Lifestyle

Cooking for friends: An apology, served hot

“It’s probably a bit bland,” my friend said tentatively in the first week of living out of college, just after they had put down a delicious plate of fish and rice.

Beyond the Rad Cam: My quest to visit all 22 Bodleian Libraries

Between March 2025 and October 2026, I visited all 22 Bodleian libraries, from the reading rooms of central Oxford to the obscure medical libraries.

The art of reaching out to old friends

Coming to university, I realised that the stable, effortless reliability of my friends from home was, all of a sudden, precarious and difficult to maintain.

The only thing missing from this bean was chocolate

If there were a smell I could capture, bottle up, and treasure forever, it would be the toasty and heartening smell of cacao roasting in the morning.

“You know it’s the centenary of the Russian Revolution, right?”

James Tibbles sees a disconnect between Russian and British approaches to the Revolution’s centenary

The illusion of choice in the land of the free

Matt Roberts contemplates the variety (or lack thereof) of eateries at Dartmouth College

Dough we really need another pizza place?

Franco Manca calls food chain creativity into question, writes Cat Bean.

How to maintain dominance in the library

Priya Vempali shows you what it takes to shine in the library

How to: leave a tutorial with any positivity

Matthew Palmer offers some pearls of wisdom to anyone emerging from a tutorial

Life Divided: The case against black tie

Anoushka Kavanagh formally disagrees with formal attire

Poland’s passionate fungal love affair

The mushroom is the golden chalice of Polish culture, muses Jamie Onslow

Hints for female travellers

After an eye-opening voyage across Europe, Kathleen Farmilo notes the modern dangers facing female backpackers

Love Oxland: ‘I was surprised when Fred turned on a puppy and aggressively kicked it’

Izzy Agerbak and Fred Dimbleby find animal rights an obstacle to romance

A day in the life: thesp

'Jesus Christ, we need to sell more tickets': Callum Coghlan recalls a day in the life of a thesp

Life Divided: JCR meetings

Julia Routledge and Abby Ridsdill-Smith go head to head on the topic of college democracy

Finding national identity at the corner shop

Jaleh Brazell reflects on family, fish and chips, and having a name no one can pronounce

The alternative guide to Oxford

You’ve been told where to go for coffee, clothes and clubbing – but what about the real student essentials? Julia Routledge and Abby Ridsdill-Smith are here to lend a helping hand

Life Divided: Matriculation

Rachel Craig-McFeely and Anna Elliott discuss the highs and lows of Matriculation

Love Oxland: “If she were a true fan of Rick and Morty, she would be able to quote it verbatim.”

Claire Castle and Samuel Juniper go from cartilage piercings to piercing gazes during a cocktail-fuelled evening of philosophical musing

Exiled from Oxford but learning from the city

Mundie Lawrance reflects on a year of living in Oxford as a suspended student.

Life Divided: Cycling

Charlie Cheesman and Bessie Yuill consider the pleasures and perils of cycling

A fresh and quirky take on the brasserie

New “modern British brasserie” No. 1 Ship Street sails past the competition, writes Ryan Mamun

Love Oxland: “I’d say her spirit animal is a lemon beer.”

Becky Todd and James Coates hit it off on a quiet Monday night despite James' poor time management

Cautionary tales of fresher fails

Former freshers tell all about the good, the bad, and the ugly experiences from THAT week

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