Well, what a strange summer that was. Devoid of students and tourists, Oxford was eerily quiet. The combination of an empty river and glorious weather in what should have been Eights Week was all the more jarring. Yet lectures were taking place, tutorials were being given — all in a parallel universe.

The group of 6 post-grad students I'd been teaching managed to redistribute themselves over 4 different time zones spanning 9 hours. Yet the only one who failed to join our final class on-line was the one still resident in Oxford.

This term the students are back. Oxford Brookes were first, and immediately attracted screaming headlines in the local press for racking up a 100 positive coronavirus tests. Our own undergraduates arrived two weeks later and, while they have been consistently registering 200 cases a week — half the total in Oxford — 'students behaving like students' is no longer regarded as newsworthy. Meanwhile the locals just get on with life ... while, obviously, avoiding students like the plague.

Across the River and into the Trees: weekends on the Isis return to normal as crews disentangle themselves opposite Christ Church Meadow.

'Masks on, feet out!'. Catz getting used to the new rules after their first outing of the term.

The professionally-administered Blues squads were all up and running by the start of term but, for the student-run college boat clubs, things haven't been quite so simple. Each College, and each boathouse, has different arrangements for complying with the Covid restrictions and so every boat club has had to come up with its own ad-hoc protocols and get these signed off. Throw in the training up of large numbers of novice rowers — never easy at the best of times — and you can understand why it's been a slow restart. Even when you do finally get back on the water, your problems are not over; I know of one squad (not Catz) that has had to go back into self-isolation when one of its members tested positive.

Could rowing this term be made any more difficult? Yes, of course it can. October was the wettest month in Oxford since 1875. Storm Alex, at the start of the month, brought out the red flag although fortunately the river had subsided by 1st week. Even so, as various other storms blew over, there were only 4 rain-free days in the entire month, and we were back up to amber again before the latest lock-down.

The next day was the IWL and the men's senior squad entered twice, with slightly different line-ups but recording very similar times. The event was won by Wolfson, a graduate college who'd already been rowing for a couple of months, but New College (3rd) were the only other college VIII faster than Catz — not a bad result for just a week's rowing.

The women had been planning on racing in Autumn Fours the following week, but that fell foul of the second lock-down.

Former captain Niels Wicke is now coaching the men while Rowan Nicholls continues as the women's coach. Rowan's definitely won the prize for most out-of-control lock-down beard.

Lessons learned this term:

1. Enter everything — there may not be another opportunity
2. Face masks and steamed up glasses — only surgical tape works
3. Blisters and alcohol-based hand rubs — not great.

Oh yes, and just one more thing ...

In 1950 Eights was run over 6 days (it was reduced to 4 days in 1954), and the 3rd Eight gained an overbump on the first day, two bumps on the next day rowing as sandwich boat, and three further bumps to finish eight places up, the most successful crew on the river that year. The crew was coached by former Rowing Society vice-president, Don Barton.

That was a golden period for the Boat Club, and we finished top of the bumps charts for three successive years from 1949–1951. The cumulative total of 20 bumps achieved by St Catherine's crews in 1950 was also a record at that time, overtaking the previous record of 18 set by the 'glorious 49ers' the year before. Of course, starting from a low point helped; in 1948 we were the lowest placed of the 23 competing colleges, but by the end of 1951 we had risen to 16th

D J Daniell's oar from the 1950 3rd Eight

The 1950 3rd Eight. Back row, left to right: Yinka Olumide (4), B.P. Green (3), Alex Currie (2), Ian Heslop (B). Middle row: David Daniell (6), John Bradshaw (S), Donald Barton (coach), Leslie Phillips (7), Desmond Hackett (5). Front: Raymond Taylor (cox).

Further investigation reveals that Prof. Daniell, who died in 2016, was a distinguished academic who merits his own Wikipedia page. I don't know where he kept the oar but it's nice to think of him occasionally pausing in the middle of a learned dissection of one of William Tyndale's more obscure passages to think back, wistfully, to the far simpler pleasures of thrashing along the Isis on a sunny summer afternoon, roared on by the crowds, in hot pursuit of the next bump.

However, I'm also aware that if we're returning to bi-termly newsletters, there might be a shortage of actual rowing news to fill these pages. So, in finest Radio 1 tradition (no, I really have no idea if that is still how they do things), I'm going to give you the list, bit by bit, in reverse order over the next few issues and if I've miscounted your starts I'm sure you'll correct me.

Actually, I'll begin with apologies to Sarah Frost, Antony Froud, Keith Fuller, Peter Marx, Holly Smith, Matt Smith, Ben Sylvester (yes, that one), Hugh Taylor and Stephen 'Stonker' Thompson — I'm afraid that I've got you all on 29 starts, so you don't make the list. Well, not yet. You might still find your way back into a Catz boat via the joker in the pack that is the Associate Member Rule.

Posn	Starts	Name	Active
=42nd	31	Tony Hancox	1950–52
=42nd	31	Paul Spedding	1977–80
=42nd	31	Paul Wilmott	1979–84
=46th	30	Julian Malisano	2015–18
=46th	30	Emily Thomas	1993–98

Em Thomas was women's Captain in 96/97 and is the 5th highest woman on the list. Julian Malisano's total is boosted by being in the men's 1st Eight in 2016 when they rowed over all four days as sandwich boat. Paul Wilmott, then a cox but is now better known, at least to Radio 4 listeners, for applying mathematical rigour to finance. Paul Spedding, the M1 cox for four years, is now an advisor for the Carbon Tracker Initiative. Tony Hancox, the former RS President, rowed in in just two Torpids (including once as sandwich boat) and three Eights, but the events lasted 6 days back then.

I'll send out another newsletter before Christmas.

Anu Dudhia