On Friday Mr M and I were invited to the races at Ascot for the day by my sister and her husband.
Oh my what a fun day.
As you know (or maybe not) the dress code at Ascot is VERY strict. There’s a whole page with instructions on the website. Jumpsuits were only allowed last year, a hat must be worn at all times and men have to wear socks in all enclosures (there are different level of ‘strictness’ according to where you are. It’s a mine field. No shorts, no midriff, no shoulder straps less than an inch, no ankles on show for the gentlemen and jacket and trousers must be the same colour, no bowties no cravats…
… mind boggling… and slightly anachronistic and ridiculous.. I have to admit, but trying on approximately 6758403856 hats like I did, was a lot of fun. I like hat. You feel immediately elegant (and at a fancy dress party a little) with one on your noggin’.
This is me and my sister on our way, choosing horses with the best names and prettiest colours. Highly scientific.
And here’s Mr M and I in our finest. Don’t we scrub up well?
The racecourse is mighty impressive.
These are the famous bookies, who took all my money and didn’t give anything back at all. They probably give it all straight to my sister who seems to be able to pick the winner in all the races… outrageous and totally unfair, but that’s sisters for you.
Traditionally you can bid on the colour of the Queen’s hat too. No, I had the right colour but changed my mind to the wrong one at the last minute. Doh.
Her Majesty arrives in a horse drawn carriage every day to great cheering from the crowd.
So many people…so many hats…
Oh yeah, horses… it was all about the horses of course…
At the end of the day the band plays and everybody gather around the band stand to sing classic songs from Rule Britannia to ‘we’ll meet again’ … THAT was great fun even if didn’t stay long and sneaked out to try avoiding the unavoidable traffic jam…
Lovely day. I always thought it would be a once in a lifetime and maybe it will, but it was such great fun that… who knows…
while you're ahead... 