Henley Royal Regatta Alumni Gathering 2009: After much argument about the true spelling of the word ‘barbecue’, and discovering that we weren’t in fact allowed to have a barbecue, ICBC hosted a club gathering for alumni and current rowers during Saturday’s Henley tea-break. The event was a huge success and representatives from all eras congregated around the ICBC gazebo of glory. This will be one of several annual events hosted by the club welcoming alumni back into the fuzzy glow of ICBC. The next major event will be the Annual Club Dinner on November 14th and all are welcome to attend.
Recently elected Social Secretary Louise Hart and side-kick Chloe Symmonds worked tirelessly on Friday evening preparing salads, chicken drumsticks, ham, salmon, scotch eggs, cakes and jams for ICBC alumni and current members. On Saturday it was battle stations as food, drinks, tables, flags and blades were hauled across the fields from parked cars to the site. After passing by a group of builders with her third box of Fosters POD was approached and offered vehicle assistance. Symmonds, Duffy and Hart bundled into the van with their booze stacked high. The van door slammed shut leaving them in complete darkness and it was several minutes later when they realised that this journey should only take about 30 seconds. Just as the guns were polished and about to be unleashed the crew were released after taking “a detour” around the car park to apparently “approach the tent from a better angle.”
With supplies at the ready the gazebo was set-up and the ICBC flag proudly displayed over the feast. The flag was later changed to actually hang the correct way up. Guest star Trapette Lucy made a welcome appearance diligently creating cheese and tomato nibbles in the shapes of dumbbells, as well as helping to tie the GB flag onto the IC blades. “Huh?” “The big spades”. “Oh.” She is also aware and seemingly unimpressed that Daddy won an Olympic Gold Medal.
Icing-master Julia Hong was instrumental in scripting the letters ICBC on top of the sponge cake but sadly it was sliced before the masses could appreciate the effort. Juls was later found under the table with a bottle of Pimms, no lemonade in sight.
Coaches, crews and friends mingled among current IC rowers in glorious sunshine reminding alumni of the good times and why they spent so much of their youth at the boathouse. If you missed out, never fear; the Annual Club Dinner takes place this November 14th and all are welcome. Have you ever wondered what happened to that guy you had to drag down the river every week at training? Is your cox still as angry now as he was then? How does your follicle count rate among crew members; are you above average? These questions can be answered at the Annual Club Dinner in November. Nurse your ego by seeing once svelte crew mates in worse shape than yourself.
If you need help locating old crew mates contact the club at
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. We’ll get you in touch and help organise a table together.
Christina Duffy