Thursday 4th December 2025

Culture

Fashion around Oxford – Joe Osei

Joe Osei, budding stylist and general fashion icon, shares his style secrets and where he’s shopping right now. Cherwell’s current fashion inspiration is Joe Osei, a third-year PPE student at...

Brown boots, black boots, and the politics of autumn style

Autumn always brings a question of existential importance: brown boots or black boots? It’s...

“You’re going to make mistakes”: Katie Robinson on fashion and sustainability

Katie Robinson is a sustainable fashion journalist, content creator, and campaigner, with experience working...

Alternative Oxford: The changing stereotypes surrounding body modifications

Cienna Jennings visits Oxford’s renowned tattoo and piercings studio, Tigerlily, to speak with the...

Review: Midnight Sun

"Even as a firm member of Team Edward, 756 pages of Edward tormenting himself over a girl is fundamentally tedious."

Four Children

"And I sat with my back to the skies as I mouthed out a prayer to the winds and imagined them ghosts; for where I sat, half-anaesthetised, four children had used to sit"

A Prize of One’s Own: do we really need the Women’s Prize for Fiction?

”Since the prize’s inception, it has faced backlash from women and men alike, with accusations of misandry thrown at the gender criterion and with some critics suggesting that the prize is patronising and belittling to the women that win it.”

‘The Most Important Thing to Do is to Keep Creating’: In Conversation With The Cast And Crew of ‘Songs From The Old World’

It is no secret that Covid-19 has put a strain on the UK's live theatre, especially given recent restrictions legally limiting public indoor gatherings...

‘Family’ Theatre: Patronising or Inspirational?

As someone with a fair few younger siblings I can safely say that I have a pretty wide experience of family-oriented performances. My personal...

My Dog and Its Owner

"My dog had lost its collar in a cave, Whereto, through chasing night, astray it ran After my whistle panicked in its ears."

Will there be a COVID-19 novel?

"After months of quarantining, of Zoom calls and empty supermarket shelves, it feels foolish to suggest we’ll emerge from this crisis as the same people as we were when we entered it. Consequently, our writing must also change."

The Sword-Cross

"A warrior of Palestine Traversed with a Cross for sword, From Babylon to Jerusalem, Until he spoke not word."

Of masks and masquerades in 2020 – from necessity to accessory?

Masks might not be high fashion (yet) but that should not deter us from having fun with them.

Thirsting for a heatwave

"In the end, the same heatwave can inspire lewd lyrics or thoughts of doom and global warming."

Review: The Silent Patient

"If you’re looking for a good book, I’d give this one a miss, but I will it give it one thing- The Silent Patient is accidentally hilarious."

‘Measure in Love’ – Preview

In the last few months, many aspects of our lives have had to change and adapt to fit into what we call ‘the new...

Theroux thick and thin

Louis doesn't just question those he is filming but seems to become part of their journey

Friday Favourite: The Cairo Trilogy

“A historical allegory that mirrors political events through the livelihood of the Al-Jawad family, it is a seminal work of modern Arabic literature and is crucial to understanding Egypt’s modern history, society and culture.”

When Will We Be “Satisfied”? – Hamilton And Its Discontents

Four years after the now familiar opening thumps of Hamilton were first heard, the White House has met the Mouse-House; Disney+ allows subscribers to...

The language of Pride: five books I read in the closet

"As well as the direct dialogue from writer to reader, I realised that I was just one of a larger readership: an intoxicating mix of individual and collective experience that was validating above all else."

Oxford’s Independent Clothes Shops

Independent retailers offer a great alternative which can be more sustainable, exciting and supportive of our local communities.

Culture in crisis: the impact of the pandemic on theatres

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on countries around the world. A huge number of services and businesses are struggling: the NHS, airlines, retail...

An Apology to my Rapist

I’m sorry for having a bottle of wine,Who knew red with dinner was crossing a line,And for drinking vodka whilst sat in the bar,Was...

Friday Favourite: The Death of Ivan Ilyich

"The novella’s real focus is the inevitability of death itself, which is so gargantuan, physically and philosophically, that retrospection is crushed into irrelevance."

Follow us