by Bang on a Can at the Manchester Velodrome on 2 July. I’m sure you know what Kraftwerk are all about, but for an introduction to Reich’s music, visit his Myspace. Or if you fancy splashing out, I highly recommend this album by Powerplant, which features music by both.

Finally, I hear that a handful of tickets might be released nearer show time – so keep checking the MIF site if you don’t win.

Come along to the Bay Horse on Thursday to find out more about the Cutting Room Experiment. This is the event which could see hundreds of people bouncing around in the biggest Space Hopper race ever, a huge silent disco and a mass dance routine to Michael Jackson’s Thriller just to name a few. Until votes close on Friday, May 29 anything could happen!

With an interactive website, this event wants the audience to get involved, come up with their own ideas and also vote for their favourites in each stream.

And this is where you come in – bloggers are the new influencers and we want you to get involved. Have a look at the website – www.cuttingroomexperiment.com – there are 12 streams on everything from architecture and design, dance, pop music, art and craft, literature and loads more to make sure there is absolutely something for everyone to enjoy. Get voting or if you have a better idea, then put it down.

And to kick off  ‘the biggest user-generated event ever attempted by the people of Manchester’, they’re offering bloggers a free pint at the Bay Horse on Thomas Street. Head down at 6.30pm tomorrow, Thursday, for a chat and to claim your two complimentary units of alcohol.