Journalist Overwhelmed

12/07/07

I borrow a snazzy digital camera from the PlayStation guys, but as soon as I step outside 3Rooms it begins to rain and doesn't stop for the next couple of hours. Sometimes, it really is difficult to deny the stereotypical view of Manchester as the rainy city - though, statistically, it actually rains more in Plymouth, fact-fans.

Later, I nip into the festival pavilion and see a great jazz band while eating a lovely mushroom stroganoff. Back at 3Rooms, another mate, Daniel, spins an eclectic selection of tasty tunes accompanying the opening of an art exhibition, created in conjunction with flyer distributors Don't Panic.

Some misplaced tickets mean that we miss the first half of Il Tempo Del Postino - though it is somehow appropriate that we're late for a show which is all about time - but some lovely men from the festival manage to get us in and the remainder of this provocative, challenging and occasionally extremely discomforting show is still able to give us more than enough to think about.

“There's a section where you definitely think, okay, the wheels have come off now,” someone warns before we enter and he's not wrong. Suffice to say, half-naked contortionists, a furry yeti, three ventriloquist's dummies and a bemused dog strapped to someone's head play a part. Oh, and a real live bull named Ross.

We head up the road for the aftershow party where everyone is delighted to find a free bar. Unfortunately, at the end of a long, long day, I don't think I've ever felt less inclined to take advantage of a free bar in my life. I grab a cab and head home.