In the summertime when the weather is hot….

It’s warm, sunny and the first regattas of the year are upon us. This can mean only one thing: it’s the start of the season for a certain nocturnal activity popular with ladies crews.

Now the most important consideration if partaking in such frolics is the jog down to the waterside, bearing in mind the lack of support. However careful research has now been undertaken to measure the likely ‘bounce’ coefficient for a variety of upper torso appendages, the results of which can be found here. This important research should allow the crew to choose the correct pace for maximum comfort for all participants.

It brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘midnight mass’!


Good luck to everyone racing this weekend.

Barnet Fair

Ah the mullet, king of all hair cuts. It's the classic combination of business at the front and party at the back that makes it such a great look, as demonstrated by this young man.

Snack-tastic!

Ever felt dissatisfied with your 11 o'clock Hob Nob? Then it's time to pimp your snack.

Monster Ferrero Rocher anyone?

Pole Position

Did anyone else see a rather smug Gladiator looking on as Xena the Warrior Princess performed a pole dance for him? It looked like she had been practicing too.

Is there a Doctor in the House?

Many congratulations to Miss Martina Hicks as she can now officially be referred to as Doctor Hicks having been awarded her Doctorate in Biology. Along with winning the Novice of the Year award it’s been quite a week for her!

This brings the total number of doctors in the club up to 5 so does anyone know if there is a collective noun for such a group?

Mid Week Puzzle

Austin has had a few too many brandys and needs some help to find his way across the dance floor. Can you find which lucky lady he is heading for? Send your answer to the usual address and the first name out of the hat wins the classic game for all the family: Buckaroo!

Show me the Money

It was a great weekend of fundraising for the boat house re-development project with £660 being raised by the auction on Friday and over £1,000 being raised by the Ergathon on Sunday.

Well done to all those who braved the Galleries for the shopper bothering, I gather the total distance rowed was over 210,000m which is more than a full lap of the M25!

Thanks to Jane for her hard work in making this a success, however I’m sure some of the passers-by are still in shock from seeing all that lycra on display.

The Winners

The guests in Byzantium were treated to a first class display of dry wit from Morgan when he presented the annual awards on Friday night. For those who weren't there, or those who were too busy tucking into the house red, here are the results:

The Club person of the year award went to a very deserving Pete Valance.
The Novice of the year award was given jointly to Jo Ross, Rona Smith, Zoe Grimes and Martina Hicks.

All of the Lush awards were hotly contended and the nominees and winners were as follows:

Tart of the Year
Nominees: Sarah Hogan, Neil Bromwich, Stuart Castle
Winner: Stuey

Fashion Statement of the Year
Nominees: Neil Bromwich, Rob Beever, Tim Beaver
Winner: Neil Bromwich

Crash of the Year
Nominees: 2005 Henley IV, Jenny Tipping, Paddy Devane
Winner: 2005 Henley IV

Gurt Lush Headline Grabber
Winner: The Red Squirrel

Congratulations to all of these worthy winners!

Who are these people?

I thought that Byzantium was supposed to be closed to the public on Friday but it seems all sorts of unusal characters managed to get in (click on the pics for closer inspection):

What did you get up to this weekend?

Gurtrude and I have enjoyed a nice quiet weekend learning the lost art of crochet but by the sounds of it most of you have had quite the opposite. I seem to have more stories, photos and gossip than I know what to do with but rest assured the most interesting details will be reported in due course.

From the, quite frankly, astonishing sights in Byzantium on Friday night to the superb efforts in the Galleries on Sunday it's fair to say it's been a busy few days.

Stay tuned for Chapter 1.....

Eat Drink and be Merry

Well the day of the ball has finally arrived so it's now time to don your dancing shoes/boots/flippers/hooves for the big event.

The evening kicks off at 7:00 with a welcome drink so get there early to pick up the complimentary booze. The meal itself will be at 7:45 and will be followed by the presentation of the awards and then the auction. From there you should form an orderly conga line and head straight to the dance floor until the early hours.

I can't wait to see your costumes!

Birthday Boy

Today the Men's captain reaches a milestone in his life as he says goodbye to his twenties and turns 30.
But as he enters the decade where he can expect hair loss(!), an expanding belly and the inevitable mid-life crisis he can be reassured that it needn't spell the end of his antics in the bedroom(!)

Happy Birthday Steve, I hope the pipe and slippers fit!

Alka Seltzer any one?

There were many sore heads on Saturday morning after Friday evening's visit to Hotwells' finest drinking holes. Games were played, songs were sung and a new champion darts player was found.
However all the participants can take comfort in the fact that one individual was suffering far more than most:


I hope he's feeling better by Friday...

Going Under The Hammer

CBRC Auction rooms have now released the programme for the auction next Friday and it looks like there are some interesting lots.

Highlights include some GB lycra signed by Ed Coode, Stewards Enclosure Tickets for Henley and a ride round Castle Combe in a Lotus.

