Down by the river


The Wind in the Willows is one of my all-time favourite books. I think that I must have read it eight or nine times. At the beginning of the story, Mole gets fed up with the spring cleaning and so he goes up, up, up into the warmth and the sunlight. Pop! He comes out of his little tunnel and wanders off into the countryside.


Then Mole encounters the river and the Water Rat. The amiable Ratty takes him for a little expedition (and rather good lunch) in his rowing boat. It is a magical part of Grahame’s story.


Punting at Oxford brings back memories of lazy afternoons, willow trees by the Cherwell, sunlight, pretty girls in floppy hats and the green backdrop of the university parks. 


Punting is a blend of balance, strength, timing and maybe a little skill. It is the perfect way to enjoy some peace, the silence and the watery sounds of the river as you leave the Cherwell (pronounced "Charwell") boathouse behind and take your punt over the rollers to Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers.


Tim took quite a lot of photos down by the river. I did not come with him. Maybe I had an essay crisis or I had to go to a lecture or a tutorial. I cannot remember. Anyway, Tim went on his own and he took these wonderful photos.


Torpids are earlier in the university year and then there is Eights Week in the summer. I really do not know why the earlier races are called "Torpids", as the word "torpid" means to be lazy and lacking in effort.

My friend Russell was quite keen on rowing. He would tell me stories about getting up at the crack of dawn, in order to go down to the river for an hour or so of rowing before lectures started. Sometimes he and the rest of the crew would see a young lady, still in an evening gown, looking a bit embarrassed and coming out of Peckwater quad. 

 


I had to include this photo. I am sure that any ladies who are reading my blog will enjoy this photo of a rather athletic-looking young man (and his legs).

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Educaring, 2

Image
Not so long ago, I wrote a post for my blog called Educaring . Please do not misunderstand me. I really do believe that teachers, youth workers, parents (and indeed anyone involved with young people) all have a duty to protect children and teenagers, to keep them safe. As I argued in my previous posting, I also believe that the task of protecting children is becoming more and more difficult - almost impossible, in fact. Yes, the Internet has a lot to do with it, I am sure, but there is another problem that is hardly ever discussed.  In a nutshell, anyone who genuinely cares about children finds it very hard to imagine how evil and how subtle child molesters and pedophiles really are. I think that is probably why many teachers and parents just do not know when a pedophile is "grooming" a child and why they often do not believe it, even when confronted with the unpleasant truth. Michael Green at Windlesham House School I knew Michael Green when I was teaching at Windlesh...
Read more

On the Cards, Part 1

Image
Getting our new Bulgarian residency cards from the Microwave Oven Woman Rejoice! Let's celebrate. Hallelujah! At long last, the Microwave Woman has given us our new Bulgarian residency cards (BRCs). As a special treat, just in case you do not know what a BRC looks like, here is my old one.  My dear wife suggested that I should "black out" certain bits, as there are lots of evil people out there on the Internet, all gathering my personal and financial details in order to swindle me or involve me in some dreadful scandal or some such nonsense. Of course, no one who reads my blog could ever do such a nasty thing!   Getting our new BRCs means that we can go ahead with our applications for our Russian visas. Then, maybe two or three weeks later, our passports will be returned to us, with new Russian visas stuck into them. The other good news is that the insurance agent in Dragoman did not lose my car registration document. When she had finished giving me my new car ...
Read more

A Eulogy for My Old Latin Teacher, Roger Terence Davies

Image
RTD, in his later years The great Mark O'Gorman, aka the One and Only Markoi, has asked me to say a few words about Roger Davies and so, of course, I must obey. For duty, duty must be done The rule applies to everyone Though painful though that duty be To shirk the task, oh fiddledee! A much younger RTD Roger Terence Davies, RTD, the Rather Tubby  Dinosaur or dinosaurus pinguior, was my favourite teacher at Lord Wandsworth College, otherwise known as LWC, or the London Water Closet, as I usually called it when I was a student here. RTD taught Latin and double Latin with him on a Friday was the highlight of my week. Not surprisingly, I went on from GCSE O Level Latin to do Latin A level and then Classics at Oxford. Since graduating, I have been a primary teacher in one or two places around the world. I think that it is no exaggeration for me to say that Roger had more influence upon the course of my life any other person. Caecilius is very much alive! ...
Read more