So its January, xmas is over and its cold, snowy and a pretty dull time.  My first day out was at the Arc in Stockton for some light hearted fun!  My 2 friends John, who i’ve been great friends with since I was very young, and Andrew a fab friend who was due to leave us for Australia, and I got a cab to Carpachios on Dovecott street Stockton.  Warmly welcomed we got settled into a booth and ordered drinks, beer for the boys and a nice glass of red for me!  We were there for happy hour, which always makes the ordering a pleasant experience when you now its a bargain!   All pasta and pizzas are just £5.45  from tea time opening until 7pm.  After garlic dough balls for starter I went for a real taste of Italy with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Risotto, John had a Calzone, and Andrew a Chicken and Wild Rocket Pizza A* and absolutely delicious, rustic, tasty, fresh and distinct.  A round of applause all round, sometimes its hard to know if the food is going to be good when its a happy hour deal, but this certainly didn’t disappoint.  In fact we raved about it the whole time we were there ad all agreed we would be returning soon!!  Thouroughlly reccomended, staff were amazing, speedy and polite, atmosphere spot on, so with all our starters and mains, with chips to acompany our mains and 3 drinks each it was £48.10 – a steal!

Over the road and not far away is the Arc, a wonderful arts centre where everyone can go play!

Catch 22 Comedy Club is now on fortnightly thanks to its popularity!  You get to choose your seats when booking so we has a table, £11 per head, which is just £2 more than the standard seat prices.  Mid way in the crowd we were comfortable in the knowledge we’d get a good view but not get hammered by the comedians! First up the MC (compare) for the night, this is a different person every time and they usually make the night and Jason Cook didn’t disappoint! Straight away a rapport was built with the audience (well the ones he wasn’t ripping anyway!)  and we were in fits of laughter at his quick Sharp sense of humour, best of luck to those that try and take the mick back or don’t play along.  Don’t be afraid, just don’t sit on the from row (unless you can take it!).  We had 3 comedians, Dan Nightingale who originally hails from Lancashire and hit us of in fits of giggles within seconds, great persona and didn’t seem scripted.   2nd act after a small break was a young lad Danny Mcloughlin who spoke about everyday life situations (which we all know about) and wasn’t afraid to speak about his own, his girlfriend, mum, gran, and even recited the um bongo song!  The third act was a guy from Cheshire and kept us laughing with all kinds of impersonations of when he was a youth worker in Liverpool.  He went further and further explaining his real life encounters with people and life but adding his own twists, and at many points we were all bent forward crying laughing! Absolutely great!

Arc is a truly amazing venue, from comedy, theatre, spoken word, dance, theatre and music classes they have something on for everyone.  All events are priced really well and people come from all over the country and world to the Arc.

Arcs comedy club is run in assocation with Ten Feet Tall who also list the Big Mouth Comedy Club in Middlesbrough.  If you would like to check out one of the many happening events at Arc please see www.arconline.co.uk.  For a great variety of fab days out please check out www.visitteesvally.co.uk.