I WAS in Newmarket this week for the racing and the sales and the flight was full of familiar faces including the editor of this newspaper, who was travelling to attend the Martin Wills Writing Awards. As an industry we do have an unbelievable amount of awards in the course of the year. It is just as well that I get invited to very few of them as my waistline is quite challenged enough. The general consensus was that the only category not covered is an award for the best awards ceremony.

I gave a lift to Newmarket to a married couple who had a horse in the sale. The husband always likes to get his hair cut when in Newmarket and told me a story about a well-known journalist who visited the same premises. Having waited patiently and witnessed the barber’s endless banter, it was his turn to get into the chair. Asked how he would like his hair cut, the journalist replied simply, “In silence”.