Christ Church have beaten Sheffield in the University Challenge final, which was aired on BBC2 last night.
The final score was 220 points to 170.
Over 200 teams from around the country entered this year's competition, but only 28 were selected to compete in the televised stages.
This is the 14th time an Oxford college has won since the programme began in 1963, compared with 6 wins for Cambridge.
Blog Page 2273
Christ Church win University Challenge
They float in the breeze…
“I am convinced that we can eliminate single-use disposable bags altogether, in favour of long-lasting and more sustainable alternatives”-Prime Minister Brown
Although this sounds quite good, it does pose the question, what, exactly, is a “single-use disposable bag”? By usage, it seems to refer to free plastic bags you get from supermarkets. Many dog owners might dispute the concept that these bags are single use, and I myself quite like them for putting trainers in after a game of football.
I also used a plastic bag to keep the saddle of by bike dry when I had to leave it out in rain. It is, however, an indisputable fact that the majority of plastic bags obtained from the various supermarkets across the world do end up being thrown away once used to take the shopping home. What then is the overall effect of this waste?
Less that 0.03% of all the waste that goes into a landfill comes from plastic bags, so one might be forgiven for asking why this should be such a central element of the Government’s environmentally themed speeches.
I have tried the majority of the alternatives to the plastic bag. So far, I have generally felt that most of them are inadequate. The trusty backpack was used until a packet of Chicken Tikka Massala sauce leaked all over its insides. To this day, almost a year later, the bag still smells of stale curry.
I have bought quite a few of the re-usable green bags, and have found them brilliant for taking glass to the bottle bank, they do however tend to retain the smells of whatever you put into them. Invariably, however, one rarely remembers to bring them shopping and ends up using the oh-so-conveniently positioned disposables, warranting disapproving looks from environmentally-friendly lookers-on.
I find it rather irksome that I should be treated like I have personally poured a 50-gallon drum of DDT into the river Cherwell. The elderly, in particular, tend to chide one about not doing their bit for the environment. That seams rather hypocritical as the amount of CO2 released by them driving to the shop would be worth nearly my volume in shopping bags. That this is missing from their distorted perspective of reality does not seem so surprising.
Going back to the age of fossils, why not offer paper bags instead of plastic ones? Well, for a start plastic bags take 40% less energy to make and release 70% fewer atmospheric emissions, and as only ~5% of the UK’s energy comes from renewable sources, this would have a much greater detrimental effect on the globes atmosphere. They would also create 5 times the volume of waste.
As there is a considerable paucity of composting heaps in household gardens, it seems likely that this waste would end up in the landfills all the same and thereby circumvent the supposed reduction in waste volume. They are also less popular with the consumer due to the propensity for breaking, spilling the shopping all over the path. The only real advantage is that they will decompose in a relatively short period of time.
This being said, I do fully support efforts to reduce the usage of plastic bags for ecological rather than atmospheric reasons. A colossal amount of plastic, especially from plastic bags, find its way to the seas of the world. According the United Nations Environment Programme, there are 46,000 pieces of plastic rubbish per square mile. This is thought to lead to more that a million birds and 100,000 marine animals, such as turtles, dying each year due to eating, or getting entangled in, plastic.
The imposition of a tax of approximately 22 cents upon each plastic bag used in the Republic of Ireland has led to a reduction of almost 90% in the last 5 years. Surely, an imposition of a similar system in the UK would do wonders in reducing the wasteful use of plastic bags. I would be willing to pay 10 pence for each bag, so long as society doesn’t make me a pariah for daring to be forgetful.
by Stephan Elschenbroich
Community radio station back on air
Oxford’s only community radio station is back on air for a month by popular demand.OX4 fm will broadcast 24 hours a day until 28th March after it was granted a restricted service license (RSL) by radio regulator Ofcom. The RSL cost £8,000 but OX4FM’s long-term goal is a 5 year community licence.The station, popular with many Oxford University students, is entirely by volunteers from Cowley, Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys. It features shows such as Ultra Culture” (jungle, break-beat, liquid-funk) and “Cowleyfornia dreaming” (dance, house, rave reggae, soul, and funk rock roll ballads). The station focuses on local artists and producers, especially drum and bass, which has a big following in Oxford.OX4 FM is available on 87.9FM or through the website www.ox4fm.net.
