It’s sure been quite a while since I last posted a blog. This certainly wasn’t the intention, though, but, as will become increasingly obvious, there’s been a lot going on. In my last main blog from March, I covered one of the most important moments of my entire life, so far; going down on one-knee and proposing to Hannah; easily one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. But, you’re probably thinking, what about since that point? Well, quite a lot has happened, actually. Sure, you’ve the general inescapable meh’s of life, of course, but, there’s also some really high moments. For example, and, the lead topic in this blog, Hannah’s been back over in the UK, with plans underway for a couple trips next over there very soon too… ohh, and, erm… something so much bigger to come!
Opening up
If anyone knows anything about me, or, just, generally have known me for longer than a year, you’ll know that I’m generally socially awkward and definitely very reserved when it comes to expressing myself in a public setting. I’ve always been this way. In my head, my dreams, in my room on my own in the evenings, I’m either this perfect singer and performer who can express himself perfectly, or the next Craig Ferguson! But, then again, in the real world, I’m that shy reserved person, ashamed of, even a glimpse of, that being captured to the world. This is easily one of the biggest things that Hannah has taken upon herself to try and remove from my consciousness. Believe me, she’s got quite the challenge on her hands!
An obvious reason why I’ve always been so ashamed of that glimpse of me being publicly witness, so to speak, really, I don’t think is that much outside the norm of most people, really. The classic “what will people think”, “what will people say”, “I’ll probably get judged” … the usual. This could also be attributed to the fact that, let’s be honest, I typically have been in the past; whether from supposed friends, general mocking from others to, yes, even, past relationships. The latter is the real stinker of all of this, really, as it would easily explain why I, and, perhaps others, change so much. And, not in a good way. Don’t get me wrong, if I’m shit, tell me, but, at the same time, in a relationship you should be supportive and not take yourself too seriously, right?
One thing I’m actually really happy about, when it comes to Hannah, is she doesn’t really have that. She accepts me for the crazy guy I am, and, actually embraces some of my loves which have been shared together. Of course, when it comes to me returning the favour and returning to support her loves, such as dancing, that’s when things get much tougher for me. But, again, it comes down to the expectation of being judged. It’s a stigma in us all, but I can say, especially in the past few months and this year, that’s starting to finally change. It’s took me longer to realise this, but, at the end of the day, who cares what others think. I’m happy and proud to have Hannah in my life, she’s the one encouraging me to be myself more, in the public light, and, as long as I have her backing, and, of course, her by my side, I’m more than happy to just be myself, be OURSELVES together. Because, once you have that strong unit together; anything anyone else says, quite honestly, means nothing. I’ve always been this way when it comes to word-play, and, now it’s about time it stood for everything else too. I don’t care for anyones negative opinions, cos, who cares as long as I have the love and support of Hannah.
This hasn’t entirely come, by choice, though 😅 Hannah has taken it upon herself to, you could say, “expose” me publicly a few times. Whilst I, greatly, prefer, being asked first, there’s not really been any major consequences really. So, I guess she’s right. So, going forward, I’m just going to be myself, enjoy my life with her and move forward one step at a time … even if those steps will never quite be great dancing ones!
Speaking of which, yes, she’s posted me doing dances too, and, she’s MANY MORE plans for dances going forward. Although, one of them I do plan to take very seriously to try and master as it will fall on one of the most important, significant and most proudest day of my entire life! More on that, though, another time.
Pretty much, most of this blog is going to be covering the slightly-over 5 weeks Hannah spent in the UK in the Summer of July and August, so, let’s get to it.
Hannah’s much longer stay in the UK 🇬🇧
When Hannah comes, it’s time to get ALL the rice ready. Rice is life after all 🍚
I honestly never wanted her to leave. But, that’s still the temporary struggle we’ve to go through, for now.
Typically, whenever I’ve seen Hannah, whether over there, or, over here, it’s been for a couple, maybe one more, weeks, at a time. This time, she was here well over a month and it was just incredible. Fresh from our big engagement in March, Hannah landed in the UK in July, not leaving until just before September. We had plenty of time to truly enjoy every waking moment together! But, also, whilst life continued in the background too.
That was certainly something which made this that much more different, too. As, aside from the typical visit, no work = holiday vibes, this time, whilst we’d have a lot of that, we’d also get a true feeling of what life is going to be once we’re living together, which is huge. And, let me tell you, I’m all for it. Obviously, as with anything in life, a few downs along the way, would be strange if their wasn’t, some were very preventable though, but, outside of those brief moments; things are looking really, really, good!
Wrong terminal, and, not the best of hello’s 🛩️ …not the smoothest arrival either
As this is the second time Hannah had come to the UK, it was kind of a given that things would be much simpler this time, in terms of Immigration. I certainly hope so, too, considering she’d spent well over an hour last time. And, that was definitely the case, as she was literally in Immigration LESS TIME that I go through the returning citizens queue 😅 But, that’s getting a bit ahead of myself, a lot had to happen first.
I’m not sure if it’s jealousy, stupidity, awkwardness, or, general spite; but, I’ve always got the feeling that residents of the Philippines really don’t like it when any of their citizens get the opportunity to leave. It was an example of this which held Hannah up, in Cebu. It was right as she was set to check in to an, already fully prepared, flight, she was demanded to pay for something she shouldn’t even have to pay for; I’ve, literally, double, triple, and, quad checked, this, many times since then. Essentially, she was forced to pay for, almost like, additional insurance. But, this is for Married spouses, which, she isn’t (yet), so, it all just felt very off to me. Though, sometimes, you just go, whatever and pay, which is what she did and she was able to get on board and fly completely smoothly from Cebu, to the Philippines, with not a single delay whatsoever… everything went p e r f e c t l y f …ahh, oh. 😬
Children causing problems…
Last time Hannah was in the UK, she flew Qatar, but this time it was Emirates. Though, honestly, they’re here-nor-there, to be honest. Only real difference is your Transit location goes from Doha to Dubai. I’ve covered all of this when I traveled using Emirates in March, and, Qatar previously. Wasn’t just that, though, but they had no flight availability too. This was after stripping numerous Philippine dates. I, personally, blame the sponsorship for the World Cup. Only, slight, negative with Emirates is on the Philippines to UK side of things, you need to fly 3 times, rather just the 2, though it’s just 2 from UK to Philippines so. Although, it turns out the Philippines, itself, would be the one to cause all the issues, this time. (Although, the UK would have it’s own attempt on the way back)
From what I was able to find out from Hannah, her flight from Cebu to Clark, was straight froward. Plus, it’s barely an hour and she got there in good time. However, it was when the remaining passengers from that Flight, in came a problem. A passenger’s baby decided that they were having none of it, and were crying so loud, and consistently, to the point of it being just impossible to Fly. But, not without trying. The Flight did take off, though at the expense of being nearly 2 hours late at this point, which, to be fair can be made back … BUT, no! That would just be easy-mode.
The true-mode was repeatedly, constant. I wasn’t there, this was Hannah’s flight, but, consider the fact it had to turn around and return to Clark, JUST for that baby to be taken off! That process, by itself, took another few hours. As you can imagine, Hannah was loving life, at this point 😏 By the time Hannah’s Flight was able to take off for Dubai, she was, already, too late for the final transit-Flight to the UK. So, as you can imagine, I’m shitting myself in panic…
The panic for the re-book
As you can imagine, this was causing me great panic, stress and worry… though, ironically, Hannah was calm about the whole thing. I believe this is entirely due to the fact that I understood the sheer seriousness of the consequence that she found herself in, and, the possibilities of what could have happened to her could of been REALLY bad! Thankfully, ohh my god, thankfully, those realities didn’t come to pass. But, just think about it, Hannah could have easily been stranded in Dubai Airport for days. It’s all well and good saying, we’ll put you on the “next available flight”, but, that doesn’t mean there’s going to be availability on the “next available flight”.
Thankfully, as I said, and, I’d argue, luckily; there was a seat available on the next Flight, which would, instead, be an afternoon landing flight, which Hannah was able to take and board. She was very critical of Emirates for all of this, but, come on, it was hardly their fault. Though, it certainly was their fault for taking so long to make the decision to take off the baby. They even provided Hannah with a voucher to spend in Dubai to get some free Food, so, there’s that, I suppose. This just adds to my view that children should be banned from flying. Just, entirely.
Finally in the UK
Least the weather was nice and … welcoming? 😅
Once the stress of the Flight was over, I was very keen to see Hannah as soon as possible. The plan was always going to be to not be there, quite as early as last time, as, what I mentioned earlier, we weren’t expecting her processing to take half-as-long. What I certainly didn’t expect, was for her processing to take SECONDS. So, whilst I was waiting for my Dad going to the loo, something he never needs until it’s literally we need to go now, time, Hannah was already heading to her bags. I think I’m still blown away by how quickly she was processed, took less time than I sometimes take 😅
The final delay came with the Traffic. All our plans to getting to picking Hannah up, of course, were based on her landing at 6AM … not, nearly 1PM. So, the roads were a lot different. So, Hannah was actually waiting for us, before we even got there. Oddly, though, she “claimed” to be at Terminal Two, which was strange as Emirates typically land in Terminal One, but… OK??
IT WAS NEVER TERMINAL TWO !!!
Look, I accept we were later than we should’ve been for the time of the day it was. That’s fine. But, Hannah cannot excuse this one. I already knew that Emirates landed in Terminal One. The only reasons, literally, why I accepted her stating Terminal Two was; one, it was a different time of the day Flight, and, well, the obvious one, she was (apparently) physically there. So, why question it, right?
Wasn’t really the best of news really, as Terminal Two is awful to get to, at the best of times, never mind the time we were at. Ironically, something I’d find out was still true, Terminal One is always typically much more quiet. So, we queued up, waited what seemed like, literal forever, to get in to Terminal Two to find out… wait… To make this even more stress, Hannah was, all of a sudden, impossible to reach!
Hannah was using roaming on a Philippines SIM, for the, expected, 48 hours between the Philippines flight to the UK. When she’s here, it’s best to just bob a UK SIM in. But, due to the delays which had taken place, her roaming had ended… meaning, I wasn’t able to contact her. Kind of working this out, it also brought up another issue… I also couldn’t ring her number without purchasing a temporary International Minutes plan, which, I did… but, even then, she never answered! What’s going on??!!
So, here I am, still queuing, waiting to get in to the Car park of Terminal Two, for someone I can’t even confirm are there, or, not. Panicking, at this point, I took the decision, right one, too, to dash out, whilst we Dad found a space. At this point, I’ve been to Manchester Airport a number of times, so I know my way around it now. But, there was still a problem, a much bigger one… There I was in the Terminal Two Arrivals area, and… she’s wasn’t there! Just recap here; I’m now in the Terminal she ensured she was, unable to ring her, find her; pretty stuck right now!
Then, something happened, I’m not sure what made me think to do this, but, some unconscious signal seemed to send to myself to try. I decided to try ringing the UK SIM number, that I’d got for her last time, which would be used when she was here too, and was. Long and behold, SHE ANSWERED hallelujah!!!
What followed was simply elation and joy, though this soon turned to exhaustion and further stress, though. Especially, when it was confirmed on the phone that, YES, she was in Terminal, but Terminal …ONE! I don’t know if you’ve been to Manchester Airport before, but, getting between Terminals isn’t a quick walk, or, in my case, run. But, we got there, I finally made to to Terminal One; stressed, rather frustrated she was wrong about that, including the fact she was waiting outside a HUGE “Terminal 1” sign, though, telling me to go to Two… But, we were there; finally together!
I was very disappointed though with the greeting I got from her, though. I don’t care what stresses you’ve gone through to get somewhere, once you’re there and who you’ve come to see arrives, least you expect is a positive hello, instead what I got was a judging …finally what took you so long. Still annoys me, she did that. But, it’s done now. Took her phone off her, set up her UK VOXI SIM, she was up and running, now time to finally head home.
Immediate family greeting
We spent the afternoon and night, essentially settling in. Although, due to Hannah arriving over 4 hours later than originally expected, and, this was a Sunday, everyone was home. Knowing Hannah, I fully suspect she was hoping to arrive to an empty house, get a nap, before having a quiet night in. But, it was much later in the afternoon, by this point, so, everyone was home!
What’s now becoming an, almost, tradition; Hannah had decided to get everyone a present upon arrival. She got my Mum a solar light to add to her, become obsessive, collection, but the Owl actually looks pretty good. Sister and the girls got some presents too, but, was amusing to see my Grandma and Stephen’s reaction to getting a Mug with Hannah’s choice of amusing Yorkshire phrases, like “Eyup”, which show up on it when it is filled with anything hot.
One thing that continues to be so clear, which, I always love to see and it’s so awesome, is just how accepted Hannah is with my family. I know, whether she was, or not, wouldn’t have changed my future plans, it still says a lot when she’s able to just settle in so easily with them. What followed, be it starting a bit later than originally wanted, Hannah got a quick rest. Then, after the noise and excitement of her being here, and, then, chill night.
So, I think it’s fair to say, she certainly didn’t have the smoothest of arrivals … at all! But, she was here, and, I was so happy about that, and, what was to come was just going to be incredible. All spent with the love of my life. Bring it on.
Work-life balance
If there was one thing that made this time with Hannah much more different than before, it was the work-life balance. Obviously, whilst I had time off work booked for us both to spend time together, entirely. This time, there was also a couple weeks where I’d be working. Whilst, I could have booked the entire time off, she was here, that would of meant I’d have no holidays left for the rest of the year, so, wasn’t really plausible.
