Good post Starbear
And contrary to my user name (A character from the film Snatch) I am English born and bread so a native speaker, ICAO level 6 so it wasnt a case of that. And like you said I thought I was quite a good candidate.
Thanks for the comment regarding the TR. Its just the IR expires with it which is a pain as most requirements for vacancies require a valid IR. And being unemployed I just dont have the money to hire out the SIM.