Friday, 3-1-96
3:04 PM Shrewsbury, England
9:04 PM E-Town
On the way to the ISA “Adventure Weekend”… Just had the yummiest lunch at a quaint restaurant called “Poppy’s!” I had a toasted cheese sandwich w/ ham & salami, a Coke, and a Banana Split! Yum-yum tasty meal! We stopped in this little town called Shrewsbury & after lunch wandered into a craft fair w/ lots of cute things…
Well, we are back on the bus so I am gonna write more later!
On the bus ride up here to Llangollen, Wales, we watched 2 movies, both funny & both I had not seen before… They were: Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” & Mike Myers (of SNL fame & Wayne’s World) in “So, I Married An Axe Murderer!”
We got here to the Youth Hostel/Adventure Center, we were assigned rooms & then had an orientation w/ the staff. Then Lori & Mel & I explored the beautiful area we were in till dinner. Dinner was okay, in terms of food, but great company! We laughed about silly things…
Then the staff took us on a “night hike” (i.e. the long way…) to town to go to pubs… Mel, Lori, & I picked one called *Tetley’s & in time almost everyone has flocked there! It was pretty chill. Mel & I both had a little glass of “Bailey’s Irish Cream” on ice! Yum-Yum-Buzz-Buzz… ☺︎ Lori had a 1/2 pint of the house beer, I think. We chatted some & then headed back to find the hostel. Since we have a big day tomorrow…
*Actually it was called “The Prince of Wales,” Tetley’s was the house lager beer! ☺︎
We got lost along the way w/ Rachel, Ben, & Mark. Rachel & I ended up going up to a random house w/ lights on, to the others’ objections, to ask for directions! The man at the who answered the door was very helpful & soon we were back on the right track!
Soon after we ran into one of the staff named Darren. I had noticed him earlier, as being cute, & we started talking & it turns out he went to school for Rec. Mgt. too! ☺︎ We talked all the way back & he was so interesting… We seem to be sorta on the same wavelength! I believe I have found a little crush for the weekend! But we’ll see… It sure was a fun coincidence learning all we have in common etc.
I got 2 letters today! A card for my b-day from M & D and a note from Helen (my host family from Brighton, Wales)! ☺︎ Yesterday I got a b-day card from Jacquie! My friends & family are so thoughtful…
Yesterday, actually last night, Lori got back from Paris! She had a fabulous time! I am glad to have her back… I really like how our friendship has grown! ☺︎
Yesterday, after architecture class, I did e-mail & then worked out at ULU! I had messages from Ruth & Gwen! Both messages from both gals talked much of the men in their lives…
Wed. at Growing in Faith we learned about & discussed the Holy Spirit! It was very interesting & in it I was touched by how Fr. Tim said the Holy Spirit breathed the Bible so in order to understand it we must call on the Holy Spirit to always be w/ us & help us when we try to read it to see what God wants us too… I also stayed for Charismatic Prayer again this week & really enjoyed singing & praising the Lord! ☺︎
Canoe Club was fun, as always! I got to play in 2 polo games & did better in the 1st than the 2nd… All the galls were there but Sophie & I really enjoyed the “girl talk!” We talked about the Ball a lot & what our dressed looked like etc.! ☺︎ I was telling them about my camp I work at & about “Camp America” & the Girls’ Canoe Polo Captain (Rita) was actually interested in coming to the States to work this summer! I went up w/ everyone to the ULU pun after for a pint & then walked to the tube w/ Maureen & Julie. It was the first time Julie had been at practice since the night I first went & she met me in front of ULU! ☺︎
Well, I have a big day tomorrow! Hillwalking (hiking) in the morning & Canoeing (kayaking) in the afternoon! WAHOO! Fun-fun! ☺︎
CHEERS! ☺︎
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Note from Present Day Kathy: The memory of ordering and eating an entire Banana Split has stuck out in my mind all these years, as I think it was the first and only time I ever did that! I looked up the town of Shrewsbury, and specifically the restaurant “Poppy’s” there, online and the latter appears to have closed a few years back. I get that 20+ years later many of the places I visited in 1996 may not be around anymore, but it is bittersweet to confirm that.
Fun to remember seeing both of those movies for the first time, on our bus trip to our “adventure weekend!” I recall being a bit shocked by Reservoir Dogs, though I am sure I’d seen Pulp Fiction by then and thus had to know something about Quentin Tarantino’s approach to film making. With my maiden name being Axe, I got a kick out of the title of the other movie and can picture a lot of laughing on that coach bus, especially during the line, “Head, pants, now!” in a thick Scottish accent!
Also funny, to read about getting lost on the way back from our night hike and dinner! Though I don’t actually recall any of that, I’m not surprised I was willing to go to a stranger’s door to ask for help/directions.
Once again, I find it amusing how boy crazy I was back then, “finding a little crush for the weekend!”
I’ve gotten in the habit of sharing a lot of reflections and insights, in this section, in my recent London Semester Journal posts. I don’t have a lot more in regards to this one and that’s okay.
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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.
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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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