Far be it for me to speculate - though I do it with aplomb - but are there fewer people at the Royal Regatta this year?
Enjoying the convivial atmosphere in and around the Barn Bar yesterday, it struck me that the place looked empty. There were people there, of course, but no queues for drinks, no bottle-necks on the towpath, no snaking lines of increasingly agitated revellers waiting for the toilets.
It was only Thursday, but the sun was out and the conditions perfect.
The same applies for the evening. No queues, quiet pubs, empty streets.
Has the Regatta fallen victim to the oft-blamed credit crunch? Or have people simply chosen to stay away?
Henley Standard
Henley Royal Regatta
Blog Archive
2 comments:
Well I was certainly there yesterday, (see comment to Rain below)and I thought the same as you. The rain held off, so no excuse there then. Quieter that I remember for many years. A lot of the 'hostility' tents down towards the start are empty and unused. The regatta enclosure seemed to be busy, but that might have been because I walked down at lunchtime and the prices there are better than in Stewards, so there were a few deserters lunching. King's got knocked out by RGS Worcester before I even got there!
We parked in the Cricket club and were shocked to be asked for £25 to park for the day when the going price elsewhere seemed to be £13-15. Maybe that had something to do with the attendance, we had no problem getting in and getting a space when we eventually arrived from the West Country at 1300 (Blame a GPS with Maps of Fiji in it!)
Great day had by all. See you again next year.
I think you hit the nail on the head with prices.
You can't blame people for making the most of the tourist influx - it's a common practice.
But £4 for a pint of fizzy euro pop, £25 for parking and the myriad of jumped-up charges both irritate those who do go, and put-off people feeling the pinch.
Post a Comment