Clubbing in Nottingham and a behind-the-scenes look into marriage

Last weekend, a group of us went up to Nottingham to see Emily and Alistair.
Yati and I had planned to hit the club scene even though everyone else declined saying they would rather stay in for the evening. Our excitement was so catching that at the last minute, Emily decided she was coming too. This prompted a sulky response from husband Alistair who wanted her to stay in with him. Despite protracted awkward, embarrassing scenes and a dirty look from Alistair, we set off for Nottingham City Centre.
Our destination was this massive nightclub called Oceana. It's got 6 Rooms, including 5 bars and 2 nightclubs – one playing House/Dance music and the other R’n B, Ragga and Soul. It is an ‘Over 21’s’ club so there aren’t that many University students which is always nice. The only downside is that the House music room had a strong vomit smell– yuck! So we spent most of the time in the R’n B room. I found the DJ’s quite annoying; with their incessant pausing of the music just to say “Having a good time people?” We would if you just got on with playing the music! Apart from that, there was a nice vibe with loads of hen and stag parties going on. The Pop star act ‘Booty Love’ who sang ‘Boogie Night’ (a song that I LOVE!!!) was going to make a live appearance at around midnight.
When I go clubbing it takes me an hour to get into the groove, to get a feel for the place, so was not impressed when Emily (who had turned almost comatose at this point) asked me “Can we go home now?” WHAT??? Before midnight! Before Booty Love?? You are having a laugh, aren’t you? After the earlier kerfuffle with Alistair, and you want to go home now? If she’d been sober, I would have put her in a cab and sent her home, but she wasn’t. So being a good friend I agreed to leave early... under duress of course.
On the drive back to her place she raved on about how we’d gone CLUBBING YEAH!!! Yati and I looked at each other and I told her “Not for us. That wasn’t even a tip of the ice berg. We’d planned to go on until 3.00am at least. It’s not like as if we go clubbing everyday”
Plus we'd missed Booty Love.
I could have said more to really rub it in but chose not to…ok… I may have made the occasional snide remark...
The next day, Emily told Alistair how she’d messed up the evening, exaggerating so that he could feel justified about his previous evening’s sulking. He even started gloating,

“You see, I know what Emily is like. That’s why I didn’t want her to go in the first place”

Oh really! That’s not what you told us last night!

Urghhh!!!

Interesting insight into marriage though! Not sure I’d put up with a husband who sulked, when he didn’t get his own way, in front of my friends. I don’t care how good the friends are. Some things need to remain between the two of you, you know what I mean?

Overwhelmed with Blessings! A Praise Report

It’s amazing what a difference a week can make!

Last Sunday I was despairing as to how I was going to get through the rest of the year, financially. A family emergency had come up and I’d used up all my money and borrowed some more to pay for it.
One of the people on the ministry team prayed with me at the end of service. I didn’t hear most of what she prayed because I was sobbing, but by the time she'd finished I'd stopped crying and felt calm. In my mind, I know that God takes care of my needs, it just that sometimes this knowledge doesn’t always translate to my emotions.

This is how God has answered the prayer: -

Last Saturday, Yati came back from shopping and handed me a bag, “Kim I got you this”
Inside was a brand new pair of shoes! Just what I needed! The old pair was falling apart and I’d been planning to buy new shoes in December to replace them. However when the emergency came up, I had no option than to put it off until next year! The amazing thing is that Yati didn’t know the full details of my financial crisis, or that I’d even been thinking of replacing my shoes. All she said is that she saw me putting on the old pair on Saturday morning and thought, “Hmm, this girl really needs new shoes!”
Praise the Lord… and Yati!

That’s not all

I'd planned to drive up to Nottingham to visit Emily and Alistair next weekend. They are keen to introduce me to a locum doctor who is working in the same hospital as Emily. He is single, Christian. “Very religious,” they’ve assured me, “He’s even training to be a pastor. He is very keen to meet you."
I phoned to postpone the visit to January, and reluctantly told them the reason why. Alistair insisted that I still had to go and deposited money into my bank account to pay for a full tank of petrol!!

There’s still more to come!!!!

This Sunday at church, the vicar’s wife, Jane, came looking for me after Service. She gave me a Temple Spa Home Spa Collection Gift Set worth £28, to thank me for doing the technical stuff on Women’s Day last weekend! This was so unexpected, I was blown away! Ordinarily I never spend on such luxuries. My toiletries are always quite basic – soap, deodorant and Vaseline. Now I have a pamper set! Sheer bliss! Can't wait to try it out!

And more...

I emailed my sister just to give her an update of what was going on in my life. I mentioned the current financial situation, how Yati had bought me shoes and that I was thankful to God for providing for me. I really wasn’t expecting anything from her. After all, she lives in Africa, has a family and financial commitments. So was taken completely off guard when she asked for my bank details and then transferred a large sum of money- FIVE times more than I need!

EHHH!!! When it rains, it POURS!!!!

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 19 NIV)

And now I am praying that God will open my eyes to see someone in need, whom I can bless out of the abundance of what He has given me!

PMS and tears...

PMS always brings me a craving for carbs and also tears. Lots of them. Irrational, out of proportion tears

They made their appearance at our churchs’ Women’s Day of Grace last weekend. I don’t normally do Women’s Days because the focus tends to be on marriage and children which as a single woman, I can’t relate to. However it was different this time because it was split up into seminars and you could choose which ones you wanted to attend. In addition to the usual marriage, baby, teenage ones, there were talks on Nutrition, Personal styling, Women in leadership, in the workplace etc.
I attended the Dating seminar which was aimed at people in relationships- so strictly not for me (who can’t even get a date). The ‘Flying Solo’ seminar had 4 speakers talking about singleness from different perspectives. One hadn’t dated in four years, two were divorced - one with children and one without . Another speaker had a non-believing husband which can be incredibly lonely. I found that seminar a bit helpful as I recognised that I’d been expending a LOT of energy and resources obsessing about finding ‘Someone’, and maybe that energy is better expended on God. (Which is all well and good, but as I’ve been telling God, it’s cool and everything that He loves me, but I just want to know what it feels like to have someone human love me. A tangible person! Face it, I’m not all spirit…there’s a good chunk of me that is still physical and... ahem... sexual… but that’s another subject…)

Where was I? Oh yes… the tears

So on the Women’s Day, we had a guest musician, Carey Grant, (who really isn’t a guest because she is member of our church who just happens to be a celebrity) She sang 3 songs, and in the last one kept repeating the phrase ‘I want to go Home’. (Funnily enough the song was called Home! Hmm)
It awakened nostalgic thoughts about Uganda and my old friends with whom I truly connected, and how that really isn’t the case in England. Don’t get me wrong, I have friends in London, but they are different… I can’t put a finger to it… it’s just… different.
I really miss Home.
Unbidden tears started running down my face, much to my embarrassment because I was sitting next to soundman Paul and worship pastor, Jo. Instead of being ‘English’ and giving me emotional space, by pretending they hadn’t noticed me crying, Jo leans over and pats me on my back sympathetically. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me!!!
As if that was not enough, on Sunday during service, I started crying again. This time it was because that morning I’d received an urgent text from Uganda. School fees needed or kids would not be allowed to do exams! This meant all the money in my current account and I had to borrow some more. So I’m broke for the rest of the month, and probably next month too because I’ll have to repay the money I borrowed! It all became too much for me.
However, I was in this exact position this time last year, and God saw me through it. If He has done it before, then He’ll definitely do it again! So that crying episode I blame on PMS
Now that the good ol’ Periods have come, the tears have dried up and I am Kim again!
Until next month!

Halloween Fancy Dress Party

I joined the London Fancy Dress Party group in the Summer. I've only been able to attend one other event, which was the Hawaiian Picnic. It was a lot of fun. Nice crowd!

Last weekend was the Halloween Party. It doesn't look like it, but I was really trying to be 'Calypso' from Pirates of the Caribbean. Only difference is that instead of black dots (they didn't show up on my complexion) I had white ones instead. I couldn't find a cheap corset or a mangy dress, so I wore usual clothes. Yati went dressed as a pirate.

We were so excited and took a before picture at home.

These are some of the pictures from the party...

Andy is the organiser of the Fancy Dress Group

This woman, Susie was my favourite person that evening. She is mad!!!This lady won the best costume award for the evening. At first I thought she was Mr Tumnus from Narnia! Yati thought she must be dressed from the Planet of the Apes. She told us indignantly that she was a Werewolf! Ohhhh!!