Toast to Oxford 2007
by Robert M. Dawson
"Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the two universities, and honored guests:
I stand here tonight to speak to you of balance, which is inseparable from the learning - dare I say the wisdom - with which our two universities have always been associated. The Middle Way - harmony between opposites - the Golden Mean: these have been the way of the scholar across lands and ages. And what better illustration could we have of this principle than the Boat Race? Over almost two centuries, Oxford and Cambridge have struggled on the tideway. A hundred and fifty two times the crews have raced - and Oxford have won on very nearly half of those occasions.
Of course, we are talking of a dynamic balance here, not a slavish alternation. There is plenty of room for drama and suspense. Oxford on one occasion won ten times in a row, and, twice, nine times. While honesty compels me to add that Cambridge, in the Twenties and Thirties, once managed thirteen wins in a row, it seems to me that Oxford has had more notable runs of straight wins. Indeed, last Saturday saw the end of a small specimen of the breed... the supporters of the Light Blue had been getting nervous!
As some of you may recall (though not, I think, from personal memory), the year 1849 was memorable for having not one, but two, boat races. I have yet to discover quite how this came about - perhaps, in those days before colleges had modern plumbing, it was agreed, after a few months had expired, that the coxes could do with another bath? Fittingly, that year was a miniature of the history of the race: each crew won once.
Similarly, this year’s race was in itself a mirror of the balance that has characterized the Boat Race down the years. In many years, one boat takes a clear lead from the start; this year, each boat led for part of the race, and for a while, it appeared as if this race would continue the recent sequence of Dark Blue victories. And - this being the way of the world - no doubt fortune will change once more.
*****
"When oars churn white the waters of the Thames
That gray and choppy flow through London town
When boats, a pair of light and dark blue gems
Set in the tideway, strive to win renown
Rowing that curious and ancient race
Fought between sibling schools since ages past,
The crew that this year ends in second place
Next year perchance may finish second last.
Thus one year's gain may salve the last year's loss
The tideway tide shall in time's fullness, turn;
And who shall win the next year's race, or toss
Nor Journalist nor Bookie may discern.
So let us raise a philosophic glass
And say, with Solomon: this too shall pass.
*****
"Fellow Cantabrigians; gentle guests; please rise and join me in a toast to the losers.
[delivered at the Halifax Boat Race Dinner during dessert 14 April, 2007]
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Cambridge, 2007, along the Fulham Wall
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