Mrs. Gertrude Shilling, English society

Royal Ascot Opening Day. The ladies put on their best silk frocks and silliest hats. They strutted around like superior Falkland penguins. Champagne corks vied with rousing cheers as the royal party made its way regally down the course and the annual, elegant slaughter of fresh salmon sandwiches got under way. Royal Ascot Opening Day on Tuesday June 15 brought together its usual fragrant cocktail of the aristocratic, the socially acceptable, the excitable and the plain filthy rich members of English society. Happy racegoers - many of whom would not recognise a thoroughbred filly unless she was shod by Balmain - milled about the Royal Enclosure, faces aglow with undisguised satisfaction. Some people even took an interest in the racing itself. Royal Ascot is a glorious celebration of equine nobility, but it is also a grand opportunity for the human species to dress up and parade in all its finery. Eccentrics look forward to it. But finally, it is the horse that dignifies Royal Ascot and makes it so utterly unique. Patriotic...The redoubtable Mrs. Gertrude Shilling. June 1982.