The Boat Race
Tricky and I have both been ill this week. Pretty much bed-ridden in fact. But we can't live in Putney for 2 years and not go to see The Boat Race at least once while we live here.
The race I refer to is the annual rowing race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities which takes place on the river Thames between Putney Bridge (around the corner from our place) and Chiswick Bridge. The race has been going on since 1829 after a series of letters between two friends resulted in a challenge by to Oxford by Cambridge. Its now an annual event and apparently a big deal.
So, we extricated ourselves from our blanketed cocoon of a sofa and wandered out to mingle with the masses and see what the fuss was all about. There were thousands of people out waiting for the race to begin. The pubs were full, every inch of the shoreline was packed with spectators. There were wild cheers as the race began and then, as the rowers disappeared around the first bend, we turned around and walked back to our house in time to see the winners (Oxford if you’re interested) cross the line on TV. It consumed about another minute of our time with some mucus-addled conversation, and then it was a return to the sofa and the Easter movies. That’s about as exciting as the race got for me. Not very.
More about the race here if you could be bothered.