Interview with private female bodyguards (2)

When Jacquie Davis, 60, left the police force to become a bodyguard in the 1980s, she was one of the first women to do so. She became a widow after the death of her second husband. She now lives in Hertfordshire, runs optimal risk management and provides a bodyguard team worldwide. "At first, everyone thought I joined the bodyguard industry just to find a husband. But these people soon shut up," she said with a smile. This 6-foot-tall woman with straight black hair and stern eyes, you won't annoy her. "The view of some people at that time and now is that close protection is a man's world," Jacquie admitted: "But I know I have to adapt and stick to it. I fought in Wales for weeks, monitored and learned map reading and rope lowering. For endurance, we ran up and down the pen y fan mountain. I don't understand what it had to do with the bodyguard, but a few years later, when the British hostage failed to rescue me in Pakistan, it saved my life and we couldn't help it Instead of fleeing the Himalayan army, we slept during the day and walked all night until we crossed the Turkish border. "After 20 years of risking our lives in the bodyguard industry, Jacquie wrote her memoir" the circuit ", which is the slang name of the British bodyguard circle. The book was published in 1998 and is being adapted into the film" close ". The girl with Dragon Tattoo In the UK, every bodyguard needs a license and basic training to operate unarmed (only the police have a gun license), but then your performance depends on your "skills". Bodyguards usually earn thousands of dollars a week, depending on who they work for and the "high risk" of their work Rich customers can double their weekly wages with bonuses. "Speaking other languages is a real asset," Jacquie said, "Skiing with high net worth customers is also very popular. Diving, surfing and jet skiing are common requirements, and the royal family likes horsemen. Each job is different, but it usually needs to arrive at the inspection position in advance, a few days before they swoop in a private plane. I once had to drive up the mountain to [German hot spring town] in 6-foot snow and blizzard Baden Baden, it took us three hours to find a Michelin star restaurant. The next day, when we went back for an eight course lunch, I hardly noticed the food because I wanted to know how we could go back. " "Another client of mine is wanted by the Russians. We have been chased around the world for two years, so I never turn it off. We always go out in time. I can't worry about my life, otherwise I'll never do my work, but afterwards you think," give me a cup of coffee and a cigarette! Let me relax! " The less your family knows, the safer they will be. All the female bodyguards I talk to admit that daily bodyguard work is not always so exciting. Elizabeth said she likes the BBC bodyguard series, but she doubts whether there will be as much political protection in real life as events. Since it usually requires 24-hour protection, bodyguards may find themselves for a long time Working in teams day and night for months. This will undoubtedly have an impact on your personal life, especially when you can't talk about your work. "It sounds bad, but you'll forget your family at work; you can never tell them what you're doing - the less they know, the safer they are." Elizabeth explained. With the development of traceable social media and smart phones, the life of bodyguards has become more difficult to a large extent. If bodyguards show their work or post photos online, criminals can track them and track their employers, leading to attacks on employers. "I once threw a nanny's laptop into the swimming pool." The employer Jacqui told me, "she released photos taken in our location, which made us vulnerable." the photos were also a problem when Penny Lancaster married Rod Stewart in Italy in 2007. They have sold the copyright of the pictures to "Hello!" magazine. "We must protect the wedding dress from the paparazzi helicopter overhead." This is what Lisa, who was on a bodyguard mission that day, said. Lisa's bodyguard life was adapted into a series of novels by RJ Bailey, and ABC bought the TV broadcasting right. "Now is a good time to become a female bodyguard," Lisa said. "To some extent, the private bodyguard industry will always be a masculine world, but we have brought other things. 15 years ago, when I was trained, it was difficult, but now we have proved that women can also do the job."