Monday, 2-19-96
12:41 PM London
6:41 AM E-Town
Another bomb was just reported to have gone off in central London, by the Strand, near Covent Garden. This is the 2nd bomb in the past 9 days… The 1st being the IRA bomb at Docklands last Friday night. But, there has been no claims, as of yet, for responsibility for the horrific act. There was no warning by the IRA, which is not how they usually work… There have been no official statements of if anyone died in the explosion. It was on a bus & 6 casualties were taken to St. Thomas Hospital, 5 men & 1 woman. Another 2 were taken to University Hospital. 3 deaths have been reported, but not confirmed….
I am trying to stay calm about this. I am scared. I am listening to a live radio broadcast about the situation w/ the bomb & the entire IRA/Sinn Féin/British Gov’t Conflict.
I don’t know how I will sleep tonight, but will try to relax… & pray… PLEASE, GOD HELP THE CITY & PEOPLE OF LONDON.
Monday, 2-19-96
11:03 PM London
5:03 PM E-Town
The bomb was from the IRA, but it went off in the bus reportedly by accident! And so far there has been one confirmed fatality & it is said to be a member of the IRA, who was actually carrying the bomb! I don’t know if it is right… No loss of human life is ever good… But, in a twisted way, it seems like a taste of justice. There are also 8 to 10 injured from the blast, last night, who still remain in hospitals, a few in intensive care. I bought an Evening Standard, after mass tonight, that was fairly informative.
This morning was my International Business mid-term & it was relatively painless… Hugh Peters sent his secretary to proctor it & could leave when we were done & got out of class before noon! Raymond’s stellar move of buying all yen last week for our portfolio put us in last place… Opps! ☺︎ So we decided to split up our loss into DM & S. Fr. and be a bit more conservative this week!
After class I e-mailed for an insane amount of time… I had messages from Dad, Meg, & 2 from Joe Cooper! Dad had a great response to some of my theological questions that were spurned by last wk’s “Growing in Faith!”
Among other things, Meg told of how she has been running often & for bathroom breaks stops in the fancy hotels of Boston!
Joe was doing well & excited cuz he just bought a Volkswagen Beetle (“Bug”) for $600! It was great to hear from him… Though he will be stopping through here, on his Spring Break in early-March, I believe I will be in Dublin w/ Lori that weekend.
As for real mail… I got 4 letters today! One from Dynamite, a belated Valentines from Jessica Hansen, a letter from Colleen Finch, and a card from the AΦs! The A-phi card had a letter from Katie Jarvis, the study abroad chair, & was signed by at least 20 Phis! What sweet & dear sisters I have… The card was a Winnie-the-Pooh old postcard looking design, w/ one of my fav. Pooh quotes:
“Pooh, promise you won’t forget about me, ever.
Not even when I’m a hundred.”
Pooh thought for a little.
“How old should I be then?”
“Ninety-nine.”
Pooh nodded.
“I promise,” he said.
After my marathon e-mail session, I worked out at ULU… I feel like my stamina is increasing, as well as my threshold for weightlifting! I also rowed the Cambridge 12 min. course faster & more consistently than ever today & really worked up a sweat!
Then I was on to daily mass w/ Fr. Scott. He offered up the service to peace between England (London) & Ireland (the IRA) and in the world as a whole… The readings were ironically appropriate… Though as some say, there are no coincidences! (Just “miracles in which God wishes to remain anonymous”).
When I got back to Pembridge Lori was home! ☺︎ It was great to see her & hear about her adventures in Belgium… Her stories were great! (Not to mention the tasty chocolate! ☺︎)
Mel & I went to “Wendy’s” tonight for dinner! It was yummy! (though their frosty machines was broken…) I got my usual from home exactly! (but had to settle for a Coke, instead of a frosty) They even had yummy liquid cheese for my fries! (at “Wendy’s” they are fries, not chips! ☺︎) I also got a tasty side caesar salad for 99p! Mel got the all-you-can-eat salad bar & got her £s worth! I even had some of her fruit & a few pickles… But wouldn’t try any of her veggies. We went because I am gonna give up “American Fast Food” for Lent! So that was part of my “Mardi Gras” (Fat Tues.) Pre-Celebration… Lent begins Wed. & every Catholic student at Pembridge, I believe, has been to see me about Ash Wed. mass on Wed.! Glad to be of service…
“Wendy’s” was at Piccadilly Circus, so Mel & I took the traditional pics of the huge neon signs/billboards! We also took silly pics. all the way home, to use up her film… Oh, the bathrooms at “Wendy’s” had black lights over the toilets!!! Very bizarre, I must say… When you flush your toilet paper glows as it goes down!!! ☺︎I talked to Ron this evening & he had a long & tiring weekend w/ his band in France. He is going to come visit here this weekend, which should be fun! ☺︎ He works at a YMCA camp in Southampton M – F, so he will probably take a train here after work on Friday.
