having a punt

[acronym]

As if further confirmation was needed, sometimes it's even clearer than normal that Cambridge is a very weird place

Comments

[bopeepsheep]

(apparently, King's Chapel was buried beneath a hill until 1978)
Next time you find yourself in Oxford, do visit the underground cathedral. It's rather splendid.

[the_mendicant]

What a beautifully observed piece of writing - A* I'd say!

[barwench_tanya]

There's something similar on the Norfolk Broads, called Quanting. The quant pole is rather longer and sturdier than a punt, but does much the same job for 30' traditional yachts when the wind goes away. It works because most of the Broads rivers are only about 6' deep, and quants are also useful for pushing off from reed beds when you've got yourself stranded on a lee shore.

I've never punted, but I can quant. And I can find lee shores with remarkable aptitude.

[satanicsocks]

Interesting. A quant is the technical term for a punt pole in Cambridge. Or at least that's what we Scudamore's touts tell the world ;-)

[ex_lark_asc]

*giggling riotously* You should write more entries like that!

And I'm so pinching "a peculiarly English anarchist haven" as a journal title :)

[acronym]

You'll need the River Cam userpic to go with it...

[burkesworks]

That's a cracking read, Andrew; brings back fond memories of going round and round in circles along the Backs. Never found punting wild or lawless though, merely convoluted (though simonb's comments below add a little method to the apparent madness).