Every time I begin one of these In Reviews, as cliché as it is, they typically always start with some, “woahh, it’s that time already”, kind of spiel, but, genuinely, it really is kind of crazy we’ve already concluded 2024. I certainly remember last year writing my 2023 – In Review, I was in the Philippines, closing off 2023 and heading into the New Year. This time, not so much.
Although, I think it’s fair to say 2024 has continued that trend of each year delivering more than the last. It’s just been such a huge feature packed year. Not, however, without its problems, many, in fact, but, most certainly, with its highs.
2024 was also the year of HUGE blogs. Yes, I’m perfectly aware of it, you don’t need to mention it again. Yes, the blogs in 2024 were bigger than any blogs I’d posted previously. This isn’t, entirely, my fault, as this year has just been huge and there’s been so much to say. But, I think that’s a good thing, really? It does mean, overviewing everything, will be quite the journey too.
So, let’s get to it, shall we.
Announcing, and, finalising preparations for, the big day!
The first post of 2024 covered the pretty huge substantial preparations required to be done to prepare, and, the announcement, for those who didn’t know, for me and Hannah’s Wedding, now with the March 20th date made official. As I hinted before, I began 2024 in the Philippines and made a collection of preparations for the Wedding within the Philippines, in January. I also covered the pretty incredible New Year celebrations, Philippines style, and the, kind of, spending Christmas with Hannah, as well.
This, of course, didn’t go without its collection of drama, ohhh no. Whilst my reasoning for being in the Philippines in January was to correct all Wedding preparations where I needed to be there in person, that didn’t stop one thing being missing once I’d headed home. The Certificate of No Impediment. All of a sudden, time was a wasting with the impossible task of obtaining a document, legalising it, sending it off, it was all very stressful. But, did everything get sorted in time? Well, you kind of know it did now as there’s a blog after this, but, you can relive the adventures of this and more in the February blog;
This is it, the big day, Our Wedding!
For anyone who’s read my Wedding Blog already, you’ll know just how big it is. I certainly wasn’t planning on releasing an over 59,000 word Novel to cover the day, but, sometimes that’s just what you need to do. It’s impossible to summarise the Wedding in just a couple of paragraphs, it was just a completely insane part of my life. And, one I know will be the single most significant moment of, both, me, and Hannah’s, life, too.
It wasn’t without its drama, it wasn’t without its colossal level of preparation required, and, yes, the Coordinator made everything worse! But, somehow, we did it. The blog covers the preparations, the telling of the date, the Best Man, booking and arranging the Church, all whilst trying to fit in some Philippines time between a little event taking place called, The Wedding Day! … A lot to take in.
But, this all wouldn’t be done on my own. A completely unbelievable, when I look back at it, situation, where I’m traveling to the Philippines with my Parents, later, meeting Lee there at the Airport, all to make this Wedding work. If it wasn’t for the huge amount of Photos, I’d still be in pure disbelief at what took place over there, it was truly out of this world. I, also, truly appreciate Lee for coming and being my Best Man, and, of course, my Families support, too.
But, the blog doesn’t end there, all 5 of us (me, Hannah, my Parents and Lee), all flew back to the UK once the proceedings were all done, which led to 5 weeks of even more things taking place with Hannah by my side. But, of course, all things have to end, eventually, with Hannah departing at the close whilst the preparations began for the big one … bigger than a Wedding? … yes, bigger than the Wedding. We’re talking about living together for the rest of our lives! But, that’s coming next, not now.
You can read all about the Wedding, including it’s significant before and afters, in, yes, my biggest blog ever, but, one I’m still very proud of;
Applying for the rest of our lives
Now Married, we knew everything we needed to do. So, it was time to put all those plans into motion. This created possibly … no, it actually was, the most stressful moments of my life. The pressure, the checklists required and everything in between, the importance of getting everything right, the fees. It’s fair to say, I had a lot to cover. Whilst I knew most of the requirements and did get quite a lot done, I was still not convinced, so, I ended up getting a Lawyer’s help.
During this period of time, the Visa that would allow Hannah to, not only, stay in the UK, but, live, was finally applied for. Even after the application was made, it certainly wasn’t without its pressure, from Government changes, to missing anything out. Hannah would also need to come to the UK, regardless, to finish the Visa process with her BRP. There was so much to cover, until, the final decision did arrive, much sooner than originally anticipated! This led to Hannah back in the UK, before we knew it.
The whole process of getting the decision early, the ramifications surrounding Christmas, in the end, led to things completely been twisted upside down. Hannah had to come to the UK to collect her BRP, but, wanted to spend Christmas in the Philippines. So, in the end, we’ve a whole new UK adventure with Hannah, with her now back in the Philippines until 2025.
