Back in 1996, a former colleague from Houston met a Welshman who was visiting the city for six months. They spent every day together and he returned to Wales but she was completely love-struck and decided that being apart was too hard so she decided to “surprise” him by selling all her possessions and MOVED to Wales. She was inspired by a novel she read where the heroine leaves her boring life behind and moves to England on a whim. So my friend did the same and was promptly stopped at LGW and promptly turned around with a 10-year-ban. In the end, she was the one who was “surprised”.
Recently, a younger cousin of mine met a Welshman (they get around) and fell in love with him. They did the whole long-distance thing for three years and it was becoming a very serious relationship. Her mother, my first cousin, casually sent me a message on Facebook and told me that her daughter was spending time in Wales but also wanted to ask me if her daughter only needed her passport to secure a job in Wales or if she needed to marry first and which country would be better and faster so she could work right away or should she just stay (overstay). I have never jumped so fast to respond to anyone in my life! After I basically demanded that the Welshman should put his girlfriend back on a plane immediately to avoid overstaying, I managed to get them to learn the visa process. My two cousins both then told me that it seemed so much easier in the movies and on television. No kidding.
