Camden Palace is the destination of the narrator’s Thursday-night “Feet First” routine, a nightclub where solitary preparation and romantic longing give way to music, movement, and an encounter with Sabina.

Setting and Weekly Ritual

“Feet First” takes place at Camden Palace on Thursdays. The narrator makes the club night a deliberate break in a summer marked by loneliness: before setting out, he showers in the squat, where the electricity is not yet connected and the water is ice-cold. He lights a candle in the windowless bathroom so he can use the mirror, drinks red wine as he applies his makeup, and prepares his hair with a mixture of boiled water and five spoonfuls of sugar. The careful styling turns the evening into a ritual rather than an ordinary night out.

His preparations are shaped by the squat’s poverty as well as his desire to look the part. He boils the water on an Argos campstove bought with his first wages, using the few materials at hand to create a carefully arranged appearance. The contrast between the improvised bathroom and the effort invested in the mirror gives the club night a particular charge: Camden Palace is not merely somewhere to go, but the anticipated scene for which the narrator composes himself.

Music and Anticipation

The journey to Camden heightens the night’s promise. The narrator is in love, in turn, with women he encounters around London, and the Northern line becomes part of that romantic anticipation: he imagines himself in love with every girl on the train as it heads toward Camden. By the time he enters the Palace, he is trembling.

At “Feet First,” the music seems to answer his private taste exactly. Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, and Einstürzende Neubauten play one after another through the night; the narrator feels as though he might be hearing his own collection. This resemblance between the club’s music and his homemade compilations makes the venue feel momentarily aligned with his inner world, transforming the night from passive escape into an experience of recognition.

Sabina’s Appearance

The encounter begins when the narrator sees a blonde girl dancing nearby. He reads her as not English, notices how her blonde hair stands out against her black clothes, and calls her “Sab …” She completes the name: “Ina.” The brief exchange establishes Sabina’s presence through a small correction and gives the night’s anticipation a concrete focus: amid the crowded dance floor and the music he had hoped to hear, the narrator has found someone to address.