A Dubious River Runs Through It

March 2, 2009

punts.jpg

Cherwell, the Oxford University student newspaper, has a venerable history. Named after a local river, it was first published in 1920, and has since seen contributors of the calibre of Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, John Betjeman, L. P. Hartley, Cecil Day-Lewis and W. H. Auden. Peter Stothard, editor of The Times for 10 years from 1992 and currently at the helm of the Times Literary Supplement, was Cherwell’s editor in 1970, when the publication (current circulation: 15,000) published a theatre poster featuring a nude woman.

Such daring was recently eclipsed with the appearance of the Lecher, a spoof edition of Cherwell which had a front-page piece on two students sexually abusing and killing babies, while another article featured a mocked-up picture of a former Cherwell editor in Ku Klux Klan-style clothing giving a Nazi salute.

As the Guardian reports, it is a tradition to publish a spoof of Cherwell at the end of each term as the old editors hand over to their replacements. Regrettably, the satirical intent behind the Lecher wholly failed. Sian Cox-Brooker and Michael Bennett, this term’s joint editors, have since resigned.

Blade cannot but fear that the pair may have jeopardised their chances of following in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors and reaching the upper echelons of British letters, but they are young, and time heals all. Watch this space (for quite a while).

Image courtesy of Trenchcoat77. 

 

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Supreme Court on Twitter

February 6, 2012

Something remarkable happened today. Yes, the Supreme Court launched its Twitter feed. It even has a Twitter policy, one of caveats, disclaimers and little by way of illumination but regardless: who would have thought that the successor body to the House of Lords would stoop to engage with the world of tweets, hashtags and retweets?

We look forward to the day when court business will be conducted via Twitter. Meantime, check out this link for an excellent blog on the Supreme Court.

Not so right said Fred

February 2, 2012
fred hat

So Farewell, then, Sir Fred Goodwin.

Now you are just Fred.

Not Right Said Fred, but plain Fred.

The Forfeiture Committee did for you.

No one had heard of it before,

But Dave said it had to act, and it did.

Trouble is that no one knows what to think.

Is it ‘Alas, poor Fred‘,

Or ‘Hurray! Sir Fred is dead!’?

We don’t know.

Do you?

By A. Mob, aged 1,378 and a half.

London Goes AWOL

January 31, 2012
CNN

STOP PRESS:

Fed up with being stuck on the Thames in south-east England, London yesterday decided to move. In a dramatic gesture which augurs ill for the Olympics, the city upped sticks and relocated to East Anglia.

Lawyers were not consulted about the move, and the city’s precise motivation remains unclear. However, financiers fear that London’s decision is a sign that it wishes to downsize. Moreover, a source from London said: “We no longer want to be Britain’s seat of power. If the Scots can deregulate, why can’t we? East Anglia is a nice place where nothing happens. It’s time for a quiet life. Please respect our right to privacy.”

Elsewhere, Birmingham did not do anything, but Manchester was seen to be packing its bags. “There’s an opportunity for us,” said Manchester. “We can become London.”

East Anglia said: “We don’t mind. It’ll be refreshing to be associated with something other than fens and flatness.”

A cartologist at CNN, which broke the extraordinary news, was later fired.