Merrily, merrily ...

Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING - absolute nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.

(Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows)

Not that I ever do, you understand! The closest I ever get is very occasionally hiring a rowing boat for an hour when friends are visiting Durham, and if I'm at the oars the boat is highly likely to be tangled up in the undergrowth.

However, Durham is a rowing city and I do enjoy to observing those who chose to inflict this torture upon themselves. Dodging their coaches shouting into megaphones whilst wobbling along the towpath on their bicycles can be entertaining, too!

Back-blipped 18 November