Time for a NEW RECTOR

[sweet]

Phil Harding from Time Team would be ACE. I shall personally be sending evils to anyone that disagrees ;P

[exnihilo]

Id flint-knapping really a skill the rector needs?

[Anon.]

Quoting Dickie from 21:38, 25th Feb 2008
He cannot be nominated as he is an MP.

[hr]

http://facebook.com/p.php?id=37106107&l=217e435e0a

When was that rule made? Arthur Balfour (1886-1889) was an MP, and I'm sure there have been others.

[Eliot Wilson]

There is no such rule. It is perfectly possible to nominate an MP.

[hr]

Bill and Ted beat the Grim Reaper at Twister

Bill: "You played very well, Death, especially with your totally heavy Death robes."

Death: "Don't patronise me."

[rob 'f*ck off' wine boy]

This thread is repeating itself

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Surprisingly tricky to thing of someone who would be popular, be good at the job and would actually agree to do it. I think Simon Pepper doesn't seem like an obvious choice from that perspective but because his campaign was extremely sound and word quickly went around that he was very interested in student affairs, which cemented his popularity.

Based on previous years, perhaps someone else should run a celeb candidate who never so much as answers the phone and makes his competition look better by comparison? I'm sure someone like Gyles Brandreth would be up for that.

[hr]

Mmmmmmm, cake.
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37102114

[purringpickles]

Alan Wicker

"Hello St Andrews!"

[purringpickles]

I'd rather sit in a room full of poodles on E and eat Alpaca testicles than have Jack Vettriano as my Rector....

[Laura]

Quoting Dave the Explosive Newt from 20:59, 24th Apr 2008

Based on previous years, perhaps someone else should run a celeb candidate who never so much as answers the phone and makes his competition look better by comparison? I'm sure someone like Gyles Brandreth would be up for that.

[hr]

I'm pretty sure, based on what he came out with after asking me if I knew some nobber who once tried to propose him, that he would rather jump under a bus.

On the main point about Pepper- the reason why he's such a legend is that, because he was such an experienced chair of a big organisation, he's really good on court- and he also lives near enough to be on hand to get involved.

Loads of people will probably be of the opinion that none of that matters much, but having been on court last year I'm of the opinion that it does. There's so much politics and various 'personalities' involved at the mo that I really think we need another Simon next time, rather than another John Cleese (or even Freud, who although not as awful as some people before him, didn't manage to make every court meeting).

[hr]

"When I came back to Dublin, I was courtmartialled in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence."

[Kat]

How About Sir Richard Branson?
He's enthusiastic, a successful business man, a responsible face to chair a committee and could quite possibly donate some cash towards the university.

not to mention how amazing a presence he would be, he strikes me as the type that would really get into representing us.

Quoting Dickie from 16:53, 25th Feb 2008
Am I a fool and/or is the rectorship up for election in Oct/Nov?
If so I would think that those who have any interest in this should start doing some work.

Who shall we have this time?

[hr]

http://facebook.com/p.php?id=37106107&l=217e435e0a

[Eliot Wilson]

If Mr Pepper is a legend, even for the reasons you adduce, Laura, the term is devalued indeed.

Certainly, the student body should be very wary of electing a celebrity on the strength of his or her celebrity; yes, I do think electing Freud was a mistake, and, actually, dammit, I think my then-flatmate would have been a better choice. But the worst of all worlds is to elect a very minor celebrity, who lacks both fame and clout.

But then, you'll do what you want, which is the way it works. And, one way or another, you'll get the Rector you deserve.

[hr]

Bill and Ted beat the Grim Reaper at Twister

Bill: "You played very well, Death, especially with your totally heavy Death robes."

Death: "Don't patronise me."

[Laura]

Well, given that I proposed him, I'm going to have that opinion- but I do genuinely think he's been very good. But like I say, it is personal opinion.

[hr]

"When I came back to Dublin, I was courtmartialled in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence."

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Quoting Laura from 22:11, 24th Apr 2008

Quoting Dave the Explosive Newt from 20:59, 24th Apr 2008

Based on previous years, perhaps someone else should run a celeb candidate who never so much as answers the phone and makes his competition look better by comparison? I'm sure someone like Gyles Brandreth would be up for that.

[hr]

I'm pretty sure, based on what he came out with after asking me if I knew some nobber who once tried to propose him, that he would rather jump under a bus.

Well, more or less what I figured was
"Gyles, do you want to help us get someone else elected?"
"Sure - what do I have to do?"
"Absolutely nothing. In fact you need to refuse to do things."
"Oh smashing."

Of course there's the remote possibility of him being elected which I imagine would put him off. He's probably a bad example... someone less loveable would be better. Besides, it's a flight of fancy and probably best not to be taken too seriously.

Simon, I'm pretty certain did everything he could to do that job well because he really *cared* about the students of St Andrews. Coupled with being an good chair, that is someone we really need another of. I wonder if he has any reccomendations.

Bah. I told myself I'd stay out of St Andrews politics when I left. Bastard Sinner.

[hr]

Mmmmmmm, cake.
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37102114

[exnihilo]

Who are the worse ones we've had in the past, Laura? I'm guessing you mean Nicky Campbell, because Andrew was excellent and so was Donald and NIcholas Parsons wasn't bad either - that takes us all the way back to the end of the 80s.

Branson has expressed repeated interest in the post, I've written to him each of the last three times and maintained a correspondence in between times. He's eventually turned it down on each occasion due to the pressures of his other work, but not before flying me down to London for a chat about it - sadly not to Necker Island.

You might want to reconsider Paxo, another one who expressed considerable interest in the past, but eventually declined as he did not want to be seen to be doing less than Andrew Neil and feared that, in the first year at least, he might be compelled to.

Duncan Bannatyne, as I mentioned has indicated he could be persuaded and I am happy to pass on contact details if someone wanted to have a go. And, thought he might now decline on grounds of age, Tony Benn would have jumped at it but for the fact that he was off doing his one man show - though he did phone and then send a very nice card.

Do be aware when choosing rectors that we should avoid being derivative, we don't want them all to be MPs across the board, they shouldn't all be Radio 4 panel show guests, and so on...

[fluoronaut]

Three suggestions:

Paxman would be brilliant.

Ridley Scott (used to?) have a house in St Andrews and is allegedly quite a fan.

William Dalrymple the excellent travel writer and historian is from Fife.

[Ewan Husami]

All three of Exnihilo's suggestions seem like sound candidates.

[Colbert for Pres]

I think just throwing some one like Steven Colbert into the race would get us a huge amount of publicity as he talks about it for weeks whenever he gets nominated for something.

[Thackary]

"Colbert for Pres"?

Rector. Colbert for RECTOR, surely?

[purringpickles]

Hardeep Kohli Singh!!!!

[exnihilo]

Because we really want the man Glasgow voted 3rd.