Friday Poll

The nominations are in for the Lush awards and now it's time to cast your vote for a winner*.
The first award to go to the polls is the Fasion Statement of the Year Award and this years nominations are as follows:


Neil Bromwich for those tights
Marcus Mumford for terrible choice of head gear
Rob Beever, the tweed crusader
Dr Jones for eye watering lycra combinations
and Tim Beaver for the jacket that gave him the name 'Velvet'.

VOTE HERE

*The final desicion lies with the adjudication panel.

Dodgy Characters

Think you are a quiet, law abiding citizen? Try this test and think again.

Baggy should take careful note of the laws associated with question 25.

GR8 TXT

Mobile phones are great aren't they? You can call your mates, surf the interweb and best of all send little messages to people you fancy.

But before you get busy with the thumbs take heed of this advice, particularily the paragraph about timing..

Beware the Auburn Hair

Choosing to dye his hair ginger may have put Mr Crofts at risk of slightly more than the ridicule of his friends, family and the general public as the unfortunate chap in this article found out.

Luckily Russ took the necessary precautions to cover up his carrot top on Saturday night though I'm not sure if he looked any less ridiculous.

Birthday Greetings

Apparantly it's a member of the Novice Women's Squad's birthday today.

Happy Birthday Dee.

Not long to go 'till you're 30!

Amateur Photographer

On Saturday CBRC's official photographic team were poised and ready on Hammersmith bridge to capture the shot that would show the club's finest oarsmen in action. The resulting photo really is something that David Bailey would be proud of:

Luckily the official race photographers managed to capture some sharper images of both crews:

Hair'em Scare'em

Russ and Marcus' racing haircuts were something of a shock to those gathered on the waterfront in Putney on Saturday morning.

Could this be a sneak preview of their intended costumes for the ball?

I think we have two more entries to contend for the coveted title of fasion statement of the year!

HORR

Since October the men's squad have put in:
151 training days,
104 outings,
32 weights sessions,
26 erg sessions,
And tomorrow the result of all this hard work will be put to the test at the Eights Head.

Good luck chaps.

I'll see you all at the LRC after show party ...

Mano e Mano

There is a worrying trend emerging amongst the men's squad of taking crew bonding a step too far by moving in with each other.
First there was Russ and Marcus who live in The Pineapple (is it just a coincidence that their house has the same name as a 'specialist' pub at the bottom of Park Street?). Next came Phil and Dr Jones who reside in Brokeback Cottage. Now I hear that Steve and Jimmy are making plans to cohabit (A modern day Steptoe and Son?).
At present the women are keeping their homes separate (correct me if I'm wrong), but I wonder if there are any plans for a Brokeback Cottage 2?

Lush Awards 2006

As part of the festivities of 21st April there will be the return of the Lush awards. These will be presented to those who have made an outstanding constribution or put in the extra effort to all aspects of club life both on and off the water.

This year's categories are as follows:

• Novice of the Year
• Club Person of the Year
• Crash of the Year
• Romance of the Year
• Tart of the Year
• Coxing Call of the Year
• Fashion Item of the Year
• Most Featured Club Member on Gurt Lush

Please send your nominations to gurt_lush_blog@hotmail.co.uk or use the comments and there will be a vote for the top 3 in each category next week.

Also if you have any gossip that has not been reported or deserves another airing at the ball then send this in too.

Bullish Behaviour

As you may recall Saturday was a bitterly cold, windy day, not the kind of weather to be learning to scull you might think. The fearless LTR men thought otherwise and Dave and Paddy bravely took to the water in the seemingly unsinkable Virus boats.

After a couple of hours of battling with the elements they decided they'd had enough and headed back to the marina. It was at this point that Paddy found himself in the direct line of attack of a red and white ferry named Taurus. He had two choices: Fight or flight, and chose the former.

Unfortunartely the aquatic matador was no match for the raging bull and his bows were struck by the ferry sending him unceremoneously into the docks.

And the ferry driver's reaction? He continued on his merry way without even a cursory glance to see whether his victim had survived the attack.

You'll be pleased to hear that Paddy made it to the shore safely and that the Harbour Master has been informed but this should be a warning to all novice scullers and steerspeople: beware the ferrymen.

You Better Shape Up

I am quite proud of my portly silhouette, the most defining feature of which being a nicely rounded belly (all bought and paid for you understand). However it seems that an increasing number of British blokes are uncomfortable with the extra pounds that they carry and are becoming obsessed with losing weight, getting fit and grooming. Rather worryingly these men look to David Beckham as their role model.

