London Calling

Yesterday after I wrote my blog I went out to find Ben. He'd already taken and shower and was busy packing his clothes. I tried to help him remember what to pack and whatnot.....yeah I TOLD him to take his phone charger but alas....he forgot and now he has a dead phone.

Anyways, we packed up everything, loaded up the car, and said bye to the Dogs (cause no one else was home). I left a note for Ben's parents saying that I had a lovely time and leaving some money for them to go towards the food I'd have consumed while I was in their house. I think that's it....I just left it on the table for them then went out into the car to help ben with packing stuff.

As Ben was packing up the last of the stuff I was trying to figure out if I left anything. It suddenly dawned on me, 'OH SHIT...DAD's PLUG!!!!!!' SO I ran back into the house, up the stairs and unlugged the plug converter and thought to myself, 'Woah...dad would've KILLED me if I forgot that.'

After we got everything loaded into the car we drove into Leominster, got some cash...found a kid's story and bought Top Trumps (FINALLY), and then drove to the train station. My ticket was £56 for a single(one way to London) and Ben's strangely enough was £57. We were joking about that while we waited for the train to arrive--basically it costs us that same amount to get TO London...and then it costs him £1 to get back home. haha

The journey was not too bad. We had to take an hour train ride from Leominster to Newport(in Wales) then get on another train that takes about 2 hours to get from Wales to Paddington Station in London. On the train we slept a bit and played Top Trumps which is quite fun when you actually know and love some of the cars(I know from watching Top Gear and listening to Ben talk about cars ALOT).

We also made fun of how the safety instructions said 'please read' and then in the corner it said: Please do not remove.

So basically....it's a ctach 22 and we're screwed either way. That was fun to make fun of.

Once we got to Paddington...we got a tad lost....and Jenny got a bit stressed. This station is BIG. like HUGE New York huge. I haven't been there myself but I would imagine that it's as big and crowded as Grand Central Station. We got lost and we were trying to figure out where we could buy Travelcards when this lady came up to us and gave us 2, 1-day travelcard tickets to use.. It was really nice of her and it kinda reminded me of when I go to Disneyland and I want to leave, but I have fast passses for something--so I just give them to someone on the way out. They were valid and everything...so it's a nice little karma gesture.

ANyways...we had one hell of a time finding the Hammersmith and City Line. The arrows pointing every which way were REALLY messy and hard to follow but after heaving tons of luggage around and being tired and stressed and snapping at Ben a few times we finally found our way to the Hammersmith and CIty line, got on and rode it to Kings Cross.

The next bit was finding the Hotel, which with Ben's help of Navigating street signs and me knowing which roads to look out for, we (mostly Ben) found it. The hotel is nice...a bit small, but nice. It's seriously smaller than the New York Hotel. Barely ANY room in walk in there. It's a (roughly) 9"x7" room with a double bed, a small desk, a wardrobe, and a sink. Yeah--TINY ASS ROOM.

Anyway....it's getting later in the day and Ben is getting impatiant, so I'll leave it there and describe more of the hotel and what we did today, tomorrow! In the meantime, enjoy there photos of me and Ben on the train:

BYE!
-JM

Quick update then it's off to London I go!

Yesterday Ben and I had out little naps to keep with it (Ben more than me surprisingly). Then when dinner rolled around we got ready and went to a pub down the road called The King's Head for dinner.

I felt under dressed because i was in my work pants, a long sleeve t-shirt and my baggy Warped Tour t-shirt over that (it was because I was doing laundry one last time before London and had no clothings). Then again, same thing happened to Mrs. Russell--but she felt OVER dressed. She did look nice and the rest of the family wore some sort of casual top and jeans. Ben looked hot though...he was in a dressier shirt over a normal t-shirt.

