The Busy Body (1709) is one of the many plays written by Susanna Centlivre. Centlivre is often referred to by critics and historians as the most successful female writer on the 18th-century English stage and yet, to most of us, her name means nothing. The times that The Busy Body has been performed in the past hundred years can be counted with one hand.
The team at Oxford’s Creation Theatre, in partnership with Orange Tree Theatre, are here to revive Centlivre’s play for 21st century audiences. With only four days of rehearsal, little-to-no staging and performing script-in-hand at a non-theatrical venue (St. Hugh’s Mordan Hall), the cast and crew of The Busy Body had no easy task and yet, there was hardly one person in the room not taken by the irresistible charm of both the text and the performance.
Centlivre’s play is both hilarious and biting. Following two young women and their attempts at escaping controlling and abusive guardians, The Busy Body has a lot to say not only about the lack of female freedom but also about the contractual nature of personal relationships when everything from marriage to guardianship revolves around money and legal documents. Introducing an element of chaos to the plot, is the character of Marplot – the titular “busy body” – whose sole aim is to find out his friends’ secrets in order to participate in their plots. Unfortunately for his friends, Marplot is a walking disaster and the more he tries to help, the more problems he causes.
When I found out this was going to be a script-in-hand performance I was slightly sceptical of the barrier that that would potentially raise between actors and audience. However, the performance lived precisely off of audience interaction. Zak Ghazi-Tobarti’s hilarious Marplot, jogs through the audience in quest for secrets and at one moment makes to turn into one of the audience rows, chiding the elderly couple sitting at the end for blocking his path: “This is a path!” At another point, the actor loses his place in the script and turns it into one of the funniest moments in the performance by announcing: “ I am going to… I am going to read the script!”.
All jokes aside, it is clear that the creative team embraced pushing the boundaries of theatrical etiquette and our relationship with staged performance, all while giving the audience a good laugh. A key example of this is when Boadicea Ricketts’ energetic Miranda in a classic aside asks the audience: “What should I do?”, and when faced with no reply insists: “No, really, what should I do?” Yes, it is a comedic moment but it also highlights the strange trope of having characters request advice to a nameless mass that never replies. There is also no backstage, so when characters exit they merely sit down around the stage area or stand behind the audience. Although this is obviously due to the limitations of the space, it also constantly reminds us that we are watching a piece of theatre. Similarly, at one point, Kevin Golding’s relentlessly strict Sir Jealous Traffik, is supposed to beat Marplot. He flings his script at Marplot and one of the actors stands up from their seat and bangs two bats together to make a slap-like noise. Again, this is undoubtedly a decision employed due to lack of time. However, it is interesting because it deconstructs the principles of a ‘realist’ stage slap and exposes the technique behind it. This constant exposure of the motions of theatrical performance is key because it parallels the play’s own exposure of everyday performances and of a society that sustains itself on performative exchanges: performances of gender, of friendship, of love, of identity, of nationality, of power, of innocence and of wealth.
Equally, although the tone of the performance is undoubtedly comedic (I doubt anyone will forget Don Diego Barbinetto’s ‘Spanish’ attire anytime soon), there are moments of inescapable weight in the performance. There was a palpable sensuousness and gravity to the scene when a masked Miranda talks to her unknowing lover Sir George Airy, and he – desirous to know her identity – threatens to unmask her. Her reluctance is beautifully played by Ricketts, whose performance makes it clear that while Miranda fears the discovery of her identity, she perhaps fears the vulnerability of surrender to another above all. The Busy Body is an extremely entertaining play with a wealth of interest. It is to be hoped that the success of this performance will encourage producers to take more chances on staging Centlivres’ work and that of other largely forgotten female dramatists.
The Congregation admitted Lord William Hague as Oxford University’s 160th Chancellor today, in a traditional ceremony held at the Sheldonian Theatre.
Surrounded by a procession of high-ranking University officials including Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey, Hague walked from the Clarendon Building into the Old Bodleian Quad, through the Divinity School and out toward the Sheldonian.
Attendees first sang the national anthem, and Tracey opened the Convocation for the purpose of admitting the Chancellor.
In a ceremony filled with both grandeur and humour, Hague was handed various objects of importance, including the University’s statutes, keys (which he shook dramatically), and seals, before he finally pledged “do fidem” (I swear) to his oath and donned an ornate gold-embroidered gown. The ceremony was accompanied by trumpet and organ fanfare, as well as songs performed by the choir of Magdalen College, Hague’s alma mater.
Yet Latin and pomp-aside, both the orator and Hague peppered their English speeches with light-hearted quips. The orator questioned Hague on his Latin skills, and poked fun at his attribution of his First in final exams to “last-minute cramming”.
The orator said: “If I may use academic terminology, the great Creator himself took a sabbatical – the first, indeed, after a busy week 1 of his term. (Our cosmologists are still, I think, uncertain about how he spent 0th week.)”
