Last summer Taplow celebrated the Royal Wedding with a Race to the
Church. It seemed the right thing to do – wedding, church and all
– but the helter-skelter down the High Street shook off any need for
themes when it came to the first of this summer’s big events. However
if Queen Elizabeth II thought a Raft Race on Taplow Lake was a funny
way for us to mark her Diamond Jubilee she was too polite to say so.
It was all Juliet Lecchini’s idea. (Who’s that mumbling, ‘It
figures’?) Her goal was of course to replenish the Royal Navy on the
cheap. The result was a state-of-the-art flotilla created on 5th June by
each of five teams from a ready supply of plastic jerry-cans, lengths
of 3-by-2 timber and yards of colourful rope. The water reflected the
steel grey sky but – as one team would soon discover – it was warmer
in the drink than out of it.
Each team nominated a crew of two adults and two children for the
first leg. Rafts were launched and lined up for the start. And then
off they went on a splash course to circumnavigate the Leftley family
(who were doing a fine impression of a marker buoy) and paddle madly
back again. Points were earned by collecting yellow plastic ducks along
the way. Teams rotated crews for the second and third legs, if they
survived that long. Team Silver didn’t. They sank on the home run. By
that time Oarsome Nuggets were enjoying a leisurely barbecue lunch having
left everyone else in their wake with such furious paddling it was like
watching Redgrave and Pinsent after sprinkling bran on their breakfast
porridge. The real race was for the runner’s up spot. Crusaders narrowly
edged out Crown Jewels while Bluebeard’s Revenge went forth and came
fourth in inimitable style.
And then the rain came. We laughed it off (it stopped when it got to the
skin) and warmed ourselves with the thought that £935 had been raised
for the Thames Valley Adventure Playground. And we applauded heartily
as the victors and duck-collectors were presented with prizes kindly
donated by Simon Fox of HMV and by Duncan Leftley of Autotech Group,
which also sponsored the event.
When somebody asked Juliet how she’d follow up next year, she suggested
they should see a psychiatrist and (ever smiling) even offered to
recommend a good one.
Oarsome Nuggets – The Bainbridge, Fox and Stowe families Crusaders –
The Ashford, Edmonds, Sharp and Wayland-Smith families Crown Jewels –
The Barnard, Boden, Browning and Lecchini / Cherry families Blackbeard’s
Revenge – The Edmondson / Dunleavy, Knight, Mackay and Webb families
Team Silver – The Bullock, Lawson and Rollinson families
Nigel Smales
