Wednesday 22nd April 2026
Blog Page 1087

Review: Mission Burrito

Anora Sandhu
-
0
Review: Mission Burrito

It’s not strictly an ‘Oxford’ thing, in fact it’s a San Francisco thing, but nuzzled right next to a delightful vintage book and print shop on St Michael’s street stands Mission Burrito, where the queue of hungry customers spills out of the little red burrito bar at lunchtime just as the fillings of my burritos are often prone to spill out from their too small tortilla encasing.

It is a place of abundance, and after 5 visits to Mission Burrito during my time here, and 10 stamps down on my loyalty card (double stamps on Tuesdays!), my mission was finally complete and I had come to claim my reward. I don’t know what it is about a free burrito, but I felt like I had earned my little parcel of joy, complete with all the ‘extras’ like Mission Burrito’s signature slightly browning guacamole.

Bopping my head by the window seat to the Spanglish pop tunes that really create the ambiance of MB, I wondered at the potential of such a place, wasted on merely selling burritos, salads and tacos. Was there the possibility of making it a burrito bar by day, and a nightclub/bar by night? Under the heady influence of the dance tracks blaring out on the speakers, an image of the same place was transformed before my eyes; I envisioned tequila shots with wedges of lime on sombrero-shaped platters at every corner and a glowing pinata hanging above me. I imagine would have given PT a run for its money.

Dispelling my visions of unashamed cultural appropriation, I turned to my burrito with some distaste. It was hardly authentic, to either Mexico or Oxford, and the rice is a bit stale, the guacamole a just slightly too old, and the corn tortilla wrap a bit disappointing. But, all the same, I devoured it with much delight and with my new loyalty card in pocket, I knew I would be coming back soon on my next mission. With food of variable quality, quick service and low prices, it is the quintessential meal for the busy, hungry student.

Recipe: Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry

Jess Mundy
-
0
Recipe: Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry

As the rain seems to have made a reappearance this week, this curry is the perfect warming dinner. Comforting, healthy and super tasty. Enjoy!

Main ingredients:

500g of sweet potato
500g chicken breast sliced
4 tbsps of oil
1 tbsp curry powder
1 teaspoon dry chilli flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
500ml chicken stock
150ml coconut milk
Pinch of salt
Pepper

Spice paste ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lemon grass stalk, chopped

Method:

1. Mix the spice paste ingredients together using a blender or food processor until they form a thick paste which is fairly smooth.
2. Slice the sweet potato into cubes and cook in a pan of boiling water, lightly salted, for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes, and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a pan, add the spice paste and fry over a medium heat for five minutes, while gently stirring.
4. Once the spice paste is heated and softened, add the turmeric, chilli flakes and curry powder and fry for a further two minutes.
5. Add the slices chicken breast to the pan, and coat evenly with the spice paste. Stir for two minutes and then pour on the chicken stock.
6. Bring the stock to the boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the stock has evaporated. You don’t want the curry to be too watery.
7. Stir in the coconut milk, and add the salt and pepper. Cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring gently.
8. Add the cooked sweet potato to the pan, and heat for three to four minutes.
9. Serve the curry with rice, and garnish with sliced onion.

The 5 best breakfasts in Oxford

Mabel Whitchurch
-
1
The 5 best breakfasts in Oxford

1. The Organic Deli Café: In the unassuming passage next to Tesco, the Organic Deli Café offers a delicious (all day!) breakfast menu, catering especially well for vegans. The cafe focuses on healthy, fresh and raw ingredients. And these guilt-free options are endless; stacks of pancakes with fruit and yoghurt, big bowls of homemade granola, eggs every way you could imagine and a huge list of smoothies with almond milk or fruit bases. They’ve even just introduced a side menu dedicated to avocado…

2. Browns:A classic institution of Oxford, Browns is situated at the top of St Giles and presents a perfectly simple breakfast. Eggs Florentine, eggs Benedict, pancakes and pastries are all on the menu, alongside fruit juices and teas. The restaurant is usually fairly quiet and relaxed in the morning, so if you’re looking for a reliable and civilised start to your day, this is the place to go.

