1986/7
I had gone out with friends to “Your Father’s Moustache” (the Tache), as I love alternative music. I was with a group of female friends at the time. I was standing with 2 females by the dance floor in the club when we were approached by some young men, one of whom identified himself as Philip. He and his associates asked us if they could buy us some drinks and we got talking to them.
The one called Philip was chatting to me a lot of times and flirting with me. We had some more drinks together as a group. I recall being a bit tipsy and tired by the time we decided to go home but I was not drunk. The females who were with me were also not drunk but they were clearly also tired and perhaps a bit tipsy.
We were all aware of what was going on around us and we were fully able to talk without slurring words. I decided to leave, accompanied at the time by a female called Claire. As we were leaving the guys we had been talking to, including Phil, asked to accompany us. They had cans of drinks and they were drinking from these as we left.
As we were going to a nearby taxi rank, the guy called Phil asked if we would like to get some takeaway and then we could go to his house to watch a movie. I was walking ahead with him at that point, but I was aware of the other females that I had been with still walking behind us with a couple of friends of Phil.
We slowed down outside the taxi place, but all agreed to get takeaway and then go back to see the movie. I was not drinking from the can that Philip had, but I recall being a bit uncertain as to what happened on the way back from the club. By the time we got food, I was not sure what my friends were doing. They were following on slowly.
I reached the house first with Phil. I recall sitting in a living room and I recall that there was a pizza, a bottle of wine or cider and some coca cola. I think Philip may have made me a coffee or tea. I waited for the other people to arrive but I recall suddenly feeling really tired and nauseated.
I have no idea what then happened. But I remember it being the following morning and I woke up in unfamiliar surroundings with just a t-shirt on. The t-shirt was not mine. I didn’t feel very well, like I had a really bad hangover. I was able to find my clothes and I dressed and left really quickly.
I got home and I had a shower. I was sick later that day. I was also worried about what may have happened. I was really upset afterwards and I didn’t go out with friends for some time. Eventually, about 3 weeks later, I did start to go out again. I went to the Tache again with a friend. However, I became aware that Philip was there. I also noticed a few people who I knew were suddenly acting oddly and were frosty towards me.
I spotted Claire but she didn’t want to speak to me. I then discovered that Philip had been boasting about sleeping with me and was also saying that I was nasty to him. He was claiming that he had asked me to go out on a date with him but I had told him I would not. He was trying to make me sound arrogant and vain. He was also playing the victim and trying to say that I lead him on.
I was really shocked by seeing him and I tried to leave the place. He followed me with a group of his friends. He tried to block the door as I was going out. He then followed me outside. I noticed that Claire was outside. Phil was saying something about asking her out on a date and that she had said she would accept. There was a crowd of people gathered by us and they seemed to include a lot of Phil’s associates. They were trying to hinder me and stop me from walking away. Phil was calling me names and was accusing me of being stuck up or something. He appeared to be blaming me for not wanting to date him, even though Claire was also present. He was boasting to his friends about how “easy girls round here are”. I only felt safe after a car that was driving past saw him shouting at me and stopped. I was then able to walk to the taxi rank nearby.
To this day I still don’t know what happened. However, Philip led me to believe that I had undressed and slept with him. He was clearly telling his friends that. He was creepy and tried to pursue me, refusing to take no for an answer. He appears to have also approached my friend to see if he could date her. I think he must have told Claire that I had gone to his house and slept with him but I then refused to date him. She was clearly very confused about what happened and she had been led to believe that I had just left her alone with a group of guys while I went off with Phil. She fell out with me following this.
I didn’t want to report the incidents to the police because I was so confused and upset at the time. I just wanted to pretend that it wasn’t happening. I have never really been able to talk about it much since. I have never told my family or other friends. I am really upset by this incident even now. I can never be sure what happened to me.