I’m not sure which is the more enraging right now.

That a hotel seems to have a company policy to refuse accommodation for any service member in the UK.

Or that the (parent?) company has the gall to call itself “American Amusements” with such a policy in place.

What

The

Fuck?

Such a policy sure as hell isn’t “American” (unless you count certain unmentionable crazies who qualify as “American” solely on the fact it’s their citizenship, not their philosophy).

From “American Amusement”’s website:

American Amusements Ltd is one of the UK’s fastest growing and most successful Leisure Company’s.

Ignoring the fact that they can’t spell “Companies” correctly, I sincerely hope that, as of today, they become the UK’s fastest shrinking and failing company.

Combining a winning blend of family entertainment facilities and exciting late-bar activities, American Amusement Centres seek to offer a variety of unrivalled indoor entertainment for all.

Except, it seems, service personnel.

The hotel duty manager didn’t even have the courage to face the soldier themselves - they were “unavailable”.

Use their web site to find their business locations - and boycott them.

These ingrates need to pay a price for their policy. It’s not nearly the price the people whose patronage they deem “unworthy” risk paying, and I’m sure they’ll whine about how unfair it is - but it’s about time people who dishonour service personnel this egregiously started having some of the benefits they enjoy withdrawn.

The only way companies like this will ever understand the error of their ways is by hitting them in the only place that truly matters - their bottom lines.

You have to wonder if the UK will ever evolve, or will Rudyard Kipling be quoted for ever:

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 poem: Tommy

Update: The BBC has a followup article.

According to a statement made by American Amusements:

A spokesman said: “The hotel management has always had an open door policy to all its visitors and guests, including members of the military and armed forces, and will continue to do so.”

He added: “On this particular occasion there was a mistake made by a duty receptionist and the hotel management sincerely apologises for that mistake.”

So we’re supposed to believe that a receptionist decided on her own to exclude military personnel, and that she stated on her own initiative that it was company policy?

So why was the duty manager “unavailable”?  I’m sure he or she could have set things straight - were the receptionist truly in error as they claim.

Was the receptionists “mistake” really to admit to a company policy excluding service personnel, rather than come up with a more palatable lame excuse like “we’re full”?

Of course, we’re talking about the UK here, and the statement will be accepted at face value, no matter how illogical it seems, by The Powers That Be - because they refuse to accept there is a problem over there to begin with!

Derek Twigg, a Defence Minister (read, politician) says:

“I am delighted that the armed forces generally enjoy immense respect and gratitude on the part of the nation and that contrary sentiments are rare, though evidently they exist.”

I guess he’s been sleeping when service personnel were advised not to wear their uniforms in public, or when wounded veterans were told to get out of a swimming pool they were undergoing rehab in because they were scaring the children, and hadn’t paid to use the pool.

Maybe he didn’t hear about the furore local residents made over the family accomodation house for Headley Court, or how spraining your thumb from RSI as a civilian employee entitles you to twice as much compensation as a Marine who loses both legs and an arm?

Let this one slide with illogical excuses from American Entertainment, and it’ll simply encourage more of the ingrates infesting the UK to do the same.

I was answering an email from the mother of the singer/songwriter for Hailing Star, when it occurred to me that people in the UK might not know what PGR does.

So it was off to YouTube to find some videos.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a Private or a General - if the family asks, as many of us as are able will turn up to show respect and our thanks.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

You can find more here.

I would note right now that it’s not about the right or wrong of conflicts - past, present, or future. It’s solely about respect for the sheepdogs who risk their lives every day on our behalf. The PGR membership is made up of people from every walk of life, religion, or political affiliation, whether on bikes or cars (or, in my case, a wheelchair).

It’s about gratitude, and respect.

“On behalf of a grateful nation” must seem so formualic, so ritualized, it may feel to have no meaning.

But if the family members can look across to see us, a bunch of total strangers who have come to pay our respects and help bring a fallen hero home, I hope they can see that there are people who are grateful.

It doesn’t make things “better” for them, given their loss - but if it gives them some comfort to know their loss wasn’t forgotten, wasn’t ignored, then that’s truly “Mission Accomplished”.

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[Edit: August 24th @ 0923] The site seems to be back up, my guess is DNS decided to bork for a while.

He can email me at moonwolf@moonwolfs-lair.com

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Almost everything coming out of the UK about veterans of late has been bad - the state of equipment for the British armed forces, the attitudes of the civilians.

Especially the attitudes of the civilians.

So it hit me right in the gut to read on the BBC’s news site about Hailing Star.

They’re a teenage metal band in Devon, from the same town as a hero who fell in 2007, Rifleman Daniel Coffey, 2nd Btn The Rifles.

This group of teenagers (their lead singer is only 15) have written a song, “Lost Heroes” in memory of Rifleman Coffey, and other heroes who have fallen.

TEENAGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last people, according to media hype, you’d imagine to honour anyone, let alone a soldier.

