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issue 64 17 June 2010 ***************************************************** 'Truth: lies open to all' ***************************************************** Every fortnight during term-time. All editorial correspondence to: subtext-editors [at] lancaster.ac.uk. Please delete as soon as possible after receipt. Back issues and subscription details can be found at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext. The editors welcome letters, comments, suggestions and opinions from readers. subtext reserves the right to edit submissions. subtext does not publish material that is submitted anonymously, but is willing to consider without obligation requests for publication with the name withheld. For tips to prevent subtext from getting swept up into your 'junk email folder', see http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext/dejunk/. ***************************************************** CONTENTS: Editorial, news in brief, undergraduate assessment, comparability of degrees, Lancaster Market, new supermarkets, campus car parking, 1966 and all that. ***************************************************** EDITORIAL As we reach the watershed of final exam boards and degree ceremonies, it's time once again to reflect on the past year, one in which subtext temporarily fell silent. However, the strong reaction amongst our readership, and the stepping forward of enough volunteers for us to resume, gave us the confidence to continue. The dominant impression, unhappily, is of a year in which Lancaster lost its innocence and perhaps some of its integrity. Having survived the Thatcher years and the cash crisis of the mid-90s without resorting to enforced departures of permanent staff, this year saw the laying down of Statute 20 (the old Commissioners' Statute) that set out exacting procedures for declaring redundancies. And even before its anticipated removal was fully agreed, the redundancies of mainstream staff were declared. It feels like an entry to a new, wholly unhelpful and unnecessary harshness. On the other hand, there are causes for optimism. Lancaster has not only prevented York from winning the Roses Tournament for the fourth year running, but has achieved a couple of laudable hat tricks of its own. We achieved a third Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, this time for LEC research into water-saving techniques for farmers in extremely dry regions across the world. Lancaster also achieved high league table positions, in the Times (10th), Independent (8th) and Guardian (6th). This is a great achievement for anyone who remembers Lancaster's low status in the late 70s and early 80s, when Lancaster was almost bottom in research funding, well behind other plateglass universities, and the chairman of the UGC had Lancaster added to his informal (and publicly unacknowledged) list of sinking institutions. This may indeed have had a bearing on the difficulty of finding a suitable external candidate to become Lancaster's second vice-chancellor on Charles Carter's retirement in 1979. In contrast to those earlier, shaky times, its new level of recognition gives the University a good (if transitory) platform to assert its position within higher education at a time when the whole system is, so Steve Smith of UUK tells us, in the greatest peril. And so, as we say au revoir to this year's new alumni, there seem to be reasons for cheerfulness as well as for gloom - and goodness knows we are likely to need the former in the year ahead. Stay with us, and we shall continue to give you the key news as it unfolds. ***************************************************** NEWS IN BRIEF Employment Tribunal subtext understands that the University has decided to appeal against the findings of the Employment Tribunal that it was in breach of its legal obligations to consult in collective redundancy situations, specifically involving fixed term contract staff (see subtext 63). Notwithstanding the fact the judgement of the tribunal was unanimous, the University is arguing it erred in law in respect to its liability regarding the possible scope of consultation, and by concluding that the University's approach of serving notice by way of a list and leaving it to the union to raise issues was an "impermissible" way of meeting its duty to consult. It is also challenging the amount of the (punitive) protective award. The appeal seems to have been lodged at the last minute but it has been allowed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal and is expected to be heard within two months. It is believed that the same 'high powered' QC who presented the University's case originally has again been retained. One can speculate on the motives behind the University decision. Certainly, there are wider issues here for employers within the sector, which might have encouraged Lancaster to lead from the front on their behalf. However, perhaps more likely is that it is further evidence of senior management's unwillingness to admit that it got things wrong, to put them right, and to move on. This should concern us all. Whatever the outcome we can be sure that the legal costs to date have been considerable and will now go higher. At a time when budgets are being squeezed ever tighter one can only wonder about the sense in pursuing this case. ******* CVO for Sir Christian subtext was happy to learn that the Chancellor, Sir Christian Bonington, was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (C.V.O.) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. The honour is particularly distinguished as appointments to the Royal Victorian Order are in the Queen's personal gift, and are thus made at her own discretion and without any official advice. We are pleased to congratulate the Chancellor on his appointment. ******* Computer printing on campus The ISS proposal to double the print charges for students has not surprisingly met with considerable opposition. Anger will be further increased by the additional news that, rather than this service making an overall loss, as has been claimed, it is in fact making a surplus of some £60k even before any future increases. ******* The 'El Zee' strikes back Observers of this vanity project in Alexandra Square may have noticed that a large, heavy ceiling panel came loose and fell to the floor the week before last. Fortunately no one was injured - possibly because no one was in there at the time; who can tell? Repairs have been effected including to other panels, but the message is clear: be careful where you sit and, whatever you do, do not fall asleep. As if anyone would in this 24/7 learning location ... *"***** Accommodation difficulties ahead Rumours are growing that come late September and early October the University will once again be facing accommodation problems, particularly if overseas, postgraduate student numbers increase, as informed sources hope and expect they might. It seems that there is likely to be little if any spare capacity on campus and LUSU's off-campus housing office is not in a position to conjure up sufficient additional housing places because of the lack of suitable properties in the locality. subtext enquiries have received a reassuring response that everything is under control. Given previous experience of such situations, particularly their impact on students, one can only hope so. After all, we are all capable of learning the lessons of past difficulties aren't we? ****** Yikes - hikes! Postgraduate research students have been expressing deep unhappiness at a sudden hike in writing up fees, the fees that are paid by students in the latter stages of their registration, normally after they pass the minimum completion date. For many years writing up fees have remained constant at £175 for any year or part-year. From October, however, the fees will be £200 for students in their first year of writing up, £400 for those in their second year, and a stonking £800 for those in their third. The changes have apparently been "approved by the Vice chancellor"; subtext is trying to find out exactly when and by what process the changes were approved and which postgraduates have been informed. It certainly seems very hard on any student who might miss their deadline for submission by a couple of days and consequently be faced with a bill for £800. A committee paper from the Registry outlining the "proposed" increases suggested that they were necessary to provide an incentive for students to complete their theses, but this seems a rather draconian way to encourage students to submit, and a policy change that does not seem to have been widely consulted on. ****** UK matching US on scientific citations There is a positive piece in THE (No. 1951, 10-16 June) about UK research, which shows that the UK is more or less at the same level as the US in terms of research citations in various scientific disciplines. Our overall ranking is 1.85 compared to the US 1.75; next highest among the G7 nations is Germany with 3.45. The full table with data analysed by discipline can be viewed at http://bit.ly/G7research. ******* Oil be back As the appalling ecological disaster unfolds in the Gulf of Mexico, with up to 60,000 barrels of oil escaping per day and threatening a US coastline that is half as long again as that of mainland Britain, many commentators are saying that if there is any single person to blame, it is not hapless BP CEO Tony Hayward, but one Edmund John Philip Browne, who was Chief Executive until his resignation on 1 May 2007. During his long time at the helm of BP, Browne gained much praise as a business leader for his strategy of cost-cutting and outsourcing. But such business strategies were later blamed not only for the explosion at a Texas refinery in March 2005, an oil spill in Alaska in March 2006 and the current leak, but also BP's lack of in-house expertise to cope with such incidents when they do occur. And, yes, this is the same Lord Browne of Madingley who since November 2009 has been heading the Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance, due to deliver its verdict this autumn. (Browne is expected to recommend raising or removing the cap on fees and encouraging the universities to make efficiency cuts.) And the same Lord Browne who is now being wooed by David Cameron to lead the government's efficiency drive. So that's all right then: we're all in safe (but slightly slippery) hands. ******* Subtext2 One of the interesting things that happened during subtext's hiatus in publication in the Lent term was the appearance of Subtext2. This initially appeared as a one-page leaflet distributed around campus, and now, we discover, has a blog (http://subtext2.wordpress.com/). Subtext2 describes itself as "a critical newsletter and blogspace produced and maintained by a group of postgraduates, postdocs and teaching assistants from Lancaster University". Overtly taking their lead from subtext1, the purpose of Subtext2 is apparently to provide a space for discussion amongst postgraduates, postdocs and teaching assistants about the problems and difficulties they face in the current climate, with a view to creating "a body of PGs and TAs capable of articulating demands". So far the blog only contains three postings, but it offers some robust opinions and a number of very interesting links. We hope that the revival of subtext1 will not discourage Subtext2 from continuing what could turn out to be important work for the