Cherwell24 is not responsible for the content of outside links.
Residents demand Westgate reassessment
Campaign group Oxford Against Westgate Expansion are lobbying the Environment Agency to undertake another flood risk assessment on the Westgate Centre redevelopment plans.
A meeting was held in the town hall earlier this week to debate the proposed redevelopment. Alternative proposals were discussed, possibly including a proportion of affordable housing or a more environmentally friendly refit of the existing shopping centre.
Marketing and community relations manager for Capital Shopping Centres, Simon Ward said, “Throughout the lengthy consultation process prior to the planning application submission, the Westgate Partnership worked closely with both city and county councils, the Environment Agency, transport groups and the local community to ensure the development of a retail-led mixed use regeneration scheme for Oxford which is at the forefront of sustainable design.”
“The scheme is designed to reduce energy requirements through natural ventilation, intelligent lighting controls, solar panels, green roofs and rainwater collection,” he added.
However, campaigners are not convinced. Many believe building an underground car park could reduce flood storage and increase the danger to surrounding roads.
Gillian Turberfield, 76, from Pegasus Way, Oxford, told the Oxford Mail, “I grieve for Oxford because I think this scheme is going to be a disaster.
“The roads won’t be able to cope with the increase in traffic. The people of Oxford have never been asked what they want for the site instead of a big shopping centre.”
More than 70 people attended the meeting. Speaking afterwards, campaigner Jess Worth, 33, said, “We had no idea so many people were against the development – it has spurred the group on to fight even harder to make sure it doesn’t happen.”A second meeting has been arranged at the Town Hall for Thursday March 13.
Varsity Fives-A double report on all the highlights of the day
Report 1: by James Duboff
Last week saw the massive Oxford dynasty descend upon Eton, all guns blazing, raring to go and greet the Cambridge kids. The chiselled Oxford first team dominated their way onto their designated courts and eagerly awaited the arrival of their opponents. Led by the dynamic duo, Peter Kennedy and Andy Erskine, the first team exhibited style and prowess with every stroke, exceeding all their predecessors in the game of the blackguards. They demonstrated their extreme back court superiority, but unfortunately weren’t able to get it off the step often enough, conceding the first match by exceedingly close margins. This arbitrary result was outshone by the first pair winning the post-lash, despite the ‘bridge’s attempts to keep up. The second pair, namely Will Betts and Chris Michaels, fought bravely, but at the last minute, the Cambridge duo tricked their way towards a light blue achievement. The final game for the first’s force was fronted by the phenomenal Duncan Bloor-Young and the ferocious Henry Mostyn. DJ-ABY managed to get up two flair shots in a row off the pepper on the top step in a fearsome and fast-paced fifth set, but the sneaky Tabs penetrated again.The Oxford second team, The Peppers, took the courts by storm. Freddie Krespi joined Ben Samuel who played most proficiently together, bringing a firm 3-1 demolishment upon the Cambridge twosome.
Theo Peterson and Jonny Nelmes annihilated their counterparts with a glorious 3-0 victory for the Oxford pair. It seems PK’s inspired battleplan of attacking the back corners paid dividends. Nelmes’ tuneful devotion to finishing before the Tabs had even got into the swing of it, rumoured to be his favourite tactic, meant they left on a very high note! Peterson shared this rhythm as he volleyed imperiously all game.
Last and by far not the least, the Duboff, J. – Pattenden, H. duo, truly brought sexy back to the Eton courts. Having already won on banterous prestige, they took on the infamous Ralph and his friend. JD + HP were shockingly dislodged by the unexpected force of the Cambridge “bantex” (banter vortex) and as such, had to fight the true underlying battle here in finding new niches and caveats to exploit.
Rosie Scott scored a very impressive 2-0 for the Oxford ladies, joining the ranks of her predecessor and new partner, Juliet Browning, who was glad to have set the standard for the ladies and see it continue with impeccable strength and power. Emma Cernis led new girl Alex Colvin into a brilliant match, which they thoroughly enjoyed. The ladies were triumphant on the whole so they too won another Magnum of Pol for the Oxford elite to share at the legendary dinner later that evening.Ultimately, the Cambridge boys and girls admitted defeat by leaving ridiculously early so they could get back to the ‘bridge before their bedtimes – quoting their captain “we intend to keep our Magnum for our AGM next week”….cute.
