I said in my last blog that I wanted to make sure each new entry wasn’t too far out from the other, so, here we are, about a couple month later, with a new one. Obviously, if nothing happens, can’t really help a long gap, but, thankfully, for posting more closely, quite a few things have happened since the last one. Makes sense, it is Summer and…geez what a Summer!
It’s just been boiling around here. It’s fair to say that, even Hannah is starting to understand the awfulness of genuinely hot British Weather. Reaching 30c here, sure ain’t the same as reaching 30c there. To the point where there’s even been moments where Hannah, yes Hannah, in the UK, has been too warm! It happened.
But, that wasn’t always the case, though, admittedly, it’s definitely been a warm Summer, even if, as you’ll find out later on, it’s not always abided.
Home alone, doesn’t mean as much as it used to
Whilst me and Hannah remain in the transitional period whilst she becomes a fully British citizen, that means we’re still living in our place. This means, naturally, when the opportunity comes for some alone time, it’s welcomed. Although, I have to say, it doesn’t mean as much as it used to.
I’m not sure if it’s something between the two of us, we’re just getting older, or what, but, it just didn’t feel that special this time. Yes, we moved the Sofas around and enjoyed cuddles on the recliner which could not fully expand. Yes, we could get snacks and food together to watch Movies (5% of which weren’t terrible when not about some massacre crazed woman [Pearl]). But, when we did actually do something, it was kinda empty.
I think Hannah’s just stopped caring, really, when it comes to doing anything anymore. But, there was one day which was more successful, then, another that was certainly not.
Chester Zoo
We’re certainly not shy of going to Zoos, me and Hannah. We’ve been to multiple Zoos in the UK, although, some of them are more wild thingy places, as apposed to a more full experience like Cebu Safari was, in the Philippines. But, it’s fair to say, we’ve not gone to any of the big Zoos in the UK that compare to it… until now. Whilst Chester Zoo certainly isn’t close-by, I thought it might be worth the travel …and significant investment. But, to be fair, it was. But, first, we’ve to get there.
Train journey, means a billion… 🤳
In Hannah’s very typical traveling fashion, the journey to Chester Zoo consisted of a Bus journey to Bradford, train to Chester, and then ANOTHER Bus to the Zoo… once I’d figured out where the Bus came from. To occupy the journey, Hannah always runs through a collection of the three S; snacks, selfies, sleep. This time, Hannah really went full-on with the selfies, for some reason, as she did for the future Train journeys featured here, no idea why, but, nevertheless, just know that we have over a billion versions of the same photos above. It was quite a long journey, but, thankfully, we were able to get Seats on both journeys.
Once we arrived at Chester Train Station, we were all ready to go … or, not. For some reason, Hannah decided to take about 30 minutes at the Toilet. Now, you’d be forgiven to assume it’s due to a long inside queue, and I’d be with you, if I wasn’t watching people afterwards going in and out. A million years later, we were ready to search for the Bus.
I’d already searched and found out that there was a Bus at the Train Station that went directly to the Zoo, however, where it was, was another thing. Thankfully, I had my trusty Bus app on my phone, so was able to confirm it was the second to-the-right Stop just outside the Train Station. Turned out to be about a ten minute wait, so, after some quick shots in Chester, a Liverpool Bus was there to take us. Similar to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, one thing that’s really useful for getting there, the Bus literally goes inside Chester Zoo, so was pretty easy to get there and back. Unlike Yorkshire Wildlife Park, there’s a lot more Buses, so, no emergency Taxi required if you’re a bit late.
Arriving and checking in
After a brief moment of not knowing where the hell to go, until others went towards the right way, once we left the Bus, it was straight to the general Entrance. Whilst I thought it was too hot, in reality, we couldn’t really ask for better weather really. Blue skies, sunshine and quite a lot to see. Took a few pictures at the Entrance which had a pretty impressive Giraffe statue, the Entrance itself and … unfortunately, a Pride flag, yuk, so, I’ve edited that out.
After a, thankfully, slightly, quicker, Toilet break, it was time to check in. I’d made the decision to purchase a VIP Photo Card for the Event, which I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but, it turns out that it allows you to take unlimited photos at the multiple Photo spots around the Zoo. Those are what you can see at the start of this post. If you didn’t purchase one, you got just the one photo. I’m not sure whether it was worth it, in the end, but, it was something. Then, it was time to explore.
Exploring Chester Zoo
It’s no exaggeration to say that Chester Zoo is huge, in fact, I’m still convinced we, kind of, missed some things when I look at the Map. There’s actually an App you can get, which allows you to see where you are, how to get to certain places, or, animals. It’s really useful, actually, much better than paying for some Guide you’ll be annoyed carrying and throw away after. So, I ended up trying it out, which sure came in useful for when Hannah had some requests. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool to have requests, there’s always going to be favourites to see. But, it did mean we ended up repeating some less interesting places, as a result.
