FridayMusic

Friday Feeling: Kitchen Clubbing! By Rina

Friday Feeling: Dancing through Lockdown!

Where to begin with the things I’ve learned about myself during lockdown?

Well, I can think of no better place than to start by saying that I have rekindled my relationship with dancing. Nothing fancy. Nothing formal. Just dancing for the fun of it.

It all began back in April when I started to feel that my life had been hijacked. I was working from home, socialising from home (via zoom), eating all of my meals at home, resting at home, exercising at home, sleeping at home, doing everything at home.

To try and shake things up a bit, I decided, one night, that we would go clubbing. In my university days and beyond, I’d go out for a boogie (!) at least once a week, and I absolutely loved it. It was always the highlight of my week.

Now, when I say, I decided one night that we would go clubbing, of course what I mean is that we would go clubbing in the kitchen. I threw together a playlist of top tunes. I dusted off my £15 disco ball. I switched on my colourful Lumo diffuser and allowed its fine mist to waft over us just like a smoke machine back in the day (use your imagination).

I cannot tell you how much fun we had on that first Friday night. My younger brother, Liam, was living with us at the time and his energy knows no bounds, so we were at it, at the kitchen club that is, for hours.

As the weeks progressed, we mixed things up a bit. We added a bar. Basically, we unleashed the drinks cabinet and set out a dizzying array of random half-empty bottles of spirits on the breakfast bar. Tonic water? Check. Ice? Check. Slice of lemon? Check. Bartender? Check (my husband Nick, obvs).

Liam and I would sidle up at the breakfast bar, take a pew, and “order” beers, cocktails and shots, from the barman. We’d then dash off to the dance floor once again because oh my god I love this song, let’s dance!

I cannot recommend highly enough that you try out the home clubbing scene. There are positives aplenty and no negatives that spring to mind. For one thing, there is no eye-watering entry fee. There’s no need to book a cab home or fret about aligning your departure from the club with the night bus timetable. You can dress up all fancy or just style it out in your joggers. There is no queue for the bathroom. The toilet is clean. There is handwash. There is a hand towel. There’s no jostling on the dance floor and no sticky floor (one would hope).

If you’re worried about a lack of participation from others in your household, you needn’t be. There are some rules, you know! Well, maybe just the one, and that is that the playlist is chosen by all those present at the club. Everyone gets to choose their favourite tracks and they are played in strict rotation. This can sometimes make for an eclectic mix, but this is all about living our best lives, OK?

I have discovered some fantastic new music during lockdown and a big thanks goes to @escimo for introducing me to One Word by Kelly Osbourne (Chris Cox Remix). But time and time again I have returned to Blinding Lights by The Weekend. I have always been a sucker for an 80’s vibe and I feel as though one of the lyrics was written with my lockdown dancing in mind: “…no one’s around to judge me…”

Clubbing at home is a thing! Call it a new normal, if you like. Give yourself a laugh and give it a go.

Oilwards and Upwards,

Rina