Earlier this year, Cherwell attended Voices from North Korea, an event organised by Freedom Speakers International (FSI), a South Korea-based NGO working with North Korean refugees. Over the course of the evening, I spoke to three defectors – Sujin Kim, Yuna Jung, and Riha Kim – as well as...

 It’s not that often that somebody tells you they first got into their profession “by accident.” However, when I began my conversation with Gérald Sibleyras, award-winning French playwright, he seemed to have no problem admitting that theatre wasn't ever the field he wanted to pursue a career in. “I actually wanted to be a musician,” he told me, “but quite...

Cherwell: What was your experience of Oxford when you did PPE at Magdalen?  Hunt: They were some of the happiest times of my life, but there were lots of ups and downs. In my first year I struggled a bit, found it hard to make friends. I had such high expectations of ‘Oxford’ that I was a bit disappointed when...

For anyone who has ever wandered down Turl Street, it would be impossible to miss the elaborate window displays of Scriptum, the fine stationary shop which has become a staple of Oxford since its creation in 2003. Whether it be the miniature hot-air balloons which hang from the shop’s...

Ever felt a supernatural presence hovering over you in what claims to be Oxford’s oldest pub, the King’s Arms? And no – not the ghost of an ill-fated first date from last Michaelmas.  According to Dark Oxfordshire, the KA boasts an even more eerie reputation. There are some who claim...

Good things often come in threes. Having reviewed both Parsonage Grill and Quod, it was only right that we complete the trilogy with their North Oxford sister restaurant, Gee’s.  On a crisp November morning, after a short walk up Banbury Road, we were welcomed into the warmth of the restaurant’s...

PPE at Oxford is often seen as a one-way track to ending up in the House of Commons (usually on the wrong side of the house). Introduce yourself to anyone as a PPE-ist and you’ll inevitably receive the displeased sighs or disgusted face befitting the discovery of a bit...

I begin listening to Christmas soundtracks in September. I theorise decorations in October and, by November, I have made my way through a few chocolate Advent calendars. I have been this way for as long as I can remember. Being born in late November means either embracing Christmas early...