a.	Dining-in or Guest Nights are held to enable all officers, both living-in and living-out, to dine together. They also provide an opportunity for the formal entertainment of official guests of the Mess, Wing or Squadron and private guests of Mess members. Where dining room limits permit, all Mess members, or officers of the relevant Wing or Squadron hosting the event, are expected to attend. 

b. 	Dress. Dress at Dining-in or Guest Nights is formal. Serving officers and those Reserve and Volunteer Officers who possess one, wear No 5 (Mess) Dress with miniature medals. Reserve and Volunteer Officers who do not have a No 5 (Mess) Dress wear their No 1 Dress uniform with white shirt and black bow tie; medals are not worn with this form of uniform. Kilts are not worn with No 5 (Mess) Dress in Service Messes, but may be authorised for wear by the PMC when events are held elsewhere. Civilian guests would normally wear a dinner jacket; at the PMC’s discretion, a dark coloured lounge suit with white shirt and bow tie may be acceptable, in exceptional circumstances. 

c. 	Dress – Ladies. Evening dresses (not décolleté) or skirts of at least calf length are the appropriate form of dress for ladies. Mini-skirts and trousers are not appropriate. Shoulders should normally be covered, although ladies should take into consideration the temperature of the dining room when deciding whether or not to wear a jacket. When an evening jacket is worn, it should not be removed in the dining room. At the PMC’s discretion, female officers who do not have No 5 (Mess) Dress may wear evening dresses in place of No 1 Dress uniform. 

d. 	Guests. Official Guests are those invited by the Mess President (PMC) on behalf of the Mess, Wing or Squadron. Officers normally pay collectively for the cost of hospitality to official guests. Private Guests are those invited by individual officers, including their spouses. Officers pay individually for the cost of hospitality for their private guests. 

e. 	Assembly. Officers should assemble in an ante-room at 1930 hrs where pre-dinner drinks are normally served and move to the dining room for dinner at 2000 hrs. The PMC and Station, Wing or Squadron Commander will normally stand adjacent to the door. On entering the ante-room, all officers and guests should pay their respects to the PMC and the Station Commander or, if neither of these officers have arrived, the senior officer present. If the officer is well known to the PMC, the greeting ‘Good Evening Sir’ is sufficient; if the officers do not know each other, the greeting ‘Good Evening Sir, I am Flying Officer Duggie Bader’ is more appropriate. Officers should briefly introduce their personal guests to the PMC and to the Station, Wing or Squadron Commander, before moving on. Officers and their guests should arrive promptly at the appointed hour. 

f. 	Seating Plan. A seating plan is normally displayed in the ante-room before dinner to enable officers to locate their place at the table. Officers should not alter or vary this plan. If the person on the right of an officer is a guest, either an Official or a private guest, the officer is to introduce himself to the guest before dinner is announced and then escort the guest to his or her seat when entering the dining room. 

g. 	Entry to Dinner. When dinner is ready, the Mess Manager or Senior Steward will announce ‘Dinner is Served’. Pre dinner drinks should be consumed or discarded before the Vice President leads the way to the dining room. Officers and their guests should follow promptly, in ascending order of rank (Plt and Fg Offs, Flt Lts then Sqn Ldrs). The PMC, Station Commander and official guests enter the dining room last. Officers and guests stand behind their chairs until grace has been said. Where a Chaplain is present, he is normally invited to say grace; when not, the PMC will invite an officer to do so. 

h. 	Late Arrivals. Any officer or guest who arrives late for dinner is, on entering the dining room, to approach the PMC, make his apologies and request permission to take his place. 

i. 	Meal Arrangements. Officers and guests should not touch their cutlery, nor start eating any course before the PMC does so. Both white and red wines are normally served with the meal. Officers or guests who do not wish to consume wine may ask a steward for water. Wine is to be consumed and wine glasses are normally removed before the loyal toast. 

j. 	Comfort Break. The PMC may allow a comfort break after the last course has been cleared away. Officers and guests leaving the table should resume their places within 10 minutes of the break being announced. Officers and their guests should not visit the bar during such a break. 

k. 	Passing the Port. After the tables have been cleared, usually before any break which the PMC may allow, decanters of Port and Madera are placed before the PMC, Vice President and other officers at strategic points around the table. When the PMC removes the stoppers and passes the decanters to his left, all other officers, in front of whom decanters have been placed, should do likewise. Male officers and guests normally fill the glass of any lady sitting on their left before passing the decanter on. Glasses should not be filled across the dining table. An officer or guest not wishing to take Port or Madera should leave their glass to be filled with water by a steward. Once glasses have been filled, they should not be touched until the first toast is drunk. The Vice President and other officers should not pass their decanters again until the PMC signifies that they may do so by passing his decanter. 

