A Day at the Races

 This scene from the 1952 Googie Withers film "Derby Day" shows some of the many coaches lined up at Epsom for The Derby. It was actually filmed at the previous year's event. The popularity of the charabanc outing to a racing event needs no further explanation. It was a moneyspinner for many. In "Pollywasher" our Barbara has a go at getting something out of it:

"Barbara always asked for me when she was hiring a coach off us. While she was at Mottram’s she used to organise trips out to the races. She wasn’t there that long really, but there were a few outings because she was mad keen on doing it. She probably made a bit from it on the side knowing how she was. The coach would leave the factory gates on a Saturday dinner time and go for the afternoon’s racing, usually at one of the Yorkshire courses but once we did Market Rasen. Then they would come back late on Saturday night with a belly full of beer, all merry or not depending on how much they’d won or lost. 

I know that the first time she asked for me to be the driver was because she was friendly with my sister, Reenie. Our Reenie had told her to ask for me so I could get a bit of overtime in. But when she kept on asking for me every time I got a bit of an idea in my head, daft young lad that I was at the time. She was just mad on horse racing and everything to do with it, it was all she thought about. 

The first time that we went she was so keen to start with the gambling that she organised a sweepstake on the coach when we set off. We all had to have a guess on what time it would be when we pulled up at the racecourse car park. We had to put three pence each in and whoever guessed the nearest time got all the money. There were some laughs and catcalls at her when she announced it, but I’ll tell you what, when she went round with the collecting tin everybody had a go. She had a knack of getting people to part with their money did Barbara, and she loved spending it as well. But I don’t know how she did it. I think that she used to make you feel that you really could be a winner, that today was going to be your lucky day."

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