Contrary to this trend, most men at CBRC seem content with what they’ve got, whether big, small, tall or short and I doubt you’ll find many exfoliating creams in their bathrooms. But then perhaps that’s why certain club members have been single for so long?

What do you reckon ladies, is it time for a men’s-squad-makeover?

Costume Party

With the ball rapidly approaching there has been much talk of what costume to wear for maximum impact on the night. The most hotly debated topic seems to be which of the novice women will go as Marilyn Monroe, by the sounds of it most of them will be. Fans at the ready chaps.
To give you a few ideas I've been trawling the world wide interweb for inspiration. Here are a few sugestions:
For the blokes:

Chewbacca - You'll need to perfect the growl though

Fat Ba***rd - He's got a sexy body

Jaws - A snappy little number

For the birds:

WILMA!

Cruella De Ville - for the dog lovers

Felicity Shagwell - Groovy baby

and my personal favourite: Wonderwoman.

Don't forget to get your tickets from Dom or Ruth and Marcus is still collecting lots for the auction of promises.

He's Still Got it

What does a 5 times olympic rowing champion and knight of the realm do with himself when he retires? It seems he designs an attractive range of smart yet casual clothing and races cars round grand prix circuits.
Sir Steve took part in the Pro-Celebrity Motor Race at the Bahrain track on Sunday and manged to beat all comers to claim the top spot on the podium! He was up against the likes of Jay Kay, Nigel Mansel and Martin Brundle, all of whom were no match for the big fella'.

Is there nothing he's not good at?

WeHORR Results

Against all odds both of the women's senior crews managed to start and finish the race on Saturday.

The 1st VIII pulled out all the stops and climbed 13 places from a start position of 83 to finish 70th, passing no less than 5 crews during the race.

(See if you can spot the three crew members who intended to work up a sweat during the race!)

The 2nd VIII also managed a strong performance finishing 190th, which is a great improvement over previous years.

So that marks the end of the head season for the girls, next stop Women's Henley!

Tideway Tribulations

For many, assembling the boats before a race is a necessary chore but I was surprised to hear the lengths that some people will go to to avoid it. Afraid that they might arrive too early to the WeHORR and have to help with the rigging, a few of the girls decided to delay their arrival by spending time on the hard shoulder of the M4.

Meanwhile in London there was more dismantling of boats than construction taking place using the unconventional tool of a 20 foot long trailer.

Luckily the 4th emergency service and a large roll of sticky backed plastic were on hand to save the day for both crews.

Full results and action photos to of the race to follow.

Shiny Happy People

There was cause today for the rowing community to breath a sigh of relief as the ongoing dispute over the chosen venue for the upcoming Gay Games has been resolved. I'm sure Orion Rowing club will be particularily glad that their new racing kit won't go to waste.

Go get 'em boys!

Naughty Naughty - Updated

It's always good when the club manges to get national recognition, whether in the papers, on the radio or on the interweb. This week the senior crews managed to put the CBRC name onto a nationally renown website after their Tideway training exploits a few weeks ago.
Unfortuntaly it wasn't to report remarkable technique or graceful poise but rather the fact they blatently forgot to display a registration number on the boat! The men's crew were spotted and photographed by one of the Tideway's "Duty Marshalls" and now feature in their hall of shame (Photo no. 150 near the bottom).

..And the girls should also be given a sharp slap on the wrists for not only boating without a registration number but also being in the wrong part of the river (photos 86 and 87). I hope Dr. Lancaster finds the right line this Saturday!

Guinness is Officially Good for you

We all know that alcohol has many many benefits including increasing the perceived atractiveness of those around you and adding a bit of Saturday Night Fever to your moves on the dance floor.

But a tireless team of researchers have also found that getting stuck into a few shandys benefits the heart and mind too.

I'm sure the Womens's squad will be more than happy to test this theory on Saturday night...

68.4% Attractive

One of the benefits of rowing training is that it creates a finely toned physique with perfectly formed muscles. In theory this should make you more appealing to the opposite sex (within reason) but is there any scientific basis behind this? Well, a student at Liverpool Uni. has taken it upon herself to find out:

"I am interested in the links between perceived attractiveness and physical ability in males. Over the last three years while coxing for Liverpool University mens rowing squad I have become aware of the high levels of physical fitness of rowers and am interested to use them for my research project.... Basically what I am looking for is a face on, close up digital picture of each training mens squad member, with neutral expression. Personal best 2km and 5km times along with height weight and age and which crew if any the men will be rowing in at this years HoRR.....Thankyou for your time and patience, Sarah Booth"

If any of the men at the club want to help Sarah out with her studies then e-mail your photo and vital stats to S.Booth@liverpool.ac.uk.

