It’s been a while….

So it’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been super busy with dissertation writing and the step up from novice to senior rowing. 

I’ll tell you a little about my dissertation first. It was one of the most stressful things that I ever had to do but also, it turns out, my best essay to date. I GOT A FIRST! My essay centred around a study of Australian convict literature, focusing on cannibalism, bestiality and the presentation of women (slightly obscure I know), however it turned out to be really interesting (a major positive when it comes to dissertations!). I was really proud of myself for producing something of serious academic merit and for exploring a previously seriously understudied area of literature. 

On to rowing! As mentioned in a previous post I decided (potentially very unwisely) to take up rowing and this semester it got serious! We raced WEHORR (a race rowed on the Oxford/Cambridge boat race course) and it was seriously tough! The course seemed to last forever and among the other squads competing there was a composite crew of Olympians. So obviously we didn’t win! It was hard but I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to take part as I highly doubt I will get the opportunity to row on the Thames again. The girls I rowed with were a great bunch and we had a brilliant day out (even if the results weren’t quite as good as we would have hoped).

The same can’t be said for the Varsity race. Again I was surprised to be offered a place in the boat, as my rowing leaves quite a lot to be desired (what more can you expect when I’m roughly four inches shorter than the rest of the crew!). The day was the opposite of WEHORR, it rained pretty constantly and consisted of equipment failure, swan fights and a pretty heavy cross wind. Sarah, our usual stroke (a pretty ace rower) had to drop out, due to injury, meaning a reshuffle of the crew at the last minute. This put us all on edge and meant the row down to the start was pretty tense. We lined up and before we had time to think we were off. And then we were stopped. DMU had drifted into the bank and were calling for a restart, meaning that the first excellent start we had managed as a crew was wasted. We realigned and started again but this time we weren’t on the ball, the start lacked power and wasn’t in any way done as a crew. The rest of the race told a pretty similar story, culminating in running into two swans fighting just before the finish line. The boat stopped and we straggled across the line, in a state of complete disarray. DMU had out classed Leicester in a serious way winning 5-2 over the course of the day.

But onwards and upwards, regatta season will soon be upon us and racing in the sun is far more fun than racing in the rain! I need to stop procrastinating and start writing my essays now. More soon xx

Tea for two

Yesterday I was back at the Tea room for what seemed to be a slow day so much so that we cancelled the stand-by thinking that we could handle a few lunch orders and coffees between us. Turns out we could not have been more wrong!

We lasted until about 11.30 before we realised our mistake the whole of Northamptonshire seemed to have decided to come for lunch and there were just two of us to man the fort. A colleague was in charge of the cooking and I was in charge or everything else, taking orders, waiting tables and manning the dishwasher the whole lot. It was the toughest day of work that I have ever done but I managed to multi-task effectively and everyone received their orders on clean plates with a smile. The main problem was trying not to panic and remain efficient at all times in order to keep up with the demands of the customers and ensure that everyone got what they had ordered in a timely manner. This was made more difficult when we discovered that due to an error in communication no salad had been brought in for the day. However a quick brain wave and phone call to the head gardener later and freshly picked home grown lettuce was in the kitchen ready to be washed and on plates.

This was hectic to say the least but I am proud to say that I kept my head and handed out ketchup and spare forks along with directions to the toilets and where to find ice cream without once losing my cool. I took orders and controlled the queue and when given a couple of minutes I ran into the kitchen to put a few plates through the dishwasher and then plate up a couple of sandwiches or a bowl of chips. This gave me the chance to restore some order to the kitchen and make sure that my colleague had a drink and was coping okay with the sudden influx of humanity that has descended upon us.

When we had finally shut up shop the work didn’t end as we had to restore the kitchen to its former state. We swept, mopped and restocked to ensure that the tea room would be ready for action again the next day. Being able to carry on going when you’ve reached such a point of exhaustion is something that I have learnt I am pretty good at! I didn’t give up and sit down until the tables were cleared and wiped, the umbrellas were down and the cakes were on clean trays and safely in the fridge. I am proud of the fact that I didn’t give up and sit down until everything was done to a satisfactory standard and ready to go again. This attitude is something that will stay with me regardless of what I’m doing, my inner perfectionist and endless willingness to get the job done.

