In Henley

Hi all,

Sorry about delay with this post, had some trouble finding Wi-Fi access at our new base, but Bingles has come through with the goods and I'm squeezed into the one corner of the flat that has coverage... We have a 3 bedroom apartment, tiny, but enough for our eating and sleeping requirements, and best of all, about an 8 minute walk to the course. No cars for a week!

The crew is mostly well, Bingles and Rad are dealing with a bit of hayfever, but are coping well. I was laid out on the kitchen bench last night by masseur Shane with his slightly overkeen assistants and put through some serious pain to get my back in order - too much time in the car of late - and consequently feel much better this morning.

We had two paddles yesterday, about 18km all up with only about 5 or 6 min of work throughout. Again, the paddling continues to improve in quality, the platform is solid and we are still working hard on the final polish. We are all getting a bit antsy, not nervous but just wanting to start racing and get on with why we are here.

Last night, we attended a reception for International Competitors at the River and Rowing Museum, the ultimate destination for the rowing geek. Everyone had their favourite exhibition, Shane was in raptures over the scull with the sliding rigger, Bingles very excited about the experimental, titanium-framed West German eight, Conrad very impressed with the food. Cindy thought the badger was cute and Nicole was glued to the videos of olympic crews smashing if off the start. Personally, I loved a quote, written in 1876, which went something like... "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with forty strokes, both long and full, the earth and all therein, is yours to savour". I know, I'm a rowing geek too.

This morning we have been joined by our Irish contact/guest coach, Conor Walshe, who has very kindly offered to guide us through the next week. This morning after breakfast, we are off to walk the course and get some tips on where to expect some wash, current, wind, etc. Nicole is obviously very happy about this, and the rest of us quite keen to reinforce our mental picture of the course. The plan then is for a short paddle this afternoon, possibly with a crew from UCD (Conor's club) who are competing in the Prince Albert.

Tomorrow we race. I'll post again prior to (and hopefully after) that.

Cheers, Drew