Unlike the last few years, it’s fair to say I’m starting a blog after March with much less life changing events, than previous. But, despite that, that’s not to say it’s not been eventful. Since this years’ In Review post, Hannah’s settled in, had a very welcome get together with the gang, and, hard to believe, it’s been a whole year since me and Hannah got Married too. It’s worth saying that, whilst, yes, Hannah has now permanently moved to the UK, there’s been a world of adjustments to be endured along the way. Even today, there’s definitely some niggles I wish weren’t remaining, but, in time, I’m hopeful, they’ll be overcome.

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Hannah arrives in the UK, this time, for good.

Whilst Hannah was ready and eligible to live in the UK last year, it wasn’t until the end of January, this year, when she arrived in the UK for the long-term. She’d spent a few weeks here, then Christmas / New Year in the Philippines, but now she’s here for good. Hannah ended up landing the Monday before my birthday, close of January, and with time-off from work, I was able to turn up and pick her up. As Hannah had already arrived and collected her BRP, there was very little to do this time, just turn up and get home. We were a bit unsure whether her e-Visa was going to work out as, surprise surprise, being the UK, their was reportedly a collection of bugs with the service so they’d actually postponed using it. Due to this, Hannah got through immigration in seconds.

As expected, the very first thing Hannah did once she was back… collapse. Well, not collapse, but fell asleep. Yeah, she basically spent the entirety of the day just asleep. Obviously, we’d stacked the house with Rice, anticipating Hannah’s arrival, so once she was ready for food, we were good.

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A Chinese event in Merrion Centre

On the first weekend Hannah spent in the UK, it turned out their was an event going on in a Shopping Centre in Leeds to celebrate the Chinese New Year, so, it was off to Leeds with Hannah. The event was actually at the Merrion Centre, somewhere Hannah had, naturally, never gone to before as it’s a bit further up than you naturally go. But, this was also an opportunity to check for something.

Because, yes, me and Hannah will be, later in the year, visiting the Leeds First Direct Arena when we go to see Busted vs McFly. I’m actually a fan of both, in reality, whether it’s cool to be, or not, so, why not watch a gig with my Wife. Once we’d walked nearby, we headed into the Merrion. There’s quite a decent selection of shops in there, including a big Morrisons which we all concluded was rubbish. This was also where Hannah decided she was going to do something for my Birthday, even though I told her not to… This ended up not working out as Hannah ended up buying some Balloons, signs and more that ended up being more expensive than another place we saw later on. In fact, they ended up also being cheaper in Tesco. We live and learn. You will be able to see the selection of things Hannah got for my birthday in the next section.

It’s fair to say, the Chinese celebrations in the Merrion Center were … a bit boring. Ended up being a group of Chinese women doing dances, performances with some other events around. Hannah ended up doing some painting, whilst the rest of us just pretended to be interested with Camera phones. It was pretty good how they’d decorated the Merrion, but, the problem was it was such a small area, with a billion of people trying to get through. It was also annoying as a lot of the areas that would have made good photo opportunities, had a lot of annoying people just sat around. Either way, it was something to do, but, fair to say I was not disappointed when it was time to go.

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Birthday with Hannah

After spending New Year in the Philippines with Hannah to celebrate Hannah’s birthday in person, for the very first time since meeting and getting to know her, this time, would be my first birthday I can spend with Hannah. Whilst, obviously, I’m happy to spend the day with Hannah, it’s fair to say I’m not someone who really cares about much attention on my birthday. Whilst I did tell Hannah this, she… had other ideas.

Yyyyep. Following a trip to Leeds, which included some Chinese culture, Hannah decided to buy some… OK, a lot, of balloons, and more. Thankfully, my birthday this year fell on a Monday meaning that I didn’t, at least, have to work out in the office, but I would have to put up with guests as Hannah went on the invite spree. In the end, it ended up including my Grandma and Uncle.

Now, this would have been fine for me, even though I’m not a fan of attention, if it wasn’t for… the Vacuum cleaner. How can a Vacuum cleaner impact your birthday? Well, in many ways. For context, my Parents needed a new Vacuum cleaner and I was able to get a discount for them. And, today, just so happened to be, when it arrived. But, there was complications, plus with everyone coming over, my birthday turned in to, less of a Happy Birthday to you, but, a Dyson setup and troubleshooting session. So, not that great.