I'll ask her to forward me the results so that I can compile the official CBRC League Table of Lush!

The Need for Speed

It appears that the enthusiasm that the Men's 1st VIII have for making their boat move fast has spilled over into other activities.

The week before last three members of the crew managed to make unplanned adjustments to their car's bodywork using other vehicles, all on the same day. Then on Sunday morning, in their haste to get to the boat club for training, at least half the crew were spotted passing a police speed trap on Cumberland Road travelling somewhat faster than the 30mph limit.

Better save your eagerness to travel quickly for the boat in future chaps!

Get Paid to Erg!

Wouldn’t it be great if sitting on an ergo had more of a purpose than just unquantifiable self-improvement? Well on 23rd April you have the chance to raise money for the boat club at the same time as doing some extra training during the inaugural City of Bristol Rowing Club Ergathon. The formula is simple: take four ergos to the Galleries in the city centre and see how many metres can be rowed during a set time period. The sight of four finely honed athletes displaying their strength and technique ought to be enough of an incentive for the passing shoppers to donate their cash and possibly even consider joining the club.

The event promises to be great fun but relies on everyone in the club getting involved, if only to contribute a few hundred metres to the total distance.
As well as the money collected on the day, funds will be raised from sponsorship and forms will be available soon so that you can harass friends, family, colleagues and the punters in your local.

Full details will be available nearer the time but meanwhile start raising the cash!

It’ll be a great way to work off the excesses from the Friday before.

BK Wammer

Steering an eight through a bridge is often described as being like threading a 12m long needle at 20mph. The cox therefore has to make sure that they set themselves up on the correct line in plenty of time to get through cleanly. This is particularily true for Princes Street bridge.

Last night the coxswain of Special Needs was keen to demonstrate her skills and so carefully lined up her boat to shoot the bridge with plenty of time for final adjustments. Unfortunately she failed to allow for one thing, the novice 8 that was coming the other way. BK was brought to a halt and the crew shouted at the rapidly advancing Special Needs, but it was now travelling at ramming speed.

The resulting collision left both boats bruised but luckily no injuries were sustained to the crews.
So who was to blame? The official verdict was 50:50 but I'm sure the argument will rage between the two coxs for days to come...

Outboard Woes

While strolling through Castle Park yesterday evening I heard some obscenities being shouted from down on the water. Upon closer inspection I saw the familiar site of an inactive lauch with it's operator desperately trying to start the motor. He methodically ran through the usual procedure for firing up the outboard but to no avail. Luckily Mr. Bathurst was nearby and was able to assist by informing the lauch driver that step 1a in starting any kind of motor is to ensure that the fuel line is connected.

It's a good job his coaching technique is better than his mechanical skills!

Bristol Head in the News

It's a little late to be reporting this but the BBC had a nice article publicising last weekend's race on their website.
It's a shame there was no mention of the cake stall as I'm sure that would have drawn in the crowds!

Club Dinner Details - Updated

The venue will be the old favourite - Byzantium and tickets are a very reasonable £35. Ruth and Dom will be collecting the cheques and the tickets are on sale until 7th April.

The hard working social secretaries of the club are busy putting the finishing touches to this year’s annual extravaganza of drink, food, dance, prizes and tom foolery.
To make things a little more entertaining there will be a couple of additions to the normal programme:

The dress code will be ‘Stars of the Stage and Screen’ with prizes being awarded for the most original, the best and the boldest costumes.

There will also be an auction to help raise funds for the club. This will include a number of pieces of GB and international kit but also an auction of promises. For those of you not familiar with this, it is an auction of services rather than actual items. There have already been some lots donated which include:

o The Women’s 1st VIII to clean your car (extra payment required for them to do it in their all-in-ones)
o The Men’s 1st VIII to clean your house (extra payment required for them not to do it in their all-in-ones)
o Wax Steve’s back
o Dance lessons with Tim Beaver
If you have anything that you would like to offer for the auction then please let Marcus know, who will be auctioneer for the evening. Other suggested lots could be: Bake a cake of your choice, sculling lessons, dinner with Rob Beever, Cox for an outing……

It should be quite an evening!

Northern Hospitality

While on my annual altitude training trip to the Lake District I was pleased to find that the residents of the North of England are still as friendly and 'keen to please' as always. This was particularly apparent while I was waiting for my train home: