The youngest and smallest of three, Filly loved language and foreign culture and started learning English at a young age—visiting Summer camps in Reading most years. Filly took the 80s seriously, with professional rollerskating and gymnastic competitions.
One year later, Jay was born in Wales. An “accident—but not unwanted”, he was a well-behaved child, followed by little sister Addy 14 months later. Jay blossomed into a chubby teenager who loved video games, art and design, and alternative music.
university
Jay went to Loughborough University in England to study "Management Sciences" with his childhood friend and best man, Dave (left). This almost turned out to be a complete waste of time, but Jay made friends, had some fun, and learnt that "Stupid Tuesday" was the best night for music.
Filly attended the Univerity of Naples L’Orientale, studying English and Chinese languages. In 2006 she went to China for a Summer language course in Beijing for the first time. Asian impact was strong, and she soon became fascinated by the Chinese culture.
2007 was an "industrial placement" year. Jay spent a year in IBM, while Dave recruited an additional best mate into the fold at Heinz. His name was Pete. Here's Gene Simmons, David Bowie, and George Michael.
Thanks to her studies, she had the opportunity to travel and study in China and the UK. All these experiences allowed her to meet people from all around the world, with a growing desire to live abroad one day.
20s adventures
After graduating from University, Jay didn't know what he wanted to do. With nothing to lose, he found a sales job in London—figuring that he could go back home if it didn't work. Fast forward six months, and it wasn't working, but London was exciting.
After graduation, Filly moved to London, where she worked as a waitress, first in a Mexican bar and then in a Japanese restaurant, before finding her first proper job in Marketing. In 2014—Disillusioned—she moved… back to China! Alas, she could not stay away and moved to London in 2016 to try again.
We Met
Without knowing their future, Jay and Filly joined a technology co-working space and ignored each other for a couple of years. Photos of this time are scarce, but Techhub kind of looked like this—just a bit scruffier.
Filly struggled to reach a coffee mug on the top shelf in the communal kitchen. In the midst of her sights, she sees a gentleman! And asks Jay to fetch it for her. Filly had not seen this man before. Where did he come from? Both Filly and Jay were very curious!
away together
We decided to test the waters with a weekend trip to Rye—a pretty cobbled town on the South East coast of England. The trip went so well we even took a detour to Battle in Hastings on the way back.
Filly was initially planning a solo weekend trip in December. Rye had been successful, so she tested the waters and suggested another joint trip. Delicious food, wine tasting tours, and beautiful architecture—Porto became a blueprint for future trips.
exchange
Just before the world got turned upside down in 2020, Jay showed Filly around Cardiff. We went to St Fagans, ate Welshcakes, and looked around Llandaff Cathedral (all the Roald Dahl references were totally wasted on her).
As the world tried to live with COVID, we tried living with each other! This turned out easier than we thought. Lockdown walks, Zoom quizzes, and a beer subscription became standard affairs.
One of the few good things that came out of COVID—Filly learnt how to home-bake pizza from scratch. Jay has somehow persuaded her to do this every Sunday ever since. He hopes this tradition will continue into old age and is planning on buying a pizza oven for the new garden.
Jay bought Filly an Italian football t-shirt for her birthday. In retrospect, this might have been a mistake. Filly wore the t-shirt everywhere, and Italy was formidable in the Euros. They beat Wales 1–0 and eventually beat England on penalties. In 2022 Italy also beat Wales in the rugby (22–21), their first win in 36 games. Tshirt luck ended when Italy failed to qualify for 2022…
Jay visited Italy for the first time. This is his first night on arrival, where of course, we got pizza. Filly showed Jay around the seaside town of Naples, where he bore witness ancient Greek beauty, everyday street theatre, and people gesticulating in cars.
2021 filled up with hazy Summer memories. We watched as Raducanu won the US Open at just 19, spent a memorable day at the Ted Lasso pub in Richmond, and revisited Naples, Spain, and finally the sunny beaches of Crete…
plans
Life was peaceful and euphoric. With plans to buy a house and a nervous-looking Filly, Jay knew he had to reveal his full "intentions". After a couple of beautiful beaches and perfect days, Jay asked Filly if we could do this forever.
2022 is the year we move into a new house and get married. There's a lot of work to be done, but we don't mind doing it together. We can't wait to spend a hazy day with you on the beautiful coast of Naples as we remember the past and look to the future.