Not everything went smoothly, however, well, three things specifically. Apparently, there was a Lion, but, all we were able to see, after many many attempts, was, essentially, its rear end. Lovely. Then, there was a Bear, but, that didn’t play for the Camera, either. The one that annoyed Hannah, the most, however, was the Zebra. Despite the fact they did exist, quite a few to see in a huge Field, the Zebra all, deliberately, seemed to, constantly, hang around the part you couldn’t get the Camera to. So, when it comes to the Zebra photos, it’s very much zoooooooomm.
Overall, when it came to the selection of Animals that we were able to see, there was such a huge collection, it was hard to find the best ones to pick. I’d say the highlight, for me, were the Elephants. If it wasn’t for Cebu Safari, I’d of likely included Giraffes. Overall, though, there’s something for everyone really.
One place I didn’t like, was the Bat enclosure. As you can imagine, very hard to picture, not entirely pleasant with Bats flying across, add to that a not-too-pleasant smell, as well. Yeah, wasn’t the best. An experience to have just once. There was also an insect area, but that was closed. Although, neither of us were too bothered about that, especially as we’d gone to Tropical World, and others, so, we kinda had that experience elsewhere.
I know it’s rather selfish to say, but, one of the biggest things I didn’t like about the experience at Chester Zoo was, actually, how many people were there. I get it, we’re in the school holidays, but, I hate when I’m trying to experience something and there’s always an annoying Family, or school trip, in the way 😤. But, despite all of this, I had a really great day out with Hannah, and that’s the main thing.
Food and drink is always…
One thing we didn’t enjoy, was the Food and Drink. It seems like, every single time we visit anywhere like this, there’s always the same conclusive outcome; decent day, dreadful grub. We had a few instances of trying Food, first with a very disappointing Doughnut, which was honestly just empty plastic and RIDICULOUSLY priced!!!
Drinks weren’t much better either, Hannah had a lot of complaints about her Coffee and my Drink was, well, to be honest cold drinks are just cold drinks it was fine, just expensive.
Awkward post-photo experience
Once the day had finally concluded, it was time to go. We actually ended up staying all the way until when it was time for the place to shut. When we entered, the Entrance desk was talking about this free photo print, so, I made sure to head there before we left. Turns out, though, what they were talking about, was absolute rubbish. And, by absolute rubbish, I mean, not true.
So, what did we get for our VIP Photo Experience? Well, basically, the same as not paying for it, just, more than 1 for each biome. Using a QR Code that never worked, so, instead, using the manual code, you were able to access all the Photos taken. And, it’s fair to say, if you don’t have a desktop computer, don’t bother. The web experience was certainly not designed for Smartphones. But, got it sorted in the end.
End, being, once we’d got home. Which, to be honest, was a rather fair enough experience. Nothing really to report. Overall, really awesome day out, just, maybe if we go again, bring a picnic and don’t bother with the VIP Photos.
Turns out Manchester is pretty sh*t
As is always the case in life, or, maybe that’s just me… for every up, there must be a down, and, lets just say, this was that down. Stuck for somewhere to go, with weather being unpredictable, it was decided that we were going to go to Manchester. Obviously, Hannah’s been to Manchester “Airport”, but, that’s not Manchester, is it, so, was a good excuse to try the real thing.
Historically, everyone rants and raves about Manchester. Claire used to be obsessed with it, Lee has always spoken of how amazing is it, and, quite a few others, for some reason. Me? I’ve always just thought of it as a bigger-average Leeds. Turns out, now, it’s a bigger, worse Leeds, which, is saying something as Leeds ain’t ought special. This conclusion will become very clear as we go on.
Main reason for going… 🇵🇭 Restaurant
We did have another reason for going to Manchester, their has to be, really, as there’s little else to appeal you there. Ever since the pretty amazing Philippines Restaurant, unfortunately, shut in Bradford, the search has been to find another. Unfortunately, it seems like they’re all down-south, near, or in, London. However, one did show up in Manchester, in the shape of a small, almost, humble looking, Café shop called “Yes Lah”.
The only problem is, it’s not in Manchester, so to speak, so, we’d need to figure out how to get there, even after arrival in Manchester. Anyone who’s been before will know, Manchester has very illogical transport, so, in the end, had no choice but to get a Taxi. Although, even that was hard, as the Taxi decided to be annoying and wait on some random order street I’ve never heard of. Clearly, I have a face of stress as a very clearly Mancunian man went up and offered… zero assistance, but, least he tried. Either way, found it, eventually, and we were off.
I don’t want this to be just a big massive rant of the disappointment of Yes Lah, but, I can only be honest with you. First-things-first, most importantly; let’s clear up the elephant in the room. Yep, despite broadcasting itself as a Philippines Restaurant, it’s, simple not! No one working in the Shop are from, related to, or, seem to have any ties with the Philippines. The Food isn’t, seems more like a lazy Chinese place trying to add some extra unique flair. Needless to say, Hannah went quickly from ooohhh look at the Philippines things to, oh, this isn’t Philippines food.
Hannah got some meal of, something, I’m not sure, needless to say, she was not impressed. Most other customers who were entering seemed to be treating it more like a Coffee and Ice Cream shop, which, I think, says a lot. The location isn’t exactly ideal, either. It’s literally situated bang in the middle of a Muslim area of the outskirts of Manchester, and the Shop is literally, surrounded, by houses. Of course, location isn’t the important thing, but, when the Foods crap also, it’s worth a mention.
Genuine Philippines Food!!! … to buy
Literally, the only essence of genuine Philippines that was found there turned out to be in the, general, souvenirs. Thankfully, for Hannah, this included some actually Philippines food. A lot of the food’s she likes, such as Pancit Canton, you can get here in Asian supermarkets, but they’re typically Korean or Taiwanese versions, despite still being made by LuckyMe. These, were from Philippines.
So, whilst what was there to eat was apparently not very nice, at least she had some Philippines imported Pancit Canton … OK, that doesn’t really make up for it, but, at least Hannah had something she could take from Manchester that would be positive. Because, let’s just say, everything else, sure wasn’t! It wasn’t cheap, either.
Has Manchester always been this shit?
Once we’d finished with the fake-Philippines Restaurant, as I knew this had to be done first, it was time to head back to Manchester, this time, on a Bus we’d noticed on the way there, to discover the rest of the City. Unfortunately, this meant enduring some VERY annoying local school children. Thankfully, we were eventually back in Manchester to experience all the joys it has to offer… yeah.
Look, I’m not expecting Manchester to be this glorious haven, but, gosh, it was disappointing. The only thing I remember about Manchester was travelling around Arndale, so, we did that. But, then again, it’s only a Shopping Mall, so, there’s only so much you can do. In the end, though, after Hannah had just had some Food, be it, awful, I was ready to get something to eat so went to the top Floor to get something safe, McDonalds, what could possible go wrong? …
… Everything, apparently. Yes, those are what the Fries looked like. As white as paper, tasteless, I had to leave them all. Drink, I ordered Coca Cola, and got Diet. Honestly, I was ready to go crazy, but, don’t worry, I’ll just to Greggs… NOPE, burned, tasteless as well.
IS THERE ANYWHERE IN MANCHESTER THAT’S GOOD FOR FOOD?
Well, according to Hannah, it’s not good for Drink either. Trying out a Taiwanese Milk Tea shop she was briefly impressed, until it was tasted more, then, ahhh, the usual Manchester disappointment.
So, it goes without saying, me and Hannah will be never again (intentionally) going to Manchester. I guess we can now, at least, say we’ve been.
Beach trip fail in Scarborough
With such a poor day out in Manchester, surely, we wouldn’t be experiencing problems from another day, too, right? … RIGHT??!! Well, let’s see. Yeah, the title probably gives this one away. For some reason, this period of time was the time things just wanted to go wrong. Although, this was pretty much ruined by poor planning, plus, Weather. This wasn’t helped by Hannah’s decision to bring a billion things for me, obviously, to carry, so, by the time it was all “lets go on the beach”, it was more, where the heck am I going to be put all this?
A mistaken Frappe … heaven forbid, to Pret-a-garbage
The journey to Scarborough, already, wasn’t going well from the very beginning when I treated Hannah to a Frappe, which she loves at McDonalds, but, I ended up getting her the wrong flavour, whilst we were in a rush, accidentally. Ohh, you couldn’t believe the shame and disappointment this caused. I think if I had whacked her in the face causing permanent serious concussions, she’d of been less annoyed at me. … Yeah, so, that ended up going in the bin.
Then, we were saved by the bell and were able to go on the Train. To get to Scarborough, there’s two Trains; one to York, then, the final to Scarborough. Once we arrived in York, after the Frappe disaaaaaassster, Hannah’s focus was on getting a suitable beverage. Despite quite a number of Cafés, which would have likely offered a much better experience, she decided to test the prowess of Pret-a-Manger. Now, I don’t drink Coffee, so, I couldn’t tell you which is the most dreadful between Starbucks, Costa and anywhere else, but, even I know Pret is bad. So, yeah, the price was high and the disappointment was even more.
