Family and friends are entertained in the rain as Mrs S excels herself in her own version of the Great British Bake-off!
We knew that typical English Bank Holiday weather was on the menu, however, that did not deter us and we arrived in good spirits with the cars chock-a-block full of goodies, including some rather lovely home made sloe gin ... but more of that later.
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| Our spread - part 1 |
Mrs S had spent most of Sunday baking and was rather looking forward to showing off the results of this marathon session, although she declined to leave the car until the gazebo was up! We had a good turn-out from our local village, Cubbington, including a number of family members who were making their pointing debut ... would they like it?
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| L-R Bob Hope, Alison Dare, Wayne Perkins, Alex Hope, Harry Easterlow, Carol Hope, Cindy Simpson, Claire Hart and Helen Hart |
We were joined by some special guests, our new AGA Total Control Lady Riders' Champion - Claire Hart, her mum Helen, along with Bob and Carol Hope, Alex "foxy" Hope and Alison Dare (yes, that Alison Dare - 287 winners!). Great fun and great company, and as they pulled into the sponsors car park one of the officials shouted "oh, it's the AGA winner" - you're famous Harty!
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| I haven't a clue what they are pointing at ... |
With our picnic laid out it was time to ensure that everyone had a full glass, and that was to be my job for the rest of the afternoon ... including filling my own glass!
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| "I've just won a brand new AGA ..." |
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Not for the first time this season, note the
strategically placed AGA sign |
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| Wayne multi-tasking ... |
The food was proving to be a major attraction - which is good, and the rum and coke was also going down well with the younger members of the Hart and Hope families. The rain at this point was a minor irritation and brollies were put up and then taken down immediately ... it was interfering with the drinking! The all colour race card was proving to be very popular, as was our prime position, we had a great view of the course and the bookies were within touching distance ... as was the Simpson bar!
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| I'm watching you Alex ... |
I caught "Foxy" Hope checking herself out in the wing mirror of a nearby car ...and it wasn't just any old car, it was a Waley-Cohen car! Actually, the first time she did it I missed the shot so Alex very kindly re-enacted the scene especially for my blog!
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| There are 3 sisters in this shot ... can you spot them? Sally in her new wellies is one of them |
I'm not quite sure what is happening in the photo below as there are a few serious faces and it certainly doesn't reflect the mood of the day ... maybe the rum had run out!
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| Serious ... but not for long |
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| Alex looking foxy |
Jackie Oliver (pictured below chatting to Alison Dare) popped by for some refreshments and was soon snapping away, you can see her take on the day here - Graftonwood
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| I think we need some AGA brollies! |
Our Finance Director - Shaun Smith, popped by for a coffee, this is his local track and as he only lives two fields away he was able to walk ... no danger of Shaun getting stuck in the mud!
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| Claire and Shaun ... Claire is not drinking coffee! |
Andrew Tinkler was our next visitor and he gave the sloe gin 10 out of 10! Tinks is good fun and with the jumps season over he was enjoying a drink or two ... much like myself! This might explain the haphazard nature of some of my photos, however, after 5 months of full on concentration and working the patch, today was the day I got to relax!
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| Tinks and the girls sample the AGA spread ... and sloe gin |
Heather and Tony Kemp dropped by for what Heather later called a "serious G&T" (I think this was a pretty accurate description), and they stayed for a natter while we cracked open a bottle of port. Andrew Norman and his dad joined us for a much anticipated visit and pens were poised next to race cards as they revealed the winner of the last ... just as they had promised to do at Cheltenham the previous Wednesday!
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| The Kemps complain that all of the sloe gin has gone ... we blamed Tinks! |
There was no hurry to leave today and the car park was deserted as we took down the gazebo ... assisted by the 2 large glasses of port that Marcus had poured for us! Marcus had to get out and push and was the victim of some flying mud ... but as you can see from the photo below he saw the funny side!
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| Marcus and some mud ... lots of it! |
Our car fared a little better, although the wheels were an interesting colour as we pulled out of the car park ... and I was reprimanded for taking this photo of "my flat hair" and promised faithfully that it would not make the final cut for this update (whoops!).
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| Interesting wheels! |
With one last look at the mud we were off for the short journey home after a very enjoyable day ... and I'm pleased to report that the "first timers" were suitably impressed and will return, hopefully when the sun is shining!
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| Some mud! |
There was just time for one more photo of Marcus in his fetching new pointing outfit of mud ... I think the cap was the only item of clothing that escaped unscathed!
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| Me and my mud ... by Marcus Easterlow |