But alas, Ben was tired and out of it the entire way through dinner and when we got home...he crashed. He seriously drank too much, stayed up too late and partied too hard. I worry about that boy, but he seems to manage on his own and he knows his limitations. Ah Bless....^^

I had bangers and mash with veg for dinner....not the best I'd say but then again--not a meat person anymore. I think the only meat I've come to appreciate is good old Steak. I have been eating alot of Meat and milk while I've been here...and I think I've gotten fatter because of it. Not REALLY fat, but I can start to see it in my face and belly--not attractive at all. I'm hoping that once I get home I can start back on veg and carbs and leave the cholesterol overload to someone else.

There were some funny antidotes around the table and it was funny to see Rich and Wayne (Ben's brother and dad) get buzzed if not drunk. I think his dad got more pissed than his brother did. And his sister had some alcohol too so she was giggly in the car back. Teresa drove and Ben sat in the back out of it while I looked around the car taking it all in--the drunks and the quite ones. Quite an interesting family.

When we got home I kissed Ben goodnight and went to go pack. I started to cry because I thought, 'this is the last night i'm going to spend in this house'. I got really nostalgic packing my things. I thought about how I put out the washing...how Ben and Kate showed my baby kitties, fun times hanging out with Ben watching 'Mock of the Week' and 'Top Gear'. It was all, as I said, very nostalgic.

I am gonna miss this house and the people and the animals. I've had good times in this house. And it's weird, but part of me thinks this is the absolute end....as if leaving this house means I'm going home today. Even though I'm going to London and I'll still have Ben...it still feels awful feeling like this trip is going to be over in 6 days. 6 DAYS!!! That's how long NORMAL people go abroad to go on holiday. I don't know how people can stand going somewhere SO amazing for only 6 days. It's unbelievable to me.

Anyways...I'm do for a shower and then I have to go see how Ben is feeling this morning. Off to London in a bit! I'll keep you updated through these last few days!
-Jenny

Emo Jenny + Party = EPIC FAIL and WIN at the SAME TIME!!!

RIGHT! I'll take you through yesterday now....

Yesterday Ben and I got dressed and drove to Gloucester to take a look at the cathedral where Harry Potter was filmed. FAIL. We drove all the way there to find out that it was closed that day for a private charter school feild trip. What a crock! So, we decided to go to a few toy shops to see if we could find 'Top Trumps' a card game with cars as seen on Top Gear.....FAIL AGAIN! We couldn't find any original decks of that anywhere.

So...we just went home....sad and unsuccessful. It was kinda a downer of a day because of that....

Then we just muttled around until we had to go pick up Vid from the train station. Robert Vidler--AWESOME. This kid is a theatre person like me, talks alot like me, he's FUNNY just about every time he opens his mouth and here's the kicker...He's bloody Irish! Well technically he's lost his accent since living in England in different places, so his accent now is a bit jumbled but I like it. I can tell some irish coming through sometimes and it makes me happy inside.

ANYWAY! So Me and Ben pick up VId from the train station, then we pick up another friend of Ben's (Josh) and go to the supermarket to get supplies before the party. By the time we got to the party people had already set up tents in Issy's back yard(to sleep over in) and were mingling. So, Vid, Ben and I set up the tent and went and joined the party. We got there about 8ish, so keep that in mind.

Overall the party was a good one, as far as I could tell. There was one thing that kept me down throughout the night...Emalie was there. It's not so bad talking about her, but being at a party with Ben's One true love of his life...is a BIT awkward. So I stayed clear of her and never got into an awkward situation with her....which means I didn't see much of Ben either because he was usually with her or near her talking to someone else. :(

Vid and DMAN kept me entertained though. DMAN and I talked about girl and guy problems (him with his girlfriend, me with my dislike of being at the same party as Emalie). Vid just kept me laughing all night and I talked with him about serious stuff, funny stuff, shakespeare stuff. Vid got done doing his final monologue performances for one of his classes so we went out on the front lawn at one point (where no one was) so he could show me his Lysander monologue from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. He's no Victor Trevino, but he would do.

I mostly hung out with Vid the whole night, then DMAN, then talked to some new people, then saw Russ(ben) occasionally. It was quite good fun although I did have some emo moments.