3. Combibos: A very popular family-owned café in Gloucester Green, Combibos is famous for its coffee but also serves a fantastic breakfast. This seems to be the only place in Oxford offering a chocolatey pancake for breakfast (definitely worth the visit for that alone), but also some more typical options like porridge, bacon sandwiches and smoked salmon with eggs. Every breakfast comes with a free tea or coffee too…

4. St Giles Café: This tiny little café is somewhere you just have to go during your time at Oxford – the pretty blue exterior and intimate stripped down interior are unlike anywhere else. The food’s pretty great too, with the breakfast menu including “THE Oxford breakfast” (a massive fry up), kedgeree in various forms and pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrup as well.

5. Modern Baker: An organic bakery up in Summertown, a trip to Modern Baker is a particularly healthy way to begin the day. Their selection of bircher bowls is second to none, as is the relaxed, happy atmosphere. The walls are covered with shelves full of healthy cupboard foods, and you can even pick up a cake or raw energy bite to take away for those mid-morning hunger pangs. Seriously worth the walk.

The Oxonian Dandy: Hats

Dante OKeefe
-
0
The Oxonian Dandy: Hats

Perhaps on a breezy evening, the dandy would ponder to himself as he strolled: “What can I don atop my pretty tête on this dark night?” When walking back late from one’s favourite establishment on Park End Street, what better article to have up one’s sleeve than a hat? Of course, with a floppy bucket hat or a baseball cap, this indeed would be possible – perhaps saving you £2 on putting an extra item in the cloakroom. However, these hats have become all too common in recent years and months, and, sadly, these articles can only really be worn these days ironically. The glimpse of a young, misguided chap wearing some ‘wavey’ printed bucket hat or a Yankees snap-back is a truly sorry sight.

Much wiser is the man who pays the extra cloakroom fee and can walk home in gleeful bliss with his saffron yellow bowler, furnished with an azure parrot feather, poised nonchalantly upon his glossy barnet – those two pounds will make him feel a thousand more!

As I have previously asserted on the issue of layering, the important consideration for chapeauage lies not in wearing a topper for its practical merit, but rather for its fashionable usefulness. You don’t want to wear your sou’wester because it’s raining; you want to wear your sou’wester because the dandelion yellow clashes beautifully with your purple cable-knit jumper.

A hat can really complete an outfit. Many formal halls require suits to be worn. If you’ve got a pin-stripe number lurking in the depths of the wardrobe, why not get out your fedora? Twin it with a sinister violin case and the kitchen staff will give you all the custard pies you like. Alternatively, if you’re going down to support the college rugby team, why not complement those wellies and barbour with a panama? Whirl it around your head in a great, looping circle as you belt out one of the college’s chants for a really engaged appearance.

Millinery, of course, comes in all manner of forms. Some hats have surprising and valuable surplus uses. While I wear my green paisley bandana primarily because I’m trying to give off a whiff of my virility, it also keeps my floppy fringe out of my eyes. At the same time, though when I pluck my straw boater from my hat-stand I am motivated by the desire to look sophisticated and elegant at my great-aunt’s third wedding by fusing the hat with my piped blazer, I can also slip the telephone numbers that I get from her friends in the orange ribbon of the boater. It really is a win-win.

With bonnetry, the world really is your oyster. Take inspiration from across the pond with a ten-gallon or perhaps a sombrero to add an element of the New World to your outfit. Whatever happens, make sure your titfer is bold and adventurous. Plumage is always welcome. There are few rules with hats – just remember the words of Frank, Bing and Dean in Robin and the Seven Hoods: “A hat’s not a hat, till it’s tilted”.

Cambridge Say ‘Yes’ to NUS

Daniel Kodsi
-
0
Cambridge Say ‘Yes’ to NUS

Cambridge narrowly voted to remain affiliated with the NUS in a referendum called by the Cambridge University Student Union, Varsity reported this afternoon.

Cambridge saw record turnout for the referendum, with more than 6100 voting in total, a turnout of about 29 per cent of the student body. The ‘Yes’ campaign won by a margin of just under five per cent, 3183 in favour of remaining affiliated with 2884 opposed. 115 votes were left blank.

Adam Crafton and Jack May, co-founders of the ‘Let Cambridge Decide’ campaign, told Varsity, “We are of course disappointed not to have seen this through and secured the disaffiliation vote. By calling this referendum, opening up this debate and engaging so many Cambridge students in the issues at hand, we can be hugely proud of ourselves.

“We’d like to thank all those campaigners who have offered so much in their support, participation, encouragement and commitment throughout the last few weeks.

