QuoteThe Duchess of Cambridge has written the foreword to the new book Living in the Sliptstream: Life as an RAF Wife, which comes out in May. The book is a collection of stories told by the wives of Royal Air Force servicemen.
More: Kate Middleton Writes Foreword for Book About Royal Air Force Wives | E! Online (http://www.eonline.com/news/506664/kate-middleton-writes-forward-for-book-about-royal-air-force-wives)
The authors' profits from the book will go to Royal Air Forces Association and RAF Benevolent Fund.
We have read her speeches so we'll see if she is really the one writing it or has someone write it for her... :Jen:
Didn't William do the same thing for an army book ? If so, I suspect he encouraged her to write the foreword. Apart from that, she will be getting some advice from her sister !
Quote from: PrincessOfPeace on February 03, 2014, 06:55:40 PM
QuoteThe Duchess of Cambridge has written the foreword to the new book Living in the Sliptstream: Life as an RAF Wife, which comes out in May. The book is a collection of stories told by the wives of Royal Air Force servicemen.
More: Kate Middleton Writes Foreword for Book About Royal Air Force Wives | E! Online (http://www.eonline.com/news/506664/kate-middleton-writes-forward-for-book-about-royal-air-force-wives)
The authors' profits from the book will go to Royal Air Forces Association and RAF Benevolent Fund.
Thank you for sharing and I'm glad to see that the charities will benefit from the book's profits.
That's quite an honor. Good for Kate! :thumbsup:
Cindy
That's nice.
I feel like we don't know enough of her personality to be able to tell if she actually wrote it or not
Quote from: TLLK on February 03, 2014, 07:46:59 PM
Quote from: PrincessOfPeace on February 03, 2014, 06:55:40 PM
QuoteThe Duchess of Cambridge has written the foreword to the new book Living in the Sliptstream: Life as an RAF Wife, which comes out in May. The book is a collection of stories told by the wives of Royal Air Force servicemen.
More: Kate Middleton Writes Foreword for Book About Royal Air Force Wives | E! Online (http://www.eonline.com/news/506664/kate-middleton-writes-forward-for-book-about-royal-air-force-wives)
The authors' profits from the book will go to Royal Air Forces Association and RAF Benevolent Fund.
Thank you for sharing and I'm glad to see that the charities will benefit from the book's profits.
The charities
Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund - About us (http://www.rafbf.org/481/about-us.html)
Royal Air Forces Association (http://www.rafa.org.uk/)
Quote from: Limabeany on February 03, 2014, 07:22:28 PM
We have read her speeches so we'll see if she is really the one writing it or has someone write it for her... :Jen:
Speeches are notoriously written by speech writers. The Queen has speech writers, and so does the President of the U.S., as well as most politicians. There is a difference, though, between a speech and something like this, where the author has personal experience in the subject matter.
Cindy
And here I was getting giddy with anticipation thinking she was writing a book! :orchid: Oh! Well...a foreword. That's lovely. :thumbsup:
WE rarely hear about the wives of our RAF heroes – but thanks to a revealing new book, with support from the Duchess of Cambridge – their stories are finally being heard. Melanie Whitehouse meets the women behind the project
QuoteRAF wives don't have it easy: they're the unsung heroes constantly uprooting their families and moving house, sometimes at a moment's notice, and worrying about their loved ones flying dangerous missions, often for weeks at a time.
Nobody knows this better than the Duchess of Cambridge, who endured anxious times during the three years that Prince William – Flight Lieutenant William Wales – was flying with 22 Squadron at RAF Valley on Anglesey.
Now she has written the introduction to a new book, Living in the Slipstream: Life as an RAF Wife, a collection of more than 100 personal recollections, edited by RAF wives Jill black, Holly Jeffers and Alison Bairsto, who have been friends for more than 20 years.
"We asked buckingham Palace if the Duchess of Cambridge would contribute to the foreword and she actually wrote it herself," says Jill. "The fact it is so personal reduced us to tears because we all knew exactly how she felt."
