If you really think PAYD is working and popular there are a few horses that could use your blinkers on a Saturday!
Having visited Henlow for a Av-Med course and stayed in the Sgt's mess I have to say it was the poorest food show I have seen in 23 years as a mess member.
The Breakfast experience started with the 'cry' of "Only 6 Items for duty meals"
Confused I looked at the top of the warming cabinet and found a scrappy little sheet with breakfast items listed (which included Juice), and was instructed to tick my preferred 6 items.
Having completed this simple task I returned to the Dinning room to await my breakfast 'feast'. When it arrived I was staggered, 2 streaks of bacon sat next to an anorexic sausage coddled by a single scrambled egg, having chosen Juice as an option the remaining item was listed as 'Tomatoes', the single tinned tomato devoid of juice hardly met my expectation.
Lunch was an omelette and Salad (3 lettuce leaves 3/8s of a tomato and 3 slices of cucumber). Both meals fitted inside the 1” border of a standard RAF plate. I have never left a Sgt's mess hungry after meals. Thank you Henlow and PAYD for a new experience!
Having spoken to the ‘Living-in’ staff up to and including WO’s they generally check out the mess meals, then head for town to buy their own form the local Take-Away outlets, a fine spread of which are available just outside the Station.
As I returned home to Waddington I had a sinking feeling that we have traded the dining facilities of one of the most exclusive clubs in the world for a 3rd rate Transport Café.
I will take some convincing this is a genuine move to improve the wellbeing of any group other than the Treasury. I hope I have retired before we are forced to adopt this across the Force.