Renewed thanks to everyone as the funding total heads towards £2000. This is hugely appreciated by everyone involved with the Treehouse Project which my marathon sculling trip is backing. Meanwhile my practice sessions are on the verge of leaving Oxford and heading downstream into the wider world. The temptation to stay in the city of dreaming spires is notorious among academics, but the magic of the river is drawing me eagerly on. I had a serene skim (and quite often dawdle) from Donnington Bridge to Sandford lock last week, helped by the rollers at Iffley shown in my photos, which allow small boats to by-pass the lock. That said, I am going to have to pluck up courage and go through a lock soon as portage is difficult on the Thames with mooring banks generally designed for much bigger boats. Wish me luck, please - lock luck.