Horse racing

London 2014/2124

Ten years ago I made my momentous decision to leave London for the South Coast. I was born in London and regarded myself as a Londoner. My closest friend- alas now passed – opined that I would be back in 2 years if I could afford the housing prices. I can see the attraction and attractions of [...]

November 12, 2024 // 0 Comments

A Day at the Races

Yesterday I was invited to Ascot Races for their first flat meeting of the year (Royal Ascot Trials Day) . It was mainly Group 3 – two year olds – the big stuff being the Royal Meeting and the Diamond Stakes which come later in the summer. I was mightily impressed by the new stand and [...]

May 3, 2024 // 0 Comments

Will the real Quins show up?

Recently Bordeaux Bègles put 100 points past Saracens in the Investec European Challenge Cup, whilst Sarries put 51 points past Quins; so what chances if any did Quins have at the Chanan Delmas stadium in Bordeaux yesterday? As it happened, quite a lot – as in a thriller – they ran [...]

April 14, 2024 // 0 Comments

Cheltenham

I have been inactive both in posting and betting for a while as I have been shut out of my Betfair account. I do not believe this to be bad luck as, speaking to another punter who was shut, he believed it done by Betfair who do not make money from those who win and retain their money. With some [...]

March 16, 2024 // 0 Comments

A Day at the Races

Yesterday I was invited to the afternoon meeting at Brighton Races. Brighton as a sporting city punches above its weight with a Premiership football team and a cricket side that produced the likes of Ted Dexter, Jim Parks, John Snow and more recently Mushtaq Ahmed, Murray Goodwin, Matt Prior, [...]

September 5, 2023 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on LIV/PGA/DP World Tour

They say God lives in the details but if so where is his Divine Presence in the above merger? No one seems to know how the ‘framework agreement’ will work in practice. Superficially, it’s about Saudi Arabia money and soft power versus greedy golfers. However, LIV is not just about lucre [...]

June 9, 2023 // 0 Comments

Sussex Landscape/chalk, wood and water

This exhibition does very much what it says on the tin by sticking to landscapes of Sussex in water colours, chalk and woodcuts. It features artists who came to Sussex to paint – like Turner – and those who made their home in this most attractive of counties – John Constable, Ivon [...]

March 11, 2023 // 0 Comments

A Day At The Races

Yesterday I made my annual visit to Plumpton racecourse. I go with a sporting friend who is also involved in retail and yesterday it was his turn to entertain. He also invited a sportsman with whom he grew up locally Ian “Gunner” Gould. The latter had been in a Arsenal youth team (hence his [...]

February 28, 2023 // 0 Comments

An evening at Windsor Races

Whilst we sporting Rusters often prefer TV-watching to attendance, in recent weeks Duggie Heath has reported from the Lord Test, Ivan Conway from the Oval and yesterday I was at Windsor evening races for its most popular meet on the Monday of Royal Ascot week. Disappointing would be too strong but [...]

June 14, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Masters

Scottie Scheffler was a worthy winner of the Masters. He may not have the length off the tee of Dustin Johnson, nor the iron play of Collin Morikawa, nor the silky putting touch of Cameron Smith but he possesses an all-round game and excellent composure. Whatever your lead, it’s always a [...]

April 12, 2022 // 0 Comments

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Inventing Post Impressionism/Charleston

March 27, 2025 // 0 Comments

Yesterday I went to Charleston near Lewes for the exhibition Inventing Post Impressionism. The connection between Charleston and Post Impressionism is the art critic Roger [...]
Recent TV dramas

March 26, 2025 // 0 Comments

I was delighted that Ten Pound Poms – about the British emigration to Australia in the 1950s – is now in its second series. I can claim a connection as my [...]
Weekend TV sport

March 24, 2025 // 0 Comments

With no Premiership or Championship soccer taking place you might have thought some of the internationals between European titans (e.g. Netherlands v Spain or Italy v [...]
Judgment at Tokyo/Gary Bass

March 21, 2025 // 0 Comments

Gary Bass, a Princeton historian, has written a magisterial and definitive work on the tribunal constituted by Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur to try the main forces [...]
Greta Scacchi

March 20, 2025 // 0 Comments

One of the reasons why I enjoy the repeats of Bergerac is the casting of the young actors and actresses who appear on it. In the first series – made in 1981 – [...]