Report 2: by Theo Peterson
The Varsity Fives was sponsored this year by Pol Roger, so please excuse a degree of haziness surrounding the details of events. But I have it on good authority that the match definitely did take place. As if the endorsement of a major champagne company were not enough to demonstrate the public-school credentials of the occasion, the whole affair was hosted by Eton. Ironically, Oxford and Cambridge don’t even have enough courts to accommodate their own varsity. How embarrassing. Incidentally, if anyone is still wondering what all this Fives business is actually about…it’s like squash with your hands, alright?
We were fired up, by gosh, and ready to claim victory by bashing the Tabs, or whatever it is kids do nowadays. The loss of our best player (in fact one of the country’s best players) to the real world at the end of last year was certainly a blow, but we had a pretty strong team. But it was Cambridge who scored the first psychological point by turning up en masse as we sat around with our pre-match sandwiches, and shedding their overcoats to reveal gleaming polo-shirts emblazoned with all sorts of logos and badges and whatnot. Stash! Why didn’t we have stash? Their shirts said Cambridge on the back; ours offered nothing. We didn’t even know who we were. Nevertheless, once we had overcome this mild identity crisis and warmed up we were ready to start. Of the six boys’ matches, three were rather close, and three were not so close, although no less hardly fought. The top three pairs formed the Varsity team proper, and in this part of the competition I’m afraid to say we suffered something of a whitewash. But it was only a whitewash on paper.
Peter Kennedy, our valiant captain, and Andrew Erskine played bravely, eventually succumbing to a tricksy Cambridge first pair 0-3. Our second and third pairs held out a while longer, both taking their matches to the full five sets. Will Betts & Chris Michaels on court 2, and Henry Mostyn & Duncan “Nate-Dog” “Big D” “Dr Dunkenstein” Bloor-Young on court 3 provided some thrilling Fives against very evenly matched Cambridge opposition. The latter match was the last to finish, and had garnered quite a crowd by the end. As their opponents closed in on the final points, Our Boys dug deep to stall the onslaught, and when Duncan pulled out two cracking shots up off the buttress in a row it seemed for a moment that they might turn the tide. But sadly exhaustion took hold and despite the fact that one had injured his hand the Cambridge pair romped home.
It was in the second team, the so-called Peppers, that our real success lay. I’m not ashamed to admit that Jonny Nelmes and I were the first to claim victory, despatching with a slightly lacklustre fifth pair within the hour. Things were rather more exciting in the fourth pair match. Freddy Krespi and Ben Samuel went one set down, before remembering what they were playing for and fighting back to take the match 3-1. Only our sixth pair suffered defeat, James Duboff and Hugh Pattenden going down all hands on deck, but that wasn’t enough to deny us the magnum of Pol Roger offered to the winners of each part of the event.
Champagne was similarly forthcoming in the women’s match. Juliet Browning and Rosie Scott destroyed the Cambridge pair 12-2 12-5, although that same pair then went on to beat our women’s second. We still got the magnum though. All in all it was a grand day out, even if we did lose overall, and things were only improved by the lavish dinner that followed, at which we were most certainly victorious.
Wadham Fresher Narrowly Lost Chance to Become Britain’s "MasterChef"
A first year reading English at Wadham has narrowly missed out on becoming Britain’s latest and youngest ever “BBC MasterChef”.Emily Ludolf, 19, from Lyne in Surrey was in the final of the television competition against James Nathan, 34, a former lawyer who lives in Spain.After six weeks of heats and semi-finals, the 132 contestants had been whittled down to just three.Throughout the culinary battle-off she has cooked for troops in Belize, for a wedding reception at Blenheim Palace and for some of Europe’s top chefs.Ludolf told BBC News that her decision to enter the contest was a sporadic one.”I was studying for my A-levels and I was watching it with my sister and she dared me to do it,” she said. “I thought, yes, let’s go for it and see what happens.”Also in the final alongside Ludolf and Nathan was 32-year-old Jonny Stevenson, an ex-banker and a single father from Northern Ireland.
Blues Athlete of the Week: Sam Humphry-Baker
Club: Oxford University Rugby Football Club College: Saint Edmund Hall Year/Course: 3rd Year Materials Science Position: Centre How long have you been involved with OURFC? How much has it defined your time in Oxford?