It sure was a strange experience to see Hannah arrive on a Sunday, feeling all excited, to then, suddenly, be working the day, and entire week, after. But, thankfully, I didn’t have to work most of the time she was here, and, I’d made sure those were separated out. It was sure a unique experience, at first. One good thing about it was I was able to work from home, on most days, which was good as that made the balance much easier to deal with. My Manager let me work at home for everyday, but, the Tuesday, which I was very appreciative of.
It was that Tuesday, though, where things started to feel really strange. Which is crazy, really, as we’ve spent so long in “essentially” LDR, yet, here we were apart barely a few miles away, and it felt, somehow, even harder. Thankfully, for Hannah, she wasn’t just left home-alone and bored; she had a number of things she was able to do and experience.
I’d recommended to Hannah, early, really, to go out and really explore the UK. Of course, this was before I was planning on filling all the gaps in her knowledge of doing the basics in the Country. Things such a Travel basics, shopping basics; things that seem straight forward for someone living here, but, it’s those things that once you know, you know.
That particular Tuesday was spent bombarded with spending time with my Mum and the kids, something I’m not sure whether she appreciated, or, was happy about, but, one thing I’m betting she was happy about, when when it was over.
Awkward FaceTime to meeting outside work
A few weeks after this, on the second working week, whilst Hannah was here, Hannah was more ready to do more things. She was in a position where she would be cooking a specialty Philippines meal for the family (more on that later), and, one thing which was just incredible; meeting her during, and, after, whilst I was, physically, at work.
The first day at work, that week, was generally rather status quo, to be honest. One thing I typically do when I’m at work, typically on the last break, I give Hannah a quick call. What was unique about this time, was, of course, she was at my own home. So, there I was, ringing, and, seeing Hannah, on call, though with the added awkwardness of my Dad in the background doing some awkward wave in the Kitchen, whilst Hannah was preparing food 😁 was certainly a unique experience.
Aside from the days where I could work at home, where Hannah could, obviously, be close at all times; easily my favourite “working” day was when she was right there during my lunch and when I finished, as I mentioned before. It sounds so corny and cheesy, but, there was something just so incredible, which made me feel so happy, about just seeing her outside Reception at work. Obviously, it was a shame I didn’t have too much time with her, for my Lunch, but, just that small time was easily the highlight of the working part of that day. Then, of course, to then end the day with her once again (with her mandatory request for a Jollibee 😅), overall, just felt incredible. Was one of those moment where you think; if this is our future, I’m so ready for it!
Obviously, time without the distraction of work is much better, but, thinking realistically about the future ahead, experiencing this together was so important for us both to give us that sense of realism to what’s soon to come. Coming home to see Hannah, every day, sounds perfect to me.
Trying not to make a novel… 📝 ➡️ 📘
Something which ironically might seem a waste of text to put 😅 I’m sure anyone who’s read any of my blogs, especially recent ones which include discussing Hannah, are probably aware they do go on a bit. I certainly find myself talking and it ends up, almost, turning into some kind of novel. Hannah jokes that I’d be better just writing a book, sometimes.
But, to be honest, it’s pretty obvious why. I’m just so excited and proud of the relationship I have with Hannah. So, naturally, when I’m discussing her, sharing what we’ve been able to achieve, already, in our relationship, the exciting times still to come, and, more; I can’t help just type forever.
Despite this, I’m going to, certainly, try, a more condensed approach going forward. Though, I’ll just say right now. That, won’t be with this one. There’s a lot to come…
Big disappointment for all as the Philippines Restaurant is closed
PERMANENTLY CLOSED 😔
Last year when Hannah was here, in October / November, one of the first places I found out about, prior to her visit, was the Philippines Restaurant in Bradford. We went to it quite a few times and it really had everything you could ever want. It had all the Philippine touches to it; flags, photos of Philippines landmarks, music from the Philippines, the whole atmosphere, and, was such a nice quiet place. It was so nice that, it was a mutual choice, we thought it perfect for a UK Venue for the celebration after me and Hannah’s Wedding. Sounds good to me, right? … Well…
A few days before Hannah was set to arrive in the UK, just out of the blue, I looked up the Restaurant, but, found something rather confusing. Google stated it as closed, but, thought nothing of it. I don’t generally go to Bradford, by choice, so it just stayed in the back of my mind. But, later on, whilst we were discussing plans, as this place seemed like the obvious choice, they’d even done Wedding events before, so it was a very exciting trip to go there … until we did. When we did eventually make it to the Restaurant, what we both found just honestly broke my heart. I’m not normally impacted by businesses closing, or anything like that, but when we went there and found it completely boarded up and closed, with Eviction notices all over the entrances, it was such a deflating moment. It was closed, permanently!
Not only was this a let down for Hannah, as she was hungry, but, it was also quite heartbreaking really as I, literally, had everything planned, in my head, what we could have done there. Quite literally, this visit was to plan some of that with the Staff there. Even as I post this, it’s still rather uncertain what I’m going to do now for the UK celebration, so, this is incredibly disappointing, and annoying. To make matters worse, this was the ONLY dine-in Philippine Restaurant in all of West Yorkshire, so, as a result, it’s completely eliminated that as being an option now. (I don’t think a Jollibee in Leeds is really appropriate)
There was, briefly, a mention of a Philippines restaurant in Batley … though, as we’ll get to later, that, too, led to disappointment.
Mum’s garden, plus Hannah’s addition 🦉
It’s no secret that my Mum has a few strange habits and obsessions. Most recently, those have come in the form of Flowers, food-plants, and, Solar lights. This is something which has carried over to the next-door neighbours, who, since moving in, have also, all of a sudden, their own collection of Solar lights. They even joined my Mum, as well, with Tomato plants and other random additions.
Before Hannah arrived, My Mum had been growing some Strawberries, although with the weather not, exactly, being Sunny, they’d not given the chance to grow.
Although, opportunity for this to happen ended up being the case. A few weeks in to Hannah’s stay, Hannah was able to try the Strawberries, and, what did she think of that?? She thought they were… drum roll … ok. But, they were apparently better than Strawberries at Home Bargains 😅
🦉
But, the excitement of the garden wasn’t just with Strawberries thankfully, it actually came from one of the presents that Hannah got my Mum.
To fit with the theme of Solar lights, Hannah’s new addition is a new Owl to join the very large collection of lights. Since the weather has recently become rather cold, the Solar lights don’t stay on as long. But, I have to say, the Owl has been quite the exception, staying on longer than all the others. It also looks pretty cool.
“It’s not Christmas, Hannah” ❌🌲❌
One of the strangest things which came about from Hannah’s visit was another addition to Hannah’s attempts to always be much warmer. Alongside other weird things, such as, sleeping in a dressing gown, which, thankfully, I’ve got her out of that madness. But, there’s now a new addition to the madness. Whilst Hannah was filling her side of the Wardrobe whilst here, she decided it was time to rummage through everything, and I mean everything, discovering my infamous Pokémon Christmas Jumper. Now, let’s not forget, these are the Summer months, at this point. So, despite the many calls of it being bad luck, from my Mum, and, the fact it generally was a bit weird; Hannah decided that she was going to wear my Pokémon Christmas Jumper, a lot, whilst in the house.
It’s not a small Jumper either, it’s already very generously sized on me, so, as you can imagine, on the very petite figure of Hannah, it completely buried her, but, I guess if she hoping for something to make her extra warm, it sure does that job. So, there’s logic in her madness.
Oakwell Hall
The last time Hannah was here, one of the last things that we were, originally, planning to do, was to visit Oakwell Hall. Not only is it incredibly convenient to get to, it’s also some very nice scenery. But, when Hannah was here last year, I became too unwell to go out that time, but, this time, we were able to.
End of the first week Hannah was here, which was also the first working week, we both agreed to do something rather chill, so this seemed to be the perfect decision. We ended up having a pretty good time there … until it rained.
Hannah’s cheekiness with a horse rider
Whilst it is rather close to get to, similar to Ponderosa, Oakwell Hall has a very long entrance area. So, thought it was best to get a Taxi, going there, and, almost immediately after arriving, whilst Hannah was checking out the surrounding, came two Horse riders going past. Always keen to take advantage of any open-opportunity, Hannah stopped them in their tracks and demanded an instant selfie with the rider, and the horse. Another one of those, only with Hannah, moments. Thankfully, the rider took it well, she just smiled, but, I think, was relieved when they could leave.
Then, after that, we began the exploration around Oakwell Hall, which is surrounded by woodland, scenery as well as some old buildings.
One of the main reasons why I wanted to go to Oakwell Hall on our first main outing together, quite simply, was because it has no distractions. Just the two of us. Me and Hannah had already shared a very good week, by this point, even if that was whilst I was working. What makes all the time together just the best, is just having time to just enjoy each other and have a laugh. Honestly, it’s one of the, so many, moments, that just make me fall in love with Hannah all over again. Of course, this is Hannah, so the obligatory TikTok moments needed to occur; but, just walking around, chatting, being our usual random crazy selves, loved it. The TikTok moments, themselves, involved Hannah walking down one of the pathway with the seamless effect of me moving the camera away. Of course, whilst I’m posting this, that video has been uploaded for weeks.
Unfortunately, though, the weather decided it wanted to be annoying and kept trying to rain. The trying, became, actually, though whilst we were trying to find an apparent Museum, what I was told, existed. But, we never found it. Seriously, before we went, I was told by my parents there was this Museum… where is it? No idea. We did find the very disappointing gift shop, and the many other surrounding areas, but that’s about it.
One thing we did do, which I thought was pretty sweet and very romantic; And, as I speak, this is still on my phone; we decided to adopt a Wallpaper choice for both our phones, of each of us, individually, with our arms out with our phones in our hands. Granted, I understand how it sounds rather terrible when you describe it, but, trust me, it’s pretty cool. So, when I look at my phones lockscreen, I see Hannah’s arm out with her phone, and, she sees me, visa-versa. Once this was done, however, the weather, as I mentioned, decided to continue to be annoying, kept being off-and-on.
It was at this point, that Hannah decided it was time for something to eat… but, instead of heading back, or somewhere convenient, Hannah already knew what she wanted; her mandatory Jollibee in Leeds. So, we didn’t, quite, get the chill, close-to-home, day, we still had a pretty good day out, for sure.
“Just wanna have a good night…” ♪
One thing which became very clear from, not only, the first visit to Leeds, but, also, almost, every, visit to anywhere with scenery, from a flag, to anything else, was that Hannah had come with a new TikTok plan and trend to achieve. This all started, apparently, before she’d even set off from the Philippines, to the second part on the plane, but, she was in need of a perfect 3/3 finish.
The only delaying factor to this, was Hannah’s very high standards for an acceptable place to, essentially, just mime “just wanna have a good night”. She said this had to feature UK / English flag. Though, ironically, the end result choice she made… didn’t.
So, after what was, literally, dozens of attempts in many many different places; the flag requirement, became, anything that looks British. So, this is how things looked in the end.
Despite all of these high requirements, in the end, she ended up just doing it at the entrance side of Leeds with some random, likely late, First bus, in the background 😅 So, after all that effort, she went for the least effort. But, at least it made for a very amusing inside joke whilst there.
Getting familiar with all things British 🇬🇧
One of my missions when Hannah came to the UK this time, was getting Hannah used to the British way of life. The first time Hannah was here, it was more of a, welcome to the UK experience, but, now, it’s seriously to get used to the surroundings for the future together. As much as I tried to make her do some things, Hannah’s laziness led to a few things not happening.
But, we got a few things out of the way. Hannah is now able to travel around the UK, on her own, got her used to the great-use of Contactless Payments, something hilariously still, SO RARE, in the Philippines. Whilst she does still finds Trains confusing, which makes sense, as they’re honestly shit, she’s now fully capable of using Buses and the general get around. I know for everyone natively born in the UK, these may seem basic and simple things, it’s not always the case for others. I can say when I’ve got to the Philippines, I’ve no idea how to use their equivalents.
Although, as much as we can complain about UK travel, one of the first things I noticed in the Philippines, was just how BAD traveling is there. Not only do you have the most dangerous mode of transport in the world, the Jeepney, but, everything from Buses, to go-karts, is just so inconsistent in terms of arrival times and more.
British foods
One of the many areas where Hannah was getting used to all-things British was of course Food. Whilst there’s plenty of Philippine options here, we even went back to the Philippines Supermarket in Leeds, there’s some Takeouts that offer Philippine foods, Milk Tea is also available in more places than I even realised. But, of course, this is the UK, so Hannah was very keen to try some of our British, and Western, foods.
Scones
One of the most quintessential British things that I have always enjoyed are Scones. However, don’t you dare assume I just like any-old Scone. My preferences are very particular. It used to be that I enjoyed ASDA’s All-Butter Scones … until they stopped making them 🤬 But, thankfully, Tesco came along and created their Tesco Finest All-Butter Scones, which are, honestly, delicious. But, don’t get the cheaper ones, they taste like feet. This would be great, if they actually made them available in most of their Stores. Annoyingly, most Tescos don’t have them, so we kept having to go back to the bigger Tesco Extras. Some local Tesco’s do sell the Scones, but only with Sultanas in, which Hannah did try, and, like me, doesn’t like those; All Butter Scones, all the way.
