FREEDOM!

My dissertation is finally finished. I just need to print off two copies tomorrow and hand it in.

Tonight, most of my program is going to eat at our favorite Italian restuarant in Piccadilly Circus, then going out. Tomorrow will mianly include packing. Then starting at 5pm my entire program (undergrads and postgrads) rented out the top floor of the local pub for a catered meal and celebration festivities.

I'm currently listening to "The Final Countdown" on repeat in iTunes.

Man does it feel good to be done. It's now offficially summer vacation!!!

Revisions

I'm currently rereading and revising what I've written and then I'll add my conclusion.

7,476 words. I should hit 8,000 after the revisions are done + 600ish for the conclusion.

Word Count

7,000

Exams Over!

Finished my second of two exams this morning. Both of them went fairly well.

I'm currently taking a 5 minute break from my dissertation. Currently my word count is 4,902. It needs to be at least 8,000. I'll be researching/typing all night tonight, most of the day tomorrow, and hopefully I can finish up Thursday...

Lot of Writing

The last couple days haven't been exciting at all. I've just been writing my dissertation basically, taking breaks occassionally. I've written 4,000 words out of 8-10,000.

Exam on Monday, exam on Tuesday, dissertation due Friday, Rob comes Sunday!, Ireland Tuesday!....

House of Lords

On my last day of work I went to see the House of Lords debate. Most of the power in Parliament lies in the House of Commons and so that is the most important chamber, but I wanted to see the Lords at some point. It was a little more tame than the Commons, but still worthwhile.

Here are two articles from The Guardian and The Times that highlight the committee hearing with Jesse Jackson that I went to yesterday:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/26/simon-hoggarts-sketch
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5976582.ece

Last Day with the MP

My MP Mark and I said our goodbyes and thank yous today. He really kind and gave me a going away present, London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd. The book is nearly 800 pages and is supposed to be fantastic. My friend John is read Thames by Ackroyd and he really enjoys it.

I actually owe John a big thank you. He sent me a text today saying that Rev. Jesse Jackson was being interviewed at the Home Affairs sub-committee meeting. I ran over and saw him answer questions from MPs on violent crime and drugs for a little over an hour. Basically, Jackson believed that in order to limit drug related crimes we need to focus on cutting the supply of the drug and less on halting the demand for it. He also spoke about reforming the prison system so that young convicts can be educated ("We need to raise them up, not lock them up"). At the end of the session the MPs asked a couple questions about Obama, the Civil Rights Movement, and MLK to which he gave the most intriguing answers.

By the way yesterday on my tour of Big Ben. I climbed over 300 steps to the top of the clock tower, walked behind the faces of the clock, saw how the giant mechanical clock works, and witnessed the chimes and Big Ben sing at 10am. It was so freakin' cool.

Last Day of Classes

Today was a sad day. I had to say goodbye to Cameron early, early in the morning. Then I had my last two classes of the semester. Now the real work begins. I have an exam Monday, an exam Tuesday, and my dissertation due at 2pm on Friday the 3rd.

Tomorrow morning I'm getting an exclusive tour of Big Ben and the clock tower, which is not available to the general public. Then after work at my internship I'm going to see an Animal Collective concert. Unfortunately, that may be the last fun thing I do until my program ends on the 4th.

Great Week With Cameron...Extended

So it's been an incredible week with Cameron--Portabello Road, Windsor Castle, various pubs, Indian food on Brick Lane, Girl Talk concert, St. Patty's Day, Jack the Ripper, Harrods, etc, etc.--and luckily/unfortunately Cameron missed his plane because the Tube basically broke down and took 3 times as long to get to Heathrow as it normally would. So Cameron is flying out first thing Monday morning, so we're going to make the most of his bonus time here.

A couple pictures from the last week:

Windsor Castle

Cam in front of the cathedral inside the castle

Girl Talk mixing on his computer right next to us

Kait, Cam, me, and Jill--My Newtown friends reunited in London

Girl Talk Show

Cameron, Jill, and all my friends went to a Girl Talk concert last night. Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis) is a mash-up DJ and one of the most original and fun artists out there. He uses bits from dozens of popular songs (new and old) and melds them together in a single track. So his concerts are just continuous music and a nonstop dance party. Not only that but he lets his audience on stage with him during his shows.

