In Training

Missed my blog birthday... AGAIN!

Apparently, it's tradition!  I always seem to forget...

I have been blogging here since November 8th, 2005.  FIVE YEARS! 

I think a little trip down memory lane is in order --

My very first post. It seems so long ago now! I've really grown. I started blogging because Royal was with the Marines and out of contact for the very first time since we'd met.

How we met. Almost six years ago...

Learning to understand his English + Bootneck speak. I've heard communication is important in a relationship!

Inspiring day at the gun store.  I used to work at a gun shop (yes really) and this is about one incredible day. 

A Royal Marines Commando training story by my Royal. 

I'm no longer Royal's girlfriend. We're engaged!

My very first Conmando post: Watch out for the 'Conmando'.  There would be many, many more to come on this S.O.B. (including more than one in 2010).  Probably one of the first times I was linked by the Mudville Gazette!

How to handle a drunken chav. Excellent story.

You are not welcome here (Part I).  A Walkabout bar in England refused a drink to two Royal Marines in uniform that had come in after a funeral. This was even linked by Grim at Blackfive!

We got hitched in Tucson, Arizona (my hometown)!

We moved in together!  In Britain!

A weekend away in Glasgow; OR the big ol' protest we ran into.

The banking saga. Royal was getting ready to deploy and the British banks wouldn't have me!

The first round of deployment troubles.

Is there not enough jobs in America?  Working in Britain.

Padres, doctors, hospital visits.  Pretty much all while Royal was deployed.

The Faslane Peace Camp. A photo essay. Someone went so you wouldn't have to!

Oh yeah, I had mono and wasn't told.  Found out after returning Stateside (unfortunately without Royal) and visiting my U.S. doctor.

Finally letting everyone in on what Royal's job was in the Marines.

Go Home British Soldiers, Go Home. Royal Marines (including Royal) mistreated by Scottish yobs.

The joys of the bi-continental military marriage!

More fun, this time with Sky.

Two long years working on U.S. Immigration for Royal. (Best to scroll down & start at the beginning!)

A dear friend and Marine lost. We remember.

Also worth a look: Royal in America - funny incidents Royal has with people here thanks to his Britishness.  My photo posts - phots that are important to me.

Thank you to everyone that's stopped by these past five years!  Especially to Pat at Past Imperfect and the wonderful guys at Right Hand of God!

As a goodwill gesture we won't charge you...

Royal was on the phone this morning to cancel his British credit card (yay!).
We had paid it all off a while back but had found that two pence had appeared out of nowhere the next time we checked. We didn't think much of it at the time because it wasn't the right time to cancel it.

When Royal called today (after going through the
'And why are you cancelling?'
'Because I'm moving abroad'
'Visiting abroad?  Because you don't have to cancel if....'
'NO, moving abroad.  Forever.'
'So not visiting... ?'
'Moving.'
with two different credit card employees)

he found that we had four pence on the card!  Seems so unfair. 
At any rate the credit card gentleman then said,
"As a goodwill gesture we won't charge you the four pence that you owe."

Through muffled laughter Royal was able to say thank you very much!

John Wayne forever!

I've had Libertas on my sidebar now for a while and for good reason.  Libertas describes themselves as "A forum for Conservative thought on film." Right up my alley considering a month rarely goes by that doesn't see me in a theater or book/movie store.  Mostly both.

They've got a great post up today : The Left: Still Trashing John Wayne With Tired Lies.

The best part is that no matter how much trash they write about John Wayne, the left-wingers will never be able to take anything away from his legacy. 

One of my favorite memories from living in Britain with my husband comes from a film festival we went to.  We both enjoy the cinema and thought it would be a nice break - especially since they were honoring John Wayne with several films.  We went to see The Searchers.  There wasn't an empty seat in the house and by golly the whole audience broke out into applause at the finish.  It was an amazing feeling seeing it on the big screen and then the British audience... fantastic.

Mr. Wayne is a bright shining star to this day.  He always will be.

Ah, I just found this post I did about 2 years ago on another article (positive this time) that mentions John Wayne.

