Walshman Gets Head in Cambridge

The Rob Roy crew I rowed with this past week managed to win the Cambridge Town Bumps. Thus, retaining for the Rob Roy Rowing Club the coveted title of "Head of the River" that the club has held for several years running now. After a very sharp warm-up, we stormed out of the start rowing as well as we had at anytime all week, and remained well above 40 strokes per minute for the first series of turns, before settling into a fairly stompy rhythm for the body of the race stroking about a 35. We raised the tempo for the final few meters "just for kicks" and saw the competition fade into obscurity. It was a lovely tranquil evening on the Cam, in nice weather and that made for a very enjoyable event to say the least. Especially the start, which features a cork-screwing, crazy set of narrow turns (thankfully allowing the Walshman to take a few light ones before the big push on the Reach!) that are usually lined by spectators hoping to catch sight of a dramatic "bump" or two. It was a real blast to see all the folks out on the river Cam to celebrate the last day of the Bumps in boating parties, BBQs, etc. A really great "social rowing" event.

The crew to be added to the 116 year old trophy for the race is as follows:

Tom Johnstone
Guy Blanchard
Greg "Ball Pin" Scherkoske
Simon "Sledge" Goodbrand
Ed "The House of" Pain
Shawn "Luggage" Walsh
Alex Hamilton
James Silk

Incidentally, the following shell on Friday night included two members of the current Cambridge Blue Boat. As in, the one that defeated Oxford, in this year's Oxford Cambridge Boat Race in March. A tidy victory it was then, indeed! A big thanks to Greg for getting my fat ass out of my chair at work enough times to actually enjoy the event! Here's some photos!

The Cambridge Town Bumps Regatta

Well, this week has featured a once per afternoon journey to up to Cambridge at rush hour in order to join in with the Rob Roy Rowing Club bid to retain the Championships of the Cambridge Town Bumps Regatta - aptedly titled "Head of the River." This is undoubtably the oddest rowing event in which I have ever taken part. The format goes something like this. There are five flights of 16 rowing crews. Crews are seated (1-80) based on the previous year's final results. Each crew races once a day each day of the week - the fifth flight first to the first flight last. The race itself is structured along traditional lines whereby all 16 crews of a flight are lined up in single file (a la "head racing") equidistant over the first few hundred meters of the 2700 meter course on the River Cam. They all have a length and one half separating them, aside from the lead shell which is only given a length (due to the fact that they are rowing in clean water for the whole event). A canon announces the start (actually three canon blasts - at the 4 minutes to go, and one minute to go, and start) and the crews race to attempt to overcome the crew in front of them. They can do this in one of two ways. They can attempt to gain one full length into the preceeding boat, judged by a marshall on the bank (and often disputed!) who then instructs the crews that such an overlap has occured, or better, physically touch on shell's nose to the other's tail (thus, effectively saving a half length of space). Once either of these events has been achieved the crews traditionally pull to one side to allow the following crews to pass. The "over-bump" is also a rare occurane when a particularly fast crew elects to row past the preceeding crew and bump the next inline! The crew that "has been bumped" begins the following day one position further down in the rankings, and everyone does it all over again! If the first ranked crew retains their position on the last day, they win. It is a unique event not only for the way it is carried out, but also for the reasons that it includes only Cambridge based crews (each crew is allowed one guest), and also for the fact that the spectrum of rowers includes everyone from full time training athletes, to former internationals turned sometimes rowers, to total hacks who train only a few weeks for only this event. There is a fiesta on friday that is said to rival all rowing parties held anywhere at any time. We'll see!