We got to the show a little early so we could be right up next to the stage and once Girl Talk came on we were the first people on stage. The entire show we were literally right behind the Gillis as he was mixing on his computer and dancing around. It was absolutely incredible! My body is still sore from dancing so much. The whole experience is hard to put into words, but pictures should help.

(published a little late)

Happy St. Patty's Day

Went on a Jack the Ripper walk of London with Cameron last night. Walking by the spot of each of his murders, we learned about probably the most infamous serial killer of all time. The tour was rather fascinating and led to us wasting about a half hour reading the Wikipedia entry on Jack the Ripper.

Later today, we'll be celebrating the great Irish holiday, St. Patrick's Day, with some dignified Parliamentarians.

Cameron's Visit

So Cameron arrived Saturday evening and the past 2 days have been a whirlwind. Kaitlin Files was also making a pitstop in London on her way home from spring break in Greece. So Saturday included a trip to Portobello Road with Cameron, Jill, and Kaitlin (three of my best friends from Newtown). It was a little surreal to be in a foreign country with such close friends. 

Today Cam and I visited the Tate Modern then took a river ferry along the Thames. I showed him some of the more touristy spot is London--St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, etc. Then we met up with Mr. Piacentino, a good family friend, for dinner on Brick Lane where all the great "curry houses" (Indian restaurants) are. A great time was had by all. 

Football Fotos

The stadium where we saw the Fulham vs. Blackburn game was built around this historic building (pictured below), so there is literally stand surrounding this building. It's rather unique. 

4th row seats

a shot after the fans cleared out

European Football

I had the greatest time at my first professional football (soccer) match last night. It was very much like a college sports game with the cheers, the passion of the fans, and even the location of the stadium in the middle of a regular neighborhood. Photos to come later...

Off to see Billy Elliot (for free).

Debt and Personal Finance Breakfast

Mark is the head of an inter-party Parliamentary group on debt and personal finance. This morning I went into work two hours early to attend. The topic of the meeting was the public perception of the credit crunch and speakers included the likes of Vince Cable MP, who is quite a big-wig in economics and former leader of the Liberal Democrats (the third biggest party in Parliament).

The conversation was pretty engaging and I got some insight into how the Brits understand the credit crunch and how they plan to deal with combating low public confidence. Many of the MPs actually blamed the media in Britain for making the situation appear worse than it actually is.

After work it's off to the LSE for more dissertation work.

Tomorrow me and some of my friends are going to see a Premier League football match (soccer game) which we're all pumped about. Then on Thursday through my program we're all going to see the musical Billy Elliot.

The Magical Mystery Tour

This morning I got up extra early to go on a Beatles walking tour in London. There are hundreds of walking tours throughout London and I plan on taking advantage of a couple more before I leave. I've already gone one tour of the neighborhood I live in, which is surprisingly full of quite a lot of history. 

Our tour guide was a walking Beatles encyclopedia and I definitely plan on reading some literature on the Fab Four when I have some free time back in the states. 

Pictured above, we walked by the original home of Apple Records, the record label that the Beatles created. On top of the building is where The Beatles performed their famous rooftop concert, which turned out to be their last ever live performance.

We also went to the infamous Abbey Road Studios where they recorded nearly all of their songs. Also the same studio where Radiohead recorded OK Computer and The Bends -- two of my absolute favorites.

Any Beatles walk would not be complete without crossing Abbey Road where Paul, John, George, and Ringo did so famously on the cover of my personal favorite Beatles album, Abbey Road.

Now back to homework...

Just for you Mom

me and my mother's boyfriend

Work, Work, Work

Don't expect any exciting posts for a little while. I've been trying to crank out pages of my dissertation for the last two days after work. I'll be doing more of the same this weekend.

Not the best of days

Today my friend John got me a ticket to Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ's) in the public gallery of the Commons. Unfortunately Gordon Brown is visiting Obama this week, so it wasn't quite the same, but still rather lively and exciting. The way that the British debate is much more in-your-face than the American style.

If it hadn't been for PMQ's today would have been the most boring day here. Rather than researching or drafting letters for constituents today I did real mundane "intern work"--stuffing envelopes and counting surveys. It was pretty awful.

