It’s been about a couple months since my last blog, and whilst nothing life changing has happened in such short amount of time, there’s still quite a few things to catch up on. Ranging from Hannah discovering a new way of living, all the way to us both experiencing the live gig experience. So, let’s get to it.
A trip to Flamborough, leads to a very unexpected turn.
Not long after my last blog, another Beach-led opportunity came along for me and Hannah. I think it’s fair to say, though, Hannah took quite a bit of convincing to get her to come. Although, what she experienced out of the day, more than made up for it.
For context, my sisters-husbands-Mum, think that’s right, owns a Caravan, offering it out for them for the occasional weekend, sometimes week, or, more. Whilst it’s not in the most convenient of locations, unless you’ve got a Car, it’s still a decent place. Where is it located? Flamborough, so, not a far distance from Bridlington or Scarborough, two places Hannah has already visited, but, of course, Flamborough would be all-new to her. My sister was spending some time at the Caravan, with my Mum opting to visit for a long weekend. Being the second half of August, the Weather was, acceptable, but, obviously, not as hot as we’d had in the Summer.
They’d be visiting multiple places on the multiple days they were staying, with the original pitch; why not visit us all on the Sunday and we’ll meet in Bridlington? I think it’s fair to say, whilst, sure, it’s something to do, and Hannah was free that day, the idea of another day in Bridlington, was hardly on Hannah’s list of a good reason to go. Whilst we did, technically, still end up going to Brid, the thing that sold it for me and Hannah was something new, visiting Flamborough, and, going to the Caravan to do so.
The journey there was rather typical. At this point, it was just me, Hannah and my Dad, so, it was just the men that got to be frustrated by Hannah’s slowness at getting ready. Joking aside, we weren’t that later than planned. Although, Hannah was annoyed at why we had to be so early. Although, that would be something proven very beneficial, pretty much, the entire day, of how much we managed to fit in. Once we arrived, we were guided to the Caravan by Louise. Being a typical tourist Caravan site, it’s not hard to get lost. Then, we were here.
Hannah’s first Caravan Experience
It would be an understatement to say that Hannah was just “impressed” with, the British institution, that is, the Caravan. Obviously, I’m not able to show the indoors, mostly as I completely forgot to take any pictures… Hannah was blown away by the whole concept of it, the idea, and, really everything that came along with it. I think she was expecting some run-out shack, or something. Obviously, this was a Haven Caravan park, so, all Caravans had running Water, Electric, Gas, TV, etc. She was surprised to see literally all living customs of a house and, just said it, “let’s buy a Caravan!“. An outburst which certainly perked up my Sister who would be more than happy to have, yet another, avenue, for more Beach opportunities 😁.
Let’s buy a Caravan, my love…
Whilst it’s fair to say, logistical limitations, and other factors, talked Hannah away from the idea, in the end. Makes sense, initially, though. A Caravan, like these ones, are a fraction of the price of purchasing a House. But, with Site limitations, and, typically, limited ownership time, it isn’t, really, a viable alternative to getting a Mortgage on a proper House. The Caravan, really, is just for vacations. Needless to say, next year, we’ll be sure to have a break in the Summer of 2027 for her to truly experience the Caravan experience in that regard. Just, without any permanent purchases, Hannah.
After being given a Tour of the Caravan, from the decently spacious living room and Kitchen areas, to the Double bed and other single bed rooms, the 2 bathrooms, and the outdoor area, it was time to plan the day. At this point, it was still go-to to Bridlington only, so, we were a bit of a loss as to what’s next, but, inspired by Hannah’s love of the area, we decided to, first, explore the area of Flamborough head, before a more condensed visit to Bridlington, afterwards.
As this was a tourist Caravan site, their was many necessities, like an easy access Shop, couple restaurants including a Chinese place which Hannah was very keen to try (…spoiler, it wasn’t very good) as well as play areas. It was also relatively close to one of the big tourist spots of Flamborough, you could argue, the only one, the Lighthouse!
Flamborough Lighthouse + sightseeing = Sea lions! 🦭
Once Hannah had, slightly, got over the whole Caravan experience, it was time to make something of the day, so, we headed to the infamous Flamborough Lighthouse. Flamborough is a nice location, but, when it comes to things you can actually do there, you’re limited to… about a good day, tops. So, we were all keen to make that day out of it. Unfortunately, we were a bit late when it came to experiencing the Beach as there’s a very early tide, but, everything else? We did.
The Gift shop was… uninspiring
With the whole gang now together, my Sister with her youngest daughter (as the eldest was moody and didn’t want to come, think it was a better day, as a result), me, both my Parents, and Hannah, we were all ready to explore the sights together. The area around the Lighthouse, had a generous Pub, very large Car Park and, one of the British sea-side musts, a Gift shop containing absolutely nothing you need, but children want, and, force their parents to buy. In this instance, it was the growth of an obsession with Sea Lion plushes. As or Hannah, though, it was just a, ohh, let me try on a dozen hats on, mmm I like this one… OMG so expensive, let’s go.
The sights
We did have an attempted picture of us both stood around that edge, full body of me and Hannah, but, unfortunately, my Dad took it. Ironically, he took it whilst saying how good he would take it, mocking how bad my Mum has took pictures in the past, only to, himself, take the picture chopping my head off.
One thing that was undeniable about the trip to Flamborough were the sights. Unspoiled nature is rare these days, frustratingly, and whilst there’s still signs of human interference, a lot of it, is just unspoiled nature to enjoy. Plus, aside from a bit of wind, I think the Weather was decent too. Everything is right at the cliff-edge, so, obviously you need to be very careful if you have, kids around, or, a tendency to be a bit clumsy.
