While filling in historical details, it struck me as a bit odd that R W Bonham, the no.2 in our 1928 Eight, was listed as coming from The Worcester College for the Blind. Although he won a blade that year, having also trialled for OUBC, it turns out that rowing wasn't even his main diversion from academic work.

The Oxford Trial VIIIs races take place next Friday. Crew lists aren't yet published but we have two OUBC triallists this year who may or may not feature.

Finally, as we wish a wet and not particularly fond farewell to 2023, there's news of someone who'll spending the New Year in sunshine and warmth. Yet I, for one, shall remain eternally grateful not to have been persuaded to join in that particular project.

With only a handful of seniors returning to the boat club this Michaelmas, and after a great recruitment push from the committee, we were excited to end week 1 with an influx of enthusiastic novices.

We managed to get one more week of water training in before the persistent rain caught up with us, and the flag turned red at the end of week 2. Unfortunately, the river remained closed for the best part of the following 5 weeks, with only a brief hiatus for us to race in IWL A before it swiftly closed again.

James Farmborough

We kept training, despite the river closure, making full use of the tank, erg room and Catz gym. Our hard work was finally rewarded with an eighth week river re-opening, and one final water session to send us into the winter vacation — which we will spend wishing the rain away from next term!

Emma Halliday

The Women's squad were happy to welcome some new seniors this year which helped us have a strong block of training to start off the season.

Leading up to our first race, we had seen some good improvements and had gained confidence as a crew, producing a competitive IWL A time. However, our productive training on the water was halted due to a long period of heavy rain. So, for the second half of term our training consisted of many strength and erg sessions, including a tough 5k test for the seniors.

Our novice women have showed eagerness despite their limited time on water and are looking forward to putting their tank sessions to use on the water next term.

Finally, Longbridges Ergatta was a welcome opportunity to race at the end of term, where the novice women did well to reach the semi-finals against some strong crews. We are excited for Hilary and are hoping for a little less bad weather!

The women's novice team at the Longbridges Ergatta. Rachel Craig-McFeeley (M.16), centre, is helping out with the novice coaching this term.

This year Catz women continue to be coached by Rowan Nicholls and the men by former paralympic oarsman Laurence Whiteley, MBE

He came up to Oxford in 1926 to read mathematics as a member of the St Catherine's Society, the association for students without a college affiliation.

He rowed in the St Catherine's 1st VIII from 1926–1928, winning blades in 1928, and also trialled for OUBC in Michaelmas 1927. Rowing apart, he was a regular member of the Oxford University Chess Club, becoming the University champion in 1929.

The 1926 St Catherine's Torpid. Back row, left to right: W. Kristianson (2), C. L. Goss (4), R. W. Bonham (3), W. J. Pienaar (bow); Middle: B. P. Foss (6), D. B. Durand (str), [unknown coach], C. L. Blom (7), R. I. Redfern (5); Seated front: S. G. Timms (cox)

After Oxford he returned to Worcester College as a teacher of mathematics and braille, coached the rowing and developed further interests in amateur dramatics and bridge. But chess was his real passion and, under his leadership, Worcester College had four teams in the local and county leagues, while he himself won the county championships twenty times and was four times Midland champion.

In 1951 he founded the first correspondence chess championship for the blind as well as the International Braille Chess Association.

In 1956 became the first winner of the English Blind Chess Championship, and in 1958 the Blind World Chess Champion. He was also the Correspondence Blind World Champion numerous times from 1957–66.

'Bonham's memory was phenomenal. He had no difficulty taking on ten players at once blindfold, as it was, and he could keep the moves of a score of correspondence games in his head with recourse to a board and men.'

'Of all the blind players, R. W. Bonham of Worcester was, to my mind, in his day, supreme. Merely poor-sighted in his youth, he slowly went blind during his twenties but had by then already become a strong player and, with security as a teacher, with a devoted wife and soon a family, unquestionably improved. For some twenty years he dominated Worcestershire chess, leading the county in hundreds of matches and eventually becoming recognised as the best blindfold player in the world.'

Photograph of R Bonham from the British Chess News web-site. The caption reads: Blind competitor R. W. Bonham in play in the British Championship. He is using a Braile set. (Photo by courtesy of "Birmingham Gazette").

Wins in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Races over the past 11 years. In 2020 only the lightweights raced, just prior to the Covid lockdown.

These are tough times for the Dark Blues. Cambridge have won 26 out of the last 32 (student) Boat Races and the only successful Oxford woman of the 2020's is Catz' own Cici Hong, who coxed the men's lightweights in 2021.

In the hope of turning things around, the four Oxford clubs have now followed the Cambridge model and merged into a single entity, although in practice the men's and women's squads still operate independently. With the lightweights now included, they've both been running four eights this term.

The Oxford Trial VIIIs races are scheduled for 15th December and can be followed live on-line via the Boat Race web-site. Just a men's race and a women's race, presumably the top halves of each squad and so probably excluding almost all the lightweights (the same for Cambridge, whose races are on the 13th).

There are two OUBC triallists from St Catherine's. Freddy Orpin, now in his 3rd year, was in last year's Blue Boat so barring illness or injury I'd expect him to feature in the Trial VIIIs race on Friday. The other is Luca Nadig, newly-arrived on a Master's course. He used to be a lightweight in Switzerland but may well have a heavyweight appetite these days.

There's a livetracker on the web-site (worldstoughestrow.com) so you can follow their progress from the comfort of your own Christmas.

Jim Ronaldson (left) and Ian Davies. Photo from worldstoughestrow.com.