“We believe that we have awoken the Cambridge student community to the challenges facing Jewish students on British campuses in 2016 and that is an immensely satisfying achievement. It has been a draining challenge at times but hugely rewarding.

“Congratulations, of course, should go to the Remain campaign. I truly hope they honour their campaigning promises to fight for Jewish students within the National Union of Students [NUS].

“However, our concerns persist. Today it has emerged that the President Elect Malia Bouattia was investigated by NUS for anti-semitism last year. Her punishment of an informal warning and an apology does not suffice. Moreover, it is appalling that the millions of students she will represent nationwide were not informed that this investigation took place. It it to the utmost credit of the student media that they exposed this. It would, once again, appear to demonstrate conclusive evidence that the NUS cannot be trusted to confront anti-Semitism.

“It is vital that the NUS do not see this vote as a legitimisation of the direction their organisation is taking but instead see it as a mandate from a very  prestigious university to be allowed one last chance to secure the reforms that Jewish students deserve.”

The Oxford University Student Union has called a referendum on NUS affiliation, to be held Sixth Week Tuesday through Thursday. Results will be announced Thursday evening. In a survey conducted during First Week, Cherwell found that 57 per cent of respondents were in favour of disaffiliation, with only 29 per cent wishing to remain affiliated.

Building projects not worth it

Stephen Hawes
-
0
Building projects not worth it

Large university building works, like the new Blavatnik and Said buildings, may not improve students’ overall experience, a recent study by the Universities of Manchester and Kingston concluded.

The paper, published earlier this month, focussed on technological innovation and flexible teaching spaces. It criticised universities for prioritising their income over improvements to the quality of teaching, quoting that UK universities spent £2.5 billion on their estates in the year 2014-15.

Following with this trend, Oxford colleges and faculties continue to invest in new buildings and extensions. St Hilda’s recently announced plans for a £10 million revamp of its riverside campus, featuring conference rooms and new teaching spaces. Magdalen’s Longwall Library, which was opened this month by the Duke of Cambridge, is yet another of Oxford’s recent building projects.

These projects pale in comparison to the considerable sums spent on buildings like the new Blavatnik School of Government, which cost around £30 million, and the Said Business School, costing more than £23 million.

Dr Steven Jones, one of the researchers who produced the paper said, “The sums being spent by universities on new buildings are eye watering, but the jury’s still out on how much difference they really make to students’ learning. One problem is that evaluations tend to ask questions like, “Has income per square metre improved?”, rather than “have there been pedagogical gains?

“When we invited students to reflect more closely, responses were mixed. For example, students appreciated having new spaces for collaborative learning, but they didn’t always understand exactly what they should be doing in those spaces. “In college, you knew what everything was for,” said one.

“‘Communication is crucial,” Dr Steven Jones added. “The danger is that once the ribbon is cut at the grand opening event, staff and students are left to figure out for themselves how the new spaces can be used to best effect. Technology is a good example. Many staff were nervous about relying on new equipment without dedicated technical support, but students repeatedly told us that the mode of delivery wasn’t important. What mattered more to them was the content of the course and the enthusiasm with which it was taught.’”

The paper is supported by a survey of 212 students from Russell Group universities, in which only 5 per cent said new building works were the main necessity in improving their student experience.

Balliol fresher Nicola Dwornik affirmed this, telling Cherwell, “I don’t see much point in university building works. Arguably having more work spaces where students can study is always a bonus, and provides that sometimes much needed variation.

“Perhaps, money could be spent to extend our online range of articles so works before 2012 are available online, so one doesn’t need to trek to the Sackler to find out that the classics library doesn’t even have a paper copy of them either.”

Mortarboards deemed too dangerous to throw

Philip Pope
-
0
Mortarboards deemed too dangerous to throw

The University of East Anglia (UEA) has advised students against throwing mortarboards at graduation ceremonies this year, stating student safety as the reason for this recommendation.

Instead of following the tradition of throwing mortarboard in the air after graduating, UEA has suggested imitating this gesture for a photograph. Professional photographers could then edit the image to make it look like mortarboards have been thrown above the students’ heads while limiting the risk of injuries.

UEA commented, “We have taken this step because in each of the last two years students have suffered facial injuries.” However, there is no readily available national data on the frequency of mortarboard related injuries at UK graduation ceremonies.

The University backed up their advice, stating, “last year a student needed treatment in A&E.”

