Derby Day . . .

What is it about British sporting events and the weather? We've had days of glorious warm, sunny weather recently and when did the rain and cooler weather decide to put in an appearance? Just a day before the Derby race meeting of course. Rather than put money on a horse, I think a more certain way to get a return on your money would be to put a bet on rain in Epsom on Derby Day - what odds do you think you'd get from Paddy Power?

I work on Saturday mornings and today I had to drive past the racecourse on the way to work to drop number one son and a friend at Epsom station. Even at 8.30am the course was a hive of activity with stewards everywhere and car parks already beginning to fill.

A few spots of rain don't deter us, do they? Coming home over the Downs just after lunchtime, I passed a steady stream of people walking to the racetrack - mainly locals at this time of day and quite a gathering of people around Tattenham Corner railway station waiting for the Queen to arrive.

Although they have moved the area for the fun fair this year, you could still see activity in the middle of the Downs with many rides doing good business and plenty of people queuing up for drinks and snacks from the burger vans.

It's a quite unique race meeting, I think. You see plenty of top hats and tails and very smart ladies in the 'posh' end and equally large numbers of the rest of us ordinary mortals in other areas. All out to enjoy a day at the races, a day at the fair and a little flutter; whether picnicking, snacking on fast food or enjoying a full champagne lunch with all the trimmings, everyone is enjoying themselves.