Epigram
19.03.2012
66
CLICendales pull off charity strip show Josephine McConville Head News Reporter
Emilie Baekgaard
BBC’s Rowell is jailed
A former BBC Radio Bristol presenter has been convicted and jailed for carrying out a number of sexual assaults on schoolgirls between 1989 and the early 1990s. Peter Rowell, 53, from Wickwar, south Gloucestershire, was accused of luring impressionable young teenagers using his ‘minor celebrity’ status as a presenter on local radio. The abuse took place at the studio, in his car, or even in the victims’ own homes. Five women provided statements, which saw the father-of-one convicted of
on day.’ Tim Robinson, Publicity Rep of the CLICendale committee, told Epigram, ‘The show went really well and reflected all the hard work and effort put in by all the organisers and dancers throughout the last few months. ‘With so little time to practice it was amazing to see how everything came together on the night with some excellent choreography giving us a great show to watch.’ He also commented on the amount of money raised for CLIC Sargent by the event. ‘With £10,000 already raised and money still pouring in it should not be difficult to surpass the £11,400 raised in 2011,’ he said. CLIC Sargent helps anyone affected by children’s cancer. The charity provides support throughout and after treatment, helping survivors and families come to terms with their ordeal. The money raised through CLICendales will go to CLIC Sargent ‘Homes from Home’ in Bristol, which offers families free self-catering accommodation close to the Regional Children’s Cancer Centres.
RAG Jailbreak winners reach Ancona, Italy
Marek Allen
BBC Bristol, Rowell’s former employer
Harrison Carter News Reporter
Newspapers, hats, tinsel and tassels were just some of the props used in the medical students charity dance and strip show, CLICendales. CLICendales is organised every year by Bristol Medical School’s student society Galenicals and raises money for CLIC Sargent, the leading children’s cancer charity in the UK. Over the last six years, Bristol Medical School has raised £58,196 for the charity. Auditions began last November and the only performance of the show - at the O2 Academy on the 10th March - sold out. Over 1700 tickets were sold in just three days. The show was hosted by Josh Lewkowicz and Matt Coates who promised the audience ‘top-quality stripping’. Bands Flu Fighters and Scarlet Fever opened the evening before this promise was fulfilled by male, female and mixed semi and full-strips, but the production also featured non-strip acts where no nudity was involved. The CLICendale ‘around the
world’ theme encompassed a broad range of acts including Bollywood, Brazilian, London Flash Mob and Cowboys and Aliens. There were a number of different dance styles from ballet to hip-hop. The first performance was a Japanese-themed nonstrip dance, which set the bar high for the rest of the performances. The racier acts came later in the evening, including a cross-dressing strip show. Rhys Williams, one of the medic strippers, said he found the ‘transsexual’ performance ‘liberating’ and ‘sexy’. Hosts Lewkowicz and Coates encouraged the crowd to buy raffle tickets and wristbands to raise money for CLIC Sargent before introducing the evening’s finale; the boys’ fullstrip which was performed to ‘Sexy and I Know It’ by LMFAO. Second year English student Jess Bancroft went to see CLICendales for the first time this year. She told Epigram, ‘All the performers had obviously put loads of time into it and the choreography was really impressive, but I’ve never seen so much fake tan in one go! ‘It’s just weird to think that they are all going to be doctors
twelve counts of indecent assault. The court heard that Rowell’s crimes were not limited to indecent acts with young teenagers below the age of 16. He was also found to have 400 indecent images of youngsters and found guilty of six counts of taking indecent images himself. Jailing him, Judge David Ticehurst told Rowell, ‘You had a life and lifestyle that would have been the envy of many an apparently successful career in a glamorous and glittering world. ‘Behind that public image you were a man that hid a dark secret. You were attracted to young girls, sexually abusing
and exploiting for your own gratification. ‘You were someone prepared to use the world of showbiz to attract young girls to you to abuse them.’ The offences Rowell committed occurred before he started presenting on BBC Radio Bristol. Prosecutor Ian Fenny told the court, ‘To the outside world he appeared a responsible family man. What in fact the public didn’t know is that he exploited his position to sexually abuse young girls.’ Detective Inspector Jill Kells from Avon and Somerset Police, said the crimes clearly demonstrated predatory and grooming behaviour.
Bristol RAG’s bi-annual ‘Jailbreak’ competition took place over the weekend of the 10th and 11th March, with the winners ending up in Ancona, Italy. Teams are given 36 hours to get as far away from Bristol as possible without spending any money, all in the name of charity. The record was set in 2011 when one team made it to Perth, Australia, for free.