Food was pretty good, though. Hannah had worked on making a Lemon Drizzle Cake, my Mum had made a Victoria Sponge, and to add to it, I got some freshly made Eggybread. All of this, of course, whilst the Dyson spectacular continued… Not going to lie, I was, still, kind of glad when it was over. I appreciate the effort, Hannah, I really do. But, next time, stick to the Cake, Happy Birthdays and leave it at that 😅.

Of course, it would only be, just over, a week, after this that I would be the one getting stuff, though, that time for Valentines. I don’t normally get, or care, about Valentines, but this was the first we would be together for, so, thought better get something for her. So, Hannah ended up with some Flowers, chocolates and Cakes and … why not, a Chocolate Orange. I did get her a Card, too, but she’s never been that bothered about them. It was more to push my Dad to getting my Mum something 😁. Though, to be fair, she has kept that card.

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Settling in. No going back now!

Birthdays out of the way, welcomes all welcomed, what’s next? Well, settling in basically. I can’t even contemplate what an absolutely huge thing it must be to arrive in a completely different Country than your birth, knowing that, not only, it’s a one-way ticket, but also, there’s no turning back. So, I don’t, for a second, take for granted the huge thing Hannah has done for me, and it’s truly really appreciated. Especially now that, well… this is it. Obviously, such a huge change and step taken in your life is a bit more easier when you do it with the one you love, but, still a huge step.

Whilst it’s fair to say, fast-forward to today, nothing is perfect, though we’ve certainly come a long way. But, that’s not to say there’s not quite a few thorns involved. Something which is natural, really. Previously, we’ve always had a wave of time where we’re together… back to LDR (long-distance relationship), then another wave… back to LDR. But, now, it’s full time. This has meant that a lot of adjustments need to be made. I used to like watching things at night… nope, Hannah wants to sleep. I used to like to sing in my room… nope, Hannah wants to watch a movie. Ahh, adjustments. In time, I’m sure we’ll strike that balance, time will tell, we’re not there yet, though. This does create, unfortunately, a bit of issues between us. You’ve always to strike that balance between spending time together, whilst also having that independence to do things on your own. Which is always pretty hard, as women always take that as ughhh you don’t like me, don’t want to spend time with me anymore blah blah, when, in reality, it’s just about staying sane.

I love Hannah with all my heart, but, everyone knows that if you do do 24-7 non-stop together with anyone, it gets suffocating, so you need that time to yourself every now and then. We’re starting to get that balance struck now which is good. Although, there’s a number of reasons why we’re regularly together and regularly not, due to work commitments from the both of us with differing shifts, as our lives moves forward. I’m hoping now we’re both employed, even if it early days for her here, that this will be the start of us both, not just me, saving up for our future in our own place and everything that comes with it. Here’s to that future.

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The gang back together

I’ve mentioned this numerous times now, but if there’s one thing I’ve been missing more than anything, it’s having that old-school outing with the old gang. I remember back in the early 2010s, and otherwise, there was always the classic 4; me, Rob, Lee and Caddy, with occasional additions of Kai and Jess. That seemed to just vanish completely by the end of the 2010s, something which I’ve previously blamed, potentially, on my previous ex. The last time we were all out, slightly, was in 2022, when I essentially gatecrashed a night out. Fast forward to 2025 and it’s Caddy to the rescue … after a first-attempt fail, but, we move forward from that.

Originally, it was looking like it was just going to be a catch up with Caddy, who, honestly, I’ve not seen in absolutely ages, so I was happy to head out, even if it was a Friday. Ended up heading to somewhere I’ve not gone to before, The Chain Bar, and, to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. Ended up trying out the Jeremy Clarkson beer, Hawkstone. I almost ended up with the Cider, thankfully, that was avoided quickly before that went wrong. Sure it was over £5 per pint, but, it’s actually very nice.

Then the night picked up with Rob arriving, who I’ve not had chance to see for a very long time, it’s been too long, or, as Rob said “it’s probably not been long enough 😁” … nah, genuinely, was really good to see him again and catch up with everyone really. We ended up moving to another Pub, until we ended up going to Cleck’s only nightclub which… sure, isn’t great, but, meant we had a full night of it.

A group chat of … the unavailable

After we’d had the catch up and night out, it became pretty obvious to all of us that we’ve just not had enough of these catch ups. So, Rob ended up creating a group chat for us all, including Lee in that chat who couldn’t make it on the original night, to try and arrange the next one. We’ve had multiple locations suggested, multiple dates mentioned and … none of which anyone can actually make it to. Ahh, the joys of growing up.