It’s still quite a lengthy one, but, I’m happy to say, 15,000 is a sizeable less than 59,000, a quarter, in fact. 😅
Larry went missing
One thing I will say which is pretty incredible about 2024, but, also kind of, unforgivable, was that it was such a huge and eventful year that… thing’s got missed out of the blog. And, by things, I mean, one thing, quite significant. Yes, despite mentioning him in all the blogs in 2024, including even the most recent one, Larry, unfortunately, went missing this year. And, for some reason, I didn’t feel the need to mention it.
One of the most stupidest rules was imposed on Pet owners in 2024, requiring all Pets to be tagged. A set time was set, which, obviously, meant that the cost of doing it was going to increase, and, a rush to get it done was … kinda, imposed, with the Government promising hundreds of pounds in fines if you don’t. Of course, who the heck’s gonna check, and, who the heck would even know? No one, but, it was only right to get him done. So, on one of the days I was in the office, my Parents took Larry to the Vets in Cleck. Procedure is pretty straightforward, and, was sorted in no time.
Then, they left …
This is when things get very pathetic, ok, more accurately, frustrating. For some reason, from what I’ve been told, whilst Larry was returned back in to his Cage after the routine procedure, upon leaving, my Dad decided that what was more important was getting into his new Car, than being careful with the Cat. So, whilst they left the Vets, went to the Car park across, my Dad decided to just carry him with one hand with the other filled with other stuff.
Obviously, no pets like being encaged, Larry, of course, included. So, he was naturally trying his best to escape, shaking about as animals do. Unfortunately, as you’d expect, the Cage is flimsy, so it doesn’t take much to cause an “accident”, and, it did. Larry was out of the cage. Panicking, unknown as to where he was, he ran off. All the way to the end of the Car park, then, running into town. He was gone.
The search
For the next 2 and a bit weeks, we all spent pretty much all of our spare time looking around the entirety of the town, but, you don’t realise until you’re looking for a cat, just how many spaces and opportunities their are for an animal to go missing. You’ve so much farmland, so many fields, a wide range of different Streets and roads, it was honestly just overwhelming as to where he could have possibly gone. Impossible, actually.
My Dad went searching, on his own!!! Which was, rather surprising. Whilst, I think he only did it due to the feeling of guilt as… well, it was his fault, although I do think even if he found Larry, what would have happened? He was never going to let my Dad, not only find him, but, also what? Walk home with him 🤷♂️
That was actually an issue for all of us, how would we have even got him home, if we found him.
The big surprise!
After around a month, we’d all given up. We’d searched far and wide, multiple times, over the few weeks, so, it was never going to be, right? Well, I’ll never forget the night that came. I was upstairs, just doing whatever, and I heard my Mum making some very questionable sounds, almost like she’d both, gone completely mad … it finally happened (Queen joke, for, those that know) … or she was either talking to a newborn baby or… something was up.
Went downstairs, and, I don’t think anyone could quite believe it, there he was, LARRY!!! He was making the most loudest and vulnerable meow ever, he was a lot thinner, and I don’t think we’ve ever seen him eat TWO pouches of food, with such speed and aplomb. The days that would follow, Larry spent, pretty much, every single day indoors. He was incredibly timid, like, his already timid self but multiplied by 1,000.
Thankfully now, he’s basically back to normal. He had a bit of a run-in with a neighbouring cat, but other than that he’s his usual self. I’m more just disappointed in myself that I completely forgot to include it in my main blog, but, hopefully this makes up for it. And, makes the, in Review, a bit more interesting.
COVERING EVENTS AFTER THE LAST BLOG
Christmas work do
One thing that was pretty fun, was at work we had a little Christmas work do. The last time I’d gone out for any job, really, was back in the early 2010s when I went out with the Post Office lot. It wasn’t the most successful work do’s in terms of options to eat, though. As per the general demographic, we ended up going to an Indian place, though, it was a decent Restaurant.
Checking through the Menu, however, revealed Spicy Curry’s, rice and noodles that would have been good for Hannah, as well as Burgers and stuff. So…. nothing for me. So, was a bit annoyed that was the case. However, as much as I cannot stand children, they came through on this one. Kids Meals to the rescue!
Even better, during work time
Their was a work night out that took place the week prior, but, it was outside of work time and, I’ve no interest in night outs with majority people I don’t even know or want to socialise with, as it would include mostly people from other departments and teams I don’t even know. So, I thought that was it, then, this was announced, so, just made sense and was much better to do it and get a good 2-3 hours off at work time. I will say, I think this made a lot of people who went to the night out, feel pretty silly for doing so. Especially as they’d to stay behind, but, it’s all good.
