Does anyone know of any parties, events or anything planned around the boat race this Sunday? This will be my first time watching and I really don't want to go to something like a pub with a bunch of strangers.

I don't understand the question.
You don't want 'something like a pub with a bunch of strangers' but you do want a party , presumably also with a bunch of strangers?

I am not a fan of 'pubs' in general darling, that's what I meant.

I see, you don't understand the question. Maybe you just don't know the answer? I would prefer you to keep non-useful comments to yourself in future elaine

I didn't understand the question either. If you want to go to a party but don't want to go with strangers, you need to ask some friends.
All the pubs, bars, etc, along the river between Putney and Mortlake are packed on Boat Race day.

I asked my husband about the boat race because he crewed for his college at Oxford during his undergraduate days there. He gave me the same answer as GeoffHamer did. It's a major, major sporting event and there are scads of parties and events going on--but you do need to be invited or know someone who can get you invited, otherwise you have to go to the pubs with everyone else. Which is not a bad thing, though you seem to think so. Pubs are friendly places in the UK, full of people who are more than happy to share a pint and a story.

BTW, why were you so rude to elaine? She's a well-respected poster here, and she wasn't being sarcastic. Your question wasn't very clearly stated, that's all.

I thought the question was clearly stated. People just chose to question her reasoning instead of answering it or not answering. It came off a little rude.

Fanah, I don't have a solid answer for you, but my friend attended Oxford for a year and has many friends there. I will ask and post back if I have relevant information.

Well, I didn't go to Oxford and have no friends there, but here on Fodors, I find elaine to be consistently polite and helpful..
And the only relevant remark I can think of is if one dislikes pubs and crowds of strangers, one might also be uncomfortable at a very crowded boat race.

fanah darlin , try this site- it might help you find a party..good luck.

http://www.theboatrace.org/therace/guide/raceevents/

fanah, dear -- from one of your other posts you indicate you have been in London a such a long time that you simply MUST get away. If true, you will have had a chance to make friends or at least acquaintance w/ folks with Oxford/Cambridge connections. I'd suggest you ask one of them instead of telling one of the nicer regulars on here that she is rude. Otherwise you may just have to rub shoulders with the riff raff at the pubs.

Elaine is very nice and always helpful. no need to be mean.

is this the race down on the Thames fairly near Wimbledon?

I don't understand why people are attacking fanah. If Elaine was rude, it doesn't matter if she's a regular poster or not. Rude is rude, no matter who you are and how nice you've been in the past.

I'm really surprised by some of your responses.

ewt: Uh - the point is elaine's post WASN'T rude.

She merely asked how is a pub full of strangers different from a party full of strangers. (Since fanah wouldn't know anyone at the party either)

And fanah chose to lecture that she would prefer "you to keep non-useful comments to yourself in future elaine"

well golly gee - who made her the arbiter of what is useful or otherwise?

I'll stop now - because the next thing I want to write you'd probably consider REALLY rude . . . . . .

Janis, its pointless to continue arguing this, but my point is it was rude. I agree with fanah's assessment. And I'm not thin skinned. Fanah asked a question and instead of responding that she didn't know or not responding at all, she felt like she needed to take a superior stance and question fanah's reasoning for liking parties or pubs.

There was no need to comment or to be superior. Superior is what I am considering to be rude. I guess I am not of the opinion that you have to cuss someone out to fall in that category.

I maintain that if a "random" had posted the same comment Elaine did to a "regular poster" who was considered "nice," they would have been challenged by the same people who posted here defending Elaine.

I'm sure Elaine was a lovely person, but even lovely people make mistakes. Its not the end of the world, but I don't think its wrong to point out when someone has overstepped their bounds. People have different ideas of what fun is. If someone came on here and went on and on about people wasting their money going to Paris because Paris isn't fun and the people are terrible, I'm sure they would be called a troll and run out of here. Why? Because their opinion was not asked for. People are here to get travel questions answered, not be told what they should or should not enjoy.

Wow, ewt. That's really reading a lot into this. And I know very little of elaine, so this isn't popularity speaking. She said "I don't understand the question." and went on to explain her confusion.

I guess for every question we read that we don't understand we could just move on. But it's entirely possible that we could help, if we understood the question better. Why is it so wrong to ask for clarification??????

I could understand if she had ended her post with "That's just stupid". Or if you were with her and could hear it being asked in a sarcastic or condescending tone.

But I think we should all do our best not to read posts with sarcastic tones. It's difficult to portray tone of voice over the computer. Why not give someone the benefit of the doubt that they're not being rude or superior, but rather asking a genuine question?

ewt, maybe after spending more time on Fodors, you will start to recognise that some people have a "voice" and while it might strike some as gruff or whatever, that person will be known as very helpful and very knowledgable. I don't know that I have ever seen elaine be rude or even resemble rude. I cannot say that for a lot of people, even myself, I lose patience and get snippy myself.
But you must admit that even fanah, was a bit rude in her response suggesting that "darling elaine" keep to non-useful comments in the future.
No one appreciates posting an answer and getting such a smack in the face. I admire elaine for not responding in the manner that I think I would have
Responses like that (to elaine) do not encourage others to post with help either.
So why not drop this now?
Take jlms advice which is very good and try not to look for offense where most likely none was meant.
Scarlett

Thanks to ewt and everyone else who tried to be helpful. To flygirl I believe the race starts around Putney Bridge and ends around Chiswick Bridge. Wimbledon isn't too far from Putney.
Thanks for standing up for me ewt, I really don't need to explain myself to anyone, if they take offense so be it.

C'mon, stop scratching each other's eyes out and admit it - it were a pretty stupid question, weren't it?.

fanah - You're right, you don't need to explain yourself. There's no rule requiring it. But, you're asking others to not be rude to you (whether they were or not, you perceived it that way). You told elaine not to post to you if she didn't have anything useful to say. If you have a right to say anything you want and screw anyone who thinks it's offensive, why can't elaine (or anyone else) post whatever they want to you, and screw you if you find it offensive?

For what it's worth, I don't find either direction acceptable. I think it's best to try not to be offensive up front, and to apologize if someone is offended when no offense is meant. But that's apparently just me (and a few others here) . . .

There aren't usually organised events other than for those who are enough of an in-crowd already to hire a boat to follow the race. The crowds in a pub will be pretty good-humoured, but any pub near the river will be bursting - the best choice would be several collections of pubs at Hammersmith near the bridge and Barnes (Barnes Bridge railway station - trains from Waterloo) - anywhere near Putney Bridge is likely to be overwhelmed with numbers, though there are some very nice pubs indeed there. The most important thing to remember (from my point of view) is that you'll be lucky to get more than a brief glimpse of the race whizzing past - oh, and beware of the wash from the launches following the race.

Personally (and I did actually do a bit of rowing at one of these institutions, so I'm not prejudiced) I don't think the Boat Race is that interesting (nor is rowing as a spectator sport generally, come to that). If it hadn't already happened for this year, I'd have suggested going to Putney to see the spectacle of the Head of the River (a 'procession' race of 400 crews against the clock) - much more colour and movement on the river, many fewer but much more knowledgeable and enthusiastic spectators.

down near Putney - I believe I went to the same one you are going to, a few years ago. Like a kickoff race for the season - a warmup? It was CROWDED. I was lucky to find a place to stand on the rail. I didn't stick around either, so I can't help you with any suggestions even - I believe I just headed back and went for a stroll through some public gardens, I do remember it was a very nice day.