 The region wanted to develop the idea and help make the event national – Scotland has already shown interest in running the event next year. Dragon Boat racing is perfect for Spoon as it is fun, sporty and available to any Spoon region with an accessible waterway running through it - which doesn't leave many regions out! The day started at 8.30 am with the farmers field being unlocked to allow a crocodile of dragon boats and participants to drive onto one of the prettiest stretches of the Thames at Hurley (twixt Henley and Marlow).
 By 9 am the BBQ was doing a busy trade in bacon sarnies, and the crews were receiving their briefing on the operation and safety features of the Dragon Boats for the race ahead. By 10.30 with flags and banners unfurled and sun-screen applied, the races began. Passing leisure boats steered for the safety of the banks, as two dragon-headed rapier-like boats shot down the centre-stream, with war drummers beating out the stroke rhythm. Approximately 50 combatants took part in the racing, with a similar number of children, friends, parents and grand-parents jumping up and down on the banks cheering them on and adding to the festivities. It was a sight to behold – especially just 3 weeks after the floods had subsided on this stretch of the Thames.
 The competition took place in the heat of one of the hottest days of this summer. After several heats, and NAAFI-sized reinforcements of meaty burgers and sausages from the chefs (alias Metcalfe and Adlam of the Chilterns Committee), the finals and plate competition took place amid great excitement. Perhaps appropriately the winners, by a dragons breath, were “Frost on the Ground”, a team from a regional family estate agency business in the Thames Valley. This honour was no less than they deserved, as they had made Spoon their charity of the year, back in January, and Nicky Frost was their first choice drummer, and team coordinator.
 The team they beat in the close-finish final was perhaps the pre-race favourite, as “The Elite Squad” contained 2 junior England oarsmen, and the new London Irish number 8. In 3rd place were “Abbey Ruins”, from the Abbey Rugby Club who, despite being narrowly beaten in the semis by “The Elite Squad”, recovered to beat Chebsey in Lawcomotion (a team of professional solicitors – that is law advisers) in the plate competition. A replica dragon boat was presented to the winning team, (and to all other participants, as they were all winners on the day). The towpath area quickly emptied of the Oriental Festival, leaving the way clear for weekend sailors wending their wear way back from the pub, and those tireless dogs taking their owners for walks.
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