So, what did you eat
Heading there was pretty fun, too, as it was a nice outing with the work lot, in general. My Manager will be leaving in March, so, was good for that, but, just having that time out that was fun. The last time I’d done anything like this, traveling out with who I worked with, was actually during Covid, whilst we all were closer to each other tightly in a Lift with all our equipment trying to get home to stay as far away from people as possible … yeah, logically, doesn’t make sense does it 😅
I shared a Car with 3 others in our team, whilst others were in another. Whilst we did get lost along the way there, thankfully we did find our way there and was time to get parked… ohh wait there’s no spaces, so, instead, park at a nearby Car park. For some reason, everyone, including the owners of the Cars, left my Manager to register the Cars and pay for the Parking space which I thought was a little silly. But, thankfully, was sorted. Sat inside the Restaurant with everyone, we actually ended up on a circular Table, which was good as it meant everyone was able to feel included and involved.
So, what was the choice of Food for me. Well, going around, there was Curry’s bought, there was Burgers, there was all sorts purchased, but, no one, and I mean no one, ordered TWO, because they looked very small, Kids Meal Fish Fingers and Fries 😁. Because there’s nothing more Indian Cuisine, than Fish Fingers and Fries. They were, actually, rather nice, to be honest, so I wasn’t complaining. Although, I will say, a bit cold. It was worth ordering it, just to see the eye roll and disappointment from the Waiter. Although, the place wasn’t without its disappointments really; the food was a little cold, they’d no Salt without requesting it and I had the most disgusting Ice Cream Sundae. I wouldn’t have normally had an Ice Cream Sundae, but, I was trying to get up to the £35 budget we’d been given but.. nope. I was also, a little, let down by ordering a Coke and getting some weird own-brand version.
Due to the disappointment of the Ice Cream Sundae, and, let’s be honest, I cost MUCH less than the others, it was pretty awesome that my Manager gave me the Company card to get some Magnum at the local Newsagents. Although, let me tell you something, I will NEVER go there for Magnums, it was literally £2.50 PER Magnum. You can get 3 for that at most Supermarkets. But, wasn’t my money, so, who cares.
I can’t be assed…
The only problem with spending hours out of work, having a laugh and food, once you come back, you just can’t be bothered going back to work. But, pushed through for the last hour, or so, then it was finally time to head home.
Overall, though, had a decent work outing. Kinda makes you think it should’ve been a more regular thing, but, in a way, it tends to only happen when somethings final.
An ‘unfortunate’ change in mood, over the Christmas period
THIS SECTION IS QUITE NEGATIVE AND A BIT OF A DOWNER, SO, IF YOU WANT TO AVOID THAT, I RECOMMEND SKIPPING TO THE NEXT SECTION, "SUMMARISING 2024"
I don’t want to end another blog on a negative note, but, it’s certainly been a string of emotions the last few weeks. I’m not sure if this is due to me and Hannah being back to being apart, with others caused by something that was just always the case, or what, but, I have to say, it’s been a very disappointing series of let downs.
There was a situation, recently, where I was invited for a night out. However, instead of this taking place, in the end, it never happened as the invitee … forgot. This, typically, would just be a pretty standard thing as I’m, generally, pretty used to being let down by people. But, what it also did was, well… I think it just popped a balloon in my life, so to speak. Just a wide-range of frustrations and annoying realisations just ensued in my mind. Recently I’ve been looking back and reminiscing at multiple times in my life, remembering the old days due to adding the entire RKUK Entertainment library to our Archive page. This, and more, just was a perfect excuse to look back, but, it also made me think of just how much I’ve lost over the last decade, or so.
I used to think that once I’d left Claire, things would return back to the way they were, friends wise. Though most haven’t admitted it, it’s pretty clear she was a big shadow that broke a lot of friendships up, especially Rob, during his relationship with Lorna. Before Claire came into my life, one thing I always loved, was this real strong bond I had with my friends. I could always rely on them to be there, always saw them, and, in general, due to us all being a bit…unique, led to such a huge level of laughs and good times. After Claire was gone, not long, in fact, before I was ready to meet up with Hannah for the first time, I actually met up with the entire gang at some Pub I didn’t even realise existed in Cleck. And when I say the gang, I mean, the entire gang, was there. This was significant as it not only, seemed to, revive the friendships and bonds I had, but the reaction to me breaking up with Claire, the feeling that was emanating, really made me feel that this was truly the band getting back together. But, despite that feeling of given optimism, it just… didn’t. It was back to the status-quo. I’d see Lee, as I still do thankfully, then, when it comes to everybody else… I’m forgotten. There’s some that have an excuse as they no longer live close, but, there’s certainly a couple I could mention who don’t have that excuse and the feeling has just seemed very subdued. Plus, it’s always, just me. I keep getting told by Lee about this, that, and the other happening in other peoples lives, then when the fact I’ve not seen them in years is brought up… he can’t really understand it, and, neither can I. So, I think, in general, it just means I’ve, effectively, got no one. Sounds blunt and depressing, but, it’s kinda true, right?
