Quotes of the week

The Pope will, of course, not have a hip like God made but one that a bio-engineer made.

Gianfranco Fineschi, chief orthopaedic surgeon, after the 73-year-old pontiff's operation for a broken right thigh.

We just can't associate the hostess of Blind Date with anything academic. It's absolutely absurd.

James Nolan, politics student at Liverpool's John Moores University, on the proposal to give Cilla Black an honorary award.

(South Africa) was designed by nature to be a meritocracy. The deep-level goldmines, those marvellous and terrifying monstrosities, work according to the strict disciplined logic of the meritocratic ideal.

Paul Johnson in the 'Spectator'.

Someone started taking photos down my cleavage and another stuck ice-cream down there . . . I'm from Blackpool, you see, so that sort of thing doesn't bother me much.

Oxford student on a report that claims that the move to mixed colleges has had a detrimental effect on women's academic performance.