No. 20 Northmoor Road, the Oxford house in which J.R.R.
Tolkein lived for seventeen years and wrote The Hobbit, is up for
sale. It is expected to fetch £1.5million, despite having no
central heating or kitchen. The house has a rich history and was
originally built for Basil Blackwell, founder of the famous
Oxford Bookshop, while the Tolkeins lived next door to him.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
Blog Page 2436
Tolkien’s House for Sale
Oxford to Oxford in an Oxford
A couple have set out to travel from Oxford, England to Oxford
New Zealand in a 1954 Morris Oxford. They expect their mammoth
journey to take nearly a year and are hoping to raise money for
the Red Cross. Joanne Bowlt, 34, and Tim Nicholson, 36, met while they were
students in Oxford in the 1990s. Joanne, a former Queen’s
JCR President, studied PPE and Tim was at Oxford Brookes. After seeing publicity for the Morris Oxford’s 50th
birthday, the pair decided to journey from the city in which they
first met, to its eponymous New Zealand counterpart, in the small
old-fashioned car. They set off from Oxford on 5 May and hope to
arrive in New Zealand early in 2005. Cherwell caught up with them
in Marrakech, Morocco. They will now travel via Africa, India,
Asia, Australia and finally onto New Zealand. They have 10,000 miles to cover and their small black car,
which they call Florence, can reach a maximum of 65mph. And when
they finally arrive at their destination? “After a good
rest,” said Tim, “and a drive around New Zealand, we
plan to drive home!”ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
Boat race inspires Chelsea garden
An exhibition at this year’s Chelsea flower show has been
created to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the Oxford and
Cambridge boat race. The Stonemarket Boat Race Anniversary Garden, designed by
Bunny Guiness, will be sunk 60cm (2ft) below ground level so
visitors can look down on the racethemed design which is based on
the rivalry between the ‘two blues’.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
Queen’s sized Bedrooms
Members of Queen’s College JCR have accused their
President of using a provision which ensures tall people do not
get attic rooms to fix the room ballot to obtain the best rooms
for himself and his “mates”. Ashley McDermott, the JCR President, has dismissed the claims
as “ludicrous” and, while admitting things could have
been handled better, he said, “my conscience is completely
clear”. He has responded to allegations that the process
“wasn’t fair and that it was an excuse to give some of
your mates good rooms,” by sending a 1,500 word email to the
whole JCR denying that there had been “an outrageous abuse
of power.” The ballot for rooms in the college was run by the Home
Bursar’s secretary instead of the Home Bursar for the first
time this year, along with McDermott. Following last year’s
ballot that left students over 6ft tall stooping for a year in an
attic room, the college invited submissions from students who
felt they had a justifiable need of a certain room. After only
one application was made on the grounds of height, the Home
Bursar’s secretary asked McDermott to name all the tall
people in college. He named several of his friends but he admits,
“Unfortunately there were people who I missed out, and I
apologise for this.” There was more dissatisfaction after it emerged that McDermott
himself had made a submission to the Home Bursar but had refused
to reveal the reasons behind it. He asserts that “as a
matter of principle and personal preference I would not be able
to stand up in front of the JCR and try to justify the personal
reasons for which I applied for any particular type of
room.” The requested room is in the illustrious Drawda Halls
and contains a double bed. McDermott claims that it is not a
particularly good room and that he is as entitled as anyone else
to apply under the new rules. Stewart Robinson, ex-JCR president
said that the JCR “should establish a proper policy” on
the ballot adding that it, “should be the luck of the
draw” for everyone, including the President. Amidst a jumble of double negatives, McDermott goes on in his
email to “categorically deny that I have gone against
neither the ‘spirit’ not (sic) the ‘letter’
of JCR policy,” and to promise that clearer guidelines will
be drawn up in the future.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
Motion in the Ocean
St John’s JCR has decided to buy an island. The
“Motion in the Ocean” was passed on Sunday in an
attempt to alleviate the stress of college life. New Zealand, technically two islands, emerged with strong
support, but it was decided to keep the identity of the real
estate unspecified. Nonetheless, St John’s students are
upbeat about the prospect. Firstyear Jonathan Day, who proposed
the motion, highlighted the potential for a system of communal
holiday cottages similar to the Bothies of Scotland, as “a
retreat from the daily hubbub of Oxford life”. Despite a general aura of excitement, it may be some time
before an actual purchase is made. Until a financial motion is
passed, the President is not mandated to spend any money on such
an acquisition.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
Bus disaster kills boy
An eleven-year-old girl saw her thirteen-year-old brother
killed on Monday, when their school bus collided with a tractor.
Tomas Ryan-Vig from Bicester, ten miles north of Oxford, was
among 38 pupils travelling home in a convoy of two coaches. Paramedics described the scene at a sharp bend near Bicester
as “devastation – it was carnage. There were children
lying all over the place and they were very distressed.”
