The Churchill College ladies’ eight in winter 1973 – that’s me in the front row on the right, during my first term at Cambridge University…
Today is the traditional Varsity Boat Race on the Thames in London, between Oxford University and Cambridge University, about which I am always nostalgic, although I have never been there to see it. There is a preview, from the point of view of Cambridge, here…
The first men’s race was in 1829 but nowadays there are four races – men’s and women’s plus the reserve crew races between Isis (Oxford) and Goldie (Cambridge) for the men and Osiris and Blondie for the women.
I once thought I could have been a contender! How deluded I was… I can’t even recall why I joined my college’s boat club (known as the “BK”) when I went up to Churchill College in October 1973.
I have memories of cold, misty mornings out on the willow-and-reed-lined River Cam among the fens. One morning the river by our boat house was actually frozen so we couldn’t train. Our motivational coach Dave Lord from Gonville and Caius (with our crew in the picture above) bounced his motor-cycle helmet on the ice to prove it was solid (probably not a good idea).
I rowed at bow (opposite end to the cox) as I was not very big or strong and for a while felt I was actually a sportsperson. That was the only time in my life and I probably chose rowing because it is something you can do sitting down.
We had some moments of success but never won anything and later I became a cox, once crashing a men’s boat into the bank during a race when I urged “bow side” to pull harder and they did quite suddenly… one or two oars were wrecked.
My pink and chocolate-brown boat club scarf/blanket would still be a prized possession, were it not moth-eaten.
Unbelievably I went along to a selection session for the university “blue” boat – but did not stay long. The gym was full of fit and muscular types and the tests included gruelling circuit training. Oh dear, not for me, I’m afraid.
Good luck to the Cambridge crews today, after all their hard work and dedication. And my husband, an Oxford man, would no doubt wish the same to the Oxford crew…
The Squirrelbasket 
T shirt colours are good too!
I went to watch the men’s Boat Race a couple of times, most recently in 1978 when we positioned ourselves close to the finishing line, hoping to cheer our university – as with you, it’s Cambridge – home to victory. Sadly we never even got to see them, as they sank before coming into view…not the best day out I’ve ever had! I’ve never since been tempted to attend.
At least it was one of the more memorable ones…
All the best 🙂
Well, the Cambridge women did well yesterday! Like you I rowed in my first year at Cambridge (Sidney Sussex), a few years earlier. It was such a new experience for me and I remember enjoying it. It did help that we won our oars in the May bumps mainly because the Sidney II boat had previously done so badly!
It seemed to be the thing to do at the time, didn’t it?
Glad you were more successful than we were…
All the best 🙂