Having posted about the somewhat quirky Trafalgar Night celebrations here earlier this week, a regular reader sent me an email about his own experiences at Trafalgar Night dinners. With his permission, I am sharing them here because they are just fabulous. They are posted anonymously, lest he be asked to walk the plank… Enjoy!
Having attended a few Trafalgar Night dinners, I can add a couple of extras which I’m sure you know [Let’s pretend I did – Ryan]:
Obviously the port is passed to the left, but the bottom of the decanter is not allowed to leave the table, which means it has to be tilted on one edge.
At all mess dinners, jackets cannot be removed, no matter how hot – not generally a problem in this country – and no-one is allowed to leave the table before the President of the dinner, generally a junior officer, invites the company to ‘ease springs’.
The best mess dinner I ever attended was on HMS [Ahem], where we enjoyed synchronised service. It was something else.
After a mess dinner, the shenanigans in the bar are the thing of legend, often involving fines, sometimes broken limbs!
Great, eh? These dinners being simultaneously orderly and disorderly reflects something of the character of Nelson himself. A man of the Admiralty and the sailors; the establishment and the people.
Many thanks to my anonymous contributor. To all my readers, please do continue to share these posts with friends, family, and anyone you know who might be interested.
Nelson The Sailor 