Regardless of the current impossibility of seeing everyone with their availability, I do hope we all have another catch up soon and, to be honest, that it becomes more of a regular thing. I really enjoyed the last one, but, of course, like anything, time will tell. Until then, we’ll have to see when the I’m Not Evil Tour will move next 😉. For now, it’s looking like maaaybeee later in April.

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1 Year Wedding Anniversary

You know, I just think it’s absolutely insane how we’re already at our 1 Year Wedding Anniversary. That’s just crazy to me. It’s 2025, Hannah and me are living together in the UK, and it’s already our “paper” Wedding Anniversary. Time sure flies.

One thing I wanted to do to celebrate our Anniversary was to, honestly, just have a laugh, go out, Hannah take about 6,000 pictures and create more memories together. And, I think, in that regard, it was successful. So, what did we get up to;

Trip to KWVR 🚂

Admittedly, I was a bit stuck about what to do about our first Wedding anniversary. Not only because we’d already done a lot of things together, already, but also because I’m generally stuck as to what’s left 😅. In the end, it came to pass that Hannah likes old-school Trains since she saw Harry Potter, and I remember that being pointed out when we went to Haworth, so, that settled it for me. Getting to Haworth is, pretty bad, when it comes to Public transport, however, it’s not as bad to get to Keighley. Plus, considering this is Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, makes sense to start there.

It turns out to get Tickets to the Railway, you can get them slightly cheaper, by pre-ordering them online 3 days prior, which is what I did. Unfortunately, once I arrived on the day, the Tickets weren’t valid and had to buy them AGAIN. Bit annoying. In the end, I requested a Refund online, still waiting on that. So, how was it?… (Update, after escalating with a Manager there, got the Refund)

From the tickets that we’d purchased, we would have a full-day Rover Ticket. This would allow us unlimited travel on the Trains, as well as access to all the extra places you can go, included. I would describe the service of the Trains as … VERY slack and laidback. We were literally, and this is from the Guard, running 68 minutes late, all day. So, it’s fair to say it’s not a great service. But, what this is supposed to be, is, of course, an experience. An experience which I don’t really think Hannah was much a fan of really.

Whilst, originally, I was planning on taking Bus, then Train, to get there. In the end, we actually took two buses. Was a bit concerning that Hannah was already sleeping on the first bus. Then, when we started going on the Train, she was certainly not in the mood for the day. I was very annoyed about this. Not only had I just paid for this day out, twice, but this was supposed to be a bit of fun day out and she wasn’t willing to play ball. Thankfully, she quickly got over her little tyrant, and we were good.

Keighley to Ingrow West

There wasn’t much in Keighley to be honest, it reminds me of Bradford about 5 years ago, which, considering how it’s not great now, isn’t a compliment. So, it was fair to say, it was time to leave the moment we really could. So, we got straight on to a Train where… there was no Seats … at all. Thankfully, it was literally the next stop where we were going so, wasn’t on the Train for long.

Whilst it’s a pretty unassuming Train station, it’s fair to say, as far as extras are concerned, most of everything is at the Ingrow station, so, that’s where we went. The Ticket we bought included entry to the Rail Story museum and the Sheds. These weren’t too bad, to be honest, reminded me a bit of the back part of York’s Railway Museum. It was also pretty amusing when Hannah was climbing on the side of the Trains for photos, I ended up doing one too… to then see a sign saying no climbing on the Trains … oops 😁. Of course, for Hannah, the entire trip was photo opportunities galore. It was pretty cool that there was a pad to write down your name and location to mark yourself down, we put BEHANN on the list just to mark the spot.

After reading the booklet, I knew there was bugger all at Damems and Oakworth, although we’d end up there waiting to get back, so the focus was now left to Haworth and Oxenhope.

Haworth to Oxenhope

Once we’d arrived at our originally planned destination of Haworth, it was time to now actually go out and explore. Having said that, as I mentioned back in 2022 when we went before, it’s definitely gone downhill has Haworth. Despite most things, though, Hannah was very much ready for one thing, food. Unfortunately, there’s bugger-all worth eating in Haworth. In the end, we ended up sharing some Fish and Chips. They weren’t too bad, but certainly nothing special and Hannah was certainly wishing they had Noodles and Rice. But, wala.

