What were you doing 8 years ago? I can tell you what I was doing... making a brave trip to London to meet up with an American girl and her two friends who'd come over for a few days vacation.
Brave I hear you ask? Surely I'm not about to endorse anything Mr Trump has said about sections of London being no-go zones???!!!! No, categorically no!
Brave because I'd got food poisoning on the Tuesday, and it was bad enough that the exhibition I was supposed to be at saw me spend 85% of the time in the bog before I gave it up and decided to return home and cut out all food & liquid.
I was supposed to meet up on the Thursday evening, but that wasn't possible under the circumstances, so we pushed it back to Saturday. Now Jessica admits she actually didn't worry about me blowing her off, whereas I was quite a bit annoyed, guess who got the attraction bug first?
So to the Saturday, and of course because we'd spoken online you always get the fear that will the person that turns up be something hideous, in my case that was almost true given the mess that had been pouring from me for 3 days, so I'm at Gloucester Road station and looking for a blond girl in a red coat, up the steps comes a blond head, red coat, OMFG she's about 60, I got out of my bed for this? FML. Except it wasn't her, and I gave the 2nd largest sigh of relief that week (do you really need to ask what the 1st was? Ok, it was after the dry fart I'd let go on Friday - result!)
Up pops Jessica, followed by Paul & Jen who I'd get to know very well over the next few years. Where are we going? Are you hungry? We thought BBQ....my thoughts instantly go to the impending doom that is going to occur, but they're the guests so my reply is sure, let's go.
Jessica buzzes around the group, sometimes with me, sometimes ahead, asserting her personality over all of us. It's quite amazing to watch. We find the place, eat the food & I survive. Walking back early in the evening towards the Thames it seemed appropriate to get a picture, the result is what you see up top, the very first day we officially met face-to-face, and it began an incredible journey where she stole me away from my family & friends, uprooted my life, took my home and it was all totally worth it because she shared her heart & her passion.
Without her, there is no blog, there is no life in the USA, no Boo, Wiggles, Nathan, Nugget or Jake Thug.
In other words, all the crap I write that you may occasionally read is all her fault!
Hugs to her, and donations for her selfless charity work in keeping me off the streets will always be much appreciated.
J.