I can’t even begin to express in words the pride I feel reading about these kids … no, not kids, their actions are far too honourable to call them “kids”.

In a country that’s falling apart, where apathy and selfish self-centered assholes run around spitting (literally and figuratively) on those who risk their lives to give those ingrates the freedoms they’re in the process of squandering, to hear about this reminds me why we serve.

The ingrates get the benefits of that service because they happen to live there. But it’s people like these the members of Hailing Star that make it worthwhile.

A group of teenagers are keeping the faith, an act of honour and respect that a large number of their seniors are incapable of comprehending or performing.

The proceeds from Hailing Star’s song, “Lost Heroes”, will go to Operation Braveheart, a charity set up by Rifleman Coffey’s grandfather, David Godfrey.

Even if the song ends up being a total pile of crap, it won’t matter - people should buy it regardless. The quality won’t matter - Hailing Star stepped up to a plate very few can be bothered to step up to, and they deserve as much support as possible.

It isn’t just that the proceeds go to Operation Braveheart, it’s showing this group of teenagers that honour and integrity are worthwhile pursuits, and thanking them for their gratitude to our fallen heroes.

The loss of Rifleman Coffey was mourned by Patriot Guard Riders when the Ministry of defense announced it - a bunch of strangers in the US remembered someone when British civilians would shrug and likely insult the memory of this hero. Now a teenage metal band is honouring him too.

There’s hope for that decadent society yet. Maybe it’s worth fighting for after all.

Our heroes will never be lost with people like these around - fallen, yes … but never lost.

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The iReporter who submitted it wrote:

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We’re still working on cleaning up the pictures we took over Memorial Day Weekend, and will post them as soon as they’re ready, but in the meantime, here’s the videos we shot.

Apologies for the quality, the videos were taken with a digital camera, not a video camera. The sound isn’t “wonderful” for the same reason, but you get the idea of why “Rolling Thunder” is a very appropriate name for the event.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

This was the lead elements of Rolling Thunder XXI

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

A short clip of the military truck passing by.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

I’m not entirely sure why I switched to video “mode” for this clip.

Comments

• August 4, 2008, links for 2008-05-30 | Moonwolf's Lair writes: [...] for 2008-04-24links for 2008-06-14links for 2008-06-04links for 2008-05-08Links Previous post: Rolling Thunder XXI Videos Next post: links for 2008-05-31 var blogurl="http://moonwolfs-lair.com"; var needemail="1"; var [...]

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To the guy (or gal) from Stuttgart, Germany using an army.mil address, thank you for visiting - and thank you for your service!

Stay safe, and keep the faith.

Since I’ve added the pictures from Rolling Thunder 2005 and 2006, I thought I might as well include the video we took in 2007. It’s short (the memory card was small), about 4 minutes covering the head of the rally as it reached the National Archives building on the Mall.

The video was made with a digital camera, not a “video camera” by any means - but the sound gives you a pretty good idea of where Rolling Thunder gets its name - It goes on for 4 hours!

Hopefully, this year we’ll get many more pictures. It’s just hard to remember to take any in the middle of everything.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

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  While I was moving files over to new servers, I discovered a folder of *old* images from my old author site. I've put them up on my Picasa site, but here are some of them in all their glory. These images were taken at Rolling Thunder in 2005. [gallery] Copyright Notice: The images
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While I was moving files over to new servers, I discovered a folder of *old* images from my old author site. I’ve put them up on my Picasa site, but here are some of them in all their glory.

These images were taken at Rolling Thunder in 2006.

Copyright Notice: The images here are copyright © Moonwolf 2003, All Rights Reserved.

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  While I was moving files over to new servers, I discovered a folder of *old* images from my old author site. I've put them up on my Picasa site, but here are some of them in all their glory. These images were taken at Rolling Thunder in 2005. [gallery] Copyright Notice: The images
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While I was moving files over to new servers, I discovered a folder of *old* images from my old author site. I’ve put them up on my Picasa site, but here are some of them in all their glory.

These images were taken at Rolling Thunder in 2005.

Copyright Notice: The images here are copyright © Moonwolf 2003, All Rights Reserved.

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  While I was moving files over to new servers, I discovered a folder of *old* images from my old author site. I've put them up on my Picasa site, but here are some of them in all their glory. These images were taken at Rolling Thunder in 2006. [gallery] Copyright Notice: The images
• Rolling Thunder XXI Videos
  We're still working on cleaning up the pictures we took over Memorial Day Weekend, and will post them as soon as they're ready, but in the meantime, here's the videos we shot. Apologies for the quality, the videos were taken with a digital camera, not a video camera. The sound
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• BAIC 34th Annual Powwow
  Woohoo!!! Baltimore American Indian Center (BAIC) has posted details about their next powwow. Happily, it's going to be at Patterson Park in Baltimore again this year. It's a wonderful place - not to mention we know we can reach it in chairs :) I have pictures from last year's powwow