challenges facing UK universities in the years ahead. ******* LUSU support for staff subtext appreciates the student support for the "long-serving, vital and talented members of staff within the university" voiced by Michael Payne, LUSU president, in his SCAN column of 18 May. If you missed it and can find a copy, it is worth a read. He refers to the University's ill-conceived cuts and redundancies and to increases in expenses for students, arguing that "students will not accept redundancies of posts or people that we believe contribute significantly ... Students will not stand by whilst unaccountable senior managers who have shown no understanding of the words consultation and competence begin to threaten the quality of the student experience." We all know that there are tough times ahead, but that makes it even more foolish to hand over key University functions to inexperienced people and to watch them dismantle systems that serve the University well without consultation or understanding of the impact of those actions beyond the current weeks or months. ******* Linton Court Gallery opening subtext attended the busy opening of Linton Court Gallery, Settle, and the accompanying private view on Bank Holiday Monday 31 May. More than 100 people were there - though not all at once, owing to fire regulations. The gallery was established 15 years ago in a former hayloft in the main street of Settle, but has now been revived by Mary Gavagan, until recently Director of the Peter Scott Gallery here on campus. There is a fine opening exhibition of watercolour paintings by Norman Adams of the Yorkshire Dales and the Hebrides, and also of ceramics by four makers. Settle is a good centre to set off walking in the Dales, and is also of course a station on the Settle-Carlisle railway - one can make an excellent round trip via Carlisle and back to Lancaster via Wennington. The Gallery is open 11-4 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday (late night Thursday); more info on the web site http://www.gavaganart.com. ***************************************************** DRAFT UNDERGRADUATE ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS subtext hears that the members of the University working party which have been labouring since February 2007 to come up with a new undergraduate degree assessment framework are nearing the completion of their labours. They hope that their new framework, which is supposed to be simpler and to encourage the use of the full range of marks, will be approved in Michaelmas 2010 and introduced from October 2011. Everyone seems to agree that the existing regulations are overly complex, and apparently the proposed new framework has been 'the subject of extensive consultation in faculties, departments, central services and through LUSU', so it's surprising (or is it?) that it seems to be ... well, overly complex, actually. Let's see if we can summarise it before your eyes glaze over. For qualitative subjects, markers will assign each piece of students' work not a percentage mark but a letter grade, ranging from A+ down to D-. (For quantitative subjects, a mapping framework will be used to convert raw percentages into the letter grades.) Each letter grade will then be converted to an 'aggregation score' (e.g. A+ gets 24, A gets 21, and so on) so that overall scores for module can be calculated to one decimal place. Then the module scores will be averaged to obtain a mean overall aggregation for the degree (e.g. 15.2). Da da! No, we're not finished, put your vuvuzela away. Because, if the overall aggregation falls into the range assigned to a degree class, the job's a good 'un. But if it falls between ranges, the board will exercise discretion using a published range of criteria that make the offside rule look easy. And relax. Maybe we're being unfair and we'll all love it. Certainly it will keep departmental exams officers busy during exam boards. But will it really succeed in getting markers to use more of the available range of marks? Or will they still use the same instincts to decide whether an essay is, say, first class work, and then work backwards to decide what letter grade to give it to get that outcome? And anyway, will those teaching quantitative subjects be happy to have their lovely objective numerical scores converted to letters and then back to numbers before being aggregated? Isn't that against a law of nature? ***************************************************** COMPARABILITY OF DEGREES As it happens, only a couple of weeks ago HEPI (the Higher Education Policy Institute) published a report on Comparability of Degree Standards among HEIs in England. The results are underwhelming. In what is now a mass education system, the chief conclusion is that a 2.1 from Oxford or Cambridge is not the same as a 2.1 from, say, the University of Bedford. How long did it take them to work that one out? But never mind, HEPI says; we have subject benchmark statements to guarantee minimum standards. In 2007, the Burgess Report on student achievement at UK universities concluded that signing off a student's education with a simple numerical indicator encouraged a view that this was the end-point, rather than a station in a process of lifelong learning, and pointed out that this over-simple indicator cannot capture the large range of skills and experience that students have acquired by the time they graduate. After three years of intensive higher education over a wide range of skills and abilities, a classification by just four grades (1, 2.1, 2.2, 3) is absurdly broad-brush. Burgess argued that the award of a degree should be accompanied by a transcript (the proposed Higher Education Achievement Report) giving much more detail than can be