Page 26 - Demo

34been out to a nightclub and were making our way back to the hotel. As we rounded the corner, we saw other members of our entry standing outside waiting for the coach to take us to the HQ building. A very rushed change into uniform and then we casually went and joined themfor a day of tedious lectures being periodically kicked awake. After 3 days in Paris, we were taken to one of the bases in RAF Germany. The hotel gave us all a packed lunch which included a small bottle of wine. Not many chaps drank that in those days but two of us did which meant that we drank lots of other people%u2019s bottles. At some point on an Autobahn, we realised we needed to have a pee. My mate worked his way to the front, but the driver said he was not allowed to stop. At that point I opened the emergency door at the back. Horns sounded and the driver had to pull into the side. I think we got away with it and certainly nothing was said later as everyone including our instructors got off and everyone had a pee. We also visited the British Army on the Rhine at some point where we fired various weapons and had a go at driving tanks. One of the tanks went to cross an area of water and promptly stopped. Another was sent to pull it out with the same result. The Army then realised that the waterproof door under the tanks had not been closed. The Army was very hospitable to us and we had a big lunch and wine each day but I still can%u2019t work out what is a Brigade or Army group or whatever.We also had to do an outdoor exercise in Germany at some point. This included some rock climbing and abseiling which I enjoyed and canoeing. The canoeing was on in the river under the Eider dam famously bombed by 617 Squadron during the war. You could clearly see where the dam was breached and subsequently repaired. We also had a 3-dayescape and evasion exercise just living off emergency ration packs. These were pretty small but had some chocolate and a block of what looked and tasted like dried porridge. We had quite a way to go and had a couple of RVs en route. At one point we were having a rest at the top