/----------------------------------------\  
	       /|    XXX        XXXXXXXXX    XXXXXXXXXXX |\   
/-------------/ |   XXXXX       XXXXXXXXX    XXXXXXXXXXX | \-------------\
| Volume No.: 1 |  XX   XX         XXX           XXX     |Chris M DICKSON|
| Issue No.:pi? | XX               XXX           XXX     |Arco double-o-7|
| Next Deadline | XX   XXXX        XXX           XXX     | Keble College |
| before OMR 17 | XX    XX         XXX           XXX     | O X F J O R D |
| would be good |  XX   XX         XXX           XXX     |  O X 1 3 P G  |
\-------------\ |   XXXXX  XX   XXXXXXXXX XX     XXX  XX | /-------------/
	       \|    XXX   XX   XXXXXXXXX XX     XXX  XX |/
		\--E-mail to chris.dickson@keb.ox.ac.uk--/

	What a difference a week makes...
	You ought to have got OMR 16 by now (writing 6/1/97); I haven't got
mine yet, but apparently it's been nestling in a hole with my name on it in
Keble College for two weeks or so. So I don't know anything about the issue
e (as in 2.718281828, as you knew) that I wrote in a mad panic to avoid OMR
16 having absolutely no GIT content whatsoever. It was a fairly doom-ridden
wee piece, coming off the end of a depressing, downhill academic term which
saw my academic work reach new, dispiriting lows. A week at home and I felt
as fluffy as a bunny with a particularly cheery disposition. In that week I
managed to get up to preciselimently nothing... and it was lovely. Not very
exciting Christmas for this family, but then again, ours never are. Mum did
her usual mad rush to get the house spotless for 23:59:59 on 31st December,
as dictated by north-east tradition, which left me not slightly in the mood
for toasting the New Year and the usual follies. I have been working on the
maths since and have vaguely no confidence whatsoever for the next term.
	[How's this for a funny coincidence? I'm typing this at about 4:15
on Tuesday morning... and on ITV they're showing an ITV Sport Classic, which
just happens to be the final race of the 1976 Formula 1 season! Now I enjoy
watching today's Grands Prix, but this did nothing for me. Quite possibly
it was because of the commentator, an Ian Marriott. I have no idea if it's
the original '76 commentary - it fit so neatly into a half-hour I'd be
prepared to believe it - but if he's going to be the ITV GP commentator this
season I'm worried already. He added no entertainment to the proceedings at
all, though, which was a shame, and most unlike ITV - the traditional
commercial television bugbear is unbelievable self-belief in having the best
sport TV available, and not being afraid to let you know it. It just looked
so unattractive. Dull cars, dull presentation.]
	But getting back to the point, not getting OMR on time is no shock
to me; for I hadn't recieved and opened my copy of Issue 15 before I had
opened my first letter as a result of it. Take a bow, James Hardy. Based on
my editorial in OMR 15, can you guess what he sent me as a gift?
	A Cheestring.
	Cheers, ol' chum! I now have a booby prize for the OxCon Dip tourney.
	Quick run around the news (writing now on Thursday night): I've got
nothing to do with Nicola Dixon, that teenager who was murdered the other
day - not even the same surname. She has a vague facial resemblance to my
Mum, though, even if there's a 40-year age gap. Kevin Keegan retires? He'll
be back. Kenny Dalglish may end up not being the only super-scout employed
by a relevant chairman before long. Richard Branson goes up, and then comes
down. I wonder how much media attention he would have got had he stayed up
20 hours or more? Oh, and I can finally say a line truthfully I've wanted
to use all my life... Hoots, mon, there's a moose loose about this hoose!
Well, we think we've trapped it behind a skirting-board to starve. How did
the Big Freeze strike you? In the North-East it hasn't been so bad (!) but
then again, Middlesbrough is remarkably good at missing the worst of every
even slightly extreme climatic situation, which is dull. We had snow lying
for maybe six or seven days, maybe getting an inch and a half thick in
places. I may be 21, but that's not too old to sit in a poly-bag and slide
down a steep, snowy hill very fast. Definitely one of life's pleasures.
	Did I ever say it was easy to write for a 'zine? I'm sorry, I'll
take that back. Any moans about Stretchy's spelling I ever had are likewise
retracted - you can spot my classic blunders as well as I can! Head Ofice
with one 'f' indeed! Spell-checkers, we love you...