The story until the proposal
Martin moved to Reading for work after graduation. He bummed around in a few houses, before living with a couple of good mates from school - Peter Campell and Iain Davison. Time went by, adventures were had and jobs changed but Martin decided to stay in Reading and got a flat close to town. He spent his time being a 'computer geek,' in addition to volunteering with St John Ambulance as a first aider.
Similarly, Sarah also moved to Reading for her new job after graduating. She decided that she had too much free time on her hands so decided to take up Taekwondo, and while this kept her out of trouble on the week nights, she still had too much spare time at the weekends. So she joined St John Ambulance as a volunteer first aider. And this is where our story begins:
Sarah thought that Martin was this intelligent tall man helping run the local first aid unit, organising all the paperwork and teaching first aid and biology topics to the unit members. He would turn up in a suit straight from work ready to impart some knowledge or wisdom to the rest of the unit. It wasn't long before Sarah was qualified as a first aider and soon they were out of first aid duties together, both of them were clueless that anything more than a friendship was developing. That was, until Sarah organised the 2009 Christmas party. She got the girlies to wear dresses (so it gave her an excuse to dress up in a LBD) and Martin turned up in his signature suit straight from work. The evening went on and no matter how much Sarah tried to ignore Martin, she couldn't help by smile every time she saw him! She told herself to stop being 'stupid' and decided her sudden feelings were 'Christmas mush' and that's how it got left to after New Year...
Well, Christmas came and went but the 'Christmas mush' remained, so early in February Martin and Sarah went for a quiet drink. They are not really sure who asked who but they both seem to think they did, so I guess 'Christmas mush' feelings were mutual. During the quiet drink Martin suggested dinner next time and so the relationship began.
Martin bought a flat in the spring of 2010 (making sure the unsuspecting Sarah liked the flat too) and by late autumn Sarah and Martin were living together. Then came the fish and a while after that Sarah bought her gecko Mafic. Many adventures were had with some of the best being in Egypt, Tenerife and Bulgeria - not to mention England and Wales - before the holiday that would change it all in September 2012.