A Quintessentially British Affair

Royal Ascot, a quintessentially British affair; 

Pimms on tap, Strawberries & Cream by the bucket load, Boys in suits (Top Hats and Tails, if invited to the Royal Enclosure), Girls in smart dresses & headwear, British cloudy weather and Queenie sat in her Royal Box.

British transport was also on full form; the 1st train was delayed & completely full and the next train was cancelled.  So unfortunately we missed the royal procession.  But we managed to get there in time to see the 1st race.

I'm not much of a gambler and it's a good job as I pretty much lost every bet I made, with the exception of one where I won £9.50.  Although considering the £10 bet, I didn't even break even.

The most exciting race was the 3rd, where Aussie horse, Black Caviar won the race, literally by its nostrils.  Unfortunately it was the biggest favourite of the day, so the odds on the horse didn't really rake in the cash.

The day ended with Britain's favourite dish, a good ol' curry.  A perfectly quintessential British day.

Team Sarah or Team Marc?

The big THREE O.  This year it's Marc and Sarah's turn to celebrate a big birthday and in true Burkie style they had a BBQ party.  Although this year it wasn't framed around "Riding the Bus" (a drinking game that had Marc completely incoherent last year).  This year it was themed as a competition.  On entering you had to pick a team; Team Sarah or Team Marc?

Before the games began, the two teams were fuelled with Pimms and well-cooked (...ok burnt to a blackened crisp) sausages and burgers.

The initiation of the games began with Gabby and Tony stripping off to reveal their surprise t-shirts.

The first set of games were with balloons, which Team Sarah just excelled at.  Team Marc had prickly fingers and kept bursting the balloons, which just made it too easy to win.

The second set of games were with hoops and cones.  This is where Team Sarah began to rapidly lose points and soon Team Marc were cheating their way up the leader board.  P.S. Can you tell that I was on Team Sarah?

Team Marc won in the end.  They were more willing to get rope and key burns in the last game.  I guess they were in it to win it.

However there were no real losers in the end.  Everyone got to have lots of yummy cake and jelly.

The night ended with Black Jack, casino style.  I was up quite a bit and then got a bit wreckless.  Don't worry though, we were playing with chips, not real money.  Don't think I would have handed my money over to Marc, who won, quite so easily.

Happy Birthday Marc and Sarah.

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