Henley Qualifiers

The boy's quad had their Henley Qualifying race this evening. 65 boats wanted one of the 24 places to compete for the Fawley Challenge Cup in the Henley Royal Regatta next week. They rowed a beautiful race, but didn't qualify, which is rather what we had expected. Still, as it is an under 19s race, they have three more years to try and qualify, so this one was for the experience more than anything. Parents and supporters had a lovely evening having cream teas and enjoying the wonderful spectacle opening up before us and the glimpses of Olympians like Steve Redgrave and Katherine Grainger wandering around followed by groups of star struck teenagers with Olympic dreams of their own. They were coached by a fantastic former City junior rower who's now in the GB squad - Sholto Carnegie - a name to watch for the future.

This feels a million miles away from Beirut…. very lovely to be back