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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
Are you sure this is really Hexham?
Wow. Nobody had ever known anything like it.
A day's racing at Hexham with no driving rain, no biting wind, nosleet or snow. Just sweltering sunshine. Lots of it. And it's virtually October.
Unheard of. I was here on Derby day and even then it was nothing like as nice as this.
Unusual experience en route to the course as well, coming the back way on the narrow, windy, steep lanes through the woods.
Around five minutes away from the track I got stuck behind a small silver hatchback a couple of cars ahead which seemed curiously reluctant at some of the bends, slowing down markedly before setting off ever so gingerly and then finally 'refusing' and pulling over to the side.
As we overtook I saw that the car was carrying four nuns.
Either they had had a change of heart and decided that going racing would be in contravention of holy orders or they had realised their planned missionary work was not worth the effort as there would be just too many sinners at Hexham.
Or perhaps they got word of who was commentating.
Though Mr Thompson only made it at the second attempt. He had relied on his satnav rather than divine guidance to get here and it led him astray - so that he had to phone the course and be talked through the last part of the journey.
Astonishing who you meet at a seemingly run-of-the-mill meeting like this.
Like the former Boston Globe journalist who tired of reporting the US political scene and whose decision to give it up and become a travel writer had brought her to Northumberland for the weekend.
Or 'The Fat Punter' - his choice of name - who identified himself with an apology as the man behind 'spube' at Southwell.
He and 'Grumpy Paul' put the spoof - and rather rude - nickname for fibresand on the track's Wikipedia page three years ago and they are astonished that:
a) it is still there - clearly nobody at the racecourse or owners Arena Leisure ever looks at the site
b) it has travelled so far - apparently Google searches reveal that Southwell's 'spube' it is referred to as far afield as Thailand.
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