We ended up walking by the Lighthouse, to a long walkway, going the wrong way to where were were attempting to get to, but, it’s just a circle anyway, so, turns out it wasn’t that big of a deal. I do think my Dad wished we took the shorter path, though.
The Sea lions
With a Gift shop full of Sea lions, you can only imagine they must have some significance to the area, perhaps even live around there, and, they certainly do. I will say, this was one part of the day where I wish I had the phone I now have, as, to really see the Sea lions, you have to zoom in with your Cameras. Obviously, with your eyes, you can see them, but, not all shots were taken that amazingly. Having said that, they sure beat the attempts others had of them.
I think it’s safe to say this was the highlight for Hannah. Although, really, the whole experience of the place was so much better, as a whole, than it would have been just having a “safe” trip to Bridlington, doing the status quo. This was a fresh experience that neither me, or Hannah, had experienced making it so much better, as a result.
The Sea lions were cool to check out, especially a particularly fat one trying to slump across the Sea. The rock formation is apparently, supposedly, shaped like a Dinosaur, I didn’t see that, but, that’s the so-called thing. Unfortunately, due to a subset of humans being terrible people, the main habitat to where the Sea lions reside, was blocked off, to get any closer, which is why we needed our zoom lenses to check them out, but, we were sure to not let this hamper was was, already, a pretty awesome day out.
Once we’d walked the full breadth of the area surrounding it, it was only natural to get some last minute shots around the Flamborough Lighthouse. It was already agreed, at this point, that once we’d explored Flamborough, we’d head to Bridlington for the remaining of the day. Whilst I do think this wasn’t meant in bad faith, what we got out of it, turns out to be where the day, kind of, fell flat.
Bridlington disappoints…
I don’t know if it has anything to do with us being there recently, I don’t know, but when it came to our visit to Bridlington, it just felt very… empty. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we had a some funny moments, which I’ll get to, but, the overall experience was very meh. To the point where we had to try to save the day, at the end. Yeah, things just didn’t seem go to right, from the beginning, even the things that were expected to be safe;
Just “OK” Fish and Chips
One of the things I mentioned in our last trip at Bridlington, was my disappointment that we didn’t get Fish and Chips where we normally do. So, this time, we did, and it was really worth the … OK, no, it wasn’t. Last time we’d gone to this Chippy, they had a pretty sizeable Menu of Foods, in fact, it was because of this why Hannah was looking forward to having something different. Well, no more. It’s now Fish and Chips, or, nothing. Don’t get me wrong, that’s fine for me, but, left a bit of disappointment in the experience.
One thing that was amusing, though, due to Hannah, and my sisters daughter not having anything, their was this amusing situation where they were, essentially scrapping on bits of Chips and small bit of Fish off. Making it look rather hilariously pitiful, was how they were eating it, off bits of tissue and on Tea saucers. It just made them look like they never been fed, desperately clinging to the first bite of Food in weeks 😂. Certainly made light of the day spent there.
Apart from that…
For obvious reasons, as a result of the lack of Food at the Chippy, Hannah was still hungry, so, we would look and find her a decent Burger. The day, after this, was when it just seemed to, no matter what we did, just not go anywhere. We had a walk around the same places, though, in the opposite direction. Then, suddenly my Sister had to go and get something, leaving us back on our own, to then, nothing to do again.
Needless to say, I don’t think we’ll be wanting to go back to Bridlington for quite some time now. We didn’t go on any Boats, due to the wind, we didn’t do anything new as we’d recently done the same. Yeah, think we were all ready to go.
We ended the trip to Bridlington, at the small Shopping Centre. It was here where Hannah got her first free Greggs, after joining me on the Perks club, then we met up with the rest.
My Dad has an iPhone 12 mini, which means, his battery life is questionable, especially the using Wireless CarPlay. So, due to this, he was keen to get himself a Cable so he could keep his phone charged. Having the phone for a few years now, you know which is the right Cable to use, so, this will be a fairly none-issue, right? Well, needless to say, he bought the wrong Cable, proceeded to take it back, moments before it closed, to then realise, he’d bought the wrong one again. Progress.
(FYI, he needed a Lightning to USB-C, but, got a microUSB to USB-A, returned it, to then getting a USB-C to USB-C. Useless to an iPhone 12 mini)
After that undeniable degree of excitement, it was time to go. Whilst we headed back to the Cars, we, once again, made a new attempt for Hannah to get that Ghibli bag we once saw in an Anime shop. But, once again, the Totoro bag was nowhere to be found, with the moody, left-wing looking, staff being as unhelpful as always.
Ending the day at the Caravan
As the day had, clearly, not gone the way it was planned, at least, in Bridlington, our disappointment was running off on everyone leading to a surprise move by my Dad. Instead of his typical, checking the Clock, let’s go early so it’s not too late when we get back. This time, a joint decision was made to go back to the Caravan with everyone, and we spent a few more hours there. So, we all drove back to the Caravan site, my Dad decided to rest up in the Caravan, as he did have a drive ahead of him, whilst the rest of us took a tour of the site.
Hannah now had a chance to check out the whole range of Caravans on offer, from the more budget, to, of course, luxurious. This was, perhaps, a bad idea, as it brought back her want to buy one. I think, hidden in her mind, she still does want to buy one. Thankfully, the conversation of that has since gone, though, this blog may have reminded it, so, shhhh, don’t say a thing.
