Our Patch April 2016 | Page 5

Our Patch APRIL 2016 BLUE SUNDAY As traditional as a weekend roast, the Boat Race is one of the harbingers of Spring, writes Tim Harrison brewery chief executive Andy Wood. “In many ways the races signify the first big day out in London after the winter,” he said. The Cancer Research UK Boat Races will be watched by upwards of 250,000 spectators along the river, many congregated on Hammersmith Bridge and watching from other vantage spots. Millions more around the world will be follow every stroke on television. There are four separate races: the Newton Women’s Boat Race at 3.10pm, the women’s reserve race at 3.25pm, the men’s reserve race at 3.40pm, and then the annual Boat Race, the 162nd, sponsored by BNY Mellon and Cancer Research UK, at 4.10pm. Cambridge still lead Oxford by 81 victories to 79, but the gap has been narrowing in recent years. In the women’s event, Cambridge leads by 41 wins to 29. The men’s race began in 1829, when the first one was staged in Henley. But every race after that has used the Thames in London. The finish line is just before Chiswick Bridge. For more details visit www.theboatraces.org