In the winners enclosure there was lots of talk of a tilt at the Ladies race at Cheltenham and then a crack at the AGA final for Rathcor, and it goes without saying that we'd love to see him line up at Stratford in June. Marie very kindly agreed to take part in the presentation (good choice of colours), before gathering the family together and heading for the course so that they could watch a race stood by the winning post.
An enjoyable day was almost over but it's worth mentioning that if any of our lady riders are struggling and need a hand then we're always happy to help, that's why Derek is carrying Ally's kit back to the car - it's all part of the sponsorship!
Sunday - After a 'home game' yesterday we would spend more time on the road today than on the course, and the sunshine that we enjoyed at Chaddesley Corbett did not follow us down the M5, meaning that when we arrived at Littlewindsor we were greeted by Beazo wearing two (yes two) coats, not a good sign! The last half hour of our journey was quite interesting, and in the land of roads that are only wide enough for one vehicle is, no visit is complete without having to reverse back up at least two of them!
The nervous AGA man was spotted pacing up and down outside the declaration tent before seven of the west country's finest were declared for the AGA race. We decided that the centre of the course would provide the best vantage point, and so it proved, although there wasn't much shelter from the wind, much to the disgust of Mrs S!
It was another AGA cracker and we were all impressed with the winner Miss Saffron, who we hope to see again very soon - on Friday 7th June to be precise, for the AGA final at Stratford. It was also my first meeting with winning rider Lucy Gardner, although we did discover that we had interacted on facebook ... no surprise really given how prolific the AGA man is in the world of social media!
I had arrived empty handed which presented the Honourable Secretary, George Rendell with a bit of a dilemma. Let me explain, last season Claire Hart had won the AGA Ladies Open on her dashing grey, Power Shared, and as well as a rather nice AGA clock she had also taken away a splendid looking trophy. Helen Hart gave me the trophy at Mollington and asked me to return it, but I was at junction 9 on the M5 before I realised that something was missing! Mr Rendell swore, but he did have a solution and 'borrowed' a trophy from the Cattistock to use as a stand in for the presentation.
Mr Rendell need not have worried as both Lucy and Sue Gardner were more interested in the AGA cast iron Coalbrookdale pot, and the AGA Pointing mugs, although I still need to get the trophy back to them in time for next season! I was joined for the presentation by Christine Durie and David Mears from Spillers of Chard - a pair who both know a thing or two about selling AGA cookers!
The rather nice old trophy that should have been in the presentation photo!
Lucy survived the Beazo interview - more of that here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VE5x7SlmTI and by the time he had edited it his was the last car on the course.
The sight above is a familiar one where our intrepid photographer is concerned - he assured me that he didn't take this photo when he arrived, although at least he gets to leave in daylight at this time of year. That's it for another chapter in our AGA adventures and my target this week is to complete my blog from the Berkeley at Woodford before Peper Harrow on Saturday - wish me luck!