They claimed it was a “miracle” that injuries were not
more severe. There was an attempt to resuscitate the boy but he
was prounced dead at the scene. One other student had to be airlifted to hospital and 21 more
slightly injured pupils were treated at the John Radcliffe in
Oxford. The tractor and the bus drivers were unharmed. Kate Harper, Tomas’ former headteacher at St Mary’s
RC primary school, which his sister still attends, said, he was a
“very able, sporty boy with a very special sense of
humour.” The Blessed George Napier School, where Tomas was at school,
has held a special assembley as a mark of respect and to help
surving pupils come to terms with what happened. Some pupils are
currently sitting their GCSEs. The school has written to the exam
board asking them to take the crash into account.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
PM Oxford Loner
India’s new Oxford-educated Prime Minister was a
“loner” with little charisma, according to his former
doctoral supervisor. Manmohan Singh studied economics at Nuffield College in the
early 1960s. His appointment as Prime Minister last Saturday came
following the shock victory of the secular Congress Party in
India’s general elections. The ruling Hindu nationalist BJP
party had been expected to win. Singh’s former research supervisor, Dr Ian Little, who
has since retired, informed Cherwell that Singh was a private man
during his time at Nuffield. “He wasn’t a highly social
animal,” said Dr Little, 85. “I don’t think he
really took part in college life.” Little claims to be “very proud” of Singh’s
rise to the top, but suggested that the new premier is an
“inexperienced politician” facing several difficult
challenges. Not everyone is impressed with Singh’s
promotion. “It’s not very interesting really,”
said one porter at Nuffield. “Somerville has had three prime
ministers.” As Finance Minister in the early 1990s, Singh pioneered
India’s economic reforms which supporters credit for
boosting the economy, but which critics claim have increased
social inequality. His surprise selection as Prime Minister came
after the favourite for the job, Sonia Gandhi, widow of the
former PM Rejeev Gandhi, declined the post following controversy
over her Italian origins.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
News in Brief
Beating the bounds Last Thursday saw 70
people process through Oxford in a traditional ceremony known as
“the Beating of the bounds,” to mark out parish
boundaries on Ascension Day. In keeping as close as possible to
the actual bounds of St Michael’s parish, the procession was
watched by bemused onlookers as it walked through various shops,
bars and colleges saying prayers and beating the specially marked
boundary stones with their sticks. By Karolina Edge Don cavalry charge A New College don will
lead the cavalry charge in a film about Alexander the Great.
Robin Lane Fox, Reader in Ancient History, waived his fee for
being consulted on the film’s historical background in
return for the privilege of appearing on screen. The film,
entitled Alexander, is due to be released in November. By Thomas
Pusey Norman Remains Builders working on Abingdon
Road have uncovered 1,000-year-old ruins, thought to have been
built by Norman adventurer Robert d’Oilly, an Oxford
nobleman who fought at the Battle of Hastings. The remains are
believed to be part of a great Grandpoint causeway conceived by
him. It is hoped that they will eventually go on public display.
By Tess Andrews LMH Reject Mast The LMH JCR have voted to
reject a proposal to build a mobile phone mast in college by a
sizable margin. This comes after significant concerns raised by
students of the health risks such as mast would pose. LMH thus
has to forgo a projected £4000 in revenue the mast would have
raised. Catholic condoms The Papal Nuncio was
challenged mid sermon last Sunday at the Oxford Catholic
Chaplaincy. Archbishop Pablo Puente, an influential figure in the
Church, was preacing when there was an embarassing interruption.
An unidentified voice loudly exclaimed, “Your Excellency,
but how can you reconcile Oxford and the Catholic Church with
their banning of the use of condoms in Africa, with HIV?”
Two priests physically escorted the proponent of these views out
of the service. By Debbie Moss Baby Dragon Hoax A ‘baby dragon’
found in a jar has turned out to be a hoax. Allistair Mitchell
admitted creating the myth to stir up interest for his
unpublished book, Unearthly History. The dragon was formed out of
latex at the cost of £6,000. The stunt worked: Waterstone’s
agreed to distribute the book and HarperCollins subsequently
offered him a $150,000 three-book deal. By Thomas Pursey Test the animals Oxford Physiology Professor,
Tipu Aziz, has criticized plans for a national centre dedicated
to the study of animal testing alternatives. He accused the
government of sending the message that present labs excessively
experiment on animals. He added that it would encourage demands
for the complete cessation of all testing which would
“paralyze research,” he claimed. By Mark HobelARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
RON Labours to Win
RON has reared his ugly head once again in Oxford JCR
elections. Last week, the ubiquitous but eternally silent
candidate stormed to victory in the Presidential elections at St
Hugh’s. Dominic Curran resigned as JCR president two week ago as he
struggled to cope with the twin demands of student politics and
Physics finals. A new election was subsequently called, in which
Joe Taylor, who had challenged Curran in the original contest,
was the only candidate. Taylor, a second-year medic, is also
Co-Chair of the Oxford University Labour Club. 25% of students turned out for the election. RON won 118 votes
against Taylor’s 96. “I understand that members of the
JCR committee campaigned for RON,” Taylor said, “but I
can’t say what effect that actually had on the voting.”
He noted that some students had concerns about his close links to
the Labour party and the implications for the impartiality of the
JCR. Chris Farmer, the External Affairs Officer on the JCR said,
“There was definitely not a RON campaign led by members of
the JCR committee. We were all very surprised by the
outcome.” Following RON’s shock resignation, the
position of president is vacant once more. Both Taylor and Farmer
expressed a desire that the JCR find a new president and
“settle down and get on with it.”ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004
Crackdown on Euro hooligans’ violence
The Home Office has announced strict new measures in an
attempt to curb the violence of England supporters in Euro 2004.
A record number of suspected hooligans will be banned from
travelling to Portugal; nearly 2,700 people will be subject to
banning orders of bail conditions. For Euro 2000, there were only 100 such banning orders in
place. Police officers will be at ports and airports and
Portuguese authorities will be carrying out passports checks and
vehicle searches. Home Office minister Caroline Flint said, “Everyone
involved wants it to be a genuine festival of football and we are
determined not to let a thuggish minority ruin the tournament for
genuine supporters.” More than 5,000 England supporters are expected to travel to
Portugal for the games. The Tournament kicks off on 12 June and
England’s first game, against France, is the following day.ARCHIVE: 4th week TT 2004