New Britain herald., 1924-04-04
|OXFORD.CAMBRIDGE
 RACE ON TOMORROW
London Seethes With Excitement
 As Time Draws Near
By The Associated pre...

By The Associated Press
 London, April 4.-Tomorrow is boat
 race day. the only event in all the
 bright calendar of sport with as strong
 a magnetic influence on the British
 populace as the Derby at Epsom Downs. Both of these ancient an-
 nual struggles attract Britons by the
 hundreds of thousands. A few peo- pie pay to see them from favored
 vantage places, but the great major- lty enjoy the spectacles for nothing.
 At the. Derby most of the specNte
 tors see the horses only for a few
 hundred yards, so dense is the mass of bowling humanity inside the undu- lsting horseshoe-shaped track of turf. At the boat race all but the privileged few must be satisfied with seeing the crews of Oxford and Cambridge only for a f1eeting moment or two of thes eighteen to twenty minutes they struggle with every nerve and muscle up the bending course of the Thames from Putney bridge to Mortlake, a little over four and a quarter miles. Yet the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands who witness these sport ing spectacles go to their favorite spots hours before the faces and stand patiently waiting for few moments thrill.
 There is the story Of the cockney at the Derby who never catches sight of the horses because of taller men in front of him. There ought to be a story of a patient man who goes out to the curying banks of the Thames early on boat race morning to wait for the race. and then, just when the around bend, his great moment is wiped out of his life by speck Of dirt blowing into his eye.
 Whether the weather be fair or foul makes little difference in the size of the cheerful. patient crowds of half million souls or so who watch the Derby and the boat race. They take sandwiches and ginger beer and um- brellas with them when they leave home. There are plenty of pubs" along tho sides Of the Thames 10 ouench the thirsts of those who feel lucky enough to edge away from tHtiI tuos'n pihStH ti slt" tu tbifl the enticins frosted-glass doors.
 Inside "The Dukes Head" or "The I.ion," or "The Prince Of Wales" or Duke of York" there IS something warming if the day be cold and gray, and cool beakcrs of beer if the sun shines with warmth, which is un- likely. The barmaids along the Thames Just west of London arc never SO busy ns on boat race day.
 Most of tho spectators stand on the banks. A few thousands pay 10 oc- cupy places on boats anchored along the courses. 4 few score others fol- low the flashing wake Of the eight pared slrells from start 10 finish in slim motorboats and launches.
 Al tho start the crowd near Pntncy Bridge and tho Crows boat houses begins cheering. The roar of throats follows tho boats up tho river around every bend--a constant unsarying din of mingled voices. Tn less than twcn- ty minutes it is over. The exhausted crews lean on their elbows or fall flat in their places. Whistles Of inss shoot shrieking steam skyward. the CHetTlns Itdthts oHe lnhilHtipus ti's- condo for the tictprs, and then com parative stiffness comes.
 In an hour the tow-paths, the three | ridges crossing the course and the crowded banks are once more almost deserted and the scene Of holiday making has shifted 10 Piccadiily Cir GUS. There 1t is boat race night"
 The crowds arc more cheerful, more roisy than usual. and inside the the ators and the cabarets customary de- oorum is dropped. The usually un- perturbable English let Themselves loose with pranlss and shouts Of joy such as one hears on only one other right Of the year--the night after the Derby.