Sunday at the Races!

2 April, 2017

One of our favorite activities on Sundays in London is to meet friends for a roast dinner at a gastro pub and spend the afternoon socializing over beers (or wine, or cider, depending upon your preference.) April 2nd happened to be the annual Boat Races between Oxford and Cambridge. Tracing their origins back to 1829 (men's) and 1927 (women's) the races were held irregularly until becoming an annual even in the 1960's.

Given that collegiate sports in the U.K. are sparse, this is a monumental event each year. Imagine UNC-Duke in basketball, Auburn-Alabama or Michigan State-Ohio State in football and you've got a good start on the magnitude of this rivalry. Barges and yachts are moored along the route and every square inch of every patio facing the river is packed with humanity. Pubs become full-blown sports bars with televisions in every corner for those who can't see the river. The usual, somewhat sedate, borderline formal, civilized Sunday afternoon atmosphere is exchanged for cheering crowds drinking beer from plastic cups (a rarity) and eating upscale cookout food from pop-up restauranteurs set up all around the patios.

While the crowd was large it wasn't overly loud, save for the band set up inside the pub. Lines for beverages were quite long, which helped to moderate consumption. Drinking from plastic did make the beer warm more rapidly than usual, which was a little irritating. With all the plastic cups and disposable food containers the staff did a commendable job of patrolling the area and keeping garbage picked up. It was quite entertaining when, during one trip to the bar, the band started playing "Sweet Home Alabama" and a large group of Brits started singing at the top of their voices.

The most surreal moment of the day was when we asked someone to take a group photo for us. Not only was he American, he was from a town just a few hours up the road from us! The "small world" paradigm always seems to come around when you least expect it.

It is understandable that the beer selection was limited to keep things streamlined, I will say that it was a bit disappointing. I am (admittedly) a bit of a beer snob, and the ones on offer, while certainly what I would consider "useful" beers, were not as enjoyable as would normally have been offered. They also had Pimm's by the pitcher (If you haven't had a proper Pimm's cup I highly recommend a trip to your local liquor store - it is light and refreshing and doesn't pack a kick - recipes are plentiful and readily available.)

The weather was tremendous, the company was spectacular, the food and beverage more than adequate (but a bit on the pricey side of the equation.) It was certainly much different than any other Sunday afternoon we've spent in London and I recommend participating in a similar event if the opportunity presents itself, if for nothing than the opportunity to compare it to other events you may have attended.