A follow on, having been prompted to visit the alumni section of Aston University’s web site, I stumbled across the gifte shoppe. This is full of tragic stuff - I mean, why would want the university scarf while you are a student, let alone want to buy one after you have left?
But Aston’s alumni shop is a poor sad thing, when contrasted with the awesome range of crap available from Jax’s alma mater. I have featured the lapel pin, this picture is a copy (i.e. not resized) of the one on their page offering the lapel pin for sale. I assume the real pin isn’t blurred, but this gives you a flavour for the overall quality of the exercise.
If you went to university, and were sobre for long enough to remember which one, then do drop by your alumni shop and see if there is something really nasty there you can give to someone you really don’t like much, otherwise, get off to Durham, and choose from their excellent gifts for all tastes, especially none.
Thinking about it, maybe I ought to get Jax a new t shirt to replace her dilapidated Cuth’s t shirt before it actually falls to pieces. This one looks appropriate tacky - “go to Durham, train as a kidnapper”.
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I couldn’t find anything online to buy
Things like college scarves (which, no, I did NOT buy!) were sold in shops, rather than through the college/university. (As far as I could tell whilst I was there.)
Oooh, found some - pictures are nearly as bad as that lapel pin. I’d be thrilled with a lovely plaque for Christmas. http://www.varsityshop.co.uk/acatalog/Exeter_College.html
Ah, now I have found the University shop - full of shite. You can shop online, or don’t forget to drop in and see them the next time you’re in Oxford! http://www.oushop.com/acatalog/high_street.html
I particularly like this
my med school merged with other thugs, so i can’t actually buy my stuff [though I might have a scarf somewhere! However, the august post grad group of which I am a member has all sorts of tacky offerings
in fact, in the gifts and regalia section [rofl!] I think this compact and atomiser looks good! unfortunately it isn’t some kind of pocket nuclear deterrent agains street crime
http://www.rcog.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=73&BookCategoryID=3&BookTypeID=43&BookDetailsID=735
oh no! i think I might want this bouaght for me for xmas -rofl rofl rofl
http://www.rcog.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=73&BookCategoryID=3&BookTypeID=43&BookDetailsID=1275
oh and no-one look at above link if you know what I do for a living and are a bit weak kneed about it.
or don’t know what i do for a living in fact.
Get two of these Helen.
Why two? Well, just in case you lose one while you are at work.
I *liked* my college scarf, lovely and thick and warm. Someone nicked it from the bar
I can’t find a shop online, but I bought a scarf from one of the shops in the city, not through the college. Don’t wear it now though, but nice to have at the time (and very long and warm). I think you used to be able to buy college wine glasses and such but everyone I know just nicked them under their gown during formal hall.
my med school scarf was ok - at least warm. but as it doesn’t exist anymore, I have no alma mater!
I found the online shop for my university. It has a huge range of clothing. I especially liked the clothes for children who like pretending to be students http://www.yourunionshop.net/acatalog/Children_s_clothing.html.
My favourite product was “Univercity: The first board game to be based around a UK University!”
http://www.yourunionshop.net/acatalog/Gifts_and_misc.html
Jax, ask Kath if she has your scarf.
Stella, that is truly dire, when it comes to nafftackiness Scotland leads the way. It is the pictures of the horrid, smirking children which truly set it apart.
I am humbled that my two suggested alumni shops fall so far short of the standard set by St Andrew’s, only the the fact that the ObGyn and OU sites (awful though they are in their own way) are also mere dwarves beside the Colossus of Kitsch provides me some solace.
Nah Tim, don’t think I’ve ever even been to Durham, much less one of their bars. Never saw any scarves being nicked under gowns either, I have to say!
Jax,
You should’ve done what we did (at Brighton Polytechnic - now Brighton University): stitch four bar-towels together to make a scarf! Jolly warm in winter - not that Brighton really has winters these days …
stitch…nah…besides, I worked on the bar, I know what happened to those bar towels!