May 6th, 2009 by oxfordthinking
Common rooms across Oxford have been hit by series of small-scale earth tremors.
The ‘quake swarm’ registered a reading of 5.2 on the Richter scale and caused severe structural damage to many college properties.
‘It’s not our fault’, said Hugh Duff-Noan, seismologist at Murdoch Hall. ‘It’s the strike-strip fault running 17.4 km below Oxfordshire.
‘There was sudden rupture and motion. We’re not sure about the epicentre but we think it may have been Jericho: walls came tumbling down.’
Nestlé College was one of the worst affected. Damage to its wood-panelled JCR could cost upwards of £1000 in repairs, and the chapel is closed this week while site management move in to survey the damage.
‘It’s awful,’ said one student. ‘But at least it wasn’t the bar.’
Led by Shakeaway, local businesses have so far pledged £500 in support. Repair work in some colleges may take months to complete.
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April 21st, 2009 by oxfordthinking
Malcolm College, Oxford, is celebrating today after picking up first prize in the Oxbridge College Pageant Finals.
The college, founded in 1448 as a local gambling den, bounced back from a disappointing competition last year in which they were pipped at the post by Churchill College, Cambridge.
‘We’re thrilled, obviously’, said JCR President John Johnson. ‘Malcolm’s always held a special place in our hearts and we’re delighted that its beauty is being appreciated by the Oxbridge community at large.’
The Pageant, which began as a mistake in the mid 1980s, has its roots in a 16th-century pie-eating contest, traditionally held in Magdalen College deer park after its annual cull.
The judges, who are usually celebrities and renowned academics, rate the Colleges based on architecture, flora, cleanliness and student image.
‘Having gone round the top five colleges with a fine tooth comb, we all decided that Malcolm was one that would look best in the prospectus’, one judge commented. ‘Ultimately, of course, that’s what matters, and we congratulate Malcolm on their well-deserved win.’
The prize is a free photo shoot in next week’s Cherwell along with a specially-commissioned cake in the college’s image. Runners-up, Christ Church, received a personalized bone-china mug.
Tags: Malcolm College
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Comment: A Credit Crunch?
May 6th, 2009 by oxfordthinkingNewspapers around the world are reporting a global financial crisis. But are we really in the midst of recession?
By Shirley Knott.
‘Credit Crunch.’ Everyone remembers the first time they heard those words. For me, it was sitting at home in the Vac with a bowl of M&S Triple Chocolate Crunch; Mummy was doing the ironing and the television was playing in the background. I looked up from my breakfast to see a story about Northern Rock: a never-ending line of people was pouring into some bank in Newcastle, as I recall. Or maybe it was one of the other nothern towns, I’m not sure. But I remember saying ‘cripes, Mommers, do you think they’ll cancel Loose Women?’
Of course, neither of us really appreciated the scale of the problem at that point. Not only was Loose Women cancelled but a few of our friends at Ascot announced that they were going to have to ‘give it a miss’ this year while they had their accounts checked over. And now, the Telegraph tells us, we’re in the middle of a recession.
The thing is, I just don’t buy it. (Come to that, I don’t buy anything: that’s Daddy’s prerogative. Hope you’re reading Geoffers!) But the idea, I mean. I just don’t buy it. People don’t actually ‘lose confidence’ in a bank, do they?
At least, we never lost confidence in ours. Coutts is doing swimmingly it seems, and so is the portfolio. None of my uni friends seem to be tightening their belts except old Jilly, and that’s because she’s lost another 2 lbs!
Money, at the end of the day, doesn’t really exist. That’s my understanding of it, anyway. Everyone says that we were spending money we didn’t have — credit — but if we didn’t really have it, who did? As it turns out, no one. So if no one is owed money they didn’t have, what’s all the fuss about?
So forgive me if I’m being indulgent but I’m going to carry on shopping at Jack Wills like I always do. I don’t believe in the Credit Crunch: the only crunch I believe in is the Triple Chocolate variety from M&S. God it’s good with Cravendale.
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