Our Weekend in Paris

In my experience, I would hazard to say, that if I only had one weekend to spend in Europe, it would have to be spent in Paris. Despite my lack of French speaking ability (an embarrassing admission being a Canadian citizen: je comprends un peu le Francais, mais je le parle tres mal!), the liberal deposits left on nearly every sidewalk by the city's fashionable four legged friends, the expense of everything (I mean everything!), the congestion, the ridiculously misinformed and arrogant smokers, etc. Paris and its true inhabitants, seem to be able to manage a kind of elegance that is always immensely attractive. There is an attitude in most places you go that says "well, it may cost you more, but it is certainly worth it, isn't it?!" Often times I find myself agreeing. That being said, it is still possible to enjoy Paris as I first did with Bradshaw - on a cheap baguette and cheese budget with the night spent in a grotty pension! Thankfully, those days are behind me now though. The Parisians flaunt the city's wealth of culture on their sleeve, as though it is their own possession, and they are immensely social animals, always out, always taking a drink, or meeting someone to chat and people watch. They are unwilling to have Paris be anything but "for Parisians" even though it is often inundated with tourists as it was this weekend. You can never truly experience Paris without complete submission to doing as the Parisians do - virtually nothing for breakfast, several stops for "un petit cafe" throughout the day, a leisurely lunch usually taking just a salad, and a long, long time for dinner. Now that I have visited Paris several times, it has lost a bit of its original stunning capacity, and also having worked with several people who have made their existence in Paris and have thus related to me its pit-falls, I have gained a more balanced view, but I don't think it will ever lose its essential charms.

Friday night featured our late arrival to Paris via Eurostar (which is amazing and so easy to take from London Waterloo), and our hurried check-in to the Hotel Cluny Sorbonne. We dashed out to find a bar/brasserie that Greg Scherkoske had recommended to us not far from our hotel called L'Academie de la Biere. We had a lovely twilight walk to find it near Port Royal metro station. The bar was really cool, with a big terrace, lots of folks out in big groups chatting and drinking. Meg and I dined on a couple of French classics "salad de chevre chaud" and "moules et frites" while trying a few different Belgian beers served in their appropriately specific glasses. The "blond" that Megcita polished off was exceptional! We finished the night by walking back to the Seine to take in a view of Notre Dame on a warm night, had a late night cafe and tea on a little plaza near the hotel.

Saturday we rose late having had a great sleep, and walked through Jardin du Luxembourg to the Musee D'Orsay. We missed out on this one last time around due to large crowds, evil line-ups, and not enough time! Well, this time the complete opposite. We showed up late morning and walked right into one of the loveliest buildings ever to house a work of art. Filling in the gap between the contemporary art scene and the vast Louvre collection of old masters the Musee D'Orsay is a very popular spot and is very accessible to a broad cross section of people. The building itself is incredible. I could go on in volumes about the excellent way the building allows people to move through it creating amazing little opportunities for artistic discovery around the many corners. Such a vasy space, such overwhelming light, and such intimate experiences with the art works. "How do we fill those amazing old archways of the original train station while keeping the sense of air and light?" must have been the original artistic question. Well, now we know! We had lunch in the Boulevard St. Germain area, near to Eglise Saint Sulpice, and had a good long walk around as we "window shopped" and what an amazing neighborhood for it! So many shops and galleries, it is mind boggling at times! For dinner, we decided to change the scenery a bit and headed to a recommended brasserie in Le Marais called "Les Philosophes." Dinner was excellent for a mid level Paris brasserie - my pave de boeuf was exceptional (I must learn how to make a simple beef gravy like they make in Paris!) and we had a very good tomato tarte tatin as a starter. We chatted the entire time "en Espanole" and found that whenever we did that, miraculously, the wait-staff treated us so much better! I wonder why...

Sunday we again slept in before heading out on a bit of a jaunt to see the Eiffel Tower and the stunning dome of the Ecole Militare. Paris is such a lovely city to see by foot that even though it may take a bit more time, I simply can't resist walking to get around. The Eiffel Tower is especially impressive up close where you can really get a sense of the craftsmanship and design of the building. All that iron is magnificent! The great arching legs that support it are a truly unique signature structure of the city. Following our walk we met up with Jean-Paul's friend Marie in Le Marais (the same Marie who had been staying with us in the flat in London) and we had a classic cheap lunch and chat in Le Marais. Salad and cafe, a French institution! Following that, a whole lot walking around in Le Marais! What an incredible location to spend the afternoon brousing and taking in the sites of the city. We crossed the Place de Vosges which is always a favourite place to see for me. A little last minute rusing around for something to eat and we were off again to London!

