Sophie Ellis-BextorMixed up WorldOut now The cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s new single features bright primary colours and lettering that smacks of the over-enthusiastic eighties revival that’s been doing the rounds lately. That would be bad enough on its own. However, start listening to the track itself, and what you get is a fairly nondescript song that wouldn’t be out of place on her last album, overlaid with synthesizer stabbings and vocal sampling that screams ‘Human League rip-off’. Still, this is not necessarily a bad thing; Mixed Up World is the perfect song for dancing around one’s room in pants and hair rollers. If that is your sort of thing, buy this record. If not, save your money. That said, the B-side features the talents of ex-Suede man Bernard Butler, and is really rather good. Tell yourself that’s why you’re spending your £1.99.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

I’ve waited three years for this to happen; the sainted Arab Strap, on the hallowed ground of the Zodiac. Sadly, Messrs. Moffat and Middleton’s (undeserved) reputation for inconsistent live shows must have reached Oxford; the room’s only half full. The Strap walk on to a decidedly muted reception, and I find myself wondering if this lot’d bother to cheer the resurrected Elvis. Never underestimate people who know you can have a good time in Falkirk; without breaking a sweat, Arab Strap conquer Oxford, and make a 6’4 failed boxer weep. The band tonight is the biggest stage setup yet seen at an Arab Strap gig; the two core members are joined by a string section and three-piece backing band. The sound’s somewhere between the bludgeoning attack of their first live album and the ‘post-folk’ acoustics of their latest. ‘Fucking Little Bastards’ is like Concorde landing on your face; ‘Who Named the Days?’, the sound of male unity in the face of the world, both gentle and majestic, musical Hemingway for modern men; the reworked ‘Here We Go’, unimpeachably brilliant, the strings never threatening to over-sweeten the pill. There are no duds in the set. Aidan does his Elvis impersonation, has a conversation with someone in the crowd, requests good reviews, accepts a few free drinks. The band walk off, leaving Malcolm and Aidan alone on stage, asking for requests. They play ‘Pro-(your) life’, presenting the male side of abortion with an eloquence and nobility to persuade the Pope. The emotional exhaustion, confusion and regret that seep from the song reduce your hard-hearted reviewer to mush. Afterwards, I meet them and shake hands; they go back to move their own amps. There’s no justice for the best band in Christendom; Turin Brakes get roadies..ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

This week’s comments from Lord Butler in favour of privatisation, and the ‘coincidental’ publication of the details of a report by the New College Bursar that purports to demonstrate the feasibility of rejecting state funding and control, might appear to signal a departure in the debate on Higher Education funding. However to accept them as such would be to exaggerate their importance. They should be taken in the context of attempts by all interested parties to set the tone of discussions. Given the hostile reception the government’s proposals for topup fees are receiving, we are hearing alternative proposals from all sides. What is perhaps more worrying than Lord Butler’s stance, is Charles Clarke’s refusal to contemplate defeat for his bill and listen to some of the alternative schemes for reform which are being put forward. The joint OUSU/CUSO (the Oxbridge student unions) “Alternative White Paper” is intended to point out that other options do exist and that doors should not be closed unnecessarily on policy solutions. These calls for privatisation, follow similiar, if less elequent, comments from Professor Michael Sterling, the Chair of the Russell Group of top universities, claiming that privatisation would be “plan B” should topup fees fail to be implemented. Such statements add up to a disparate campaign by parties with vested interest in the Higher Education sector to scare the backbenchers currently set in opposition to top-up fees, and encourage them to pass the bill as the lesser of two evils. Yet both the Government and the universities’ proposals still fail to recognize the voice of student bodies which seek to retain a Higher Education system in which any student, irrespective of financial concerns may study at the university of their choice. While Lord Butler is keen to stress that many students would be willing to pay more for an Oxford education, there are some that are not. The Ivy League system undoubtedly releases universities from financial burden, but it precludes many students from the choice that we continue to enjoy. We should not allow these scare tactics to succeed.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Chris Statter speaks to top pentathlete Aly Rowett, about her Dark Blue ScholarshipAly Rowell is the first Dark Blue Scholar. An exceptionally talented pentathlete and lacrosse player, the University College student enjoys all the benefits of a scholarship which includes complementary membership of the Pulse Gym and new Rosenblatt Swimming Pool, a £500 grant towards the purchasing of sporting equipment and even a free car parking space at the Sports Complex on Iffley Road. This prestigious scholarship, made possible by royalty payments from the Dark Blue clothing worn by many University teams, is intended to support athletes who demonstrate high achievement or have the potential for high achievement in their chosen sport. It is available to any student who fulfils the criteria necessary to compete in a first team Varsity match, although at the moment there can only be one fortunate recipient. Rowell is certainly a fine selection. She took part in her first modern pentathlon when she was fifteen. It was the Nationals and she won. This year she surpassed the Oxford record of Olympian Stephanie Cook. In her second sport, lacrosse, she has represented Wales at U19 level, travelling to Baltimore for the recent World Championships at which the team finished a respectable seventh. There is no doubting her commitment to sport. Modern pentathlon is an all-consuming affair, both with regard to time and resources. She possesses her own fencing kit, air pistol and horse. The significant entrance fees, transport costs and lack of prize money make the sport an exclusive pastime. Training is hectic, divided into two sections, one of which is skills-related, the other physical. Riding in Oxford can be problematic, so Rowell heads home to Monmouthshire at weekends for some extra groundwork. If there is a weakness to be found, it is in the shooting discipline. “I am very erratic,” she says. “Sometimes I shoot brilliantly, other times terribly. It is a very tough sport, because the slightest bit of nerves can ruin the performance, which is hard to control when adrenaline is so important for the other four events.” That Rowell is a remarkable sportswoman is undeniable. She can hit the x-ring from ten metres with a 4.5mm pistol, swim the 200m freestyle in 2 minutes 16 seconds and run the 3000m in just over eleven minutes. Add to that a level of horsemanship and fencing expertise that has seen her compete for Wales in the individual events and it is possible to comprehend exactly why Rowell is on course for major sporting achievement at an international level. Beijing 2008 is the target. Rowell, in her second year of a Physiology course, intends to leave Oxford in 2005 to join the group of top pentathletes already assembled at Bath University. Should she have gone to Bath? Rowell does not think so. It would have been too much pressure. The Dark Blue Scholar is a promising athlete with time on her side.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Training with the boxing team was a leisurely affair. I watched them run and sprint, then attempt twenty press-ups, twenty sit-ups and then twenty of some kind of hybrid of the squat thrust and the star jump. Then they did it all over again. University boxing is serious business. The group of fifty or so was split into the novices and the experts. The experts honed their skills with a combination of punchbag work and extreme skipping, while the novices divided into two further groups to look over the basics of the sport. First rule of boxing? “Defend yourself at all times,” coach Jim Frew explained. After that, it got pretty intense. The session is only a couple of hours, but they really do know how to cram in the information: “left hand forward”, “twist on the balls of the feet”, “head low”, “twist, bang, it’s two movements but it’s one”. The captain himself certainly has the credentials for the part. St Anne’s historian James Glancy possesses the only Royal Marines Cadetship in the country and holds the rank of Second Lieutenant. He speaks with genuine enthusiasm about the sport he has come to love: “Boxing is one of the toughest types of fitness there is. You need self-discipline, skill and individual motivation. But if you are fairly athletic and looking for a challenge, you should come along and give it a try.” A comprehensive list of training times is available on the club website at www.ouabc.co.uk.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Sports OutreachThe Combined Universities of Oxford Sports Outreach Scheme (known as CommUniSports) was designed to try to improve existing sports provision in the local community providing members of university sports clubs as enthusiastic volunteers. The scheme gives clubs the opportunity to take their sport into the community and earn some vital extra development money. There are plenty of ways for individuals to get stuck in as well and even gain recognised coaching qualifications in their chosen sport. There is also the opportunity to invent new schemes to add to the existing programme. Outreach is an excellent method of helping out the community, having a fantastic time in the process. Check out the Outreach website at www.sport.ox.ac.uk/outreach for more details.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003 

