Horses, Hats and Hullabaloo

Saturday 20 June - A day at the races! A friend of ours gave Ian and me tickets to the exclusive Royal Ascot races, a week long event of horse racing and socialising. The event is broken up into three areas silver ring, grandstand and royal enclosure. Silver ring is general entry, grandstand has a dress code of smart wear and the royal enclosure has a dress code of mourning suite for gents and specific dress regulations for ladies. The event is best known for its amazing and unusual ladies' hats. We saw a number of fantastic as well as outrageous hats and fascinators (anything smaller than a hat usually a headband, comb or clip adorned with feathers or flowers. We were lucky enough to be in the grandstand area which is separated from the silver ring but mingles with the royal enclosure so we were surrounded by smart dresses and immaculate suits. We arrived by 11 to get a parking space then walked to the racecourse to explore. By 12 we were quite hungry and made our way back to the car park for a picnic. We were unprepared for the seriousness of Ascot picnics in the car park as many people had set up tables and chairs, some even had tents or marquees and most had champagne and fantastic picnic food. We enjoyed our more humble picnic in the car then made our way back to the grandstand. The day officially begins with the arrival of the queen by horse drawn carriage. She comes from her home at Windsor castle, proceeds up part of the race track and into the parade ring. We saw her from quite close in the parade ring. Shortly after the Queen arrives the races begin. There were six races on the day. We placed small bets on most of the races which made the race that much more exciting. Between races we meandered around the grandstand area taking in the hats, drinking champagne and picking horses for the next races. Our friend Tom gave us a tour of the grandstands and watched some of the races with us. After the last race flags on songbooks are handed out and everyone gathers round the bandstand where there is a sing along. It was a very surreal experience to sing along to Sinatra's "New York, New York" with a crowd of Brits all waving the union jack. At the end of the day Tom took us to the town of Windsor to see the castle and quaint town. We walked along the waterway with its famous swans (that only the queen can eat, I'm not sure why she would want to) and glimpsed Eaton college. We had dinner in Windsor in the old converted railway station before dropping Tom off at his parent's home in Ascot and driving back to Bristol.