Highbrow meets lowbrow

Beyonce, Pamela Anderson et al bring a little South Beach to Balliol College:

Went to St. Giles' Fair last night. It's great fun to see this otherwise rather stodgy part of the city come alive with carnies, candy apples and crap music. People flood in from around the county, and the university warns all departments against complacency in the face of "ne'er-do-wells known to roam far and wide in their search for ill-gotten gains." My friend described it more succinctly: 'Eat a hotdog, watch your purse.' Apparently it's a tradition since Edwardian times:

As you can see, they still have the lighthouse slide thingy (visible in background of the old photo). It's called a helter-skelter. I went on one in Brighton, England eight years ago. Burned a hole in the elbow of my coat as I slid down. Decided not to try it in a T-shirt.


In fact, decided not to try most of the rides, which were pretty hard-core for a travelling carnival. Also, I've been scarred for life by an episode of CSI in which a rollercoaster derails and mass slaughter ensues.