No bets today however still up early and excited. Will wash the bed linen to pass the time; also a wee bit ironing to complete.
Just posted on F'book about some personal memories of my many trips to the Festival; initially with my dear old Mum then my Mum and a great friend. Through the years we 'moved' from the Club to Tattersalls then to what was the Foster's Enclosure. Used to be a large tent with entertainment in this enclosure; memories include a Beatles tribute band, a Pogues type band and a karaoke where every third 'drunk' got up on stage to belt out 'Dirty Old Town'.
When we stayed in Cheltenham my friend and I used to leave the hotel 'early' and pop into a small pub with a video jukebox. A couple of hours with Jack Daniel's, Vanessa Paradis and Robert Plant would ensue before returning to the hotel for a 'late' breakfast fry up with Flo then down to the Queens for more bourbon before the shuttle bus to Prestbury Park. We then moved to a Worcester hotel when the 'Tote girls' took over our Cheltenham base. This proved a dream with the Iranian (?) owners running an all night bar!
Other memories include chumming my Mum to the rail station, helping her onto the train from Birmingham to Edinburgh then Davie and I catching the local train to B'ham airport to catch a flight to Paris for a weekend of rugby (stuffed as usual). Another year Davie and I left on the Friday before Festival week and stayed in Stratford upon Avon for three nights, or that was the plan. We took the train to Oxford (bar open as advised by Richard Harris) on the Sunday, got rather inebriated, then had to find a guest house in Dreaming Spiresland and nearly got chucked out for singing 'Hearts' songs in the early hours. Next morning it struck us we had to meet Flo at the bus station in Cheltenham so it was train to S upon A, pick up gear at hotel, train to C'ham Spa then a 'fast black' to the bus station. Just had enough time for a few Monday morning eye openers before my Mum alighted from the omnibus; not sure if she noticed our 'state' as I think she was just pleased to see us upright, clean shaven and smartly attired!
Oh, and there were a few winners over the years; The Thinker being my most memorable!
On reflection the greatest thing about the Festival is the breadth of people you meet and spend from either a few minutes or up to a couple of hours swapping stories about both horse racing and your life experiences!