Oh well.

The rest of my week shouldn't be any more exciting. My 15,000 dissertation is due in exactly one month and Cameron is coming to visit for a week beginning next Saturday. I want to get as much writing done before he comes, so that I can relax, enjoy his company, and visit some more tourist sites that I've missed.

Back from Oxford

Had a program day-trip to Oxford today...Unfortunately I forgot my camera. 

Oxford University made me wish that I was a brilliant British student. That is what a place of higher education should look like. 

Here's a couple pictures from Chelsea and my trip to Bath and to the Tower of London this weekend:

not quite as pretty as the Edinburgh castle, but still pretty cool

view from inside the castle towards Tower Bridge

a real, live ancient Roman bath

Chelsea walking around the top of the baths next to Bath Abbey

One of the many pretty public parks we explored in Bath

Happy 50th Pops!

Chelsea and I celebrated my father's birthday by strolling through Hyde Park, visiting a special Picasso exhibit at the National Gallery, touring Westminster Hall, going out dinner with all my friends, and then seeing a West End play, 39 Steps (it was very average).

Bath tomorrow...

Chelsea Comes Tonight

After work and a quick dinner, I'm off to Heathrow Airport to pick up her up. We haven't set up any strict London itinerary, but we'll be probably hit the Tate Modern, Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey. The one thing that is set in stone is that we'll be spending the day in Bath on Friday.

Another Day in the Office

Today, Mark treated me and my co-worker, Andrew to lunch. It was nice to sit and chat with both of them about travel, politics, and life at a less professional level.

Tomorrow there is a good chance I'll get to watch Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. For those of you that don't know PMQs, as they're called, are one of the most dramatic moments in politics. Basically the Prime Minister of the Government gets grilled by members of the Opposition party for an hour.

Here's a classic example of Tony Blair picking apart former Prime Minister John Major.

Spontaneous Concert

So mid-conversation with a dear friend today, I get a text from Jill saying that we should try and scalp tickets to see a sold-out Fleet Foxes concert. The Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut album last year was critically-acclaimed universally and a personal favourite of mine that I couldn't seem to stop listening to.

Needless to say we were successful in scalping and managed to only pay $27 a piece (The tickets were going for $60 on eBay last week). We also snuck up right along side the stage. Not bad for coming 15 minutes before their set. The show was really great--very unique atmosphere because everyone was listening so intently. The vocals on their albums  rival those of the Beach Boys and Crosby, Still, & Nash and surprisingly none of that sounds is lost in their live shows. In fact, their voices are even stronger live.

Jill and I hung around long enough to meet one of the band members, who was nice enough to have the entire band sign my ticket

Fleet Foxes Live

This weekend

This weekend I visited the ancient Greek exhibit in the British Museum which has the marble statues that once surrounded the Parthenon. 

Last night I went to a club down the street that Prince Harry and Prince William frequent. 

And today, I explored Hyde Park for several hours today before starting on my homework.

Chelsea comes on Wednesday and is staying until Monday. I am very excited to see her.

Everything Else I Did In Edinburgh

The second day I was in Edinburgh, my morning began with 2 presentations from Members of Scottish Parliament. For those of you that don't know in 1999 Tony Blair and the House of Commons passed an Act of Parliament that created a devolved Parliament in Scotland that took on certain responsibilities like education and health care. 

Then I went to visit Mark's constituency office downtown. I spoke with the three women that work there about how things work at the office. So now I not only know how Mark's London office is run, but how he works when he is home. Mark makes a point to respond to every single letter or email from every single constituent. He works very hard and is very in touch with his constituency.

The highlight of my day, however, was visiting the Edinburgh Castle later in the afternoon. Since the 12th century there has been a royal castle in that spot although few of the current building pre-date the 16th century. Either way, it is older than almost anything you'll find in the states.

front entrance of the castle

The castle was absolutely gorgeous and the view of the city was absolutely beautiful. I cannot imagine living there. Another cool thing I saw inside the castle was the the barracks were they kept French and American prisoners of war during the "American War of Independence" or Revolutionary War.

For dinner I had haggis which is a traditional Scottish dish.  For those of you who aren't grossed out you probably don't know what it is. According to Wikipedia it consists of sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, andsalt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.