More: A wing and a prayer: RAF wives confess highs and lows in new book | Life | Life & Style | Daily Express (http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/476325/A-wing-and-a-prayer-RAF-wives-confess-highs-and-lows-in-new-book)
I think it's nice that she's written the forward, but I also find it telling that she didn't write one of the personal stories instead. Maybe because her life with William being in the RAF was not as stressful as other couples' would have been. After all, William was never going to be going to a war zone, or get deployed outside of the UK.
Maybe they preferred that she write the foreword rather than share a story. Forewords are normally written by someone who has not written or contributed to the book.
Cindy
Quote from: Lothwen on May 18, 2014, 09:02:55 PM
I think it's nice that she's written the forward, but I also find it telling that she didn't write one of the personal stories instead. Maybe because her life with William being in the RAF was not as stressful as other couples' would have been. After all, William was never going to be going to a war zone, or get deployed outside of the UK.
And she did not join the officers' wives club either. She was invited when they got married, and she didn't. If there was one thing that got this fangirl taking a closer look, it was that.
Not all officers wifes join the club if they don't want to why should they?
Royals are in a different position and especially those who wish to pretend to be "normal"...
Quote:
Not all officers wifes join the club if they don't want to why should they?
When Kate got engaged, it was announced publicly she would join after she got married. You know, part of the "we're just like you" campaign. And then she refused to do so. That's why it's hypocritical of her to write this foreword in my opinion.
I also disagree with the person who said maybe they didn't want Kate to write an article, and preferred she write the foreword. I disagree. An article by Kate in their book would increase sales a lot; much more than just a foreword IMO.
:goodpost: Excellent points there! :thumbsup:
Quote from: Limabeany on May 21, 2014, 08:36:27 AM
Royals are in a different position and especially those who wish to pretend to be "normal"...
But then, if she were to join the officers' wives club, she'd be "normal", which I understand she's not.
Quote from: bluhare on May 24, 2014, 07:46:10 PM
When Kate got engaged, it was announced publicly she would join after she got married. You know, part of the "we're just like you" campaign. And then she refused to do so. That's why it's hypocritical of her to write this foreword in my opinion.
I never saw a public announcement from anyone official saying that she would join the officers' wives club. Do you have a link for the announcement?
QuoteI also disagree with the person who said maybe they didn't want Kate to write an article, and preferred she write the foreword. I disagree. An article by Kate in their book would increase sales a lot; much more than just a foreword IMO.
To the contrary. The Foreword is very important. It is usually written by someone with special knowledge of the subject of the book, who can therefore encourage a prospective reader to buy the book. Of course, we can't possibly know if Kate was invited to write a chapter and was discouraged by the Royal Family. :shrug:
Cindy
Good for her.
Good the author who is a RAF /military wife.
Good for the charites that will recive some profits.
Good read for those who think being married to man who has a career that moves them and the family that it is all fun and game and perks: NFL coaches, something we Americans can relate to, high ranking military men, airline pilots, etc.
It is a sacrifice by choice, way of life these kind of people , the husbands and wives , choose and it does take some support from family, friends and real maturity, give-take on the couple and kids, unspoilness of all, independence of the wives, etc. to do this. These roles are not all fun and games and perks and not for everybody. It does not look as easy adn fun as it seems. For those who do, they know of no other way and would not change it for the world!
Not everyone is suted for the same lifestyle, marraiges, etc.
That is fine.
The books seems like a good read. Good.
Now, the writing, no doubt she will have her staff , TPTB , someone in the know with the knwo how to help her write it. Of course. That is fine. Her word, thoughts, and some brianiac writer will take it frommthere. She stamps her approval. OK!! `GOOD!!
YES, she should ahve joined the wives thingy. No, she is not an ordinary girl, married to an ordinary man. it would ahve shown great support of ehr to join the wifey club. No, she would not have had to meet those women weeekly wahtever their lil potluck dinners or listen to there woes is me stories.
It could have a nice grandstand one -time event. She joins. They meet at such and such building. Punch , cookies. Snap snap. Smile. She has company donate money for the new playroom for the kids /computer room for the adult women at the base camp site, whatever. Something like that.
Why is the that grand HRH? How thou great art sh for she graced them with her touch and smile and funds from X company!!!!
