‘It rains on all of us’
My first trip to the Cheltenham Races was under a torrential downpour but showers shouldn’t dampen our experiences
When I first told people I was moving to Cheltenham, many assumed it was for one of two reasons: 1) To work for GCHQ (the UK Government’s intelligence, security and cyber agency) or 2) Because of the Races. I suppose I must appear to have the build of a rider because a stranger who lives on Eton Square in Chelsea - who I’d stopped, as she came down the steps from her townhouse, to tell her how fabulous she looked - also assumed the latter.
As you may well know, neither is the case but the more I found out about the Races, the more determined I was to experience it. So when one of my new and dear friends invited me to come along with her and another friend to one of the enclosures on what is traditionally known as Ladies Day, I was more than excited. And yes, definitely more because of the opportunity to play dress up than to actually watch the races but while I find horses incredibly intimidating, I do think they are absolutely majestic animals so the main event was an added bonus…
And I was so ready to get dressed up. Like most of us fortunate enough to work from home (or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it/how many children you have at home all day), I have spent far too many days in what the fashion pack affectionately calls, athleisure. This is the cool girl code name for joggers and in my case, seven-year-old threadbare ski thermals. (And if any of you have yet to throw out your noughties Juicy Couture velour set; keep it, you’re back on trend.) Clearly I was to eschew tweed because that was a little too obvious and I’m a Black girl with no hair in Cheltenham so I thought I might as well push the boat out. A friend helped me pick out my dress and we decided on a bright yellow gele (Nigerian headdress) in place of the hat/fascinator usually worn by women to these events. I’m Nigerian so getting hold of this shouldn’t have been that much of an issue. But no one - not my friends, my cousins, my aunties, my friend’s mums and not even the Nigerian owner of my local African food shop, had a yellow gele. In the end I traipsed over to Gloucester to a new African food, clothes and homeware store, where I finally found what I was looking for!
We were due to go on Wednesday and following a dark and stormy weekend, Monday rolled around with blazes of sunshine and the 100,000 extra people that descended upon Cheltenham for Race Week were beside themselves with delight. Buoyed by the sun and this Spring energy, I dreamt of standing in the open enclosures watching the horses as they came out and sitting outside for the first time in months sipping my favourite champagne with my fellow race-goers. Tuesday offered much the same in terms of weather and everyone was in a great mood. We had planned to set off at midday on Wednesday. By mid-morning the sky was grey but I was sure there was some sunshine behind those clouds! By 2pm I was forced back to reality as I trudged through the wet mud in the “car park” navigating my way around the tractor busy digging non-4x4 owners out of the mire.
The rain was relentless and we spent a lot of time indoors dodging it but I loved my time with L + L, two of the wonderful people I have met since moving here, and we talked lots and laughed even more. However, when the final two days of the Races came with perfect blue skies and sunshine, I was tempted to be more than a little put out. Why me? My first time ever at the Races and it was the only day it rained the entire WEEK! What had I missed/done wrong/done to deserve it?? But when I voiced a little of this to a friend, he replied dryly, ‘Ok so how many people went to the Races on Wednesday?’ I didn’t know the answer to this but judging by the crowds I guessed easily thousands. ‘Exactly’, he said, ‘and yet you seem to think you’re the only one who “suffered” in the rain.’ Lol. I told him I was thankful for getting me off my high horse (pun intended) and I was also reminded of this scripture in Matthew 5:45, ‘He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’
It’s easy to think that turning to Christ and choosing a life with Christ will make things easier for you. You might (and by you I mean me) think that you become exempt from difficulty and what might be seen as negative circumstance. But no, if in any doubt, this scripture in Matthew removes any of that thinking. Is there such a thing as godly favour? Yes. Does walking with God mean all roses and no rain? No, and actually you don’t get the beauty of flowers without the rain to water them. So YES, other race-goers may have had sunlit shots for the Gram, but for those of us able to weather the Races on Wednesday - our experience wasn’t necessarily less enjoyable. And the lesson I learned is this; if we face our experiences the way we want to experience them, they won’t be marred by something out of our control.
Doll x
A bit about me...my full name is Tola-Doll Fisher (known to my friends as "Doll"). I’m head of brand for Woman Alive, a writer and model. In 2020, my first book Still Standing - 100 Lessons From An Unsuccessful Life was published by SPCK.
I want to inspire women (and men, but particularly women) through accessible faith and focus on finding joy despite not winning at life or being a "girl boss". Among other things, I am most proud of skiing in a bikini at the end of my ski season and being able to do dancer's pose in 5-inch heels. More from me...