I am told that the Grebe’s nest on the Abbey Millstream was washed away last year, but this year two of the brood have survived.
There is a striking difference between the two parents. The hunter parent has stayed slim enough to dive deep after fish, and the other parent seems to have put on extra buoyancy to keep the nest afloat.
The Grebe young, with their zebra markings, also have very good appetites.
Abingdon beat Radley – by 3/4 length – to win the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley. Abingdon also won this prestigous cup in 2002 & 2011.
Ben Rodford took this picture of the Abingdon Crew on way to the start.
The second picture shows the winning Abingdon Crew.
The Abingdon boat had beaten the Australian and US national champions as well as Latymer Upper School and St Peter’s School to reach the final.
This win, together with victories at the Schools’ Head of the River and the National Schools’ Championship Eights earlier in the year, secures the three major rowing titles for Abingdon this season. Winning the triple is a rare feat and has only been achieved once before in the School’s history in 2002.
Athol Hundermark, the Abingdon coach said, “The Henley win is the culmination of a fantastic year for the crew who have performed extremely well under pressure. Radley made us work for every inch…”
Congratulations to both Abingdon and Radley. Both can be seen rowing near us on the River Thames, just a few miles downstream from Oxford.