
EXCLUSIVE Inside Henley Royal Regatta: Blazers, boats and the best sparkling wine, writes REBEKAH ABSALOM
I'd heard whispers of blazers, boat shoes and sparkling wine, but nothing quite prepared me for the full spectacle of Finals Day.
Set along the River Thames in the picturesque town of Henley-on-Thames, the regatta is a rich blend of high society, sporting and buzzing crowds.
On the final day of racing, the energy is palpable - from the roar of supporters cheering on the crews to the clinking of glasses in the enclosures.
Whether you're there for the elite-level sport, the social scene or simply the people-watching, Henley delivers a quintessentially British summer experience like no other.
Attracting more than 300,000 visitors across six days, the event hosts over 400 races - and carries a long-standing royal seal of approval.
It was granted its 'Royal' title in 1851 when Prince Albert became its first royal patron, a tradition upheld by every reigning monarch since.
Style is a big part of the spectacle, with two main enclosures offering different dress codes.
The exclusive Stewards' Enclosure - which runs along the main stretch of river -requires formal attire: dresses or skirts below the knee for women, or tailored trouser suits.
The Regatta Enclosure, meanwhile, is more relaxed, where summer tailoring, nautical stripes and smart-casual dresses are the order of the day.
Embracing the theme, I wore the Kami dress by Ghost, a navy and white midi with a contrast collar and tie-front detail. I teamed it with M&S ballerinas and the Mosaic bag by Strathberry - a brand worn by a host of royals, including Catherine, Princess of Wales, Sophie, Duchess of Wessex, Princess Beatrice and Zara Tindall.
The official website mentioned that hats were customary, so I added a straw boater from John Lewis.
I overheard someone say, 'People used to dress up with heels and hats - now it's a lot more relaxed.' And they weren't wrong. Many guests were mixing club blazers with floaty dresses and trainers, striking the perfect balance between tradition and comfort.
In fact, blazers were everywhere. Bright, striped, colour-blocked or piped, they were impossible to miss.
At Henley Royal Regatta, these jackets do more than make a fashion statement - they represent rowing clubs, history and crew pride.
The Lady Margaret Boat Club of St John's College, Cambridge, is credited with pioneering the look in 1825, donning 'blazing red' jackets - hence the term 'blazer'.
Made from thick wool flannel, they were designed to keep rowers warm during early morning outings on the river.
That said, there's also an earlier tale - one that traces the term back to the crew of the HMS Blazer, who famously wore navy and white striped jackets.
Either way, the blazer evolved into the now-iconic style we associate with rowing today.
We were lucky to access the Stewards' Enclosure, reserved for members and guests, with front-row views of the racing and the riverbank's historic buildings.
Rows of branded deckchairs lined the lawn, and shaded seating came in handy during a couple of sudden downpours. With a relaxed buzz and prime viewing, it was the perfect spot to soak up the day.
Just outside the enclosures, a range of food stalls served everything from dumplings to wood-fired pizza, while a mint green vintage double-decker bus - run by Nyetimber - offered glasses of its signature English sparkling wine.
Its flagship Classic Cuvée (available at Majestic and Sainsbury's) is produced in the traditional Champagne method and delivers flavours of golden apple, honey, sweet spice and toasted brioche. It's as delicious as it sounds.
There are plenty of shopping opportunities too - from Crew Clothing's regatta-themed pieces (the blazers and polka-dot dresses were everywhere), to gifts and homeware.
This year also marked a special collaboration: a limited-edition Merrythought bear dressed in a miniature Crew blazer and wearing a replica of the Stewards' Member's Badge, released in honour of the Regatta's new royal patron, King Charles.
Only 150 bears have been made, all handcrafted and available exclusively on site and online.
Elsewhere, a nearby bandstand played cheerful live music, adding to the celebratory spirit of the day.
There's no doubt that Henley Royal Regatta is the most prestigious rowing event in the world - the crown jewel of both the summer sporting calendar and the British social season.
Conveniently located just outside London, it's a brilliant day out, offering a unique blend of sport, style and tradition.
