On Shrove Tuesday, the 17th of February, Brasenose yet again played host to Ale Verses, a tradition that dates back to the good old days when the College brewed its own ale. The oldest surviving songs date back to the early 1700s, and the tradition was revived in 1909 after a gap of two decades (perhaps to mourn the loss of the brewhouse in 1889).
In the 21st century, Ale Verses manifests itself as a three-course meal in Hall, followed by the (optional) drinking of Ale, which is consumed while standing on the benches and singing satirical songs about the characters that live, study or work at Brasenose College. This year, the budding student singers were ably led by the organ scholars and the presider of the event, Dr Dave Popplewell. The lyrics are made up by Brasenose students, but are usually set to popular tunes.
The verses performed ranged from an ode to the ever-present Andrew Sillett (who studied for his undergraduate and postgraduate degree here, and is now tutoring) set to Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ (I heard that you’re pretty old, that your DPhil’s done and you’re a tutor now), not one but two performances set to the Frozen soundtrack "Let it Go", to a song set to Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" about being a second year (I was just a fresher, though my story's seldom told). The Chaplain, in consultation with the eternally reliable ‘Clapometer’, judged the entries at the end of the evening.
The winning verse was a topical reference to the colossal, colourful emails of our new Arts Rep; ‘Don’t You Want Me’ by the Human league was reworked to Ng: A Ballad (Richard Ng don’t spam me/ Ng don’t spam me, oo-o-o-ooh!). Although officially anonymous, writers of the verse, Ella Thorpe-Beeston and Phoebe Griffith, stepped up to receive their bottle of Champagne; with this, Brasenose concluded yet another successful Ale Verses.
By Sidd Shrikanth (2nd year Biologist and JCR President)