DragonFire

I have edited the main post indicating parents in the armed forces, not the armed forces themselves.

Considering I'm not American, and I don't have a shrink, I think your assumptions are way off the mark! I certainly don't need someone else to tell me what I know already is a fact. I've lived it all my life, and I certainly don

Happy Birthday, Myr!

I thought he would have at least told you.....how many months you gone?? I think the discussion got away from the story a little bit. Hopefully we can get back to it pretty soon!

This was my original question. You answered. I agreed. I merely wanted clarification that you weren't damning the entire armed forces, which you seemed to be hinting at in your previous post. Do you honestly believe that my situation was inimitable? That I was the only kid in the armed forces who also had a stable home? What I gave was a personal view of how I viewed my life growing up, but I can certainly give plenty of other examples that I observed over the years. Can I just remind you of what you wrote: "If they serve long times away from home, yes, they are somewhat neglectful. In that situation, the kid does not receive the stability of parenting" Now this to me reads as if you're implying ALL kids in the armed forces, who have one parent away, have some sort of stability problem at home. I gave you one instance, which in itself bucks the trend. As I said I can give others, but how many would be required to crack that subjective view? Even if I gave a thousand, or even a hundred thousand, people would look at the research, shrug their shoulders and dismiss it. Perceptions, I believe, are very hard to break. Trust me I'm not saying that every family in the armed forces was like mine, because that's simply not true. All I'm saying is, that stability is a reality for a lot of families who were in my situation, which in itself proves that it can be done.

Just because a parent is off serving their country doesn't necessarily mean that they are neglectful, or providing an unstable home; and yes I am talking from personal experience here. My dad was in the air force for a good many years. Did I feel neglected or loved any less when he was away? Of course not. I always knew that when he got home that it would be our special time together, and trust me he ALWAYS made time. I was sad when he was away, that's only natural, but neglected, never. As for stability, I'm sick and tired of people telling me that I came from an unstable home, just because my dad was away abroad for long stints of time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Trust me I'm not just having a pop at you, but why do people have to judge on what some research paper tells them, and not on real facts and real people; after all, not everyone

Are you saying then, that every father, or mother for that matter, that serves in the armed forces are somehow neglectful of their children? Or they are emotionally unable to cope with being a parent?

I've heard the same thing. I wonder if they will show it on the Fox network in Europe!

In this I have to agree with Conner. Granger has shown remarkable maturity beyond his years, and due to his upbringing and education, I feel he would make an excellent father. We all, despite our years, can act like kids sometimes, and I really don't see anything wrong with that. It certainly doesn't preclude people from being good parents. Now, you were talking about him being emotionally boyish, and I find very little evidence in the story of late to support this theory. Yes he does flirt, and agreed he does go on the prowl sometimes. However, I fail to see how this would stop him being a good parent. One I feel, has very little to do with the other. Now, onto the chapter! Well, that was a shocker, I guessed there was a wedding coming up, but never expected it to be quite so soon. She seems like a formidable woman, and Granger would do well not to piss her off too often! Just how many Wilcox's are out there? I had to do a double take when I read that, because I thought he was Captain of the Barracuda, only to realise it was another Uncle! It seems this clan get everywhere. But Granger seemed to handle it with great maturity!! It did make me smile when he explained to Travers that the missus would be the third wheel, but I surmise that the relationship just got a little more complicated with the recent addition.

The song was awful, but the eye candy more than made up for it!

I expected a British Airways logo or something to pop up at any time because it sounded like something you would put in an advert!

I did go and edit my original post because I had JD ears on; admittedly there was a bum note at the end. The Icelandic entry was still my favourite, but why we gave 12 points to Turkey is anyone

Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the song for her and was part of the whole process, of course he was going to be playing piano! This was by far the worst of the night!! IMHO This was a shock, because they normally do very good songs - Truly bizarre! [shakes head]

Your kidding? Jade was by far one of the vocalists of the night. I'm not sure what you were listening to, and this is not country bias (maybe a little), but she was outstanding. I'll post a link for the UK entry, when available, and see what everyone else thinks! How the hell Norway won is another subject. Awful song, but he was cute! We should be thankful it didn't go to the Balkens though!

Well, that's our best performance in quite some time. But Norway as the winner....so not. Not my cup of tea.

That said, vocally, Jade for the UK was amazing...but she'll never win. Politics etc etc. My top 5, in no particular order: UK Iceland Denmark Spain Azerbaijan

Well, we voted for Iceland.

Knowing the good knight, I'm sure that was said tongue in cheek, with a heavy emphasis of sarcasm! Another great chapter, and I had to chuckle at the thought of the pair of them going at it in a carriage. Am sure it would have made an fascinating sight to any passerby, with the carriage rocking backwards and forwards! Interesting that a Wilcox should turn up again, I mistakenly thought they would have given up the ghost by now, but it certainly looks like they are only getting started. I wonder what other trouble lies ahead for the lieutenant? Caroline. Now there's a woman that knows what she wants and invariably gets. I do wonder how she will react when George's other sexual habits come to light, because these things always come out in the end. Intriguing times ahead methinks.

Happy Birthday, Menzo!

I agree, but in reality there is only one winner regardless of the result. Smiley doesn't have half the talent Adam does.

Happy 46th Birthday, Graeme!

I like appetisers, mains & then seconds of both!

I think it suits you.....shorter hair that is.

I have to agree with everyone, this story certainly started off with a bang and only got better as it progressed. I really like the way you describe the battle scenes, you can almost visualise it happening as you read. It seems when Granger gets back to his ship, his extracurricular activities are going to take a battering, whilst something else doesn't! But as Mark pointed out, I can't see him being short of a lover for very long. Well, I'm certainly hooked on this now. Looking forward to the next one.

How funny is that?