Messing About On The River
Last Saturday I fancied some fun (and fancied finding something interesting for Ian to photograph too), so we trekked down to Neil's parents' house on the banks of the Adur to indulge in the madness that is the Adur Bathtub Race.
We'd not been before and did not quite know what to expect, although we knew that flour and water bombs were definately going to make an appearance. Ian took his camera gear, and I took a light pack and my compact camera in case it got too messy to get the "big" camera out. We sat on the back merrily munching lunch whilst we watched the competitors being lowered into the river and the tide racing in. The water level really does come up quickly and by a long way, and the tide really races up that river!
These preparations were accompanied by music from the Bruder mechanical organ which was stationed just by the crane and brought a really comical and festive feel to the whole area! The baths were excellent - most of them were mounted really cleverly into frames making them seaworthy and then they were decorated in all sorts of ways - most of the rowers were in costume too. Things got really interesting when each bank was fully populated with kids armed with the flour and water bombs. They were in battle-mode!
Missiles hurtled across the river to the opposite bank and cheers erupted at any particularly accurate hits. Spectators on the bridge occasionally found themselves targetted, and flour covered the body and windscreen of any hapless driver that tried to come across the bridge - even the buses!
Obviously one of the best parts of the race was the start, where all competitors had to row the gauntlet of by now thoroughly hyped kids armed with flour bombs, water balloons, super-soakers and buckets with which to fling water. What a laugh!!
I didn't get any serious action shots of the mayhem right at the start as I was getting covered in flour. I may well stand back with a longer lens next year, but the start is so crowded that I think it would be hard to get anything. Maybe this one is just for enjoying!
We'd not been before and did not quite know what to expect, although we knew that flour and water bombs were definately going to make an appearance. Ian took his camera gear, and I took a light pack and my compact camera in case it got too messy to get the "big" camera out. We sat on the back merrily munching lunch whilst we watched the competitors being lowered into the river and the tide racing in. The water level really does come up quickly and by a long way, and the tide really races up that river!
These preparations were accompanied by music from the Bruder mechanical organ which was stationed just by the crane and brought a really comical and festive feel to the whole area! The baths were excellent - most of them were mounted really cleverly into frames making them seaworthy and then they were decorated in all sorts of ways - most of the rowers were in costume too. Things got really interesting when each bank was fully populated with kids armed with the flour and water bombs. They were in battle-mode!
Missiles hurtled across the river to the opposite bank and cheers erupted at any particularly accurate hits. Spectators on the bridge occasionally found themselves targetted, and flour covered the body and windscreen of any hapless driver that tried to come across the bridge - even the buses!
Obviously one of the best parts of the race was the start, where all competitors had to row the gauntlet of by now thoroughly hyped kids armed with flour bombs, water balloons, super-soakers and buckets with which to fling water. What a laugh!!
I didn't get any serious action shots of the mayhem right at the start as I was getting covered in flour. I may well stand back with a longer lens next year, but the start is so crowded that I think it would be hard to get anything. Maybe this one is just for enjoying!
posted by Catherine at 23:05
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