I write this a whole day after Puntcon, which was a rather wonderful day full of picnicking, punting and conversation in Cambridge.
I somehow reached the advertised meeting place in good time, just before midday on Sunday. I paced about until I spotted Bill, who was the organiser of whom I recognised from the photos of the previous years event.
From then on it was somewhat of a whirlwind of meeting and being introduced to all these new faces, many of whom had known each other through other events etc, but they all made me feel very welcome it must be said.
As soon as we had sorted ourselves out, and taken account of an absentees, punts were organised and we then made our way along the River Cam. The weather was excellent, and the conversation was to, even if I did feel a tad out of my depth at times.
(Photo courtesy of LoopZilla)
When we reached the picnic site and met up with the remainder of our party (they had charged ahead into the distance), we settled down to our picnic. Bill had brought plentiful supplies along, and through his encouragement no one returned to the boat who wasn’t suitably stuffed! I suspect we sat slightly lower in the water on our return.
The more spontaneous of our group decided to take an impromptu swim in the River Cam much to my amazement. Word has it that the river was surprisingly pleasant to swim in. They were no alone, as we had passed may swimmer braving the water, including one man who had decided to swim in exactly zero clothing!
On our return to the punt hire station, we said our farewells to several members of the group who had to make their way home. I decided to stay, and was certainly glad I did. Ended up in a student bar slap-bang in the middle of Trinity College. It was quite an honour to be able to see some of the courtyards that are normally off-limits to us mere-mortal members of the public!
After more conversation on the grounds, with the time fast approaching 9pm, I said my goodbyes and made my way back to my car.
All in all, an interesting day indeed. Plenty of people I hope to stay in contact with. I’m sure they’ll be back again next year, as will I - for PuntCon IV.
My only regret is not having a go at punting myself, which did look like a lot of fun. I really shouldn’t have let my fears get the better of me so often, but I know I’m not the most co-ordinated person, for which I blame partially on my high centre of gravity.