A Bangladeshi boat race in Oxford

We're back in Oxford for our usual summer stay. We love it for being a very English town, and also because it's a very international town. Just a few minutes walk away from our house, the Bangladeshi community sponsored a boat race, using traditional canoes from their country. Many of the teams dressed up.
Here's a detail of one of the boats.
And the happy winners! You can't see it from this photo, but this team had painted their faces to look like cats. I'm not sure if that's something traditional or if they were just mucking about.
We were also treated to music and some tasty curry. It was a very different experience than the Eights Week boat race we saw last year!

Eights Week in Oxford

We just celebrated Eights Week here in Oxford. This is a rowing race in which eight-person crews from all the colleges vie to bump their way to victory. Thirteen boats line the river in order of the finish from the previous race. To get further up in line for the next race, you have to bump the boats in front, thereby switching places. This stretch of the Thames, locally called the Isis, the very narrow and encourages lots of bumping. Occasionally one of the boats gets bumped so hard it sinks!
The boats eagerly await the starting cannon.

Silly hats are an important part of any English boat race.

The cannon blasts and they're off!
Here's a bump in the making, but the folks in green managed to slip away.

Not all boats on the Isis are up to the challenge.

Donnington Bridge affords a good view.

Hard at work on the oars.

My son and I were very disappointed that nobody sank. Maybe next year!