When: June 29, 2012
Where: Henley-on-Thames, England
With: Camilla, Jack, and Einar
While Ascot is the more well-known event that comes to mind when you mention British social events, perhaps one of the more elite is Henley. Henley is a town in the English countryside where the river Thames is about 1/5 the width of what it is in London. Once a year, a large 4-day rowing race occurs, hosting crew teams from around the world. And by attending, I got a very small glimpse into what British high society is like.
Anyone can go to the river during the races and sit on the banks watching boat after boat go by. However, I was fortunate enough to get access into a private tent for one of England's elite "rowing clubs" (think country club on water). To get tickets you need to be a member or know one. Luckily for me, Camilla's dad is a member, and she brought me along as her guest. Einar is also a member, and since he got a ticket for Jack, we had a lovely little Friday work outing on the river.
The rules in the tent were strict. The dress code had one main rule, but it was heavily enforced: skirts must fall below the knees. They don't recommend that women wear hats since it blocks the view of the rowing. And no cell phones are allowed...at all. If you need to use your phone, even to text message, you need to hide in a bathroom stall to do it. Breaking any of these rules, even as a guest, will result in a serious telling off of the member who invited you.
However, the men's dress code was something that looked like it should be banned - at least to my unsophisticated eyes. Apparently, when you are on your school's rowing club, you are given a uniquely patterned blazer. When men attend these rowing events, they don their stripy patterned blazers to identify themselves and other rowing alumni. Not sure if this last guy was actually in a rowing club, or just taking advantage of the situation to wear his flower covered blazer.
The rowing club's tent is located towards the end of the race. The river is sectioned off to allow the races in the middle of the "track" while spectators' boats are sidelined along.
Surprisingly, aside from the extreme rowing enthusiasts (aka Einar), there wasn't much watching of the rowing. Perhaps because you only see a small section of the race, or perhaps because there were so many races throughout the day, the focus seemed to be more on drinking Pimm's and socialising. Here's a few shots of the races, though who they are and who won, I have no idea.
Where: Henley-on-Thames, England
With: Camilla, Jack, and Einar
While Ascot is the more well-known event that comes to mind when you mention British social events, perhaps one of the more elite is Henley. Henley is a town in the English countryside where the river Thames is about 1/5 the width of what it is in London. Once a year, a large 4-day rowing race occurs, hosting crew teams from around the world. And by attending, I got a very small glimpse into what British high society is like.
The rules in the tent were strict. The dress code had one main rule, but it was heavily enforced: skirts must fall below the knees. They don't recommend that women wear hats since it blocks the view of the rowing. And no cell phones are allowed...at all. If you need to use your phone, even to text message, you need to hide in a bathroom stall to do it. Breaking any of these rules, even as a guest, will result in a serious telling off of the member who invited you.
However, the men's dress code was something that looked like it should be banned - at least to my unsophisticated eyes. Apparently, when you are on your school's rowing club, you are given a uniquely patterned blazer. When men attend these rowing events, they don their stripy patterned blazers to identify themselves and other rowing alumni. Not sure if this last guy was actually in a rowing club, or just taking advantage of the situation to wear his flower covered blazer.
The rowing club's tent is located towards the end of the race. The river is sectioned off to allow the races in the middle of the "track" while spectators' boats are sidelined along.
Surprisingly, aside from the extreme rowing enthusiasts (aka Einar), there wasn't much watching of the rowing. Perhaps because you only see a small section of the race, or perhaps because there were so many races throughout the day, the focus seemed to be more on drinking Pimm's and socialising. Here's a few shots of the races, though who they are and who won, I have no idea.
Other interesting things I learned about the British throughout the day: they still have afternoon tea when enjoying rowing on the river, boats with motors indicate "new money", boys receive a unique tie from every school they attend, and a fun phrase for when it's raining hard is "it's pissing it down".
I leave this entry with one of the most British of British things I could have seen: the queen's transport boat that took her from the edge of the river to her barge during her Jubilee.
No comments:
Post a Comment