I remember one of our guys LS & GC Presentation. As far as I remember, it was just before Christmas. We had had the Sqn, or ‘’Block Party’’ the night before, and due to the inclement weather it had been decided to hold the presentation in the Air Corps bar. The heating was on ‘’full bore’’, and I remember starting to wilt, along with several others, so Spud Taylor opened the windows to let some fresh air in before we all passed out.
The Brigadier dully arrived, and the presentation went without incident. We were then allowed a ‘’hair of the dog’’ and just at the point between feeling better, and getting wrecked, the Brigadier decided to have a word with carefully arranged groups of the boys.
He came to the first group, and asked who was going home for Christmas, and a timid voice replied, ‘’ I’ve used up all my leave Sir’’. The Brigadier replied ‘’You should always keep some leave in reserve, you never when you may need to go home in a hurry, for what may not be strictly a compassionate case, and this way, you will have some leave left to go home and sort things out’’.
He then moved on to the next group, and asked them who was going home for Christmas. I think it was JR who replied ‘’ I can’t afford to go home, I’ve spent all my money’’. The Brigadier sternly replied ‘’ You should always send home an allowance, to a savings account, and never touch it, keeping it in reserve for just such an occasion as this, then regardless of your current financial situation, you will always have money set aside to go on leave’’.
He then came to my group, and once again asked who was going home for Christmas. Unfortunately for me, the scales had shifted from feeling better, to feeling tipsy, and full of beer and bravado I replied ‘’ I am Sir, and I’ve kept a seat in my car in reserve, are you after a lift’’? I swear you could have heard a pin drop, above the defining silence, then, fortunately for me, he burst out laughing.
It was almost worth all the extra duties, happy days.
