Feeling old/sign of the times

[grannyjules]

Well we went to the races at Doncaster yesterday. What an eye opener that was!
It was smart attire, shirts with collars and no denim.
There were so many young men in their trendy suits and snazzy hair styles. All slim and clear skinned, but they all looked under age for drinking and betting. It must be my age.
The young "ladies" in the flowery sleeveless dresses with nothing more than a thin shawl, mega high heels and the odd fascinator, too.
What spoilt it for me was the amount they all drank, they never stopped. It was like chain smoking but with drink. Whatever they were drinking, it was red, the colour of cherryade, but I doubt that it was.
The young girls were given clear thick plastic handbags to carry round their bottles of wine!!! Whenever did that trend start.
All the "older" ladies were dressed for the chilly weather in coats and scarves.
Is it just me or have standards slipped. Just call me old fashioned...

[Gemini]

York is a big venue for the races GJ. We have to put up with drunken barely dressed women tottering about on ( and falling off) high heels on race nights. If you know it is race night you avoid York, but as we don't go we don't always know!
Most of them seem to begin drinking on the train to York, then drink all afternoon at the races, then come into town to continue drinking Drink and races seem to be connected!
Yes.... maybe we are getting old!

[Glammanana]

Yes Gems we must be getting old,I go occasionally with DD and her pals to Chester Races Ladies Day and have been once or twice to Aintree a few years ago,this year I was in Liverpool on Ladies Day and all the girls where dressed to kill with their 5/6" heels tottering towards taxi's at the side of Lime Street Station off to the Race course,it was not very warm to say the least and some where barely dressed and they all sported the must have false spray tan in various shades of orange to mahogany

[Oma]

My ex SIL used to go with her friends to York races and they would start drinking before they got on the train , women all in their 40,s and your right Glam their colours were a variety of Oranges , SIL one year came home with a broken foot after falling over on 6 inch sandals with tiny thin straps , One of her friends face planted the pavement drunk and broke her nose and eye socket but they thought they had a great time 😲 How can that be when you come home injured , 😨

[Gemini]

Madness Oma!!!

[Daisy]

I wonder when this kind of behaviour started. I often used to go to the races with my Dad and Uncle when I was a child - and it was a great day out. Nobody got drunk, as far as I could tell. But I don't think I ever went to a Ladies Day, and certainly nobody dressed up for point-to-points - it was all tweed jackets and check waistcoats for the men and warm trousers, sensible boots or shoes and often headscarves for the ladies. But it's always been a sociable occasion and as drinking became more acceptable, perhaps that's when the 'rot' started. What a pity though, if it spoils it for everyone else.

I often wonder if people feel the cold less these days. At the first sign of sunshine loads of people are wearing shorts, t-shirts or skimpy tops and flip flops. Brrrr ..... I'm not ready to risk frostbitten toes yet!

[grannyjules]

Call me a snob, but I think it looks so common to carry your bottle of wine around with you, all be it in a trendy bag. May as well be a brown paper bag . The looks the same. At least you get a break while you queue for your next drink from the bar. I'm not one to walk around outside with a glass in my hand either.
I also wondered how most of the men were of working age and got the day off. It wasn't a special meeting either.
I know they have work do's but then surely you would pace yourself with the drinking, wouldn't you?

I think I'm turning into a Grumpy Old Woman!

[Shemadee]

It seems to have got worse when the licensing laws were relaxed in the hope of developing a cafe style drinking culture. It just seems to have led to non stop drinking. Goodness knows what their livers will be like in ten years time. Doesn't bear thinking about.

[Nanto2girls]

Never been to the races, so can't really comment about it. Can't be much fun, coming home with broken bones.
Going back to grannyjules comment about wearing flimsy dressess.We see youngsters often out and about,in the depths of winter without a coat,
and think they must be freezing, but they don't seem to feel the cold.

[Mimi]

Grumpy old woman or not but drinking wine with a straw straight out of the bottle is a no no . This is a practice I have seen a few times and it's always young woman under 30 .

[Gemini]

Good grief Mimi!

I can assure any of you who haven't been, that we do not do this on GRU get togethers

[Gemini]

Well I don't.........

[Plantaholic]

I gather from GC that this situation is the same at Marlow and Henley Regattas.

[Daisy]

Gem ..... we could always start a new Granny fashion! (Only joking )