The gentlemen
LAST summer at Ascot, I found what must be the only complimentary bit of shade in the Royal Enclosure, up against a hedge. From there, I had a wonderful view of the several marquees on parade, Cavalry & Guards on one side, the Garrick on the other, White's and so on and so forth. As it was too hot to have a regular conversation with anyone, I lit up my Cohiba Siglo VI and people watched.
There is a particularly British form of masochism that requires men to dress in a three-piece suit with a long coat, rather than a jacket, in the summer months. On the one hand, if you're unlucky enough for the weather to be wonderful, it requires the kind of pluck and stiff upper lip that won us the war. On the other, it's likely the weather will be dreadful and, in that instance, all is well.
What I observed from my shady nook was how every man was clearly struggling. No one pranced as if their clothes were airconditioned. Nevertheless, those who refused to let standards slip were nothing if not inspirational. It brings to mind Cecil Beaton's quote on style: 'Be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.' If you need glamourous examples, look up Gregory Peck and David Niven together striding purposefully into Ascot.
Every year, I attend with the same friend, Shary Rahman, and our wives. He shares my enthusiasm for people watching, rather than people engaging, so we wander together and see if we find someone beautifully dressed towards whom we doff our top hats approvingly. 'The same thing happens each time,' he says. 'At first, there is nothing interesting to see, and then all of a sudden someone pops up and restores your faith in civilisation.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning