To Plumpton Races on Sunday. As you can see from the race card above, it was a family gathering to scatter the ashes of my parents now that they were together. My father died ten years ago. He was a bookmaker for most of my life before he retired. Not an on course bookie but a turf accountant. He opened a betting shop as soon as they were made legal in the early 1960's and I have many memories of earning my pocket money on a Saturday, marking up the results for him.
My mother died in September this year and she had been preparing for this occasion for the past year. She had written to the Clerk of the Course at Plumpton in September 2005 inquiring about the possibility of her husbands ashes, which she had kept in her flat in a wicker basket on top of a dresser since he had died, being scattered on the course. She received a beautiful letter letting her know that this was a request that they always tried to accommodate.
The baton was taken up by my sister who then contacted the course and arranged for the scattering to take place for the pair of them. The 19th November was the closest date and being a Sunday it meant that most of us would be able to attend. My sister liased and organised with everyone to create the perfect day from our side. On the other side, there were good runners and the races were exciting. But the best thing was the weather which was a day of glorious sunshine and blue sky.
We had been asked to gather at 11am which is when the gates to the course were opened. My sister had to arrange for the Clerk of the Course to show us onto the course and he was most amenable for us to lay their ashes across the finishing line. We walked to the allotted position and gathered to organise the scattering. It had been agreed that the boys would do the scattering, three of us. The eldest brother present began to say a few words to mark the occasion and just as he began the course announcer came onto the tannoy to welcome racegoers to the meeting ! Any way, it brought a smile to our faces. There was a light breeze and we stood one the right side of the line. We scattered the ashes in silence and then took some photographs on the line to mark the occasion.
We all had tickets for the Grandstand and were able to watch the racing and the horses crossing the line. Our parents would have appreciated very much the way we were marking and celebrating their lives. Absent members of the family were also remembered.
The racing was magnificent and some of us won a lot of money and some of us broke even and some of us lost. But we all had fantastic fun and had a beer or two. One of us also had some jellied eels and by golly they were good. It must have been 1982 when I last had jellied eels, our youngest brother had ordered a whole basin full from Tubby Isaacs to bring to our parents golden wedding anniversary. One of us also received a tip from the Clerk of the Course which subsequently won. But she didn't think to tell us !
The sun shone on the prettiest of race courses all afternoon. Just before the last race a single rain cloud moved over and gave us a short shower. This created two beautiful rainbows over the course. Make of this what you want. But it brought a knowing smile to the faces of all the family members who were there.
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