TOUGH BRITS

I have to hand it to the Brits - they're a damn hardy bunch. At the races on Friday night, when the rain was coming down in a literal deluge (the type of rain that it isn't particularly safe to drive in) and the fields were flooding (note the sheen of water in yesterday's photo of me in the parking field), the majority of women at the track were wearing dresses and heeled sandals. It's customary here to dress up for a day/evening at the races, and By God those ladies were going to follow tradition, never mind the assured destruction of whatever delicate footwear graced their toes.

Claire and I took the practical, non-traditional route. We wore trousers and shoes/boots, and while this may have marked us as outsiders, we were probably amongst the driest females in Newmarket. Note to Mom and Dad: YOU SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF HOW SENSIBLE YOUR ELDEST DAUGHTER WAS THIS PAST WEEKEND, GIVEN THAT SHE WOULD HAVE MUCH RATHER HAVE DRESSED UP FOR THE RACES.

My strategy for next year: wear a dress, with WELLIES.