In many navies around the world, the seventh toast of the week is to “Absent Friends”.
This is usually the first toast my own family observes on Christmas Day. We’re not big drinkers, it’s usually the only toast.
It’s an important one. Given the career paths of an orthodontist (there was a bit about this in the previous few toasts) you ...
The traditional sixth toast of the week in many navies was “To Wives and Sweethearts”.
Classically, although unofficially, this is met with a reply of “May they never meet”. When Russell Crowe makes the toast in “Master and Commander” he adds that himself after the toast. The officers laugh at the joke, so I’m not certain if this is the ...
In various navies, the fifth toast of the week is to The Nation.
Classically, this toast was “to a willing foe and plenty of sea room”. I’m still not sure exactly what that means, but I presume it means that your adversary is taking responsibility for the consequences of the engagement and it’s ...
In various navies, the fourth toast of the week is “Our Navy” specifically the service they are in.
As in yesterday’s blog I talked about “ourselves” as the profession we’re in: dentistry. I will consider today’s theme as the specialties we choose to work in.
And off the bat, I say specialty which is an area of special expertise within a profession, ...
In various navies, the classic third toast of the week is “Ourselves”.
This is traditionally met with the response “for no one else will concern themselves with our well-being” in the Royal Navy in the UK. Two centuries on from when the movie “Master and Commander” is set, Russell Crowe’s toasts to his officers still have ...
In various navies, the classic second toast of the week is “Our Men”.
Over the years this has modified to “Our Sailors”. In the dental world this is the team members that make our practices perform the way they do. This is a work force that is predominantly female. Given that from now on, 50% or ...
In 2003, Russell Crowe starred in a movie called Master and Commander which I’ve always enjoyed. He’s Jack Aubrey, the captain of a ship (HMS Surprise) during a war between the UK and France about 200 years ago. What I didn’t realise when I saw it first time was the amount of leadership lessons in it that would come back ...