“Half memoir, half travel, A Yank Back to England...is an absolutely wonderful book, not only about going home again but also about love and family and tradition and the passage of the years.”
—Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize-winning literary critic (Washington
Post)
To see the entire quote, click here.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Regatta Fever, part 2

Henley was filled with an air of tepid expectancy. The whole town was in the grips of discrete pre-regatta fever, and we saw lots of activity. People with clipboards were gadding about, looking for things to supervise. Boats and bleachers were being quietly hauled out of trucks. A bandstand was getting a fresh lick of paint. Large marquee tents were going up with silent ease. Guy rope tightened. Unopened, dark green ticket booths were getting a cleaning and etched gold letters were being retouched.
We had scones and tea in a small restaurant with a view of the bridge at Henley and its endless stream of heavy traffic which, like the river below, seemed to flow in one direction. Away from Henley. The locals, it seemed, had somewhere better to go. And so did we. Suddenly we both missed Windsor and realized how much we enjoyed it. We checked the map. Happily, Windsor was, as the tarmac flowed, less than half an hour away. Forty minutes later, we were happily strolling around the old castle town again.

4 comments:

Chhaya said...

hmmmm , i like ur style :)

atomicliving said...

Balls, receptions, rowing, racing, sailing the london season pulls and tugs one about with the schedule of a skivy to do flap all. I am sure the regatta was loverly. I rowed at university, tho I was not into team sports. I gave it up, intended to do skulling (as I might do so alone)and instead muddied my boots at the stables when I should have had my nose pressed into books filled with 19th c. American Landscape painters.But, who wants to speak of Cole or Durand when u'd much rather smell of horse flesh and charge towards fences? Nice post.

atomicliving said...

I say, do we get autographed copies of your book?

Anonymous said...

Wow, you can really feel the excitement and energy of the place, coming through the words!!! Gorgeous writing, and Happy New Year (I will be saying that until February)!!! *SK*