The biggest giveaway of this theory comes from me and Hannah’s Wedding. If it was 2010 now, for example, and I was about to Marry someone in a far-off Country, like the Philippines, there’d be a huge level of interest, a real want to be included and come! I, also think, it would have resulted in more than just Lee turning up. However, in 2024, no one’s really bothered about my life. I think that’s just the mood that’s just been constantly in the back of my mind. Unfortunately, life just keeps proving this theory, and conversation, correct. Real shame, I have to say.
To make matters even worse, this downwards spiral, has unfortunately reached Hannah, too. I’m not sure what’s happened, but as we passed through the second half of 2024, perhaps it was building up before then, certainly since she went back home, it’s just truly peaked. It’s to the point now where I’m, genuinely, unhappy to spend most time together as she’s turned into a sea of negativity, constantly in an argumentative mood. This is, by far, the most hurtful and disappointing thing that’s happened this year. I don’t think I’ve been this let down by a change in anyone, this much, before. I can get over friends just becoming ghosts of the past, being non existent, basically. But, for the woman who’s just become my Wife to be on this list too, is truly heartbreaking. I, genuinely, don’t know what’s caused this. It never stops. It might be ironic for this to be be posted on BEHANN, a website literally dedicated to the two of us, but, it’s true, if things don’t change in 2025, this website might not have a big future ehh. We keep having these moments, I hold my ground and make sure I’m heard then… eventually, I am, apology follows with changes promised. Until, it just repeats again. Is this really the future of my life?
My hope is, once she’s back in the UK, at the close end of January, this awful growing trend that’s come from her, ends. As you may have read in my latest blog, this didn’t stop unnecessary negativity when she was here, though, so, who knows how things are going to go moving forward. All I want, is the woman I love back. The woman I never stop praising to her, and everyone who knows her, or me. I love Hannah with all my heart, but, recently, it really feels like those feelings are slipping from her side. Time will tell if things improve for us in 2025, I think I need it too. I’m waiting.
END OF: EVENTS AFTER THE LAST BLOG
Summarising 2024, plan for 2025
After that bit of a low, let’s bring things back as we conclude this 2024 – In Review. If I had to Summarise the entirety of 2024, briefly, attempt that challenge I said couldn’t be done at the start, I’d start by saying it’s certainly been eventful. It’s been the biggest, most significant, yet stressful, truly incredible year of my life. I’ve Married the most beautiful, attractive, sexy, incredible and amazing woman in the world, Hannah, and, whilst the journey was rough getting there, the stage now is truly set for our future together.
It’s also been a year or mixed emotions. My appreciation for my Family, my friend and Best Man, Lee, was truly confirmed with their support for my Wedding. Having them all with me in the Philippines was something I’ll never stop thanking them for, and, appreciating. Everyone from my Family, to neighbours, to even those I work with, I’ve truly felt that love and support. However, there’s also been down times, as was just mentioned, which, really just lets me down and brings me down emotionally. Reason, mostly, being, it’s all incredibly preventable.
So, has 2024 been perfect? Of course not. There’s people that have really annoyed me, processes that don’t need to be as awkward and stupid as they are, and, yes, a lot of people have let me down. But, you know what, we’re here, we made it through and I actually achieved everything that I set out for the year! So, by that regard, it’s, at least, a very successful year.
2025
It’s hard to believe how far we’re getting through those 2000s years now. When you’re born in the 90s, as I’m sure it is, even more, if you’re born earlier than that, seeing that 2000 number grow to what it is now is quite creepy. We’re sure getting on, aren’t we.
2025 is, generally speaking, the year where everything is put into place. If you could class 2024 as building the house, 2025 is when we’d move in. The ground work is done. And, I, feel like we should be able to achieve all the 2025 goals as well. Time will tell, of course, how things go and hopefully no further thorns along the way. Of course, I’ll always be able to report back on that, literally, this time next year.
2025 certainly won’t be as big of a year as 2024, I think that journey of each year being more incredible than the last, has ended, at this point. But, it will still be a very big year for us. Plus, by not having anything, in particular, to be able to guess, for now, makes it a more interesting year to explore and report back on. So, here’s to 2025!
BEHANN 
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