20 | FOREVER Keele
A marriage
MADE IN KEELE
Keele alumnus George Pettitt ( Class of 2018 ) describes his journey up the aisle to fellow Keele alumna Joanna Kuan .
“ Joanna Kuan and I , George Pettitt , finally tied the knot at Kensington and Chelsea registry office on 29 March 2021 . We first met in Hawthorns ’ restaurant back in 2015 as the two of us were in catered halls , needless to say things blossomed from there . We graduated in summer 2018 , with Joanna moving into a job and myself continuing into a Masters , again at Keele .
“ In January 2020 , the two of us came back to Keele from London for a day trip . On the path between Hawthorns and main campus , overlooking the rolling fields , I stopped Joanna for a second . I said “ 1,523 days ago , on this spot , I asked you if you wanted a piggyback . You said no that time , so I thought I would ask you again . Will you let me carry you , but this time for the rest of your life ?”
“ Thankfully , Joanna said yes this time , but she flew home to Penang , Malaysia , a few days later . We planned for her to come back in March , but Covid hit , cancelling her return flight . Our newlyengaged stage in our relationship ended up being a long-distance relationship for the next 10 months before her return in October .
“ My close family arrived on 4 January 2021 for the wedding the following day , which we had scheduled to be a year after our engagement . However , that night and a mere 13 hours before the ceremony , the UK entered a new lockdown . Our wedding was cancelled . It was heartbreaking , but Joanna ’ s visa deadline on 29 March loomed ...
“ We were elated when phase 1B of the new lockdown easing , the day when weddings were allowed again , was announced . We fought to have our marriage that day , finally tying the knot with close family in attendance with other family and friends watching the ceremony via Zoom .
“ It has been a long and tough journey , I could not have done it with anyone better and we owe it all to Keele University , as without the University we would not have ever met .”