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On a lark, I decided to enter yesterday’s Maidens Debating Competition, put on by the St. Andrews Union Debating Society. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. In fact, I only learned the rules of parliamentary debate ten minutes before the competition began. To my great surprise, I somehow managed to make it to the final round–a public debate in Lower Parliament Hall on the motion “this house would ban overly skinny models from the catwalk and print ads.” I was randomly assigned to first opposition.

The whole thing was quite surreal: a formal procession, gowns, dispatch boxes, wood paneling. I felt like I was at Prime Minister’s question time. Although I was incredibly nervous, once I stood up to speak I really started to enjoy myself. For those who are wondering, I was in fact wearing my William and Mary graduation gown, complete with PBK pin (don’t worry, I didn’t wear the hat). To my even greater surprise, I ended up winning the competition and £100 in prize money. The evening ended with dinner in a lovely Indian restaurant, some traditional lewd drinking songs, a pier walk and cloister races. It was a quintessentially St. Andrews day.

In other news, I’ve dug myself even deeper into the G&S Society. Just in case being in the chorus doesn’t use up quite enough of the time I should be spending at the library, I’ll be singing a few solos and duets at the first semester concert:

I Know a youth (Robin) Ruddigore
When The Night Wind Howls
Oh Maiden Rich In Girton Law ( Capt. Fitzbattleaxe) Utopia
Oh Zara!, a tenor all singers above (Fitzbattleaxe) Utopia
Strange the views (Notary) Grand Duke
Sprites of Earth and Air (JWW) Sorcerer
Brightly Dawns our wedding day (Nanki-poo) Mikado

Ah Ruddigore…

I just got back from the first rehearsal of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, which I’ve finally decided to join.  It’s so much like Sinfonicron (William and Mary’s G&S Society) it’s scary.  A few differences amused me:

1. At St. Andrews, membership in the G&S Society gets you 10% off at the best pub in town.
2. They base a vocal warm-up on the phrase “I would like a gin and tonic.”
3. Rather than pretending, everyone actually is British.

I just can’t believe that I’ll be singing that infernal madrigal from Ruddigore again.

Kevin, if you’re interested in taking our show on the road, come to Scotland and we can show them a Modern Major General they’ll never forget!

Those of you who follow golf may be aware that the Dunhill Championship has been going on at St. Andrews this weekend. In addition to professional golfers, a number of celebrities are taking part in this year’s event. Yesterday I headed down to the links to watch and took my telephoto lens with me.

The weather in St. Andrews is incredibly changeable. One moment there isn’t a cloud in the sky and the next it’s pouring rain. Yesterday was no exception. It became very cold, very quickly as I waited near the 17th with my friends Charlie and Kamaren. With only one umbrella between us, it was a very wet experience.

But in the middle of the rain, I recognized one of the golfers. Perhaps you will too:

Yes, that’s Hugh Grant waiting to tee off at the 17th. Here he goes:

Sorry to disappoint, ladies, but he looks a lot older in person:

Eventually the sun came out and we had a chance to dry off. It was around this time that I recognized another one of the players. Ghostbusters and SNL fans, you’re going to love this:

Yes, it really is Bill Murray and no I didn’t steal these pictures from the web: I shot each of them myself. The best part was that Bill was several strokes ahead of the professional with whom he’d been paried, at an impressive eleven under par. Here’s Bill sizing up the course:

My action shot of Bill Murray didn’t come out too well, so here’s the frame just prior to his swing:

After I finished taking these, I walked across the street to the math building for my 4:00 tutorial. What a town.

This past weekend marked the first coordinated social activity at Deans Court not involving one or more pubs. Contrary to popular opinion, postgrads really do know how to have a good time. On Saturday we held the first annual Deans Court Southern Barbecue, featuring slow-cooked ribs and chicken, American-style. It turns out that one of our number, John in the red sweater below, is a Cordon Bleu trained chef. He had no trouble cooking for 55 people:

Many very full bellys later came the Deans Court Olympiad. Given our culinary overindulgence, this might not have been the wisest move, but that didn’t stop quite a crowd from lining up to paricipate. Yours truly is close to the middle wearing light blue:

On sunday night, the girls from North Street Annex hosted a bonfire on the beach during which our North American contingent (Canada and U.S.) attempted to demonstrate the proper technique for making smores. This was only partially successful, but everyone still had a great time:

Not to make you all jealous again, but the East Sands are absolutely stunning at dusk:

Watching the moon rise over the North Sea is an experience I won’t soon forget: