What a selfish person

[RogerS]

http://news.sky.com/home/article/16204481

Christ..if I'd been close enough I'd have smacked that silly smile off that selfish cretin's face.

Wonder what his 'cause' is? One-legged penguins being denied a vote? The right for wombats to buy crisps?

Or 'The right for morons to swim in the Thames and screw up enjoyment for thousands of people and ruin months and months of training'..

What a selfish egotistical person.

 

[moppetsdad]

Now come on say what you reallly think of him!

 

[Lowlife]

His name is Trenton Oldfield and he's part of some group called This Is Not a Gateway http://www.thisisnotagateway.net/

The Thames may be a lot cleaner than it used to be, but clearly there are still a few turds floating about in it, pity they didn't carry on and decapitate him, I doubt it would be a great loss to anyone.

 

[Jonzjob]

The biggest shame about that incident is that the police didn't just pull him out of the river, gone to the shore with him falling over several times in such a slippery boat and thrown him onto some lonely part of the bank. Not release his name and give him the publicity he was looking for !

If one of the rowers had killed him I hate to think what that rower would have on his mind for the rest of his life?

 

[Webby]

A total waste of space .....lets hope they stick him away

what a ars*ole

 

[chippy1970]

The Thames may be a lot cleaner than it used to be, but clearly there are still a few turds floating about in it, pity they didn't carry on and decapitate him, I doubt it would be a great loss to anyone.

Well said

I couldn't believe what I was seeing this afternoon , what an idiot

 

[doctor Bob]

I think the umpire / ref balls it up as well, 8 rowing against 7, I wonder who will win .......

I never really understand the appeal of this race.

 

[Lowlife]

It's only a public order offense and he's not going to get much of a sentence for that unfortunately, far better if they'd just dumped him back on the bank and let the spectators sort him out.

If you read his blog http://elitismleadstotyranny.squarespace.com/ you'll see he's clearly under a delusion that anyone who goes to Oxford or Cambridge is some sort of elitist toff, which is hardly true these days, maybe he was rejected himself and has a chip on his shoulder?

He also has some suggestions for minor acts of disobedience that individuals can commit, such as disrupting their workplaces by setting off fire alarms (I remember that one from school), letting off stinkbombs at "elitist" networking events, and many other similarly childish ideas.

 

[Lowlife]

I never really understand the appeal of this race.

Despite having watched it every year from the age of about 5, over 45 years now, to be honest I'm still not quite sure exactly what the appeal is myself!

But it certainly does appeal to vast numbers of people, not just in London and the rest of the UK but worldwide, the majority of whom, like myself, have absolutely no connection to Oxford or Cambridge or their universities.

I think it's something to do with the fact that it's a one-chance event for the crews, they spend most of the year training flat out for a 20 minute race on just one day, then it's all or nothing, they win or they lose, no second place and no coming back next year for another try.

I couldn't care less what backgrounds they come from, that doesn't detract in any way from the excitement of the race, they're just the best at what they do for a few fleeting moments, then for the most part they disappear from the public eye.

As for the umpire's decision all he did was to follow the rules, it was clearly Oxford's own fault that they got too close, they were warned just seconds before the clash. It's just one of the hazards of the race. Admittedly it made for a rather disappointing end to the race, no-one wants to win under such circumstances but that's the way it goes sometimes, just like real life.

 

[doctor Bob]

If you read his blog http://elitismleadstotyranny.squarespace.com/ you'll see he's clearly under a delusion that anyone who goes to Oxford or Cambridge is some sort of elitist toff, which is hardly true these days

Yes, at Oxford, in 2010, a whole 4% admitted were from poor backgrounds ......... ohhhh hang on that means......


Don't agree with the nutter but education should be for all, not just the rich, seems the rich have a much greater advantage at present and as always.

 

[RogerS]

If you or anyone has been affected by this story then please please express your concern at http://www.thisisnotagateway.net/ where Oldfield will be delighted to hear from you.

