Tolkien and Shippey; Tolkien and Birmingham; Tolkien and Oxford

Two articles on recent Tom Shippey talks
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2010/02/17/35281-tom-shippey-at-swarthmore-college-report/
http://phoenix.swarthmore.edu/2010/02/18/living/tolkien-scholar-unearths-important-legacies

And one on Shippey at Boskone
http://thesilverkey.blogspot.com/2010/02/recap-of-boskone-47-talking-tolkien.html

A reasonable article on Tolkien's Birmingham
http://www.pentrace.net/penbase/data_returns/full_article.asp?id=347

And a fangirl visits Oxford
http://teatimewithsarah.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-friends-call-me-harry.html

AKICOLJ part 3

(1) How much would it cost to remove a bath and supply and fit a shower and enclosure, with associated plastering, tiling, painting, "making good" etc? Only a ballpark figure is needed!

(It's a long story, and the background would only confuse!)

(2) What was the exchange rate between French Francs and Pounds Sterling in 1943? (Or rather, purchasing power of 1943 Francs in 2010 terms?) Again, I'm only looking for a ballpark figure!

(3) Where does the quotation "I am a plain, simple man with plain, simple tastes, and I want to say, plainly and simply, that ... " come from?