I won't get too into details because what happens at the party generally stays at the party because no one else knows what you're talking about but here are some of the highlights:

-Football....we played 'soccer/football' on Issy's front lawn while it was still light outside. It was basically me...and all guys. AWESOMENESS. I was in Goal and I was blocking shots left and right, sliding, diving, checking people while going for the ball as well hahaha. I dove into this one guy's legs to kick the ball from under him...then I hit russ in the head with my hand while swatting the ball away from the goal when he tried to do a header...and then of course there was the time that I slid into Ben's ankles, grasped his legs and the ball so neither went anywhere(my shins still hate me for that one). Needless to say the guys were impresses (and scared) at what a girl can do on the football pitch.

other highlights include....

-Watching Ben, DMAN and Vid sing.
-Witnessing 2 people jumping on a half broken trampoline and collapsing it.
-Hearing about Steve who A) Pissed himself even when led to the toilets and B) got a surprise haircut(DMAN shaved a small patch of his head in the middle of the night)
-Hearing Ben quote Bill & Ted lines from outside the tent
-Me getting completely smashed and throwing up (yeah...now I'm never drinking again. lesson learned and don't you DARE fucking say 'i told you so')
-Seeing Ben and Josh climb the roof, then Ben jumping OFF said roof and rolling on the grass to stop himself from going anywhere
-Hanging out with Vid and talking about Shakespeare and accents and stuff.

END HIGHLIGHTS

Now here's my own set of what happened through my night:
Talked to people....avoided Russ and Emalie like the plague.
Talked to DMAN about his girlfriend and 'You Ain't Going NOWHERE!' ringtones (inside joke)
Talked to more people
Played Football...and got one leg injury and a somewhat bloody nose
Attended to wounds.
Talk to people in a group that Vid and Dman were at.....Vid told me that personality wise I'm the hottest girl at the party. Looks wise...I was about 3rd--which isn't bad considering there were alot of girls.
Went over gave russ a hug
Back to Vid and Dman's group to talk
(all this while after the game drinking)
Saw Ben again.
Walked out to where the cars were parked and found Dman and Vid chatting in Dman's car.
Talking in car with them...then we all went to find Ben.
Talked to just Vid Dman and Ben.
Dragged Vid out to front lawn to hear his monologues.
Sat with Vid talking on front lawn.
Dman and Ben found us.....Ben left (DMAN said Ben was jealous that I was out alone with Vid so that's why they came out there to find us).
Went back to the party...hugged/kissed Ben....had another Scrumpy Jack.
Went BACK onto the front lawn to talk with DMAN.
Threw up.
Ben and Vid found us. They walked me back to the party.
Ben tucked me into bed and told me to stay there and he's come in after a while.
I was cold...and alone....cried alot because I was the first one in bed and I wanted to join the party but I didn't want to move and upset my stomach.
Ben came in to check on me after a bit....I told him to send DMAN or Vid in to talk to me cause I can't go to sleep and I wanted someone to talk to.
After a while Vid came in.
We talked and stuff. We exchanged accents, tried each others and new ones. He likes the Irish I do because it's the southern Ireland one he can't bring himself to do.
I lay in bed listening to people talk.
I get up about 4am and joing Ben and Chris outside who are still talking, listing to music and drinking.
I'm all upset with Ben cause he still hasn't come to bed...but I stay out there anyway.
Eventually I go to bed again, for reals this time....and a short while later Ben comes in to join me.
It is now 7am and FULLY bright outside. stayed up all night....and finally slept from about 7am until half 11am.

Woke up....Ben got some coffee....I talked with Vid a bit more. All three of us took down the tent, packed then drove Vid to the train station.

When Ben and I got home, I put a load of clothes in, ate something then cuddled up next to Ben in his bed and feel asleep. now....I'm just waiting to kill some time before for dinner. Evidnetally we're going out with Ben's parents because it's our last night in Hereford with them. But I'll tell you all about that tomorrow.
Ciao!
-JM

Bye Bye!

