oarsman

Not a chip of the boat was harmed, nor a hair of any oarsman's head; but the mate for ever sank.

He would say the most terrific things to his crew, in a tone so strangely compounded of fun and fury, and the fury seemed so calculated merely as a spice to the fun, that no oarsman could hear such queer invocations without pulling for dear life, and yet pulling for the mere joke of the thing.

Patient of toil, not to be disheartened by impediments and disappointments, fertile in expedients, and versed in every mode of humoring and conquering the wayward current, they would ply every exertion, sometimes in the boat, sometimes on shore, sometimes in the water, however cold; always alert, always in good humor; and, should they at any time flag or grow weary, one of their popular songs, chanted by a veteran oarsman, and responded to in chorus, acted as a never- failing restorative.

The 32-year-old was a member of Stirling Amateur Boating and Swimming Club and won awards as an oarsman both locally and nationally.

8DA YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS WEE THINKER ACROSS: 1 Sailing boat 8 Sag 9 Rut 11 Predict 12 Samba 13 Aid 14 Yes 15 Success 17 Nod 19 Kale 21 Item 23 Quid 25 Limo 27 Dab 29 Willowy 31 Gas 34 Ape 36 Ashes 37 Oarsman 38 Lie 39 End 40 Advertising DOWN: 1 Sari 2 Aged 3 Leisure 4 Notice 5 Basis 6 Army 7 Tube 8 Spawn 10 Taste 16 Ski 18 Dim 20 Add 22 Tow 24 Upwards 25 Legal 26 Almost 28 Blend 30 Issue 32 Asia 33 Shed 34 Amen 35 Pang QUICKIE ACROSS: 7 Bridles 9 Loner 10 Empty 11 Mediate 12 Sit 13 Diamonds 16 Shanghai 17 She 19 Whatsit 21 Eilat 22 Adieu 23 Coastal DOWN: 1 Abreast 2 Dispatch 3 Clay 4 Gladioli 5 Anna 6 Oriel 8 Sympathetic 13 Dinosaur 14 Desolate 15 Fertile 18 Swear 20 Arid 21 Elan

Oxford went on to lose when one oarsman broke a blade and another, Alex Woods, who is now De Toledo's partner, collapsed with exhaustion.

Harry Clasper, probably the most famous oarsman of the 19th century, will also be at the regatta - in the form of Jamie Brown, who plays Clasper in the forthcoming one-man show Hadaway Harry written by Ed Waugh.

BEST CRUISE BREAK Oarsman |BDIALAFLIGHT (0844 556 6060, www.dialaflight.com) offers PS650 per person savings on a comprehensive cruise covering the full length of Fiji's magnificent Yasawa Island chain as well as Modriki and the Sacred Islands.

IT was with interest that I read in The Journal that Ed Waugh has written a play about Harry Clasper, the famous oarsman, and is seeking some of Clasper's descendants.

This World AIDS Day, Equatorial Guinea was recognized by The White House, through the presence of American oarsman Victor Mooney.

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: Varsity crew, first boat oarsman, Grades 11 and 12; summer lab assistant at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Grade 12; class president, Grades 10 and 11; varsity basketball, state finalist, Grade 10; Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services board member, Grades 11 and 12; National Honor Society officer, Grade 12.

Actor Jeremy Irons will also appear to read TS Eliot's The Four Quartets, while film producer Jeremy Thomas will preview his Thor Heyerdahl movie Kon-Tiki, comedian Johnny Vegas will discuss his Sky Arts directorial debut Ragged and Olympic oarsman James Cracknell and his wife Beverley Turner will discuss their story Touching Distance.