Day 17: Nutbush City Limits

Oh what a night! Busting moves at the Starquest Nightclub with The Threesome girls. You Spin Me Round Like A Record. Blue Monday. A revolving bar. (At first I thought I’d had too much champagne, but no, the bar really goes round and round.) Bulk as fun. Sister shouted in my ear, wondering what we should do when The Threesome ask to be our Facebook friends. Had not considered that terrifying possibility. Eeeek! Fortunately, the surly DJ – much eye-rolling at our request for Come On Eileen – saved the night by playing Nutbush City Limits. I settled back with a champers to watch the over 50s hit the dance floor. It was HEAVEN. On a stick. Dipped in chocolate. There was this silver-haired bloke in pale grey leather shoes with skinny laces and a matching tie, dancing like he’d been on a horse for a week. And a woman in a Stevie Nicks frock, punching her arms in the air like it was a boxercise class. Lots of mail-order brides and their elderly, bushy eyebrowed husbands were waltzing. Wife of Threesome waved to a leopard-print retiree on the dancefloor. When I asked how she knew her, she said the woman’s mother ran over her with a mobility scooter. The novel ways you make friends at sea… The disco lights flashed. I started twirling again, barefoot, singing at the top of my lungs. It was beyond awesome, edging towards amazing. Then the clock ticked over to 11pm and the DJ switched from pick ‘n’ mix requests to ’90s hour. I only remembered one band, Black Box, so I requested them. But the rest was just energetic noise. I gave it a few more songs, then departed the dance floor. So did the urban cowboy and the boxerciser. Bah. I remembered my mother was sitting on the uncomfortable sofa in my cabin minding the Sprogs; plus I had boot camp at 9am. I tottered into the light, via the chocolate buffet on level 11. (Fortunately we didn’t go at 11pm when it first opened. It was reminiscent of the frenzy at the Myer end-of-year clearance, with a few hundred Germans leading the charge.) I kissed my mother goodnight. I popped a Unisom. I typed my blog. I slept. Only two nights to go.