I started playing for the Under 21s in my first year, going on tour before I started Freshers’ Week. Knowing some of the guys before definitely helped me settle in. Hopefully rugby hasn’t defined my Oxford career as much as sports like rowing can do. Although you spend a lot of time with your team mates, I have lots of friends outside rugby. I get involved with college stuff as much as I can and try to avoid being a stereotypical ‘rugger bugger’. I guess you miss out on stuff but it’s worthwhile at the end of the day.
I started playing for the Under 21s in my first year, going on tour before I started Freshers’ Week. Knowing some of the guys before definitely helped me settle in. Hopefully rugby hasn’t defined my Oxford career as much as sports like rowing can do. Although you spend a lot of time with your team mates, I have lots of friends outside rugby. I get involved with college stuff as much as I can and try to avoid being a stereotypical ‘rugger bugger’. I guess you miss out on stuff but it’s worthwhile at the end of the day.
What was it like playing with Joe Roff?
Off the field you wouldn’t think Roffy was one of the greats of the game due to his modest, laid-back demeanour. On the field, though, you can’t help but learn from the way he dominates the game, always seeming to have time on the ball. As a developing player in the same position, it’s obviously an invaluable experience.
Do you think that Blues rugby has been devalued by the decreasing numbers of undergraduates playing for them?
Quite the opposite I think. Having the opportunity to play alongside stronger, more experienced players is what makes the Varsity Match the best amateur game in the rugby calendar. Some of the older guys really bring on the undergraduate players coming up through the ranks, offloading their experience in skills and conditioning etc. Having said that, not making the team can be frustrating, but I think it makes the rugby Blue so much more special if an undergraduate manages to win one.
Who is the best player you’ve played against?
It sounds a bit contrived wheeling out players’ names, but playing in the Michaelmas fixtures you occasionally find yourself up against a big gun, which can be quite nerve racking, but you just play like it’s any other bloke.
Do you hope to play in the Varsity Match this year? Would it be the biggest moment of your rugby career to date?
I’ve got to the stage now where I think I can challenge for a Varsity spot. Every guy who plays for OURFC wants to run out onto Twickenham in front of 40,000 supporters. Let’s just say I wouldn’t say no.
How does the Blues standard compare to other levels of rugby you’ve played in the past?
Coming as a school boy, whatever level you play, there is a massive step up in physicality and aggression which you soon adapt to.
Are you planning on continuing with your rugby after Oxford?
I want to keep my options open, but I have the opportunity to keep playing good rugby and developing as a player.
Do you play any college rugby?
I love playing for college; it’s a hugely intimate team atmosphere. You definitely get a real buzz every time you pull on the jersey. Losing Cuppers final was probably the worst feeling I’ve had on a rugby field.
Do you have any problems balancing your OURFC commitments with your degree?
I often have times when I’m rushing from a tute to the game and don’t get to prepare as well as I should, or when you miss lectures for a game in Wales or something, but I think everyone needs a focus outside their academics otherwise you would go mad.
Does your status as a Blues player get you noticed in Oxford?
I guess so, but to be honest I’m a bit of a space cadet so I wouldn’t know.
Which current famous rugby players would you compare yourself to?
Stirling Mortlock is a bit of a hero, but I wouldn’t begin to compare myself to him.
Are there any current Blues players worth watching out for?
There are a lot of guys coming through, which is exciting to watch, Chris Davies is probably the best fresher forward this club has seen for years, I just hope he doesn’t get sidetracked by all his lady friends.
Who has the best banter on the Blues team?
Nobody springs to mind but Bertie ‘The Banter Vacuum’ Payne…well the name speaks for itself really.
‘We didn’t betray Prince Harry. Honest…’
In their edition of February 20, the German women’s magazine Frau im Spiegel speculated that Prince Harry might be in Iraq on service without the public knowing.
It took till this Tuesday for the issue to be picked up by Germany’s mass-circulation daily tabloid, Bild, the most sold newspaper in Europe. Frau im Spiegel, according to Bild, had quoted a “palace insider” who claimed that it was “entirely possible that he’s on service in Iraq or Afghanistan”. Bild went on:
There has been no official statement on it. Or: they’re not allowed to give one.
