For once in a way I rather wish I had
seen the boat-race instead of listening to it. The broadcast was less. success- ful than usual. No one would have gathered from it that Bradley put on what some critics described as the greatest spurt in the history of the race at the end of the first mile, and the mile time, which like the full time was a record (as reference to previous times would have showed), was merely described 'as very good. Nothing suggested an unusually fast race till the actual official time was announced. A year ago I protested mildly at the tendency to give more credit to the losing crew than to the winners. This year I am bound to say Oxford deserve' all the sympathy anyone has to offer. To break the record after prolonged misfortunes during training and yet to be beaten by four lengths is desperately hard luek. I note, by the way, that one contemporary had the race discussed by " an ex-blue." Do such persons exist ? Once a blue always a blue, surely.
* * * *
Previous page
