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FILM — JOHN WICK: CHAPTER TWO
The original John Wick (2014) was an unlikely sleeper hit, considering it was about Keanu Reeves’s quest for revenge over a dead dog. Unlikely, that is, only if you failed to factor in the crisp, beautifully choreographed action and general ruthlessness. Chapter Two is the rare sequel that matches the original, doubling down on both the body count and fun international assassin mythology, while taking John’s harvesting of souls global. The plot isn’t important, serving as mere scaffolding for a parade of headshots and ceaselessly inventive action, as well as Keanu’s strangely peaceful charisma. He’s now been lead in three iconic action franchises, which isn’t a bad paper round, eh? Times & trailer
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THE FLOOZIE IN
FREE VERSE
Second runner-up in a competition our Year 4 teacher created exclusively for our class is as far as we got with the writing of poetry. It began "Encased in a tangled web of deceit..." and somehow got increasingly tortured from there. For an altogether more rewarding read, we recommend This is Not Your Final Form, an anthology of poems about Birmingham. Published today, the text features 33 sets of cleverly ordered words, plus illustrations including one of The River, rather better known as a certain Floozie in a certain Jacuzzi. She gets her own poem and everything. Order the anthology on the interweb, or pick up a copy in that little know bookshop, Waterstones. It's a tenner.
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Venue: Mughli Market, Selfridges Food Hall, Bullring, B5 4BP; website
Choice: Papri Chaat (£4.50) Chooser: Waitress
You've got thirteen days to work out what Manchester's spent more than twenty years loving on, without, you know, actually going to Manchester. An out-and-out darling of the north, Mughli's small plate, market-style pop-up restaurant — to be found exactly where Rossopomodoro used to live — is serving up an abundance of street food, more typical of the Indian Subcontinent than Brum-town in Feb. Having pretty much tried the lot, our pick was the crispy fried papri wafers, loaded with chickpeas, potato, zingy tamarind and oh so pretty pomegranate. A good in-between kind of a dish, or a crowd-pleasing sharer as part of a multi-plated order, as with much of the food Mughli Market is producing — the dish feels fresher and rather better for you than has become typical of a lot of westernised Indian food. The mango lassi (£3.50) is an obligatory accompaniment. Menu
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"CONTENDERS, READY?"
Your 31st birthday falls on a Monday. Do you a) go to work (NO!); b) go to your second choice restaurant because your number one is closed; or, c) bounce like an idiot, and smile like you don't know what mortgages are? Rush trampoline park is huge and bright and has gladiator style duelling, a dedicated dodgeball enclosure and an assault course we could only truly complete one section of. There's also plenty of trampolines, including tumble lanes if you were one of those kids who could actually do gym, plus a trapeze. Yes, there are lots of small people, but there's also zero judgment from staff — nay there's respect — for exclusively adult groups. Whatever you do do, just don't be that parent that's watching, not jumping. From £10 an hour, you can book online or just turn up at quiet times. You'll live to massively regret not completing the recommended pre and post-workout stretching.
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