Closing a Royal Bank of Scotland Account

Not too long ago Royal and I decided to close our Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) bank account - the one we had to open because his Barclay's Bank pretty much refused to add me to his account (foreigner with no British credit, nevermind my great and long-time American credit) and when they finally did add me three months later wanted him to downgrade his card (from a doing everything card to a just ATM card, with the way he travels there's no way we could do that. Accounts have to have matching cards.  I hate British banking).  The other reason was that the closest Barclay's bank was 30 minutes away and RBS was in town and had a phone number you could call and actually speak with someone!  Barclays does not have that, just a warning to those moving to the big B. 

Since Royal was in Britain at the time (he's away again right this minute) he called up RBS, told them what he wanted to do and they said sure, just come in tomorrow.  He did.

I get a call from Royal on the way to work last week to let me know that I will have to send RBS my ATM card.  Royal had to give them his card and they asked for our checks.  I flipped out.   

This might be why Britain is the way it is

I say that lovingly, of course.  Royal and I only want the best for Britain. 

But seriously y'all -

Blue eyes, blonde, good in bed: What men really look for in their ideal woman

I mean, wow.  Here it is ranked:

The perfect woman (according to UK men, not my UK man though because I only fit eight, and that's if I'm being very complimentary of myself (ha))
1. Blue eyes
2. Long blonde hair
3. Occasionally wears glasses
4. Five feet eight inches tall
5. Weighs around 9.5 stone (which is 133 pounds)
6. A size 12 (a size 8 in the U.S. I think, because I'm a size 10 UK and a size 6 US)
7. Good in bed
8. Earns less than 25,000 pounds a year ($50,000)
9. Extremely fit
10. Very good looking
12. Wacky personality
13. Rents a house or flat
14. Optimistic
15. Owns a Ford Ka or Mazda MX5
16. Nurse or PR Executive
17. No children
18. Drinks occasionally
19. Loves clubbing
20. Non-smoker

No intelligence, common sense, no likes reading for fun or likes being outdoors.  Not even likes to travel.
I especially enjoy "drinks occasionally" immediately followed by "loves clubbing."   

My husband, and I kid you not, told me during that first week we met that he was looking for three things in a girl. 
1. Loves being outdoors
2. Smaller than he is (he's a big boy, he's a little over 15 stone or 220 pounds. All muscle baby!)
3. Can stand being around him  

I must have fit the bill and I thank God every day for that! 
For the record, he's incredibly easy to be around.

Article found via Hot Air

Wonderful World of Immigration

I would say that two out of every three people that ask me about the immigration process are shocked at how difficult and lengthly it is for the spouse of an American citizen to come over.  Those two out of the three think that we're married, so he's able to be here.  And that's that.  I wish. 

Royal and I started the process last September.  We had a bit of news, funnily enough, on our anniversary in January but since then nothing.  We're looking at 6-10 months minimum before we hear anything else. 

The best part is, they don't have to let him in the country for a visit!  They can reject him at the gate if they want to.  You can't find out before you buy the ticket or before you get on the plane.  You find out at the gate to America whether or not you just wasted hundreds of dollars flying or, more importantly, wasted all that hope that you would see your sweetheart after months apart. 

Actually, that's not the best part.  This is.  Royal leaves the Marines soon (you want to know what schedule hell is like, try planning for immigration and leaving the Royal Marine Commandos, deciding when to go back to school, moving in with family, finding a new job, etc.)
I can't go visit Britain because soon I'll be making the only money.  So if he doesn't make it through...
It's already less than easy not seeing him for set amounts of time (this past time is 3-ish months, we're about halfway through) but to not even know when the next time might be....

This whole thing is on my mind daily. 

Then I see this at Rogue Gunner.  A Canadian national that's been married to a British soldier for at least four years and is legally living in Britain with their two sons is being told she must go back to Canada. [article here] In Britain on a temp visa, she applied for citizenship and was turned down because, wait for it... she was there on a temp visa.  They say she has to go home to apply which will take at least a year.  You can just imagine how difficult that will be. 