Unfortunately, the trip to our final destination was a bit, bad, really. We rushed to a Train going the wrong way, so, ended up in the boring Oakworth, until we eventually go a Train going the right way to get to Oxenhope. What a mess. The only benefit of this was that we got our own Coach, meaning we could enjoy the train journey much more together, than before.

By the time we made it to our final destination of Oxenhope, unfortunately, the Weather had taken a turn for the worse. Yep, as has been the case every single time I’ve gone to Haworth, the rain had arrived. So, it was time to explore the Sheds in Oxenhope, then think about heading back. Was actually quite good the Sheds, as they were in Ingrow, and was definitely kind of wild to see a Newspaper from 1967 you could read. Hannah, for some reason, took a liking to one of the smaller Trains at the front which led to about 25 photos of her with it. Then, as a small woman was walking past, got her to take a snap of the two of us.

Then, it was time to head off back home. Overall, the day was pretty good, although, I think it’s fair to say, at times, Hannah probably wasn’t exactly overjoyed. But, it was something special and different for our Anniversary, which is all I really wanted to focus on, really.

But, all isn’t done yet, ohh no. Because the big thing for our Anniversary was our Family Meal Out coming the next day.

Family Meal Out 🍜

After the day out exploring the Keighley Worth Valley Railway, it was time for the big one. I knew, back when we were in the Philippines for our Wedding Reception, that I always wanted to do something with all my Family in the UK who couldn’t attend our Wedding in person. At the time, wasn’t really sure what we were going to do, but, in the end, we settled on a Family meal. Choosing where this was going to be wasn’t too difficult, though. To suit Hannah’s tastebuds, it’s nearly always going to be somewhat Chinese-orientated. In the end we chose Dynasty, a Chinese restaurant which used to be the Punch Bowl pub in Cleck.

As there was going to be 13 of us, and that we were wanting to be eating straight away, they opened at 5PM, we ended up walking in and pre-ordering our Table. It was pretty nice that they arranged a full Room for us, decorated it with “Happy Anniversary” banners, which was nice, and even Balloons and faux flowers, somewhat reminiscent of Cherry Blossoms.

Who’s coming, and, what you want?

Pre-ordering a Room for the Meal required a £50 deposit to be paid, then, because we would literally be the first in, we were told to get all the Food order prepared so that we’d have less time to wait. So, we did. I’ll be honest, I think, in the end, we’d of been better going with Wok Ever, but, the focus had to be on going somewhere easy for my Grandma to manoeuvre about. This room, not only, was close to the Car Park, but had a very close-by Toilet, so, was best for her. Not really for me, as I would end up having to just have Chips … woo.

Whilst, it’s fair to say, this was always going to be a whole Family get-together, it still felt right to include Lee, as he was the Best Man, after all. Although, I do think he was quite surprised to find out he was the only non-Family member there. To be fair, though, he also did, kind of invite himself at the start 😅. Once all the order had been figured out, things were forwarded in, and then it was just a matter of turning up.

Once we arrived, it was nice to see the decorations, although, I did think that some of the Tables were a bit too close. The only slight issue, for Hannah and my Uncle, was that, due to the close door, the room was cool for them. For me, it was perfectly fine, but, some people are always cold. To remedy this, though, they had a couple of portable heaters, one which stayed by Hannah’s feet to keep her in tact.

Location: OK. Food: Not so much

Once we did arrive, we all got settled in, ordered some Drinks and our Order was read out, almost like a School register. Amazingly, everyone remembered what they ordered. As you can imagine, it took a lot to remember what I got … not really … as I only had Chips, so, surely nothing could go wrong with those, right 😬. I was a bit disappointed with the Beer selection, drinks selection in general, if I’m honest. This was one of the growing instances where we were regretting not choosing Wok Ever. Then, it was time for the food.

Pretty bad food ruined the atmosphere…

Whilst most people who got Starters seemed to be fine with what they ordered, no one was wowed, but, they were OK. When it came to the Main meals, however, things took a bit of a downturn, unless you had Steak clearly, cos everyone who had that said it was lovely. Well, where do we start; my Chips were dreadfully undercooked, Hannah’s Noodles were awful, my Grandmas Chicken was hard, and the “Salt and Vinegar Chips”, which are supposed to be spicy, were exactly the same as the regular ones. Sooo… not so good.