included in our current four-level classification system. This was supposed to be in place by 2010-2011, but clearly it won't be. But why did the HEPI study look only at England? Surely we need to know how well English degrees compare with those from universities in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland? Or in Europe or North America? To those of us who deal with international exchanges, this is an important matter. The continuing rise in average A-level grades has raised worries that this represents a decline of this particular standard, forced by league-table pressures as much as anything. If this is the case, then the real academic level of university entrants has declined over the past couple of decades, and perhaps the standard of UK degrees has fallen too. It would have been more useful to have HEPI investigate this than for them to state the obvious about the variability of degree standards in England. ***************************************************** MARKETGATEGATE The Council decided to let a private development company carry out the rebuilding as part of a major new shopping centre. The centre finally opened on 4 September 1995 as Marketgate, developed by Centreville Properties, including a flagship Littlewoods store and a new market hall which was rented to the city Council on a 99-year lease, with no break clauses and upward-only rent reviews (big mistake). Since then, the Marketgate complex, and the market hall with it, has changed hands a number of times, accompanied by steady rises in the rent paid by the Council. Centreville sold Marketgate to Edinburgh House Estates in late 2002 for £17.25 million. In July 2005, EHE sold it to Boultbee Land as part of a portfolio of shopping centres, in order to fund EHE's expansion into Europe. But then Boultbee decided they could find greater profit margins elsewhere - "we saw the margin between yield and interest rates in the UK getting a little too tight", said Steve Boultbee Brooks - so decided to focus their investments in mixed-use shopping centres in Scandinavia and the Baltic states. In 2008 they thus sold Marketgate to Allied (Lancaster) Limited, the current landlords, for £34.5 million. The result of all this is that the annual rent paid by the Council currently
stands at £409,000. Between 1996-97 and 2009-10 the cost to the
Council of keeping the market open has soared from £42,611 to around
£460,700. Yet the Council is bound by its 99 year lease, and the
current landlord is known to regard the lease as its crown-jewel investment
and to firmly resist any possibility of surrender or transfer. So since
2008, hemmed into a corner by past decisions and the operation of the
property market, the Council has been exploring the option of evicting
the stall-holders (with no clear plans where to relocate them), laying
off the market staff, converting the hall to a single-occupancy unit and
leasing it to single retailer, if one could be found to take on the property.
The consultants commissioned by the Council to identify a possible tenant
came up with ASCO, a new cut-price supermarket company. Unconfirmed rumours
are that the Council were going to pay the £500k cost of conversion,
pay ASCO a sweetener of £400k, and allow ASCO a rent-free period
followed by two years at a discounted rent. However, although Cabinet
agreed to go ahead with this plan at a meeting on 16 February, after a
big campaign by market traders and citizens, a meeting of Full Council
on 31 March turned down the Cabinet plans. The market hall seems to have
been saved - but for how long? ***************************************************** STORING UP TROUBLE Talking of which, plans for two new supermarkets near campus (and associated urban-fringe clutter) are progressing. Booths Supermarkets have now submitted their planning application to build a new larger store and 180-space car park, to replace their Scotforth one, on Lawson's Bridge Fields (the first fields on the right of the A6 after you leave built-up Lancaster on the way to campus - see planning application at http://bit.ly/newbooths). Local residents tried to get the fields designated as a Town Green to protect them from development, but their case was rejected by Lancashire County Council. Also, Commercial Estates Projects have bought the fields to the south of this site and north of the empty water works and are planning a large store (probably to become a Tesco). It's believed that it will be twice the size of the Lancaster Sainsbury's, and will come with a 500-space car park, a hotel/pub/restaurant and a petrol station - all to be accessed from a new roundabout on Scotforth Road (see planning application at http://bit.ly/CEGapp). One can imagine these developments bringing certain conveniences to the university community, but it's worth putting them in a wider planning context, in order to see how they might contribute to more general changes in life on campus and in the town. Combine the two proposals above with the new housing estate at Whinney Carr Farm on the other side of the railway line that campaigners fear will follow if the stores go ahead, plus the planned science park on the campus side of the A6 (although this might be threatened by the mooted disbanding of the regional development agencies), and the overall effect will be to dramatically alter the rural setting of the campus, exacerbate existing traffic problems and pull yet more shoppers out of the city centre. It's not too late to have your say though. Both supermarket applications are likely to be considered at the same meeting in late July or August at the earliest, and you can comment on the applications by following the links above. ***************************************************** PARKING