Goodbye Plymouth, Hello Greatford

Yesterday saw the great move back home. All the crap that I have gathered over the last year got packed into Mary (my car) and my dad's Volvo, and now I busy trying to fit it all into my room back here at my parents. As I'm sure many uni students up and down the country know - 2 rooms worth of stuff does not fit into 1 room!
Having been persuaded by Emily that I had to go out for drinks on Monday night, a few of us went out. All was going fine, till Owen and Rich decided to buy me, not just a pint (which my mum is hoping I'm going to give up now I'm away from my footie mates - some chance!) but a cocktail as well! Due to lack of food again, went straight to my head, and on top of that Nick bought me a shooter as well! Let's just say that the mixture of alcohol and lack of food made Tuesday morning very interesting indeed.
My last home game wasn't as bad as I feared. As Owen and Giles had really teased me on Tuesday night - I warned Owen not to do it again on Saturday, so he arrived with a yorkie saying "I've bought a present for the leaving one". It was definitely required after the shocking performance by Argyle. At least I wont have to see many shocking performances like that again!
Ah well - must go and finishing sorting out my room.

And so it begins

I am now sat amongst a whole hep of rubbish/things in bags/neatly-arranged piles of things. My room is a right tip. The process of packing up my room has started! While I’ve been doing this, I’ve had several “this is harder then I thought” (Monica in the last episode of Friends) moments when all I’ve wanted to do is sit down and cry. I thought I couldn’t cry any more then I have already this week, turns out I was wrong. Each time I’ve said goodbye to a friend I’ve ended up crying. One cupboard is already empty, the bottom of the wardrobe is clearly, bar the clothes, the posters are down from the walls, there are nearly two dustbins sacks full of rubbish and this is only day 1! I’m not leaving till Tuesday, but already I’m dreading driving back up to my parents.
Why does it have to be so hard?

Photos

I have just set up a site with some photos so browse at your leisure.

Ground No 10

On Saturday Owen, myself and 1,632 other members of the Green and White Barmy Army descended on Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace's home ground. Apart from the result (1-0 to Palace - a goal which is causing some debate amongst Argyle fans, some saying it was offside, others saying it wasn't, still others saying that it doesn't matter if it was or not, a goal was given), I had, well, lets just say an interesting day.
Out of the goodness of my heart I picked Owen up at 7.30 (though he wasn't actually ready till 7.45!). I then drove up to London (having planned to go up by train and already got my tickets), or more specifically Bromley, where his uncle lives, and dropped him off. I then drove off to Norbury, where my uncle lives. Everything was going well until I turned left instead of right and a t-junction and got completely lost! After a major panic attack and stopping, looking at the map I eventually found where I was meant to be, and then made my way to my uncles. Then we all went over to the game.
Palace's ground is an interesting one, having be built in stages, none of the stands match. I however feel that it just adds character to it. The away fans are down one side, however this did not stop us making more noise then the home fans - even singing "shall we sing a song for you" and "you're supposed to be at home!" It was a fairly nice ground I'd say - nothing really to complain about, so I would give it somewhere around 6/7 out of 10!
Other Argyle news of note - we got through the first round of the League Cup for the first time since 1992! We beat Peterborough 2-1 at Home Park last night. This Saturday's game against Hull will be very weird for me as it will be my last home game for a while. I'm just hoping I don't cry in front of the lads, would not enhance my tomboy reputation!

End of an era.

Well, this time next week will see me moving out of the city that I've called home for the last 4 years. I can't afford to stay here for much longer, so I will be moving back to my parents next Tuesday/Wednesday.
It's been one of the hardest decisions to make, but in a way the decision has been made for me given my finances.
I can forsee a week of tears, puffy eyes etc as I say my good byes to everything and everyone that I have know for the last 4 years of my life. It is very easy for me to forsee that - as it is now about 10 o'clock and I have already been crying pretty much non stop since 7 this morning!
Plymouth is where I feel at home, my friends are here, the church I've settled into is, etc, and now I've got to leave.
As my parents moved during my first year down here I don't really have any friends back there, have not got into a church etc, so I'm not particularly looking forward to it. Ah well, I guess I'll just have to make the most of it.
For now its, goodbye Plymouth, I'm going to miss you and thanks for all the memories.

Random questions, random answers!