But, we had an opportunity to get some Scones by going to Tesco Extra in Batley. We did have another reason to go to Batley, though, as Google claimed there was a Philippines Restaurant there. This would of been a truly awesome addition… if it was true, which, it wasn’t. (Reported to Google, it’s no longer on Maps, but still VERY annoying). But, we still headed to the Tesco, which meant I was so ready to have some delicious Scones. I’d not had any for quite some time at this point and, whilst I was ready for some myself, something happened…
Hannah literally stole a piece off my Scones, said it was yummy, and then, I knew there was no going back. Hannah was Scone converted. This meant that we obviously had to go for more trips to Tesco’s in Batley, on one occasion (no lie) we ended up buying 7 packs of Scones 😂 But, they were so worth it.
All English Breakfast … with a “Hannah” difference
Of course, if you’re going to eat something quintessentially British, or, more specific, English, you can’t really argue with the most English thing being an “All-English Breakfast”, clues in the name. My Mum and Dad were more than happy to oblige. So, on Sundays, Hannah was now presented with an All English Breakfast to try. Of course, in a Hannah portion. A British portion for Food is about 4x the size of Hannah’s entire stomach, so, it was a much smaller portion for her.
BUT, even with the requirements for a smaller portion for Hannah to be able to fit, she couldn’t resist. She couldn’t resist adding Philippines to an All English Breakfast. Something which, most, actually, everyone, would consider sacrilege, Hannah had an All English Breakfast … with rice!
So, whilst she did enjoy the English food, she still couldn’t resist adding rice. Same was true when I made her some home-made, or from Takeout, Fish and Chips. Yes, Hannah, has had Fish and Chips with rice. But, as we got to at the start, rice is life for Hannah.
Now, I know what everyone who knows me is going to say, they’re going to say, it’s probably a bit rich for me to critique Hannah on her unique eating style. And, yes, you’re very right, I’m very unique in the Food department too. But, it’s just one of those things that’s so uniquely Hannah. But, it’s those unique touches that make me love her so much.
Not British, but she also likes Croissants 🥐
Wasn’t just Scones that Hannah decided to steal the edges from and become a fan off which I love to eat, in pops Croissants. Ironically, I’d actually previously being eating croissants when she was there last, but she just judged them last time. But, this time she had a different view of them. What became tradition, was before any Train visit, or now any excuse, I’d go to Sainsbury’s (as they do BY FAR the best ones) and get some fresh from bakery Croissants.
So, yeah, unintentionally, but Hannah is now completely embracing my way of living and even interacting with some of the Foods I love to snack on, but, of course, all whilst adding her own personal touch.
Roundhay Park, Leeds
Whilst, as you would expect, me and Hannah took quite a number of trips to Leeds, most of which led to a Jollibee, one time Hannah even met more Filipinas in the UK. But, of course, it’s fairly boring to cover repeated boring trips of uneventfulness. Leeds is basically the hub for everything in West Yorkshire, but despite this, one place I’ve personally never been to, so I thought would be nice to check out, was Roundhay Park in Leeds, especially now the weather was showing signs of Summer.
We were originally going to go to Roundhay Park earlier in the visit, but I couldn’t work out where to catch the bus, and, let’s just be honest, if you don’t “know”, or look it up, you’d never find it. Thankfully, I knew where Sony Centre was in Leeds, so figured out where to catch it from and we were off. It was also rather difficult as I rarely take First buses.
I’d say the journey there, somehow, took longer than I expected, but in a shorter than expected way… weird, I know. Even when you arrive it’s not exactly obvious you’ve got there. The entrance is actually fairly easy to walk past with all the shrubbery, but, when you do find it, it’s clear what it is. Even though we must of only spent about 3 hours, tops there, you could easily spend more if you were that way inclined.
Though, me and Hannah, both, are the kind of people where, once you’ve seen it, done it, it’s kinda time to go. Plus, by that time, it’s time for food. Speaking of which, not far in, we noticed a Café and thought, well, why not. (Plus, I needed the loo)
Whilst Roundhay Park certainly has the surroundings, the views, and the space to be a very interesting day out, especially when spent with the one you love; it also has some unexciting things and disappointments. First was the Café, and next to that Café was an Art Museum … both were rubbish. Hannah went in to the Art Museum, which was more of a shack really, whilst I stayed outside still recovering from the price of my average Cake and can of Fanta, which along with Hannah’s equivalent was near-on £20 😬 So, yeah, bring a packed lunch next time.
Overall, though, Roundhay Park has a lot of greenery, lot of Woods-land, 3 lakes, including 1 big one and a lot of places to walk. Similar to the experience going around Oakwell, traveling around Roundhay was just another perfect example of just me and Hannah being ourselves. It’s really hard to explain in words, but, everything just ticks. We didn’t do a TikTok surprisingly, but, took many-many photos.
Not everything was great at Roundhay Park, especially when some local young chavs scooted past in their Bikes. That’s the problem with a lot of the UK, it’s great to look at and experience…until the locals arrive. But, that was only a brief few seconds, which in itself tells you what I loved the most about what time we went and the day, it was practically dead the whole time. My ideal; just me and Hannah. In short, means, it’s a great place to go if you’ve someone you love spending time with to go too.
The ‘classy’ bus stop and journey back
Of course once we were done and wanted to leave, it became increasingly obvious that this place had a number of exits. The one we ended up at followed what was, almost, a waterfall. To me, if a duck can sit on top of it, it’s not much of a waterfall, but, water was falling so I guess “technically” it was. We left to a pretty unassuming road, which could have, honestly, being anywhere. I don’t know this part of Leeds. Took out my trusty Bus app, which didn’t give me much confidence, it also didn’t help that I didn’t know if we needed to be traveling up or down the road. Also, none of the buses said Leeds on them, hmm.
Thankfully, we found a bus stop and simply checked the Sheet and thankfully all buses did travel “towards” Leeds City Centre. Now, Hannah has seen her fair-share of the rough side of the UK, in the form of not great people, not the nicest of areas (or people) like Bradford, but, this was her first instance of seeing how truly classy we are. That’s right, written in large handwritten form was essentially descriptions of where a Man should go to get ass-fucked by another, see, so classy.
Conscious not to unintentionally obey any of the instructions, we were relieved when a bus arrived. It was one of Leeds own buses, so, admittedly wasn’t sure if our Bus pass would work, but, thankfully, it did. I’ll tell you something, though, MUCH nicer buses than the standard ol’ Arriva and First jobbys. These buses had sheen, leather seats that felt leather, neon lighting, separation, they were actually kind of nice. I was, admittedly, a bit annoyed Hannah decided to sit literally, deliberately, on separate seats… so bad. Thankfully, as things got moving, we got a seat together. In the same, long, but, not long, way, as it was, coming, we were back in Leeds City Centre, ready to head home from another great day together.
Trip to Wakefield / Failed trip to Mining Museum
When Hannah came to the UK this time, one of the many things I wanted to do, was, essentially what we didn’t get to the do the last time. One of those, was a suggestion to go to the Coal Mining Museum. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not entertainment central, but, if anything, it’s an experience. Or… it would be, if we got there on time … something which will become a trend for my frustrations in future trips too. To get to the Coal Mining Museum, and, somewhere else we’d go later, too, we’d first need to go to Wakefield, which, thankfully, and, ironically, is about as easy to get to from where I live as it gets. Though, takes a while.
When we got to Wakefield, it got me thinking, we should probably get something to eat before we head to the Coal Mining Museum. So, we had a look around. I was quite surprised how much worse Wakefield had become, since I’d been last. The Market is all gone, and, when it came to Food places there was just… none. Completely unintentionally, we ended up spending more time in Wakefield than I certainly wanted to, when Hannah decided to visit a Charity Shop. Yeah, for some reason, Hannah likes Charity shops; it’s weird, but, that’s her, she likes low-cost to free stuff. As food choices were very limited, we ended up going in to a Greggs for what would be, actually, Hannah’s first time eating a Greggs. Although, she did just have a Pizza slice, so, wasn’t that revolutionary 😅 I’ll get back to you when I’ve got her addicted to Sausage Rolls, still working on that.
Then, it was time for off, but, we had a problem. Yep, there was no bus anymore that goes to the Coal Mining Museum. And, as we’d find out when we were leaving the Mining Museum later, all the buses there (despite the Stops still there), don’t run anymore either. So, had to Taxi.
The Mining Museum …pointless visit
Look, I understand it wasn’t exactly the early AMs when we got there. But, even so, it was only around 3PM so, needless to say, I was pretty disappointed by how poor the whole experience at the Mining Museum was at such a, still, early time. So, could we go ‘darn ‘pit … nope, too late. Could we ride the train to the other side … nope, too late. Yes, there’s other stuff you can do and see, but, it’s really just that, seeing. It didn’t take us that long, at all, to be bored to the point of suicide, so, we really just had to leave.
The farm wasn’t even open! Normally, you can visit the Farm area which has horses in the Stable. So, yeah, that guy sat in the orange is about the extent of the excitement left… so, it was time we went. Although, it was also at this point, I discovered there was no travel options to leave, other than Taxi. So… yeah, trip to Wakefield was a pretty resounding failure, to say the least. I found it pretty hard to hide my disappointment with how the day had gone, something, I feel, unfortunately, spread to Hannah.
This wouldn’t be the last time we’d go to Wakefield, but, I think this day is certainly one best forgotten. And, what better way to forget something by recording it for permanent prosperity in your blog, Ben … oh yes.
Newfound entertainment from each to the other 📺
Taking a slight break from talking just about places we’d gone, I thought it’d be interesting to cover some other additions whilst we were together that we loved to watch. Because, honestly, one of my favourite moments of the day whenever I’m with Hannah is just being next to each other, cuddling each other, or, honestly, anything in between. After a few days together, traditions begin to set-in, and, like all other times, nights become Movie nights, whilst evenings, became watch whilst eating. But, what were we watching?
Well, whilst Hannah did have a range of Filipino movies, I was getting rather fed up of watching movies with the same boring predictable storylines, especially with subs. So, thankfully, this was noticed, and, we began watching other movies after. But, wasn’t just movies we were watching;
Facts about Philippines vlogs
One thing that was quite amusing to watch with Hannah was a few YouTubers discussing life in the Philippines, and more. One included interviews with them discussing foreigners, which was interesting as I got to see Hannah’s input on how they were being portrayed. I do remember an amusing video where there was a group of people pretending to be from the Philippines, but, only one was, so you’d to guess which was right. Unfortunately, for Hannah, she got that wrong. Though, she’ll never admit this. She did get it right when it was down to the last 5, though.
Though, I have to say, one of the things that made me fall in love with Hannah wasn’t really the Filipina in her, but, the lack of it. In fact, if you were to look at what’s a stereotypical pure Filipina, they don’t look that much like Hannah at all, she’s definitely some mixed-heritage in her history. I believe that’s what makes her stand out, makes her so unique and special to me, not just being so beautiful, but, in the way her personality and traits are too. I’ve been to the Philippines and Filipinas are generally rather boring, so, I’m glad Hannah’s the way she is, and love her most when she’s just herself… which can certainly be unique, like me, so we match.
Studio Ghibli
One suggestion that Hannah had for us to watch, which I was up for anything to avoid either Filipino films, or some awful modern-Disney crap, was something from the world of Japan. Now, being a Pokémon fan, I’m very up for anything from Japan so, up came a new addition to my film-scography (I’ve decided that’s a word), Hannah introduced me to the world of Studio Ghibli.
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese studio that’s produced quite a few movies now, all with decent English dubs. I know this is sacrilege to die-hard Japanese anime fans, but, I just can’t deal with subtitles. Thankfully, Studio Ghibli is not like the really annoying Japanese Anime’s, you know the ones that the unsociable crazy-nerds like. Ghibli is essentially Japans Disney, but, unlike Disney after about 2004, it’s actually good.
We kicked off our Studio Ghibli journey with Spirited Away. I’m not sure if it’s because it was the first we watched together why it stands out, out of all of them, but, it instantly grabbed me, despite the, rather, dumb, beginning. That’s one thing I’d describe all Ghibli films is they (for the most part) grab you in to intrigue. Although, Pompoko is just simply…crap. We’ve not finished watching all the Ghibli films just yet, but we will watch all of them once we’ve more time together.
I’d say my favourite Studio Ghibli film is The Cat Returns. It’s also the only one I showed to my Mum too who found it equally funny and a joy to watch. I think that’s why I like it so much, as it’s got a sense of fun, amusement and outright randomness throughout. The others have a sense of impending doom, or disaster, or too much seriousness. I think it’s better to watch Movies that have that sense of joy in them, rather than watching gloom.
But yeah, for the most part, Hannah has got me in to Ghibli, which, of course, means when we visit Japan we now have two sections for the destinations; Pokémon for me, Ghibli Park for Hannah. Fine with me.
In for a Penny
So, out of all the things I could of introduced Hannah to in the wide, vast, entertaining and fully packed world of UK Entertainment, what I actually introduced her to, this time, was In for a Penny. That’s right, a spin-off show from a sketch on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. Rather hilariously, I think Hannah is the only person in the UK, at the time, who’s heard of Stephen Mulhern, but NOT Ant and Dec (though, she’d meet them two later… kinda)
Personally, I love watching In for a Penny, it’s my kind of random stupid questionable entertainment, with a sense of cheekiness, which sometimes you just need. It certainly hit the right nerves with Hannah as she was laughing and enjoying through each episode we watched. It was also pretty good to look at the places in the UK he was in, to show where we might visit next, and, of course, where we’d rather not.
Of course now Hannah has been introduced to In for a Penny, next time, I’ll keep adding other British stuff. And, I’m sure, Hannah will have a billion suggestions too. It’s a shame she doesn’t like watching Pokémon, though. To be fair, though, she’s not tried it, but, the impression is real. I’m still happy when we’re together to share new content together like this.
