February 2021 - Issue 8 BOATHOUSE CHATTER ➢ Welcome Welcome to Boathouse Chatter. Boris Johnson’s road map to take the country out of ‘lockdown’ has been published and provides a glimmer of hope that we will be back on the water in the not too Thanks for all the people who have distant future which is great news. The current direction of travel suggests that contributed to the Newsletter. You outdoor sport will be allowed to start again around the 29th March 2021 – just as the have made it a very full and varied weather is starting to improve! At this stage, all government and British Rowing issue. It would be great if we could guidance is subject to infection levels continuing to fall and vaccination levels keep the contributions coming in continuing to rise. The Trustees are keeping a close eye on the unfolding guidance and for future issues. Please let us know will send out details of our own return to rowing as we get closer to the end of the your news and what you’re doing month. to get by – stay in touch! Our Annual General Meeting will be held via zoom on Sunday 28th March 2021. Please keep an eye on the email forum and the website forum for regular updates and let us know if you plan to attend by emailing [email protected]. Please send your news to [email protected] by Sunday 21st March 2021. Next The Trustees continue to meet regularly. If you have any queries or concerns, please issue Sunday 28th March 2021 contact Dan directly at [email protected] . Let’s work together to keep the chatter going… Robbie Coleman is updating our Twitter account. Follow us on Twitter @PBDRC DIARY DATES ➢ FRIDAY 25TH JUNE 2021 – DOGGETTS COAT & BADGE (POSTPONED 2020 RACE) ➢ VIRTUAL AGM – SUNDAY 28TH MARCH 2021 1 | P a g e ➢ Notice Board…. ➢ COVID watch The ‘jab’ count is rising with the people below joining the ranks of the vaccinated! John Skelton Philip Skelton Chris Spencer Frank Walker Nick Paul Richie Brown Steve Sale Migsi Helen & Maurice Sara & John B ➢The Bar The bar is currently closed. ➢ Circuits Monday & Wednesday from 5.30pm – contact Bev on [email protected] ➢Competition Time! The Thames looks particularly lovely at the moment. We will all be seeing it during lockdown at different times. Some of us will be working on the river -whilst others will be walking and running by trying to maintain fitness. So we thought it would be good to get as many different images of it as possible. Please send me your pictures of the ‘Thames during lockdown’ and we’ll share the best ones in the next Newsletter. Send via email to [email protected] ➢What’s good about the ‘Lockdown’ We are all frustrated with the Lockdown/(s) and it is difficult to find many positive things that have come out of the time we have spent confined to home and separated from family and friends. However, I am sure there are a few good things that we could share over the next few issues of the Newsletter. It would be great to hear what you’ve been forced to do differently….. but have actually quite enjoyed or at least have learnt something new in the process. Send your ‘Lockdown Goodies’ via email to [email protected] 2 | P a g e ➢ Tea & cake -Windbags– By Markus Gesmann With the lockdown continuing we still need little treats after our exercises. This one is for very light and airy little cakes, which you can adapt to your own taste. In Germany they are called ‘Windbags’. It is basically a variant of the French choux bun. This is another ‘essential baking with essential ingredients’ recipe. No fancy ingredients or equipment is required. Ingredients: 60g unsalted butter 125ml water 125 flour 2 eggs Place the butter and water into a small saucepan and set on a medium heat. Stir the butter into the water until it is melted. Add the flour and keep stirring. If you have one, it’s best to use a silicone spatula. The mixture will thicken up and will eventually form a ball of dough, which looks a little like mashed potatoes. Set the saucepan aside and let the dough cool down for about 10 minutes until it is only lukewarm. Now is a good time to switch on the oven and set it to 180 Celsius. Back to the dough in the saucepan. Beat the eggs together and add them slowly into the cooled down dough. Keep stirring. It will take a few minutes until you have a nice shiny dough again. It should resemble mushed potatoes with a lot of butter. If the dough is too liquid or wet add a little four, or if it is too dry add either a little bit of water or another