However the item that seems to be getting the most interest is lot no. 13 – ‘A date with a member of the Men’s Squad’. I am under strict instruction from the auctioneer to keep the identity of the candidate for this a secret though I can assure anyone who is thinking of bidding that you won’t be disappointed!

Better start saving….

Dinner Date

With just 9 days to go till the Club Ball the hard working organising committee are putting the finishing touches to the evening’s arrangements which includes the all important seating plan.
This year the committee have decided to offer the option of priority seating so that, for a small fee, a request can be made to be placed on a table with a particular person(s).

These requests should be sent to the usual address: gurt_lush_blog@hotmail.co.uk or a discreet note can be passed to one of the committee (Dom, Julia or Sarah). For each person that you would like to be sat with a £2 payment must be made and requests will be taken on a first come first served basis.
As always, all requests will be treated as strictly confidential.

Without a request you will be at the mercy of the organising committee’s matchmaking plans!

Tour of Hotwells

What better way is there to start the four day Easter weekend than by enjoying a few drinks in some of the city’s picturesque, waterside pubs?
The Hotwells pub crawl will start with a pint in the sunshine at the Pump House at 5:00 pm on Friday and will take in a selection of the establishments around the harbour.
Please note that international drinking rules will apply throughout the proceedings.

It’s what bank holidays were made for.

Boys who are Girls

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. If this is the case then Mr Bromwich should have been feeling very flattered by his house guests on Saturday night:

Brunel Would have Been Proud

I was pleased to hear that there was good representation from CBRC at Brunel’s 200th Birthday celebrations. The report from one of the group in attendance was that the fireworks were spectacular but there were some saxophonists making a bit of a racket.

The night ended at the inevitable late night venue for the discerning female reveller: Chez Bromwich where events took an unusual turn. I was unaware that cross dressing was such a popular past time for the ladies in the club but it seems some of the girls took great delight in raiding Neil’s fine collection of clothes and even paraded around in ‘those’ tights.

Thanks to the anonymous photographer who managed to capture these pictures of the shenanigans:

Strike the pose

Lets Get Ready to Rumble

As the evenings are getting lighter it gives me the chance to stroll along the harbour side and observe Bristol’s finest taking to the water. Last night it was great to see the newly formed Women’s 1st IV and 2nd VIII on their first outings in the docks.

However there seemed to be some confusion as to who was supposed to be sitting in which seat in the 8 resulting in some squabbling amongst the ranks. Luckily the argument didn’t result in a punch up though it would have been a cracking fight if it had!

Bet Lush odds: Hogan - 3:2, Gregg - Evens

Coxless

It takes a brave girl to choose to sit in the cox’s seat in a men’s boat but CBRC has been fortunate enough to have a young lady who has been more than capable of keeping 8 men under control.
George has been a vital member of the club for two years but unfortunately the time has come for her to move on. She leaves next week to take up a position practicing speech therapy in Singapore and I’m sure she’ll be sorely missed.

All the best George from everyone at CBRC and a big thank you for your sterling efforts over the years.

Video Nasty

Most crews have some sort of preparation strategy before a big race, whether it be special diets, meditation, music or certain rituals.
CBRC's men's squad adopted a similar approach to Sunday's victorious Oxford crew by watching an inspirational film before the HORR. Unfortunaltely their choice of 'True Blue' seemed to have less of of an impact than Oxford's 'Any Given Sunday'. This is probably because True Blue's quotes ("To be second is to be last", "You are becoming a great rough water crew", "Wooden oars, I love them") aren't quite as motivational as Al Pacino's pre-match speech:

“You’ve got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you. You’re gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for him. That’s a team gentlemen, and either we heal as a team, or we will die as individuals.”

Better reserve this at Blockbusters before Evesham chaps....

21st and 23rd April

There are three weeks to go until the fund raising extravaganza weekend of the Ball and Ergathon. The organisers of both these events need your help to make sure they are a success.

Tickets for the ball are still available from Dom and Ruth and one or both of them will be down at the club each night this week. If you still haven’t bought yours then make sure you take your cheque books with you when you go paddling. Don’t forget that friends, family and colleagues are more than welcome to come along too. I’ve had a sneak preview of Steve’s costume and I can tell you that it is worth the price of the ticket alone!

Sponsorship forms have been distributed for the ergathon so hopefully everyone is getting them filled up with pledges. Jane needs to know which session you would prefer to take part in so make sure you let her know.
Team 1: 11am-1pm
Team 2: 1pm-3pm
Team 3: 3pm-5pm

In order to reach the target of 200,000m in 5 hours you’ll need an average split of 2:15 so I hope you’ve all been training hard!

Good Enough to Race?

I was delighted to receive my copy of Rowing and Regatta last week and was glad to see it was packed full of the usual informative articles and stunning photographs. Two articles in particular stood out for me, the first was an equipment review on how to choose the best grip for your oars or sculls. This rather usefully concluded that you should "Find a grip that feels comfortable and then use it", a top tip!
The second was a short piece about Women's Henley Regatta . It seems there have been some chages to the entry rules that may put the girls under a fair bit of pressure this summer: