5,000 miles

SO ROMANTIC

LITTLE ONE

Milton Keynes council reported it had run out of traffic-light bulbs in which colour? Solve the crossword, then read down the yellow squares. The yellow shaded squares will spell out the prize answer.

1 2

3 4

5 6

8 7

ACROSS 1 Film company (inits)(3) 3 ... Paulo, Brazilian city (3) 5 Cheerful, jaunty (5) 7 View, look at (3) 8 Fresh, unused (3)

£50 Puzzle 13 W I N DOWN 1 ... West, film star (3) 2 Prickly bush (5) 3 Watch secretly (3) 4 Cereal crop (3) 6 London gardens (3)

Your answer:

Gorgeous Tom made me weak at the knees

,00 ro m

Repeatedly swiping on my phone, I let out a sigh.

It was March 2017 and I was on the penultimate ht of my 11-day work to London. aving ticked off the rist hotspots, I’d clicked dating app Bumble.

ee, back home in Los geles, I was something serial dater. umble, Hinge, Tinder, ed all the apps. ften, I’d clock up to two es a week. t home, I was looking for e. But in London, I just nted a few casual drinks. s I continued to scroll ough the city’s gletons, one profile ght my eye. om, 29, doctor, it read. With a flick to the right, as a match. n no time at all, we’d

anged where and when meet. Walking into the bar that ht, I wasn’t nervous. was a pro at this! ut when I saw Tom, his k hair and brown eyes, ssed in a checked jacket, heart raced. e looked even better n his photos. Hi, I’m Alyssa,’ I said,

ing a seat beside him. What would you like to ink, Alyssa?’ he smiled. If his good looks hadn’t ready made me weak the knees, his British

0 0 mile

One of our first photos together

m erfe

He proposed on Hampstead Heath

I’d met my Mr Right, but there was just one problem... Alyssa Tantillo, 29, north London

That last night in London, I told Tom I loved him accent certainly did. Chatting away about friends and family, my work in software sales, his work as a doctor, it was a magical first date. Surely no one is this perfect? I thought. I wondered what he was hiding.

But meeting him again the following night, it was clear Tom was the real deal. I was amazed how quickly I was falling for him. As we kissed goodbye, I knew this couldn’t just be a holiday fling. But I felt nervous about the situation. I lived 5,000 miles away, for heaven’s sake!

Although we’d only known each other for 24 hours, Tom asked me to come back and stay with him for a week in June. ‘Of course!’ I beamed. The distance between us melted away over long phone calls and sweet text exchanges.

And in June, I travelled back to London.

Meeting Tom’s friends and family, we went on day trips together to Cambridge.

‘It’s so hard when we live on opposite sides of the world,’ I sobbed to Mum on the phone one evening. ‘Just go for it, Alyssa,’ she urged me. ‘Live in the moment!’ So that very night, my last in London, I told Tom that I loved him.

He grasped my hand, but there was a sad look on his face. We both knew we were in for a slog.

Yet we were determined to make it work. Despite the eight-hour time difference, we were in touch with FaceTime calls and texts throughout the day.

It was tough when I went out with friends and their partners.

I felt like I was missing out on all those things new couples do.

Going for dinner, out for drinks, watching movies together on the sofa...

But once a month, one of us would take the 10-hour flight to meet up.

It was exhausting, not to mention expensive, but it was worth it to see Tom. On a trip to London in August 2018, Tom took me to

Married!

Parliament Hill Hampstead Hea Taking in the views of the city, I spun round to find Tom down on one knee.

‘Will you marry me?’ he asked. ‘Yes!’ I cried, jumping into his arms.

This was the beginning of the rest of our lives together. But as Tom didn’t have the right qualifications to p medicine in America, I had to give up my work, family and friends and start a new life in the UK.

We had to submit more than 300 documents to secure our marriage visa.

But after three stressful months, in December 2018, the visa was approved.

By January 2019, we’d settled into our new home WORDS: FIONA KINLOCH, ERIN CARDIFF. PHOTO in Canonbury, London.

Four months later, we tied the knot in a small ceremony at Islington Town Hall. All those tears, lonely nights, long flights and sacrifices became worth it. I still can’t believe I met my husband by pure fluke. It just goes to show that love really does know no boundaries.

£100 Puzzle 14 W I N

What’s a word that means to manage a situation or problem? Solve the puzzle by following the arrows and writing in your answers. Then read down the letters in the shaded squares to find the prize answer.

Your answer:

£200 cash!

FILL ME IN

Engrave with acid

Swiss coin

And so on (abbr) TV celebrity Ring up Product of fire

Line of a circle Sacred beetle

Baby bear

__ Bacon, US actor Turkish meat dish Grotto Elementary

Contested Little __ , Dickens heroine

Employ again Freeze over

Criticises Excess Topical Attach

Lab vessel (4,4) Unbroken Take to court

Almond or pecan, eg Light shoe

Sandhill

Dependable Signal, hint

Glitterati (3,3) Weave wool on needles Milan’s country

Farreaching

Barks sharply

Bobcat Jamie __ Curtis, actress Female swan Home county

CIRCLE TIME

What word can refer both to a red gemstone and a cluster of boils? Fit the words into the grid, then read down the letters in the shaded circles. 3 letters ASS

4 letters ACER AFAR CALF CRIB FIBS RANI 5 letters AURAS CEDAR CENTS CHAFF DRAMA JULEP LEAVE 6 letters BUMBLE RESETS

7 letters PERVADE

Your answer: 8 letters ARBOREAL CAROUSAL RESEMBLE TALENTED

£100 Puzzle 15 W I N