During our summer vacation in the UK we visited my little brother Phil, who lives in the South of England in the New Forest.
Now a visit to Phil's house normally means about 3 kilos in weight gained as he always serves the best food (his seven veg roast dinner is legendary) and of course, there are those wonderful Dorset Glory sausages, which none of us can resist.
As usual Phil did not disappoint and this visit was very much business as usual on the calorie front. However, this time the eating and drinking was interspersed with a visit to Salisbury Racecourse for their Ladies Day.
Well I am the first to admit that I know nothing about horse racing other than, Shergar was never found and as a result I stopped eating take-away burgers!
Nevertheless, Ladies Day was going to be a great day out on two counts:
(1) Mrs C and Aunty Jackie love a bet and were already scouring the racing form on the basis that they couldn't lose, although I wasn't holding my breath about buying the XF 200m F2 lens with my share of the winnings!
(2) I assumed, correctly as it happened, that this would be a target-rich environment for the Fuji and so I loaded up the Xpro2 with the wonderful XF 50mm F2. This combo is just like me, discrete and fast (hehe) plus the XF 50 F2 produces great black and white imagery.
As you would expect, in the UK and in order to have a successful Ladies Day at the races, you need three key ingredients: sunshine, ladies and something cold and fizzy. As you will see, Salisbury Races offered all three in abundance. (note the absence of horse-racing from my list).
When we arrived we met up with some of Phil's close friends and I have to say all our "fillies" (see I do know a little racing terminology after all) were very finely turned-out.
Its called style darling!
Seeing as it was Ladies' Day my focus was going to be on the fairer sex so where better to start than the charming ladies at the entrance kiosk. It seems that no-one ever asks them for a photo and without any prompting from me an immediate instagram pose was produced!
Despit my charms I still had to pay for the race card.
Well for me the day had started on a great note. England glorious England...the sun was shining, I was in the middle of the wonderful Wiltshire countryside and of course, there was plenty of ice in my gin.
Now you have to remember that we live in the Middle East and so being respectful of local customs and cultural sensitivities I very rarely walk up to people in the street and ask for their pictures. However, Ladies Day at Salisbury Races was the complete opposite and the Fuji and I were in demand.
First things first, it was important to get the bets on as I was already counting my winnings, googling the specs of the XF200mm F2 and imagining what it was going to look like on the front of my XH1. It was then that I noticed the look of disbelief from the Tote cashier as Mrs. C announced her choices for the first three races. Alas Mcduff, another dream shattered!
Whilst Mrs. C was betting on the four legged fillies, I was off on my wanderings to see if I could capture some images of the two-legged variety.
Well, if I say so myself, I don't scrub-up too badly and in my blazer and chinos, with my entrance tag dangling from my lapel and the Fuji discretely slung around my neck, I did turn a few heads. Actually, I looked remarkably like the official photographer and within five minutes I was dragged in to the hospitality tent as a group of race goers wanted me to "capture the moment". Never one to disappoint and wanting to make the most of the opportunity whilst everyone was still standing (read sober), I was happy to oblige. “Best instagram pouts please”!
Having managed to extricate myself from hospitality I was then on the look-out for anyone in a hat and I was not disappointed. I spotted this charming lady, told her she looked stunning and that I wanted to take her picture. She said "Of-course, how do you want me"! Oooer; I immediately upped the shutter speed to compensate for shaking hands and was pleasantly surprised with the result.
Now that is what I call a hat and a wonderful smile to go with it.
What next? Well, the locals were arriving, (fresh out of the local pub I believe) and with them came the fancy dress crowd. When these two likely lads saw me with a camera they immediately struck a pose.
I had only been in the place for 30 minutes and the only thing that was more active than the Fuji was Mrs. C on the betting front! During my photo-walkabout there had already been two races and to my dismay Mrs.C still had not bagged a winner. However, in racing parlance, its fair to say that Mrs.C is a tryer who always goes the distance and as always, was relentless with her catch-phrase, "A fiver on the nose please".
I thought I ought to turn my attention to the actual racing and so I wondered over to the paddock area in order to study the form.
Can you believe it...home from home!
Having checked out the field it was down to the trackside for more people-watching. The place was throbbing with three times as many race goers as usual. I love to people-watch at the best of times and for me it was like street photography but on a race-course.
They say that every back tells a story…..don’they?
Kelross Turf Accountants offered odds and took your money with a touch of elegance and glamour.
Now he looks like he knows what he is doing.
The final furlong….
Phils mate Malcolm is a member at Salisbury and actually knows what he is doing and to my surprise and delight was the sponsor of one of the races. He is also a complete gentlemen and invited all our ladies to accompany him in to the paddock to choose the best turned out horse.
The "Judges" (a.k.a. our ladies) retire for a glass of fizz with Lord Salisbury.
Whilst all this was occurring, I took up position on a terrace on top of the Tote building which gave me a perfect view of the final straight where I spied “Billy No Mates” - Its a lonely life being the race commentator.
Looks like a photo finish
Alas, as the sun began to set and the ice in my gin finally melted, the racing drew to a close. Only one thing left to do and that was find out who was the best dressed lady. I had taken this next picture during the judging and regrettably this was the only winner I picked all day. Cracking image though even if I say so myself.
A like to call this a "Hollywood" moment, as my lens was drawn to the eventual winner.
Alas Mrs. c was unlucky on the betting front and so I will not be buying the XF 200mm F2 any time soon, but a great day was had by all!