Standard tabloid conventions here. However, Bild will usually keep to another tabloid convention: bragging about getting there first (I know, I know, I’m guilty too).
Not this time, it seems. Four days after bringing the story to a wider audience — even if it took two days for the rest of the world to follow — Bild have removed the story from their website.
I’ve checked whether they always remove old stories from the site, and they don’t — a Google News search shows that content from several days back seems still to be there.
Thankfully, I saved the page as a PDF when I first saw it. The Bild page and the Frau im Spiegel contents page are pictured.
Are they embarrassed to admit that they put Prince Harry’s life in danger by reporting it – and want the attention to be deferred to the US site that first confirmed the story?
Whatever the motive, it’s strange behaviour from a paper that doesn’t usually go in for holding back.
Same newspaper, different source of embarrassment
It’s Bild-bashing week this week. The populist tabloid’s latest campaign against Wikipedia for being an “unreliable” source of information is laughable and gets me looking in the dictionary for the German for “pots” and “kettles”. BILDBlog, a blog exposing Bild’s recklessness, cleverly points out that portraits of Daniel Day-Lewis und Tilda Swinton from Wednesday’s paper were almost identical to their entries on — you guessed it — Wikipedia. Red faces all round.
Left out
A few important points were edited out my piece in Friday’s Cherwell on the German Left and the significance of its rise, 40 years on from 1968. My claim that
It’s perhaps no wonder that Die Linke [today’s communist party in Germany], despite its electoral success, is finding it difficult getting accepted by the political establishment
needs to be preceded by the following facts about the 1968 conference happening this May, which substantiate my (otherwise unsubstantiated) point that the German Left are “doing little grappling” with their terrorist past. This paragraph was edited out:
Yet the contents of the May conference suggest that nothing much has changed. One speaker at the event, Jutta Ditfurth, has written a sympathetic biography of Meinhof [one of the Baader-Meinhof activists] described by the weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel as an attempt to rescue the terrorist’s reputation. Another planned speaker was a member of a different extreme-left organisation surveilled under the constitution protection law, Rote Hilfe (“Red Aid”), until she took up the national headship of the Young Socialists three months ago. Rote Hilfe is a group that supports political victims of the state — so long as they’re of a left-wing persuasion. Past beneficiaries of its support include former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a policeman in the US in 1981, as well as imprisoned members of the Baader-Meinhof Gang [the German left-wing terror group formed in the 60s].
In other words, the organisers of the conference are voluntarily associating themselves with active terrorist sympathisers. There was also a factual inaccuracy caused by the editing. Where it says
The Social Democrat Party would easily form a ruling majority if it accepted a coalition with the far-left party,
this is only actually the case in the federal state of Hesse. This has nothing to do with national government. This delicate fact was removed. I could list several other editions that destroyed the piece, but I won’t bore you more…
Bad form
Concern that Oxford is now the only university in the UK that requires an additional application form to the main UCAS caboodle would move anyone versed in German bureaucracy to hysterics. Think you have to do lots of paperwork? Well, to apply to study for just one year in Germany I had to provide:
* An online application form — very long, with my entire education and employment history
* The same form in (hand)writing, in triplicate — one copy for each university
* A letter from my college confirming my student status
* Officially approved and stamped photocopies of all my A-Level certificates. I had to do this twice because it wasn’t good enough the first time, for some reason.
I don’t think anyone in Britain should be complaining about having to fill in forms.
Cherwell 24 is not responsible for the content of external links
Feral Beast will appear every Sunday
Protestors to sleep out on Cornmarket
On Wednesday March 5th, more than 100 people will sleep out on Cornmarket to raise awareness of the government’s treatment of refused asylum seekers. Supporters of the ‘Still Human Still Here’ campaign, including Student Action of Refugees (STAR), Refugee Resource and Asylum Welcome, will sleep out in an act of solidarity with thousands of asylum seekers who are unable to return home safely to countries such as Zimbabwe, Iraq, Somalia and the Sudan, having been denied asylum.
The event has won widespread support with Oxford City Councillor David Williams and Evan Harris MP having pledged to attend. Oxford students, the Church of St Mary Magdalen and local refugee charities and community organizations have offered their support. The Lord Mayor of Oxford has also backed the event.