We all got something to drink, as long as what you wanted was Water. Then, Hannah was ready to try out that Chinese place so we headed up there. Thankfully, as my Sister had her ID card for the site, she was able to get a bit of a discount on the Meal. Although, despite this, the food was, apparently, very disappointing. I don’t think this is racist to say, but when you don’t see any Chinese people working at a Chinese, you, kind of, already know, it’s going to be not as good. Either way, she saved most for when she got home, where she had what she found acceptable, with Rice, where the day concluded.
Whilst Bridlington did disappoint, I think if we take those aspects that did away, overall, it was a really great and fun day out. It was one of those days I loved, in particular, as it allowed Hannah to further bond with my Family, as well as new shared experiences and memories taken together. It’s also inspired future experiences, whether it’s in Flamborough, or, elsewhere, I think we can clearly agree that Hannah wants to experience the UK Holiday experience with the Caravan, and I’m more than happy to oblige with that next year, so, bring that on.
A collapsing Aakash!
There’s not much drama that happens in little ol’ Cleckheaton, but, that certainly wasn’t this case this year, with the Aakash, formerly the world largest Indian Restaurant, had its whole front facia collapse. This was something that took way longer than it should have done to resolve, leading to the most inconvenient road closure ever.
I don’t wish to speculate, but, it’s sure interesting how a Building, solid in construction, has survived hundreds of years as a Church, a National Bank, to being an Indian Restaurant for years, and, it’s not until its taken over by some Muslims to be used as a Wedding venue, it suddenly collapses due to them not checking and maintaining it. Even today, it is still barely up right, and they’re still using it as a Venue with scaffolding and all sorts. Madness. Let’s see how long it lasts. No one was killed or injured, luckily, but, yeah, that’s about as exciting as Cleck has been in the last million years.
Now, to the actually interesting stuff.
Busted vs. McFly 🎸
For anyone who knows me personally, or, even, generally, if I was to ask you to think of any Band or Artist I’d be likely to see live in 2025, I think it’s fair to say that you probably wouldn’t of suggested Busted or McFly. Never mind, both of them in one. But, that’s where we are. Even if you were to rewind back to 2002 – 2005 time, when these two were at their initial peak, they weren’t even part of my CD collection. In 2004, my biggest album was Hopes and Fears by Keane, then, in 2005, I think everyone was into Demon Days by Gorillaz, with the rest discovering the new-at-the-time Scissor Sisters. Other than those, musically, I’ve been very attached to a number of Artists and Bands, linked to Gorillaz, of course, I’m a huge Blur fan, anything Damon Albarn really, to many others in alternative genres. My guilty pleasure being Everything Everything, a Band who you either get, or, you don’t. Something you’ll understand if you’ve heard any of their stuff. That’s not to say that I wasn’t aware of Busted and McFly, and, it’s not even to say I didn’t like any of their songs, I just think I didn’t really like them because they were the biggest things at the time. For example, I infamously, surprising, I know, didn’t like Pokémon when it was at its peak in the late 90s, early 00s, until it was starting to fade out. I think I just prefer to like the more obscure things, and not the hype at the time. Now, of course, I’m a huge Pokémon fan, so, there.
Last time I went to a Gig was way back in 2009, when I saw Take That at their Odyssey Tour at Huddersfield. For many reasons, most of which I can’t blame Take That for, it wasn’t, exactly, the most amazing gig. I have to say, though, support act, Rick Astley, was surprisingly decent, considering. As for Hannah, last time she went to a Gig was… never. I’m not sure if this was the reason, or, I just wanted to treat Hannah to the full experience, but, either or, the decision was made to go all-in on this one, which I’ll explain more about later.
What made you book Busted vs. McFly?
Me and Hannah have shared a lot of experiences together. It’s thanks to Hannah I’ve travelled across the world. Truly experienced things that I would have never experienced with anyone else. I’ve always been big in to Music, whereas Hannah is, generally, into the shite. By that I mean the mainstream rubbish, you know the ones. The Taylor Swift, the Bieber, the rubbish Artists that take credit for music they don’t fully produce. Slowly, but, surely, I’m increasing her culture with far better things. It’s a struggle, but, we’re getting there.
I will say, I wasn’t entirely honest when I seemed to elude that I was not a fan of either Bands back in the day, they had decent singles. I think I’d put myself, as many have said since we’ve been, more in the Busted camp than McFly, back then. Although, I have to say, if you were to go through the not-singles, and view them more from their Albums, and more, especially when it comes to newer material, I’d say McFly have had much more to offer.
Returning to the question, I think because, why not? I’d already shared a number of songs by McFly with Hannah, even a couple Busted ones, so she was, at least, aware, of what they sounded like. Hannah’s a fan of the song “Star Girl”, by McFly… even if she sings star-light, for some reason, when she hums it. Also, I must say, the McBusted Tour DVD, “Most Excellent Adventure Tour” is an incredible watch and, kind of led to a reason to want to check them out when they were all back in the same, kinda, together camp. McBusted was, of course, back before Charlie re-joined Busted, after they split at the end of 2004. They Toured, then, as a combined effort. So, when Busted vs. McFly was announced, with them all to be included, then it was announced they’d be coming to Leeds, it just felt right.
So, Tickets were booked, and, I think, probably forgotten about, until we got to the last week, or so, before. But, before we knew it, there it was, the day itself.