“You act like him, Ben”
That’s right, according to Hannah, I act like Stephen Mulhern. I mean, it would make sense if I have some influence from him. Stephen Mulhern has been in my life since the early days of children entertainment I enjoyed when I was young through CITV. Though, I prefer to see myself as a Craig Ferguson kind of guy, though, despite working occasionally with Scots, I’ve kind of lost that since his shows unfortunate ending in 2013.
I think we all have personalities shared by those we experienced or knew throughout our upbringing really. But, to be fair, Hannah was laughing at his ways on In for a Penny, we have a laugh together when we’re together, so, can’t be a bad thing really. I can think of MUCH worse things to be proclaimed to be like. So, I’ll take that.
I was tempted to introduce her to Father Ted, but, with such a strong Catholic family, it’s always a grey area whether such a comedy would be appreciated. It’s an awesome classic comedy though.
Trip to York
For those with great memories, you’ll probably remember us already going to York. Well, we’re back. Though, this time we decided to make it a bit more of an outdoor adventure. Last time we went to York was in November, so it rained and was a bit too cool for the outsides, limiting us, almost entirely, to indoor places. This time, however, we decided to go for the outdoors, and, on the topic of the weather, it was actually quite warm. We always said we’d go to York Minster when weather was better, for example, so we’d plenty of additional things we could do whilst there.
A mistake of a bus journey
Upon arrival, I’d already got the idea to go to York Minster, and their was certainly no reason to go to any of the indoor places we went last time again, so got my Map out and … well, Hannah didn’t really fancy the long walk it would take. Luckily, though, there was a Bus that promised to tour York. I blame being used to West Yorkshire £2 for single and no more than £4.50 for a day; but, essentially was talked in to spending basically £30 for this old irritating man (who Hannah took a picture of for some reason 😅), to talk us through history no one cared about. You were able to get off at any time, and come back any time during the day. Trouble is, we never went back on the bus, so it was the most expensive single trip in the world. Lesson learned. Next time, we either use a normal bus, or, just walk.
Once we got off the, waste of money, bus, we essentially just walked around and explored York. Took some photos by the Canal, explored some Shops, decided Yorvik was overpriced, and, saw this strange garish Umbrella display for some reason.
We explored quite a bit of York, got lost quite a number of times, one of the many areas where that over-priced bus would have come in handy, but, it never showed itself again. It was at this point, we thought we might as well head to the Minster. I will say, following the over-priced bus, and, generally not giving too much about what was necessary IN the Minster, we decided to, instead, explore the outside sights instead. This actually worked out, with the sunlight it was actually rather picturesque and certainly allowed for a number of photo opportunities. Whilst I’m sure Hannah would have probably wanted to use this as a TikTok opportunity, there’s certain things I am still just too shy doing in front of random people, and, there was quite a lot of them. Once we’d explored the Minster, we had another walk around York, discovered we’d honestly seen enough, so, it was time for something to eat.
One of the worst McDonalds I’ve ever had
Trouble is, finding somewhere to eat was proving tricky, as, whilst York had a billion Chinese places, it doesn’t really have much in the terms of other options for, say, me. Crazy really, we had the same problem in Wakefield. But, in the end, we went for a McDonalds which was… something. Not only was York’s McDonalds kinda scruffy looking, seemed to attract the kind of people I’d rather not be around, it was also incredibly slow and what you got in the end was just, absolutely awful.
When you cook Chips, or Fries, the Potato when raw is typically white. That, of course, changes when you actually cook the Food. For some reason, this McDonalds didn’t get that memo. They were literally as if they’d touched the oil for about 2 seconds then being pushed out. Rubbish. I, of course, being me, complained using the very faded receipt number to be award with a voucher to get more Food neither of us liked. So, yeah, if you go to York, don’t go to McDonalds.
Once we’d totally enjoyed our food… it was time to head back. Hannah actually had the Fries I refused to eat whilst on the Train back, which was a very, rather you than me, moment. We then made it back to Cleck, Hannah decided to use a Wall on the way up to Tesco for a photoshoot 😅 Then, headed home.
Hannah cooks for the family
Whilst Hannah was here, this time around, she was very keen and able to experience a lot of the UK culture and food. As we mentioned earlier, she was now akin to having an All English Breakfast (with her unique twist) every Sunday, and was even beginning to embrace other Foods too. This is obviously great as this will set her up even better for when we’re finally living together in the UK together. Now, not only can she have Food she’s accustomed to, but also Foods that are quintessentially British.
But, she wanted to bring a bit more of the Philippines to the house and offered to cook some Bi-hon, I think it was, for my Family. By family, of course, I don’t mean me, it’s certainly not Food in my preferences but it certainly went down well.
Hannah had practiced cooking this Food whilst we were alone in the house, more on that shortly, so, she was all set to now cook for new people. Luckily for Hannah, everyone in the house was distracted by the Women’s World Cup so she had the Kitchen all to herself.
Whilst it was cooking, she had quite the audience, not only from my parents, as well as my Grandma and Stephen. My Grandma was very keen and showed interest and ended up having a taste herself and said it was lovely. I was very nervous about my Grandma tasting it, though. Let’s just say she’s from that older generation where she’ll say it as it is, and certainly WOULD have said it was awful. Thankfully, she liked it. It ended up being eaten by both my Mum and Dad the day after. My Mum echoed my Grandma’s sentiments saying it was delicious. My Dad was, more on the side of, it was nice. To be fair, I was surprised it was something he even wanted to try. But, it went down well and made me very proud of Hannah.
Home alone
Whilst there were some things I wish weren’t part of Hannah’s stay here, such as having to work, one of the things I was excited, was, about having the home all to ourselves. It’s pretty common knowledge, that living together can both make or break a relationship. So, it was high-time we got around to seeing what that would be like. I certainly know this is true as it broke apart my last.
Unfortunately, this would only be for about a week, and, quite a weird week at that with a mid-week gone and return for my parents, for their holiday in Lanzarote. Despite this, I can confirm, it was absolutely amazing. Free from any unnecessary distractions. We were just able to be ourselves all the way, exactly what me and Hannah needed. It was just perfect spending time with her. We had adventures out, we even had laughs doing the housework (if that’s believable), everything just clicked on that week. We also experienced many things I don’t think are blog-worthy, but, was just amazing time together.
Not everything was straightforward, though. For some reason putting up a washing line outside was frustratingly difficult. Although, I blame my Mum for choosing such an awkward solution. Holly, from next door, came over to offer her insight, though, in the end it was worked out by me once tightened. We did have an issue with the Dyson vacuum, though, I’m just going to say it, I ALWAYS have issue with them. I think they’re the most unintuitive designed vacs there are; I certainly won’t be choosing them for our place.
Picnic and more
When she wasn’t practicing her cooking, or, we weren’t enjoying Ghibli or In for a Penny; we did also go out occasionally. One of the more notable moment was when we decided to have an outdoor Picnic. We’d always said we’d like to go for a Picnic, and, well, the day was nice, so it was the perfect time to go. We started things off by first going to town and getting some bits-and-bats, introduced Hannah to Batley’s finest Fox’s Biscuits, got a few Ice creams and other snacks, and we headed back ready for the Picnic.
I decided that whilst Hannah was here, and the weather was behaving, we’d go up to Mazebrook and Drub. Not only does that offer a pretty decent view, but, it’s also a nice place to have a Picnic. We ended up spending quite some time up there, generally, just being ourselves, having laughs and I really enjoyed it. Though, I was annoyed I forgot to bring a drink.
The “longer” walk Hannah, wish we didn’t need to do
Once we’d finished our Picnic, and, when some people were parked and acting suspicious, it was then time to head back. It was also my time to make some Food for Hannah. We ended up having Fish and Chips (one of us may have added Rice, I’ll let you guess who). But, this was fresh Fish and Chips. We both prepared the Potatoes ourselves, and was reassured to see that Hannah was just as bad as me at cutting them, but, they were still delicious.
One thing I’m confident Hannah still, to this day, doesn’t believe, is that where we had the Picnic is literally in the middle of two ways of getting there. The up way from the Field we took to get there, and, the road way passing some Farms we took going back. Once you’ve had a day out, I guess going home can, sometimes, feel longer, but, trust me, it’s about the same distance.
Despite her complaining, it was actually quite a fun journey back. We took some photos next to a giant Tree, we passed a couple Farms, Hannah met some Bulls and Cows, and, overall, was just a really fun day out together. When we did get home, we ate the freshly prepared Fish and Chips, watched some stuff, had quite the amazing evening, then it was off to bed for the next huge day of adventures.
Living with Hannah
We didn’t just go for a Picnic, during that week-ish that we spent alone together, but that’s about the only thing I feel is worth sharing in this blog. But, needless to say, I can certainly affirm just how great it was. It’s just as I said before, living together really can make, or, break, a relationship, and it just made ours grow into even more certainty. Whilst, nothing is absolutely perfect, being together 24-7, it can spark some problems.
But, the longer opportunity we’ve had to spend time together, the more we’ve just become closer. Yes, of course, we’ve had disagreements, mostly about Hannah’s EXCEPTIONAL SLOWNESS when it comes to getting ready. There’s really no excuse for how long she takes and she NEEDS to address that.
But, honestly, it just makes me so happy and proud to do anything with her. Even just do the basics with Hannah, is just so much better. Going to the Fish and Chips shop, just walking down the street. Even if going to the Fish and Chips shop results in, “the fat woman”, as Hannah lovingly named her, ranting and raving about where she’s going next in her life. Was bittersweet the Fish and Chips shop, though, cos literally the week after Hannah had gone home, she just looked and went “oh, has your girlfriend stayed at home this time, then” … I just sadly went, yeah.
Other than that, from every waking moment of the day, till the final kiss at the end of the night, I’ve loved every moment of Hannah being here, and that was just magnified when it was literally, just me and her.
Scarborough
One of the places we always planned to return to was Scarborough. I went with Hannah to Scarborough last time she was here, but, obviously, that was nearly the Winter (about this time last year) so, most of the attractions weren’t even running. Plus, you can’t really enjoy a beach when it’s cold. There was a few other things we always said we’d do, which, we certainly did. Had a very good day in Scarborough, even if the doughnuts I bought were quite frankly rubbish.
Journey begun, as most did, with Hannah being ready later than ideal. Once we’d headed to Leeds train station, this was the journey it became clear that my Croissant purchases for the journeys would never be safe again. I’d converted Hannah to the world of croissants. From that moment forward, I knew I’d have to be purchasing for two going forward.
One thing I found out much later in Hannah’s visit than I would have preferred, was that she had a checklist of things she wanted to do whilst here. Whilst some of them weren’t possible to do, one of those we could do, was ride a Ferris Wheel. Last time we were there, it was literally closed, as most of Scarborough was, but, not this time.
This trip to Scarborough was actually rather warm, this was early August. Whilst it was a bit cooler whilst we climbed up the Ferris Wheel, it was awesome just sat with Hannah whilst it did a few rotations. Of course, as this is the modern society, a lot of the journey was spent with the “get the phone out” Camera rush. But, once the initial was done, we just held each other and enjoyed.
After a brief trip around Scarborough, and, a bite to eat, we visited a few other locations. The beach was a much more busier Beach than last time we were there, obviously, with the improved weather. Almost, too much. So, after that brief visit, it was time to get going. We’d return to that beach later, though.
The typical bus we’d usually take was, interestingly, not running, so, instead we’d to go for another service. I do wish they’d at least of informed us that they all go to Peasolm Park, but, the first that arrived that confirmed they did was a fairly antique affair. I was rather disappointed at how much the bus was, especially when I found out how much the newer buses were, but, it’s no big deal, suppose.
The bus certainly was aging in a way where I was surprised it could even move. But, thankfully, in some cases, surprisingly, the bus made it. Whilst the weather was decent, it’s amazing how much cooler it is when you travel on top of the open-top double-decker. Especially when you pass through the mountainous part of the journey from the main part of Scarbrough. Then, we finally reached our intended destination, as briefly hinted, Peasolm Park.
Once we got to Peasolm Park, it was actually much later in the day, than ideal.
Thankfully, whilst we didn’t get there until later than ideal, we’d already gone there last year so had covered most bases, with the exception of one thing, the Peddle boats. One thing I certainly wasn’t expecting, was just how long the queues were to get on the Peddle boats. It’s insane how busy it was. Whilst we spent a few minutes in the large crowd of a queue, thankfully, not too long until I realised we actually needed to buy Tickets first. So, we ended up leaving the queue and got a Ticket, which surprisingly wasn’t too much really, then returned to the queue. At this point, the sun was really at its peak for the day, so, I’ll say this, it was feeling very warm. You know it’s warm when EVEN HANNAH said it was warm. I literally felt the need to record her saying it just so I had proof that Hannah was warm in the UK 😁 Evidence logged.
Once we finally got to our place, got on the Peddle boat, I discovered a rather immediate problem, the damn thing wouldn’t turn left 😅 As much as the boat was frustrating to control, we did have such a laugh as a result. Even if it did mean we almost went directly into other people riding, almost got stuck in some shrubs, and, couldn’t actually find a way of driving back to the return point. Thankfully, one of the operators essentially pulled us to shore, so to speak. Only we would get the broken boat, but, to be honest, it just made for such a laugh and made for much more memorable moment, so, it’s all good for that.
