From Birkenhead to Bandar Siri Bagwan and Bishkek

Several projects were underway around the island for both the oil and gas companies and for common shared facilities. This necessitated a lot of coordination on my part with construction consultants and engineers brought in to plan and manage the works within my remit. Fortunately, we all got on well at work and tended to socialise, circulate and dine together.

With the strictly applied dress code for the senior staff restaurant, including the mandatory wearing of a tie, most of the island’s groups, crews, societies and clubs had their own designed ties, tee shirts and other items like sports bags and sweaters. Our team, consisting of six construction and building specialists, set about stamping an identity on our little group likewise.

Fueled by a few beers and high spirits, we launched the Civil Engineering Sobriety Society and Philanderers in the Tavern. The title was, of course, a total oxymoron and the anachronism of the CESSPIT’s epitomised the self-depreciating humour aimed at one low tech aspect of civil engineering works we were responsible for. With some seriously clever designers in our team, we developed a colourful tongue-in-cheek, medieval style coat-of-arms, depicting lions rampant (with a foot each resting on a bar rail) and supporting a shield, embellished with a Doric column with a tankard of beer atop. There were lots of cascading vine leaves and a scroll with the Latin inscription ergo bibamus (therefore let us drink). We had a charter made up in the style of ancient scroll, with copperplate script and complete with a wax seal. Our tie boasted a simple logo of the mathematical one over the eight (1/8) over our Latin inscription.

We set up a monthly CESSPIT’s dinner in the mess, with a proviso that we should invite a single guest, who qualified by having the ability to tell an entertaining tale, relate an interesting experience or contribute positively to Das life. Such became our reputation for providing a good evening; we were getting whispered requests for invitations. We expanded gradually from 6 to 12 including 2 honorary members, who joined us from the USA for 6 months special duties.

After one of our now well-known organised dinners, I was sent for by the Engineering Manager. This was a very rare occasion for me and I racked my brains as to what I had done to merit a private meeting. After closing his normally always open door, I feared the worse, but was then confronted with serious questions about why he had not yet had an invitation to a CESSPIT’s dinner and how we manage to have the constant attention of the mess wine waiter, when his table of senior managers constantly struggled to get served.

I diplomatically suggested he might be under consideration as a dinner guest, knowing his permanently droll demeanor would never fit our group’s idea of good sociable company. I also indicated I would have a word with the wine waiter, but omitted to tell him however, that like us, he needed to sidestep the rule of “No Tipping” in the mess and reward the wine waiter for his attentiveness. The penalty from my fellow CESSPIT’s for inviting boring guests was to be presented with the total drinks bill for the evening. I was not prepared to chance that expense.