Wrong platform, distracting selfies, just the beginning of a pretty bad journey ahead
Armed with an over-priced expensive Coffee, it was time to wait for our Train, and what better way to wait than to sit on a Platform and … do a billion selfies. After taking about 1,000 versions of the same picture in front of a Train, it suddenly became apparent, to me, that this wasn’t our Train. Yep, there we were, on the wrong platform, waiting next to a parked Train.
To make matters worse, the correct Train was literally leaving within the next minute. So, yeah, time was of the essence. We ran, and I mean, ran, to an immediately disappointing outcome, a completely overcrowded, boiling heat mass, of a Train … ohhh joy. What followed was a sweaty, close, stood up, journey to Scarborough. So, yeah, we were not in the best of moods now.
Struggle to recover, then, it happened 🌧️
After a pretty dreadful journey, after a already pretty rubbish start of the day, with, pretty much, everything going wrong, in between, it was very hard to recover the mentality and try to have a decent day. But, it wasn’t without trying. So, we focused, instead, on heading our way to the Pier and making something of the day.
Once we made it to the Pier area, it was actually quite warm, the sun was out and looked like we make something of the day. Although, when we tried going on the Beach, the issue with the WAAAYYY too many things we brought came up, so, before you knew it, it was decided to move, instead, on to Peasholm Park. Every successful days we’d had in Scarborough had involved Peasholm Park, in some way, so made sense.
I hate to make the day feel a bit negative, but, damn it was so disappointing to see just how many Muslims there were in Scarborough. The bus journey was, this is no exaggeration, 95% full covering burkas, 5% English … ohhh dear. However, that wasn’t going to be the biggest problem we were going to have.
The biggest problem came in the form of the Weather. Whilst still on an open-top bus, it began to rain. Admittedly, it wasn’t much, at this point, but, it was enough to make us think, maybe we should think of another option. However, amongst the journey to that substitute, it then really started to rain to the point where we were rushing. But, where we were going to go? Well, the only indoor option we had, and, one we was already heading nearer to, Sea Life.
Sea Life, to (try) get out of the rain
Sea Life is one of those places in Scarborough that everyone has heard of, but, only a few have actually bothered to go to. It’s certainly got very “mixed” reviews, but, admittedly, the want to go there this time was far less because we wanted to, more, because we had to. Despite this, however, we tried to make the most of the moment and I think, considering, had a pretty decent time of it, to be honest.
It’s fair to say that Sea Life didn’t really, even closely, offer much compared to other Wildlife areas we’d been to, certainly didn’t compare to Cebu’s Ocean Park, for example, but, it never really was going to, as it’s a completely different scale place. Having said that, for the ridiculous price it costed, I would say, I do not recommend Sea Life. It was decent, only, due to us being together and making a laugh of it, but, as a place, it was pretty rubbish. I was also quite annoyed that they had a Crazy Golf course linked to it, but, not open so we couldn’t even enjoy that. Even if, like quite a few of the areas, it would be outside so we’d still be wet.
Time to go… after replacement shoes
That wasn’t the only issue we were going to have on the day, however, we need to get home, so, there’s a whole world of opportunities for things to go wrong yet to come. And… yes, that started immediately by us we missed the Train. But, why did we (only just) miss the once-1every-hour Train? Slow walking, bad planning? … No. It was because Hannah ended up requiring some Emergency Shoes 😁.
As Hannah has become an absolute cheap-skate since entering the UK, she was proudly wearing good condition Shoes she’d got from a Charity Shop. Issue with them, they … were awful to wear. So, there we were, rummaging through a Store looking for some Shoes for her to get. In the end, the ones she got were still not that great, but, were better, for the time. It was rather amusing that, because Hannah wanted to wear them immediately, there was no way to remove the Seals and plastic, this meant Hannah had to ask a member of Staff for some scissors. Ahh, the struggles.
Thankfully, that was the end of any holdups, so, when the next Train arrived, we were able to get back to York, Leeds, then, home. Not the best of days, it’s fair to say, but, one with necessary compromise along the way to try and make it something.
Unsuccessful aligners, for now
Despite being a very beautiful and attractive woman, Hannah, for some reason, (like all women), continues to have a problem with her appearance. In Hannah’s case, it’s mostly in regard to her Teeth. Despite having paper-white teeth and a beautiful smile, she’s not satisfied as she has a gap.
I’ve, personally, never thought it looks bad, but, Hannah’s a woman and so won’t shut up going on about it. Obvious solutions are either braces or aligners. Now, even though I think Hannah looks beautiful the way she is, she certainly won’t if she looks like some A* Degree Nerd Freak by wearing braces. So, aligners are pretty much the only option I’ll compromise to.