Row Row Row your boat

 

After working at the Olympic rowing event I decided to take up rowing at uni only to discover that being 5″2 seriously disadvantages me in terms of becoming the worlds greatest rower. However I try and I’m due to row next Sunday in an ACTUAL RACE!!! Not only that but I’m coxing in a race for the first time too.

As a cox and member of the crew at the university there are many things that I am required to do. Promptness and willingness to lend a hand are important qualities as if you are late or simply don’t show up then it isn’t only you who won’t row it is the whole crew. This co-dependency is what makes for an excellent team!

When people think of coxes they just think of the people that shout but really there is a lot more to it than that! It may seem a bit clique but sometimes it is a matter of serious importance and a good cox can be the difference between a safe outing and a disastrous one. There was one occasion when I was coxing a boat and a leisure cruiser appeared on the canal. I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry and immediately halted the boat and pulled over to one side allowing the boat to pass safely. The ability to remain calm when under such pressure is something that coxing has allowed me to improve and now I feel confident that when faced with a similar situation I would be able to act quickly and ensure the safety of my crew.

On the other side of this is the experience of the rower who must receive the instructions and respond without question. And this is something that I’m working on as quick responses are required in order to ensure everyone’s safety and the fastest time possible. Not really ever having been much of a sporty person I struggled initially with the grueling gym training sessions and the longer water outings however I have surprised myself and started to go to the gym voluntarily and alone! (Sometimes preferable to the 7 am morning ergs!)

The social side of the boat club is also something new for me. I battled my inner cautious self and attended my first social dressed in my ULBC rowing top and raring to go. Having already made a few friends within the novice women’s team I was curious to see what the other teams were like and to my surprise they weren’t all 7 foot tall as I expected and everyone was really friendly. Since that first social I’ve had many great nights out with the boat club including braving the March snow storms in my ULBC onesie and entering rivals (and losers) DMU’s home turf as the victorious varsity champs.

Definitely starting to feel the nerves ahead of this weekends adventures but looking back over my time with the boat club makes me glad that I disregarded the fact that I am the height of a munchkin and went for it anyway!

London 2012 Olympic games

As I am due to visit the Olympic park tomorrow I thought I would write a little bit about my experience as a Gamesmaker at Eton Dorney home to the Olympic and Paralympic rowing and canoeing sprint events.

As an Events Services volunteer I didn’t really have a specific role other than to just go where I was required. It was mostly ticket scanning, queue control and seating placements in the stands. I had one day’s general training in London which seemed adequate until they put a ticket scanner in my hand and said gates open for the first time in 10 minutes. It is completely incredible to me that I was the first person to let anyone into the venue. I think it was a huge learning curve for everyone involved but it taught me how quickly I can adapt to new situations. Volunteering also taught me how going the extra mile really can change someone’s whole perspective of a situation. Smiling when it’s raining is difficult but it can make someone who is also feeling a little damp and miserable a little more cheerful and this attitude is what Gamesmakers have become renowned for.

The whole event more than met my expectations it was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I wish that I could do it all over again! The atmosphere and the people I met were just incredible and it was so great to be part of something that might not return to England in my lifetime.

Throughout my time at the Olympics I was amazed at the amount of responsibility I was given. I was even made sub team leader on one of the days I worked which definitely improved my confidence and leadership abilities. In order to maintain the high standards that have become synonymous with Gamesmakers communication was seriously important as between us we were responsible for thousands of spectators. Everyone was conscious of this and the appropriate use of radios was especially important in order to ensure that the safety of spectators was achieved. Problem solving was also a major part of the role and this is what my sub-team were in charge of. We were placed in support of the ticket resolution office as there were some consistent problems with missing seats due to a larger than anticipated stairwell. We had to make sure that spectators were kept calm, they would still get a seat and it was only a slight delay. All in all this went without a hitch and everyone succeeded in being given a seat.

The experience has led me to my job at Leicester Tigers rugby stadium the Olympics and gave me a bit of a head start with handling crowds. Personally the main benefit I have received is that I now row at university and it was the Olympics that led me to do this.