Last Wednesday, it was the oh-so-very traditional OPIG Punting day (OPunting for those more acronym-prone).

To my surprise,  the weather was spectacular! It was warm and sunny, a true perfect day for punting. We set off from our alcoves offices with determination in our hearts and, more importantly, with delicious snacks and a significant amount of Pimms and G&T.   Everything was set for a truly amazing day. Our group took over 5 punts from the Cherwell Boathouse, constituting what I like to think of as a small fleet of avid punters and merriment-seekers. We punted all the way up the Cherwell, past the lovely Victoria’s Arms into lands unknown (or into some grassy meadows in the vicinities of Oxford). Fortunately no keys were thrown overboard and no one fell off the punts (well, at least not accidentally). Yet, as usual, OPunting was very eventful! Following the customs of our group, we had the traditional punting race. I may have been too busy gorging on Pimms during the race, but if memory does not fail me, the race was won by Hannah (who can be seen in the photo bellow doing her swimming victory lap).

Hannah, in her victory lap swim…

During the punting, we also discovered that Bernhard had some previously unknown Viking ancestry (Austrian vikings?), which manifested in an impetus to ram his punt against others. Suffice to say that he paved the grounds to “Dodgems Punts”, a ride that will become popular in fun fairs and amusement parks in 2027.

Other than that, the weather was so great that many of us decided to go for a lovely swim at the Cherwell.

After a refreshing pint at Victoria’s, we made our way back to conclude yet another successful OPunting day!