At night we took advantage of the hopping night-life in Edinburgh and celebrated my friend Nicki's 21st birthday. 

Some Pictures from Day 1

One of the many cathedrals along the Royal Mile

Our ghost tour guide

The start of the Royal Mile

A view of the castle from below

The Beautiful Edinburgh

I returned to London late this afternoon after a very, very eventful three days in Edinburgh. 

When I arrived we only really had time to explore the city, so we walked up and down the Royal Mile--the oldest part of the city. It is called the Royal Mile because it is the mile of cobblestone road that leads out from the Edinburgh Castle. We went into all the different shops, stores, and pubs for most of evening getting a flavor for the city. 

Then at around 9:30 we took a ghost tour through the older parts of the city. It was a little corny, a little scary, a little historical, but extremely funny. We all had a blast. 

Other Hansard Blogs

My roomate Alex as well as another student, Omar, are both keeping blogs while abroad. If any of you are curious about what my Hansard colleagues are doing with their time here.

Edinburgh

I'm off to Edinburgh, Scotland in the morning with my program. Once we arrive at 1 we'll have the entire day free. Then for the next two days we'll have seminars with Scottish officials on various political topics, then we have the entire afternoon free to explore the city. I'm so excited! Its a pre-paid weekend vacation with my friends (in the middle of the week!)

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone

This is a shot of the LSE library where I will be spending a majority of my time today as I fight to finish my 6 page research paper. The library is the best college library I've ever seen, mainly because it's devoted entirely to politics, economics, and government. 

My Valentine's Day yesterday consisted of a romantic date with ancient Egyptian mummies at the largest museum in the world, the British Museum. The collection here is so incredibly massive that it would take weeks to give the museum the treatment it deserves. Fortunately, it is walkable from LSE, so in between classes on Monday John and I decided we would explore a different wing of the museum.

Here's a photo of my desk and office in Parliament, just in case you were curious

HUGE BUMMER

So once again London's inability to deal with snow has screwed me over. I wasted six hours Friday getting to the London-Stanstead airport only to discover that a mere 3 inches of snow had totally crippled the airport.

 

My flight was cancelled and all the flights Saturday were sold-out. I should be refunded my money for both my flights in and out of Florence.

Today, I visited the former home neo-classical architect John Sloane. It's currently a museum, and it is absolutely crazy. Arguably one of the coolest things I've since I've been here--his basement is supposed to resemble the catacombs, he collected hundreds of Roman busts, loved using mirrors.  If you click here and you can see a 360 degree view of one of the rooms to see what I am mean. This guy was crazy.

Off To Florence

Unfortunately the weather in Florence is supposed to be sub-zero (degrees Celsius) for this weekend, but I'm still very, very excited.

I spent this morning at work stuffing envelopes and writing responses to constituent letters about the economy in Britain (The UK Bank of England just lowered the interest rate to 1%).

This afternoon I'll be joining Mark for a Westminster debate on sustainable railways.

Off to lunch...then Florence!

Mark's Website Redesign

Mark, my MP, is trying to improve the layout and features on his website. Because I have more experience with Facebook, YouTube, blogs, etc. he has asked that I help with this. We'll see what role I take after I return from Edinburgh.


Parliament is in recess next week, which is why the entire Hansard Programme (British spelling) is headed to Scotland.

The Next Week

So tomorrow I'm getting a tour a of the Parliamentary Library and then doing research for my MP for the rest of the day. Then after work on Thursday I'm catching a bus straight to the airport. After a fantastic weekend in Florence, I'm going to write a paper all day Sunday. On Monday I'll have class. Finally, Tuesday everyone in my program will be headed to Edinburgh, Scotland until Friday. It's a program visit so it's my understanding that I'll be touring British Parliament and making other political excursions. Plus, my MP Mark is from Edinburgh, so I'm planning on visiting his constituency office too.

It will certainly be an exciting week (minus this essay hanging over my head).

Bon Jovi in London

I'm sure it was the number 1 question on all your minds, but yes it is true...the British love Bon Jovi.

I have heard "Living on a Prayer" more times than I care to recall. Honestly every British girl I've spoken to a bigger fan that most of the Jersey girls I've met.