Once we finished on the Boats, it was already getting rather late, so I thought it best to head back to Scarborough, for what was a perfect chance to spend more time at the main Pear. This all led to a rather amusing moment of Hannah’s fear. Despite all of the appetite, for rides, the thrill and adventure, literally; Hannah has made it clear she wanted to go on some fast rides. However, once that opportunity arose, thing were a bit different. The moment she saw just how much they flipped-and-flopped, she had the most picture-perfect face of fear, which was just so striking. As a result of this, we decided it best not to. I’ll be nice and not post her face of fear.
Instead, we headed back to Scarbrough, ended up spending some time on the Beach where Hannah, instead, complained that the water wasn’t the same, ridiculously, boiling, temperature, like it is in the Philippines. But, really, let me be clear, it was not cold. Yes, it just wasn’t boiling, but, not cold. So, instead, I dragged her in to the sea a few times, which made her annoyed, but it’s all good. We’d all manage to collectively get her in to the Beach, but, not on this occasion.
Before we knew it, spending more time in Scarborough, all of a sudden, it was suddenly after 7pm. And, obviously, we’ve a couple trains to catch, so it was time to head back. Whilst, this certainly wouldn’t be the only beach trip we’d return to, I was happy we had such a good day, with some new experiences along the way.
Trip to Leeds
After spending a day away, it was time for a more simple day out, yep, one of the many days out in Leeds. One thing I’d mentioned to Hannah, a few times, was that Leeds had a Canal boat you can ride on. You can take to travel from the side of Leeds, near the Train station and Hilton, to, let’s be honest, a rather useless side. But, it’s a journey none-the-less. So, with a reason in hand, we set off for a simple trip to Leeds.
Once we arrived at Leeds, something which had become accustomed, was to get something to eat, which, turned out to not be really hard for Hannah, literally. The moment we arrived in Leeds, we went through the Leeds market, and Hannah essentially got given a free Watermelon. According to Hannah, she got this because she is beautiful, and that’s useful 😂 Can’t really argue with that, I suppose, whether there’s flawed logic in there or not.
Armed with a fresh Watermelon, we then decided to go around the indoor Market at Leeds too. This was a rather interesting experience for a number of moments, many which Hannah will probably want me to forget. Mostly, when we passed a Seafood stand and Hannah mistaken 4 random people eating Seafood, as, where you need to buy them from. So, instead of being purchasing, she, instead, looked like some weird creep 😂 Almost, immediately, after that, Hannah thought it best to go.
But, not before a quick purchase of some, random nothingness, I don’t even remember what it even was, from some indoor Market shop. The worker in the shop was a Chinese woman, so on the way out Hannah decided to say thank you in the best way she knew. This led to a rather amusing over-excited clap, when Hannah said thank you, but, in Chinese (谢谢 Xièxiè) on the way out.
Then, it was time for off. On the way to the Canal, we went past my work, which was rather weird seeing some people I knew would be in, but, thankfully this was a Friday, so a day my team wouldn’t be in, so, no need to do any unnecessary hiding 😅
Once the excitement of that was over with, we went to find the Boat. Conveniently, it had literally just turned up, so was a very quick entrance. There was already some people on the boat which meant that staying outside to observe the view didn’t, at least initially, seem possible. I’m not sure if we were both unintentionally pulling some, uhh move please, faces, but the two of them noticed we wanted to stay outside, so, they went inside the Boat, so, we were able to stay outdoors. One thing that was rather amusing, as a result of this, was, that the guy (it was another couple), banged his head getting out of the Boat at the end. But, it’s all good, cos me and Hannah got our time to enjoy out of it.
As expected, the Cameras were out for quite a bit of the journey, but, then it went back to just being such a nice trip. Granted, I’d actually forgotten the actual destination of the Boat. Turns out, it ended up taking us to the Royal Armouries Museum, which, wasn’t exactly where I was planning on going, but, this was at the time where Rain was being threatened again (seemingly whenever Museums are in conversations), so was good to spend some indoor time.
Royal Armouries Museum… of boring
As I said before, it’s certainly not where I’d “choose” to go in Leeds, but, it was something to do whilst the spitting outside stopped. We spent a few minutes there at the Museum, saw the sights, and, was quickly ready for off. Hannah was impressed that it was free to enter, though, when she saw the prices at the Gift shop, it was clear why it was free entry. Explained why.
Then, after another collection of “Just wanna have a good night” attempts, which, as you’ll know from earlier, never really got used, it was time to head back to Leeds. But, the Boat was over crowded, so, instead we decided to walk by the waterway.
To say it’s Leeds, this part isn’t actually too bad in Leeds, to be fair, so, what became was a nice gentle stroll back to the City centre, before going home. Whilst, yes, it wasn’t the most exciting day in terms of activities, especially compared to the previous days we’d had, of course. But, at the same time, it was a day spent with the love of my life, so, even if it was the most boring time in the world, I’d happily replace the day I’m in now 😅
We did also go to a few other Museums in Leeds, such as Leeds Museum on a recommendation from someone I can only describe as Hannah’s stalker (she refuses to believe he is), and, as very expected, it was boring, it sucked, and, it doesn’t really deserve a bigger place than that in this blog.
Badminton 🏸
Out of all the things you were probably expecting to be included in this blog, not being a betting man, I’d say it’s a safe bet you probably didn’t see Badminton coming. But, here we are. One of the least popular racket sports of them all, Badminton. Yeah, for some reason, Hannah decided that the go-to game for us to play, at some point, was Badminton, first noted by the amusing video call I mentioned near the start of the blog with Hannah and my Dad in the background with him saying “apparently, you’re playing Badminton when you get home” 😅
And that’s exactly what we did. Finding somewhere that actually sold Badminton proved to be rather difficult ironically. We went to many-many places, including when we went to the Beach in Scarborough, and, literally, nowhere sold Badminton. Everywhere happily sold Tennis, but nothing with da shuttlecock. Personally, I’d of happily played Tennis instead, but, Hannah insisted. In the end, I ended up just ordering on Amazon so it came the day after.
Whilst ironically we’re surrounded by Fields, there’s actually not that many places suitable to play Badminton, or any other Racket sport really, but, the local Park took the place as the best place to do it. We had quite a few successful days, to begin with, which was rather amusing. One thing that became very clear, was that it made Hannah very tired, very quickly, guessing that rice addiction doesn’t provide energy. Unfortunately, something which became a trend going forward, wind, became an annoying problem when we were playing. Whilst, wind wouldn’t be much of a problem for playing Tennis, what made it different with Badminton was the lightness of the Shuttlecock, it became rather game over pretty fast. But, I have to say, it was a new experience to do rather than anything else, and, of course, I loved spending the time with Hannah, was such a laugh too.
Of course, this is Hannah, so being in the centre of a Field with the sun out, we weren’t just going to be playing Badminton, were we, she was, and did, going to throw some TikTok in there. This wasn’t much of a surprise considering she’d brought her Selfie-stick. Initially, it was brought for Hannah to film our immense Badminton talents in action, ohhh yes. But, it ended up being the scene for more…
Dances
It wasn’t just at Badminton where dancing ended up being featured, it was also the set to the second of a few videos of me making my usual, very poor, “attempts” at dancing. Whilst I do love sharing all experiences with Hannah, believe me I do, I always get rather embarrassed when it’s shared. Mostly, because, I know, I’m undeniably worse than anything she does in that regard. Hannah always tells me to just stop being shy, stop worrying about things when I’m with her, and, whilst I’m getting there, when my sisters daughter literally says “Ben, why are you so bad at dancing”, straight after, you kind of know you’re own opinion of yourself might be still correct 😅 Other dances took place whilst I was working from home, especially the first few. Pretty much every break was spent going, OK you’ve got a few minutes, learn this step, nooo not that, like this hahah.
Whilst I understand it’s very traditional, Hannah has said that when we get Married, we will have a fully choreographed dance that we will do together. Such things of course surrounding a very exciting moment of my life, certainly make me nervous, for a number of reasons. Obviously, I want to do my absolute best and make her proud of me during it, but, at the same time, I know I’m nowhere near that good, but you can count on the fact, I’ll sure give it a go! To be honest, though, even if I do make an idiot of myself whilst dancing, at the end of the day, in that situation it’d be at the most proudest moment of my life, marrying Hannah, so I’d still be happy.
Going to Cinema [3D] 🦈
I’m not really one who typically goes on the stereotypical date, I think if I would it would be either to a nice Fish and Chips shop, ohhh how romantic. But, given the forced second choice, I’d choose a Cinema. So, balance always picks the Cinema. Going to the Cinema was part of Hannah’s infamous checklist she’d set, but, not just any Cinema ohh no, only if the Movie was in 3D. Unfortunately, at the time of Hannah’s time here, and the fact that the Movie industry is kind of rubbish, their was literally only 2 Movies that were in 3D. One was a kids movie, and I mean children movie, and the other was Meg 2. So, that was the choice.
Despite Hannah thinking it was an old Film, for some reason, perhaps she was thinking of Jaws 😅 Meg 2 was literally just released not far from when we went to see it. It is a sequel, and the Taxi driver that got us to the Cinema was quick to point out how he remembered it featured Jason Statham, and told us more or less as much as my Dad, mandatorily, told us, about the first one.
Was it a good film? Well, it was kind of just OK. Look, for many people I’m sure it’s a great movie, but it’s just not the kind of Movie that thrills or excites me that much. I will say this, though, it’s certainly one of the best Movies I’ve watched in terms of seeing a Movie in 3D. The effects of the 3D were very immersive and worked very well. A big step up from the garbage that was Avatar when I once saw that in 3D.
It was a bit disappointing how Hannah, for some reason, dropped ALL her Popcorn over the Floor before we even got to watching the Movie. But, you can’t win them all. She can be very clumsy.
Unlike the last time me and Hannah went to a Cinema together, we didn’t need to rush out immediately because I’d a surprise Engagement do at the Hotel. So, we actually did watch the full movie. Then, we headed back home and spent the rest of the night just chilling. This had being a work day, for me, so I was admittedly a lot more tired than I perhaps would have been otherwise too.
Family Barbecue 🪵
One of the things, almost mandatory, whenever there’s an opportunity, which takes place at my sister’s house, is a Barbecue for all the family, and, this was certainly no exception. This was actually something she wanted to do last time Hannah was here, though this time the weather was a bit more accommodating. The day itself begun with me and Hannah getting some more Scones supply, way more mandatory, from the big Tesco, as the one in Cleckheaton refuses to sell them anymore, then on the way home we were picked up by my Dad. My sister insisted we got there as soon as possible.
It’s not that no one ever wants to go to the Barbecue, well, might be true for some, but. let’s just say it’s definitely something most people make excuses for. I don’t know about you, I’d just rather do something else. But, to be honest, it wasn’t too bad of a night. And, in the end, we ended up just enjoying some Food having quite a laugh in the process. Helped, especially, when my Mum got a bit drunk, doing some crazy dancing.
One of the highlights of the night, though, was Hannah testing her ability to essentially have anything spicy and strong, unfazed. My sisters boyfriend James had a collection of, progressively stronger, spicy sauces. Hannah took the challenge with total aplomb. She took the strongest, acted like it was tame, leading to him deciding to do what he always does, try to out-do. This led to him, basically, out of breath, almost choking, at how strong the actual taste was. I think most people were very happy about that moment.
But, it wasn’t long after this that we decided it was time to go, so we left, went home. Hannah washed up some clothing, exciting times, and, it was time to settle in bed to some more Ghibli, but, of course, not without those Scones. We did spend some time in the garden with me, Hannah and my parents which was nice bonding time for everyone, then, it was, indeed, time for up.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Depending on which way you’re inclined, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is, either, the biggest load of nonsense, ruining an otherwise decent field-land, to something that’s actually really rather interesting. Personally, I’d put myself somewhat in the middle of all that. Following up from the truly failed experience that was the Mining Museum, one of the places that I’d actually figured out the route to, was the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Turns out, it’s actually very direct, with a bus going straight to it. And, also, it turns out by taking the Bus, £2 both ways, it means you don’t even need to pay an entrance fee (though, more on that shortly), so it became rather convenient.
In order for us to get to the Sculpture Park, once again we’d be traveling to Wakefield, which, to be honest, is very easy to get to, if not a bit long of a journey. Once we arrived, learning from the previous time, knew that heading to Town to eat would be a colossal waste of time, so, instead settled for the in-bus-station Gregg’s for what would, end up being, one of our two visits on the same day. I got myself some Sausage Rolls, Hannah got herself some Pizza. Headed next door to the WHSmiths to get the beverages, with Hannah picking some Müller Milkshake, which she was certainly not impressed with, but hey, her choice.
Then, it was time for off, right? Well, almost not. But, thankfully, we got told by some randomer that the Bus had decided to go to a completely different stop, so we’d of actually missed the once per hour bus, at really no fault of our own. But, crisis averted. I’d say the journey was about half an hour, which was longer than I actually thought it would be, but, we got there in decent time.
Now, this is Hannah, so, as you can probably expect, the entire journey was at least 2 to 3 hours later than would have been ideal. This meant we were arriving at nearing 3PM. Hannah, of course, was insistent that the time wouldn’t really matter, though, considering the place shuts at 6PM, did leave us limited. To add to that, it led for a more impactful issue, which, I’m sure she’d come to regret, later.
Inside the Sculpture Park
When we entered the Sculpture Park, I was rather confused. I’d pre-paid for the entrance tickets online (as you’re told you have to) but, when I entered the Entrance, there was literally nowhere to check in. I went to the counter, said, I’ve got a ticket, which just led to the woman, who looked about as confused, as I was, that I’d actually not seen anyone, to just pass me a Map and say welcome. So, yeah, bit annoying to say, after already paying, but, clearly, if you go by Bus, don’t pay. I can only assume because you pass the entrance Ticket office on the bus itself, must still be just for cars.
