The Royal Exchange Theatre has been running a nice little alternative to the standard Friday night post-work pub visit for a while now. They’ve been putting on free, wide-ranging showcases in their bar – from jazz to comedy to ‘poetry bingo’ to cookery lessons.

This Friday is the penultimate SFX event for the summer and features the super-talented Roger Quigley and guests, Sarah Lockwood and Otto Smart. Both Roger and Otto’s band the Montgolfier Brothers and Roger’s solo project At Swim Two Birds are personal favourites. They’re not huge here, despite their music being the perfect soundtrack to a rainy Manchester day – but do ok in Spain apparently.

Here’s a video for At Swim Two Birds’ In Bed With Your Best Friend.

Roger and friends play from 6pm until 7pm, and beer and wine are priced at £2 from 5.30pm until 7pm. The bar will also be serving Pimms, to tie in with the current Royal Exchange production of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, which has now been extended until Friday 16 August. All stage-level tickets for the play next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are just £5 if you quote ‘Hay Fever Offer’ when booking on 833 9833.

I’ve been getting a number of hits lately for “zorbing Manchester”, something I mentioned briefly last September.

For those who think that rolling downhill at 60kmph in a giant plastic bubble is a Good Idea (it’s supposedly a summer pursuit after all), you’ll be glad to hear that the delightfully named Rushton Spencer, near Macclesfield in Cheshire, is home to one of 10 SphereMania zorbing centre around the country.

Call 0844 800 30 45 to check prices and book directly, or visit ExperienceIt.co.uk, which already has a price list online. This ‘South Manchester’ centre is the only location to offer zorbing in the dark (£65 for two people), which sounds even more fun/frightening*.

Check out Craig Hamnett’s Flick photo gallery (feature the above image of three spheres ready to roll), missixty’s review, Pete’s grainy mobile phone video from within a zorb, and a short story in the MEN about last year’s launch event for more information.

* Delete as appropriate

It was yesterday actually. On Sunday, the BBC website reports, 67 glorified postboxes gathered at the Museum of Science and Industry – currently home to the biggest ever Dr Who exhibition.

This meeting of loveable geeks in home-made Dalek suits was arranged to set a world record for ‘the biggest number of people dressed up as daleks in one location’. Strange, I thought, that such a record didn’t already exist…

Anyway, there’s a Flickr photo set of the occasion and a YouTube video of this ‘proper Dalekfest’, as one commenter calls it. Check out the related videos if you’re after 25 minutes of non-stop Dalek footage.

Thanks to MoSI worker Unpopular Superhero and super-blog BoingBoing for the tips.

I’ve been busy and away recently but got back last night and discovered this gem of a video. It’s from a Tube-esque tv show in 1984 and features Johnny Marr (who I coincidentally saw this weekend) and ‘Paul Morressey’ returning to their old school. To quote Steven Patrick Morrissey, he decided on the name the Smiths ‘because it was the most ordinary name and I think it’s time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces’:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikwKaMlzoyI]

No idea why Beetham Tower suddenly becomes a flock of birds, but watch it anyway. Vex3d are the creators.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJnEXLPkS0]

[Hat-tip: Manchester-clubbing]