“It is only right that they offer students the option of Photoshopping other objects to appear thrown above their heads – a fridge perhaps.”

Josh Gowdy

When faced with accusations of restricting students’ freedom with a ban on mortarboard throwing, UEA replied that “if individuals or small groups want to throw their mortarboards they can, but we don’t think doing it in groups of around 250 students is sensible.”

A student from St Anne’s expressed regret that Oxford hasn’t followed East Anglia’s lead, but opted to remain anonymous fearing backlash from caffeinated and stressed finalists.

“I find it hard to believe the University’s claim that they take student welfare seriously when they don’t even act to stop overzealous students launching medieval pointed frisbees at other students” the student said. “Besides, anything to take the fun out of graduation should be swiftly enacted. Students don’t seem to realise that it is not a time for celebration – the only thing that should be on your mind is how you are going to spend the next few years of your life paying off thirty grand of student debt in your unfulfilling consultancy job.”

Responding to the idea to digitally add mortarboards above posing students, Maths student Josh Gowdy voiced subdued excitement over the possibilities generated by this technique. “If they are doing it with mortarboards, surely it is only right that they offer students the option of Photoshopping other objects to appear thrown above their heads – a fridge perhaps.”

Shepherd and Woodward declined to comment when asked if their products could lead to injuries among groups of celebrating students. The Oxford subfusc provider and photography company Ede & Ravenscroft were also contacted, but declined to answer as to whether they viewed Photoshop as a feasible alternative to the act of throwing hats into the air.

University staff strike over low pay

Sophie Jordan
-
0
University staff strike over low pay

Members of the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes staff went on strike on May 25 and 26 over a pay offer dispute.

The nation-wide strike initiated by the University and College Union (UCU) took the form of a picket outside the University Science Area and along the whole of the Old Road Campus in Headington, and was held mostly by lecturers although these were joined by other members of staff.

Oxford Mail reported the presence of approximately 30 protestors in Headington, but the total size of the walkout cannot be assessed until pay deduction forms are filled in by those who participated, which will only be done after the two days of action.

It has also been announced that staff will be working according to their contracts from this point onward, rejecting opportunities of extra working hours and stopping the usual replacement process which sees staff taking over the classes of absent colleagues for example.

The dispute is a response to the offer which was made by the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) to increase pays by 1.1 per cent, which the UCU regarded as “an insult”, claiming that most universities could afford to pay their staff much more than they do. This percentage however, would not apply to staff of Oxford colleges, as these have their own pay arrangements with their tutors, and UCEA explained that staff with lower pay had been offered a 5.1 per cent increase to respond to current inflation levels.

“The situation is more drastic in Oxford because of the extremely high cost of living.”

Garrick Taylor

Similar action had already been taken in November 2014, when university staff from all areas of the UK went on strike to demand a change in pension schemes. The UCU has announced that, as in 2014 when lecturers and tutors had then decided to boycott paper correction, causing a disruption in the normal timetable for exam marking, university staff may resort to such action if the dispute is not solved by a positive agreement on their side.

Garrick Taylor, vice-president of Oxford UCU who was also at the picket on Old Road Campus, told Cherwell, “The amount of picketers was larger than the last strike we had in 2013 – implying anger over pay is increasing.

“We hope the action taken will increase awareness amongst non-members about the pay dispute, in deed we had non members join UCU on the picket line today and ahead of the strike. In addition member meetings are taking place talking about specific issues.”

Commenting on the impact of the differences between Oxford and other institutions on the staff’s demands, Taylor said, “The situation is more drastic in Oxford because of the extremely high cost of living in Oxford and the house prices. This means the below inflation pay rises and extra NI and pension contributions are really causing us to not be able to get on the housing ladder and even struggle with living costs.”

While many were worried about the situation students would be left in, especially at the time of year when most exams take place, it seems that the impact of the strike on the student body was minimal.

A UCEA spokesperson told Cherwell, “Our Higher Education institutions know that the vast majority of their staff understand the current funding environment and can see that the final offer, with substantial extra for the lower paid, endeavours to be fair without putting additional jobs at risk.

“This industrial action is naturally disappointing given the very good pay offer, plus the joint work on gender pay and casual employment that is on the table.”

Oxford University said in a statement, “The University respects the right of individuals to take part in lawful industrial action.”

