Masterchef 4 Apr
 

As a tribute to 100 years of the RAF, last nights' Masterchef heat dealt with the competitors preparing a meal for serving and retired personnel at RAF Halton.
Some of these were new(ish) recruits and were shown 'marching' to their meal.
I have to say either standards have dropped considerably or they were straight off the street and put into uniform because their marching was diabolical! Where was the arm swinging and the crisp steps? The drill sergeant with them wasn't yelling, in fact he hardly said anything at all.

Yeah. It wasn't like that in my day....God we had it rough. :}

Nostalgia isn’t what what it used to be.....

"You were lucky...."

Whole new slant on "centralised messing", but vegetarian, what is the world coming to

Sometimes you march from class to class to be a little bit more organised. Not every bimble is a full parade ffs.
We did it at Cosford in the 1980s, when on a course of up to 3 years. We talked to each other as well. Up to 10 “marches” a day between lectures in all weather. If they had demanded parade standard, I would have quit on day 2.

When my course arrived at Halton in 1975, "they" (the Discip's) didn't want we, mere mortal mechanics, to soil the Appo Parade Ground. And so we were bannished from that 'hello!' ground to forever walk the footpath of doom, unescorted by Squeally Cat Band or bellowing DI, to and from workshops every day.

A very nice relief from Swinditz, to be able to walk in lines at our own pace for a few months...

You were lucky Rigga. I arrived at Halton from Swinderblitx in Dec '73. As an adult entry mech, we had to march down the hill with the apps to the workshops, back up at lunchtime, back down after etc.

Was their "Eating Drill" satisfactory? Knife and Fork correctly manipulated etc? White wine with fish and red with meat? Accurate throwing of the bread rolls?:rolleyes:

On IOT we had to march everywhere for the first 2/3 of the course. And that was even if you were moving from point A to B as a singleton. Walking normally rather than marching was granted as a privilege towards the end of the course when we were the Senior Course, but with the constant threat of being made to march again if standards were deemed to have slipped.

Same when I was there, march down and up 4 times a day with the traffic lot closing off the road at the bottom, the riggers had an underpass to march through, but that was closed for a bit during my time as a fire engine managed to roll on its own from the fire section and then drop into the said underpass :E :ok:

I do wonder if my final test piece is still there, they were relaying the parade square when I was there and I managed to drop it onto the fresh Tarmac to see them roller it into the surface :E

Nice to see the Gnat in the museum, we took them out during my course, which involved pulling the wings off and dumping the fuselages down the airfield, the museum one looks better than ours ever did as the schools had the nosebay filled with barbed wire steel angle iron supports to keep the nose down.

I remember flying into the place in formation with four other Puma, we had life ex rotors on ours so had to do a BIM check, out came a designated trainee dressed to the nines with day glow and goggles towing a fire ex, arriving at the first he gives them a shut down signal, to be pointed down the line, by the time he got to the adjacent one to us, we as the only one that needed too had shut down, checked the BIM's and started up again. We then all lifted and departed before the poor guy got to us.

ORAC
 

Don't know if you watched it but did you see Brian Rogers?
My very first Sqn Boss.

Fast forwarded through the first half I’m afraid. Went to normal speed for the second half cook-off.

And the commentator said that some officers are trained here......

I am sure many commissioned from the ranks were....

They had a trainee RAF pilot on it that was supposedly based there.

The sight of 'Wallace and Gromit' parading in front of the camera in their flying gear will remain forever green in my mind?

Bit of free PR. Lighten up.

It was nice to see my old barrack block again. I wonder if they still have the same names? Mine was Fury block at Halton. At Swinderby it was Ward block after the Kiwi VC winner. Its funny the things you remember :rolleyes:

Did the tv show hide what an appalling service the "Pay As You Dine" contractors provide? Or did this tv show have a standard of catering that will never be found in the mess?
What does p*** me off is how PAYD is deliberately bad, in an economic race to the bottom. They can't have good and healthy food cutting into their civilian shareholders profit.
I'm pretty certain the PAYD contractor at this unit provides the absolute bare minimum that it can. They would only open for 5 minutes a weekend and serve nothing but beans, if they could.
But who in the RAF/MOD is ensuring these PAYD companies are providing the catering that they are contracted to do !?
The "healthy eating" leaflets show one thing, but the reality of what they provide is something else.