Hooligans at Royal Ascot

A drunken brawl, a celebrity call girl and tattooed men (and women)... whatever happened to a genteel day out at Ascot?



For 300 years, it has been the highlight of the summer calendar for the well-off and well-connected.

But these days, it seems, the enclosures and stands of Royal Ascot are becoming increasingly popular with a much less distinguished breed of racegoer.


Source: Daily Mail


What does this say about British society?

What is the poshest event you have been to?



Vocabulary:

a b____ - a particular type of animal eg dog, in some cases a type of person

k_______ (adj) - given the title "sir"

vice (n) - illegal and immoral activity, usually connected to sex

a g___ - a long woman's dress worn at formal occasions

f___ t__ - a substance that you put on your skin to make it appear that you have been in the sun

a p____ - a danger / p_______ (adj)

a b____  = a f_____ - a noisy, uncontrolled fight

to s____ - to push forcefully

a s_____ - a place where horses are kept

to e__ sb __ - to strongly encourage sb to do sth that might not be a very good idea

a c___ girl - a female prostitute who arranges meetings over the phone

to f____ - to intentionally not obey a rule or a custom

the h________ - the best or most exciting part of sth

to f___ - to run away because of danger or fear / f___ (past, past part)

to s____ - to hit / s_____ (past, past part)

bare flesh -

to point out -

over-run (adj) -

over-done -

to lower the tone -

restful (adj) -

blatant (adj) -

disregard -

a top hat -

a band stand -

to shun -

a punch -

the home straight -

ladylike -

unsightly (adj) -

to be worse for wear -

tawdry (adj) -

to break out (a fight) -

well-off (adj) -

to get out of the way -

to wield (a weapon) -

nasty (adj)

barely (adv) -

a glance -

to hand sth over -

to end up doing sth -

bawdy (adj) -

a lawn -

the turf -

an enclosure -

a racegoer -



Grammar point:

"whatever happened to a genteel day out at Ascot?"

When you haven't seen sb or sth for a long time, you wonder about them.


Whatever happened to that polite, well-behaved boy? Her son is growing into a monster.

Whatever happened to the Lada car? I never see any of them on the road now.

Whatever happened to Rosa - the fat one that won "Operación Trionfo"?


Read this previous post on Royal Ascot Dress Code.

Comments

Montse said…
Hi, Graham. I think this could be a great topic for a film! Some events and situations don’t keep being the same as they started many years ago.
Graham said…
Hi Montse,

Have you seen the photos of the brawl? Click on the main title to see the original article with photos.

Unfortunately, it is a reflection of today's society in the UK.

I agree that it could be a good topic for a film.