I definitely feel for them because it's pretty easy to be blindsided by things like this.  I know Royal and I have had a couple of surprises we weren't expecting and it's just devastating.  All I can say to anyone looking to do any immigration anywhere is RESEARCH!  Research, research, research.  And then do more research.  There is so much information and there are different avenues to take, so check them all out.  You will not regret it.

Past immigration post: Still Alive

Sky grinding on my last nerve

While we had Sky, it was great.  Sky being satellite and digital television services in Britain. I was lonely when Royal was away and I set it up myself.  As most military people and their spouses know, it's mucho important to set up accounts and things in BOTH names.  Normally this is only a problem for the non-military spouse.  Not so in this instance.

When I originally called Sky I must have asked them 5 times during the call if my husband would be able to access the account.  Oh yes, yes yes of course, we'll just add his name. We signed up for a one year contract because we thought we'd be there together that long. 

Fast forward to me leaving the country.  Royal calls to cancel the account and they won't even discuss it with him, won't even tell him how to go about it.  We decided to leave it until 2008 so that we could pay it off in full.  I got up extra early to make the call.  Yes of course we could pay it off and it would be credited to the account and then I could call 30 days before our end date to cancel.  Nevermind that I'm calling to cancel now, they don't care.  It's apparently too difficult for them to cancel an account three months before.  Only one month will do.  Well, I said to myself, I can deal with that.

I made extra sure to ask if Royal could call right back with the payment information.  Yes, not a problem.  He will be able to.  Royal calls right back and they won't speak to him, even though he goes through all of their checks - name on account, address, phone number, password!  By then I was already at work and had to wait until today to call.  Not only that, but I had to write down all Royal's payment information which I hate doing. 

The account has been credited our remainder.  I just have to remember to call in three months...  Troublesome, troublesome companies.

**UPDATE**  18:35

I completely forgot the best part earlier.  At the end of the call I asked the lady if we would be getting paperwork showing that we had paid in full.  She said yes it would be sent to our address. 
Our address which we don't have anymore.  I asked if it could be changed.  She said no.  I said we weren't living there anymore and hadn't been.  She still said no!  I said, "Really." Then she asked if the new address was very far from our old one.  I said no, my husband is in the same town.  Then she said no again!
 
I couldn't make this up.   

Sponge sponge sponge. No really, we want you to.

This is what the British government says to everyone.  British citizen or illegal immigrant.  I'm not British, but I know a helluva lot of them and they would all agree.  I stumbled across this article: Pay for college by having a baby & claiming benefits, teen orphan told on the Hot Air site. 

A sixth-former whose parents died within months of each other said she was told to have a baby so she could afford to stay in school. Kirsty Oldfield, 17, is studying for her A-levels and hopes to study psychology at university. But although she works part-time at a restaurant, she does not have enough money to live on. She said that when she told benefits advisers she would have to leave school if her £30-a-week state support was not increased, they told her that her only option was to get pregnant.
....
If Kirsty were a teenage mother, she would be eligible for child benefit, child tax credits and housing benefit as well as income support.

I read it, was a little shocked and moved on.

A few days later I remembered and told my husband who I thought would be as shocked as I was.  Nope. Royal has a friend who has a little sister who got pregnant by her boyfriend at 17.  She was going to college and working a part-time job at the time.  When she applied for a council house she was turned down.  They asked about other benefits and the girl was told that she could only really get any money or benefits if she stopped working.  Altogether.  Just cease.  Cease and sponge. 

I can't even comprehend this stuff.  Neither can Royal really except that he's so used to hearing it.  I started working at 15 and Royal at 13, non-stop ever since! 
Obviously I could go on and on about the Nanny state, raising kids to be worthless members of society (like we need any more of those), why don't people stand up, the system change, why are we punishing the good hardworking people who are paying out pound after everloving pound to take care of spongers just so they can raise more spongers ..... 
But that pretty much says it all. 

