Broken Oars Podcast

We return as the mystery deepens! Holmes and Watson have been called from their chambers at 221b Baker Street by Inspector Lestrade to investigate the apparent suicide of a young gentleman at a Cambridge College. On arriving, they find Mr. Martin, the deceased, in his chambers, slumped over his desk, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. The door had to forced by Mr. Potter, the porter, and no-one else was found in the room with him at the time of his discovery. Investigating the scene, Holmes finds a priest's hole, common enough in the older Cambridge colleges, and a button. Are they something? Or are they nothing? Further investigations lead Holmes to the college boathouse where he learns from Mr. Pitman, that young Mr. Martin had just been awarded his seat in the bows of the Cambridge crew for the Boat Race. Mr. Muttlebury goes on to explain the intricacies and appeal of rowing to Mr. Holmes ... and the vital importance of the bow oar in any boat. As they walk back to Cambridge, Holmes mulls over what he has learned ...   ... is it something, or is it nothing? The mystery deepens ... (In last weekend's men's race, the press / media liked the Parrish brothers having a father who rowed for Cambridge. Maybe turns out the more significant help was having a mother who had been a very good @ULBC cox ... ? Just saying ... ).

Welcome back our friends to the show that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside ...   We're back, the original and best rowing podcast and this episode ...   We celebrate the magic of BUCS, the importance of knowing your responsibilities on and off the water and staying safe; why youth is not wasted on the young but why you only realise the aphorism is right once you aren't anymore; why Alan Rickman's diaries are unreadable; why you should keep a diary and what you should put in it; when and where it is appropriate to use the N-word ...   ... and then we get to why rowing an eight is harder than rowing a single (sorry, single scullers, we know you like to say you're acme of the art and craft, but ... you aren't); and then the big question: When a rower should give up their dream, whether that is a Henley run, making the squad, or just getting out in a boat ... (Did we here someone say ... NEVER!)   Did you miss us? We missed you.   Accept no substitutes, we are the original and best ...   (... and support the podcast by buying us a coffee. We both drink it: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brokenoarsD )   Bowside holding, strokeside blades ... we duel at dawn!   Get some!

Welcome back to Part Four of the celebration of Head of the River and the Boat Race that is our exclusive all-new Sherlock Holmes adventure, the first and only one to feature that noblest and greatest of sports, rowing.   The Mystery of the Murdered Bow - Part Four.     Called from 221b Baker Street by Inspector Lestrade's urgent summons, Holmes and Watson have made their way by train to Cambridge.     A young man is dead.     Self-murder is suspected.     On arrival, the evidence initially suggests that the facts fit Lestrade's conclusion: Mr Martin was found alone in his room, with a single gunshot wound to the head. But there is no pistol. And as Holmes examines the room, he finds a priest's hole and single button.      Do they mean anything?     Lestrade thinks not, but Holmes is not sure. His investigation leads him to the college boathouse where a conversation with Mr. Pitman and Mr. Muttlebury, both rowers and crewmates of Mr. Martin, provides new information.     But is it relevant?     Get some!

In celebration of Head of the River and the upcoming Boat Race, the team at Broken Oars have put together a Boat Race special - an all-new Sherlock Holmes adventure:   We give you: The Mystery of the Murdered Bow - Part Three     The year is 1886.     A young man has been found dead at King's College, Cambridge.   Self-murder is suspected.     Holmes and Watson have been called from 221b Baker Street by Inspector Lestrade.     When Holmes and Watson arrive, the evidence suggests that Lestrade's conclusion fits the facts.   But as Holmes begins to investigate, is there more to what otherwise appears to be an open-and-shut case?     Listen on to find out!   Long drive to HORR? Training tomorrow? Spectating tomorrow? We've got you covered!   Get some!

Broken Oars Podcast, the original and best podcast about the art, practice and people involved pushing a boat backwards down a river, returns with ...   'The Mystery of the Murdered Bow.'   A new Sherlock Holmes adventure written especially for and just in time for Head of the River and the Boat Race.   The year is 1886. All is well in 221b Baker Street. After a long winter, as February slips into March, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are called to Cambridge by Inspector Lestrade one morning ...   The reason?   An apparent self-murder at one of the oldest and most venerable colleges of one of the world's oldest and most venerable universities ...   ... but is all truly as it seems?   With new episodes building up all of the way to Boat Race Day, follow each twist and turn and find out ...   (No Coxswains were hurt in the making of this story. This might not be the case in real life).