Well, someone sent me these questions in an email survey so I thought I would share the answers with you.
What is your full name? Frances Jane Brebner
Hair colour: brown with blonde and copper streaks.
Eye colour: blue
Birthday: 16th October
Do you wear contacts? no- glasses
Siblings & ages: Alex 25
If you could build a house anywhere where would it be? Tricky -either Plymouth, Silverstone, or somewhere else where there's a GP
First thing you notice about the opposite sex: they are the opposite sex
What is your favourite article of clothing? My argyle shirts
The last CD that you bought? Il Divo’s CD and M People greatest hits
Where's your favourite place to be? either Home Park (argyle's home ground), or Silverstone
Where's your least favourite place to be? Ashton Gate - Bristol city's home ground
What's your favourite kitchen appliance? fridge -place ready meals are kept
What makes you really angry? throwing away two goal leads, paying tax and having to pay to park outside my house
If you could play any instrument, what would it be? the guitar (as well as playing the clarinet and piano better)
What do you think is most important in a relationship? love and trust
Do you believe in afterlife? yes heaven & hell
Favourite Children's Book? Not really Christian but Winnie the Witch!
If you could have one super power, what would it be? Um, good question, prob turning back time to undo all the mistakes I’ve made.
If you have a tattoo, what is it? don't have one. Would have a small flower on my shoulder though.
The one person in the past you could go back & talk to? my grandad
What is your favourite day? Saturday, day of football!
What's in the boot of your car? a whole load of crap - tennis racket, fleece, badminton racket, football rugby ball, blanket etc
Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger? hamburgers
What is your favourite cartoon? RUGRATS
What is your favourite meal? Lasagne or lemon chicken and egg fried rice.
What are you listening to right now? Plymouth sound.
What was the last thing you ate? Yorkie bar
If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? green
Last person you talked to on the phone? My parents
How are you today? Worried about driving round London tomorrow, and worried about my future.
Favourite alcoholic drink: archers and lemonade, baileys, stella or fosters.
Favourite sports: football, f1, rugby, tennis etc.
Favourite month: October
Last movie you watched: um - let me think, could be Sister Act! (on video at a mates house)
Favourite day of the year: 25th December hooray for Jesus or my birthday!
Are you too shy to ask someone out? No, have sort of done it!
Favourite board game: um - let me think – monopoly or cludeo as it’s the only game I’ve ever won! (even if it did involve cheating!)
Summer or winter? Winter no football in the summer.
What books are you reading? Not really reading much – just the Word of God.
What do you have on your mouse pad? kimi and dc
What did you do last night? went to a hear Joey the Lips at a pub called the Bank!
Favourite smells: fresh cut grass, fresh baked bread
First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning: whats the time
When did you last cry? Nearly cried during camp.
What is your most embarrassing cd on your shelf? Steps, step 1
How do you release your anger? throw my poor little mogelly on my bed
Where is your second home? My parents house!
Do you trust others easily? Yep – far too easily
What was your favourite toy as a child? I had a rocking tiger that I threw a paddy over when my parents threatened to take him to the tip does that count?What class in school did you think was totally useless? physics
Do you have a journal? yes - haven't written in it for weeks
Do you use sarcasm? Sarki is one of my nicknames, so no clearly not
What do you look for in a partner? trust, honesty, some one who treats me right What are your nicknames? Fran, Franny, Franny B, some people call me sarki, don't ask my family!
What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Ben and Jerry’s phish food
What are you favourite colours? Green and red
Who do you miss most right now? my dog
What did you watch on TV last night? Should I worry about ageing – very scarey.
Favourite flavour and brand of crisps? Cheesy Doritos
What inspires you? Reading God’s word.
Favourite sound: cheering after Argyle have scored a goal (a rare event)Favourite Flower: roses
What makes you cry: argyle losing 4-1 away to Oldham, 1-0 away (and at home) to Bristol, and also losing in a penalty shoot out to Wycombe – basically argyle, and for that matter Liverpool and Celtic losing. Argyle losing our manager! Sad but true. It's official I have no life! Apart from that people making harsh jokes, which aren’t actually jokes.

Southwold 1 2005 - the report

Well, sorry for the lack of blogging recently but have been away. So in the green, white and red fluffy world of Fran what has been happening?
Went back up to the parentals on Thursday 4th, which was cool, apart from having all Owen’s electrics for camp in my car and having to get them in and out of said car a couple of times!
I then drove from there to Reading and back in a day on the Saturday after that. (2-1 victory for the might Green and White Barmy Army!)
The next day I then drove to Southwold, where Camp was taking place. Camp was cool fun, everyone enjoyed it or at least made the appearance of so doing. I did literally get egg on my face at one point! (not as badly as I did last year though so I was impressed).
What else about camp? Um, pretty much same as always – complete exhaustion, getting wet and messy at various points, leading a buzz group (a discussion group where we get the members to “buzz” on a certain topic– this year mine was on the Trinity- not an easy topic), I also lead an evening meeting this year which was all good fun.
Getting dressed up to welcome the members and their parents was also cool fun. This year I was a castaway/pirate type thing, other costumes included Owen being a treasure map, and Dave being a parrot! Most of the others were pirates or castaways. This year I didn’t have to do hunt the spy as I was organising it, but Dave and me did dress up for the advert for it – which was thought out at 11.15 the night before, as was the advert for the buzz group, but then that was actually early for normal buzz group organisation.
Most of my dorm thought I fancy Owen – they don’t get the whole men and women can be friends, and as we support the same football team etc we are bound to talk a lot of the time! On the last day when we have a party they were like “so who are you going to dance with then? Oh Owen! Fran and Owen sitting in a tree (etc)”. It’s not the first time that has happened. At least it was only the one bloke though this year – the first year I went I think I fancied about 4 blokes apparently! It does get rather annoying it does have to be said.
Ah well, that’s camp done for another year – roll on Southwold 1 (or Shaftesbury or another venue) 2006!

Drunken dancing in the street!

Well, last night a group of my friends did our usual going to the pub after church thing. So there was I drinking my pint of stella, and it went straight to my head and I was quite out of it. I do however remember what happened last night (which is a good thing). Francesca was much in evidence. To be honest I blame it on not having anything other then a pasti and chocolate at lunch.
Then, in another nearby pub there was a really cool local group called Joey the Lips playing, so we all went over there and joined up with some other mates from church. They were playing some really cool tunes, so I was busy dancing to them, while my friends were busy trying to pretend that I was nothing to do with them!
Ah well, I enjoyed myself!