Mel, Ruth, & I are going to get up early tomorrow and be touristy! We are gonna take the tube to Liverpool St. & explore the Spitalfields area… At 12:30 PM is “The Great Spitalfield’s Pancake Race” which we hope to observe before we have to get back to Bloomsbury for our 2 o’clock classes…
I just talked to Jill a few minutes ago, who had just returned from a pub w/ her roommates!
Well, a nice laid back evening here at Pembridge… Not I think I’ll wind down for bed!
CHEERS! ☺︎
P.S. Crush encounter at the computer lab today… Nothing too exciting… Dave just asked me about U of I’s home page. Then told me later the timetable wasn’t out yet. Even though I do believe he is aware most people here call me Kathy, he still calls me Kathleen… I love it & am way too easily amused!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note from Present Day Kathy: I recall how scary it was to be living in London during those bomb scares. I remember doing my best to make peace with the situation and try not to worry too much about being in the wrong place at the wrong time if and when it happened again, but it wasn’t easy.
I continue to be amused reading about the workouts I was doing back then, before I knew as much as I do now, having been a group fitness instructor for 13 years. That said, I am proud of myself that I was prioritizing exercise and wish I had stuck with it more consistently over the years. It wasn’t until 9 years later, in 2005, and even more so in 2014, that I really made it part of my regular routine.
I used to love that saying about coincidences and God. 22 years later I don’t have the same perspective on God’s role in our lives, but I appreciate that it brought me comfort back then.
It’s funny how we sometimes remember things vs. how they really were. Over the years, I’ve often told the story of going to Wendy’s in London, ordering my “usual,” and how weird it tasted without a frosty. But in my memory I thought it was because they didn’t serve frosty’s there for some reason, not because the machine wasn’t working.
I’ve also come a long way on the trying/eating veggies front since then. The catalyst for that was when Sean was a toddler and his pediatrician said he needed to eat more veggies. At the time I felt it wasn’t fair for me to ask him to eat things I wouldn’t. So I made myself try and eat whatever we encouraged him to do.
I love that I gave up American Fast Food for Lent that year to challenge myself to eat/try other things during my time abroad!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.
Monday, 2-19-96
12:41 PM London
6:41 AM E-Town
Another bomb was just reported to have gone off in central London, by the Strand, near Covent Garden. This is the 2nd bomb in the past 9 days… The 1st being the IRA bomb at Docklands last Friday night. But, there has been no claims, as of yet, for responsibility for the horrific act. There was no warning by the IRA, which is not how they usually work… There have been no official statements of if anyone died in the explosion. It was on a bus & 6 casualties were taken to St. Thomas Hospital, 5 men & 1 woman. Another 2 were taken to University Hospital. 3 deaths have been reported, but not confirmed….
I am trying to stay calm about this. I am scared. I am listening to a live radio broadcast about the situation w/ the bomb & the entire IRA/Sinn Féin/British Gov’t Conflict.
I don’t know how I will sleep tonight, but will try to relax… & pray… PLEASE, GOD HELP THE CITY & PEOPLE OF LONDON.
Monday, 2-19-96
11:03 PM London
5:03 PM E-Town
The bomb was from the IRA, but it went off in the bus reportedly by accident! And so far there has been one confirmed fatality & it is said to be a member of the IRA, who was actually carrying the bomb! I don’t know if it is right… No loss of human life is ever good… But, in a twisted way, it seems like a taste of justice. There are also 8 to 10 injured from the blast, last night, who still remain in hospitals, a few in intensive care. I bought an Evening Standard, after mass tonight, that was fairly informative.
This morning was my International Business mid-term & it was relatively painless… Hugh Peters sent his secretary to proctor it & could leave when we were done & got out of class before noon! Raymond’s stellar move of buying all yen last week for our portfolio put us in last place… Opps! ☺︎ So we decided to split up our loss into DM & S. Fr. and be a bit more conservative this week!
After class I e-mailed for an insane amount of time… I had messages from Dad, Meg, & 2 from Joe Cooper! Dad had a great response to some of my theological questions that were spurned by last wk’s “Growing in Faith!”
Among other things, Meg told of how she has been running often & for bathroom breaks stops in the fancy hotels of Boston!
Joe was doing well & excited cuz he just bought a Volkswagen Beetle (“Bug”) for $600! It was great to hear from him… Though he will be stopping through here, on his Spring Break in early-March, I believe I will be in Dublin w/ Lori that weekend.
