At the Henley Royal Regatta

Another of those day of days. So many images to choose from and I'm not sure this is really the one I want to post for today, but for the time being it'll do.

My cousin's husband was a rower, he coxed Shrewsbury School as a school boy and is a member of the Leander Club. When we saw them both last November they asked if we would like to come with them to Henley next year. Of course we would.

We waited to hear from them but in the end I rang only to find that Ian had fallen and hurt himself quite badly in January and was not able to go to Henely this year. Would we still like to go? Of course we would!

The tickets duly arrived for the Stewards Enclosure and off we went, driving to Twyford, parking and catching the train with 100s of others to Henley. There is a very strict dress code for the Stewards' Enclosure, dresses for the ladies (below the knee) and hats preferred. For the men lounge suits and blazers and slacks with tie or cravat. Gentlemen are not permitted to remove their jackets.

But what an experience it was. A real English scene. Watching the rowing, admiring the strength and skill of the rowers and taking in the social scene around you. Rowing types in their club blazers, boaters, panamas, trilbies and caps and their wives and girlfriends. Posh accents, a whiff of the establishment and middle England at play. The movers and shakers of our society gathered to enjoy the experience and maybe take in some rowing as well. And some of the accents too, pure theatre.

The weather was superb and it was a real treat to sit right alongside the river and watch the racing and listen to the conversations around you. An enormous amount of champagne must have been drunk, the most expensive I'd say was £295 a bottle (a big bottle mind you) The prices however, of the more humble stuff, the stuff we were in the market for were suprisingly reasonable. But I cannot understand why a cup of decaffeinated coffee cost £2.50 and is made from a sachet of Nescafe Instant and why there was no salt or pepper sachets for your salad?

We took a walk along the towpath towards the start and were amazed by the places along there - people strewn all along the river bank, corporate tents, food tents, bars, entertainment, the lot. It was nice to get back to the manicured lawns, calm, refind and deckchairs of the Stewards' Enclosure.

All being well we'll be able to go next near as my cousin and her husband have already booked their accommodation and have asked if we would like to accompany them. Of course we would! I wonder how much a guest pass to the Stewards' Enclosure costs?

For more shots from the day both the racing and the people and setting go to my website.