Busted vs. McFly Tour was set to play the Leeds First Direct Arena on both days over the Weekend, spanning the 27th and 28th September. We’d booked the Sunday. Good job, really, as Hannah wouldn’t have been able to do the Saturday. I was a bit nervous, if I’m honest, as I would be leading, for the first time, the whole Gig experience. Every other time I’d seen a Gig before, similar to flying, before I’d met Hannah, I was always the follower, not the Leader, so, I was, kinda, running blind. I think the whole V.I.P. side of the Event, certainly, helped alleviate some of that, in the end.
Heading into the Arena, with VIP Priority
One thing I was very familiar about, was the location of the First Direct Arena as I had the, displeasure, of working across the road from the place, so, finding the Arena was never going to be an issue. But, of course, this would be my first time to actually go inside. I will say, I was a little disappointed that there was no evidence as to who was actually playing. Normally you see, at least, a banner for the act. But, no, nothing, this time.
Before we headed to the Venue, we had some absolutely disgusting McDonalds, which, thankfully, we didn’t pay for. There’s a few McDonalds in Leeds, and, it’s fair to say, there’s the OK ones, and, the, not so OK ones. Hannah has really being going all-out on the Monopoly tickets, by the way. Though, we’re still not big winners. If we win the big £100,000, I’ll be sure to… yeah, it ain’t happening. Hannah herself got some Jollibee, because, of course she did, whereas I needed a bit of a get me up so I was on the Lucozade Alert. Not to bore you with the details, but, I was NOT sleeping too great, not feeling too well, something which Hannah was certainly not helping with, which led to me really needing that kick, which that filled. Once we’d finished and we approached the Arena, whilst the Venue didn’t say who was playing, the Fans sure did. Saw quite a few Busted shirts, and occasional McFly, too.
Initially, we just joined the long queue to get inside. We weren’t “early”, so to speak, but, it’s fair to say we would have been out there for a while. Then, for some reason, it dawned on me, we’d booked VIP! Yeah, why the hell are we in the economy queue for? Yeah, here we were heading into this huge queue, when we can skip that darn queue and head into our own private Restaurant and Bar area, thank you very much 😁. So, we did.
Entrance was pretty straightforward, Hannah’s bag got looked at, but, other than was a quick entry. Then, a sea of confusion began…
I don’t think we fit in to the VIP lark
Once we walked in, I’ll be honest, I was completely clueless as to what to do. Had a quick walk around, it was surprisingly packed inside, no Tables or Chairs left, just a Bar and standing area. But, they did have a Photo area, where Hannah took about 76 MILLION Photos, of course. It wasn’t until I went to the Bar, I … noticed something. People seem to be using some Coins as currency to get Free drinks, hmm. I was thinking, well, I ain’t paying ridiculous pricing if I can get a Freebie, what’s-a-comin-a-go. So, I had an ask around. The staff, at this point, were absolutely useless. Pretending to not know what they were. Eventually, just bailing us back to the Entrance to do, probably, what we should’ve done at the start.
Yeahhh, we weren’t supposed to just run in to the Door, if you show your Ticket to the Entrance staff, you are allocated based on your Booking type, duhhh. Because, VIP, didn’t just mean VIP. It was in multiple different tiers. In our case, that meant the full crème de la crème, as I’d booked the full-on VIP Experience, meaning we, not only, got that free Drink, more than one, actually, but also had a Reserved Table and Chair waiting for us to order some grub. Nice.
At first, I was a bit let down by the whole experience when we sat on our Reserved Table. However, when the Staff came and started offering us stuff for Free, waiting on us, as well, we became much more satisfied. Unfortunately… kinda, whilst our VIP Experience did include both Food and Drink for free, the Menu was, well, crap! All posh rubbish food, where’s the Chips?! So, in the end, was just the Drink we took advantage of. Our Waiter seemed to notice this, so, she offered us additional Drink, to make up for not having any Food. Well, until Hannah decided to give something a go, and tried some Chocolate Ice Cream thingy … she wasn’t impressed. Presentation; 100%, taste 25%.
One thing I will say that was very useful about this VIP Experience, especially as I was drinking alcohol, and not paying the £10 each for each drink, was having a very easy-access Toilet. This was one thing I was very thankful for, apart from just before it started, as we were both able to, thanks to this, make sure there’d be no interruptions during the show for Toilet visits.
Then, before we knew it, it was time to head in. Hannah, of course, wanted even more Selfies and Photos at this area, which were taken. Then we headed up… to then head back down again. Yeah, there was something I just felt we had to do, get some Merchandise. Initially, Hannah wanted one of the bandanas shown in the VIP room… none left, so, we went for something far more simple.
They actually had Merchandise for both Bands, including their latest Album design for each, but, I felt it was best to get something for the day itself, so, I bought a Busted vs McFly Tour T-Shirt. Whereas, Hannah got a Hat. Interestingly, whilst they had Team McFly Hats and Busted Hats, no Vs Hats, oddly, Hannah picked the Busted one. So, we were now, all set for the Gig. This was it. Let’s see what it’s all about! I was hyped!
Let the show begin…
Ironically, one of the things I was most worried about was actually find where our Seats were. Thankfully, once we’d gone up the Stairs, everything was pretty easily laid out. We found our seats and were able to settle before the show. They were playing some very random collection of Music, from Queen to all sorts, coming on Stage to YMCA was certainly a move! Of course, it was still going to be a good few minutes until the show started so, quick Toilet visit, where, oddly women were in the mens … oookk? Then, back for the show to begin.
McFly
Up first was McFly. You can probably get an idea of just how close we were to the Main stage, at this point. A small mosh-pit area was in front of us, which I was never going to use, so, we were as close as you could get. Plus, the new iPhone 17 Pro zoom lens was HUGE at taking crystal clear shots and videos. We’ve A LOT of videos. McFly kicked off with “Where Did All the Guitars Go?”, and, I will say, it was quite an adjustment getting used to the noise. They sounded great, though. Tom was sounding on point, Danny was bellowing as always, with Dougie teasing the Crowd. Harry was there, too…
I think if their was any McFly song you’d want to hear live, they did it, so, you’d all the cheesy ones like “Obviously”, to the hard rock-out song “Red”, which was just insane to see live, definitely Danny’s song. But, no, seriously, can’t fault them, they sounded amazing live, and the crowd participation was amazing. It was nice to see them include one of the my older, favourite, McFly songs, “Transylvania”, although, they didn’t do it fully and more used it as a link to start “Lies”. But, was still awesome to see live.
One thing that was also pretty cool was how they transitioned between McFly and Busted, as they swapped between each other twice, before the close where they both united. A top down stage appeared over them shaped like a Boxing ring, which had its own screen and it closed down with both Bands pictured over it. Then, when it rose up, it was the next act, up next, of course, Busted!
Busted (66% of them)
Busted was always going to feel a bit subdued, unfortunately, due to the absence of one of their leading members. This was such a disappointment of the show when it was announced that James Bourne wouldn’t be able to make it due to health issues. This meant that Busted were one man down, leaving just Charlie and Matt. To make up for James’ absence, the Band really only had two options, a substitute which Matt said James claimed had to be “anything but a McFly”, which was pretty funny, or, help from the crowd. It was definitely required from the crowd in songs that James did the lead on, such as “Sleeping With the Light On”.
In the end, additional guitar was provided thanks to James’ own younger brother Christopher Bourne, who stepped in for that, shown below. But, obviously, whilst that just completed the sound, it didn’t make up for the absence in a lot of the songs. I think the Busted set really suffered as a result.
Charlie and Matt still sounded really good, even covering for the parts where James would sing, in fact, it almost makes me curious to see them live again when James is there to provide that last 33% of the Band. As you’d expect, throughout the show, they filled out all the Busted classics, leaving out the infamous one for the end, of course. “What I Go to School For”, “Crashed the Wedding”, “Air Hostess”, all joined the roster, even with some more obscure stuff thrown in that only the real fans would know. Hannah, surprisingly, was a fan of “Britney”, in their set.
Although, she was a bit disappointed that her favourite Busted song, “One of a Kind”, wasn’t performed, but, considering her favourite is from Night Driver, the Busted album that was the least successful, I suppose that makes sense. Like asking for McFly to prioritise “Party Girl”, if you know, you know. I will say, I think Busted definitely try to come across as the Man-band, after the McFly Boy-band image, I think Matt said fucking about a gazillion times. I didn’t care much about this, but the Parent behind with the, maybe, 7 year old Girl, wasn’t too impressed 😂.
The transition to all together!
As I mentioned earlier, both Bands had 2 sets on their own, swapping between each other to fill them out. And, I have to say, both sounded incredible, vocals on point, and I really really enjoyed the show. Then, it was time for a transition to where they would all appear together. This began, with a Drumming interlude, with Busted live drummer Eddy Thrower, and McFly’s Harry Judd, playing a set of drums for a good 3 to 4 minutes. Essentially showing themselves off. It was nice to see a bit more appreciation for the Busted drummer as, officially, Busted is a three-piece, but, they always need a Drummer and he’s made himself part of the Band since 2019.
You can tell Busted have always struggled with the lack of drummer as, if you didn’t know, in the music video of the early Busted single, “Crash the Wedding”, Harry from McFly is the drummer. Don’t believe me? Take a look here!
Matt and Dougie very close, with a McBusted surprise!
With the drumming session over, all of a sudden, both Matt, from Busted, and Dougie, from McFly, appeared at each side of the Stadium. Dougie was actually about 7 rows above us on the Stairs area. Try as we might, couldn’t get a clear picture of them, but, was pretty funny how they both just pushed jokes across to each other, slagging each other off, before performing “Hate You Guts”, which the two of them sang from the McBusted album.
Charlie and Danny then did an acoustic set
Before the transition to them all was completed, their was one last battle between them, with Charlie, from Busted, and Danny, from McFly, performing a couple of songs live, both contributing to their fellow songs. McFly song “Not Alone” and Busted song “3AM”, were the lead song performed.
What Happened to Your Band!
Then, with the stage red, they all rose, all of McFly, and what was left of Busted, attended to perform the, originally, McBusted, song, What Happened to Your Band. Ironically, written by James at the advent of when Busted split up. Both drummers contributed to the rest of the set, and the McFly and Busted favourites were performed.
Hilariously, that same family I mentioned earlier, who had the young girl, they actually left before this started, thinking that the performance was over. Anyone who knows what Artists and Bands do, they always have an encore, but, yeah, they really missed out!
They all then performed the McFly classic “5 Colours in Her Hair”, before ending on, what else, than the Busted song everyone knows, “Year 3000”! This capped off what had, honestly, being 2 incredible live hours performed. Both Bands did amazing, and it really only comes down to the unfortunate situation with James, why it wasn’t, honestly, perfect. But, I have to say, sharing this experience with Hannah made it that much more special!
Time to head home
After almost losing Hannah on the way out, thinking she’d gone to the loo, as I had, we were able to leave. Then, once we did leave the Venue, their was a random little Busker singing “Star Girl”, and a rather nice moment where the whole crowd of people leaving did all the “woo-oo-oh-ooos”, for the chorus. Made for a real nice feel to the end of the night.
