About me. My Kingdom of Jubilee. Hi. I'm V'léOnica Roberts. Nickname, Vamps.
I was born July 9th, 1957
in Santa Monica, California USofA.

I am a teetotalling, non-smoker. Presently married, twice divorced, & have two children, over 21, from my first marriage.

My hobbies are target shooting, crafts & vamping music. I'm a dead shot at 50 yards with a pistol. I enjoy most crafts which allow total creativity. I love clothing from the 1750's thru the gay nineties, and the 1940's. I also enjoy fishing & camping. I love to rearrange music "eclectic éclat" using a variety of classical, movie scores & sound effects to create a new piece of music, hence my nickname, Vamps. The more familiar definition of the word vamp, does not apply to me. I'm a little eccentric, according to my sister-in-law Flo & flamboyant, according to my daughter Katrina, though I can't imagine why they think so.

I am an accomplished horsewoman, who, until severely injuring my back in 1985 whilst moving, & finishing the job by breaking my 5th lumbar in 1991 (I fell off a spiral staircase,) trained horses for a living. All things associated with horses was my passion as well as my livelihood until 1995.

1997 is when I re-established myself with an old interest from my youth, pirates from the golden age. I located my book report (a 100 pages long) and put it online. Also during this year, another old passion seized me, only this time instead of merely having a desire to move to Ireland, I found myself compelled to do so, and although it took 5 years of preparation (selling my horses, excepting, The Green Hornet, whom I had left in my daughter's care; furniture & car, etc,) the last year being driven with feelings of dread (having to move by early July 2002,) I packed my things, loaded the rental car & began my leisurely drive from Arizona to New York. A week later, while I was in Kentucky, my sister-in-law called me on the phone & told me that my home in Arizona had been destroyed by a tornado.

Being delighted I was not at home. I continued on, & with my boat ticket in hand, I hopped aboard the Cruise Ship "Queen Elizabeth II", (& although not a tall ship, as I had hoped to travel, it was a pleasant trip) I traveled on the 3rd leg of my journey via train from England to S. Wales, where I was beset upon my a magical feeling, tho' carried on to my next part of the journey, being a huge ferry to Ireland, landing in Rosslare, County Wexford. From there it was back onto another train to Sligo by way of Dublin. The countryside was absolutely breathtaking. The water and sky are as rich a blue as you can imagine, and the land is as green, green, green. However, Ireland it seems, was only a temporary placement, for after a lifetime of unrest, I found that where I truly belonged, to be Pembrokeshire, Wales, where I moved to in March 2004. However, moving to Ireland first is a necessity if an American wants to drive in the U.K., because 1st they need to have what's called a 5 year, no claims, driving record or the insurance will drain your bank account. Ireland recognizes the U.S.A. driving record, & the U.K. does not, but they do recognize & accept Ireland's records. Thus you move to Ireland first for a year & then (if you wish) move to the U.K. Both Ireland & Wales are beautiful. The people are basically happy & the air is clean. In many ways it's like stepping back in time to a more gracious era. To live there in a small town or village is much like how you would imagine life to be like if you could move to Mayberry. Serene, safe, unhurried.
In Ireland is where I started my book, moving to Wales was not only another compulsion, but a necessity. When I did my research regarding the rules & regulations for immigrating to Ireland, one very important element was left out. They made no mention of Health Insurance being mandatory on their website, nor was such mentioned in the packet they sent me. Within days of our arrival (I had found a large house out in the country, town of Ballymote) I gave our passports & other required paperwork to the Guarde in County Sligo & after being there for 3 months awaiting permission to remain for a year, we told by the Guarde, that insurance was mandatory. The very next day I called about Health Insurance (there were only two such companies in Ireland & the cost was 30 euro per month) & that's when the bomb was dropped. It seems that an person over 70 can not get insurance in Ireland unless they had some form of medical, aside from Medicare, when they arrived. My mom had been on some program, but that company went belly up several months before we moved. I showed my paperwork to the Guarde, telling him that medical insurance was NOT on the list of requirements. Having the power to do so, he approved us a few days later & it's a good thing, because by this time the date of our return plane tickets had passed & we did not have the money to buy new ones. I assumed the lack of medical being mentioned in the official requirements was the reason. In March of 2003 we moved to Mullaghmore, still County Sligo (where I began my book.) but when it came time to renew our residency cards in August, the subject of health insurance for my mom came up again. I told the new Guarde that because of the misstake my mom was granted permission to stay without it. After some investigation we learnt this was not the reason, but since we we're not told why we could stay the first time our residency was extended for another 12 months. In any case I had to start then to make plans to leave. It took a year to get to Wales just to find a place, & a fortnight to find a flat. I rented a moving van & that same day & the following day we went to Ireland to get our stuff. After a few months, being completely at peace, feeling like I was home for the first time is when I met my husband. In 2005 I was married in Little Newcastle Church.
In September of that year, hearing about the boom in land values, my husband & I moved to Arizona, onto my property, in order to fix it up, sell it, & return to where I belong, but the economy, crashed just as we put it up for sale, thwarting my ability to return home. I, however, am not so easily shot down. I took in trade for a down payment, a very nice, 34' foot Motorhome, & did my utmost to get out of Arizona, & after 6 months of overcoming obstacle after obstacle, I finally escaped. That was January 2010, but not for long. The jerk I sold the place to (me carrying the paper & having to pay the mortgage with the money he paid me) had rented out the property, but not only did he not maintain the insurance, but he didn't pay me or the property taxes & I had to foreclose. Bang! There I was again, back where I started. Again, after a year of trying to escape the place I hate, I have again moved. This time to a beautiful triplewide mobile home in Las Vegas, NV where at least I can visit with my grandkids & my children. Hopefully my hubby can find work, & then perhaps I can relax & finish my 2nd book (the Novel.) Just for the record, there's nothing wrong with Golden Valley, Arizona providing you have a job, but when you're stuck there all the time, with no way to socialize, because everyone lives too far away & neither your income or health will let you just go to town where you can interact with others besides shopping for groceries & the like, it's just too damn far from everything. Eventually I'll get the property there sold & I'll get back home. Wish me luck on my return to Wales, however, as much as I love Wales, if I could live aboard a tall ship, I would. In the meantime I'll just enjoy the beautiful house I have & my family. I do however miss being able to visit with my brother who lives in Flagstaff, AZ & my family who all live in California.