Amsterdam 3

Sunday, my last day in Amsteram included a trip the Anne Frank House in the morning. We walked through where Anne Frank was in hiding during the German occupation of Amsterdam. I've been to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. before and that was rather intense, but mainly becuase it was just overwhelming. The Anne Frank story, however, personalizes the experience to one girl and her family and makes it that much more tangible. Walking through the empty annex where she lived made my eyes watered up quite a few times. It is a must do if you ever go to Amsterdam.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the city before finally heading to the airport and heading home just in time to catch the biggest snowfall in London in 20 years.

It's Been A Couple Days

So I've been very busy with my schoolwork (and will continue to be until Monday) so I haven't updated recently. Also a friend from Marist, Anna Parry, is studying in Dublin for the semester and facebooked me and asked if she could crash at my place for the weekend. Naturally, I accepted and so I've also been entertaining and doing school work, groceries, internship applications, and RA appliactions.

Expect another post on Monday. 

Warmest regards,

Andrew

Day 2 in Amsterdam

Saturday I had my fully catered Continental breakfast in the hostel (2 slices of toast, 1 hard boiled egg, tea, and jam). That wasn't enough so I went next door to this pastry shop and bought this delectable waffle covered in chocolate. I died.


Then it was off to the Van Gogh Museum, so we paid for the tram. Mistake. Apparently no one pays for the tram in Amsterdam. I didn't see a single person pay while we were riding there. Van Gogh is my new favorite artist. As I've said before seeing Van Gogh's brushstrokes in person significantly enhances the experience.


After Van Gogh we grabbed some lunch and walked through a street market. From there it was only a short walk to the first Heineken factory. I've never really understood how beer was made, so that was rather interesting. Plus they gave us a couple free pints, which we didn't hate either. We then spent the rest of the evening exploring the city and crashed early again.

After our Heineken tour

fun fact: the red house in the middle is the thinnest house in Amsterdam

A nice shot of the canal

Some Snow Shots of the City

both of these shots are right down the road from my flat

Comment Problems Fixed...Hopefully

Some of you were having problems posting comments before. I believe I fixed that now, so you can post anonymous comments where you don't need log-in information.

Try it now...

Amsterdam Day 1

So John (my program) Jill, Leric, Joel, Kathryn, Kate, and Megan (all Jill's program) arrived in the Amsterdam airport at around 6 a.m. and then took a train to Central Station, which is right in the heart of Amsterdam. We found our hostel pretty easily and checked in. In the first fifteen minutes there I had met 2 Swedes, 1 Pole, and 3 fellas from Manchester. The Swedes and Pole, who had gotten there just an hour before us, joined us as we began exploring the city. We were fortunate enough to come across a 3 hour free tour of Amsterdam. Without a doubt it was the best tour I've ever been on. Our guide was not only energetic, but had such a sense of history. The tour was the perfect way to get to know the city. 

The tour ended around 4pm or so and everyone was pretty beat, so they all headed back to the hostel. Thankfully, I had gotten some sleep the night before, so I was able to walk around and explore the city by myself. The city is so beautiful--the canals, the architecture, but mainly the people. Without a doubt the most welcoming part of the city is the mentality that Amsterdamers have. Throughout history the Dutch have been accepting of all races, creeds, sexual orientations, and lifestyles. I think America could learn a little from their tolerance.

After dinner and the necessary walk through the eye-opening Red Light District all of us were all beat again and ready for bed. 

Day 2 to come...I'm off to bed.

A Summary In Pictures

So London had it's highest snow fall in 25 years and the entiree city shut down--no buses, delayed trains, etc. My two classes were cancelled, which I didn't mind because I was still recooperating from my stay in Amsterdam.

So today was rather lazy. My friends and I just had a snowball fight in the street and once we were reprimanded by the neighbours we walked to Hyde Park and continued our battle. 

Hopefully, tomorrow I will find the time to update you all on my Amsterdam trip in depth, but in the meantime the following pictures should suffice.

formerly a post office, now a shopping center

Leric, roomate John, and Joel in front of our hostel

Anne Frank's diary

Van Gogh's most complete self-portrait and the only one where he portrays himself as an artist

One of the first church's in Amsterdam, now a modern art museum

One of the countless dams throughout the city

A beautiful church we stumbled upon

Inside the Heinekin factory

The view from our hostel bedroom window

Back Safe And Sound

It was snowing in London so hard when we touched down that the night buses stopped running and it was nearly impossible to get a taxi, but John and I made it home safe and sound around 2:15am just in time to see most of the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl. So I although I was upset to have missed most of the game I was happy to see some good football.

