Borat at Henley

As the Club will be aware, Henley Royal Regatta starts next Wednesday, and to put you in the mood, I am delighted to include a clip from YouTube showing Borat’s visit to Henley. It’s a little bit rude, I’m afraid, but very funny. Enjoy!

An endowment from our sponsors

Batteries not included (sadly)

Following on from the recent publicity generated by the Captain of Boats and Chairman on behalf of Pimm’s, the Chairman is delighted to report that our generous benefactors, the Pimm’s publicity department, have kindly supplied the Chairman and First Lady with a small Pimm’s party kit for use at the summer festivities this year. Don’t ask, don’t get, as we say in the WRC, but it’s good to note that our relationship with Diageo continues in a similar vein to that we enjoyed with United Distillers. Bottoms up!

Anyone for agitprop?

The Chairman and "I Predict a Riot" outside the RA

The Chairman is pleased to announce that picture variously attributed to the Chair of the Fine Arts Committee/The Consul General/Jackson Pollock has been retrieved by your ever dutiful Chairman from the deepest bowels of the Royal Academy. As you can see, the sun shone, and the Chairman was appropriately attired for the occasion. “Tempus Pro Betterlucknextyeario”, as Ruby said to me only the other day.

79 Glorious Years

R.Dad & R.Kid. Or not, as the case may have it

The Chairman is delighted to announce that our consultant classicist, my Father, Bob Howard, is 79 years old today, and is due to celebrate in the bosom of the Bunkers Hill Mafia and their associated entourage. Were it not for my dear Father, there would be no “Tempus Pro Proximo”, and as such, his place in the history of the Witham Rowing Club is assured. Happy Birthday Father. Or should I say Tempus Pro Paterbirthdayio?

Alice in Thompsonland

Alice & Daddy Duncan

Although he has no formal association with the WRC, I though you might like to see the daughter of Duncan Thompson, who was born a week last Friday and is named Alice. Few other details are known (come on – I’m a chap after all), but she is apparently quite contented, with long fingers and quite a lot of hair (unlike her Father & Uncle) according to her Uncle Cam. The Chairman wishes them well in their journey through life together, as I am sure do we all.

10 Glorious years

The Mollster in her green and white dress at the Varsity Polo. She believes, you know.

Many happy returns of the day to our Secretary, the Mollster, who has reached the grand old age of 10 today. As a spirited young lady, I am sure that the next 10 years will be some of the most exciting and challenging she will encounter, something she is no doubt looking forward too. As, of course, are her parents! Happy birthday Mollster – we cannot imaging life without you.

Like Father, like daughter....

To commemorate the highlight of your Chairman’s sporting summer, that of five days attendance at Lord’s over the course of a week (with an “all-dayer” at the Oxford vs Cambridge match being a potential highlight, providing that the weather holds…), I am delighted to share three pictures taken of the Captain of Boats and the Secretary at the Varsity Polo last weekend, courtesy of our friends at Say Fromage. I particularly like the one of the two of them smiling. Which is your favourite?

Filly watching in Windsor Great Park

Of course we took the flag.

The work of the Secretary, who was up to no good all day. She even had two glasses of Pimm's.

Prizes, both traditional and courtesy of the sponsors

The Campion ladies of the WRC

The Secretary, and a pony giving the Treasurer a close examination

Yes please!

Members and readers will be delighted to note that as custom dictates, the old adage “the sun always shines on the Witham” fortunately held true last Saturday when the UK branch of the WRC attended the Jack Wills Varsity Polo fixtures at the Guards Club in Windsor Great Park. Despite not one but two satellite navigation systems, the members attending managed to get lost twice en route to the Guards Club (blame the Chairman), but this did not spoil our day or result in a late arrival, of which there was little danger as the Vice Captain of Boats had apparently risen at 6.00am demanding to get into her dress and get on with things. I cannot be certain of the results, although I think that both Harrow and Oxford (boo) won on this occasion.

To be fair, the polo seemed to be of incidental importance compared with the promenading of the young ladies present, who outnumbered the boys (one could hardly refer to them as men, although they were all tall with masses of hair, a result of centuries of “good breeding” no doubt) by approximately five to one. Most of the long haired blonde young ladies (“jailbait” as the Captain referred to them), based on the colour of the wristband they sported, looked as if they were in for the long haul and were due to attend the after party on Saturday night for £50.00 a pop if you please, although the WRC contingent left at six, slighty sunburned, to avoid the crush. The Captain did suggest, however, that it was just the sort of fixture that the Vice Chairman would very much have enjoyed. Because, as we well know, he is a great fan of polo….

The 240th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition on the BBC

This is the sort of rubbish which gets accepted, would you believe?

Just in case you are interested, the BBC are to show a documentary on Thursday evening at the preview party of the 240th annual Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy in London, the biggest open submission art show in the world. Perhaps this show will shed some light over why the offering selected for submission by the Chairman with the invaluable assistance of the Chair of our Fine Arts Committee was so improperly rejected by the Royal Academy. Not that seeing what has been accepted will be of much conciliation, mind you.

Anyone for self-publicity?

Tempus Pro Freepimmsio?

Modesty would usually forbid, but if one clicks on the following link for Summer in the City on the TimeOut website, you might spot a pair of familiar faces in a pose not dissimilar to the one shown above. I spy some free Pimm’s in the offing, methinks.

In the red (and in the pink)

It's no laughing matter, Sir


The Captian in his red chinos and the Treasurer auditioning for the role of "The Mummy"

A fine sartorial example to us all - The Chairman with the Vice Captain of Boats and the Secretary

Your Chairman was amused to read in the Murdoch today that

One of Prince William’s first duties as a naval lieutenant will be to buy a crate of beer for colleagues after messing up the traditional task of slipping a ship’s anchor. After a demonstration of how to release the anchor of Hindostan, a former minesweeper, the Prince swung a sledgehammer and failed to dislodge it. He succeeded with his next blow but will be expected to pay the traditional forfeit of a case of beer.

Let us hope the Captain coughs up the traditional bottle of Champagne at Henley this year should he turn up at the polo on Saturday his red chinos, as he has intimated might be on the cards.

Hang ’em high

I Predict a Riot (but not rejection)

How could they?

The Chairman is disappointed to have to report that those arbiters of artistic creativity (otherwise known as the Hanging Committee of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition) have seen fit to reject this year’s submission of the Chair of the Fine Arts Committee, on the ludicrous grounds that there were “over 10,000 entries and the competition was extremely strong”. It is the Chairman’s conjecture that bearing in mind the accredited artist was only aged one, to be so callous as to reject the child’s submission out of hand was at the best unsporting and at worst a serious error of artistic judgement. Especially as the picture was actually painted by the Consul General (aged almost three at the time). I’m not a dramatic sort of Chairman, but I feel compelled to suggest on this evidence that even if this is not the end of artistic civilisation as we know it, then it’s the end of the beginning of the end, as I’m sure you will all agree.

Anyone for polo?

The Chairman is delighted to announce that both himself and the First Lady, in addition to a full compliment of Carterton Campo’s, are to attend the Jack Wills Varsity Polo 2008 at the Guards Club at Windsor Great Park this coming Saturday. The fixtures include not only Oxford vs Cambridge, but also Eton vs Harrow and Harvard vs Yale. Suffice as to say that the day is being eagerly anticipated by one and all, and should you need an idea of what we shall be witnessing, the Chairman has uploaded a video of last year’s festivities for your viewing pleasure.