Bye bye Jimbo
Everyone needs friends in their lives, but sometimes you need friends in your lives. I just can’t say what I would have done if I hadn’t had my friend, Jim, here in London to help me out over the past few weeks. He offered to let me stay with him and his family when I first came until Kelly came over, which was amazing and I appreciated it so much. Then it was off to the hostel with Kelly, sharing one bathroom with the entire building-full of girls, having to endure watching East Enders while some Australian couple slobbered all over each other in a corner, and being kept up at night because of the stench wafting upwards from the piss-drunk old man who staggered in from the pub at 3 in the morning. However bad it may have been, it was our home. And then we were told there were no beds for us and we had to vacate because a bus-load of Dutch school kids were moving into the place. No jobs, no house, no hostel vacancies for less than 25 pounds a night each…we were up the creek. Then, lo and behold, Jim sends word that we can come back to his. So back to Wimbledon I went, and oh so glad was I for that.
It had been so much fun staying here initially, meeting his family and his grandmother (who even knitted me little booties one day!), that it was so nice to come back again. It seems funny, but it really felt like a family away from home for me. Kelly, Jim, and I had a great night out at Oceana and had fun hanging out in general. Then, today, Jim went back to Northampton to go back to uni. It is so weird not having him here. What should seem really weird is that we are here at his house with his family when he’s not, but it actually isn’t at all. Kelly and I called up some hostels this morning to plan our next move, but Sandra (Jim’s mom) insisted that we stay here until we can move into our house on Monday. So here we are! We helped cook the Shabbat meal last night, and today Sandra drove us around Wimbledon and Putney, showing us the riverside at night and taking us by the Wimbledon tennis stadium. What a lovely evening!
When we move into our house on Monday (yes, we will actually be leaving, believe it or not), I will definitely miss it here. Kelly and I have already told Sandra that we’ll have her over to our place for a big Southern-style meal. 🙂 I’m sure nothing we can make can compare to the feasts she makes on a daily basis, but we’ll do our best.
This post is dedicated to Jim and his family, who I owe so so much! Without you guys I would be standing out in Piccadilly Circus selling The Big Issue, or humming Moonlight Serenade through an orange roadcone in Leicester Square. So, for that, I thank you!
Tags: London, Wimbledon
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