The son of Conservative Party leader Michael Howard is training to become an Anglican priest, six years after he was accused of “spiritual nazism” in Cherwell.Howard, who was brought up in the Jewish tradition of his father, was converted to Christianity at Eton College before studying for a BA English Literature degree at St. Catherine’s College. Whilst at Oxford he aroused controversy by organising a meeting of the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, and encouraging members to bring Jewish friends to tell them about Christ and Christianity.Explaining his views, Howard said, “As Christians, it is our duty to reach Jews, who are a priority in our evangelism.” “It is a process of reasoning, persuading them to become Christians. Christianity is fulfilled Judaism,” he added. The specific targetting of Jewish people for conversion was attacked and Howard was accused of “spiritual nazism” in Cherwell by Shmuley Boteach, an Oxford rabbi.The dispute attracted national media attention, with Howard responding to Boteach’s accusions in a full article on The Daily Telegraph’s opinions page. After his degree Howard stayed on in Oxford as a Christian youth worker. He is in his first year of ordination training at Cranmer Hall, Durham.Archive: 0th week HT 2004

The Oxford City Council has ruled out a London-style congestion charge to ease the city’s grid-locked streets. Despite initially considering the scheme following the success in the capital, Councillor David Robertson confirmed that the charge was not an option.
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Oxford is one of the worst places to shop in the UK, a new survey says, and is unlikely to improve. The survey of 30 towns and cities placed Oxford 28th in overall retail performance and 26th in terms of its future prospects.Poor parking, street layout, lack of cleanliness, and the aesthetics of retail buildings were blamed. The results seemed to confirm the findings of a Radio 4 poll that previously named Cornmarket as the second worst street in the UK. Repaving work that has so far cost £2.2m is restarting following a break over the Christmas period.
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Amidst growing speculation over the financial future of British Universities, Oxbridge college bursars have increasingly been looking to the City to consider their investment strategies.Dr. Robert Gasser, Bursar of Brasenose between 1982 and 2001, has arranged a series of roundtable discussion forums for Oxbridge bursars in conjunction with his current firm, Chiswell Associates.He commented that “the financial pressures have concentrated minds”, as it emerged that St. John’s College, Cambridge was facing a deficit of £2.4 million against a projected sharp drop in government funding alongside top-up fee proposals.Archive: oth week HT 2004

Oxford University Press (OUP) is Britain’s top publisher according to an annual league published in the trade magazine ‘The Bookseller.’ A spokesperson from the Jericho – based publishing house said, “It is very pleasing to come top of ‘The Bookseller’s’ league table.” “The OUP has always been dedicated to contributing to scholarship and education through our publishing. Our financial success in recent years happily enables us to continue to further the Oxford University’s objectives in this way.”
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Kelis has always been a lucky girl. Coming from a middleclass Harlem family, she learnt violin, piano and saxophone at private school, and ended up in La Guardia School for the Arts (does Fame! ring any bells?). Luckily, a friend also introduced her to The Neptunes, who seem to have the golden touch when it comes to R&B acts (Miss Spears, Mr Timberlake and, of course, Snoop). With their help Kelis luckily shot to fame in 2001 with the memorable shriek, “I hate you so much right now!” Now she’s back, after a weak second album, apparently having left the screaming behind (luckily), with a series of funky pop tunes and collaborations. The sound is more mature, but perhaps at the cost of some of her earlier “kickass” attitude. The singles, of course, are sure to be popular and are undoubtedly radiofriendly.  However, after the icecool hits, this album soon melts into bland, saccharine, strawberry flavoured mush: a metaphorical milkshake.
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Being compared to Aretha Franklin, winning an unprecedented five Grammys, and selling ten million copies of her first album world-wide – all at the age of twenty – could well have gone to Alicia’s head. But fame did not corrupt, and her simply titled follow-up doesn’t disappoint.A more sophisticated album than ‘Songs in A Minor’, ‘The Diary of Alicia Keys’ seamlessly combines genres from classical to hiphop with the ever-present influence of soul as before, now more emotionally and politically infused. She not only lives up to the great soul legends of the 1970s but surpasses them, exposing her songs to an ever-growing audience. The most popular soul artist in decades, Alicia Keys stands out as a confident, gifted pianist and vocalist unafraid to write her own songs and produce her own album, an album that is sure to live up to its predecessor’s success.Archive: oth week HT 2004

What books are currently on your bedside table?

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon; Just Like Mother Used to Make by Tom Norrington-Davis; Little Women by Louisa May Alcott; A People’s History of Britain by Rebecca Fraser.

“Hefner never believed Playboy was an art magazine”. As surprising revelations go, this is more 32AA than 36DD. Yet this is the introductory eyeopener to the 50th anniversary photo selection from the famous lads’ mag. The magazine’s enduring subtitle says it all: “Entertainment for Men”.Playboy is, above all else, the promiscuous pimp daddy of soft-core porn and furtive puerile joys. Or is it? The more I guiltily ogle the astounding selection offered by this book, the more I become convinced that Hugh Hefner, king of dirty old men, is mistaken. Could Playboyreally be an art magazine? The commentary’s pretentious hype aside (“The rules were simple: there were no rules”), this volume is actually packed tighter than Jordan’s bra with remarkable photography. I know the women are selected for their tremendous beauty (from Marilyn Monroe to Cindy Crawford, Hefner certainly knows a nice pair when he sees one), but it’s impossible to deny the photographic skill. A nude Naomi Campbell sprawled among assorted fruits is an unusual piece of art, but it is only one of many centrefolds which provoke a reaction more art-critic than pervy-teenager. The commentary is, for once, correct: “In these pictures, special women become extraordinary”. This compendium tastefully brings Playboy down from the top shelf.
Chronicle Books,
28th November 2003,
Hardback, £29.99
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