Translation? "Oh really?" "Yeah really." As in you totally didn't see THAT coming.
2012 has been quite the year to be in the UK. Not only are there the usual things occurring such as The Boat Race [WHICH I WAS NOT IN THE LEAST BIT EXCITED ABOUT *SQUEEEEEE*] and Shakespeare's birthday (I'm sure it's noted...it's kind of my birthday, too!) but also new and exciting things like the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics!
The University occasionally has totally awesome trip opportunities to places I would never have a chance to go to on my own...like Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare.
Here's the catch: the place is about the size of a postcard. The five hours we spent in SUA on Sunday was at least two hours too long (unless you fancied ponying up a good chunk of money to get into Shakespeare's birthplace in which case you'd overstay by 1--1.5 hours). In spite of the very clear trappings of a tourist town, its loveliness is plain and we all had a fun time! Enjoy the pictures more than we enjoyed the weather, HA! Typical UK.
The Bard himself! In statue form!
The harbor (?)
There go storm clouds blocking out my blue sky! :(
ROWING CLUB SPOTTED! The boat names were the best--Lady Capulet, Desdemona, etc. Brilliant fun!
Entrance to the Butterfly Garden. I wonder if the blue being with wings popped up before or after Avatar...?
The River Avon!
This crank boat was totally worth the 50p. I should've taken a video to really show it off, but in short there's a chain connecting one side of the river to the other and the hand crank pulls the boat across along the chain!
This was Laura's most excellent call. :)
:D
Holy Trinity Church on the horizon--this is the site of Shakespeare's (actual) grave!
I really do love church graveyards in the UK. SO OLD AND SPOOKY!
The weather was totally terrible by this point...
How old are these?!
And finally, the inside.
Pretty small, but it's not like SUA is very large.
Altars and graves
Guess whooooooooose!
Ding ding ding!
Lovely stained glass. :)
Love love LOVE these ceilings! I have a serious thing for ornate and cool ceilings.
Of course the weather would turn nicer, but just wait.
River Avon behind the church.
Beautiful park walk next to the river!
Stairs to...?
WISTERIAAAAAAAAAA
"Downtown"
On the way to Shakespeare's birthplace!
Here it be!
Courtesy of Olivia :)
Courtesy of Olivia and the Shakespeare store! Which one's Baron and which one's Bard...?
There used to be a teddy bear museum, but now there's only a shop!
Awesome jester statue at the end of the road of Shakespeare's birthplace.
Riverfront...with rainstorms.
Driving through the countryside is quite lovely and though this video to/from Stratford doesn't do it justice, it's worth having a song break here!
Now onto my favourite event yet...THE BOAT RACE. This is the derring-do bit of the blog. :)
BOAT RACE 2003.
Take note of the wake in the back flying up behind all those launches---it will be referenced later.
This part of the blog is for everyone who's ever rowed or loved rowing.
Oxford was the general favourite to win this race (but of course I rooted for Cambridge!). Being a good crew isn't good enough for this race---you must be the best. However...nothing goes according to plan!
Read this tidbit from the Xchanging Boat Race website on the history and race course: critical and informative bits!
Keep for reference!
It is absolutely critical that you watch this video (at least up to the 4:14 mark):
Bottom line: This was the most interesting race I have ever seen.
Rigging first. Both boats were port-rigged, but Cambridge put their powerhouse in a tandem situation (seats 5 and 4 both rowed starboard)--personally, never done that, but I know it takes skill and mad amazing timing to pull that sort of thing off. For uber deets on the boat lineups, read this. [Short version: Cambridge went young and heavyweight, Oxford went mature and lighter.]
Stroke rate second. Holy crap, these guys were going at our race pace...for sprints. The enormous difference is that they're doing a 38 spm and settling at 34. That's super rapid, y'all! My heart was going about as fast...
So Oxford gains a lead of about a 1/4 boatlength, but Cambridge was really coming back (and had the advantage) around the Hammersmith Bend where their weight really began to work for them...until this.
They should've lopped his head off and very well could have.
This...thing...ruined a fantastic boat race that was utterly exciting and perhaps robbed Cambridge of an honest-to-goodness win. This jerk forced the umpire to halt the race and start it nearly half an hour later due to the wake (remember that picture at the start?) and other conditions all because of some ridiculous protest against the elitism of Oxford and Cambridge. He should've lost his head (and trust me, he ran that risk) but I suppose he got what he wanted. A fine ass, he was.
And after that cold start, this:
Not 100 metres into the second start, the umpire warned Oxford and warned Oxford and then Oxford paid for it with seat 6's oar. What! Zoe deToledo (Oxford cox) protested but kept Oxford going even after it became apparent the umpire had ruled and Oxford was in the wrong (well, they were!). Cambridge easily pulled ahead for the win.
W1NN4RZ!
Total rowing nerd note: CHECK OUT THEIR INCREDIBLE SET AFTER THIS RACE. IT'S SO AMAZING THEIR SEAT 7 CAN STAND UP IN THE BOAT WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
Obviously a bittersweet victory, especially after bow seat in the Oxford boat collapsed and had to be whisked away in a medical boat.
For the record, it's always bad news when you collapse like that even after giving your all for a race like this.
Cambridge were quite good sports about the whole thing and out of respect and sportsmanship cancelled their trophy presentation.
But my oh my, IT WAS SO FUN TO WATCH LIVE! On the BBC stream, that is. ;)
On that note, is it possible to have rowing hooligans (akin to football hooligans) or are we too stuck up? :P Here's my smack-talk:
May Cambridge win without incident next year and increase their lead over Oxford to 82 (to the Oxford 76...suckers!).
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