Of all the quirky pasttimes in Oxford, there's nothing to beat punting (except, maybe, those nutters that jump off the Magdalene bridge into 6 inches of water every May Day...).
It seems to be a uni thing - Cambridgians are mad punters as well. There are even rival styles of punting - and heaven help the poor souls that dare to punt 'Cambridge style' when in Oxford... even the well-bred amongst the English are inclined to laugh and point.
But what IS punting?
Punting is the art of putting 6 people, some wine and cheese (and Elk salami, if one has any handy) into a long skinny boat, called a punt. One brave soul stands at the back (if in Oxford, in the front if in Cambridge) carrying a pole - better known to our boat as a 'punting stick', and uses the punting stick to propel the boat up and down the shallow river. Gondola style, if you will, but without the gorgeous italian arias, or vistas of Venice.
Some work chums and I had a crack at it on Friday, taking to the Cherwell, which runs into the Thames. What a laugh!
Punting is actually quite hard work, and punters acquire a range of styles to keep the boat moving forward and the punting stick from getting stuck in the mud. The lovely Simon, who kindly procured our punt from the Oxford college where he works (staff perk - he pays 5 quid a year for free punt hire) freely professes to have a 'wet' punting style - one that covers himself and anyone sitting directly in front of him in water running from the punting stick as it is pulled from the water. I was glad I brought a mac.
My friends Hannah, Stella and I were all decreed to have a 'dry' punting style, meaning that most people didn't get very splashed most of the time. We managed to keep the cheese, biccies and salami dry too, and kept Simon well supplied with food and wine as he propelled us along the river.
Not sure why the wet punting guy had to do most of the work, but it worked fine... right up until he took the whole 'wet punting' thing one level too many.... yes dear reader, he fell in. Sadly, the rest of us had all gone to the pub by that point, so not only were we deprived of his and Stella's company at the bar, we never even got a chance to laugh and point.
Never mind - there's always next time...
It seems to be a uni thing - Cambridgians are mad punters as well. There are even rival styles of punting - and heaven help the poor souls that dare to punt 'Cambridge style' when in Oxford... even the well-bred amongst the English are inclined to laugh and point.
But what IS punting?
Punting is the art of putting 6 people, some wine and cheese (and Elk salami, if one has any handy) into a long skinny boat, called a punt. One brave soul stands at the back (if in Oxford, in the front if in Cambridge) carrying a pole - better known to our boat as a 'punting stick', and uses the punting stick to propel the boat up and down the shallow river. Gondola style, if you will, but without the gorgeous italian arias, or vistas of Venice.
Some work chums and I had a crack at it on Friday, taking to the Cherwell, which runs into the Thames. What a laugh!
Punting is actually quite hard work, and punters acquire a range of styles to keep the boat moving forward and the punting stick from getting stuck in the mud. The lovely Simon, who kindly procured our punt from the Oxford college where he works (staff perk - he pays 5 quid a year for free punt hire) freely professes to have a 'wet' punting style - one that covers himself and anyone sitting directly in front of him in water running from the punting stick as it is pulled from the water. I was glad I brought a mac.
My friends Hannah, Stella and I were all decreed to have a 'dry' punting style, meaning that most people didn't get very splashed most of the time. We managed to keep the cheese, biccies and salami dry too, and kept Simon well supplied with food and wine as he propelled us along the river. Not sure why the wet punting guy had to do most of the work, but it worked fine... right up until he took the whole 'wet punting' thing one level too many.... yes dear reader, he fell in. Sadly, the rest of us had all gone to the pub by that point, so not only were we deprived of his and Stella's company at the bar, we never even got a chance to laugh and point.
Never mind - there's always next time...
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