Cat's Eyes on Glasgow: a birthday meal at Porter and Rye and I head to the Cat Internet Film Festival

Steak Dinner @ Porter and Rye

A belated birthday dinner for my bloke took me to Porter and Rye this week. I've been hungry to check out this new eatery on the Finnieston parade since it opened at the end of last year. However, this is no diner for the faint-hearted (or - previously - morning sick!)

As we sit down, our knowledgeable waitress tells us that all their meat comes from Gaindykehead Farm in North Lanarkshire via the "A* word that will not be named" before in-house dry-ageing in the restaurant's own meat fridge for 28 days. Their steak is almost as fresh as if you'd handpicked the coo from the field yourself!

What strikes me most about Porter and Rye is that from the outside it looks like a lot of other recent openings: bare brick, steel, exposed lightbulbs, yawn. However, inside, it somehow manages to take this (almost) clichéd style to a better, more handsome place. Either that, or it just works better with their honest, meaty offerings.

As it is a steak restaurant, it's not about the size of the joint but the quality of the cut. And that goes for the menu too, which is small but well-hung. Certainly, this is not the place for a date with a vegetarian: it's all about the meat. As it was a birthday treat, we plumped for Chateaubriand for two, which comes with two sides and two sauces. Being greedy, we ordered three: buttered kale, wild winter mushrooms and truffle fries as well as the Béarnaise, truffle butter and beef jus sauces. The meat didn't need any pals, it was deliciously rich and flavoursome on its own but the sides were a good accompaniment and we scoffed them all; so, perhaps, a small criticism is that their 'bits of the side' could be bigger.

I can't imagine going to Porter and Rye regularly, but for special occasions and when a steak has my name on it (something they're thinking about doing in the future - literally choosing your own chop!), it will certainly be top of my list of places to go!

*Abattoir - it took us a while too!

Scottish AeroPress Championships @ SWG3

The humble brew has come along way since the Nescafé adverts of the 80's, these days, everyone is something of a coffee geek and it doesn't get more geeky than the AeroPress. It's basically a gadget (invented by another 80's super hero, Alan Adler, who also created the Aerobie Frisbee) which makes a strong, smooth cup of joe in less time than it takes to boil an egg.

It's gathered a huge following, of both coffee addicts and connoisseurs. But, there is a knack to it. So, a few years ago, The World AeroPress Championships were set up. Unlike many other coffee champs, they decided they should be open to both baristas (the folk who make lattes for a living) and amateurs.

Last year, Lisa Lawson of Dear Green Coffee (Glasgow's speciality coffee roaster) organised the first Scottish championships, sending one of our own to the grand final in Italy later that year. This year, the Scottish AeroPress Championships were back; bigger and better than before: a new venue at SWG3, a more serious brew of contenders and a huge crowd, with over 250 folk coming along for the party.

I hosted the event and it was brilliant to see so many folk there. The judges were seriously impressed with the Scottish talent, and the enthusiastic and fascinated crowd. As well as the nail-biting finals (though that could have been the caffeine!), there was food from Babu Kitchen, a special Aeropress Pale Ale, brewed specially for the event at The Drygate, merchandise (complete with Oor Willie's cheeky mug) and great tunes on the decks.

Claire Wallace of Machina won the overall event to be crowned the Scottish AeroPress Champion of 2015 and will fly to Seattle to do battle with coffee contenders from around in the world in April. Go brew 'em who's boss Claire!

Internet Cat Video Festival @ GFT

I have reclaimed my Sunday mornings; no longer are they duvet-filled and indulgently sleepy. These days, I'm up early, with (obviously) no hangover to speak of and a craving for a sausage sandwich and a glass of Ribena (I'm yet to have a hankering for anything wilder!)

So last Sunday, making the most of my newly discovered weekend, I headed to the Cat Film Festival (well, it seemed appropriate!) at the GFT. The festival originally aired in the GoMA the week before as part of the Glasgow Film Festival, but such was the demand - everyone and the cat's mother wanted to go - they decided to put on a second screening. It was free to families, pregnant lassies (and their Mums!) and those crazy about cats.

We all know what little time-thieves the feline of the species can be; I've wasted more time than I like to think watching cats doing the cutest things online. However, never before had anyone put all the clips together to make a full-length movie version. That was, until the first Internet Cat Film Video Festival in Minnesota back in 2012.

Basically, it's exactly as you would expect: the best, funniest, most dramatic and daring kitty feats on the web, all squashed together into a feature length film, which contained more laughs than the last Will Ferrell film I went to see! However, it was strange when there was a clip I didn't find quite so entertaining, to be unable to check my Facebook or Twitter or press pause (paws?), but also, surprisingly, relaxing.

The film included a showcase of winners from the Golden Kitty Awards (who knew?) and out of the top cats my favourite were: Tickle Kitty, Keyboard Cat and the Jedi Kittens: all worth a watch. Perhaps Will Ferrell should grab a pew too, he might learn a thing or two! Meeeaaooow!

Wee Bird Recommends

The new foyer of the Theatre Royal will be formerly opened by the Duchess of Gloucester later this month, but if you fancy a wee sneaky peak before, the public are free to pop in and have a look around. Wee would also recommend stopping by the theatre's lovely new cafe, Vanilla Black, which Wee think has oodles of cakes, more than worthy of a standing ovation!