It's Baby Liam Everybody!

Great news from Mike and Christine! It seems that the little dude was so brimming with enthusiasm and just couldn't wait to see what's up with all this life stuff that everyone seems to be taking part in these days! What's the deal? Why is everyone doing it? How can I get involved? What are the entrepreneurial avenues open to me? So the crazy little guy decided to make an early appearance and crash the party! Here's the news from the old horse's mouth: "Well the little tiger couldn't be bothered with waiting til the due date or for Mom and Dad to finish up the renovations - Liam arrived on very short notice two hours after Christine's water broke, which happened unexpectedly in bed at 3:50AM. Christine skipped through all that labour and contraction stuff except on a speedy ride to BC Women's Hospital and she delivered a beautiful baby boy within 20 minutes of arrival. 5lbs 13 oz Horray!"

In Paris for the Weekend

Megcita and I have our second wedding anniversary coming up on the 20th so I thought I would surprise Her with a little romantic getaway to Paris! Originally, I was thinking it would be nice to head somewhere in Italy, since we have not been there, but having spent a lot time flying to and from Madrid this year, and only having the two days of the weekend to spare because of our upcoming holidays in August, and Paris being so easy to get to from here, I thought "what better place in Europe to go when you only have two days!" So we're off! We are staying at the same Hotel Cluny Sorbonne we stayed at when we began our bicycle tour summer 2001, and hopefully this time we will have the opportunity for Meg to see the Musee D'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower which she missed during our last time in Paris. Also, thanks to the helping hands of some of the French nationals at The Moving Picture Company, we have some great restaurant suggestions! So it looks to be a fabulous time in one of the jewels on the world.

More on Fahrenheit 9/11

Last night, my first reaction to seeing Michael Moore's polemical filmic assault on the morons currently "running the world from the Oval Office" was that I couldn't believe this film has been made and is showing all across America! What a tribute to expression and free speech! What am amazing example of how there is a voice of dissent in America, that the image presented by the Bush administration is in fact a malevolent distorted picture of the America I would like to see as my neighbour. That is it not America itself that is the problem plaguing the world these days, but the corruption, greed, and determined evil opportunism of those in power.

My second reaction was that if even half of all this is to be taken at face value, all of this behaviour by the Bush administration is so obvious, so blatant, why can't we do something about it? Why can't we just make simple choices in life to prohibit these kinds of people from taking such control over so many people lives. Then, a horrible sinking feeling set in... the realisation that in fact, for the average Joe, not a lot can be done about it. There are people all over the globe who are willing to bring an incredible amount of harm on unwitting civilians regardless of their place of origin.

The one thing I noticed was how little criticism there is in the film directed at Tony Blair and the Brits who so eagerly "went along with the American agenda." Perhaps there are some good reasons for this, as Bill Clinton pointed out during interview here. He really had little option. Also, I am sure that he felt the majority of the people he is trying to reach would be saying to themselves "who is this Tony Blair guy again" and that would be a distraction after all.

Megcita esta en Londres

Just a quick note to say that Meggi has arrived safe and sound in London! She came in from Madrid after midnight last night and I met her in Victoria Station. She seems great and looking forward to three weeks together before heading back to Vancouver (via Madrid) in early August. We have settled into our little room at the flat and are getting used to "sharing" again! (har, har) We had lunch together for the first time in weeks and it was great! We are hoping to plan a few little trips around southern England over the next few weekends. Not sure where just yet, but Bath and Brighton day trips have come up.

Le Tour de France 2004 Begins!

Ooooh... something I have been excited about all year is to be in Europe to see all the great coverage of the Tour de France. Cycling everywhere for three weeks! If Lance Armstrong is to win this year, he will go into the record books all alone. no one has ever won six tours, let alone in a row! I can barely contain my youthful enthusiasm as a prepare to watch some of the toughest athletes try to do the impossible: win the tour. Meg and I may try to scoot over there to see Stage 7 and 8 next weekend near St. Brieuc in Bretagne. Here's a link to some good internet coverage: link