Page 93 - Demo

91KNOW YOUR GEOGRAPHYShortly after joining the RAF, I was given the opportunity of studying French and taking some exams. It was a %u2018no-brainer%u2019 for me; there was no downside as I liked French, and it made a pleasant break from the more technical subjects on my curriculum. Success would not only mean some sort of Civil Service Certificate, but also (and far more useful to an impoverished young cadet like myself) a cheque for %u00a3100. I did the course, passed the exam and received my %u00a3100.Happy days!Annual reports in those days used to ask for details of any language qualification, and each year I would dutifully mention my French qualification. However, I was increasingly mindful that my French was not quite what it had been, as I had had no cause to either speak the language or visit France since my earlier studies. So, it was with a frisson of excitement and trepidation that I received a call from my desk (postings) officer, almost 8 years later, asking me if my French was still current, because he was thinking of sending me to a post where my language skills would be needed. It took me only seconds to recall the word %u2018Oui%u2019 and I confirmed, with as much confidence as I could muster, that I was indeed still fluent and very willing to accept such a post. The desk officer was slightly reluctant to tell me where, exactly, I might be sent, but eventually informed me that the location was a place called Tongeren. Desk officers didn%u2019t divulge very much in those days, and I have to say I was slightly puzzled as to why there was an RAF French-speaking post in the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific, but it was not for me to reason why and I was delighted when the posting was subsequently confirmed. You can well imagine that my joy was somewhat tempered when a colleague subsequently informed me, with great mirth, that Tongeren was in fact in Belgium, and that I would be using my French, not in the South Pacific, but from a support unit in Liege, which was described as an industrial city the size of Sheffield!