As promised, Part Two of our three-part deep dive into those crazy opium-eating loons in their flouncy shirts with their consumption and their poetry.   In this episode, we look at the main themes of the age, discuss how the idea of the new day inherent to revolution manifested in the poetry of the time, but also how a theory of literature, in producing a literature to either confirm or deny that theory, exposes the reality that there is no final resting place or resolution.   With added Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley, a load of French and German philosophers ... and a Roman.   Yes. we do have rowing stuff coming ... just as soon as we can actually meet up and interview our guests!   Get some!

Hullo and welcome back to Broken Oars Podcast! As The Southern One wrestles with life and the Northern One wrestles with ... well, life too, while we look for an opportunity to recovene, the Northern One has grabbed a chunk of time to put up another Broken Oars University Episode.   This time it's on the Romantic Poets - on the grounds of why not, it's a New Year, let's get into something fresh and interesting.   But don't worry.   We'll be back to talk about rowing again soon.   So, in this part one of three, we have a chat about those crazy loons from two hundred and odd years ago who decided to start writing about feelings and perception and the inner landscape ... and who in so doing gave rise to Love Island, influencers and rampant narcissism.   We look at what the Romantics were in terms of period, poets and poetry, what they aren't, what went before them, how they self-defined and how we went on to define them. And next week, we'll get into the poetry.   All because Stephen Graham referenced Beowulf recently.   Blame him!

Despite being the world's best rowing podcast (after Martin Cross, anyway) and having had stellar years so far in terms of amazing guests and people annoyed, Broken Oars Podcast have never done an end-of-year review.   Well, that stops now.   Here is is, just in time to keep the twelve days of Christmas going and set you up for the New Year. As usual, we throw ourselves into it with our usual gusto, so on this episode, we talk about:   Free speech, the Northern One's alcohol tolerance levels (so small as to need a microscope to view them), and how the development of the pocket Jezz Moore App is going; and then we got onto our best pod moments, best rowing moment, best workout, best outing, best race and best events of 2022.   Oh, we cover them all. Don't let our usual back-and-forth style fool you into thinking we haven't thought about any of our answers. We do research on this pod - often while we're in the middle of recording it. We talk about our favourite guests (our guests are always our favourite guests); Small Ergs, Big Dreams falls off our Christmas list for the crime of being young, good-looking, unfeasibly talented (and young, did we mention young?); the virtues of pudding are discussed; and ultimately, although it's nice to see the British Squad return to winning ways, we choose Claire Court's victory over Redwood Scullers at Henley 2022 as our race of the year.   Because that, ladies and gentlemen, was rowing as it was meant to be done.   That's right.   In a sculling boat.   GET SOME!

In Episode Two of Broken Oars University, Broken Oars Podcast's Northern One explores fundamental equivalences between being a rower, and the discipline, practice and craft of rowing and being a musician, and the discipline, practice and craft of music.   Looking at the cultural location and narratives of both, this episode looks at how we self-identify with what resonates with us; the learning trajectory of both disciplines; the importance of mechanical practice and how that leads us to states of grace in both.   Taking in figures in both arenas from Eric Murray and Helen Glover to Maxim Vengerov and Eddie Van Halen to Johnny Dawes and Eugene Ysaye, although it does get into aspects of the psychology of the self, emotional response and spiritual ground, the idea that being a rower and rowing and being a musician and playing music possess core fundamental equivalences is not as big a reach as you think; and it's not as woo as you might fear.   If you've ever been in a boat when it's really moving, if you've ever played in a band when it's really cooking ... ? You're feeling the same thing and you got there the same way.   Get Some!   This episode of Broken Oars has no swearing in it, and is safe to play around children.    (Please click the link here for the Two Set Violin and Maxim Vengerov masterclass, which starts at 31.26 in their clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsbA5KDChZw  

Harry, the spare to the heir (his own words), has been in the news recently following the Netflix show that he and Meghan have launched. The show has attracted brickbats for many things, including its appropriation and misrepresentation of other footage.   But we aren't going to put the boot in. After all, we all know that it will be Tom George who ascends to the throne when the time comes. He has the hair, he has the erg scores, and he has the jawline. Instead we're going to stand up for Harry - specifically his musical ability. Many have decried the picture of him playing the guitar with Meg in attendance, suggesting that the chord he's fingering isn't one associated with sweet music. In this, mercifully, brief episode of Broken Thoughts we say 'Au contraire, mon frere' and we salute Harry for his use of the minor sixth in courtship music.  Bold.