Life does not often go as planned -
Please read my blog post How We Got Started In Life and then it will make sense :-)
I have had many adventures in my life and one may scheme and dream about how things will go - but then then there are people who have different ways of doing "things" then there are women who are well - wonderfully complicated :-)
I got to a point in my life where I had drank, fucked and fought my way around the world a few times and was getting a bit bored with it all. I was just back from fighting in a fucking horrific war and and was at a veterans help centre by the seaside - we were having a bit of a quiz with a wonderful Veteran Mindfulness coach who I highly recommend HERE he drew a column of things on a board Family - Work - Sport - Social Life, he asked us what makes all of them work - well, thats an easy question for big strong ex Army men to answer... umm, its duty, umm... devotion to society... ummm we... did not have an embarrassing clue - went away for a brew break and tried again - nothing. He looked at us all with big eyes and said "Its LOVE" - scene in the room is half a dozen warriors fighting back tears and this one thinking "I need a wife in my life, that's an order"
So, that's easy - enough working 18 hours a day at my media business fighting PTSD that should just go away cos I am too busy for it... right then, Plenty Of Fish it is then... Oh my god! 20,000 women shortlisted down to 6 cos they are the only ones who answered maybe 100 that I messaged. The one that looked most promising had a Poppy in her arty photo. Slight snag - I was actually in Canada for 3 weeks working for Google at the time. Keep calm and carry on chatting like I am the guy next door :-)
So the chat went very well,
Experience of military - winner!
Rides a motorcycle - bonus!
Jenny is her name - keeper!
Travelling from the Coastal Fjord and Mountains of British Columbia across Canada through the Rockies - flying in to Montreal - there I will call her. Time differences mean I can call her at 5pm and its her 10pm. I get her to install Whatsapp on her dying old android phone and we finally talk to each other - she sounds a bit posh and it's like we have known each other for years - liking many of the same things.
On to Quebec City - I am staying in an Airbnb at the bottom of a very steep cliff/hill/thing with 440 steps that my old Army regiment scaled and won the Battle of Quebec in 1759 - so being a bit of a history nut I am loving the site. The Hotel where Google has a conference is up the hill and 2km over the plains of Abraham so I am up the hill for the morning - in conference all day - run back to Airbnb for a wash and read Jenny a bedtime story - Flashman is the name! Then back up the hill for evening networking and do it all again for 5 days.
We make arrangements to meet. She chooses with meet at an airfield in North Dorset not far from my home in Beaminster. So I pack my 65 kg of kit and travel to Quebec City airport, fly to Labrador, then to London Gatwick, then a train across London to Waterloo, then a train to Dorset, then a quick shower and brew - phone her to say just leaving and will be 45 mins late - she is so excited she cant even talk.
I arrive at the Airfield to claim my prize- burst in through the doors of the restaurant just 10 minutes before it is about to close and there she is - its love at first sight after getting to know her quite well the last 3 weeks - one small problem, there is some grey weasel trying to sneak in on my woman - so I march over to her - take her up in my arms and giver her big kiss and tell this chap to ride his BMW off into the sunset!
And that is how you score the perfect wife who gets married on her Triumph Bonneville!
We rode to the registry office on 3 Triumphs; my Thunderbird, her Bonnie, and our friend Reverend Daniel Ingles who has a Triumph Sprint and was our witness.
We then had a blessing a month later at a delightful little fishermans Church in West Bay with our eternal friend and comrade Padre Peter Stone and a reception at Bridport Royal British Legion.