Forced to pay / belong to a mess [Merged]
- Thread starter KnuckleHead
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geo said:except for my dress shirt she had to replace.... washed with something red & became pink - it just didn't look right
[off topic]There are some Banyan's that shirt would fit right in. ;D [/off topic]
I have noticed over the past number of years, while the cost of mess dinners has indeed increased, on average the expectation of attending them has reduced. When I first joined, there may have been two or three a year depending on where you worked ect... In the past few years, unless I am looking for a mess dinner I am not expected to attend more than one. In some ways this helps lessen the burden of attending a parade that must be paid for. In that context, I do not mind mess dinners as much as when I first learned about them.
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benny88 said:
You want a schedule?
A link to the site where you download all the March Past & Toast MP3s?
A nameplace template?
A Menu/Program template?
A nameplace template with a lovely message pre-written to the CO under cover of actual member's name as composed by Vern??
A list of very-good hiding places to stash extra gavels as learned by Vern (such as in garter) because they always manage to damn well steal mine?
Just PM me - not a problem.
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I now wanna pay for a mess dinner to steal a gaval Vern has placed. Her comment appears to be a challange. I know where I have placed 'em for my Coxswain and he still lost them. So Vern would be interesting. 8)
*edit: My meaning. It was light hearted to start and remains so. It was not meant to be offensive.
*edit: My meaning. It was light hearted to start and remains so. It was not meant to be offensive.
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kratz said:
A little reading in advance of that might be in order:
http://www.admfincs.forces.gc.ca/dao-doa/5000/5012-0-eng.asp
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ArmyVern said:
Extra gavels don't count! If its not the gavel that opens the mess dinner, it has no authorita!
Sailorwest
Member
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I guess that I have never quite understood why so many folks are reluctant to attend such dinners. It's a fabulous way of learning more about your messmates and for some great camaraderie. I got to agree with the "I've never not had fun at a mess dinner" sentiment. The Mess, in whatever element or rank you hold, is or should be, a key component of your job. By not being active in Mess activities, you end up missing out on the stuff that binds us together. For anyone who is junior member in their mess, you'll gain a lot more out of being an active and willing participant in your Mess then you would if you avoid it. Pony up the small amount of cash for the dinner because you'll gain more out of it in the end.
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TMM said:
$70 White shirt and bow tie
$35 Excellent meal with wine and port
Peeing on the floor of the officers mess under the table = Priceless
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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RetiredRoyal said:
So? How much did you have to "Pay" afterwards? >
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For those here who remember David Niven. Recounted in his first of two autobiographies, The Moon Is a Balloon (1972), while a Lt in the Highland Light Infantry based in Malta in the early 1930’s, Mess Dinners were held very late at night to avoid the heat. Instead of peeing on the floor, empty wine bottles were passed around, and the business was then done under table.
Try and be successful at that during a Mess Dinner!!!
I always admired David Niven. Some background:
The son a well-to-do British Army captain who died in the battle of Gallipoli in 1915, David Niven (1910-1983), while attending the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst was asked to write down his three preferred regiments, he wrote 'anything but the HLI' (Highland Light Infantry) he was inevitably commissioned into the HLI. Resigned his commission (1933), was a Hollywood star pre WWII, rejoined the Rifle Brigade serving through Dunkirk, joining the commandos and later the secret Phantom Reconnaissance Regiment.
One of two movies he made in WWII, The Way Ahead, is about a Rifle Brigade platoon: “At the outset of World War II, a disparate group of civilians undergo basic training and prepare to fight - and die - for their country. The recruits include men from all classes, education and professions. At first, they object to their regimented lifestyle and resent the constant supervision of their training sergeant. Gradually, they learn their new skills and develop pride in what they are doing. Destined to be part of the invasion of French North Africa, their ship is nearly sunk. They soon find themselves fighting the Germans and putting their training to good use”.
Peter Ustinov who, as a private in the Army was later assigned to Niven as his batman was also in the movie.
A good small unit leadership movie which is still available.
Wikipedia: Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. He said once: "I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war." Niven also had special scorn for the newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meagre wartime experiences. Niven stated, "Anyone who says a bullet sings past, hums past, flies, pings, or whines past, has never heard one − they go crack.” One story has surfaced: about to lead his men into a battle with an expectation of heavy casualties, Niven eased their nervousness by telling them, "It's all very well for you chaps, but I'll have to do this all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!"
Try and be successful at that during a Mess Dinner!!!