Although, speaking of that, I’d actually missed the Stop on the bus anyway, but, thankfully, the Driver let us get off before it left the place. Although, even to this day, the fact I spent £18 for both of us to get an Entrance Ticket we didn’t need, was a bit annoying.
Despite the waste of Ticket money, though, it was actually a very nice day, definitely not something we could have done last year when Hannah was here. But yeah, sky was blue, and, whilst some of the Sculptures were pretty impressive, some were… kinda rubbish. I think it’s fair to say this is somewhere you go, perhaps, once, maybe twice, ever.
But, one of my biggest disappointments, is that this is also the home of the world’s most expensive Fanta, it was literally £4 ! ! ! Unbelievable.
As you can imagine, after, basically taking a picture of everything we saw, some pretty good, some, as you can see, just bad, you’re kind of ready to go at that point. If I had to rate the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, I wouldn’t exactly rate it high, but, I had a really good day out. That wasn’t really due to the Sculpture Park, though, it was because I was with Hannah. If I was with anyone else, I’d probably of left, not only far-less amused, but, probably even less than an hour from arriving.
Though, speaking of leaving…
Told you, we should of gone earlier…
Once we’d literally explored every part of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, including this rather hard to find, at first, bigger of the others, Lakes, it was time to get going. But, not before, Hannah used the blue skies, and, great scenery, for some TikTok action. This, actually, ended up being one of her posting ones of her dancing, too. It was, though, at this time, that it became apparent (when I checked my handy-dandy Bus app) that … there was no more buses … at all. Yep, the last bus was the one, at this time, that came about 15 minutes ago. So, we were potentially, and, it turned out, we were, stranded!
So, stuck with no other option, we, pretty much, slowly made our way back to the entrance, making the most of the sights whilst we did. Overall, though, I have to say, it was a rather decent day, with some of the crazy moments being when Hannah joked at some of the, let’s say, more revealing, Sculptures, of both varieties hehe, including quite the large one at the end. But, when we finally made it to the end, at the top of the final hill was a big LOVE statue which was just a perfect place for a nice photograph, of which became my profile picture.
The long walk back
What followed after, though was both annoying, but, at the same time, payback, for Hannah’s time management. A very long walk ensued, whilst we searched, pretty much, for any functioning mode of transport. A journey which would lead us going through an entire town, and down the sides of a motorway, until, eventually, we made it to a road. But, not just any road, a road with a Bus stop with a Bus which would take us back to Wakefield. Once the walk, which seemed to never-end, was over, and the Bus got us there, we, first, had that second Gregg’s, I mentioned at the start, coming full circle, though, this time Hannah tried some of their Chicken bites (I think they were), we were, then, ready to head back to home.
So, whilst it didn’t exactly go the smoothest, I suppose, I’ll say this, it made for a much more eventful, and, again, memorable, day out, as a result. You can’t really complain too much about that.
Blackpool
During Hannah’s stay, this time, we visited two Seaside towns she’d been to before, but, I knew, we had to add a new one in there. So, we did, and, that choice, was Blackpool. Now, whilst it’s not the most thrilling place to visit, in my opinion, if you go all-out on it, it actually ends up being a pretty great and awesome day out.
But, before we get to the great things we got up to, I must clear, the elephant in the room, as the phrase goes, as things didn’t quite go that well to start with…
(if you want to avoid negativity, skip the next section)
The less successful attempt #1 out
Yep, actually ended up going to Blackpool twice, in a row, in fact. This certainly wasn’t something my bank enjoyed, and that’s just the Train tickets, alone, plus the obvious amenities. The real shame about the first trip is that, compared to the day after, this had much better weather, more going for it, more opportunity, so, what’s the issue, right? Well, in comes the problem. I’m not entirely sure the whole reasons for it, but, literally, throughout, the entire day, Hannah was just in an unbearable mood. The journey, almost, didn’t happen, from the moment we even got to Leeds Train Station. Looking back, it really never should have. There was this faux glimpse that it might have passed whilst we were on the Train, which, even extended, to when we began checking out the sights, but, didn’t take long, and, I mean, it didn’t take long. Put it this way, we left on the next Train. Meaning, I’d spent all this money just to go for a complete an utter waste of time. This made me very mad, and, for what? A very inexcusable reason from her side.
Hannah is, to me, without a doubt, the most beautiful and incredible woman, she’s the love of my life and I love her so much. But, her biggest flaw is her mood swings and her stubbornness, they were all on show that day. In the evening that followed, my Parents stayed right away, they could tell things weren’t exactly going well. Me and Hannah had a very, let’s just say, to-the-point, conversation, to end this stupid charade she was in. Something I remain, even today, so disappointed in. In the end, agreed it would never happen again during any outings, and, I’m thankful to report, it didn’t. Anyway, now that’s out of the way, let’s go to the more successful visit.
Hannah’s seaside lunch of …. oh 🍚🍜
When you think Blackpool for food, you probably think of, it’s infamous stick-of-Rock, its Doughnuts, the Fish and Chips, Hot Dogs, maybe, Ice Cream, Candyfloss, etc. Essentially, you’re pretty much thinking of everything accustomed to a UK Seaside. But, this is Hannah, so, choices were a little different. The first thing she wanted when we got to Blackpool was, instead, her own cuisine. So, whilst there’s no Philippine Restaurant there, we looked around for the best next thing, essentially, the first place we could get Rice. We actually ended up going to a Thai Restaurant, of all things. I think they were hoping we were going to order a lot more than we did, though, as the woman working there seemed very disappointed when Hannah ordered just Noodles and Rice. Disappointment was returned by Hannah as well by the lack of Spice 😅 So, I was in a Restaurant with disappointed women, at this point. It was, at this point, when Hannah’s family popped on my Messages checking how she was doing, a quick picture of Hannah gulping down rice and noodles satisfied their curiosity.
You’re supposed to pay, Ben
Turns out the woman working at the Restaurants disappointment in us was only going to increase, this time, by me. Look, when I buy Food, I pay, then it arrives. I’m no fancy guy who goes to Restaurants. Not only because I don’t like the grub, but, because I don’t like the formalities. When we went to this Restaurant, it was one of those, where you walk in, Waiter comes, takes your order, order comes, you eat. But, ermm yeahhh, I pretty much forgot all of this, so was fully intent on just walking out forgetting entirely to pay for everything 😂
This, as you can imagine, made an already disappointed owner (as we didn’t order a billion things) rather frustrated. My attempts of shining light on the situation with my joking attempts of going oops, didn’t really work on her, either. So, we thought it best to leave…now. The disappointments from the Thai continued, whilst Hannah was also let down how they, and another competitor Thai place, across the road, didn’t have Milk Tea. Although, to be honest, lots of places do sell it now, plus Hannah did get her fair share across her visit here. My Mum even tried it too and thought it was nice.
The beach, plus Hannah’s too-old age letting her down 😂
If you’re born and bred in the UK, you’ve likely had many visits to the UK seaside in your time. Due to this, you’ll likely be familiar with the concept of riding Donkeys, something fairly common, when you’re young. This is an age-old tradition and, whilst we were out visiting the Beach in Blackpool, it was right there too. Unfortunately, though, the weather wasn’t as great for today, than the day prior, but didn’t stop us doing everything we could. Hannah then noticed the Donkeys. Whilst Hannah is, of course, very petite and not the tallest, she is, unfortunately, for this situation alone, also an Adult, in her mid-20s, so she was certainly very disappointed to find out the riding of the Donkeys was reserved for children. You’re meant to ride on a Donkey when you’re around 5, not when you’re 20 years older than that!
But, it’s all good. We didn’t spend too long on the Beach as the weather, as I say, wasn’t as good as the first visit, though, we did almost get trapped. The beach in Blackpool is really strange, in that, once the tide comes in, it fills the middle bit first. Being a day we never expected to really be Beach going, we were, obviously, just wearing Shoes, so this meant we had to make a pretty immediate escape. Thankfully, we were warned by a Beach warden beforehand. If we weren’t, compromises would have certainly had to ensue.
Climbing Blackpool Tower
I’ve been to Blackpool a few times, but, one thing I’ve never actually done is actually climb up Blackpool Tower itself. I’ve heard rumours of it costing like £100, by countless people who I think just never could be assed, but, accepted it was the most interesting thing to do. But, you know what, this is with Hannah, so, let’s just do it, right! Plus, what better time to do it than with Hannah. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much it was, it was less than a quarter of those rumours, for the two of us, so, that’s better.
The trip up Blackpool Tower kicks off in a pretty, honestly, disappointing way. It all kicks off with, what’s describes as, a “4D” experience. In reality, this is actually one of the most average 3D experiences in the world, followed by some rubbish effects in your face. You spend about 30 full minutes queuing, to, then, get in to this room, greeted by a less than 1 full minute video of advertisement. They also wouldn’t stop playing the same Kylie Minogue song, which was really weird. I will say this, as well, don’t sit on the sides, stand in the middle. Believe me, because the 3D from the sides on the screen, was so bad, I’m betting it would of been a little better in the centre.
Thankfully, though, with it being rather short, meant, once you’d past through the bore-fest, you can actually begin the journey up the Tower. This wouldn’t happen, though, without even more queuing. We sure love queuing here. Although, at least this was whilst surrounded by history, not just of the building of the Tower, but also a ton of other stuff too, so you had something to look at, observe, whilst the inefficiency of the Lifts tried to continue in the background. Once you finally make it to the lifts, it’s time to head up.
You actually end up at a small Bar room, featuring a glass floor you can stand, or, sit, on, creating an immersive experience and photo-op, down to the surface of the Tower surrounding you. Unfortunately, though, it was incrediblybusy, so, many of what we’d of liked to have taken, were kind of interrupted by people being people.
I also thought it best not to even consider, daring the price of, the Bar. Probably be about a million pounds for a 330ml of water, the haunting of the Sculpture Park Fanta still lingers. Then, it was time to climb further up. Whilst there, we saw quite a few people, oddly, on this floor, in wheelchairs, which, was weird as, let me make this clear, you can’t even go up the Tower if you’re not abled, because those stairs are terrible, so, seemed a rather silly journey choice, but there you go.
Once you climb the stairs, you can actually keep going up around 3 flights, climbing up to 412 feet. Once you reach this point, though, you’ve reached the point where it’s basically saying, that’s as far as you can safely go. Each of these flights all had protective netting. Whilst it was pretty incredible to see just how high up we were, it was, also, not exactly the most exciting view in the world. I’ve never heard anyone call the outer sections of Blackpool beautiful looking.
Once we’d had enough of the lacking view, we then went down complete wrong steps, we couldn’t find the right ones, to then wait EVEN LONGER to get down the, still useless, lift. Honestly, they need to figure out how to do this more efficiently. Going up isn’t much of a problem, as I mentioned before, as the wait gives you chance to check out all the distractions given to you on that floor, but, going down, there’s none of that. We did eventually make it down, to what ended up being a very out-of-place Photo Booth (as Hannah calls them), where we essentially got a picture with some props. But, when we discovered how much it was for the dreadful picture to be printed, decided not to bother.
So, whilst it was definitely a good experience climbing the Blackpool Tower, I’m sure it was one of the things Hannah remembers the most about that day, it also, wasn’t, something I’d be saying, you need to rush and do.
With the weather of the day starting to threaten more, it was becoming increasingly apparent that this day might end up being more of an indoor one, even after the Tower. But, not before…
Our own romantic chariot / carriage ride 🐴
When we initially got to Blackpool, one thing that Hannah had noticed quite a bit was the Horse riding carriages. Whilst it wasn’t something I’d of ever really noticed or thought to go on, she had just experienced the disappointment from the Donkeys, so, I thought, you know what, let’s just do it, so, we did. We’d already made a trip to the Bank when we got to Blackpool, which, itself, was an opportunity for Hannah to comment on just how absolutely fat a Bus driver was in a Bus parked across the road from it. But, more importantly, this was, with intent, to allow us to purchase the last few remaining things you can’t do with just Card, this being one of them.
So, there we were, riding across Blackpool on a pink love heart shaped carriage, riding a horse across the town. Certainly not how I envisioned the day. Whilst, it wasn’t exactly the most eventful thing, it was a nice romantic trip we did, and, something we did just in time for … the rain to pick up. So, whilst it began spitting, I though it was time to do more indoor stuff, which, led to something I’d, personally, wanted to check out anyway.
Madam Tussaud’s
One of the things I’d always wanted to try at Blackpool was their Madam Tussaud’s. Now, I knew it was hardly going to be as good as the one in London, but, it was still quite a fun experience. Plus, it was also convenient and useful, due to the weather taking a turn for the worse. The only issue with the Madam Tussaud’s visit, which was kind of expected, was the ton of UK celebrities which Hannah was never going to know. Everything from the entirety of Coronation Street, Doctor Who, Alan Carr, Keith Lemon, Lewis Hamilton, Mo Farah, John Bishop, a ton of Sports stars, Marvel characters; all wasted on Hannah. Although, she did appreciate the music stars and Royals. I did find it rather ironic she didn’t recognise Mohammad Ali, as a member of her family, literally uses him, as the best way for me to remember her name 😅
Whilst Hannah was very happy to have a photo with Ariana Grande, I was happy to have a photo next to the greats of the 90s Britpop era, which, obviously, includes Blur. I will say this, though, as you may notice from Ariana Grande, a lot of the models were, not as exactly the best, and, others were actually pretty rubbish in quality. Ant and Dec, for example, were absolutely terrible, as you’ll see below. Other acts she recognised included Ed Sheeran, as well as movie stars like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
One thing I did find rather amusing when Hannah was checking out the Ant and Dec models, as I mentioned back when I spoke about her watching In for a Penny; Hannah is probably the only person in the UK, at that time, who’s heard of Stephen Mulhern, but, not Ant and Dec, which is quite funny. We continued through many other stars such as The Beatles, many others she was never gonna know like Bruce Forsyth, Paddy Mcguiness and Tommy Cooper. I will say, though, I was very surprised she’d heard of Sooty, though.