More about me: I have spent my life around horses & am adept in all disciplines of riding, training & instruction. After having to face the reality of my injury, I moved on several years ago, but still, I miss it terribly.

Color Opera Singer: Male / Female Hoofer / Dancer Broadway Musical Score Actor Actress Fictional Character Comedian Child Star Robot TV Series
Crimson Faust Tommy Dix / Jeanette MacDonald Gene Nelson / Debra Paget Little Johnny Jones Crimson Tide / Star Trek 6 William Shatner Bette Davis / Doris Day Benton Hawkes / Scarlett O'Hara / Cap'n Jack Sparrow Lucille Ball Margaret O'Brien / Sandra Dee Gort Casey Jones / Hawaii 5-0 / Boston Legal
Author Edifice Childhood Hero President Language Place Pianist Organist Book Piece of Music Composures Passions Favorite Gemstone
William Shatner / Harrison Ford Haven Fort Hotel Cap'n Kirk Ronald Reagan French Wales Oscar Levant / Van Cliburn / Liberace E. Power Biggs Green Mansion / Man O' War Waltz in C sharp Minor / Air On A G String Chopin / Bach Horses / Clothing from past eras Garnet
Favorite Movies: Frenchman's Creek (1944), Marie Antoinette, Troy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Out of Towners (1970), The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming, Star Trek (3 & 6), Pirates of the Caribbean (Trilogy), Cutthroat Island, The Great Race, The Kent Family Chronicles, North & South (Trilogy), So Big (1954) & The Day The Earth Stood Still

I am a strick teetotaler, and being allergic, I can not be around those who smoke.

My favorite food. Hmmm... Well considering I hate just about everything, my favorite meal is a Porterhouse steak, jumbo breaded shrimp with tartar sauce, corn on the cob, a baked potato with sour cream & butter, but then I have to watch my cholesterol like a hawk, so I don't get to eat those yummies anymore. Fortunately I'm happy with a Chocolate shake, a Whopper jr & some fries.