Amateur Football Association put Oxford to the sword in pre-season friendly BLUES FOOTBALL Oxford 0 Amateur Football Association 4 An experimental Blues side, missing several key players, was well beaten by a fit and combative AFA side in the traditional curtain raiser to the new football season. New captain Arran Yentob saw his charges respond positively to a first-minute goal before spending the last hour on the rack, thanking goalkeeper Alexander Hill for a series of outstanding saves to keep the scoreline down. Ahead of the big BUSA kick-off against East Anglia, this was a useful workout for a team that comprised several players who will be looking to establish themselves in the OUFC setup. The match had barely kicked off when AFA striker Neil Hurst ran from what appeared to be an offside position to drill home the opener from eighteen yards. The Blues responded with some bright and confident approach play, and were almost rewarded when Dan Walbole burst clear, only to be denied by an excellent one-handed save. Both midfields closed space down well as the game tightened up, but the visitors were to change the course of proceedings in the twenty-seventh minute when Colin Hawkins beat Hill to the ball and finished from close range. The hosts’ confidence visibly drained, with the AFA’s Jack Costello starting to pull the strings for the London-based representative side, and the Hurst-Hawkins axis repeatedly causing havoc in a makeshift Oxford defence. The latter miscued a lob over Hill when well placed, and the Blues’ shot-stopper thwarted him with two point-blank saves in the space of fifteen seconds as half-time loomed. Hopes that the home side might effect a comeback were dashed by another early blow, as Hurst nodded home a right-wing corner only forty seconds after the restart. Hill then had to recover smartly to collect his own fumble from a Concannon drive, as his team-mates saw themselves repeatedly forced back by opponents whose extra fitness levels were becoming increasingly evident. Controversy again reared its head in the 57th minute as Hawkins’ looped header over Hill appeared to cross the line after bouncing down from the crossbar, but the referee’s assistant was well-placed to wave play on. The visitors’ striker was to claim his second ten minutes later, though, stabbing home after a corner was hooked back into the six-yard box. Osman Akkaya whipped a shot into the side netting for the Blues, but at the other end Costello saw a thirty-five yard effort narrowly miss the target and a driven free-kick fisted over by Hill. The home custodian completed his afternoon’s work with an acrobatic parry from Steve Hair’s hooked shot, and fine low saves from Gillard and Sonne.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003

MOUNTAINEERING Over the summer, members of the Oxford University Mountaineering Club travelled to Chamonix, in the French Alps. We practised ropework on a glacier, before climbing to the dining-table sized summit of the Aiguille Des Petit Charmoz (2867m) and Mont Blanc du Tacul (4248m), where we could watch the sunrise from the summit. Several group members then moved to Saas Grund in Switzerland, where we climbed the Lagginhorn (4010m) and the Weissmies (4017m). Meanwhile, others moved to the Petit Aiguille Verte (3512m), and the Table de Roc spur of the Aiguille du Tour (3544m), followed by the Aiguille de Belvedere (2966m), the highest peak in the Aiguilles Rouges with great views of Mont Blanc. Alison Parker summed up the team’s enthusiastic reception of the trip, “The first thing that struck me about the Alps is that it is such a different scale to anywhere I’ve climbed before – but I have certainly gained a lot of experience this summer and I’m starting to plan next years expedition!”ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003