Yesterday I went punting with Sarah and Adrienne. I had never actually poled the boat for more than a few minutes before, but I managed to get the hang of it after a little while. The key discovery was that you can use the punting pole as a rudder to steer the boat.

The most exciting part was as we approached a bridge on the way back. We were over towards the bank, which left very little clearance. I had left the pole up too high and was trying to bring it down to get under the bridge, and I had neglected to do likewise with my head. At the last possible second I turned, saw the bridge in front of my eyes, and hit the deck; as I did so I heard about a half dozen people on the shore let out gasps of horror.