Before the last war, officers in the navy had a lot more freedom when their ship was in port than they have nowadays. They were expected to lead a busy social life, and to take an active part in sport ashore. It was therefore rather difficult for them to find time to do all their other duties.
Usually, all the officers in a ship used to have a regular meeting together once a week to receive orders from their captain, make reports and discuss any business that had to be discussed, such as who should represent the ship in the next football match.
One such meeting was being held on board a ship one day, and after the regular business had been completed, the time came to discuss the date of the next meeting. Friday of the next week was suggested, and so was Monday of the week after, but both of them interfered with somebody’s arrangements for the weekend, and in the end it was generally agreed that the meeting should be held on Wednesday, as this would be the least likely day to interfere with anybody’s convenience, since it was right in the middle of the week. As the officers were leaving, however, one of them was heard to say, ‘Wednesday is the worst day, because it interferes with two weekends!’