l.	The Loyal and other Toasts. The PMC will invite the Vice President to toast the Queen. The Vice President will stand and announce ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, The Queen’, whereupon all present should stand, raise their glasses, drink to Her Majesty and resume their seats. Where foreign guests from countries who do not acknowledge The Queen as head of state are present, the PMC will invite the Vice President to toast the visitors’ head of state – for example, by asking ‘Mr Vice – The Emir of Bahrain’ or, if there are foreign guests from a number of countries ‘Mr Vice – Heads of States here represented’. When a band or musicians are present, the band normally plays the first 6 bars of the National Anthem. All present should rise, stand to attention, and toast the Queen after the band stops playing. 

m.	Smoking and Coffee. The PMC may give his permission to smoke after the Loyal Toast. Officers and Guests are not to smoke before such permission is given. Cigars and cigarettes may be smoked, but it is not appropriate to smoke pipes in the dining room. Coffee is normally served after the Loyal Toast. 

n. 	Chef. After the Loyal Toast, the PMC may invite the senior chef to join him at the top table for a drink. The chef normally sits on a chair provided beside the PMC and the principal guest. The PMC would thank the chef on behalf of the officers and guests for the meal. When the chef leaves, officers and guests normally applaud. 

o.	Principal Speech. The PMC will normally invite the Station, Wing or Squadron Commander to speak to the assembled diners. The principal speaker would normally welcome the official guests with a short reference to each, the reason why they have been invited and, at a Guest Night where spouses are present, give a collective welcome to them. When an officer is being Dined-Out, the principal speaker should give a short résumé of the officer’s background and career highlights before wishing him well with his future career or retirement. The principal speaker normally ends his speech by inviting officers to toast ‘Our Guests’. Officers stand for the toast, but all guests remain seated. 

p.	The Reply. The PMC will normally invite the principal guest to reply on behalf of all Official Guests. The speaker should remember to thank the PMC and members of the Mess for the meal and to compliment the staff and service. When more than one officer is being Dined-Out, the senior guest should speak on behalf of all guests, and should make reference to them in his speech. The speaker may invite his fellow guests to toast the Organisation or Mess that is hosting them; for example, by proposing ‘The Officers of Royal Air Force Various’. In this instance, the Guests would stand for the toast, but officers would remain seated. The speaker should be circumspect in telling jokes, so that officers or guests are not offended by the content. 

q.	Other Speeches. At Dining-In Nights, a guest speaker may be invited to address the officers present. At the conclusion of his speech, the PMC would normally thank the speaker formally, making reference to the content of the speech and its great interest to those present. It is not usual to invite a guest speaker to a Guest Night. 

r.	The End of Dinner. When the after-dinner speeches have concluded, the PMC will signify that Dinner is over by rising and escorting the official guests from the dining room. Officers and their guests should stand while they depart. When the PMC leaves the room, the Vice President is to take his place at the top table and is to remain there until all the diners have left. It is normal for the Vice President to delay the departure of officers and their guests, by telling a short story or joke, so that the PMC and ‘top table’ guests may relieve themselves and visit the bar before it becomes crowded. The Vice President and other officers should not remove decanters of Port or Madeira from the dining room. 

s.	Premature Departure. An officer wishing to leave the dining room before the end of dinner has been signified should rise and approach the PMC and ask permission to do so. An officer should also request the PMC’s permission if his guest wishes to leave the room before the end of dinner. 

t.	Departure. From the Mess. Official guests should be entertained briefly in the Bar after dinner by the Station, Wing or Squadron Commander, the PMC and other senior officers present. Official guests should normally take their leave soon after dinner. The PMC should bid them farewell, when they take their leave, and see them to the door. Officers and their guests should not leave the Mess before the official guests, and those who wish to leave before the PMC and/or Station, Wing or Squadron Commander should present their apologies to the officer concerned, and request permission to leave. 

u.	Mess Games. When authorised by the PMC, and after any Official Guests have left, members and their guests may partake in mess games. Such games are to remain within the bounds of decency and high spirits and are to be played in such a manner that they do not cause damage to persons or Mess property. Gambling and the consumption of excess alcohol are forbidden. Any damage to Mess property, where the culprit cannot be readily identified, is normally billed collectively to all officers attending the dinner.