Henley Regatta

Not only are the World Cup, the Ashes and Wimbledon on (and the Tour de France starting tomorrow), but it's also Henley Regatta week, and we were invited to go with Mike and Sara. Sara is Mandy's pen friend of some 40 years, and Mike rowed for Cambridge and a few other clubs, so he's really into it.

Took the train from Haywards Heath to Clapham Junction. Mike picked us up and took us back to their house where we packed everything into the car and headed off, joined by their elder daughter Emma who had just finished her Year 12 exams and was being treated to her first Henley. There's a strict dress code, so we had on the clothes purchased a few days ago at the charity shop. Ladies need a dress below the knees (though necklines are not restricted), and gentlemen need a tie and jacket (which cannot be removed even in the middle of summer). Mike dressed in his old rowing club's blazer, as did most of the men, so it was like a huge club reunion as he searched for others in the crowd from the same club. One particular club wear a bright scarlet jackets which stand out like beacons, and are the origin of the word blazer.

Watched a number of races from the steward's (members) enclosure before going back to the car for a huge salad lunch under an umbrella in the car park.

Caught some more races after lunch, and saw three Australian crews including a Melbourne Grammar eight. All races are 2 boat head-to-head elimination races culminating in finals on Sunday. Learned the correct Henley etiquette for slow hand-clapping the victor, and the euphemism 'easily' which kindly describes a victory by more than 5 lengths presumably to not rub it in. It's very old school. The stewards wear bowler hats and frown perpetually. You have to sit during races, and cheering seems to be rather frowned upon. Mobile phones are a complete no-no.

Went for a walk down the river to see the sights and sample the atmosphere. Certainly the cheapest way to see the regatta is to sail down the river in some kind of a boat and just tie up somewhere along the course, which is perfectly acceptable as it's a public river, so there were wall to wall boats on the river including a paddle steamer. The corporate hospitality tents stretch for almost a mile. Eventually headed off back to Sara's, picked up Natasha from her school, and had left over meat and salad for tea. Looked at some photos and finally headed off to catch our train home.

Walked back to the Brink's from the Haywards Heath station. A great day which Mandy was looking forward to, and really enjoyed. She spent the whole day talking away to Sara and Emma as though we see them quite regularly.