Sunday, March 9, 2025

Lifestyle

Reflections on the perils of overthinking

here is a lot to be said for blind positivity. On a good day, I’m a manifester, a big believer in my ability to speak things into existence. During my English A-Level, I had complete confidence that the crystals hidden in my bra would provide enough luck to snag me an A*. Today, I put great faith in words, relying on the same ‘I can do it’ that gets Olympic athletes across the finish line, to help me through difficult situations.

The fourth year: Oxford after your year abroad

I’m now in my fourth year, and as such, must grapple with the reality of my Oxford days drawing to a close. Granted, this is something that every student must contend with, and I watched on as most of my friends bade a fond farewell to this city where our friendships began when they graduated last summer. Yet there is something about the fourth year that I’m certain makes the final year even more strange: a sense of something already lost, of living in a moment that has already passed.

An evening at Pierre Victoire: French bistro dining at its best

Pierre Victoire has been here on Little Clarendon Street for decades – one of...

Being Cupid isn’t easy: What I learned from a term of running Cherpse

Now, having exhausted myself with these relentless pursuits, the job has been passed on to a new bright-eyed Cupid, and in my retirement I’ve become fondly reflective, and decided to curate my insights into this list: 

Cleaning bins at Reading: An Education

Reading old-timer Kyran Schmidt shares some interesting titbits picked up on the ground...

From Paris with love and an overdraft

A guide on how-not-to-do romantic Paris. Contains some handy tips on what to do if you're destitute and happy to be pretentious.

10 things that happen in your first week at Oxford

Here's one for all the freshers out there. I bet a bag of Tesco's cookies that you'll experience at least three of these

Oxford in World War I

On the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WWI, Luke Barratt looks at how the war affected Oxford and the University

Italian Job: A holiday in Florence

Emma Cookson looks back on her trip to Florence with slightly straining buttons and various food-stained shirts.

From Bridge to Berghain

Sara Semic looks back on her short trip to Amsterdam and Berlin with fondness, and faulty ear drums

Glastonbury: A Virgin’s Tale

Emma Cookson reviews her first time at Glastonbury. A tale of chanting, pink hair and very little musical content.

Houmous Girl: 8th week Trinity

There is hope on the horizon for Rower Lad...

Interview: Lucy Watson

Made in Chelsea's Lucy Watson talks to Erin Goldfinch about life in front of the cameras... with your exes

Creaming Spires: 8th week Trinity

Ophelia Balls makes the most of the last crewdate of term

Athens: souvlaki and political graffiti

Theo Louloudis reflects on time spent at the in one of Europe’s most troubled countries on her year abroad

Creaming Spires – 6th week Trinity

Ophelia treks for sex

Houmous Girl – 6th week Trinity

A garlic-flavoured despair settles across Oxford

Living Internationally: Thoughts of a second-year linguist

Erin Goldfinch looks ahead to a year abroad of dubious accommodation, rugby and potential self-discovery

Country Diary: Shotover

'Places are not the same by night. They are transformed. Shapes and forms take on different sizes, colours and shades. Perspective becomes blurred, sounds sharper'

Country Diary: The Water Meadow

“Under no circumstances should any students enter the Deer park. We will treat this extremely seriously”

Country Diary: Fiddler’s Island

'There’s a wonderful feeling of freedom that comes from being in the water, especially here where it is deep enough to kick your legs out without touching river-bed'

Country Diary: Wytham Woods

'In such a forest there is of course much more than visual pleasure; there’s the sound of wind bending and creaking age-old timber, or the whiff of damp leaves, the smell of air, damp, imbued with life.'

Country Diary: Port Meadow

'Port Meadow is steeped in myth; it’s the unploughed landscape, the land earned from resisting the Danes, a sacred spot where the Freemen graze their cattle'

Houmous Girl – 5th week Trinity

Rower Lad's date with Houmous Girl gets slightly off track...

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