Hague proved his Latin skills by expressing his gratitude in said language, before deciding it was time to “indulge [himself] in the liberty of using the vernacular”. He celebrated the presence of the previous Chancellor, Lord Chris Patten (inaugurated in 2003), noting: “The last chancellor to relinquish the role in their lifetime, the 2nd Duke of Ormonde in 1715, fled the country immediately. I am very pleased that Chris has seen no need to do so.”
He also shared anecdotes of his two other predecessors. Harold Macmillan, at age ninety while Hague was in his twenties, told the young man “don’t do too much, too soon”. Hague had thought the advice useless, until at age 36 he was elected leader of the Conservative Party and realised “how very shrewd that advice had been”. Roy Jenkins, on the other hand, told Hague to ignore publishers’ word limits when writing a book – and so Hague did.
Remarking on the progress Oxford has seen since his matriculation, Hague commended the diversity in gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background. According to him, as a result, Oxford has seen significant breakthroughs and turned more outward-looking. “We are positively delighted with the idea of a railway to Cambridge. You can’t get more open-minded than that,” Hague said to peels of laughter from the crowd.
At the same time, Oxford is an institution that honours tradition, with a rich history entwined with today’s ceremony. Hague noted that the first document requiring the appointment of a Chancellor is older than Magna Carta. He said: “The reason we speak Latin today even though we all understand English, and hand over keys even though we no longer know which doors they open, along with a magnificent seal even though we could perfectly well send an email, is that we recognise we are the beneficiaries of the labours of centuries, and we are acknowledging that our labours must be equal to passing on to future generations this priceless inheritance”.
Hague identified four areas of what progress means for Oxford. First, it is in the UK’s national interest that Oxford is at the very forefront of scientific and technological breakthroughs. Second, the acceleration of change means an ever-growing need for humanities such as ethics to guide our path.
Third, freedom of speech is of paramount importance: “We cannot prepare for the turbulent decades to come by shielding ourselves from inconvenient arguments, wrapping ourselves in comfort blankets of cancellation, or suppressing minority views because they conflict with the beguiling certainty of a majority. I strongly welcome the decision by ministers to revive most of the provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act.”
Finally he warned against the “darker side” of the digital age and urged students to “not stare into smartphones”.
Despite the challenges posed in these four areas, Hague said he maintains confidence in the University’s strength due to its pluralistic structure with 43 colleges and halls: “We will make mistakes, but we will never all make the same mistake at the same time”.
The new Chancellor concluded in his address: “I will do well to follow the example of my most recent predecessors in upholding the idea of a great, liberal university built on ancient traditions but at the cutting edge of modernity, opening brilliant minds with the power of debate, inquiry and reason. I will celebrate and articulate your achievements, urge you on when you have doubts and help protect you when your freedoms are under threat. I look forward, more than anything I have ever done, to representing and championing one of the greatest institutions in the world, the University of Oxford.”
After the ceremony, the Chancellor’s procession walked down Parks Road until Keble College, tipping their hats along the way.
It seems that for the current university generation, a pervasive entity has weaved in and out of our lifetime’s discourse around art. This formless spectre has ignited inspiration in some, vitriolic disdain in others, and even provoked full-blown exasperation in others. If you were to ask anyone between the ages of 15 and 40-ish to name one currently active artist with mainstream notoriety, their likely response would still be “Banksy”. What is so enticing – and infuriating – about this mystery man’s slapdash approach to political commentary?
Banksy started out in the early 1990s, but it wasn’t until the 2000s that he had honed his signature style of stencilling and began to refine his strain of epigrammatic satire. Though there was a time where he resold prints of his pieces that had been sprayed on public surfaces, nowadays the Banksy money-machine operates primarily through private art dealerships which collectively represent the driving force behind Banksy’s net worth (reportedly over £37 million).
This is a fact Banksy seems to be keen for you to forget; he is usually incredulous about the astronomical going rates of his work at auction. In fact, one of his pieces, Morons, depicts an auction coupled with the framed text: “I can’t believe you morons actually buy this shit”. But as per the standards of any reputable auction house, a proportion of that profit is usually returned to the contributor. Questions around the ethics of reselling art for extortionate prices and the often scant financial security of the artist are valid concerns in a world with an ever-widening gap between the consumption habits of the upper class and the global daily survival concerns of workers. Yet it seems that beneath the anti-establishment appearances, Banksy stumbles at the first hurdle: addressing this issue in a moral and transparent way.
Another article entirely could be spent chronicling the long and near hysterical financial history of Banksy’s repertoire. But frankly, the origins of my quarrel with Banksy lie beyond the money: I believe we should stop letting people away with the notion that subversive and politically engaged art means “the establishment doesn’t want me to tell you that, and if you don’t get it you’re part of the problem.”