However, despite finding a client who can do it, making the payment and going for the Xray, it appears Hannah cannot, at least for now, have aligners, due to existing dental matters. Nothing major, only about 4 filling, 2 extractions and a billion other things 😁. It’s now up to Hannah as to whether those additional treatment requirements are worth going through for what I believe would be a downgrade in how she looks.
I’ll keep you posted.
KUXIU Chargers
Both me and Hannah have a number of things in common, and, a number of things not. One thing we do is we own an iPhone and AirPods Pro. Whenever it comes to travelling, or, even just at home, the ease of making charging everything easy is really important, to me, at least, to avoid a big stream of unnecessary cabling.
I was already used to using an elegant solution thanks to the Belkin BoostCharger Pro 3-in-1 MagSafe Charger Stand, which has been a really awesome charger my iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, offering an all in one solution in a single plug. However, now me and Hannah are living together, such a large solution, whilst, elegant, is no longer ideal. Especially as it didn’t let us both charge all our things.
This was until I discovered KUXIU’s charges. The company offer a range of solutions, but, the one that suited elegance and convenience was the X40. Metallic construction, rigid hinges, plus, the ability to make it as portable as possible folding flat. Genius.
Once it was clear how useful and convenient this was to use, I knew it was worth getting Hannah one too. Originally, ended up getting a lower cost plastic one…yeahhh don’t get that one. So, yeah, we’ve two X40s next to each other and very useful. Occasionally doubles as a TikTok stand for Hannah… obviously 😂
Since getting those, I thought I might as well join Hannah in getting myself a power bank. This isn’t just because my iPhone 15 Pro has average, at best, battery life, due to continuing overheating, but it’s also useful on the go and that it includes charging my Apple Watch which is rare.
Only problems I have really, apart from the fact it’s quite thick, is really the fact that the Apple Watch magnet is rather weak. This means if you’re like me and use a metal band, it’s near-on impossible to keep it aligned without compromise. Hopefully, I can find a better solution, but, it is useable for the moment.
Collapsed neighbour in the street
One thing that gets on Hannah’s nerves when it comes to living in the UK… isn’t people collapsing btw… is how we always stick to traditions. She finds this very annoying with Food with every day being a certain food day, like Fish and Chips Friday.
It was on one of these Fish and Chips Fridays that a bit of drama took place. Whilst Hannah was upstairs being antisocial as always 😅 it was all happening. Whilst everyone was ready to go, my sister’s Husband Carl was shouted at by a Taxi driver to say, a woman has fallen can you check them… then, drove off, nice.
For context, this was a frail woman who is so thin she probably weighs about 5 stone, and, was actually the one the Taxi was meant for. She’d fallen over walking to the Taxi and injured her head. Whilst I don’t think anyone would have expected the driver to stay forever, it was pretty wild how he just buggered off immediately.
In the end, it turned out where everyone just stuck by her whilst we all were waiting for an Ambulance. This slowly but eventually arrived, around the same time as her son who was called back from work, and she spent a couple days in hospital, but, is now fine.
But, don’t worry, despite the hold up, we did still have Fish and Chips afterwards 😂
Our favourite Fish and Chips, gone bad!
One thing that is increasingly frustrating about food in the UK, is consistency. You can go to any restaurant or Fast food place, get an incredibly good Meal, go again, and it’s awful. It’s so annoying. More so, now, with Fish and Chips as, let’s be honest here, it’s not a hard meal to make. It was during the Scamdemic that we discovered a Fish and Chips shop at Shears Fisheries. They were absolute perfection. Chips were brown and fluffy, the Fish was just right, price cheaper than most, you couldn’t, honestly, ask for more.
This remained true, with the odd case here and there, up and until recently this year. What used to be perfect brown chips, became white undercooked tasteless Chips. What used to be perfectly cooked Fish, became overcooked hard batter Fish. Sooo frustrating. If anyone from that Chippy is reading this, you know the obvious thing to do. Stop cheaping your ingredients, cook the Chips properly brown, don’t overcook the Fish and we’d be back in a flash.
Make up beach day in Bridlington
Following a very unsuccessful Beach day in Scarborough, when the opportunity for another Beach day in Bridlington came along, be it, with my Family, I knew this was something we really had to do. If anything, to make up for it. Although, Hannah, needed more convincing to go, not entirely sure why, to be honest, but, thankfully, that moment passed.
