Some of you will recall the high jinks at the Mess at RAF Boulmer in the early 1990s, when a chopped student decided to let off a maritime anti-collision flare during a Dining In. The same evening saw a car rolled on to its roof. No amount of cheques was going to sort out that debacle. The officer in question was severely disciplined, lost his commission, but is still serving - I ran into him at Farnborough two weeks ago. Still a prat.