Councillor David Williams declared, “I shall be sleeping out to show support for the campaign for justice and better treatment for failed Asylum seekers because the present situation is a violation of their human rights. Many are forced to return to countries where they will be mistreated and may even be tortured. Others are denied food shelter and help by the UK government yet are not allowed to work to support themselves. I also believe that the present system has a racial bias as it would seem you are far more likely to be deported if you have a dark skin.”
The Reverend Dr Peter Groves of the Church of St Mary Magdalen, another supporter of the sleep out, said, “We as a church are delighted to be supporting the sleep-out in Oxford. It is fantastic to see community groups and students coming together to raise people’s awareness of the way in which refused asylum seekers are forced to live destitute on the streets and campaigning for a change.”
Jenny Allsop, a Wadham student and head of Oxford STAR group, expressed her delight at the level of support. “The campaign aims to raise awareness of the plight of tens of thousands of refused asylum seekers who are being forced into destitution in an attempt to force them out of the country. Many refused asylum seekers cannot go home because their countries are unsafe or unstable and they fear for their lives, because of uncooperative governments who refuse to recognize their documents, because of health and safety issues… Yet the current number of people living in this state of limbo is estimated at around 280,000,” she said. “I am hopeful that the sleep out will help dispel a lot of myths about asylum seekers and make people realise and act upon the fact that human rights abuses are happening right here, on our streets, as a result of government policy which is executed in our name.”
Two reports from Amnesty International and Refugee Action in November 2006 accused the Government of employing destitution as a deliberate tactic in an effort to drive refused asylum-seekers out of the country.
According to a ‘Still Human Still Here’ press release, asylum seekers are “unable to return home, refused support and prevented from taking work to provide for themselves, they are forced to sleep rough and survive on the charity of others.” The campaign also calls on the Government to grant permission to work until such a time as refused asylum seekers are able to leave the UK or have been granted leave to remain. Access to health care and education should also be provided.
Matt Holman, Director of local charity Asylum Welcome, said:
“We need a more enlightened policy that would see refused asylum-seekers who cannot be returned home provided with support and allowed to contribute to British society. We are sleeping out here in Oxford to show our support for the Still Human Still Here campaign in order to change Government policy and we are encouraging as many people as possible to join us.”
by Rob Pomfret
Check Cherwell24 next week for exclusive video coverage of the event
Classical review: Oxford Chamber Orchestra play Copland, Barber and Haydn
Sheldonian Theatre, 8.30pm, February 29th 2008
The Oxford Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Jonathan Williams, gave a programme connecting the 20th century back to the 18th. Indeed, the theme of the concert seemed to be one of elegant lyricism; in the simplicity and beauty of Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Barber’s Violin Concerto one finds an appropriate partner to the grace of Haydn.
Appalachian Spring, commissioned by Martha Graham for use as ballet music, was abstractly conceived but was given its evocative name shortly before its premiere. The hushed opening with its simple dialogue between strings and woodwinds was delivered with the utmost calm. At the other end of the dynamic scale, the full-bodied peroration of the variations on the Shaker theme‘Simple Gifts’ dismissed any notions of diminutivity that the phrase ‘chamber orchestra’ might have previously inspired!
Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, the first of his concertante works (along with those for cello and piano), is also the most overtly melodious. The first movement demands most importantly a fine singing tone from the soloist, and David Le Page gladly provided. Sadly, some of his most daring runs found in the first movement’s climaxes were somewhat swamped by the orchestra’s simultaneous crescendi. In the finale (a short, spiky perpetuum mobile), conductor, orchestra and soloist alike maintained a bravely brisk tempo, and MrLe Page particularly shone in the final moments, where the rapid triplets suddenly shifted to semiquavers for the rush to the finishing line.
The 104th and final Haydn symphony (known as the ‘London’ symphony, while also confusingly being the 12th of the ‘London Symphonies’) acted as an unintentional summary of the composer’s mastery of the form. After the grave introduction, the chirpy opening movement was elegantly played, as was the following Andante. The Menuetto was an excellent example of Haydn’s humour, with abrupt silences punctuating the movement where climaxes were expected. The rousing folk-based finale brought immediate applause from the audience, who had listened to a well-programmed and superbly played concert from one of Oxford’s premier ensembles.
by Charles Markland