To be sick of bloody pisshead racegoers!

[TheRivieraKid]

Every single bloody year we have this. It's a horrible week to live in this town (this is the big jump race week for those who can guess where I live).

Town just becomes full of gangs of middle-aged blokes off the leash, drinking too much, thinking they're teenagers and treating the place like a giant man-playground. Anybody local who isn't going to the races literally hides in their homes at night to avoid it all. Every night during race week we have people throwing up in the street outside, making a racket, trashing cars and property - and we live on the other side of town to the racecourse.

The state of the town once they've gone home is awful, it takes weeks for the mess and damage to disappear, and actually, makes me pretty pissy that they're allowed to do whatever they like to our town because they're 'here for the races'. Of course, the vast majority of racegoers come and go without a fuss, but as usual the minority spoil it.

My neighbour always rents her house out to racegoers but she usually stays there while they're here, after a bad year a few years back when the lodgers she had trashed her house and tried to break into mine. I was all alone that year and pretty frightened. But this year she's decided to go away (and didn't bother to tell us, she's a bit like that - very much 'I'm alright Jack'). She has 8 men staying in her 3 bed house this time.

Last night we were woken up at half 11 by one of the men coming home without a key and spending the next 20 minutes trying to break her door down. He woke up our DD and eventually I had to hang out of the window and yell at him to pack it in (with DP hiding behind me, thanks for that DP ). About an hour later one of the others came home and they went quietly inside.

Then at 3am one of the other men came home (so pissed he could barely stand and couldn't speak) and tried to get into our house. Despite us telling him he had the wrong place, he was so incoherant he couldn't understand. I rang the police while he kept trying the key in our lock and was slumped against our door. HALF AN HOUR later still NO police in sight and one of his mates turned up and took him home. I gave them both an earful, they were apologetic but patronising ('Sorry Darling, won't happen again Darling'- I'm not your fucking darling!).

I've already sent a text to the neighbour to tell her this is out of order, but she'll either not answer or fob me off with some shitty excuse. It's alright for her, she rakes in the money while we put up with the shit!

Yes I know it 'helps' the local economy and yes I know I don't have to live here, but for the other 51 weeks of the year this is a lovely place to live and I like it. It's just this ONE week that gets me every time! Moving isn't an option either.

I suspect at least a part of me is being unreasonable and this is just all part of living where we do, but I'm tired, cranky, trying to work and we still have at least 3 nights of this to come!

I don't blame your rant. I live in Gloucester and there were loads of drunkards shouting in a beery manner early yesterday morning. I have got to get the train via Cheltenham later and am dreading it.

I used to live in Bishop's Cleeve and dreaded race week.

And I went out one Gold Cup night and was home by 9 - never felt such a sense of menace and impending violence, people kicked off all the time, strippers in the pubs. It was horrible.

Has it always been like that? I have only lived here for 7 years, I always imagined racegoers would be a genteel sort. Or is it just the Cheltenham Festival?

How can you possibly think yabu-you aren't! I am sorry for you.

Ring the police non emergency call line and ask advice on what to do.your neighbour sounds lovely .

Hi GetOrf

I've only lived here for 10 years and while it's always been busy and attracted a certain 'sort' of drunk, it's since they went from a 3 day meet to a 4 day (more money ker-ching!) that things have gone really downhill. The amount of people who treat it like a massive bender is unreal - and these aren't kids, these are usually reasonably wealthy, middle-aged men off out for a few days. It's awful and you're right - atmosphere in town is very threatening, especially if you're young(ish) and female.

There are plenty of genteel sorts who come, but I doubt they're staggering the street in the early hours pissing up cars.

I used to pass through Aintree on my commute to and from work. I hated Grand National week, just awful, and it was only two weekdays!

BTW, GetOrf, I don't even you the train journey, I avoid the trains if possible this week! Made the mistake of walking past the station on my way to work last year and got solicited by a group of men who were already on their way to being hammered. Not nice.

Gig, good idea, I might ring 101 and ask for advice. But tbh, the police are stretched during this week and are notorious for turning a blind eye. And yes, the neighbour can be a real bitch. We've put up with her doing this for the last 6 years!

*envy, not even. Lol.

Well, the town and it's people and businesses do make a huge amount of money out of it, but of course YANBU.

I feel really sorry for you, I'm trying to think of ways to get back at your neighbour and I can only come up with not taking in parcels, grassing her to her mortgage / insurance company. Not very inspired, anyone else any ideas?

Also shocked at how awful it is, thought there would be a lot of alcohol but more of a mixed group.

That's the thing Blueberry, it's painted among the media as this quaint little 'countryside' race meet where everybody wears tweed and fancy hats but in reality it's more like a seaside town on a warm bank holiday weekend.