egg. Whatever you do, be patient and keep stirring, it will come together nicely. Line a baking tray. Take a tablespoon of dough and use a teaspoon to push it into one small heap on the baking sheet. You will end up with about ten little heaps. Transfer the tray into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. The moisture in the dough will create steam, allowing the dough to rise. So, don’t open the oven to check! Let the buns cool down a little in the oven before you take them out. The cooled buns can be filled with e.g. whipped cream, jam, or a savory filling since the buns don’t contain any sugar. I like the following butter creme: Ingredients: 1 tsp sugar 4 tsp flour Optional: flavor of choice, e.g. vanilla, Cognac, etc. 125 ml milk 60 gr unsalted butter Use the same saucepan again and mix together the sugar, flour and milk, plus any additional flavoring. Heat the mixture over a medium & bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring continuously. The liquid will thicken after a little while before it starts to simmer. At this point add the butter. Melt and mix it into the creme. Let the creme cool down before you spread it into the buns. Finally, you can sprinkle some icing sugar over the windbags, or drizzle melted chocolate on top. Voilà, you have profiteroles. Enjoy! 3 | P a g e ➢ Battersea Park – Rasher’s Bond Girls -picture provided by Rasher Skelton In Issue 6 of Boathouse Chatter we learnt about the events employed to raise funds for the new boat house. One of the events took place over a weekend in Battersea Park and provided people with the opportunity, (for a small fee), to have their picture taken whilst sitting in the Silver Aston Martin used in the James Bond films. This is a picture of ‘Rasher’s Bond Girls’ who were charged with encouraging people to have their photos taken in the car. It was a real family affair… from top left are Rasher’s sister in law Pauline, his sister Barbara and cousin Ann. In the car, on the phone -his wife Mavis. Mavis made the dresses – all in club colours. ➢ Henley -Silver Goblets win 1966….picture provided by Rasher Skelton The Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup is an event for men’s coxless pairs held annual at the Henley Royal Regatta. It was established in 1850 as the Silver Goblets race, replacing the Silver Wherries competition. It became the Silver Goblets & Nickalls competition in 1859 when Tom Nickalls presented the Nickalls Challenge cup to go with the Silver Goblets. In 1966 Ray Easterly and Jerry McCarthy from PBDRC took on the 1964 Olympic Gold medallists (George Hungerford & Roger Jackson of Canada), in the semi -final and won! Ray & Jerry showed true grit as they came from behind to row through the race favourites. They were eventually beaten in the final by the East German pair of J Lucke & HJ Bothe. 4 | P a g e ➢ Ladies in Lycra – by Richie Brown Girls rowing at Poplar first occurred when they popped their heads above the gunnel as some girlfriends who decided to come to Putney and have a paddle when their boyfriends were up there training in the ‘60s. This I mentioned elsewhere when replying to Tash’s post who felt that Frank Walker was against female members. Being as his wife-to-be was one of the girls rowing at Putney he was definitely in favour in that instance. Along with Frank’s future wife Elaine were; Peter Holdeman’s intended Iris, Mickey Lane’s future trouble and strife Kathy, John Skelton’s wife Mavis, her sister Pauline, Barbara Skelton, John’s sister who married one of our stars and a couple of girls I can’t remember who made up an eight. Needless to say after most of them achieved their dream of marrying an oarsman they retired from the sport to blissful domesticity. Some of that’s true! Thinking about it now Lycra hadn’t been invented then so I suppose it was not so much Ladies in Lycra more like Ladies in Lurve!!! This was long before the new boathouse was built as there were no facilities for women available in the original club, and even if there were some would probably have opposed lady members. Remember this was before women’s lib was prevalent and men’s lib was. So with the new boathouse guess what? No women’s facilities were provided. Only later on in the ‘70s was the committee room made into a ladies changing room with showers built in, most of which I seem to recall was done by Alan Lane who went on to marry one of the girls who took advantage of his hard work.