My London Semester Journal II: Sunday, March 17, 1996

Sunday, 3-17-96
3:00 PM London
9:00 AM E-Town
St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️
& Mothering Sunday (British Mother’s Day)! 🌺

Well, today is definitely a hazy Sunday… I finally woke up & got out of bed about 1:30 PM!

Last night Lori, Nick, & I went dancing/clubbing/whatever and had so-ooo-oo much fun! First we all got dressed up in our clubbing clothes. Than Lori did my make-up. Next we started taking sexy pictures just for the hell of it! At one point we had one of our housemates out front of the house, with us on the steps, taking pictures of us w/ all 3 of our cameras! We were very easily amused last night…

The club we picked was a 70’s Soul Disco Funk theme titled “Starsky & Hutch” (after the 70’s TV show)! It was in a warehouse type place a few blocks from King’s Cross tube station… it took us forever to find — but we had met Phi & his friends (from home who were visiting for Spring Break) at a pub “The Devonshire Arms” for a drink before, so we didn’t really mind the search!
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When we arrived it was a little past 11 PM. We had been trying to get there before then to get in for £6 (instead of £8)! But thanks to my smooth talking, about how it took us so long to find it…, we only paid £6!

At the door they had lollipops & little postcard size flyers for the club w/ pics of “Starsky & Hutch!” We each took some lollipops, hit the loo, & then busted out on the dance floor! The music was great, tons of funky disco, motown, & the likes of other such crazy wacky 70s grooves!

The 3 of us were just tearing up the dance floor! At some point in the evening we befriended a great group of blokes w/ a few gals who were true “soul men!” They could dance so awesomely! One just camp up & started boogieing w/ me & by the end of the night (we stayed until 4 AM!) we were jamming w/ him & all his friends! They even gave us their #s to call if we were gonna return!

Towards the end of our adventure in retro-land the music got the best it had been all night! The DJ was rockin’ the house w/ “Celebration,” “Club Fantasia,” “Dancing Queen,” Stayin’ Alive,” “I Will Survive,” “YMCA,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” “Respect,” “Think,” and more!!! ☺︎ My feet were killing me in my 2 inch heels… but “that’s the price we pay for fashion” (as Lori would say! ☺︎) & I stuck it out, for the music, company, & atmosphere was too incredible to pass up!

The friends we made were mostly gay & it didn’t phase me. One invited us to go to another club on Sunday nights that is supposed to be like last night’s. In conversation, I told him it was the first time I’d been to “Starsky & Hutch.” He said it was theirs too, that they usually went to gay clubs… Though it slightly startled me, I had suspected many of the male patrons last night were… I am glad that I was cool w/ it!

So about 4 AM Lori, Nick, & I were pretty worn out… 5 hrs. is a long time to boogie — w/ few breaks — ! ☺︎ So we said farewell to our dancing buddies, who kissed us on both cheeks & said they hoped to see us again!

We opted to take a night bus to Trafalgar Square & then caught one from there to Notting Hill Gate. We were exhausted & tired when we got home & Lori went to bed straight away…

Nick & I were wooed, by some of the ISA office staff (Patricia, Garth, Colleen, & her fiance) — who had stayed up & ordered the “Tyson vs. Bruno fight” on Sky TV –, to watch it with them! Unbelievably we did, stay up, that is… Tyson won in the 3rd round & 50 sec. Though Bruno was a bigger man, Tyson really beat him bad!

I don’t really enjoy watching boxing… but this fight has been so hyped up… I couldn’t pass it up! The classic quote of the event was when a TV reporter was interviewing Tyson after he won. He had Tyson narrating his own final blows to Bruno & Tyson goes “Boom! There I go! Boom! There I go again…” He sure knows how to capture the moment w/ his eloquent speech… CHEERS! ☺︎

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Note from Present Day Kathy: Oh, what a night! This was most definitely another epic experience to revisit. I so enjoyed reading about and trying to remember, as it sounded like such a fun night out with my friends! It seems like so long ago that I’d do something like stay out dancing until 4 AM and yet I’d probably still try to, if I was at a club and the DJ was playing such fabulous music. I love that I could remember and wrote down many of the fun songs we heard and danced to that night!

I wish my friends and I had gone clubbing more during our time in London, however I think this was the second and last time we did so.

I got a kick out of how in this entry and the previous one my friends and I got dressed up and did photo shoots before heading out for our adventures! My expressions in these are a riot. I think I was trying to look serious and sexy, but not sure that I really accomplished that goal. Much of my life I didn’t feel confident making intentional serious or sexy face expressions, such as when I was dancing/performing on stage (in numbers that weren’t shiny/happy) or doing things like this.

It’s interesting for me to think about how different technology, especially photography is now vs. then. If I recall correctly, I took between 20-30 rolls of film during my semester abroad and am pretty sure I didn’t develop any of them until I got home in May. So I had to wait months before getting to see how any of the pictures turned out. In 1996 there were no digital cameras, let alone smartphones (or even cell phones) with built in cameras. In 2020, we might have done something similar, but then likely would have posted/shared our pics soon after via social media, which also was many years off from existence back then. It is pretty incredible how much tech, media and social norms can evolve and did in 24 years.

As I’ve mentioned in previous entries, I think my rebelliousness (which was never very high) peaked during my semester abroad. By that I mean, my confidence level was relatively high and I was more open/willing to do and say things than previously in my life. The part of this entry where I talked about “taking sexy pictures, just for the hell of it,” cracked me up!

I also find it amusing that I referred to the smooth talking I did that night, getting us into the club for only £6 vs. £8, as I rarely think of myself as being a smooth talker (now or then).

I appreciate how I wrote candidly (for me) about the guys that we hung out with that night being gay. As I have shared on my blog some before, my understanding and acceptance of people who are LGBTQ has evolved over the years, especially in regards to marriage equality. It’s clear that I was trying be more open to and comfortable with people who were gay back then, but wasn’t totally there yet. I didn’t share everything from my entry, out of respect for the privacy of those involved. Though, I will say that what I didn’t include here emphasizes how I was somewhat naive back then. I was speculating about people in my life who might be gay and it makes my midlife adult self sad that I may not have been the best person for friends who felt ready to come out to share their identity with.

When I first joined Facebook in 2008, I was surprised by how many of old friends, that I reconnected with, were openly LGBTQ. In many cases I may’ve suspected over the years, but again it made me feel both naive and sad that I wasn’t more aware when we were younger. That said, I also recognize that 24 years ago our world was not as open/accepting/comfortable as it is now for people who are LGBTQ. I do think it is easier for young adults today to come out, as well as for loved ones and others, to embrace their sexuality. I also know we still have a ways to go.

I wish I had always been more open minded/hearted in this area, however I am proud of myself for getting there. Better late, than never… This reminds me that people can change their perspective on things, especially when they keep an open mind and heart. I also intentionally try to parent our children in a way that makes clear that I have no expectation for who they are/will be, including their sexuality/choices for relationships/partners in life. I don’t say “when you marry a man or woman someday,” I talk about “if and when they choose to marry or commit to a partner someday.”

I like how I incorporated phrases in my journal entries that I picked up during that semester abroad, including going to “the loo” and doing something “straight away.” I don’t recall how much of that was natural vs. trying to sound British/use the terms and expressions I was hearing/learning.

I recently was telling Bob and the kids about my experience watching this Tyson fight, as we were talking about boxing, having done a 6-week at home workout program focused on shadow boxing and weight lifting. I even looked for and shared the part of this entry with them. I still chuckle remembering Tyson describe what he was doing during the fight while watching a replay.

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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.