The only saving grace, of course, was that we were quite literally all together and able to share the experience. Although, I will say, even with that, it didn’t quite have that connection feel that I was hoping. Would I say the day was a fail as a result of that? Well, I guess, not really, but, it left a lot to be desired by its outcome which is something to think about if we do something in the future.

Massively appreciated everyone finding the time to get time off work, etc, so they could turn up, we did both really appreciate that and hopefully next time things go a bit more perfectly.

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Putting up with a gazillion Movies

Yep, if Hannahs around there’s always a few things that come with her, Rice, spicy food to go with it and, of course, Movies. Before I met Hannah, it’s fair to say I never really watched many Movies. Mostly because I don’t enjoy watching Movies. That… hasn’t really changed, but, Hannah’s always demanding when it comes to Movies, so, many we’ve watched. Although, I do get a 2-for-1 Cinema ticket every month so that’s led to watching more, then more at home too.

Cinema

Sunday Movie Nights

But, it’s not just the Cinema and the bedroom where Hannah has imposed Movies, it’s also now integrated with my Mum. It’s become a tradition now to watch Movies on Sundays. Each week we all take it in turns to who picks which Movies. We’ve come to a pretty simple conclusion as to what everyone’s selections will be like.

All of Hannah’s Movies are, as my Mum would say, “well, it was different”. She always has this knack of picking, sometimes, the biggest loads of crap ever. Obviously, I’m aware of this, first-hand. Hannah tends to like romantic Movies, chick-flicks, basically, or failing that she’ll delve in to just picking whatever is recommended on Netflix. Failing that, if Tim Burton’s involved, sure. Especially now we’ve finished Ghibli unfortunately. Unfortunately, because I actually liked the Studio Ghibli ones.

All of my Mum’s Films are old school. My Mum likes the old classics, like Beaches, we recently watched Ghost. My Mum likes some action Movies, she’s watched all the Rocky Movies about a thousands times. Failing that, she’ll, almost, match Hannah in liking chick-flicks. So, it’s here-nor-there as to what you’ll get. Although, last time “my Mum” was picking a Film, she ended up choosing one my Dad said would be good which… never really works out, in the end.

As for me, I just like something that’s uplifting, comedy, Anime, something that’s positive. I’ve, like I think ALL straight men, have never understood this desire by all women to just watch a rubbish movie that makes them cry. Me, if I have to watch a Movie, I watch one that makes me laugh, or, at least, feel good. Most recently, we’ve actually been going through the Sonic live action Movies, which have been surprisingly good. When Sonic originally came out, it was around the time of Detective Pikachu, so, I obviously picked that, but, been really enjoying the Sonic Films. It helps that I like Jim Carey.

But yeah, who knows what’s next. It’s a new tradition.

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A Cat Café

One of the most recent things we’ve done, as I post this blog, is we visited a Cat Café in Leeds. Whilst, as far as a Café is concerned, it’s absolutely rubbish; poor food, overpriced drinks, not very clean, and, according to Hannah, a disgusting Latte.

The actual appeal of the Café, of course, comes in the form of some meows…

Because, yes, it’s fair to say that when you go there, you tend not to go to check out the Café, it’s really all about the experience of the Cats there. It’s quite a big location, you walk in, check-in (you need to pre-book), then the door is carefully opened, and closed on the way out. Then, you’ve got a good 20+ cats and kittens just roaming around the entire place, even the toilet areas oddly.

Would I say it’s the most entertaining place to go, would I say it’s somewhere we’ve interest in going back to again? Well, no. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really prove to me as being that good. I think the bigger problem, really, was actually the other people there. You’re guaranteed to have annoying children, and there was some older regulars that were VERY annoying people. In the few moments we had where they weren’t being irritating, it wasn’t bad. There was supposed to be a Ginger cat there, but, try as we might, we never found Wotzit. Hannah was also disappointed that the Spoon she got given with her Latte was dirty, and, despite request to get another, that never happened. It’s not cheap, either. Over £3 for a 330ml glass Coke, even more for a bad Latte, then, on top of that, £8 each just for the entry. In the end, it’s all about the experience, which, we’ve done now.

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The future…

With Hannah now settling in to UK life, all those months and funds have got us to where we were aiming. But, the journey is far from over, if anything, it’s just beginning. Moving forward this year, Hannah will be settled in to work, we’re planning a few holidays, and there’s always more to see and do. Also, keeping up those savings for the next chapter of our lives together. Bring it on.