Yesterday was our last 'BIG' adventure in the car. We went off to Stourhead (these gardens I wanted to Visit) near Bath.

As Ben and I got ready I came into his room to steal his computer and blog, like I always do. I managed to capture this funny picture of him:
It's slightly blurry, but I think it gets the point across that I have a sexy boyfriend. ^^ Anyways, after he put a shirt on and I blog for a bit, we ate some breakfast and we were ready to go. So, Ben hooked up the Sat Nav and we were on our way. Problem was....the Sat Nav was being a douche so it took us the scenic route towards bath....DOWN THROUGH WALES!!!!! Wales is Left of Where Ben Lives...Bath is South of Where Ben Lives....We should've gone straight down, but no, it took us over to wales , through Wales then over a bridge BACK into England and Southward again. It took us 3 hours.

Here's the bridge it took us over:
Ben says it's like the UK version of the Golden Gate Bridge.

So that was a bit of an adventure just GETTING to the place because we had to go over a bloody bridge and come BACK into England to get there. It was quite fun though because I spotted another car that I might want to get besides the mini:

The Suzuki Swift. Yes...if we have those in America anywhere NEAR the UK model I want one. ....Anyway, we get Stourhead, pay and go into the gardens. It's a BIG place and it's got a lake in the middle and you basically walk around the shores and through the hills around it and look at the wilderness and all the pretty statues and buildings and such like The Pantheon:
And the Grotto:

And of course, The Lake itself:
It was a lovely day despite that rain and the overcastness....but I had a really great time and I thank Ben lots for taking me there. ^^ Here are some other pictures of us during the day:

(Ben found a stick and started tapping up against the fence like a little kid--SO CUTE!)
(Me acting silly on a bridge)
(Me doing my little asian pose under a tree)
("It was like Led Zeppelin's cover for Houses of The Holy. There were many Steps and Columns. It was Most Tranquil")
(Outside the entrance to the grotto)
(Ben and a statue in the grotto waving to each other LULZ)

(Our Last Real Road Trip in Ben's Car, so I took a picture. My face and body look weird because I set a timmer and then ran back to the car to sit next to Ben. XD)

Thae last thing is that we past through Bath on our way back. I took pictures because Ben said it was so bland and boring. Everything looked that same-one creme coloured building after another. It was a nice city, clean and yes things looked the same but it was nice.
The only thing Ben liked about Bath was the fact that when we were getting OUT of the city...all the traffic was going IN to the city and there was NO ONE on the road the way we were going. He made a face, but I didn't capture that one so I made him make another one. Here is a reenactment of how shocked Ben was(add another 80% shocked and that was him at first):
That's all folks! i'm off to a party!
-Jenny

Raining in England...again...finally!

Yesterday Ben and I went to Birmingham for the day. His mate Robert Vidler (aka Vid) goes to Uni up there so it was a 'go up there and shop and wander around until we find out if we can hang out with Vid' sort of thing.

Ben made pancakes for breakfast. He LOVES pancakes. I'm still surprised Ben can cook and clean up after himself and what not. Never let a boy who cooks and cleans get away, so I'm taking as many pictures of it while I can.
Then Ben drove us to Selly Oak, parked near Vid's old flat then walked to the train station and took a ride (only about 3 stops) into the city--Birmingham. Here's us on the short train ride:
The station (and partially the city) kind of reminded me of New York. The Station at Birmingham was REALLY big and had several lines that connected to it since it was a central station. Then there were long staircases going up to the surface level. And when the surface popped up we were in a large shopping mall area with tall buildings and loads of shops.

We went to a comic book shop. Two levels, comic books, action figures, DnD, Sci-fi novels, Anime, Manga, etc...loads of stuff. Seriously this place was geek heaven. And Russ and I were running around looking at everything. This is the place:
Really good stuff. Evidentally Ben's friend Rudd found it and took them there one time while they were in Brum.