The trip was absolutely incredible. More details will certainly follow, but it was definitely the best weekend thus far in Europe.  It was just a great cultural experience that I certainly will never forget. It's amazing what I was able to do in just 2 and a half days.

Tickets to Florence Booked

Round trip tickets were only £40, but after all the fees it came out to £87 (about $120).

I fly into Pisa (only a short trip from Florence) around 11pm Thursday Feb 12 and leave early Sunday morning.

After work it's right to bed, then up at midnight to get to the airport by 4am. I arrive in Amsterdam 2 hours before sunrise--hopefully in time to see this:

...And You Think The U.S. Economy Is Bad?

Be grateful you're not looking for a job in the UK right now.

Meeting My MP

Finally got to meet my MP Mark today. We got a brief chance to chat about my time here already and what his expectations are. He is quite an energetic man whose thick Scotish accent is difficult to understand at times. I think he will be quite enjoyable to work for. He has quite a few assignments for me, namely research on various consumer protection isssues relating to energy. Nearly 15% of U.K. citizens have a "pay-as-you-go" system for their electricity and gas. Many of the people who use this system are low income, and unfortunetley most electic and gas companies charge significantly more for the "pay-as-you-go" than they do standard billing or direct debit billing methods.

I've contacted Mikey Maresca, a good friend from Marist, who is currently studying in Florence about visiting for an extended weekend from Feb. 12-15. I found a round trip flight for £50, which I may finalize this evening.

Countdown until Amsterdam: <2 days

Tomorrow

So I finally meet me MP (Member of Parliament) tomorrow. I'm highly anticipating it. Hopefully, my next 2 and a half months here will become clearer.

Also today after work I met up with an old friend from middle school, Brooke Sciarrotta, and recalled simpler times. We both remembered that she came to my formal freshman year of high school with me...Wow that seems like lifetimes ago.

Lots of schoolwork to do before Amsterdam. Goodnight....

Amsterdam Here I Come...

I just booked a flight to Amsterdam tonight. I'll be leaving London 6am Friday morning and I'll be back late Sunday night. The whole trip was thrown together very last minute, so it cost me more than i would have like 154 pounds sterling, but I'll be sure to book one of those 5 pound flights when I go to Florence/Rome/Paris.

My First Van Gogh

For part of the Hansard Program I must write a dissertation of roughly 35 pages on a topic of choosing relating to British politics. In between my two classes today, I met with my one professor to finalize my topic--we settled on a comparison of UK and US environmental policy through examination of various legislation. The UK is the first nation to set clear carbon emission reduction guidelines and put them into law. 

After my last class I went to visit the National Gallery and saw my firs Da Vinci and Van Gogh in person. I must say photos of Van Gogh's do not give his work justice; you really need to see the piece in person. The thick brushstrokes and rich texture bring another dimension to the painting that photos like the one below cannot display.

...possibly my favorite painting in the museum Van Gogh although here it's a little cut off

For Those Yankees Fans...

If you haven't already heard you may want to read this story on ESPN.com about Joe Torre's new book about his time with the Yankees. I'm a little scared about what we might learn and I've certianly lost a little respect for Joe for publishing this while he is still an active manager. We'll see what becomes of this...

Exploring London

Up until yesterday I have only seen the nice parts of London. I live by the Boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, which are very posh areas. Yesterday, my flatmate Rebecca and I took a bus through Chelsea and crossed over the river into Southwark. We explored some flea markets there and I saw how how and where "the other half live."

Today I'm going to meet up with Jill Roberts (my good friend from home who is studying here for those that don't know) and visit a museum. I've seen Jill quite a lot since I've been here, which has been fantastic--she's not only a familar face whose company I enjoy greatly but a great person to explore London with because she's up for anything.

Jill and I out to dinner earler this week

Apparently, there is a town of Overton 

Me in front of the Houses of Parliament (The Palace of Westminster) on my first day of work