Hannah was more happier to meet the Royal Family, which were there after some Politicians which she was never going to know. So, we’ve both a picture of the late-Queen, the current King Charles, and others. The place ended with a pretty cool area, perfect for some selfies together, all the great lighting and backdrops. Then, before you knew it, it was the end.
Weather takes a turn… for the worse 🌧️
Once we’d finished in Madam Tussaud’s, the weather in Blackpool took a turn for the worse, completely chucking it down, putting an end to any real further plans we could do. Hannah had wanted to go on some of the rides, but, on each attempt we went to Blackpool on, we were simply much too late. Blackpool Pleasure Beach, alone, is a full day out. Maybe we’ll do that another time.
One thing certainly disappointing about Blackpool was that it had to one-up York. Why, you may ask, well, let me tell you this. In less than a week, Blackpool had already topped York by having one of the worst McDonalds EVER. Honestly, they were sooooo bad. I refused to eat them. She ended up eating them on the Train back, again. So, we cycled through the, still falling, rain, using Hannah’s, recently obtained from Home Bargains, umbrella, back to the Train station for our, not as simple as we would of preferred, journey home.
Yeah, it certainly took a big longer to get home than we would have preferred, when all the Trains that day decided not to bother running. There was a work-around leading us to Manchester and back, but, still annoying. This was also a little awkward, though, as I’d ordered a Train ticket that was just for a certain company of Trains, so, due to that company cancelling, had to use a Train from a rival, but, I think the Ticketter just didn’t care so we were safe, phew.
Look, I’m no Artist…
Another thing on Hannah’s infamous checklist was Painting… yes, painting. Not something I was expecting to do, but, was something I was like, OK then, why not. During one of the many times we went out for further Scone supplies, one time we just went all-in on it, getting some Paints and colours, and, what followed, on one of the nights we had free, we started Painting.
Was it good? Not really. Was it an experience? It sure was. Stuck for anything to paint, I just painted my Mums awful Bee Solar-light, throwing in a Pikachu for good measure. Hannah decided to paint some landscape. Unclear whether we’ll be doing any more when Hannah’s next here, but, it was something new that’s for sure.
Visiting my Grandma and Uncle
One thing I knew had to happen, when Hannah was back, was, once again, visiting my Grandma and Uncle. At this point, obviously, she’d already seen them a few times when visiting the house, but, that didn’t stop the reasoning for, instead, visiting them. Hannah was, initially, rather skeptical, about visiting them, for some reason, worried she’d have nothing to say, which was, soooo wrong. Plus, this was, near, the last thing we did whilst she was here, so, we were both armed with so much to talk about.
The day began, as most days had done with Hannah, slightly later than ideal, but, to be honest, it was far less important this time around. We headed to the Bus, something which was now second nature to Hannah, she was now, more than, used to doing, and stopped off at the Station. I rung my Uncle confirming we’ were’d arrived in Town and he picked us up. He said he’d pick us up in Morrisons car park, where… we lost him, though, found him eventually. One thing that became clearer during this time we spent was how much better Hannah was at understanding Stephen’s Yorkshire accent. Which, actually, is impressive, as, trust me, he’d not toned down his Yorkshire accent at all, unlike, most others. So, yeah, she really was beginning to, at this point, pick it up and understand it. Was just a shame this was right on the edge of when she’d have to go, though.
Back at the Bungalow
Once we’d made it to the Bungalow, it was clear that Grandma was really happy to see us both. I still, to this day, find it so awesome that she’s got a soft-spot for Hannah. Believe me, if she didn’t like her, she’d make it known. Hannah’s, also, the first person ever not to have that issue with her.
One of the good things about visiting them towards the end of Hannah’s stay was, of course, we’d plenty of things to talk about, as I said. Hannah had been here 5 weeks at that point, so, as you’ve probably noticed, a lot was there to cover. Both of them were engaged and enjoyed our chat together. As always my Grandma tried feeding Hannah more than her stomach sized portion of snacks and Food, but, that’s just what Grandma’s do really. Absent this time, was Hannah discussing getting Stephen a Filipina wife, brief hints of it, but, certainly no impact as last time.
Just like the first time, they were curious of what our plans were next, which, becoming a trend now, we were wanting to go to the big Tesco and Iceland to get some Scones… and, other supplies, too. Though, sadly, final supplies, for Hannah’s stay here. This led to spending the rest of the day with them as they both were happy to come along, too.
Trip to the Shops with them
Whilst a trip to Batley to go to a Tesco and an Iceland, nearby, might not sound like the most exciting afternoon to evening, I don’t know what it is, but, when it’s me, Hannah, and those two, everything just works. Even if I did get the occasional piss taken out of me when my Uncle, notably, when he found the Fish in Iceland before I did… to my defence, they had moved it, since I was in there last, and, recently, last there, too.
We started by going to the big Tesco, which, I could tell, rather early on, was not somewhere my Grandma wanted to be. Looking back, I think she’d of been better going to the local smaller ASDA, nearby, instead. But, they went inside, basically told me to meet them in the car when we were done, so me and Hannah went around together. Whilst there, me and Hannah got some “take home” gifts for her family and, weirdly, her customers (don’t ask). This was also a perfect opportunity to take every-single last pack of Scones they’d got left. Hannah ended up taking a few home. Although, to my greatest of offence taken, her family said they were not nice, how very dare they!!!
Once we were stocked up with, admittedly, more things than I expect would even fit inside Hannah’s travel suitcase, we headed out. There was a short car journey to the Iceland, and got myself some of the last remaining supplies. Then, once we’d done the shopping, headed back home with them as well. Overall, it was just such a nice day spent with them. Just really loved spending time with them with Hannah. This wouldn’t be the last family day out, and, of course, I wish my Grandma and Stephen could be present for that day, too, but, still a great day with them.
Bridlington with the Family
This time when Hannah came to the UK we did things in complete reverse. One of the first big things we did, last time she was here, was go to Bridlington with family, this time, it was right at the very end. However, that wasn’t the only thing that was different, there was a lot MORE family joining too. Whereas last time, due to the time of the year and other inescapable factors, it was just my parents with me and Hannah, this time it was, not only those two, but also my sister and her kids as well as, later on, my other sister and her boyfriend, so it was, quite literally, a full-family day out. Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, I would of liked to have completed the pie with my Grandma, but she’s just not as able bodied as she used to be and was afraid she’d hold everyone up.
Being of course time dictated out of her control, the trip to Bridlington was far more clockwork than the previous adventures we’d shared, arriving at around 11AM, whereas, at that time, usually Hannah’s barely on her 3rd, of 6,000, delay tactics. The journey began with two cars, one with the usual 4 gang of yore, and the second with Louise and her kids. During the journey Hannah was still rather tired so I ended up being rather bored, hating the radio just ended up listening to some music whilst we got closer to our destination. One rather interesting thing was that Louise actually took the wrong turning on one of the motorways, but, thankfully was able to find her way there somehow.
Quick drink and a bite to eat … no, Hannah, not rice 😂
Once we arrived in Bridlington, and, after a quick toilet break, we took a slow stroll in to the main centre. It was market day at the time so we walked through a collection of uninteresting items, and made it to the sea area. My Mum and Dad decided to get a Coffee, whilst we looked around thinking of what to do first. In light of the rather rush ending the day had, it is quite a shame, looking back, that we wasted so much time at the start really.
We then took a walk down the same Pier walk we did the previous time we were here, though, instead of being blown away by cool gusts of wind, this time we were actually able to enjoy it and their was quite the sun in quite a lot of the time. The clouds kept threatening through the day, but, thankfully, they never poured, whilst we in Bridlington, all day.
Then it was time for some Fish and Chips. By this point, Hannah had decided she’d had enough of Fish and Chips so instead she had, I think a Bacon and Egg thing, can’t quite remember to be honest. In fact, the kids had other stuff too, so, in the end it was just me, my parents and Louise that had Fish and Chips. I’m not saying they were awful, but, I will say I was less than impressed by them if I’m honest. The fish was just OK, and the chips were quite honestly poor. But, it’s one of the rare Fish and Chips at the Filey coastline that’s not full of skin and bones. After some, after meal, selfies, including a rather hilarious photobomb moment (I wish I could remember what my Mum called that), it was then time to head out.
The bag Hannah almost got… but, didn’t
Once we’d had our Fish and Chips, the kids decided they wanted to go to one of the local Toy shops. Despite that description they also had quite a few anime stuff and more really. Hannah was looking for a small bag for one of the younger ones back where she lives, and we found a Totoro Ghibli bag, which, immediately, took our attention. She kept looking around at other stuff and kept coming back to this bag. She even made us come back here at the end of the day to get it, and, just decided not to for some reason. So, we almost got something.
Although, in terms of Bridlington memorabilia, Hannah does now have all the previously bought from October Bridlington souvenirs which we found during her stay were in a bag forgotten.
Hannah finally paddles in a UK Beach!
Look, I’ll defend her for not going last year, because it was about this time last year and it would of been freezing, but, one of the frustrations I was having with Hannah was her refusal to paddle in any of the Beaches we went to. First, Scarborough, then Blackpool, so, she was going in the sea this time. And, with everybody else here this time, I knew today was going to be the day. Whilst their was a bit of a breeze, it was only slight and not enough to really distract from what was actually quite a nice day really.
The trip to the Beach started out with everybody gathering on the Beach, picking a space on the sand, laying down the Towels. Whilst the boring farts would sit there all the time, the others, like us, would find things to do. Me and Hannah had actually brought our Badminton with us, though, despite that breeze I mentioned being slight, it was still enough to make it, near-on, impossible, to play, so ended up being a bit of a waste really. My Mum had also brought some old-rustic racket for 4 people to be able to play, which, equally, ended up being a bit of a waste. Obviously, Tennis would have been fine, but, Hannah was, again, insistent on Badminton.
We left the sandy Beach full of some engraved BEHANN as well as a heart, which, we took some pictures by, then, it was time to take Hannah to the sea. But, it wouldn’t just be me, my Mum and Evie both wanted to go to the Beach, and paddle in the sea, and, was later joined by Olivia, so, Hannah, now, had more reasons to go, than not. And, despite the fact she was very much not keen on doing it, the second we got there, she didn’t want to leave. Yes, the water is cooler than the Philippines, but our boiling hot tap is cooler than there. Plus, once you’ve felt two waves on your feet, it’s actually not cool at all, something she agreed, so, she was finally enjoying a UK beach to the fullest.
So, whilst Evie collected a billion shells with my Mum, the rest of us just had a laugh by the sea. Honestly, it was such a great time we had. Hannah found it rather amusing how the seagulls were basically riding on the waves up and down. But, this was turning out to be literally what I was wanting Hannah to experience, a true British seaside holiday experience.
Just as we were leaving the Beach, Hannah got the witness the RNLI Lifeboats come back in to shore and park, which was an unexpected experience for her and, as you can imagine, led to a photo or two by everyone present. It was rather amusing as it was much taller than the space it needed to fit into, which took a surprisingly long amount of time for the workers to, somehow, realise.
But, this wasn’t the only surprise…
Surprise guests
One unexpected addition to the clang came whilst we were heading back to the Towels, so to speak. Remember, neither me or Hannah had really brought any kind of wear for going in the sea, so, it was kind of important to get rid of all the sand from our feet before returning to wearing shoes. It was, at this point, surprisingly, Rachael and her boyfriend were in the distance with their dog Bella. I’m not saying this was, necessarily, a bad thing, but, you know when you have a day all worked out and things are all settled in, then something just changes the dynamic. That was, kind of, the feeling for the rest of the day unfortunately. I would have been happy for more people to join, but it quickly became less of a join, more of a, we’re here so this is what’s next, kind of thing. This was very telling as, aside from a rather short walk, we didn’t really see much of them after.
Due to them coming with the dog, it also limited where they could go and what they could do. For example, no dogs on the beach, most buildings, limits are real. So, it was decided that we’d all be separating for the rest of the day, but, not before something else.
Speedboat 🚤 + Hannah’s sudden fears…
When I was in the Philippines in March, I surprised a lot of my family by riding and driving a Jetski, which was actually quite a fun experience to be honest. Ever since we first arrived, Hannah was eyeing the boating opportunities available, there was a boring Pirate Ship, of course, or the more faster options. And, well, we went for it.
Admittedly, I’m not much of an adrenaline junkie, so I would certainly not have, normally, chosen to go on the Speedboat, but it was actually a lot of fun. It was rather amusing as we walked down with my Mum as she, essentially, wanted to see we were actually going to do it, but, as we were leaving I just hinted at her “photo”. But, by the time it took her to fumble and scramble for her phone in her bag, we’d literally already left 😂 … she tried. Thankfully, she was able to get some, coming back, shots.
