Tiger, straight; tops is for girls. A couple of duty free then a pick-up taxi to town. Ah, the joys of being young and single.

Slow, and with the Victor crew we finished up in a timber yard.

TTN, were you there?

Wobbly Warsteiner at RAF Guetersloh. It did what it said on the bottle.

You could always just drink the tonic water and skip the gin ;)

(perish the thought)

When one was a baby Flying Officer, ones then "squeeze" was what some years later would be called a "Sloane" - flat in Dolphin Square, mother living in large house in Pimlico etc etc.

One Easter we were invited to Mother's for lunch. As "distressed gentility" Ma had sequentially let the lower storeys of big house, and lived in the top flat. Struggled up the stairs - a lot fitter then! - to be met by imposing large lady (think Margaret Rutherford or Alastair Sim in drag), very much the "galleon in full sail".

Hand crunching handshake with extensive pumping of forearm.

Ma: So you're Teeters eh? (real first name omitted for security purposes!)
Teeters: Mmmmmm (still wincing from broken hand)
Ma: You're a pilot in the RAF aren't you (pause) well, you'll have a gin and tonic then won't you!

No arguments there .........

Now to make the Real Ale Brigade cringe.
 

One evening a long time ago a little Red Barrel appeared on the bar. Now the House Ale was Carrington's which was drunk under sufferance as APOs on National Service pay could not afford to drink G & T for all of the month. Anyway despite being charged a 1d premium a pint we decided to give it a go. However at about a quarter to ten the steward announced it had run out.
Now a young single staff pilot (it could even have been a member of these for fora) announced that he knew that "that silly barrel wouldn't last all evening".
Several months later Carringtons' donated 7 kegs to boost their flagging sales, these were consumed at some do foc and after that it was never drunk again.

Thank Heaven for CAMRA. Without them, we'd all still be drinking Red Barrel or Tankard.

Herod or even Harp.

Talking of SA Sherry. I discovered a Portugese favourite while there. Called Katemba, it really was red wine, preferably dry, and coke with ice. A substitute was indeed SA sherry and coke. My. A few of those and you really were heading for lal la land. :cool:

Or that other disgusting concoction favoured by the youth in the 60s, rum and coke, or Bacardi and coke for the sophisticated

Port......:}

Will that be with Lemon, Sir, ...... or without ? ..... :E :E

I recall having an official booklet which having told you what to do with your embossed cards, went on to rule that one should have only one sherry before dinner as any more would spoil your palette.
Port....I preferred the Madeira.

ISTR port and brandy was a recommended cure for a hangover....Hair of the dog and all that.

Snake Bite, followed by Serum; even more effective than OSLO (1 Sqn Leg Opener). ;)

Rum and peppermint??:yuk:

Hmm, a cheap and nasty version of the real Cuba Libre...

As regards beers, who recalls the vile 'Alpine lager' served in some Yorkshire OMs (e.g. Leeming in PCL days). The wretched stuff didn't keep and smelled like a combination of rotten eggs and pine lavatory cleaner...:yuk:

Pom Pax, the booklet to which you refer was probably Gp Capt Stradling's Customs of the Service, if memory serves. Included such gems as the correct etiquette for leaving calling cards when first posted to a new station.....

Do people stand up when the PMC enters the ante room these days?

Do people even know the PMC?

I remember once when the stn cdr came in to the ante room one Saturday morning in a sweater when mess rules required jacket and tie or crafts. He was given a stiff ignoring.

The 'Baron Special'
 

A 3(F) Sqn aircrew drink probably dating from WW1 RFC days ... A secret recipe handed down from Junior pilot to his choice of replacement JP and sworn to secrecy.. Allegedly banned and went 'underground' in the early 80s in Güt .. Something about a court martial and a refusal to let the President know the ingredients ;-)

I heard it was the age old potion known as a "Shirley Temple".