Mr Piper picks a peck of pretty Pipers; living it up at the Leander; beer with buddies at the Boater’s Bar

It just so happened that Roy and I found ourselves in the south of England on the weekend of the annual Piper Boats get-together at Henley-on-Thames.

Simon Piper glowed with satisfaction (as much as a Northerner can ever be said to glow) as he surveyed the 18 shiny Piper barges moored end to end along the Thames riverbank across from Temple Island. It’s a record number – although our Aussie friend Tony Richardson (Kanumbra) quipped on Facebook that there were currently nearly as many Pipers in the port of Auxonne!

This event is a brilliant feat of marketing: a row of proud Piper owners show their beautiful bespoke barges and share their happy stories with potential Piper customers. (We and our Karanja took part in the September 2016 event – click here  for my post on that experience.)

Yesterday, the first day of the event,  had been sunny and hot; today was decidedly not. After looking at two brand new and equally stunningly furnished  barges – Constance (Nick and Charlotte) and Jangus (Jan and Angus), we madly dashed to the hospitality tent just in time to avoid a drenching.

There, over coffee and biccies followed by wine and sandwiches, we met up with Tracey and Antony, delightful self-confessed “stalkers” of Karanja who flatteringly told us that they read every word of this blog and are looking at a similar colourway for their own Piper. (She’s to be named Axiom and is due to launch in May 2020.)

Once the rain had let up a bit and Roy and I had scoffed as many delicious sandwiches as possible, we went up and down the long line of lovely Pipers. First up was yet another cup of warming coffee with our friends Claire and Jeremy on Happy Chance.

Then a peep at newly launched Jabberwock – what gorgeous cushions and rug! – whose owner Catherine was nearing the end of her tether.  Yes, as fellow-owners of a 49M Piper barge I suppose we were “just being nosy”; but, to be fair, every year brings innovations and improvements that are such a pleasure to see.

Finally, on Ascension (60 metres), friendly Aussies Tracey Doblea and Shaun (imonaboat) Martin, who have been living and working aboard their boat for the past three years.

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Review: The Leander Club, Henley-on-Thames

How lucky I felt to be staying at the Leander Club for three nights! Founded on the Tideway in 1818, the club built its current premises here in the late 1800’s, right next to Henley Bridge, and is regarded as  the world’s most prestigious rowing club.

We had the Cambridge Room (Room 4), with enchanting views across the Thames. In the morning, rowers (Olympians, for all we know) hoist their long, narrow craft on to their shoulders and take to the water along with the swans, ducks and geese.

A full English breakfast is included, as you might expect. It starts with the usual buffet of fruit salad and juices, nuts and cereals, and goes on to eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomato, black pudding, salmon with scrambled eggs, and the best cheese and mushroom omelette I’ve had for ages.

Review: Fine Dining at the Leander Club, Henley-on-Thames

Our stay at the Leander Club fortunately coincided with the club monthly fine dining event (£49 a head), so, in the best bibs and tuckers we could muster we joined around 25 other booted-and-suited old fogies in the bar at 7.30pm for drinks and canapés.

Instead of Prosecco or champagne, they do the Leander Pink bubbly from Digby Fine English – a label that claims to be “setting the gold standard for luxury English sparkling wine”. (It’s available from Waitrose for around £30.)

What an innovative and delicious meal it turned out to be! Here’s the menu:

• Selection of beetroots with goat’s cheese mousse and caramelised walnuts

• Caramelised veal sweetbreads* with maple, turnips and pistachios

• Wild bass with parmesan gnocchi, asparagus, samphire and a lime and coconut sauce

• Bronze fennel parfait served with basil sorbet and blackberries.

*The manager who came around – rather late in the day, really – to check on the acceptability of the veal sweetbreads (the thymus gland or the pancreas) seemed relieved to see clean plates.

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Review: Villa Marina

A sophisticated Italian with urbane service – no pizzas, not many pastas – Villa Marina  is just over Henley Bridge from the Leander Club, right opposite the delightful Angel on the Bridge pub.

Having had a couple of drinks with friends at the Boater’s Bar at T&K Marina in the nearby Reading area – Al and Sue, Morag, John and several others – we were ready for a proper meal. (Click here for just one of my several posts on the fabulous time we spent with these lovely people in the summer of 2016.)

A good risotto is a wonderful thing. But it’s also inherently conflicted: too filling as a starter, and a bit boring as a main course. The answer was to share the risotto ai funghi starter (£9.50). That’s what we did, and it was jolly good.

Both Roy’s calves’ liver dish, fegato al burro e salvia, pancetta e balsamico de Modena, and my off-menu lamb rack with mushrooms (a pricy £27) were done to a perfectly pink turn – and everything came hot, including side dishes (£3.50 each) of mash, seasonal veggies, and scalding zucchini strips served straight from the deep-fryer. With longing hearts and willing spirits we surveyed the dessert trolley – in particular a huge and as-yet-untouched tiramisu – but we were just too full.

Together with a bottle of pinot grigio, it came to just under £100 for the two of us. Highly recommended!

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