Whilst, initially, the plan was to head home via a Taxi, it turned out their was a convenient Bus, so, we ended up, instead, walking to the Bus stop and catching that back. I think if we both didn’t have work commitments, the bigger plan would’ve been to have booked a Hotel, made a night of it. But, to be honest, it was local enough. We then headed home, and, basically, told everyone all about it.
“Couple phones”, technically 📱
As I mentioned during the Busted vs McFly section, I’ve recently upgraded to the all new iPhone 17 Pro. I, typically, upgrade my phone every two year, and, it makes sense as I’d got my iPhone 15 Pro on a 0% with Apple for 24 months. I have to say, though, the bigger reason is because the iPhone 15 Pro has been, easily, the worst iPhone I’ve ever had. Everyone who is criticising the new 17 series for being all aluminium can shut up, because all my Titanium iPhone 15 Pro has ever done, is overheat. This is, supposed, to have been addressed with the iPhone 17 Pro series all now having a vapour chamber to keep them cool. In the real world, doesn’t really make that much of a difference, but, they’re no longer, at least, concerningly boiling, like my 15 Pro was, even when doing just basic tasks, like even checking Emails.
Available in disgusting (Cosmic Orange), boring (Dark Blue), and Silver colours, the iPhone 17 Pro, is the first time Apple have really made a big design shift to the iPhone since… if you can believe it, the iPhone 11 Pro. Yes, it’s been that long, since we’ve had a real redesign. With the exception of minor changes from a notch that shrunk to a Dynamic Island, with a back with a continuingly growing 3-stage Camera on the top left, at the back.
Whilst, yes, we still, kind of, have that descriptive, with the Camera on the back, it’s now part of an all-across housing Apple call the “plateau”. The entire phone is structurally made of a single block of aluminium, meaning it’s really sturdy and comfortable to hold, much more than titanium. Then, there’s a two-tone design at the back covered in Glass, to allow for Wireless Charging and MagSafe.
I have to say, it’s been a very decent upgrade, the Camera is much improved, especially the new Zoom lens which came in very useful watching Busted vs McFly. I didn’t realise just how much, until I looked at Hannah’s attempts. Although, to be fair, those were on an iPhone 12. The battery has been massively improved, even on iOS 26, so, I really recommend it for that. It is disappointing how the US gets the eSIM only model, meaning it gets a whole 9% more battery capacity, which we lose out on. So, considering I’m still getting good battery life, it’s a shame that it’s not even better. But, honestly, no complaints.
Speaking of Hannah, she is probably far more in need of an upgrade to her phone as she’s still rocking an iPhone 12. Well, after much deliberation, and planning, and, if it wasn’t obvious by the “couples phone” bit, yes, Hannah has joined the iPhone 17 family. The reason I put, technically, is because she’s not got the same phone I have. No, she did not go for the absolutely dumb iPhone Air, she’s still a 17, but, crazily, she’s gone all big! Plus, you remember how I said, you can get the Pro iPhone 17 line up in disgusting, boring and Silver, well, she’s gone disgusting and biiiggg. Eww.
As hinted, really, at the beginning, I’ve a Silver iPhone 17 Pro, Hannah’s a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max. Yeah, it’s certainly a striking colour, isn’t it. Look, I still stand by my original opinion that’s it’s a disgusting colour, but I will say it looks a bit better in person. Though, I say, a bit.
One thing I think Hannah is definitely already beginning to appreciate, not just the vastly improved performance, features, Cameras, and more, compared to her iPhone 12, is the massive improvement to the battery life. She can’t find a way to drain this thing. To be honest, neither can I. Though, I’ve have wrestled the iPhone 17 Pro down to low battery after 10+ hours on-screen time. But, even then, the Pro Max is just built for better battery life!
When it comes to the differences between the two, it’s really all about the size. The Cameras, for example, are shared equally across the Pro and Pro Max models, (thankfully, unlike how they used to be) with the biggest upgrade being to the Front Camera. Apple has done something really cool with it, by adding a square lens. This allows you to capture ultra-wide selfies, record 4K video, and more, in BOTH portrait and landscape without the need to put the phone in to landscape, which is huge! So, yeah, we’re both very satisfied with our purchase.
I ended up getting mine on launch day, which was a few days before the Busted vs McFly gig. Hannah had to wait, as it was a few days after I’d got my iPhone 17 Pro, that Hannah realised she wanted one. The mistake, I think, I made, was taking Hannah to the Apple Store to do what I said as … “let’s have look at the disgusting colours, and the Air”, where Hannah, instead, loved the look of the Orange. So, here we are.
eSIM decision
Despite not being lucky enough to get the US version, and its added boost in Battery life, by being eSIM only. The idea of eSIM is actually incredibly useful, especially if, like Hannah, you’ve multiple numbers across Countries. With iOS 26, one of the newer features when you’re setting up a new iPhone, by pairing it with an older one, is that if you have a SIM card still in your older iPhone, it will convert it to an eSIM. This is something my sister did with her new iPhone 17, even if, accidentally. As for us, I just popped my SIM across, as did Hannah, but, the idea came to me about Converting to eSIM, so she could keep her old Philippines SIM still in tact, if, ever needed. This became a necessity when setting up her Philippines local apps, with 2-factors sending Texts across SIMs. So, eSIM, plus physical just made sense to do.
