I bet Maitland Mess was shrouded with the same chem-barriers as Salisbury's Zizzi, to prevent their weekly delivery of "BLAND" escaping and contaminating any other foodstuff within a half-mile radius!

As no one else has mentioned it, was the caption "Aircraftman" correct for the female recruits? I assumed it was a Beeb error.

We all live in our own era, and welcome to the era you are living in.

My concern is that little bald man with glasses. How does a greengrocer become a fine dining "expert"? has he got something on someone at the BBC?

I'm old enough that remember the RAF before the introduction of Pay As You Dine. Back when the RAF looked after its guys and girls, it was one of the perks back then that helped with morale and retention.
I'm yet to meet any Serviceman who is happy with PAYD. A few years ago there were news articles about young Soldiers suffering from malnutrition.

I thought he was a barrow boy at Borough Market not a greengrocer.

I have a friend who has worked at Honington's Airman's and SNCO's messes for quite a few years. She is entitled to eat for free but she would rather bring her own lunch from home.

I thought Halton recruits weren't on PAYD as they were entitled to a higher calorific intake.
Go figure!?!?!?!


Make 'em Fat, then pass RAFFT to escape!

In 2010 the RAFFT policy changed to include RAFFT to escape Ph2 trg too!
I got him!
He joined overweight, slimmed down at Halton. Completed trg, then held for 14 wks to 'pass' RAFFT (which allegedly cost him a packet of Jaffa Cakes!)
Kicked out of Southwick Park (RAFP School) for attitude, held at HYW, remustered to TG9, arrived at my door at 23 stone!
Immediate RAFFT fail, so he instigated Padre, SAAFA, DMHC casework. All of which needed to be closed down before waivers for RoS & PVR Waiting times were used and he exited the RAF after 1yr 360days (just 5 days short of reserved pension rights) after serving only 2 days productive service!

The figure of 4,000 cal/day was mentioned by OC Training Wing.

PAYD was campaigned for years by airmen who claimed they hardly ate in the mess. The official line was a change would amount to "pay as you starve" Now the change came after I left, and I'm not sure exactly what the driver was, but today's airmen are certainly getting what yesterday's wanted.

PAYD is a tri-service, self-inflicted wound. Thank those whiners who couldn't see past the fact that paying for food at weekends when they may not have been on-base evened out during the week.

So, as Al R says, blame the soldiers, sailors and airmen of yesteryear. The system cops out every time by saying 'well, PAYD is what everyone wanted.' :ugh:

Dont disagree about any of the above. I got to Henlow in 2007; 'This is a PAYD Trial Station' said the tatty leaflet I found in my room. And oh how we wished the trial would end and we could go back to the way things were, but of course there was no chance of that for the decision had been made, and the Airmen's Mess was long gone, replaced by some sort of central cafe facility that the offrs were banned from after a certain young Prince of the Realm took his mates to as it was better than the OM.

As an independent Unit I saw the truth of the oft talked of 'pay-as-you-starve', when one of the Unit's drivers asked me if he could be on a particular exercise away from Henlow, and when asked why, explained that it was the last week of the month and meant he would get fed by the Queen.

My understanding, though was that the old system needed to be revamped in any case because deployed meals were funded from the daily food charge, which was OK if we weren't deployed much and everyone was subject to it, but of course most people do not live in single accom, so the people funding it were rightly pissed-off that they weren't even getting their money's worth and the system only survived because they missed so many meals.

I was in that location around the same time, and the marching was I think just a method for getting a body of troops from A to B. On one lunchtime I seem to recall having to get from the far end of the classrooms huts to the mess. The class in front seemed to be dawdling, so our class indicated, pulled out and overtook the class in front.

While it may not have been parade standard, the overtaking class were all in step and marching at a longer pace than the class we were overtaking.

It took me years to look at another Steak, Working on LSS at Brize on 12 hour shifts meant one could literally have steak, or indeed a roast two times a day sometimes three.

PAYD - turkeys really did vote for Christmas. Services and service personnel roundly ripped off by contractors, IMHO

There are holding pilots all over the RAF at the moment as we transition between the legacy flying training system to UKMFTS across all areas of the pipeline apart from Advanced Jet Training at Valley. So he is most likely one of them.

Back in the '60s when I was on 613 GS, we decided to try '3 Wing' mess for saturday lunch (normally took our sarnies to 'The Rising Sun'). I went up and took a steak at random from the warming area; a stern faced Sergeant in a white coat standing there said 'that's not a very good steak, put it back and take another one'.

Whaddya want, 'Aircraftperson'?

All this PAYD nonsense takes me back to B/E training at Saints in the early 60s. We (46thEntry) had just moved from ITS to "the wings". As 2 Wg junior entry we were politely informed by our Seniors (44th) that we were to join in on a 'Hunger Protest' at the standard of food in our mess. You didn't argue under the 'Entryism' regime. We were marched from workshops to the mess, where both entries halted stood easy and refused to go in to eat. Faced with the whole lunchtime food being left to go to waste the OC Catering called in the CO of 4SofTT to mediate! Can't remember if we eventually went in but the food did improve IIRC. Happy Days!

Thanks Bword, he drew the short straw getting Halton.

No, just wondering...
Simple question.