LIFE Rumours reached subtext of a possible leap in campus car parking charges for 2010-11. At the moment the Facilities website simply says that from October 2010 "there will be some significant changes to car parking affecting staff, students, contractors and visitors", so we started poking around to see what we can find out. The University's evolving parking policy is guided by its Travel Plan, which in turn is shaped by restrictions on traffic growth in the Joint Lancashire Structure Plan prepared by Lancashire County Council and the unitary authorities of Blackburn and Blackpool. The Travel Plan thus tries to make single-occupancy car use less attractive, compared with car sharing, bus use and cycling. This is particularly the case for students; there are only 600 permits available for students to park on campus, and students who live in Lancaster near a bus route are not eligible to apply. In the old days we had the inner zone (expensive) and the outer zone (cheap), and the twilight zone (not really, but down past the George Fox Building and Murder Lane can still feel quite scary in the dark). Now we have a more complex hierarchy of zones, more or less arranged in terms of proximity to the key power chakras of the campus. Here's a slightly simplified version of the hierarchy as it is this year (see map at http://bit.ly/zones). At the top is the Visitor and Priority parking zone, which takes up the inner avenues near University House and the Sports Centre, and stretches of the perimeter road near the Management School and Infolab. (There's some zoning within that zone, but that's enough detail for now, you scream.) Then there's the Staff Preference Zone, which includes the rest of the inner avenues (except those currently taken up by contractors' compounds) and the Western edge of the perimeter road. Then comes the Staff Standard Zone, which is now squeezed into the Northern and Eastern edges of the perimeter road. Finally, the Student Standard Zone takes up the 600 places in Alexandra Park. So who can park where? This is interesting (well, we think so). Vehicles displaying a Car Sharing Permit (£90 this year, to be shared between 2-5 users), or a Pay and Display sticker or scratchcard, are the blessed ones: they can park in any of the zones, including the prized Visitor and Priority Zone. Next come those with a Staff Preference Zone permit (£119), and then those with a Staff Standard Zone permit (£52), who are supposed to park in their own zones. (In a twist to the permit caste system, fraternising downwards - e.g Staff Preference cars parking in the Staff Standard Zone, or any staff cars parking in Alexandra Park - is discouraged, but we suspect a blind eye is turned as long as the cars are discreet.) Finally, student vehicles displaying a Student Standard permit (£52) can only park in Alexandra Park. (Oh, and contractors' vehicles have been pushed well down the hierarchy from where they were when subtext last moaned about them: they now have to park on an overflow car park off Green Lane.) The proposals for 2010-11 are still under discussion, but it seems likely that the distinction between the Staff Preference and Staff Standard Zones will be dissolved, on the basis that there is really little geographical logic in the distinction any more. So there will be one Staff Permit. However, the price of this is likely to be higher than either of the existing staff permits, at around £150, which is likely to get many drivers hot under the collar. The good news is that it should be available via Flexible Benefits, which would effectively reduce the price by £30-40, and that there are also plans to use the revenue from permits to provide subsidised staff bus passes at a price that is cheaper than the parking permits. Another big change being proposed will involve Pay and Display users. Their current freedom to park almost anywhere will be reined in, restricting them to a slightly expanded Visitor and Priority Zone. Also, the price for an All Day Scratchcard will be hiked up. Currently, pay and display stickers are £1 for two hours and £2 for 4 hours - but £3 will get you a one-day parking scratchcard from Security. But apparently, students without permits have cottoned on that if, say, three of them car-pool and drive in for the day using a scratchcard, they can travel to campus and back for £1 each. (What ever happened to hitching?) This is itself a form of car-pooling and one might say shows admirable initiative and teamwork, but it's seen as bypassing the cap on student permits and putting a squeeze on space for staff parking. All Day Scratchcards are thus likely to be raised to £10 to discourage this practice. Campus parking is likely to remain a controversial topic. Whichever way the campus is zoned, and whichever way those working and studying on campus are divided up, there will be some who regard it as unfair in their case. Staff who live far away from direct bus routes to campus may feel that they should get special dispensation regarding parking, like students do. Others argue that there are significant gaps in bus services to campus, such as from Freehold and Galgate - and cyclists complain about the lack of showers and places for damp clothes. Balancing convenience and environmental responsibility is also tricky, and different university members would want to place the balance point at very different positions. subtext may have to return to this issue once the Car Parking Policy for 2010-11 is formally announced. ***************************************************** 1966 AND ALL THAT - CHAPTER SEVEN David O'Dell was amongst the first students to study at the newly-founded University of Lancaster. Here we continue his story - as he remembers it. Year 