The ride was actually quite hilarious, whilst it probably lasted not much longer than 5 minutes, when it reached its full speed it went pretty much throughout the entire Bridlington coastline. Literally from one side to the next, with the exception of the docks. One thing which was rather amusing, was, that every time it went fast, especially when turning, Hannah hilariously cowered underneath. This was the first of, an increasing, few, examples of Hannah’s bite being more than she could chew, as the phrase goes. She was all for thrills and exciting rides, but, when it came down to it, she got quite scared. Despite this, though, she still had a great time, and we had a laugh together all the way. Surprisingly, didn’t get any water on us.
If you want to, we’ll go on it
This became increasingly true, when it came to after the Speedboat journey, where me and Hannah decided to go separately from everyone else, as they were now locked into wherever the dog could go. As you’ll remember from both the Scarborough and Blackpool trips, Hannah has been talking the talk when it came to wanted to go in some pretty intense rides. And, whilst she pulled a face of eeek maybe not in Scarborough, we didn’t really get the time or chance in Blackpool as their Pleasure Beach is literally HUGE and takes a full day by itself. So, what about Brid;
First thing we did after getting separated was to take a walk down the side of the sea and explore the rides. Unlike the first time we came, they were actually all running and there, Bridlington was fully open. And, as you’d expect, we got to the same kind of ride we’d seen in Scarborough which she thought, she better not and I just went straight to her, if you want to, we’ll go on it. I’d actually been on this exact ride before back when I visited Bridlington waaaay back when Rob actually rented somewhere there for a holiday, so, I’d of been fine going on it.
But, I have to say, the picture on Hannah’s face looking at this ride, and some others too, was just incredible. She looked terrified. (I won’t embarrass her and show it, but, I got the shot). But, she’s stubborn is Hannah, so she kept playing it down going, no I’m fine, so I was like OK. I knew she was playing tough so I just ignored her saying she wanted to and we went down and looked at some others. As you’d expect the rides further away were much worse, so we headed back.
Once we returned to the same ride I just stood next to the Tickets place and went, are we cos I will. I had the money out, all ready and everything, and she finally admitted, she couldn’t do it. Next time, though, we will. I’ll make sure of it.
Ice cream to Amusements to Bowling
So, you’ve spent time on the Beach, you’ve paddled in the sea, you’ve checked out the rides, you’ve had Fish and Chips, what’s left on the list of typical British holiday things to do; well, we sure cleared the rest.
First up was some Ice Cream. Hannah had previously had a traditional 99 Flake in Scarborough and decided it would be a good idea to drop it on the Beach, so, I thought it best to get an Ice Cream more easier to hold. I, personally, don’t like Cones for Ice Creams so I always get a Screwball, and, Hannah joined in too. To me, as well, if you’re going to have British Ice Cream, it can’t be scooped, it has to be a whippy, so, a Screwball achieved both those goals.
Hannah said she really enjoyed the ice cream, but, in pure Hannah fashion there was too much so she did struggle to finish it all, but that’s all good.
Whilst, we, and, a few around us, too, were eating, their Ice Creams and more, were getting the attention of the Seagulls with these two really wanting us to just give away the remaining of Hannah’s Ice Cream. But, we didn’t, so they instead bothered this random other couple eating Fish and Chips.
Once we’d done with the Ice Creams, I took Hannah to check out the Amusements. Whilst, obviously that’s not something you really do when you’re older, it’s just one of those things I think is awesome to let her check out. Also, to see what, used to be, considered fun and exciting, when you visited the seaside here. It was at this point where I’m sure it was starting to spit, so, I had a feeling we were going to have to look for some indoor entertainment and it just dawned on me that we’d not played Bowling, so, we had a look and found somewhere we could.
Admittedly, it wasn’t the best Bowling experience ever, and that’s despite the fact I won. For some reason, the Bowling balls were insanely heavy. Like, I’m serious, they were stupidly heavy. I’m not really sure why, but it made the Bowling experience a bit less entertaining as it perhaps would have been otherwise. But, even so, despite the fact each throw felt like the Floor would cave in, it was still some last few minutes fun for us to experience.
Dad wanted to go, turned out, just at the right time
It was around the time we were finishing Bowling, we were still looking around and was actually hoping to do some more stuff, when I got a call saying everyone was ready for off. Was only just approaching 6PM at this point, so I was a bit disappointed, but, I understood my Dad had to drive back and the girls were tired so we walked back down and met everyone at the bottom. Oddly, my sister, her bf and the dog were nowhere to be found.
Once we headed back to the Car, we all said our goodbyes and we headed home where the weather decided to absolutely chuck it down … in Brid. Was weird, it rained about half the way home, yet, when we actually arrived home, it was dry 😅 But, I suppose, based on the weather alone, it was a good call to go when we did.
I must say, whilst some small things niggled me, when it came to a day out with me, Hannah and the family, that was one day that just went about as good as it could. Had a lot of laughs together, new experiences and we both truly enjoyed it. Of course, whilst we were heading home, a feeling of bittersweet was beginning to become apparent, in the knowledge, that we were approaching, at that point, where we’d only have 1 full day left together.
The last full day, a chill nothing day
We’d gone to Bridlington on a Saturday, so the day after being Sunday, obviously, is always a rather unamusing day. I, personally, think Sundays are the worst day of the week which is why I typically spend them almost entirely in bed. Of course, when I’m with Hannah, I still enjoy spending as much time with her as possible. Though, it’s really hard to take away from the fact that, whilst you’re trying to forget the upcoming inevitability, you’re also seeing less clothes in the Wardrobe and more filling of a Suitcase.
This was one night, far more than others, that I was just so much closer to Hannah all night. I just never wanted to let go. I knew what was coming, and, I just didn’t want it to. The day, honestly, is a blur when I look back on it as I think I was in that I don’t want you to go, mentality, which, really, takes over any form of enjoyment of it all. I am happy, at least, I entered that mood on the last full day rather than the last week of some previous trips. But, with that comes the unfortunate inevitability that can’t be escaped just yet…
Time to go 😔 + Hannah’s almost not-flight back
I don’t think there’s anything harder than having to say goodbye to Hannah. Even if, I know, it’s only temporary, and, knowing you’re going to see each other again. It still doesn’t change how tough it is to watch the love of your life, not only, walk away, but, also, travel near 8,000 miles away from you. That day had finally come.
The day began surprisingly early and on clockwork, which was unusual for Hannah, to say the least. Perhaps we’d of had more time out and about if she did this everyday. Regardless, this did mean we had a few hours where we could chill together, without the pressure of rushing for the plane. Hannah made her obligatory Spam and Rice breakfast, whilst hoarding some to take home. We then just, generally, spent as much time, as the hours and minutes would allow, together. It was actually quite a mild morning, so we spent some time in the garden just reflecting on what an amazing time we’d had together. But, as much as I wish I could have delayed time forever, the time finally come to go.
Heading to the Airport + one last snack
With Hannah all packed, extra supplies supplied, luggage in the car, it was time to go. Unlike typical days, we’d took advantage of the Bank Holidays, so Hannah was leaving for once on a Monday, which my Dad incorrectly assumed would mean it would be much much busier to get her to the Airport. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t.
We arrived at the Airport with time to spare, so, whilst the weather wasn’t exactly the best anymore, it was threatening a bit of rain; after the years it takes my Dad to navigate Manchester Airport ensued, we left to get to the Entrance of Terminal One. This wasn’t the best experience for all as whilst waiting for my Dad, a bird decided it had had enough of it’s lunch, over my Mums shoulder 😂
Once we headed inside, cycling around the many lifts, we decided to get a final snack and drink to pass some time before Hannah left. But, not before first getting her checked in. Queued up at the desk with her, no problems as expected, then we headed to the Gregg’s. No idea why Terminal Two doesn’t have a Gregg’s, just has meh places like KFC. Hannah had already had her breakfast, so ended up having her last Walkers crisps in the UK, whilst rest of us got some pastries, got myself some Sausage Rolls to take back. Knowing it was literally now minutes until we’d have to go up those Lifts to say goodbye, my heart was sunk, hated it. And, before I knew it, it was that time.
Goodbye, for the, “almost” NOT, flight home
Walking up to the Departures section of any Airline is never fun when it’s at the end. My parents said their goodbyes and gave me and Hannah some final moments together, whilst she was trying to hide the shedding tears. The moment I saw that it was impossible not to get teary eyed myself. I remember just holding her, close as possible, giving her the biggest kiss I could, and just never wanting to stop. I walked with Hannah as far as I could go, then the moment when time stopped, when her hands left mine and she walked down. I was broken. Hannah has since told me that a number of people went up to her checking if she was alright as she must have looked so upset, hate having to leave her like that.
Struggling myself to keep my composure, headed back to the Car for the journey home. Hannah messaged to let me know she was at the gate, claimed there was a bit of a delay due to some Air Traffic stuff, thought nothing off it, but, turned out she was there a while, but, after a whole 70 minutes, she was finally off.
UK-wide Air Traffic Control Failure
Turns out that Air Traffic control delay Hannah experienced, for barely an hour and a half, was, actually, a nationwide issue in the entirety of the United Kingdom. What makes this even crazier, is that if Hannah was flying on a British Airline, she wouldn’t have actually being able to leave, potentially for days. Now, obviously, I wouldn’t of complained too much for Hannah being here longer, but, it’s crazy to think that, not only of the UK’s incompetent with our Air Traffic systems (apparently French made), but also that, she could of been stranded. Thankfully, despite what, I’m sure, was an initial annoyance for her, she was able to get home safely.
What’s more scary is if it was the other way around. She could have been stranded in her Transit destination, as this was an issue that impacted not only Flights leaving the UK, but also arriving too. Thankfully, this was avoided. Hannah arrived safely, perfectly on time.
Once she was home, we had an immediate call to see each other. At this point, it was the Tuesday after, and I was at work. Was happy she was safely home, but, couldn’t really hide how sad I was she wasn’t still here. But, what a great time we’d shared.
What a 5+ weeks it was
You know, looking back on what was such an incredible time we shared together, it still, even this far in to our relationship and seeing each other as many times as we had, still, just feels like a dream sometimes. Sure, we had some blips along the way, but, overall it was just incredible. I’d do anything to be back in her arms once again. Whilst, sure, I won’t have to wait too long for that, but, that doesn’t change just how much I immediately miss her when she’s gone. It’s getting harder and harder to be apart. But, that’s why in 2024, big things are going to change that!
A pretty huge 2024
Whilst, I’m not here to share everything, yet, about what’s coming up next year. Let’s just say, it’s going to be one of the biggest years of my entire life. It seems like every year since I met Hannah, just gets bigger and bigger, all of that really has been leading up to this.
As I’ve mentioned before, my absolute frustration and regret of the complete waste of my life my previous relationship was, a near 9 years of just going nowhere in my life. Seriously, such a relief to no longer be in that part of my life anymore.
My life changed forever, in so many ways in an undeniably better, in every way, way when I first began and got to know Hannah in 2021. Since then, our relationship became official and grew more in 2022, and, of course, this year, in 2023, me and Hannah both got engaged. Which bring us to next year, 2024.
Next year, is when me and Hannah truly solidify everything we’ve been building up to, and I’m happy and honoured to announce that next year we will be getting Married ! ! ! Yes, really. I will be marrying the love of my life, Hannah, in the Philippines next year.
Now, as much as I’ve shared a lot of what’s happened this year, when it comes to this, I will say, at least, for now, I’m keeping everything else to ourselves. But, I look forward to sharing what I expect to be such an incredible and perfect time of my life, really soon. Those that need to know, know what’s coming up, and, everyone else, will find out, more personally, by the close of the year, to January, when everything becomes confirmed.
And, that’s it. The cogs of life, outside of Hannah, continue to churn, she’s really all that’s important to me and I cannot wait for those sad moments where we’ve to part, soon, to become a thing of the past.
What’s next for RKUK Media
Speaking completely separate from anything personal, kinda, is an announcement of something pretty big coming up for the future of this website going forward.
For those who don’t know, RKUK Media, or, just, RKUK, has been a brand which I’ve had since I created it back in School. So, it’s really been something part of most of my life really. However, despite this, it’s no secret that it’s never really achieved, even half, of what I always wanted it to. To make matter worse, with everything going on in my life, and, generally now that the passion for the website has just evaporated after all of it’s lacking success, the website has been in a bit of a rut in the last few years. So, perhaps, it’s probably rather obvious to the observant, that it’s probably best to retire the service, moving forward to what’s next.
Over the last few decades of RKUK Media, there’s been a ton of videos created, music productions made, multiple changes in directions in what was offered on the website; it was once it’s own social network, used to host music videos during the VEVO-blocking era of YouTube, it’s had music reviewed, technology reviews and posts all over the place, hosted video content from partners and more … yeah, it’s sure done quite a lot. But, as much as I’ve been trying not to accept it, it’s time to move forward, but, with what?
The move to BEHANN
Next year, alongside a huge collection of changes in my own life, it’s more of the out with the old, and RKUK Media will be closing. This content on this website (RKUK Media) will be remaining inside an, almost, archive, state, when the transition has been made and what will replace it will be all-new.
I’ll be speaking more about what BEHANN is as we get closer to the change, but, put simply, it’s the combination of BEN + HANNAH = BEHANN. This is going to be our new website, our hub, where we can share all our new experiences. My blog will remain as it is, just be moved over there. I’ll be adding my own things, and Hannah will be free to provide anything she wants too. It’s a free-for-all to whatever we want to make it to be.
What I’m most excited about, though, although it won’t be immediately, will be the projects we do together. One thing I love more than anything, is sharing, and, collaborating, with Hannah. Sharing all new experiences, together, really is what BEHANN is all about.
BEHANN 
One thought on “Blog Sunday 5th November 2023 – From here, to there, to the rest of our lives.”