Eight hours later, as the aircraft's undercarriage was lowered over Mortlake, in south-west London on its approach to Heathrow Airport, the man plummeted to earth through a clear blue Sunday morning sky.

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The most physical demonstration of this rivalry is, famously, the annual University Boat Race: one spring Saturday each year the Light Blues (Cambridge) and Dark Blues (Oxford) each send their finest eight oarsmen to row the 4 miles and 374 yards along the Thames between Putney and Mortlake in west London.

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