Smooth for all… unless you’re on EE 🙄
Ever since arriving in the UK, Hannah’s been on VOXI, as it includes unlimited Social media. Ben, are you saying Hannah’s obsessed with social media?… well… This means she’s, essentially, on Vodafone. Converting her SIM to an eSIM took about a minute, then, done. She got a confirmation text, with her phone saying she could remove her physical SIM. We could then take her physical SIM out and everything works as you’d expect.
To check this works smoothly, I decided to try it first. Unlike Hannah, I didn’t really need to, but, just did it to try it. Mine, appeared to work immediately, had 5G without my SIM in and all was good. So, after that, went through with the process with Hannah. But, whilst Hannah’s went perfectly through, I had to deal with EE’s terribleness. This meant that all my iMessage was buggered up, no one could Text me, all broken. Thankfully, this recovered after 24 hours, an FYI if you choose to do this on EE, but, yeah, other networks its instant. This would have been what would have happened on launch day if I had got an Apple iPhone Air, but, now it’s done, it’s done.
Benefits of eSIM
Aside from the obvious inability to lose an eSIM, when you’re switching between different numbers, the main benefit of eSIM is it’s all built in. Plus, now, the previous negative that it wasn’t supported on lower cost NVMOs is no longer an issue, especially now you can transfer to an eSIM on networks that don’t, otherwise, support it. Plus, both Apple and Google have partnered, so eSIMs can be transferred between devices easily.
For Hannah, the main reason for doing this, was to allow her to use her Philippines SIM physically in her phone, at the same time, as having the UK SIM as an eSIM. Then, you just disable the one, in Settings, you’re not using, simple. So, unlike what happened before when she was in the Philippines, Hannah can no longer lose her UK SIM… I think 😉.
So, at the end of all of this, we now really do, technically, have a couple phones!
Eye’s not so good 👁️
One thing that’s fairly obvious to anyone who’s seen me, I wear glasses, so, as you’d expect, my eyes are not, as a result, 100%. Don’t get me wrong, they’re healthy, something which has, recently, been verified, but, things haven’t been that great as of late. Over the last weekend, on a Sunday, was when it really peaked. Severe pain in my top left eye, impacting my head giving me a banging headache.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, eye strain, right? It’s a decent guess. In my line of work, eye strain is a real expectation. Staring at a screen for a good 8 hours+, then, what do you when you get home, you watch TV, if not that,, you’re on your phone, on a computer / tablet, you get the idea. But, the reality is, this was not eye strain. Mostly. The difference, really, is the cause, which, isn’t the eye itself.
A brief history of my eyes…
When I was young, I had an issue with my eyes. Believe it or not, it took my parents until I was 4 or 5, to realise I even needed glasses. Yep, there I was, walking into Doors, I guess I’m just clumsy, right? I even got the point where I fell over needing a pot on my leg. But, no, he’s so clumsy 🙄. Yeah. Eventually, it was realised I needed Glasses. But, there was more than this that was required to be looked into. It turned out, I didn’t have the ability to look upwards, without, just using my head. So, to resolve this, I was taken to hospital, where it was looked into figuring out a way to resolve the situation.
The issue they found, at the time, was that the muscles on my eyelids, weren’t strong enough to lift, something typical to allow you to look up, without needing to move your head. The solution, in the end, resulted in skin tissue and muscle being taken off my leg, and put above my eyes. This has led to my right eye looking a bit Chinese when I open wide, which is … a joy, but, the left one was, generally, ok. It’s this, that I’m thinking is beginning to wear off. But, this was a later realisation, first things first was to get myself checked out.
Absolutely useless Doctors, leads to a day out with Hannah
The peak of the pain and issue took place on a Sunday, so, I knew I was going to need to take action the following day. I contacted Work, and took the day as a rest day. The night before I was in agony, so, just tried my best to rest. This wasn’t too easy as Hannah kept waking me with her own version of looking after me. In her own way, she’s trying to be caring. In reality, it’s making things worse.
After a day of nothing improving, on the Tuesday, I rung the Doctors and arranged an Appointment, or, at least, I thought I did. More on that later. The Appointment was an afternoon time, so, had time to get some more rest. On this day, Hannah was also off, so, for better or worse, she was there to join me on the day. After a few hours rest, a Shower, we decided to set off rather early.
From Charity Shops to Peacocks…
You’d be forgiven to forgetting that the reason for the day out, and, why I was not working, was to try and get my eyes looked at by a Doctor. In Hannah’s world, this meant, shopping. Once we got to Town, Hannah headed straight into the local Charity Shop which was … terrible. It also had a creepy woman inside, so, we didn’t last long inside. However, Hannah’s opportunity for a bargain was not over, as it turns out the Peacocks in Hecky was shutting down, so, everything was massively discounted.
At this point, we were very close to my Appointment, so, after getting a quick glimpse of the very low prices, we would return straight after my Appointment to get some more things. Hannah ended up getting quite a lot of things. In fact Hannah had, previously got some brown fluffy Shoes, whilst traumatising a woman at another Charity Shop, to then getting a better pair at Peacocks, so, she would return to the other Charity Shop in Cleck to the same traumatised Woman to get a Refund. In the end, she would settle for trading for a Bag she pretended she wanted, but, didn’t get, to then get later as she, perhaps, felt guilty for traumatising the woman… keeping up? We ended up leaving Peacocks, after the Doctors, with quite a few things, I got some cheap Socks, as Hannah keeps throwing mine away, and then headed on for Food.
So, how did the Doctors visit go…
Waste of time at Docs, so, took matters into my own hands.