2, Lent Term 1968: A Blaze of Obscurity * The new County JCR Committee (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Graduate Rep) assembles at Bailrigg two days before the start of term for a teach-in for all new student officers run by the University. Expenses can be claimed, so everyone attends. * Although County does not yet have a physical presence - apart from an office in Bowland - it is developing into a distinctive community, aided by the arrival of the College kettle, the College mascots (Kanga and Roo) and the first books for the College library (two shelves in the College Office). Borrowers can choose between Catcher in the Rye, The House at Pooh Corner, the Kama Sutra, Wind in the Willows, The Perfumed Garden or The Once and Future King. * Meetings are now a major feature of life. There are meetings of County Syndicate, Executive, Planning Committee and Working Party on Development as well as the Bowland Management Committee, the Student Representative Council, the Federation, the Rag Committee, the JCR and even the Senate to attend. The one meeting I manage not to have all year is a JCR Committee meeting. Instead I make the strategic decision to set up permanent residence in the College JCR Office and wait for people to come to me. This is a mistake. There is a constant flow of visitors wanting to talk to me and few of these discussions last less than half an hour. My catering-size tin of Nescafe instant coffee is taking a battering. * By the end of January, one wall of County is in place, so we start the serious business of finding someone to supply the College bar. Charringtons are early runners after taking us out to dinner and later inviting us down to Blackpool to sample a range of the beverages they could provide. * Early in the term Bowland and County experiment with a mid-week, free, dance which draws much criticism. Unperturbed, I exercise a sort of liquid droit de seigneur and enjoy free beer all night. * Most of my courses are two terms long. Last term I only had six hours of teaching a week, but this term it has risen to nine. Fridays are free and become my day for College business. * The Federation (of JCRs) is very active. It votes to ban the Rugby Club from playing a South African team and towards the end of term there is much discussion about banning Robert Maxwell's bookshop from the campus. * The SRC has its own newsletter, Scan, which is distributed free every
Monday. It is very worthy, full of important and useful information and
dull. I try to liven up County's news by injecting some humour. This is
routinely censored by the editor. * Charities Week starts with a pram race from the Red Cross Hotel at Skerton Bridge in Lancaster to the finishing line 200 yards out to sea at the Battery in Morecambe. I lead off for the County 1st team with Gill Ramsey in the pram and 35 minutes later the pram, Gill and the rest of team are the second past the finishing post. It is very cold in the sea in March. * Not all of the Rag/Charities Week stunts are official and some are funnier than others. Cementing a toilet to Skerton Bridge raises a smile, but the line of (painted) footprints leading from Queen Victoria's statue to the public conveniences and back again that appeared overnight in Lancaster is of a different order. * The week ends with the Grand Parade through Lancaster, which, unlike last year's, does not end in a pitched battle. The streets are lined with hundreds of cheering students and Lancastrians and as JCR President I play Clyde Barrow in County's Bonnie and Clyde. To our surprise, we come third behind Cartmel's inspired Magic Roundabout and the Rugby Club's Flintstone Special. Not that Cartmel had it easy. According to the front half of Dougal, "a magic flower fell off on the way to the start, then the magic tree fell over, Florence fell on Brian and Zebedee could not move his legs at all because they were encased in a cardboard tube and he had to hang on to the front of the lorry for the entire parade." * Three years later Florence marries a bit of Dougal, but for the Cupid Ball that night she and Clyde, still in full costume, make a stunning couple as they merrily dance the night away to the sounds of The Family, The Bootlaces and The Lurking Gropers. Sensibly Florence left her head behind, but the cake doilies on her skirt twirled until the early morning. * A week before the end of term, a tremendous gale leaves Marine Drive in Morecambe under two feet of water. At the height of the storm a Lancaster student is swept off the prom and drowned. It is three months before his body is found. * Play seven games for the Hockey Club 1st XI and am 'selected' for the six day Easter tour of Belfast and Dublin. In practice all this means is that I can raise the £33.50 needed to make the trip. * In Belfast, Guinness is 2/- a pint, but pubs are shut on Sundays and at 10.00 the rest of the week, nonetheless our hosts manage to find somewhere willing to serve us until 12.00 each night. * While in Northern Ireland I attend the dinner for the Informal Conference of Presidents which is addressed by the two leading contenders for the NUS presidency, Trevor Fisk and Jack Straw. Whatever happened to them? * At the end of the tour it takes me 30 hours to get back home from Dublin to Hertfordshire via Liverpool and Lancaster. I am a Politics major, but am completely unaware of the tensions in Belfast that will see British troops arriving in 15 months time. ***************************************************** The editorial collective of subtext currently consists (in alphabetical order) of: Noel Cass, Rachel Cooper (Philosophy), Catherine Fritz, George Green, Gavin Hyman, Peter Morris, David Smith, Bronislaw Szerszynski and Martin Widden. |