Tuesday, May 22, 2007

O Flower of Scotland...

Exciting news!


I am an official U.K. citizen!

After years of delays due to paperwork, procrastination, red tape, bureaucracy, lost birth records, and questionable passport photos, The Heathernet goes British!

I found out a few years ago that even though I am American born, since my Dad is a Scotsman, I had the ability to apply for citizenship in the U.K., enabling me to live and work anywhere in the European Union. Yes, tiny Malta, this now includes you! So, I asked my Dad if we could look into this. This proved to be a long and arduous process, involving many forms, photocopies, and the retrieval of countless records, including my Dad's 1937 birth record from Crieff, the second largest city in Perthshire! (For those curious, picturesque Crieff boasts a population of almost 6000 people and has been a holiday destination since the Victorian Era!)

In any case, the point is that after two plus years of effort + waiting, I now possess the coveted BRITISH PASSPORT!

Besides being able to seek employment in hospitable European countries, here are some other things I can do now that I am under the Queen's rule:
  • Write words with their "correct" English spelling: eg. neighbour, colour. Ditto for pronunciation. Aluminium! And, No more silent H for you, "herbs"!
  • And along those lines, increased profanity vocab: Shite. Bugger. Arse. Wanker.
  • Eat meat pies freely without enduring the damning judgment of others. I just like meat in pastry, ok??
  • "Sorry boss, I can't finish that memo for you right now. It's tea time."
  • Finally I can justify having a bagpiper at every special occasion! Future invitations will also encourage kilts.
  • Sing lewd and rowdy rugby songs in the pub with my mates. Initiate/participate in bar fights as necessary.

I'm so excited about my new dual-citizenship status, I couldn't be more chuffed! (You see what I did there?) Fellow Britons, you can now count me among your brethren, you lucky people! Now to await the opportunity to utilise my new all-access-pass across the pond and beyond...

God save the Queen.

3 comments:

Eric Is Magic said...

When applying for British citizenship, did you ever stop to think what Teddy Roosevelt would think about all of this?

B. said...

I had assumed you were Scandanavian...

Heather said...

A dangerous assumption to make, b, overwhelming photographic evidence notwithstanding.

As for TR, I think he'd probably be ok with it as long as I agreed to travel there by way of Panama Canal. Or if I brought a big stick with me to show The Crown who's boss.