The Battle of the Blues

A talk by Christopher Dodd at Chiswick Pier House

As we prepare for The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on March 26th, Chiswick Pier Trust warmly invite you to join them for a talk about its fascinating history.

Oxford have been racing Cambridge on the four-and-a-quarter-mile tidal ‘S’ bend from Putney to Mortlake since 1845.

In the twenty-first century the spot where the Boat Race has been won or lost has shifted upstream from Hammersmith Bridge to Chiswick Reach, as in the 2010 race where Cambridge broke Oxford’s lead at Chiswick Steps.

Christopher Dodd, the Boat Race historian, recounts the thrills and spills of the Blues locked in perpetual conflict on the Tideway, and tells the story of the oarsmen who have been at the cutting edge of amateur rowing and amateur sport in Britain since the first race in 1829.

The Chiswick Pier Trust are hosting the talk, at 7.30pm on Thursday March 17 at the Pier House, Corney Reach, W4. Doors open at 7pm and the event will start at 7.30pm. Free to Chiswick Pier Trust Members, £3 to non-members. Chiswick Pier and Chiswick Pier House are at the end of Corney Road and Edensor Road, Chiswick, W4 2UG.

The talk is part of a series organised by the Chiswick Pier Trust, a charity that puts people in touch with the River Thames.

For further details on events at the Pier and how to get there, contact Chiswick Pier Trust 020 8742 2713 or log on at www.chiswickpier.org.uk

February 22, 2011