One of the biggest worries we had, following how the Scarborough day fell short was the Weather, and, their was an initial worry about that on the day, but, surprisingly, those worries turned out to be completely unnecessary. In the end, the day was actually warm, sure, with the odd breeze, but decent. So, in reality, we needn’t of worried.
Now, obviously, we’ve been to Bridlington before, in fact, we’ve always been with my Family, in one shape or another, but, one good thing about whenever we go places with just my Parents, we’re always still free to do whatever we like, nothing holding us back. We’re not restricted so can always just go out on our own. But, having gone there a few times, there was few things we hadn’t already done. So, to make up for that, we were set to do at least one thing new. But, not before my Mum ruined the idea of anything to eat 🙄.
Very unsuccessful snacks…
Typically, whenever we go to Bridlington, first stop is always Fish and Chips. There’s a place we can go that’s all skinned and boned, and, whilst, not the best, were still very nice and fit the experience of going. This time, for some reason, my Mum decided she didn’t want to go there, so, we were all kind of stuck as to what to eat. This was, honestly, really annoying to me as I was stuck for anything to eat, now, also. To make this even more annoying, my Dad then got a Fish, from an outside place, then, my Mum got Fish and Chips from some other Fish and Chips place. They were apparently awful, but, just really annoyed me as we could’ve just done the traditional, in the end. Hannah, interestingly, got herself some cockles, of all things, for a little snack, but, I was stuck.
# Unsuccessful food 🌭
In the end, I ended up attempting to get some Hot Dogs. This didn’t exactly go well, with 1 entire Hot Dog getting pounced by a Seagull … I was not amused. So, in the end, I had a single unimpressive Hot Dog, whilst Hannah had a bad one, too. Joy. In the end, this really put me off having any more Food, so, I was ready for a Snack.
# Unsuccessful snack 🍦
After a very bad Hot Dog from somewhere I’d not gone to before, surely I could rely on an Ice Cream from somewhere I had been to before… right? Well, turns out, no! The exact place me and Hannah had a lovely Ice Cream last time, should be safe to do, but, no, it’s new Management with a woman who clearly had no idea what she was doing. The Ice Cream wasn’t even fully cold, it was melting before we’d even paid for it. Honestly, I’ve never had an Ice Cream that bad. It was an awful experience.
# Greggs to the rescue
Yes, I was in Bridlington, and the only place I was able to get decent Food or Drink, was at a Greggs. That’s pretty bad, when you think about it. So, unfortunately, the curse of Manchester continues to show its head, but, at least this Greggs was very nice.
Pirate Ship 🏴☠️
On one of the first times we went to Bridlington, me and Hannah ended up going on the Speedboats, which, it’s fair to say Hannah… hated 😁. Yeah, she was not a fan. Which is ironic as the main reason we went on it, was because she pushed us to go on the Jetski in the Philippines, but, women they weird. This time, though, it was time for something a bit more tame, The Pirate Ship!
The Pirate Ship is, obviously, a much different experience to the Speedboat. Instead of high octane, it’s more chill touring the Bridlington beaches, and was quite fun to do as an experience. As you can imagine, many photos were taken and, before you know it, it was over. So, it was time to have a walk and tour around Bridlington and the Beach.
Heading to the Beach, though, not the best part
Once we’d a pretty decent trip on The Pirate Ship, it was time to have one last trip around Bridlington, across the Piers, the Boats and, end result, being, the Beaches. This time around, it was decided to go to the completely different side of Bridlington for the Beach visit which, I’m not sure was the best idea. The last time we’d gone on the Beach, it was on the side of the Rides and main area, this time, it was on the latter end.
Unlike when just me and Hannah went to Scarborough, this time, we had my Parents… OK, more, my Dad, to keep hold of any Bags and items, whilst we all enjoyed a dip in the Sea. Unfortunately, the Beach wasn’t as good, as I hinted before, as it was much more harder, more stones, but, despite this, it still led to a fun day out and we made the most of it.
So, did we make up for the Beach day fail in Scarborough? Well, food wise, I think we’re even, but, experience and everything else, completely. I’m sure we’ll be back on the Filey coast again, Weather and day-offs permitting, but, this was a decent day out in the end.
A return to Oakwell Hall, with the Museum, this time
It was two years ago since me and Hannah first went to Oakwell Hall together. Some slight differences occurred this time, compared to the original time. Last time, Hannah was obsessed with doing TikTok, we spend much more time on the land, and, we couldn’t find the Museum. This time, reverse all of that. This time, the focus was on the Museum, YES, we found it!! … More accurately, it was open. It turns out, last time we went, it wasn’t that we could find the Museum, it just turns out it was closed. But, first we had to get there.
A rather useless lift to the wrong Entrance
Like a lot of places like it, such as Ponderosa, we’ve gone to before, when you go to Oakwell Hall, you’ve got quite a long walk just to get inside. Then, let’s not forget, the whole point of going there leads to walking around as well. So, how were we to get there this time? Well, my Dad volunteered to drive us on. Sounds good, right? Well…
It would have been great if my Dad actually brought us to the Entrance and not… the Exit. So, in the end, it turns out we’d to walk the whole haul to the actual Entrance, defeating the whole reason why I was going to get a Taxi, and, originally, appreciated the lift. Once we finally got there, it was time to look about what to do first. Unlike the first time, there was no Horse rider for Hannah to interrogate into a Selfie, but, we did figure out, rather quickly, how to get to the Museum.
The Museum
Despite walking past it before, literally seeing the Café that’s around the corner, and, even going on the land at the back, it was clear-as-day when we saw it, that the Museum was just closed previously. This time, though, very much open, so, was very keen to check out what it was all about. Plus, it’s free, so, why not.
Heading into the Museum led to a couple of annoyances, though. Something you always tend to find at Museum places like this, especially the free ones, you tend to find those goody-two-shoes type of employers there. You know the kind, the, let me tell you all about the historic history of … look, we don’t care mate, here’s a handbook for all the things you can do with directions and suggestions and … we don’t care mate. We’re here to spend time together and have a laugh, so, please, go away. They got the message 😅.
The second problem was, well, it was a nice warm day, which meant there was a lot of people visiting, which meant it was busy. Ahh yes, the returning problem of people. They also all appeared to gravitate around the Museum and the Café area. This wasn’t that much of an issue, until we got to a room where you could try on some old style clothing. There was a VERY chavvy family who were quite annoying, but, the most annoyance came from an old fat couple who sat in this room and seemingly never wanted to leave. Thankfully, they eventually did.
Then came a billion selfies, obviously…
Once Hannah had finished with her Selfies, I think that must’ve been about a week later … it was time to look around the rest of the Museum. Although, really, it’s just a building to look around, but, it’s still worth a look around and then it was time to go.
Picnic, rubbish food + drink, and more!
Whilst we had brought a Picnic to consume during the day (more on that later), that didn’t stop the opportunity of a warm drink from Hannah’s interests. So, we ended up quickly going to the Café where Hannah got a disgusting Iced Latte, and I got an overpriced Tango ….woo.
Once we left the Museum, over priced rubbish drink in hand, it was time to find a place to sit and have some of our Picnic. The day before, quite a bit of, food was requested for a Picnic we could have somewhere. We ended up with Grapes, other Fruits, boiled Eggs which stunk, Chocolates which had melted by the time we tried them, Crisps and a lot more, way more than we needed, bringing most of it back home. This was also a reason why I refused to bring a massive Towel that Hannah wanted to use for the Picnic. We already had so much, which, I, obviously, had to carry in Hannah’s illogic nature.
During this point, two things came to mind. Unsurprising moment was Hannah’s hunger for more selfies in front of the Oakwell Hall building. This was slightly inspired by what looked like an incredibly snobby family who’d hired a photographer who didn’t appear capable of dressing. This seemed to bring up something which has, even since this day, come up again and again that Hannah wants a Digital Camera. The completely crazy thing about this is, the obvious fact, that Hannah would have ZERO use for a Digital Camera. I can demonstrate all the proof I need in one image, shown in a collection of others below;
One of the biggest reasons I know Hannah getting a Digital Camera, out of the obvious, is the fact that she can’t even correctly lug and use her Selfie stick with her phone. We spent a day out across multiple terrains, went throughout the entire Museum, then, at the end of the day remembered she had a Selfie stick. Exactly.
Not to mention that Smartphone Cameras are literally just as good, in many cases, better, than Digital Cameras for 99% of people, including Hannah. Especially if the destination for those photos is social media, where they’re immediately cropped down to a low resolution JPEG anyway. It would be a complete waste of money for her to get and be absolutely stupid to do so. So, yeah, don’t Hannah. Plus, if you want a Digital Camera that’s actually better than a high end iPhone, Galaxy or Pixel, you need to spend well over £1,500 (₱120,000), by which point, she could just get herself a newer better Camera attached to the latest and greatest Smartphone of her choice, and have change 🤦♂️.
Once Hannah got over this madness, it was time for a Toilet visit, skipping the Gift shop as we went there last time and it was rubbish, then, it was time to go. But, not before purchasing an overpriced rubbish Ice Cream. Because what’s better than an unsuccessful overpriced rubbish Latte, than to trust an overpriced Ice Cream would be better. Getting an Ice Cream, though, removed the ability to take a Taxi back home, though. This would end up being something Hannah would deeply regret as…
Hannah hates walking 🚷
To me, and, everyone else I know, the walk home from Oakwell, isn’t that long. To Hannah, it’s a painful hell-ridden curse. OK, maybe slightly dramatically explained, but, she was actually that over dramatic, on the walk, so felt right. It was a very slow, regularly moaned and complained less than a mile journey you will ever have.
If the journey was done on my own, with Lee, or, anyone else, I’d probably of got home in about 15 – 20 minutes. But, hey, it’s fine. We got home an hour later, instead.
Things got worse for Hannah when I told her that I’d already made plans to, ironically, see Lee, at the Pub after which I was planning on walking to… that was it, she was NEVER going to do that. So, yes, ended up Taxiing to the very close-by pub. For the record, she knew this before the fast begin, as well. But, that would mark, of course, the end of the day.
Future planning
Other than the odd few tidbits, that’s about it for this blog. Not gonna lie, this ended up much bigger than originally anticipated, but, that’s hardly a good thing. But, the question is now, what’s next?
Well, for anyone who’s been following our journey, you’ll know we’re on the journey for Hannah to live permanently with me in the UK. Naturally, this decision was originally made before the UK became such a two-tier anti-patriotic mess, but, we’re nearly there. We’re on track and, of course, are, kind of, in limbo until that process has finally finished. However, that doesn’t mean we’re just going to stick around and wait, plenty of opportunities to do things, so, what’s the ideas?
Exploring Europe 🇪🇺
Whilst a UK Passport would allow us both to travel across Europe Visa-free, this isn’t the case for Hannah until her process here has finished. However, one of the easiest Visas to get is a Schengen Visa. The good thing about it is it allows you to travel across all Countries included in those areas, essentially, all of Europe. But, where would the first focus be? France.
Yep, for some reason, Hannah is gullible enough to believe that Paris is this beauty spot and romantic capital of the world, as per movies approaching 100 years old. Unfortunately, it’s definitely not that. But, it’s her choice and, would make sure it was under her budget for the disappointment 😉
If we do end up going there, I’d probably make sure we could go elsewhere, or, just make it a week. Then, of course, with a long-standing Schengen Visa, we could also travel to more touristy sides of Europe. Then, maybe outside once we can. Admittedly, I’ve much more interest in Countries not in Europe, but, they’ll come.
Returning to the Philippines 🇵🇭
Of course, and, I’m sure many saw this coming, Hannah wants to return back to the Philippines. Whilst I don’t think the Country is that special, I don’t entirely think I’ve had a fair shot at it. Let’s be honest, where she’s from in Cebu City, is like visiting the UK and only spending time in Leeds, it’s really not the Tourist area and gets old quickly. So, maybe we’ll have chance to explore the other sides another time. Although, admittedly, that’s not what we’d be doing on the next visit, I expect.
Oddly, Hannah wants to go by herself for a few weeks, then, for me to join for a couple at the end. It’s weird, and risky for work here, but, she’s on her own if it goes wrong.
Visiting Japan 🇯🇵
If there’s one Country that’s top of the list of locations I’d love to visit it is, of course, Japan. There’s other Countries with very interesting Cultures, but, one of the big ones that’s a bit more possible to get to, is Japan. The connection with me and Hannah brings us there too with our connection with Pokémon and Studio Ghibli, respectively.
Admittedly, though, it’s probably going to be quite some time before we go to Japan, mostly because I want it to be a full 100% trip. This is likely to be our honeymoon set, so, I don’t want to go without knowing we can afford and do absolutely everything on our setlist. It’s going to be extraordinary when we do, look out for that when we do.
Final tidbits
To close this blog, time for a few little tidbits that aren’t big enough to have their own section. Here’s one for you, Leeds is terrible for toilets. Seriously. We went to watch a Movie in the Cinema, I needed the loo when it was over and there’s literally nowhere to go after about 7PM. I went all over Town, literally, struggled my way to the Train Station as the last remaining option.
It’s official, I can make Eggybread again. For some reason, I learned how to do it, did it a few times, then, lost it for some reason. Well, hopefully, it’s back now. But, knowing my luck, now I’ve said that, I’ll lose it again. I hope not, bluddy lovely.
On a search for a decent Fish and Chips shop in Cleck, the search has taken us far and wide and, well, haven’t found one. We’ve visited a newly opened The Fry Master, which was absolutely tasteless. Made no sense, the place didn’t even smell like a Fish and Chips shop. Then tried going further around town, most recently to Skippers, which was overpriced garbage. So, there’s literally nothing … joy.
And, on that, I think that’s a rap. Hopefully the next blog offers me a bit of rest bite.
BEHANN 