My Pirate Site was created because they were fascinating people. Despite their sometimes ruthless & daring exploits, I'm in favor of their democratic ways, the ONLY true democracy in history. A few were honorable, men with a great deal of intelligence & cunning, the greatest of these is Captain Bartholomew Roberts. Several pirates were knighted, even though a couple of them were blaguards. Some were pardoned & most were very courageous. Within my pirate site is 'Swashbucklers Cove' which contains all the movies I could find, so they would be easy to find by others, who may, as did I at one time, not know the title of my favorite movie, which is 'Frenchman's Creek' (original version). I don't have any synopsis within this site but I do list the major star(s) which appeared. I plan to add books to this site soon. I love pirate movies. Errol Flynn & Douglas Fairbanks are my favorite Swashbucklers. The greatest and most successful was Captain Bartholomew Roberts and in the approximant 100 pages occupying Daniel Defoe's 800 page book, 'A General History of Pyrates,' and ne'er an unkind word written about this illustrious pirate, who was a true gentleman, howe'er I did note a twinge of jealousy. The definitive work is "That Great Pyrate" by Aubrey Burl.
Should we ever get fortunate enough to have a movie with Captain Bartholomew Roberts as the leading male character my choice to play him would be Johnny Depp. In numerous roles he has displayed a variety of talents making him the perfect for the part.
If such a movie had been made in the 40's, my choice would have been the luscious Latin, Arturo de Córdova, who in makeup whilst playing the role of the French pirate in 'Frenchman's Creek' was not only looked a great deal like the devastating handsome Captain Bartholomew Roberts, but his role as, Jean Benoit Aubrey, proved him to be the the definitive choice.

Of a more recent vintage I love the movie Cutthroat Island. Geena Davies the main reason for this I believe. Her portrayal of Morgan Roberts is the best female pirate I ever had the pleasure of watching. The plot was terrific & wonderfully gilmed with loads of background activity going on much of the time. It's a shame it did not fair better at the box office because I would like to see more pirate adventures of this caliber with Geena Davies in the lead. I couple sequels to Cutthroat Island would be nice.

And since there's Jack... That's Captain Jack Sparrow. Brilliant!!!


Captain Bartholomew Roberts

Pirates, Buccaneers & Swashbucklers

Playing: The "Moonlight Sonata," 3rd movement. 1

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).
Brilliantly preformed here by a superb pianist, name unknown.

I'm sure most of us are familiar with the 1st movement ("Sonata Quasi Fantasie" - translation "Like a Fantasy.") Today however, sit back & enjoy the 3rd movement. You'll be impressed. The pianist here by the way is by far the best I've heard to play this piece. The artist who is playing this song on Wikipedia is really pitiful. Sorry whomever you are, but you play VERY badly.2

The Moonlight Sonata was my father's favorite piece of music & only piece of music I learned on the piano. We also had a HUGE Wurlitzer organ which I liked to play (by ear). My father owned a 1907 Duo~Art, 5'4'' grand, reproducing piano3. Not knowing how to read music, but desperately wanting to play my father's favorite, I learned the first movement by watching the keys go up & down. It took 3 months :-). I couldn't learn the run (about 3/4 thru) so my father taught me. My father passed away in 1977 & the last time I played the piece at his brothers house in So. Cal. (1992 or 3 after not playing it for years) who remarked that I played it exactly as my father, right down to the way I curled my right pinky when not in use. I was honored, and I knew also that my father was helping me. I have placed the Moonlight Sonata here (on this page) in honor of my dad, "Thank you, Daddy."
I still can't read music, but I play by ear fairly well. Rick, my brother & my uncle Bob (now deceased) are the musical members of the family. My daughter, Trina, can pick just about any brass wind instrument & play it. I regret not being able to afford lessons for her when she was a child. My brother writes some very nice keyboard pieces & even wrote a piece for my daughter when she was born. My uncle Bob was very a talented pianist.

1) A sonata is a music composition of 3 or 4 movements differing in rhythm & mood but related in key.

2) A piece of music should never be rushed or memorized. It should be learned. Each key, unless otherwise composed, should be played. These are the main issue with the pianist whose murdering this piece at wikipedia (& I found that horrific version elsewhere also.) The artist herein (perhaps J. Shilliday) is simply brilliant! Each note is played. He/She is unhurried & knows this piece of music exceedingly well! I take my hat off to you. Your presentation of this Very difficult piece is simply magnificent! Should anyone know the pianist, please let me know so I may give credit where credit is most certainly deserved!!! From what I've heard thus far, you play almost as well as my favorite pianists, you're a pleasure to listen to :-)

3) A player piano simply plays the music, but a reproducing piano recreates the piece as it was played by the pianist.

email me To listen to a relativity short, moderately vamped, score taken directly from the movie Navy S.E.A.L.S. CLICK HERE. This was piped into my OLD Packard Bell computer (running WIN3.11) back in 1994 using the audiostration (forte16) wave mixer that I purchased in 1992 (and since then, I have never found a better music mixer.)