 

[RogerS]

....
Yes, at Oxford, in 2010, a whole 4% admitted were from poor backgrounds ...

Source please. Gruniad?

Try looking at their official figures

For students starting in October 2012, Oxford has the most generous no-strings attached financial support for UK and EU students from the lowest income households.
While many universities are offering either fee waivers or bursaries, Oxford will provide both.
Based on current student profiles, one in six students will receive a fee waiver and a quarter will receive a bursary.
The lowest-income students will receive support totalling £10,000 in their first year and over £6,000 in every later year.
Oxford will spend 50% of its additional fee income on access – that’s more than any other university in England and nearly double the sector average.
OFFA (Office for Fair Access) ranks Oxford as costing students less than nearly two thirds of all English universities.
Oxford spent £6.6 million centrally on bursaries in 2010-11, on top of scholarships and bursaries offered by individual colleges.
Nearly 2,700 current students (c.27% of UK undergraduates at the University) hold Oxford Opportunity Bursaries.

I think that Oxford are doing pretty well in financially supporting lower income households.

 

[Jacob]

......
Which makes ars*hole Trenton Oldfield even more of a c**t

Dunno, he made me laugh! =D> =D>

Perhaps it'll catch on and all sorts of loonies will be bobbing about next year. I do hope so. Could make it an interesting event for a change.

 

[doctor Bob]

Source please. Gruniad?

What is a Gruniad, I don't think I have ever been called one before ...... I have a horrible feeling that it's not nice ..

From now on Roger if anyone says "the figures are official" I will believe everything they say .......


Welcome back Jacob.

 

[Jacob]

It could be a more interesting race if they opened it up a bit to all comers as they do with some yacht races. They all do the same course but are racing in different classes with or without handicaps etc. You'd a massed start of various man-powered boats - the Oxbridge teams as usual racing just against each other, but then any number of other classes and sub races - canoes, kayaks, pedalos, inflateables, innertubes etc. So you could be last in the race as a whole but still have a place in the inflatable mattress class.

 

[Lowlife]

What is a Gruniad

Gruniad, or Grauniad, is a reference to the fact that The Guardian newspaper used to be noted for it's typos, I think it may have come from Private Eye originally? He wasn't calling you anything.

My youngest niece starts at Cambridge later this year, the first of our family ever to go to any kind of university, she went to normal state junior, secondary, and college just like most of us, her fees are being paid by a scientific company who head-hunted her from college because of her maths skills. She is certainly not elitist or from a wealthy family, she just works very hard which anyone can do.

But none of this makes any difference to the fact that the race is enjoyed by millions from all sorts of backgrounds, not just the rich, this guy has really picked the wrong target to make his point and has only succeeded in making himself look very stupid. Of course there will be some who agree with him, but they would have done anyway, I doubt he's converted many to his way of thinking and has alienated far more.

 

[Digit]

It's the Oxford and Cambridge boat race Jacob, how could you open it up to others?
There are many races throughout the year that others can take part in if they wish.
Opening the Oxford and Cambridge boat race to others would be like an England versus Germany football match played between teams from Russia and Chile! (hammer)

Roy.

 

[No skills]

First time I have watched this for 10 years or more, made for an entertaining race. Idiot in the water, broken oar, oxford rower mouthing off at the ref after the appeal and another of the oxford team passing out somehow (is the poor chap alright??).

Great stuff, I'll be back next year. Now if we can just get some footage of the 'protestor' having the living **** being beaten out of him....

 

[Digit]

I understand that Misery Oldfield was protesting that elitism was wrong. Not bad for a privately educated Ozzy!

Roy.

 

[JakeS]

Source please. Gruniad?

What is a Gruniad, I don't think I have ever been called one before ...... I have a horrible feeling that it's not nice ..

I suspect he means "Grauniad". Or rather, "Guardian". I have the vague feeling Private Eye is responsible for that one.