College, Humour, Prose

Operation Quackers

by The Yellow Feathers This is a transcription of an intercepted meeting of the 696th Airborne, the ‘Yellow Feathers’. Triangulation of signals places the location somewhere in the Hall rafters. Little is known about the covert division, although the code names of the commanders have been declassified for public release. The latest intelligence suggests that […]

Read more
College, Prose

British Sign Language Fact Sheet

by Joe Lever History 1576: First recorded use of a sign language in England (in which marriage vows were signed by Thomas Tillsye) with accounts of deaf people using signs going back even further to the 15th century 1720: Daniel Defoe publishes The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr Duncan Campbell, Deaf and […]

Read more
College, Comment, Prose

A Letter to the JCR

by Emily Hudson There is a place for you here.  Oxford, and Oriel in particular, carries the weight of hundreds of years of tradition and stereotypes, not all of which are favourable, and not all of which have quite faded with the times. This is the message upon which I originally ran for the role […]

Read more
College

Your Peer Supporters

by Oriel College Peer Supporters You might remember hearing about Peer Supporters in Freshers’s Week, but that was ages ago – and even worse if you’re not a Fresher! So, here is a reminder. What are Peer Supporters? We are volunteer students, just like you, who have been trained by the Counselling Service to be […]

Read more
College, Prose

Cometh the Moment

by M. Davies (College Porter) The 7th of March 1949 is when it happened. See the photos and the man of the moment: Mr. Percy G. Sheppard – Oriel’s Head Porter from 1927 until he retired due to ill health in 1956.  If the room in the photos doesn’t look familiar to you, sadly at […]

Read more
Artwork, College, Prose

Double Standards, Doubled

by M. Davies (College Porter) Oriel clearly had a part in this story, as did my grandfather: Reverend Reginald Trevor Davies, now best known for being a college Don with various published historical works and twice voted into the role of University Senior Proctor. He was called Rex by his friends and family. Mary Davies […]

Read more
College, Prose

Our Name

by M. Davies (‘Oriel’ Lodge Porter) If you look at how we got our name, nowhere does it mention the Porters. We all lose from that if the Porters play an important part in the story. After all, non-academic staff are all part of this institution too. Official college literature says our name “Oriel” (now […]

Read more
College, Prose

Dear Beary … [10]

by Beary McBearface Beary McBearface, treasured Oriel mascot and JCR staple, is here to help you with your troubles. In this column,  Beary will attempt to find solutions to your little college worries; trust him, he’s seen it all. All you need to do is email thepoorprint@oriel.ox.ac.uk with the subject line ‘Dear Beary’, and if you’re lucky […]

Read more
College

Blades On Ice – A Triumphant Twilight Tournament

by Monim Wains It’s Friday night – midnight that is. The air is cold, the atmosphere tense, the suspense high. A queue stretches along the balcony, eager chatter is rustling through the crowd. The desk at the front screams over them, trying to get some order and calm. Group by group, they file down the […]

Read more
College

Nigel Robson “ALF” (ORIEL LODGE)

by M. Davies (College Porter) His chalked up notices had a talent for student humor often featuring celestial subjects such as Uranus’s rings. The Provost (Sir Derek) never deviated from calling him Nigel though nearly everybody else called him Alf, and it was only after working with him a couple of years that I got […]

Read more
College

Anniversary

by The Poor Print Team The blooms at the start of spring may be met with an eclipsing moon, or midnight rolling into view. They are reminders of significant times, both good and bad. For us at The Poor Print, Anniversary marks the 50th issue of our humble corner of Oriel life. Along with the […]

Read more
College

Hope Within Oriel

by Oriel College Supporters Hope is a powerful thing, but it can sometimes be hard to come by, especially in a university where there is so much going on so much of the time. In the midst of it all, when you need a break and a chat, the college’s Peer Supporters are here to […]

Read more