'I found my first love again in Preston after 50 years': city plays Cupid as couple are reunited

Raymond Chung, who’s now retired, came to the city as a younger man and ran two successful eateries - Great Times, in the old Co-op building on Lancaster Road, and FACE on Guildhall Street.

The move saw him depart Holland, where, in the early 1970s, he had courted Tina Yuen after meeting her when he worked at her father’s restaurant.

The then teenage pair first lost touch when Raymond moved to another part of the country before later emigrating to the UK, where he is now enjoying his retirement.

Tina herself moved abroad to work in Germany and the couple both married other people - but their marriages sadly ended in divorce.

However, Tina never gave up hope of one day finding Raymond again and, last year, she managed to track him down through social media. She wasted no time in travelling to Preston to meet up with him again - and wedding bells could now be in the air for the couple after destiny brought them back together in Lancashire.

Raymond said: “It was wonderful to see Tina again, she is just as beautiful as I remember her.”

Tina added: “Raymond was my first love. We parted in 1973 and much has happened since then, but his eyes still look at me in just the same way as they did when I was 17 years old. I am so happy we have found each other again.”

The couple were recently introduced to city mayor Yakub Patel by Raymond’s close friend and former councillor Veronica Afrin. Touched by their story, Cllr Patel invited them to the mayor’s parlour for tea and biscuits, so he could hear more about their remarkable reunion.

Raymond, who is chair of the Preston and District Chinese Community Association, presented the mayor with a thank you gift commemorating the 2024 Chinese Year of the Dragon.