Joys of the bi-continental Military Relationship

And we're just talking about housing!
Quick summary: We got married, I moved to Britain and we got a house in the "patch" (in Britain, the bases do not contain housing for families, just for single soldiers - unlike the U.S.) Royal deployed, I got really really sick (twice), Royal came back, we started the U.S. immigration process - found out it might be faster & easier if we filed from the U.S. Which means I have to be living in the U.S.  Royal was about to deploy again, I was trying desperately to regain any semblance of strength, and he thought we could save more money for later if we lived apart for a bit.  I moved back, Royal deployed, Royal got back! 
Yeah, that pretty much brings us to present day.

We have to get rid of our house.

"Go Home British Soldiers, Go Home"

It seems like there has been more and more anti-soldier behavior occuring in Britain these days.  I have even more examples I could post.  With a husband in the Royal Marines, it's all personal (even though it should be personal to everyone).  The phone call from my husband last night made it all the more personal.

Royal had gone out on the town with three Marine buddies last night for a dinner and a drink.  These are good guys, I know one personally and respect the other two because of all Royal has told me.  Inviting Royal was especially sweet because they know he is alone and lonely there without me.  Had a nice time, a good meal at Wetherspoons.  They caught the last train out.  One 'got his head down' (slept) one had to make a phone call, and the last and Royal were enjoying conversation.  At least trying to.

There was a group of three teenagers who quickly caught on to the fact that Royal and his friends were 1. English and 2. Soldiers.  Their accents and the direction they were heading pretty much gave it away. These three decided to begin singing, literally at the top of their lungs

Go home British soldiers, go home
You ain't got no fucking home of your own

I'm not sure if they sang any more of it, that is just the part I was told.  Probably just repeated that over and over again. Many will recognize this as a song used in Ireland beginning in the late 1960s and on.  It's in support of the IRA and is anti-British government and obviously, British troops. 

Royal, again with self-control I do not have, leaned over and asked them politely to keep it down.  They said why?  He said because you're very loud and my mate's on the phone.  They said with who?  He said none of your business.  So they toned it down a bit.  There were another group of them further down who had also picked up singing.  Not so much a problem though, as they were not close. 

When the train came to the guys stop, they stood at the door and began cursing at the Marines, flipping the bird, and other rude gestures.  They also whispered to the other group of lads and pointing at Royal.  They got off the train and continued their swearing and bird-flipping.  Tapping on the windows and yelling. 
Royal got up out of his seat, went to the door, opened it and said (not so politely this time) that if they wanted to talk to come back on the train.  And he'd punch their lights out, all three of them.  Now, none of y'all have seen Royal, but he's a big guy with muscle.  Lots of 'em.  And the man is quick. 
The kids ran away.  Quick.

As soon as the train started again the second group of lads began the singing and thought it would be wise to stare menacingly at the Marines.  So they stared back.  The singing quieted down. 
At the next stop the guys went to get off and it was the same ol routine.  Right at the windows, yelling at the Marines.  This time when Royal got up, so did another Marine.  The language used was not intended for ladies.  Basically it was "if this wasn't the last train I would deal with you and it wouldn't be pretty". 
The kids ran away.  Royal sat back down, the kids came back.  They ignored them and the train pulled away. 

As if that wasn't enough, there's this.  A man came up to Royal on the train and said,
"Why didn't you just leave it alone?  Be the bigger man.  You're no better than they are.  Why didn't you leave them alone and let them get on? "

I have no clue what the kids were thinking.  I can't say if they were anti-war, like so many of the other disgusting anti-troop attackers. 
But they knew Royal was a soldier and they treated him like dirt.  Partly because he's English, partly because he's a Marine and partly because they can get away with anything they want to in Britain today.  Society, as proved by the man who approached Royal on the train after, will not stand up and take care of itself. 
They won't protect themselves and they certainly won't protect their soldiers.  It's too bad because they need more like Royal.  But he's leaving partly for those very reasons.  It breaks my heart. 

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer, The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here." The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die, I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I: O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away"; But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play, The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play, O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be, They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me; They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls, But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls! For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside"; But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide, The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide, O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap; An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit. Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?" But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll, The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll, O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too, But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you; An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints, Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints; While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind", But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind, There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind, O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all: We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational. Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace. For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!" But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot; An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please; An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

Rudyard Kipling's Tommy.


Update : Thank you Ace & Mudville, and the readers