The first of these should have happened by the time you are reading this. I well remember confusion over the clocks going forward and back when I ran a youth football team many years ago. One youngster couldn't get it right. Meet at 10 am for a 10.30 kick off were the instructions when we were at home. He would turn up either at 9 am when the clocks went back and wonder why nobody was there or 11 a.m when they went forward, having missed most of the first half and having to be a substitute.
Now for the University Boat Race. What a strange sporting event this is. The same two teams contesting the same rowing course each year (apart from this year). No qualifying rounds, no other universities involved other than Oxford and Cambridge. It's all about tradition. I should support Cambridge, living only an hour's drive away but for some reason I have always supported Oxford. Having visited both cities on numerous occasions I would say I'm slightly more in love with Oxford than Cambridge.
On our most recent visit to Oxford a few years ago we got talking to a student who told us some fascinating facts about underground Oxford. They were so fascinating I have entirely forgotten them. He was very much an Oxford man, referring to Cambridge on every possible occasion as Slumbridge. In fact he ran Cambridge down more than he praised Oxford. This so often seems to be the case. Just take politics for instance. Politicians spend more time criticising other parties than they do talking about their own - usually a sign that they haven't a clue what their own party stands for!
Anyway back to the boat race. It takes place annually (apart from COVID year) on the Thames and is probably the biggest free sporting event of the year with the banks of the river lined with people (when allowed to do so of course).
The race starts at Mortlake and finishes at Putney - a distance of just over four miles. Last year because of COVID the race was cancelled and this year it will be raced on the Great Ouse in Cambridgeshiire - something that doesn't quite have the same attraction. The competition became an annual one in 1856, although there were sporadic races before that date. The only break in racing came during the two world wars.
There's something almost primeval and gladiatorial about the contest. You are either winners or losers - apart from the year when there was a dead heat. The winners go off to celebrate and the losers to cry in their beer, devastated that they have lost something they have trained hard for the entire year to win.
And it's a real contest. Cambridge have won 84 and Oxford 80 which just shows the needle that exists. By and large the rowers are extreme athletes. They are very tall and weigh buckets which proves just how strong the boats are, although in 1912 both crews sank in extremely bad weather. Cambridge also sank in 1859 and 1978 while Oxford sank in 1925 and 1951 - showing that even in the matter of sinking the two universities are pretty level.
Amongst these huge hunks, however, are the cox who are the teeniest people imaginable. They shout and holler at the bigger dudes, demanding more effort and generally bullying and keeping them together. At the end as a way of thanking them, the winning large hunks chuck the winning cox into the river. Of course being the teeniest of people the cox can't really fight this ducking.
I kind of grew up with the boat race although I have never seen it live. The same can't be said for the Grand National at Aintree which we have been to. Once is more than enough as they say. Yes there are large crowds, yes there is a great atmosphere but you see virtually none of the race and it all has a surreal feel to it.
To get to the race track we had to walk through a demonstration against the cruelty of the race. There were about five people with placards telling us we should be ashamed of ourselves for supporting what they felt to be a blood sport.
But there is no race in the world like this. I have loved it since I was a boy.
I took hundreds of photographs of our day at Aintree and will publish some in a future blog. Two of the amusing images of the day were the queues for the tanning tent for people to top up their fake tans and the heel bar where broken stilettos could be repaired. They were both doing roaring trade.
Tomorrow I will tell you about my love for Eurovision.
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I was contacted a couple of days ago by Salena Dawson of Dawson's Law in Hethersett. She is looking for an office junior. Salena said:
We now have an after-school paid position for an office junior. Its not glamourous it includes making coffee, hoovering, filing, post duties. So why do it? It sounds menial! This gives a great insight to a legal firm. It gives you paid work experience and with time you will be given a duty with a bit of responsibility which will make you feel confident. It will also give you more depth to your CV and maybe set you on your own path in the legal world. We require help up to 3 times a week for approximately I hour ideal for after school hours. To apply email [email protected] Please place “Office Junior” in the subject heading.
I am more than happy to try to help find the right person.
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Finally today some more photographs of Norwich.