For starters, the Doctors, who had been rung to book the Appointment, it turned out, never booked it correctly. Good start. To then, complain to be actually seen by someone to get a Doctor who couldn’t give a flying f**k as to what was wrong with me. Got the impression that, even if, I told him I was dying within 1 hour, he’d of just gone, “OK, bye bye”. He was absolutely useless.
In the end, I ended up diagnosing myself. Arranging an Appointment with an Opticians to get my eyes checked, and, got myself some Eye Spray. I’d get Drops, but they make me cringe too much.
An absolutely disgusting McDonalds
As I’d mentioned previously, Hannah has been really taking the Monopoly seriously, when it comes to McDonalds. This meant we had a lot of free Food available to claim. So, we headed to the Heckmondike McDonalds to get quite a bit of Food, but with no intention of paying a penny. And, for the most part, we didn’t. But, the experience was dreadful.
I paid, as I wanted a proper Coke, meaning you need to pay with the Sugar tax levy. And, what did I get, Coke Zero, anyway 🙄. They all do this. McDonalds is absolutely terrible when it comes to Drinks. For me, this is serious, as I have a serious reaction to the sweeteners used, specifically, in the Zero and Diet, variants. Then, on top of that, Fries were awful and undercooked, the McFlurry’s tasted off and mucky. Yeah, I really don’t recommend them AT ALL. So, yes, we ate, but, no, we did not enjoy.
Opticians diagnosis.
In the end, due to the issues really not going away, I took, most of, the week off work. I ended up going to the Opticians to get my eyes looked at. They did a full eye examination, health check and general eye test. Obviously, it’s not that long since I had my last one since I got these latest Specs.
In the end, it turns out my Eyes are perfectly fine. However, concern was put back on what I mentioned before, my Eye lids. In fact, they were trying to look at a concerning Lump I had above my eye, and couldn’t get past all the skin.
Since then, I’ve been trying extra rest, Eye Sprays, and, just generally keeping eyes, as much, off the screen. It’s not gone, it still hurts, though, it’s not peaked like last time. But, I feel like it might do again. What may need to happen is a Doctors appointment. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that, but, if I do, I’ll probably need that skin removing that’s making my Eye so heavy. With more recent advancements to what I had in the mid-90s, it might be something that’s relatively easy and quick, but, obviously, it’s quite a nerve-racking thing to do. And, no one likes a Hospital.
I guess, time will tell on this. Obviously, I’ll keep you posted.
Other tidbits
That’s about it, for the big things that’s been missed since the last blog. Although, I could probably throw in a few little titbits near the end;
MOST LOVED COLLECTION ALL BUTTER SCONES
This is mostly a strike at Lee. But, whenever Cleck Tesco hasn’t had the Scones that I like, the excuse that Lee has always come up with is that no one buys them. Well, let me tell you this, if that is the case, WHY-OH-WHY are they LITERALLY branded “Most Loved” in your Store now. Everyone knows they’re much better without the disgusting Sultanas. Now we know they’re most loved, can we now bring them back to the £1 they used to be, thank you very much! It’s like Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, how are they now £2. Even more in Sainsbury’s, they’re cheeky enough to sell them for £2.50. Absolutely unforgivable!
FOUND THE HARMONICA
For those who don’t know, this is a piece of oldshool that’ll take a few back. This is the Harmonica I got free once on a night out with the ol’ Gang. Can I remember when? Must of been about 2009 ish, think it was Huddersfield, but could’ve been Bradford. Back when they actually had Bars. Got giving it for Free, and, to this day, I’ve no idea why.
Infamously, it even featured on a Damn Crows single, but, other than that, it was just a staple that came with me in my thick Coat. But, then, it went missing, but, showed up randomly the last week. Real strange. It’s been all over the place has this. I used to be able to play the Harmonica section of Blur’s Resigned, and, I can just about play the first part of the theme song from “Last of the Summer Wine”. But, in reality, it was just used to annoy 😁. Crazy its back. Just need to figure out how to clean it now.
TERRIBLE LUCK WITH “STRAPS OF LONDON” WATCH STRAPS
I ordered a Watch strap for my newest Apple Watch Series 11, I got with my iPhone 17 Pro. Turns out, they sent me the wrong size. Not a big deal, right? Just return, or exchange, for the right one. Well, I would, if they actually had any responsive Customer Service. Multiple Contacts later, weeks later with absolutely nothing. We’ve lost near £40 wasted on them. So, it’s as simple as this;
Do not order any Watch straps from Straps of London! Terrible Customer support and back quality Straps!
You can find them at https://strapsoflondon.co.uk and I highly recommend giving them a terrible review everywhere you can.
HANNAH’S BACK TO ENJOYING THE AUMUMN SEASON!
What better way to end the blog with a bit of British appreciation from Hannah. The first time Hannah arrived in the UK, was the backend of Autumn, and it’s always been a favourite of hers. Not sure if it’s the leaves falling off the Trees, the general colours, or, what, but, we’re not beginning to see the Autumn ways taking shape and she’s already all-in. Ohh look, a Tree, picture me… ohh look, something else Autumn-ey, photo.
Of course, not all things are good, during the Autumn, especially for someone as over-protective as I am with Hannah. “Spring forward, fall-back”, is the saying for the Times in the UK. For some crazy reason, we still change the time in the UK, putting the Time forward an hour, then back an hour, at different times of the year. This will take place next at the end of October. Meaning what is already becoming much darker evenings, will be more dark Tea-times. So, I’ll be extra worried about Hannah when she’s walking home at night.
But, hey, least she’ll have more photo opportunities, right?
BEHANN 