Wear it with pride..

Yesterday was the annual Gurkha Welfare Trust Curry Lunch, which this year was held at 2 Div. Headquarters at Craigiehall outside Edinburgh.
We had an excellent day, including a band concert, which was a bit chilly standing outside to listen to.
The thing about the GWT is that the people involved, and it's supporters, are all terribly nice people - generally of a slightly older tinge and therefore polite and caring, but also with a sense of humour.
At the risk of offending my reader, two senior officers ( long retired) were passing through a door to collect their food. One stopped dead.
" Have you just farted?"
"Of course I have, " said the other. " You don't think I smell like this all the time do you?"
The main preoccupation of most of the elderly army people is with their medals. Some, of course, are for extreme bravery, but quite a lot are "campaign" medals or what are called "theatre" medals.
A dear friend has been trying to get his theatre medal for Malaya since 1966. He has reams of correspondence on this, and supporting letters from all and sundry saying he was there. Including the son of the then Prime Minister.
The problem is two-fold. He can't remember when he actually arrived, and the MOD has lost his records.
His arrival date is critical, because you have to do 6 weeks in a theatre of war to get the medal.He might have arrived 42 days before the end of the campaign. Or he might not. Or,if he arrived 43 days before the end, is that six weeks before or is that six weeks bar one day.
It's a bit like how many angels can dance on the point of a pin.
Of course, the fact that the MOD has no records is less of a drawback. They can simply rule that he was there.
So it was with some glee that he appeared yesterday, looking incredibly smug, wearing his new medal. I'm sure he bought it on ebay.
I questioned him about it.
" Well," he said, "I've been keeping it inside my jacket. I wasn't actually sure I was allowed to wear it. However, I went onto Google and they say I may."

So that's all right then.

He's now turnd his attention to a TA medal he feels entitled to....