I had wondered if I could grass the neighbour up, but would rather not as there's been problems in the past (her underage son used to have massive boozy house parties every week). She doesn't have a mortgage anyway.

Sent her an irate text a few hours ago, awaiting her reply still!

I went once with DH and his brothers and their partners. They are locals. Grew up in Southam, one bro works in Bishops Cleeve. They all used to bunk off school, break into the racetrack and stagger home to their parents houes late evening.

I was expecting something fairly naice too. Hells Bells. Basically it was a drinking festival. THe SIZE of those beer tents was industrial. Nobody I saw was even vaguely interested in the racing on the track. They were not even looking at the big screens in the tents. Didn't give a flying Fxxx when the inevitable 'green screens' came out around a stricken horse. Hated it - just horrible.

YANBU

I love horse racing but I avoid the big festivals because there is so much horrendous behaviour

Cheltenham, Ascot, Aintree.........all ruined IMO by a small majority of idiots.

I only go to smaller meetings now where it isn't so much of a problem (yet) and point-to-points

The feckers have started getting into Polo now and if the ruin that I will be fuming.

Still, I imagine it will be a long time before the get into dressage and eventing

It will be over soon but you have my sympathies

YANBU at all.

Of course people will argue that it brings millions of pounds of business to the area but that doesn't make it any easier if you have to live through it.

i've got a friend with a house on the main Notting hill Carnival route, she always leaves town and always returns to a garden full of rubbish and to find that her porchway has been used as a toilet or a place to vomit into

YADNBU It doesn't matter how much money it brings in anti social behaviour like this is wrong.

Yep I live in York - bloody nightmare. Thank god its just in the summer here.

No one local will go out on a race night, its just utter carnage. People who don't live in race towns always think its so posh and genteel - actually its pretty much a night out for the whole of the north-east.

We have a week of similar behaviour here every year, although it's not horse racing-related.

It attracts obnoxious gits, who think that because they've paid their entry fee, they get to behave however they see fit for a week.

It does bring in a lot of money to the area, but it would be nice if I didn't have to walk along a footpath covered in sick, etc

I too live in York and whilst it's a massive pain in the arse, I did once find £20 on the floor after a herd group of racegoers had gone past.

I've just moved opposite a very big and popular race course - should I be concerned?

Update - neighbour has responded to my text. As I suspected, shes going down the fobbing off route - 'its never happened before' (apparently the incident 4 years ago has slipped her mind! But it's never slipped mine!), and 'how upsetting for you' (no fucking shit sherlock!). She's going to contact the racegoers, so we'll see if that makes any difference.

If I hear a peep out of them tonight I'll be livid. And on the phone to the coppers sharpish.

Race week is so exhausting when you're trying to carry on with normal life. What also annoys me is that my job is totally unrelated to racing/business, so I don't even get to see any benefit from the extra cash brought into the local economy.

Laddish sponsorship companies like Paddy Power only make the situation worse with their fucking awful adverts.

Having lived in horseracing's HQ I know exactly how you feel. The infamous Friday Night race meetings complete with a band are a nightmare.

I work in horseracing and dearly love the sport but I'm embarrassed by the way racecourses have pushed and pushed the drinking angle of the day/night out. People should be attending to watch the horses and the races themselves, not to drink themselves stupid. If nothing else alcohol on track is very expensive - you'd have a cheaper night out in the local pub!

Kirsty that depends - do you know the area? What kind of atmosphere do race meets have in the town? Like I said, I live on the opposite end of town to the racecourse which means racegoers come in this direction via the pubs. So being next to the course itself isn't necessarily a concern. But depends on where you are!

I went to Chester races last year and the indoor bars were just packed with over-dressed young women in stupid heels, drinking from 11am and moaning about their shoes. I don't think any of them even went outside. At least the 'showy' blokes generally watch and are interested in the racing. I find it embarassing.

Riviera yeah, I know the area, I was just being sarcastic. I think most people who rent houses out for the races are on the other side so I should be ok. I work in the middle of town so I get to see the carnage, it's brilliant people-watching.

Is it Chester you live then Kirsty? I lived there for a few years myself, the races there did seem to attract more of the dressed-up girls, whereas here its more the middle-aged menfolk

I live in a town with probably one of the best known horse race weeks - I will give you a clue: its in June and the Queen attends every day.

TBH its not really a problem - very very well policed, all bars have to shut at 10pm, all locals know when to travel - the main street is actually v v quiet between 2 and 5 pm. I am an avid people watcher and find a good vantage point to watch all proceedings - and can all be watched for free if you know th e right places to go.

Trying to travel on the train at key times can be a risky business though

I would not be happy with the shenanigans you have had to put up with the people at your neightbours.

yanb!

we live in cardiff in a very studenty area (i know i know!) and we get this kind of behaviour nearly every single night. its bloody awful

cant wait to move but nothing in our price range has come up yet