We also went into a clothing shop where I took these pictures:
The one of Ben I took for Adam...inside joke/yeeeeeaaaah.....haha

We eventually got a text from Vid saying that he's in rehearsals all day and then has a play to do at night so he couldn't hang out. So Ben and I just wandered around, going from shop to shop and wandering around this HUGE place looking at things. I found some interesting bits and landscape and things to take pictures of.....

(Pretty looking Catherdral/building/church thing)

(It's a Mini Cooper Chia Pet!!!!!)

(Another building, and a huge courtyard type thing)

C'mon.....you didn't REALLY think I wouldn't show up one of these days with a picture of me in a traditional British phone Box, did you?

After that it started PISSING down rain. It was REALLY heavy. You can't really tell in the picture of Ben, but you can definately tell with the close up picture of me:
After the rain and the cold, we wandered for a bit more, then I got a baguette sandwich, then we headed back to the train, rode back to Selly Oak, walked back to the car and drove home.

When we got home, we had dinner and then Ben made me watch his new Resident Evil movie(Degeneration, the animated one) which he bought while we were out. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

That's all for yesterday.
-JM

THE DAY--A breakdown

Yesterday was fun and full of action--well for me at least.

THE TALK:
Ben and I had a talk. ^^ It made me happy cause I've now established the fact that A) Ben really does love me and B)He's afraid of being romantic with me becuase he knows I just have to leave eventually anyway. So...nice talk. Jenny is all better and not moody anymore. :D

THE KITTIES:
Basically since I've been here the russels have been telling me that one of their Cats had kittens but they never really knew where they were. Well, they FOUND the kittens and Ben and Kate took me to go see the kitties. First Ben did....We climbed behind this wall and up onto the roof of a barn or something and looked down towards a crack in the ajacent barn to see a little kitten poking it's head out of the fence.

I stayed up on the roof and talked to it for a while, then took this picture:
Yes I know, I'm weird...and I had some Cider that day already as well. Don't hate me cause I'm having fun and dancing on rooftops!

Then when Kate took me back to the kitties(for their 'tea' or dinner) she left me to see them after she put down food in a little bowl. The mother(Abbey) came out for food, then the little kittens followed as well. I feel really bad though because I went down to pet one of the little kittens (the one shown above actually) and I scared it. It feel backwards into a hole and scrambled back into the barn where all the kittens hide. I frightened the kitten. :( it's gonna be really hard to gain that kitten's trust back. :(

THE FRISKY ONE and THE LAZY ONE:
I took pictures of me and Ben just hanging out in his room, because he was making funny faces and making me laugh:
THE FIRE:
One of the things that is unusual for me is seeing Ben take out the trash....and burning it. Since they're on a farm and they work with alot of meet and stuff, dead meat and other stuffs gets really smelly so instead of having a regular trash collection they burn their trash out in the top of one of their lower feilds. Pictures....now:
THE END:
We had dinner as per usual and then watched The Water Boy on TV and went to bed. Now we're off to Birmingham for the day!

Ciao!
-Jenny Mac

Yesterday was less than pleasing. I had a meltdown halfway through the day and I had alot to think about before Ben got home. 5 hours worth in fact.....but half of that time I had friends who were online for me to talk to.

I eventually took a walk from about 5pm-6pm and cooled down. I came back to Home Farm to find Ben already home. He evidentally didn't get to bed until 4am, and then had work yesterday morning so he was WELL tired by the time he got home.

We cuddled a bit, but I didn't really get to talk to him like I wanted to. So.....I saved that talk for another day(possibly today?) But to be honest I got REALLY depressed when he went to bed and I didn't talk to Ben. So I downed a scrumpy jack and took a walk (at 10:45) and got back at about 11pm, watched a movie and went to bed.

I know I'm being really vauge in this entry about what's bugging me, but *shrugs* I'll give you the full details some day. I just can't put it up here...now. So ask me about it later and I might tell. Just don't worry about me now, no harm...just my mind pulling riddles on me again.

That's it for now,