“Auld Lang Syne” is not Chinese !

Nor, for that matter, is “Herge’s Adventures of Tin-Tin”.

These little nuggets of information may not appear earth-shattering to you, but they did come as quite a surprise to Amanda.

“How ?”, you might ask…

“Look at your wife” (2) … The official wedding pictures

Well Amanda had a good day on Thursday… not only did the Official Wedding Photos arrive, but she got her new visa too. Yes, A full 2 year, multiple entry visa which gives her the freedom to come and go as she pleases.

Anyway, now you can see why I was so starry-eyed that day ….

My beautiful Amanda with her new husband

My beautiful little wife

Hello you ! .... Kiss ?

This is Amanda's favourite picture

Words fail me

Beautiful and happy

All pictures copyright A&TH

More wedding pics

Okay, so here are some more pictures of us on, or around, our wedding day.

The two of us at an office dinner	Getting ready to go in	Getting the paperwork done
Saluting the flag	Yes, Mr & Mrs !	Double Happy - Job done

The official photographers have said that they will need around 50 days to get the proper pictures ready.

I dread to think how much “air-brushing” they need to do of me …

“Look at your wife.”

Nervous moments

Double-checking

It's time for the rings

The photographer spoke in a monotone voice the whole time, and yet with a certainty that was apparent even though I could not understand a word that he said, except on the occasional times when he broke into his limited English. 

 

As the sessions continued I became more used to what was required of me, and gradually his utterances of “Sir” and a hand gesture became easier to understand.  He smiled and said “Oh yes!” more often.

 

All the while his assistant busied himself with the task of positioning us, our hands and our clothes. His favourite expression seemed to be “Okay, Sir, take a break” whenever my involvement in a sitting was complete.

 

Sometimes there was a degree of confusion but, on the whole, things went fairly smoothly. 

 

Amanda acted as translator for us, passing on the instructions from the pair of them, and the instruction I enjoyed hearing from her the most was “Look at your wife”.

 

 

I looked at the beautiful face so close to mine. 

 

I looked into the eyes of my Amanda who was radiant as I had never seen her before.

 

 

She was happy, delighted, and delightful. 

 

I looked into the eyes of my beautiful Amanda and wondered how life could ever be better than this.

 

Amanda in her 'Wedding Dress'

I Like You

I like you
And I know why,
I like you because
You are a good person to like.
I like you because
When I tell you something special
You know it’s special
And you remember it
A long, long time,
You say,
“Remember when you told me
something special?”
And both of us remember.
When I think something is important,
You think it’s important too.
We have good ideas.
When I say something funny, you laugh.
I think I’m funny.
You think I’m funny too.
I like you because
You know where I’m ticklish
And you don’t tickle me there
Except just a tiny bit…
Sometimes.
Stop!
But if you do, then I know where
to tickle you too.
You know how to be silly.
That’s why I like you.
Boy! Are you ever silly!
I never met anyone sillier than me
Till I met you.
I like you because
You know when it’s time to stop
being silly.
Maybe day after tomorrow.
Maybe never.
Oops! Too late!
It’s quarter past silly.
We fool around the same way all the time.
Sometimes we don’t say a word.
We snurkle under fences,
We spy secret places.
If I’m a goofus on the roofus,
You are one too.
If I pretend I’m drowning,
You pretend you’re saving me.
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
Then you are ready to jump.
That’s because you really like me.
You really like me, don’t you?
And I like you back.
And that’s the way we keep going
Everyday……..
If I go away, then you go away.
Or if I stay home,
You send me a postcard.
You just don’t say
Well, see you around sometimes.
Bye.
I like you a lots because of that.
If we go away together
And if I get lost in Grand Central Station,
Then you are the one that’s yelling
for me:
Hey, where are you?
Here I am.
I like you because
When I am feeling sad
You don’t cheer me up right away.
Sometimes it’s better to be sad.
You can’t stand others being
so googly and goggly
Every single moment.
You want to know about things.
It takes time.
I like you because
If I am mad at you
Then you get mad at me too.
It’s awful when the other person isn’t.
Phooey!
They are just so nice and so hoo-hoo you
could just punch them in the nose.
I like you because
When I think I am going to throw up
You don’t pretend you are busy
Looking at the birds and all that.
You say: “Maybe it was something
you ate”.
You say: “that happened to me one time”.
And the same thing did.
If you find two four leaf clovers,
You give me one.
If I find four, I give you two.
If we find only three, we keep looking.
Sometimes we have good luck
And sometimes we don’t.
If break my arm and if you break your
arm too,
Then it is lots of fun to have a
broken arm.
You tell me about mine
And I tell you about yours.
We both are sorry.
We write names and draw pictures.
We show everybody and they wish they
Had broken arms too.
I like you because-I don’t know why-
but-
Everything that happens is nicer with you.
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you.
It must have been lonesome then.
I like you because-because-because-
It’s the fourth of July
On the fifth of July.
And if you and I had some drums
And some horns and horses and some
fire engines,
We could be a holiday
We could be a celebration
We could be a whole parade.
See what I mean?
Even if it was the nine hundredth and
ninety-ninth of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom
of November
Even if it was no place in particular
in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again.
That’s how it would happen every time.
I don’t know why.
I guess I don’t know why I really
Like you.
Why do I like you???
I guess I like you – - -
I guess I like you – - -
Because I LIKE YOU

(by Sandol Stoddard Warburg)

The waiting begins

Amanda in The Man In The Rock

Amanda on a sightseeing bus in Edinburgh

I arrived home this morning having taken Amanda to the airport.

As I put the kettle on the clock in the village struck seven.

This was noticable because everything in the flat was still and quiet.  There is an emptiness, the like of which I have not experienced before.

I can hear the clock in the kitchen ticking away, oblivious to the change that has taken place.

Apart from that, all is still and quiet… and lonely.

I’ll be seeing you in 36 hours from now

Well this is it…

At 5am tomorrow I get up, head for Edinburgh airport, and set off to meet one beautiful lady

At last all the waiting will be over.  Yippee !

 

Yes, Amanda does like wearing red and black… but the new dress she bought yesterday (classic Chinese style) is more subdued.

She’s already in Hong Kong waiting for me, staying with her friend who, coincidentally, will be catching the very plane I am arriving on … That’s another wierd coincidence !

The weather could be better there for me, heavy rain and thunderstorms, with a temperature pushing 30C… that’s 86F…  Erk !!  For someone who dislikes it over 70F I sure did pick the wrong time of year didn’t I ?

I’ll be putting some pictures up on here every couple of days while I’m away, so all of you can hopefully see something of what China is like, and how much we are enjoying ourselves.

Take care y’all !

How a brain-injured Brit prepares for a trip to China

Wow… is it nearly a month since I wrote anything on here ?  Just shows how busy I’ve been.

So much to do now that I’m working almost full time on the “placement”, and am trying (trying) to get ready to go to China next Wednesday to meet my darling Amanda

This last Wednesday was a typically confusing day for me…

Where did I put that “Me Time” ?

Oh you just can’t start a work placement, travel from one end of the country to the other at short notice, see your daughter for the first time in 12 months, your grandchildren for the first time in 2 years, and visit your best mate in hospital before he has his triple heart bypass op without some smartass coming along and asking if your Chinese fiancee (who you still have to try to find time to cam with because she’s missing you like crazy and the time difference messes up every day, but by hell it’s worth it ) is taking up all your time and might just be the reason you haven’t posted anything for a while !

Pant… pant…

Amanda (2)

I am going to bed now.
 
It is my turn to go to sleep alone…
wishing that you were next to me,
wishing that you were holding me in your arms,
wishing that I could feel your breath on the side of my face,
wishing that I could smell you next to me, so close,
wishing that I could feel the touch of your skin against mine,
wishing that we could luxuriate in each other’s presence…
as lovers for all time.
 
Goodnight, my darling.