As for real mail… I got 4 letters today! One from Dynamite, a belated Valentines from Jessica Hansen, a letter from Colleen Finch, and a card from the AΦs! The A-phi card had a letter from Katie Jarvis, the study abroad chair, & was signed by at least 20 Phis! What sweet & dear sisters I have… The card was a Winnie-the-Pooh old postcard looking design, w/ one of my fav. Pooh quotes:
“Pooh, promise you won’t forget about me, ever.
Not even when I’m a hundred.”
Pooh thought for a little.
“How old should I be then?”
“Ninety-nine.”
Pooh nodded.
“I promise,” he said.
After my marathon e-mail session, I worked out at ULU… I feel like my stamina is increasing, as well as my threshold for weightlifting! I also rowed the Cambridge 12 min. course faster & more consistently than ever today & really worked up a sweat!
Then I was on to daily mass w/ Fr. Scott. He offered up the service to peace between England (London) & Ireland (the IRA) and in the world as a whole… The readings were ironically appropriate… Though as some say, there are no coincidences! (Just “miracles in which God wishes to remain anonymous”).
When I got back to Pembridge Lori was home! ☺︎ It was great to see her & hear about her adventures in Belgium… Her stories were great! (Not to mention the tasty chocolate! ☺︎)
Mel & I went to “Wendy’s” tonight for dinner! It was yummy! (though their frosty machines was broken…) I got my usual from home exactly! (but had to settle for a Coke, instead of a frosty) They even had yummy liquid cheese for my fries! (at “Wendy’s” they are fries, not chips! ☺︎) I also got a tasty side caesar salad for 99p! Mel got the all-you-can-eat salad bar & got her £s worth! I even had some of her fruit & a few pickles… But wouldn’t try any of her veggies. We went because I am gonna give up “American Fast Food” for Lent! So that was part of my “Mardi Gras” (Fat Tues.) Pre-Celebration… Lent begins Wed. & every Catholic student at Pembridge, I believe, has been to see me about Ash Wed. mass on Wed.! Glad to be of service…
“Wendy’s” was at Piccadilly Circus, so Mel & I took the traditional pics of the huge neon signs/billboards! We also took silly pics. all the way home, to use up her film… Oh, the bathrooms at “Wendy’s” had black lights over the toilets!!! Very bizarre, I must say… When you flush your toilet paper glows as it goes down!!! ☺︎I talked to Ron this evening & he had a long & tiring weekend w/ his band in France. He is going to come visit here this weekend, which should be fun! ☺︎ He works at a YMCA camp in Southampton M – F, so he will probably take a train here after work on Friday.
Mel, Ruth, & I are going to get up early tomorrow and be touristy! We are gonna take the tube to Liverpool St. & explore the Spitalfields area… At 12:30 PM is “The Great Spitalfield’s Pancake Race” which we hope to observe before we have to get back to Bloomsbury for our 2 o’clock classes…
I just talked to Jill a few minutes ago, who had just returned from a pub w/ her roommates!
Well, a nice laid back evening here at Pembridge… Not I think I’ll wind down for bed!
CHEERS! ☺︎
P.S. Crush encounter at the computer lab today… Nothing too exciting… Dave just asked me about U of I’s home page. Then told me later the timetable wasn’t out yet. Even though I do believe he is aware most people here call me Kathy, he still calls me Kathleen… I love it & am way too easily amused!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note from Present Day Kathy: I recall how scary it was to be living in London during those bomb scares. I remember doing my best to make peace with the situation and try not to worry too much about being in the wrong place at the wrong time if and when it happened again, but it wasn’t easy.
I continue to be amused reading about the workouts I was doing back then, before I knew as much as I do now, having been a group fitness instructor for 13 years. That said, I am proud of myself that I was prioritizing exercise and wish I had stuck with it more consistently over the years. It wasn’t until 9 years later, in 2005, and even more so in 2014, that I really made it part of my regular routine.
I used to love that saying about coincidences and God. 22 years later I don’t have the same perspective on God’s role in our lives, but I appreciate that it brought me comfort back then.
It’s funny how we sometimes remember things vs. how they really were. Over the years, I’ve often told the story of going to Wendy’s in London, ordering my “usual,” and how weird it tasted without a frosty. But in my memory I thought it was because they didn’t serve frosty’s there for some reason, not because the machine wasn’t working.
I’ve also come a long way on the trying/eating veggies front since then. The catalyst for that was when Sean was a toddler and his pediatrician said he needed to eat more veggies. At the time I felt it wasn’t fair for me to ask him to eat things I wouldn’t. So I made myself try and eat whatever we encouraged him to do.
I love that I gave up American Fast Food for Lent that year to challenge myself to eat/try other things during my time abroad!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.
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