Posted by Tania Kindersley.
This is one of the most enchanting things I've heard this year. It is a short radio trip to the Royal Meeting at Ascot, taken by the comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli. It confounds every expectation. You might think that Singh Kohli, whose parents moved here from India, and who was brought up in Glasgow, would not necessarily be the most obvious person to send to the most famous race meeting in the entire calendar. Racing, after all, is still rather old-fashioned, and very, very white. (Not, I think,in a horrid way, but simply because horse people come mostly from the countryside, and ethnic diversity tends to live in the cities. It's geography, more than anything else.) The cross people at The Telegraph, who are convinced the BBC lives to sneer at tradition, would certainly see this interesting bit of juxtaposition as an opportunity for the metropolitan types at the Beeb to scoff at the toffs.
Not a bit of it. Singh Kohli brings a lovely, generous, outsider's eye to the proceedings, admires the Queen, conducts two of the best interviews with Peter O'Sullivan and Henry Cecil I've ever heard, and ends up with a good old British sing-song. It turns out people still really do sing 'Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner'. It made me a bit teary.
Anyway, if you can get the iPlayer, have a listen:
BBC iPlayer - Royal Racers and Fascinators
I cannot see the post, sadly, but they have taunted me with the picture of... are those Quality Street candies on those women's heads? Glorious!
ReplyDeleteEllie - so sad naughty iPlayer will not let you watch. They ARE Quality Street. You've got to love those ladies.
ReplyDeleteAm putting the link here, in case you might try again, and it MIGHT work:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011zkl5/Royal_Racers_and_Fascinators/
Ellie - so sorry, meant listen, not watch.
ReplyDeleteI can always rely on you for wonderful radio links. As always, I wasn't disappointed with this one.
ReplyDeleteAlas, it did not work, but thank you for the effort!
ReplyDelete