Make Space for the Boat Race

Come on the blues. The British social season is edging into longer days and warmer weather with the definitive spring event, the Oxford and Cambridge boat race. Watching the exertions between Putney Bridge to Mortlake is more evocative to me than hearing the first cuckoo.

I'm no wet bob, nor a dry bob for that matter, but I enjoy the tradition of the boat race. It still feels like a properly sporting event. It's not about inflated egos or salaries, the competition is all.

No wet bob

I may forget who won last year, and never give the event another thought the day after, but it's pleasant watch and a moment for collective spectacle and the chance of a flutter (bet). Gentility is a rare commodity these days, and the race retains some of the Corinthian spirit in which it began. The local pub's having a boat race theme, so I'll make an admittedly lazy effort and wear my Henley shirt by John Smedley. In the interest of impartiality, the blue is neither Oxford or Cambridge in shade.