Friday 13th February 2026

Lifestyle

All buttered up: Broche, and the art of the perfect croissant

During these cold winter months, in which – thanks to that pinnacle of British construction, breathable walls – I wake up in a freezing room, I find great solace in hiding beneath my blanket.

The case for doing nothing (on holiday)

My best memories of gallivanting around Europe were of parks. They were found in the tranquility of self-reflection as I enjoyed the serenity of nature, clutching my too-expensive coffee and watching the ducks swim about in the river as the cold winter wind whipped the fallen leaves off the ground beside me.

Why you shouldn’t finish your reading list

On being accepted into Oxford, everyone warned me about the reading lists. “You’ll be reading eight hours a day,” they said. At the time, it sounded almost romantic.

Kilts, Ceilidhs and Calling: Inside the World of Oxford Reeling

It's Thursday night in New College's Long Room, and several dozen students are desperately trying to master The Plough Speed, which, for the uninitiated, is a mind boggling routine of side-steps, spins and shuffles.

Objectify me: Social media and the perils of the aesthetic

Instagram necessitates such a reduction of character, and this forces us all to ask, when my life is reduced to just a few images, what do I want them to say?

In Conversation with Otegha Uwagba

'We need to talk about who has money, how they got it, why they got it, who doesn’t, how that came to be and how all of those differences affect our individual experiences of the world, so that we can start thinking about what needs to be done about how money is made, and spent, and shared, because fundamentally it’s very unfair.'

Student Profile: Jade Calder

"I don’t view myself as particularly underprivileged at home, I’m just a normal person, but when i get here, these are the people who have aspirations to be MPs, policy advisors, involved in powerful institutions, to run the country… but they’ve never met a person who comes from a family in the North, whose family income is less than the national average. That’s what scares me.”

In Conversation With Dr. Robert Lefkowitz

Eight-year-old Robert Lefkowitz was a man (well, boy) with a plan. Inspired by his family physician, Dr Feibush, he knew he wanted to become...

Student Profile: Ellie Redpath

“I guess the one thing that comes to mind is that change is a lot harder to make than you originally think it is going to be – which isn’t the most inspiring thing for me to say.”

The not-so-definitive ranking of Oxford study spots

I won’t lie, I’m not really one for libraries, I find them too quiet (I am well aware they are supposed to be quiet) and too formal; I usually spend the majority of my time on my phone and the rest of the time wondering if the person sat behind me is judging me for being on my phone.

Nickrophelia — my lockdown cardboard companion

Stripped of social interaction, structure and variety, lockdown-living is a lonely and oppressively drab state of existence. We all have our own way of combating...

In Conversation with Matthew Slotover

Anyone who knows even a little about the London art market will know Frieze. Founded in 1991 as a contemporary art magazine by Oxford...

How to find the ‘good’ in ‘goodbye’: moving on and breaking up

We choose who we trust. Sometimes, we just pick wrong. We kiss the wrong people, hold the wrong hands. When you realise you aren’t...

All kinds of vulnerable: reflections on the past year

While the worst some could imagine was a life without pubs, the worst I could imagine was the loss of my three closest family...

Looking a right punt

Punting is one of those things that I had always associated with Oxford in the abstract. I can still remember walking around Christ Church...

In Conversation With Mae Martin

There’s something slightly surreal about emailing someone whose comedy routines regularly pop up on your Facebook feed, whose new hit comedy ‘Feel Good’ got...

Think Pink

I could sit here and leave you in awe with cancer statistics and scare you half out of your mind with story upon story...

Student Profile: Zac Lumley

I joined my Zoom call with Zac on a warm afternoon in the middle of March. The first time I came across Zac’s name...

Sipping in the sun

Though I’ve lived in England for most of my life, when I was but a small child my father had a mid-life crisis and...

Why the feminists in my college still call me a whore

CW: rape Last month, as the United Kingdom reeled from the murder of Sarah Everard, we found ourselves realising once again what it means to...

Don’t just do something, sit there

For those readers who have not heard anything about mindfulness, this may only be because you have surrounded yourself with people respectful enough, that...

I know which side my bread is buttered!

There is a web of social implications behind the pat sitting in the top shelf of your fridge door. That is, if you have butter at all, and not marge, a whole other bag of historical worms.

Oat-so-lovely: exploring the overnight craze

If you follow any food blogs or channels on social media, you may have noticed the breakfast trend sweeping Instagram and Tiktok: overnight oats....

Is the drinks industry chugging sustainability initiatives?

In February 2020, the drinks industry scored a poor 4.8 out of 10 for sustainability in the inaugural Drinks Industry Sustainability Index Trends Report...

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