Shop my outfit
Ghost Kami Puff Sleeve Tea Dress
£109 Shop
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Bobby Vylan tells fans to stop IDF chants at first UK gig since Glastonbury
The frontman of Bob Vylan warned his fans to stop chanting against the Israeli military during their first UK gig since Glastonbury, saying that they could get him in 'trouble'. Bobby Vylan, the singer of the punk duo, told fans at a sold-out surprise gig in London on Wednesday night they had to be careful after police launched an investigation into the group following comments he made at Glastonbury. During their livestreamed set on the West Holts Stage at the Somerset festival on June 28, Vylan, whose real name is reportedly Pascal Robinson-Foster, led crowds in chants of 'death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)'. The group issued a statement last week claiming they were being 'targeted for speaking up'. At the intimate concert at The 100 Club on Wednesday night, some fans started to repeat the Glastonbury chant of 'death, death to the IDF'. Vylan responded by saying 'you are going to get me in trouble, apparently every other chant is fine but yous (sic) will get me in trouble' before leading the crowd in chants of 'Free, free Palestine'. The 34-year-old added: 'I am pretty tired. It's been a busy week, been a busy couple of days do you know what I mean? Just putting out fires you know? 'We never ever could have imagined that we would create a conversation that needed to be created and needed to be had. 'It kind of feels like we have completed punk rock just a little bit. We set the game on the hardest level and just went f****** let's just go all in, shall we? He added: 'What is happening over there is an absolute mess, it is f****** criminal what is happening to these people, they are now being concentrated into camps. 'They have been trying to silence us, they thought that this would shut us up, but the album is back in the charts. 'We just want to see the liberation of the Palestinian people. That's it. I don't think it's too crazy a thing to ask. I don't think it's a violent thing to ask, right? The liberation of the Palestinian people from a tyrannical f****** oppressor. That's all we want. 'But until then – free, free Palestine. 'Each and every single time, they will not f****** silence us.' The duo ended the gig by holding the Palestinian flag as frontman Vylan said: 'We are a loving band, we love you lot for being here with us. We love the Palestinian people. 'Their strength, their resilience, their ability to keep on going in the face of it all is a beautiful and inspiring thing. So as hard as this week may have been for us, it has been nothing in comparison to what the Palestinian people are going through right now. 'That is where the attention should be. That is where the focus should be. That is where these politicians and media outlets should be focusing their attention right now, not on the words or the actions of a f****** punk band. It is ridiculous and it only speaks to the ridiculous state of this country right now.' The small venue was packed with fans, with many wearing Palestinian pins, keffiyehs or carrying Palestinian flags as they echoed the group's chants of 'free, free Palestine'. Following their Glastonbury set, it emerged that the group were already being investigated by the Met Police regarding alleged comments made at a gig in London in May, with a video showing Vylan appearing to say: 'Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel. Death to the IDF.' Since then they have reportedly been dropped by their agency, United Talent Agency (UTA), which appears to have removed the group from their website, and have also been pulled from a number of concerts – including their US tour after having their visas revoked. Despite the criticism the group has seen support from fans – new and old – who have flooded Bobby Vylan's comment section on social media. The group have also re-entered the charts, with their album Humble As The Sun climbing to number one in the UK Hip Hop and R&B album charts. Footage from a performance in Athens, Greece, last week saw Vylan tell the audience: 'We are not generally hateful people, but we do hate war, and we do hate injustice, and I think a lot of people out there hate it too.' He added: 'We will continue to fly that beautiful Palestinian flag, and nobody anywhere in the world will tell us that we are not allowed to. They are not the only Glastonbury performers being investigated by Avon and Somerset Police, with the Irish rap trio Kneecap's set also being looked into. The group, made up of Liam Og O hAnnaidh, JJ O Dochartaigh and Naoise O Caireallain, performed after Bob Vylan on the West Holts Stage and led crowds in chants of 'F*** Keir Starmer', after the Prime Minister claimed their appearance at the festival was 'not appropriate'. O hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in June charged with a terror offence and will return next month. Bob Vylan, who formed in 2017, are known for addressing political issues in their albums including racism, masculinity and class. The group are expected to perform at the Boardmasters surfing and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall, in August.


Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Victoria Beckham shares gushing tribute to daughter Harper as she turns 14 - but dark cloud hangs over her birthday amid family feud with Brooklyn
Victoria Beckham has shared a gushing tribute to her daughter Harper as she celebrated her 14th birthday on Thursday. The fashion designer, 51, took to Instagram and shared several snaps of her youngest child taken over the years. Alongside the post, Victoria wrote: 'Happy birthday to my world!! You are my everything and I'm so proud of the strong, confident, kind and talented young lady you are becoming. 'You're my best friend and I'm so lucky I get to be your mummy. We love you so so much!! Enjoy your special day!! ❤️ Kisses @davidbeckham xxx'. The snaps included an adorable photo of Harper in a pink dress and tights and another of her perched on a motorbike with her father David. Victoria also posted a photo of herself cradling Harper when she was a toddler and another of her on the beach where she wrote in the sand: 'I love mummy and daddy'. Other shots included one of David cradling his daughter as a baby and an adorable clip of her singing along to Carly Rae Jepsen's hit song Call Me Maybe. Before David or any of Harper's siblings could share their own tributes, they were beaten to the punch by Cruz Beckham's girlfriend Jackie Apostel. The songwriter, 29, shared a photo of herself and Harper sunbathing aboard a yacht and wrote: 'Happy 14th birthday beautiful girl!' She then shared another photo of the pair backstage at Victoria's Paris Fashion Week show in September last year. It is feared the widening rift between David and Victoria and their eldest son Brooklyn may cast a long shadow over Harper's birthday celebrations. Sources close to the family have told MailOnline of their fears that Brooklyn, 26, and his wife Nicola, 30, have also distanced themselves from Harper after they failed to visit her when they flew into London in May to film an advert for French-Italian clothing brand Moncler just over a mile from the family home in Holland Park. David and Victoria have no idea whether Brooklyn, who Harper has idolised since she was a little girl, will message her privately or publicly on Instagram because they have no communication with him. It comes as tensions have continued to bubble in the past few weeks with a series of digs and jibes from camp Nicola and Brooklyn. On Wednesday aspiring chef Brooklyn shared a cooking video accompanied by a song which referred to not feeling like he has the confidence to speak up and finally feeling empowered - in a seemingly subtle but defiant message. And on the same day Nicola made a bizarre nod to father-in-law David Beckham as she sported a replica pair of the iconic football shorts he wore for his England debut in the 90s while out on her family's superyacht. She was also keen to flaunt her close family bonds during the holiday to St Tropez as she shared gushing Instagram posts about her brothers on Monday. Nicola continued to publicly praise and share admiration for her billionaire family on social media amid her husband's family feud. The actress took to Instagram to share a series of photographs in which she gushed over her billionaire father Nelson Peltz and joked that her Labubu dolls were her family. That came after she and Brooklyn shared photographs of themselves on social media attending Nelson's family birthday celebrations - painfully echoing the very similar celebrations they chose to snub for David's own recent birthday. And amid the escalating feud last week Romeo stepped in as he shared a very pointed statement about 'appreciating people that love you' and insisted 'life was too short' to not tell people you care about them. While Nicola revels in her happy life with her family, Brooklyn risks ruining his 'close bond' with sister Harper by overshadowing her birthday. Should Brooklyn not message, friends of the Beckhams predict that it will be a 'huge moment' in the feud, which escalated when the couple didn't attend any of David's 50th celebrations which took place between the end of March and the beginning of May. One source said: 'Brooklyn and Harper used to be inseparable. He adored her, he hopefully still does, but the problem is that Brooklyn has a track record for ignoring family birthdays now. 'It would be devastating for Harper not to hear from him. She hasn't done anything and she's only 13-years-old, she is the innocent party here. 'Harper's birthday has always been such a happy day, she's the adored little daughter so it's always so joyous but this is a tough situation. 'Brooklyn was 12 when Harper was born, he was so important in her life and it must be terribly sad that she isn't seeing him since the fall out with David and Victoria happened. 'David and Victoria very much blame Nicola for all of this but hopefully Brooklyn will see sense. 