Punting on the Cherwell, St Hilda's, Oxford.
The Festival Tours group stays in London for several days, then heads
up to Oxford by coach on Wednesday.
Wednesday afternoon and Thursday are free time in Oxford; we stayed
in the dorms at St Hilda's, one of the women's Colleges.
I was charmed by the small, placid stream that runs along one side of the St Hilda's grounds. I happened to look at a map and discovered that this was the very River Cherwell mentioned in Ralph McTell's song about the battle of Cropredy

written for Fairport, "Red & Gold."

Punts were available for rental, and a number of our members tried the sport.
Not me -- i could see myself holding onto a tightly jammed pole as the boat drifted away from under me, leaving me nothing to do but slide down the pole into the river...
However, i truly regret not having had the camera ready when a couple of boats occupied by tour members came by -- the guys were lazing about in the boat, languidly trailing their hands in the water, and the girls were standing in the stern poling mistressfully along...