Review: Mission Burrito

Mabel Whitchurch
-
0
Review: Mission Burrito

It’s not strictly an ‘Oxford’ thing, in fact it’s a San Francisco thing, but nuzzled right next to a delightful vintage book and print shop on St Michael’s street stands Mission Burrito, where the queue of hungry customers spills out of the little red burrito bar at lunchtime just as the fillings of my burritos are often prone to spill out from their too small tortilla encasing.

It is a place of abundance, and after 5 visits to Mission Burrito during my time here, and 10 stamps down on my loyalty card (double stamps on Tuesdays!), my mission was finally complete and I had come to claim my reward. I don’t know what it is about a free burrito, but I felt like I had earned my little parcel of joy, complete with all the ‘extras’ like Mission Burrito’s signature slightly browning guacamole.

Bopping my head by the window seat to the Spanglish pop tunes that really create the ambiance of MB, I wondered at the potential of such a place, wasted on merely selling burritos, salads and tacos. Was there the possibility of making it a burrito bar by day, and a nightclub/bar by night? Under the heady influence of the dance tracks blaring out on the speakers, an image of the same place was transformed before my eyes; I envisioned tequila shots with wedges of lime on sombrero-shaped platters at every corner and a glowing pinata hanging above me. I imagine would have given PT a run for its money.

Dispelling my visions of unashamed cultural appropriation, I turned to my burrito with some distaste. It was hardly authentic, to either Mexico or Oxford, and the rice is a bit stale, the guacamole a just slightly too old, and the corn tortilla wrap a bit disappointing. But, all the same, I devoured it with much delight and with my new loyalty card in pocket, I knew I would be coming back soon on my next mission. With food of variable quality, quick service and low prices, it is the quintessential meal for the busy, hungry student.

Review: Rhinoceros

Ben Ray
-
0
Review: Rhinoceros

There aren’t many plays that leave you speechless as the actors take their final bow: still less that fully deserve a standing ovation. Rhinoceros is undoubtedly one of them. From the very first scene, with a chaos of white-faced comic French characters bouncing off each other and causing utter mayhem, the play same alive and held the audience in the palm of its hand – it was like being in the centre of a humorous Hadron Collider. Playing to a sold-out audience, Gruffdog Theatre created an electric show full of colour, action and laughter, employing everything from puppetry and live music to tunnels underneath the stage, with dance, masks and paint in between.

The humour of the initial first half was kept up throughout, with high energy fun woven throughout the piece that only lagged in the last few scenes. Though perhaps this was apt, as the play grew steadily darker and more onimous: as more and more of the townsfolk morphed into rhinoceroses, the boundary between right and wrong, and what is and isn’t ‘natural’, is blurred. The slow slip from carefree humour into a frightening world of metamorphoses where humans turn into rhinos leads to a stark and surprisingly dark ending of the play, with the lead protagonists Berenger and Daisy (brilliantly played by Jack Bradfield and Madeleine Walker respectively) left as the last humans in a threatening world of rhinos that seem more at home than he does on earth, jolting the audience out of any sense of security they might have had. But then again, this play is constantly playing with the audience – from the trapdoors that suddenly appear in the wonderfully cluttered and eye-catching staging to the incredible puppetry and guitar-violin duet that help with the smooth scene transitions. The sheer creativity in this play is staggering – during an office scene the fast-paced back-and-forth conversation is accompanied by the rhythmically musical beat of a typewriter, used as a drum-kit to drive the dialogue along.

The multitude of diverse, absorbing caricatures are a testament to the huge skills of these actors: from the stuffy ‘professional logician’ (Gaetano Ianetta) to the doddery old man (Oli Clayton) and the spectacular transformation scene of Jean into a rhino (Markus Kinght-Adams), the whole cast paint vivid characters with dexterity and flair. Special mention must go to the producer Conor Jordan and director Pete Sayer, whose incredible inventive theatrical devices helped the play to come alive. In what other play would a telephone be used as a fireman’s ladder to rescue office workers from a collapsed building?

In this absdurdist show full of humour and life, the cast successfully managed to pose searching questions of nature and normality whilst engaging and astounding the audience. What else could you ask for from a play?

1...1,0861,0871,088...2,578Page 1,087 of 2,578

Support Student Journalism

Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

Explore

Follow us

More

Oxford Student Publications Limited © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

Website by Jamie Ashley