'While Harper doesn't have her own Instagram yet, the family thing is to tag her in on their posts as #harperseven.' At the start of her relationship with Brooklyn, Nicola seemed to forge a strong bond with Harper. The actress soon positioned herself as a 'big sister' figure to the little girl, who is aid to have 'adored' her. But now the couple, who married in April 2022 at her family's £76million Florida mansion, no longer speak to Sir David and Lady Beckham, with the couple believing that she controls Brooklyn. Posh and Becks were furious when the couple didn't contact Harper when they visited London just weeks after David's birthday. At the time they were also cross that they didn't get in touch with Cruz, 19, either because at that point he and Brooklyn had never had a crossed word. Since then the singer has very much come out on his parents' side amid the rift. Despite ignoring his father's birthday and his mum Victoria's two weeks before in April, Brooklyn did take to Instagram to wish the footballer's mum Sandra a happy birthday two weeks ago. However, Victoria was devastated when he didn't do the same for her father Tony back in May. Last week, Nicola addressed speculation that she was 'controlling' Brooklyn after posting snaps with her family and Brooklyn celebrating her father Nelson's 83rd birthday on the European getaway. The celebratory photos were the latest blow for David and Victoria, after Brooklyn snubbed his own dad's 50th birthday - with many flooding the comment section to accuse Nicola of being to blame. Yet she hit back by 'liking' a fan's comment that suggested Brooklyn had made his own decision. The comment read: 'The fact people are in this comment section talking bs about someone controlling a GROWN man is absurd. The guy is an adult and can make his own decisions, leave them be and stop blaming women for everything.' Amid his escalating feud with his family, the pair failed to publicly acknowledge David's milestone 50th birthday on May 8. David and Victoria's 26th wedding anniversary also passed without mention, despite the former Manchester United and England footballer referencing Brooklyn in his own post. David previously thanked wife Victoria for their 'beautiful children' as the couple both acknowledged estranged son Brooklyn while celebrating their anniversary on July 4. The former footballer who also shares sons Romeo, 20, and Cruz, 22 with the ex Spice Girl shared a series of throwback snaps of the family in happier times. Declaring his love for Victoria, who he referred to as Lady Beckham following his Knighthood, he wrote: '26 years today you said YES to me Happy Anniversary and thank you for giving me our beautiful children and building the life that we have together.' He went on to tag his children including estranged son Brooklyn. Victoria, 51, also tagged her eldest son, captioning her post: 'Another year, another chapter in our love story. 'I'm so proud of the beautiful family and life we've built together. You and our four incredible children complete me. I love you so much @davidbeckham. Here's to 26 years!!' Despite the apparent olive branch, insiders believe Brooklyn will not be in attendance when Harper turns 14. Rumours of a rift between the eldest son and his parents began when Brooklyn was noticeably silent on his former Spice Girl mother's birthday, a far cry from his usual sweet posts about her. Neither the former photographer nor his wife wished Victoria a happy 51st, while David, Romeo and Cruz posted gushing messages. And as well as snubbing dad David's birthday online, he also was notably absent from all of his 50th birthday celebrations - including a boys' fishing trip. It comes as on Wednesday Nicola made a bizarre nod to father-in-law David Beckham as she sported a pair of his football shorts while out on her family's superyacht Despite flying to London at the time, Brooklyn and Nicola also didn't attend the big family party at the Beckhams' Cotswolds home or an idyllic trip to France or a meal at Notting Hill restaurant, Core. Brooklyn reportedly 'told his famous family that he wants no contact' with them last month in the latest devastating turn of their ongoing feud. According to reports, the eldest Beckham boy has had no communication with his family following father David's knighthood being announced last month and only learned of the news in the media alongside the rest of the world. Denying he'd asked for no contact, a source close to Brooklyn told the publication: 'Everyone's focus should be David Beckham 's great honour'. Meanwhile a source close to Brooklyn also denied the claims as they told MailOnline, 'this seems to be another deliberate attempt to misrepresent the truth, and it only serves to distract from this honor being bestowed on Brooklyn's father.'


Telegraph
12 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The Salt Path scandal has killed the middle-class fantasy of escapism
Authenticity is the enemy of art – and yet our hunger for it has been allowed to cloud almost every corner of creativity. You see it in the proliferation of TV dramas 'based on a true story'; in the expectation for actors to have 'lived experience' of the roles in which they are cast; and in the rise of autofiction (novels constructed from the facts of the author's own life) and memoir. In this age of fake news, and mistrusted politicians, I can understand why people might seek something 'real' in the films they watch and the books that they read. Yet while great art should speak universal truths, it must also be free from a slavish adherence to hard facts. As Mark Twain once wrote: 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.' Then, last weekend, came an exposé in The Observer which claimed that several aspects of The Salt Path – Raynor Winn's best-selling 2018 account of her and her husband Moth's 630-mile trek along the South West Coast Path – were, in fact, fabricated. The story made headlines around the world. Winn has responded to the allegations, on behalf of herself and Moth, stating: 'The Observer article is highly misleading. We are taking legal advice and won't be making any further comment at this time. The Salt Path lays bare the physical and spiritual journey Moth and I shared, an experience that transformed us completely and altered the course of our lives. This is the true story of our journey.' Yesterday, she published a statement on her own website, addressing The Observer's claims more comprehensively and including scans of her husband's medical records. I am sure there are a few readers of The Salt Path who will be unperturbed by the media storm. They bought it to enjoy its account of our coastal communities, the vivid descriptions of romantic and rugged landscapes. To read the book, it could be argued, is to commune with England's soil and its soul. But to do so, is to ignore a bigger problem: The Salt Path is sold on certain truths – that Moth was diagnosed with a terminal brain condition and that the couple were left homeless after a bad business deal, for example – which are now being called into question. It's hard to believe The Salt Path would have achieved the same success (selling two million copies, winning awards and being made into a popular film) had the protagonists been plucked from Winn's imagination. The book is also, to use a modern cliché, a tale of triumph over adversity, which is now the order of the day for us mawkish Brits. 'If we hadn't done this there'd always have been things we wouldn't have known,' Winn writes, 'a part of ourselves we wouldn't have found, resilience we didn't know we had.' This isn't quite psychobabble, but there is an element of solipsism which is linked to the burgeoning cult of the individual. What Terence Rattigan once called the 'English disease' – by which he meant our reputation for emotional restraint – suddenly feels an awfully long way away. And here's the thing: the more emotionally truthful we purport to be, the more inauthentic we actually sound, often because we resort to clichés when talking about our feelings. I am in a good place right now; I am living my best life; destitution is my superpower. Yet while The Salt Path's success is built on modern sensibilities, it is also peddling a middle-class fantasy which feels quite retro. In turning their backs on the rat race, Raynor and Moth do not seem so different from Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal rearing hens in The Good Life (and, indeed, the Winns's previous existence in Wales sounds like a model of self-sufficiency). What's more, while the Winns's quest is generically spiritual, proper pilgrimages have provided a cultural talking point for centuries. In literature, we tend to think of two medieval works in particular – Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and The Vision of Piers Plowman by William Langland, which both combine the idea of an actual physical journey with an internal religious experience. Indeed, in some ways, you can trace a link between the social interaction of Chaucer's pilgrims and the exchanges between the Winns and the people they encounter on their trek. Yet while both authors highlight the importance of community, in The Salt Path that is ultimately supplanted by the need for self-discovery. If you want to explore the idea of the pilgrimage in more recent literature, there are far better examples than The Salt Path. I would recommend Graham Swift's 1996 Booker Prize-winner Last Orders which owes a debt to Chaucer but recalibrates the story as a tale of fractured male friendships in which three war veterans travel from London to Margate to scatter the ashes of Jack Dodds, the first of the gang to die. This isn't a sentimental 'journey' through picturesque locations; the stop-off points include the unlovely environs of New Cross and Dartford, and its power lies in the stubborn emotional inarticulacy of its ageing protagonists. Cinema offers equally rich examples: of course the road movie is often a kind of pilgrimage, even one with as tragic an end as Thelma and Louise, in which two women find their freedom on the open road. My personal favourite, The Straight Story, considers the 240-mile pilgrimage of an old man, Alvin Straight, through Wisconsin and Iowa, as he attempts reconciliation with his ailing brother. Like The Salt Path, the film (directed by David Lynch in 1999) is based on a true story, but it is also unyielding to any sort of sentimentality and all the more powerful for it. We don't yet know about the future of The Salt Path – what the scandal will mean for Raynor Winn, her publisher, or her future book sales. But if the controversy serves finally to spoil the middle-class appetite for 'real' stories, and leaves readers hungry instead for something of greater substance than this sort of mid-brow lite-lit that does nothing to push literature forward, we will all be the better for it. As far as I'm concerned, authenticity can take a hike.