HENNESSY GOLD CUP

I am SO disappointed – my camera let me down and I have got the worst selection of photographs imaginable from what was a massively packed celebrity day out.

My friend invited me to Newbury for this year’s running of The Hennessy Gold Cup and what a splendid day out it was. We were in the Hennessy box mingling with royalty and a very eclectic mix of lovely people. Richard Young, the celebrity photographer who I know from my EMI days was snapping away with his huge camera and I was behind him taking discreet photographs for my blog. RUBBISH. I had to keep pretending the photograph was great, but honestly, what a moment for my camera to simply give up doing it’s job.

Here was my best shot of Her Royal Highness Princess Anne:-

Then here was my friend with Ruby Wax – I mean honestly – I couldn’t have got a worse photo if I tried (and I took it three times and then had to pretend it was fine):-

… then they got so bad I can’t even show them to you. So who else was there? I talked to Salman Rushdie for a while which was extraordinary. We discussed emotional intelligence and how he thought the reason that he enjoyed a good old girly conversation and was often the honorary man amongst a large group of women was down to his having three sisters. He must be good with women – he always has a spectacularly beautiful woman on his arm. I talked to Ruby Wax and Cathy Lette about stuff. Depression and things – which is Ruby’s speciality subject and she’s got a new website launching any minute to help support mental illness which I’ll write about separately. Also talked to Natasha Rufus Isaacs, her father and boyfriend who set up the fashion line, Beulah with her friend Lavinia Brennan. Their clothes are made in India by women who were previously in the sex trade and are gaining respect and popularity through their ethical approach to fashion.

I tried hard to sound knowledgeable about horse racing on a number of occasions (but failed) and then felt better when Ruby Wax confessed in her interview that she knew nothing about it apart from that they “run in a circle” – “sometimes twice” I was able to add. We kept missing the races because when you’re in a lovely corporate box you are ridiculously removed from what is actually happening elsewhere….and subsequently I didn’t win any money at all. I did however concentrate hard on familiarising myself with all the different drinks Hennessy had on offer – even the hot chocolate, coffee, various cocktails all had cognac in them…so perhaps, in the end it wasn’t the camera’s fault that things got a little blurry.