The Sport of Kings and a Prime Minister

Well, this year seems to be flying by again, all the winter sports finished a few months ago and we are already in the middle of Wimbledon fortnight! I'v been keeping busy with a varied selection of commissions, from shooting Howard Webb, the FA Cup Final referee at Wembley the day before the final (and are there any football supporters who haven't wanted to shoot the ref at some stage last season!!) to the London Marathon via weddings and portraits.
The first week in June has historically seen the running of the Epsom Derby, it had always been run on the first Wednesday but changed a few years ago to the first Saturday. I'm not a big horse racing fan but I had a commission to shoot this years race for sponsors Investec, with the brief of capturing the atmosphere of the festival. After spending most of the Friday photographing the static branding boards, I had all of Derby day to capture atmosphere pictures. Great, except it was cold and wet, it didn't stop drizzling until around 1.30! Actually, although the rain tried to spoil the day, most people didnt let it get in the way and as soon as it stopped most were outside enjoying the racing, betting, drinks, food, drinks and more drinks.
Fast forward a few days and I'm in quite a different place, I have a job that takes me to No.10 Downing St. and a shoot with a certain Gordon Brown. The job was for the FA, following the players and staff from England's World Cup winning team who didn't get a medal in '66, in those day's it was only the 11 players on the pitch in the final that received the winners medal. It was quite a serreal experience, walking through the door of No.10, up the stairs and into a large room where the players had a drinks reception before receiving their medal from the Prime Minister. It had been quite a journey to get there, and I'm not talking about the years of lobbying to get FIFA to award all the players and staff in the squad to get a medal, it was the first day of the tube strike and central London was a mess! I only just made it to the Royal Lancaster Hotel to meet up with the team. After shooting some nice portraits in the hotel we boarded the England under 21 coach to travel the one and a half miles to Downing St., a journey that should have taken 15 minutes in normal London traffic. However, not only had the tube strike made London's congestion zone traffic move at less than walking pace, as we neared Trafalgar Square, the PM's office phoned the coach driver to say that Whitehall had been closed due to a gas explosion. So, we were late..........65 minutes late! After waiting nearly 43 years for their medals, I dont think the players were too worried but it was a bit of a dissapointment that the team were rushed through, the PM only having a few minutes to spare. It was a fantastic job to be involved with, its not everyday you get to walk through the front door in Downing St!