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Boater: 'It's quiet today. Where is everyone?'
Lock Keeper: 'Probably all at the Henley Regatta, sir.'
Boater: 'Really. And where is that being held, then?'
Lock Keeper: 'Oh, Henley this year, I think.'
The Henley Regatta is held each year in Henley. It lasts for five days over the first weekend in July. It has been held since 1839 except during the two world wars and became known as the Henley Royal Regatta in 1851 when Prince Albert became the first royal patron. Each reigning monarch has agreed to be its patron since Prince Albert's death.
The Regatta course is 1 mile, running from Temple Island to Henley bridge. The Regatta has attracted crowds from all over the World and is the most important event in England, after the Royal Ascot races.
The Regatta is a significant social event and for five days is the place to be seen where thousands swoop in to eat, drink and be merry. A few of them may even watch the rowing!
Pimms and champagne are an integral part of the Regatta and providing the weather stays good people can be out dressed in their best, enjoying the sun, fresh air and Pimms in roughly equal quantities. The river will become packed with boats to such an extent that for the duration of the Regatta the swans are taken to a reserve. This is done for the swans' safety, as well as the boaters'. The swans stay on the reserve until the end of the Henley Festival which takes place in the following week. The ducks, cotes and geese are left to wonder what's hit them. Meanwhile the price of mooring goes up by 1,000%.
The Regatta concludes with a firework display and then an exodus of people jumping into their cars and driving straight into the hands of the police with breathalysers. For the boaters the locks remain manned until 2am.
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