I always admired David Niven. Some background:
The son a well-to-do British Army captain who died in the battle of Gallipoli in 1915, David Niven (1910-1983), while attending the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst was asked to write down his three preferred regiments, he wrote 'anything but the HLI' (Highland Light Infantry) he was inevitably commissioned into the HLI. Resigned his commission (1933), was a Hollywood star pre WWII, rejoined the Rifle Brigade serving through Dunkirk, joining the commandos and later the secret Phantom Reconnaissance Regiment.
One of two movies he made in WWII, The Way Ahead, is about a Rifle Brigade platoon: “At the outset of World War II, a disparate group of civilians undergo basic training and prepare to fight - and die - for their country. The recruits include men from all classes, education and professions. At first, they object to their regimented lifestyle and resent the constant supervision of their training sergeant. Gradually, they learn their new skills and develop pride in what they are doing. Destined to be part of the invasion of French North Africa, their ship is nearly sunk. They soon find themselves fighting the Germans and putting their training to good use”.
Peter Ustinov who, as a private in the Army was later assigned to Niven as his batman was also in the movie.
A good small unit leadership movie which is still available.
Wikipedia: Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. He said once: "I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war." Niven also had special scorn for the newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meagre wartime experiences. Niven stated, "Anyone who says a bullet sings past, hums past, flies, pings, or whines past, has never heard one − they go crack.” One story has surfaced: about to lead his men into a battle with an expectation of heavy casualties, Niven eased their nervousness by telling them, "It's all very well for you chaps, but I'll have to do this all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!"
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Rifleman62 said:
Funny you should remark to that - while cleaning up after serving an extra at a mess dinner a long time ago I encountered a port bottle under a table half full. A couple of things came to mind at that point - where did the bottle come from, as port was poured into a decanter in the kitchen PRIOR to it entering the dinner area, and secondly, port is dark purple, not yellow (yuck)!! Further to this thought, the bottle was half full...
Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "Share the bottle..."
CountDC
Army.ca Veteran
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The wine bottle under the table - ever see someone drink it? Serving a mess dinner my first year in someone had laid the bottle under the table and two of the young officers thought they hit the jackpot.....until she took the first guzzle (taste buds don't always work right of way when drunk). The gentleman that offered her first drink did not get his wish that night. ;-)
- Reaction score
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So, I finally got together the total costs / person for tonight's Mess Dinner put together yesterday:
$31.22 per person.
After having our Mess Dinner authorized as an "Official Function" - we were able to reduce our labour costs by 34% because 34% of the attendees are Snr NCOs and Warrant Officers (it's being held in our Mess).
Our Mess also pays a subsidy of $20.00 / member for a Mess Dinner once per year (it was $15.00 until last week's mess meeting when we voted to raise it to 20). The Jr Ranks also subsidizes their members for $15.00 / member once per year.
So, after deducting our labour costs by the 34%, applying the mess subsidy, and a couple other subsidies - here's what I've actually got the ACARs done up for (the ACAR is the acquittance roll cost that we'll each actually be paying from our salary for 'individual portion of that $31.22 figure/person - the rest being offset by the various subsidies):
Officers: $15.00;
Civilians: $15.00;
Snr NCOs & WOs: $11.50; and
Jr Ranks: $10.00.
Oh yeah, If I happen to make it on here very very much later tonight ... I may very very well be ... posting loaded; let the games begin. >
$31.22 per person.
After having our Mess Dinner authorized as an "Official Function" - we were able to reduce our labour costs by 34% because 34% of the attendees are Snr NCOs and Warrant Officers (it's being held in our Mess).
Our Mess also pays a subsidy of $20.00 / member for a Mess Dinner once per year (it was $15.00 until last week's mess meeting when we voted to raise it to 20). The Jr Ranks also subsidizes their members for $15.00 / member once per year.
So, after deducting our labour costs by the 34%, applying the mess subsidy, and a couple other subsidies - here's what I've actually got the ACARs done up for (the ACAR is the acquittance roll cost that we'll each actually be paying from our salary for 'individual portion of that $31.22 figure/person - the rest being offset by the various subsidies):
Officers: $15.00;
Civilians: $15.00;
Snr NCOs & WOs: $11.50; and
Jr Ranks: $10.00.
Oh yeah, If I happen to make it on here very very much later tonight ... I may very very well be ... posting loaded; let the games begin. >
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ArmyVern said:
Vern, out of curiosity, what would the cost per person have been without official function status or the subsidies?
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