There are grey areas. It is not all one way pr the other. She should have joined the little women's groupy thingy.
Time there -30 mins.
PR time- forever to add to her BRF HRH, C of Cam etc., etc., image.
Finally read the accompanying article and enjoyed the stories that the authors shared. It reminds me of the stories that my grandparents, parents and aunts/uncles/cousins have shared about their lives as career military and as navy brats. Two of my friends have lived a similar life as the wife of an air force pilot and as a daughter of one. The constant moving, switching schools, "interesting" off base housing and anxious times while you wait to hear from your loved ones. The dependents' stories are IMO just as compelling as the service members.
Just a thought on the officers' wives clubs. My own grandmother loathed them. She found them to incredibly snobby especially as my grandfather and her father had not been academy graduates, but had risen quickly during WWI and WWII through their own work. (College graduates are typically commissioned officers upon joining as opposed to those who are not.) On the other hand, her daughter-in-law was the daughter of an admiral and married to my uncle who was an academy grad. She truly enjoyed her time with the organization depending upon the base location. Sometimes an officer's wife might feel compelled to join in order to boost her spouse's profile.
I have a question. Hopefully someone knows the answer. Is there a tradition among royal military wives to join these types of clubs? Did HM, the Duchesses of Kent, Duchess of Gloucester, Duchess of York (Sarah) or Princess Michael join when their husbands were serving?
Here's the text of her forward, on Kensington Palace stationary:
http://37.media.tumblr.com/26b837fcc010de9f1c2262323f2861c7/tumblr_n6bnlmedxN1qjbtf2o1_500.jpg
I really, really hope they had someone edit for grammar. In the very first sentence, she uses a semi-colon instead of a colon. :shame:
Grammar: it's important. :icare:
Oh I dunno know...never bovered me. And me's alright.... :thumbsup:
^^ :hehe: :hehe: :hehe:
Considering some of the punctuation mistakes I've seen in magazines and newspapers these days, a semicolon rather than a colon isn't such a big deal.
Cindy
I think it's somewhat shallow and not deep and well thought out. It could have been deeper considering her fear for William in the Gale, etc... This tells me she had no contact with the wives or the base whatsoever and her fears themselves were somewhat limited or maybe she just isn't someone who explores her feelings in writing, but I am far from impressed.
As far as other royal wives having been part of the club, I think William and Catherine are making claims to be normal and lead normal lives but are not and will not be believable as long as they lead the privileged royal life while playing normal, the image of the man who claims to work so he can lead a normal life before he is burdened by royal duties, his real job, is hardly believable if complemented by a princess who accompanies him perched in an ivory tower coming down to shake hands with the peasants once in a while, if he wants to lead a normal life, he shouldn't do it with a WAG but with a normal wife, one who does join the wives clubs and participates in their fundraising activities (it's not like she works 40 hours a week and has no one to help at home. Their lives are simply inconsistent with what they want to project. On the other hand, one could also ask, has other royal heir like William has been playing around shirking royal duties for so long, openly seeking new things to do so he doesn't have to get involved in royal duties?
Available now on Amazon with 100 per cent of the authors' profits shared equally between the Royal Air Forces Association and the RAF Benevolent Fund.
QuoteWhen innocent 18-year-old Jill Darby met dashing Euan Black on holiday in Scotland in the '60s she could not help falling for him.
But as an aspiring teacher she 'hadn't a clue' about the life she was signing up for as their romance blossomed and she found herself married to an RAF pilot just before he was posted to Germany.
"He didn't fancy going without me, so he says," she laughs. "I knew he was in the airforce and that was it and we learned as we went along."
The Harpenden grandmother talks about how young love quickly gave way to a sobering hit of reality in her new book Living in the Slipstream, which she has compiled with two friends who also had husbands in the forces.
The book brings together the sometimes funny, sometimes sad experiences of more than 60 RAF wives and has a forward by the Duchess of Cambridge.
More: Duchess of Cambridge features in book about the ups and downs of being an RAF wife (From Harrow Times) (http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/leisure/books/11421859.Duchess_of_Cambridge_features_in_book_about_the_ups_and_downs_of_being_an_RAF_wife/)