Re: Messing
I think Workinghard asked a perfectly balanced question. Just because he is a civilian, whose knowledge is dated, does not make his opinion of observations any less valid that military personnel who possibly have not lived in for years and even serve where there is no mess.
The cost to a living-in officer was certainly not visible to me as I ceased to be a professional liver in at the same time as WH. I have however lived in messes from time to time and now do whatever it takes to avoid them. I know others in the same position who will book a mess room at the last possible moment hoping that they will be full.
I remember, during one notorious no-flying suits in the mess period, when Wittering said we would have to stay in the George in Stamford as we did not have civvies. At the time we were on a Pan to land at the nearest airfield. we went to Cottesmore instead. What crap that we could wear filthy growbags in public but not in private. Even Cottesmore said we would have to use the scruffs bar. Instead we joined the GAF crews who were wearing orange growbags in the bar.