The Diary: Gentleman’s Journal is off to the races…

Monday night! Winston Churchill's old box! Miniature croque monsieurs!

Is there anywhere finer than Windsor on a balmy evening in high summer? Well, yes, probably. But this will certainly do for us — especially with the grand Castle poking out from over the trees and the golden-hour light flooding gloriously into the grandstands. The setting was Windsor race course, you see, and the occasion was their Monday night races — a fine tradition that has run throughout the summer months ever since Winston Churchill used to grumble about in the vast private box by the finishing posts here.

Nowadays, that beloved spot is occupied by a happy annexe of the Fitzdares Club, with all the kilim wallpaper, Pol Roger and miniature croque monsieurs that one might hope for. And we’ve always been huge fans of the Fitzdares Club, you see. So last night Gentleman’s Journal invited a few old friends along to enjoy the heatwave, the racing action, the unique charm of the setting (the best way to enter, of course, is on a dreamy boat ride along the verdant river that winds from the Castle itself) — not to mention the Queen Mother’s private loo. Guests included Max and Chloe Chilton, David Tollemache, Georgia Toffolo, Charlie Barron, Archie Rutland, Max Dodd-Noble, Alex Heerema, Tom Lorimer, Richard Dinan, Dominic and Ophelia Hibbert, Ollie Horsnall, and Annabel and Will Woodhams (naturally). All in all, riotous fun.