I don't know why it surprises me, but yet again I open my daily papers only to see several that report on the ladies day at Aintree as some sort of Trollope Fest. One rag leads with "Drunk Punters Parade Pants" and " Girls Flaunt Flesh" the accompanying pictures feature two where the cameraman must have been lying on the floor only to capture a couple of shots where the wind has caught a girls skirt and exposed her underwear. These are presented in a way that suggests the girl has deliberately exposed herself, another features a young girl with her back to the photographer who again must be on the floor with a snap of her very sheer, see through knickers, it's almost an up skirt pervert shot, but again presented as though she's some sort of drunken tart. Then there's the pictures of the inevitable scuffle with a suggestion that a girl bystander was "wading in" with a kick and of course the piece wouldn't be complete without a couple of pictures of rather over weight ladies with plunging necklines.
During my working career, I've been lucky enough to host customers at just about every classic horse race, I worked for Mira Showers based in Cheltenham and I've lost count of how many festivals I've been to, I've been to Royal Ascot, The Oaks, The Ledger and in fact my very last day in work was spent with our customers, Keepmoat at the Ebor Festival in York, my point being, at each of these events, I've seen people who've had far too much to drink, dodgy fashions and the odd fight break out, yet I've never seen these classic events portrayed year after year in the same negative way that is done with Aintree. The fact is that more than 40,000 people attended yesterday, the police didn't make a single arrest and there were thousands of gorgeous women who were dressed impeccably, but I guess those facts don't fit with the scouse stereotype.
Rant over !
