stunned at myself

 last night really got away from me. I should know better than to open up the anon box after dark, but somehow I let myself get pulled into it — and suddenly I was answering questions I had no business answering. 🙈

it started with me saying that “following the tour” doesn’t make me a groupie. (it doesn’t! …though, all right, maybe I did have my groupie-ish days back in the 80s. I regret nothing.) but then things escalated. long legs got mentioned, Darren got mentioned, and before I knew it, people were asking me about Indian Wells 1994.

and honestly? I’m not quite sure what anon was expecting. did they really think I was going to say “oh yes, I definitely had a moment with Darren in Indian Wells, February 1994” and then just… spill every detail? 😳 bless them. the only thing I gave away was his tournament result — lost in the quarter finals to Stefan Edberg 6-4 6-3. 😉 It was his best result in the last season of his playing career. 

I know I should turn anon off. I know I shouldn’t encourage this. but the cheek of the questions (and the even bigger cheek of me actually answering some of them) had me laughing myself silly. tumblr really does have a way of loosening the tongue, doesn’t it?

so, this is me the morning after: a little stunned, a little scandalised, and reminding myself that some things are better left in the 90s. 😉

and with that, I’m slamming the anon box shut. (probably. …maybe. we’ll see.)

thefridayfive for 22 August 2025

1. Have you ever stayed in a hostel? If so, where? Did you like it? If you haven't stayed in a hostel, would you? No — I never have, and I don’t think I ever will. Even when I was younger, I was more likely to end up in a little family-run hotel or something slightly nicer. Hostels have never really appealed to me; I can “rough it” if I must, but only if roughing it involves room service and at least three pillows. I like a proper bed, a bit of quiet, and the ability to unpack without worrying someone’s going to nick my shampoo. 

 

2. What is your favo(u)rite airport that you've been to? Why? Changi in Singapore. It’s the only airport that’s ever made me wish I had more time before my flight. Waterfalls, gardens, food that isn’t just sad sandwiches — it’s practically a five-star hotel masquerading as a transport hub. Heathrow could never

 

3. What is the best museum you have visited on vacation? The Uffizi in Florence. Walking into the room with Botticelli’s Birth of Venus felt like being slapped across the face by beauty. I nearly cried. It’s one of those moments where you think, “oh, this is why we put up with queues and blisters and dodgy train timetables.”

 

4. Have you ever made friends while traveling whom you keep in touch with on a regular basis? Not in a lasting way. I’ve had those glorious holiday friendships where you’re inseparable for three days, then never see each other again. I rather like that, honestly — no pressure, just golden little moments, like postcards you keep in your head.

 

5. Have you ever had a conversation with a seatmate on a plane? Yes, though I usually hope for the universal signal of headphones in, book open, please don’t. But once, on a transatlantic, I sat beside a woman who told me her entire life story — loves, losses, scandals. It was like being handed a novel, only with complimentary gin and tonic.