I especially think that we should stop taking Banksy in good faith, assuming he’s some sort of puppeteer, sardonically hovering over our pitifully incomplete analysis of his art – sometimes he just makes really bad stuff. To be clear, it is a fundamental belief of mine that styles deviating from the classic (and often Eurocentric) norms of fine art often have the most profound potential to create something genuinely arresting and intelligent – you only have to consider the work of Keith Haring or Basquiat to find pertinent examples. But that’s really what irks me about such a platform being wasted on Banksy: simple or easy aside, art shouldn’t be as lazy as finding a wall and slapping on an over-produced, Warhol-esque print stencil with something about trees written underneath and calling it a day. And what’s worse Banksy still carries on as if he’s God’s gift to the Left. This worked well in his formative years when he was a genuine nobody, but the facts of his refusal to update the act while his fame and fortune have eclipsed those of the wildest dreams of the people he purports to represent, have left a sour taste in my mouth.
Lord Hague is taking on one of academia’s most historic positions as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, a role that dates back to 1244. Succeeding Lord Patten, who retired last year, Hague has been preparing to lead the University into a decade of change and innovation at a pivotal moment for higher education. In an exclusive interview, Lord Hague sat down with Cherwell to discuss his vision for the University, the challenges facing the sector, and what this decade of change will mean for Oxford.
Hague won the Chancellor election at the end of last year, following several months of campaigning that led to victory over 38 other candidates. The first round of voting saw a final five of Lady Elish Angiolini, Rt Hon Dominic Grieve, Lord William Hague, Lord Peter Mandelson and Baroness Jan Royall, with some 23,000 votes cast.
Several months on, Hague is now ready to get to work as Chancellor. The former politician jokes that the process “was possibly a bit more complicated than electing the president of the United States”, and that now he is “ready to get going.” Reflecting on the other candidates that made it to the final five, he believed that “they were very worthy competitors… [who] all remain very committed to doing things for Oxford in the future.”
Hague has strongly emphasised that the Chancellor “does not actually run the university.” Instead of day-to-day decision making, the position involves ceremonial duties, alongside representing Oxford on the national and world stage. He was full of praise for Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey, whom he describes as “absolutely great.”
An area that Hague does regard as within his remit, however, is fundraising. Hague said that Oxford will “need the generosity of its benefactors over the next decade in a very big way.” In a similar vein, he explained that “some of Oxford’s fundraising plans over the coming years will be the most ambitious ever, … [requiring] updated science facilities, graduate scholarships, and support access for students across the board.”
During the campaign, Hague had emphasised his links to the United States and the funding that he would strive to attract from over the pond. However, the political landscape of the United States has changed drastically since he spoke to Cherwell in October, and the new presidential administration has spoken out against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) schemes that it views as a waste of spending. Concerns have now been raised over whether US-UK research partnerships could be caught up in Trump’s crackdown on DEI. For instance, a US embassy-funded grants scheme, run alongside the British Association of American Studies, collapsed when the UK found out that they had been asked to erase any mention of diversity from awarding criteria.
When asked whether the Trump administration may be problematic for the University, Hague was clear that although it may present issues, “the answer is to ensure the excellence of research so that there is a compelling case across the Atlantic to continue those partnerships.” Hague’s opponent in the Chancellor elections, Lord Mandelson, is now the British Ambassador to the United States – Hague remarked that since “[Mandelson] has been so keen to support Oxford”, maintaining relations between US investors and Oxford would be yet “another task on his checklist.”
In recent years, Hague has written extensively on the potential of artificial intelligence, including uniting with Tony Blair to applaud the government’s new AI Action Plan and calling for further investment in the field. In his interview with Cherwell, he said that AI “will change education in many ways that we can’t yet anticipate… Universities will be the fulcrum of a decade of exceptional change.”
Though it is a clear opportunity for innovation, policies regarding the use of generative AI in particular present a dilemma for universities. Currently, Oxford has very strict rules that restrict its usage by students. Although reluctant to predict the outcomes of the rapidly evolving technology, Hague was keen to stress how important it is for “universities to be an utterly human experience.
“There are great strengths of personal tuition and of a collegiate community,” he said. “Universities will have to work even harder to make sure that people are having a fantastic human experience.
“In a world [that is] in a state of economic, social, and political upheaval, … what happens in Oxford is and will be critical to the success of the UK.” Investing in Oxford, he explained, “is in the critical national interest of the United Kingdom.”
Recent months have seen Chancellor Rachel Reeves turn to universities as an engine for growth, including the revival of plans for the so-called ‘OxCam Arc’, which the government states could generate £78 billion by 2035. Hague stated that it is “a key part of my job, as a public figure and somebody who’s had a lifetime in politics, to urge them to deliver on those things.”
Hague was also keen to underline the balance required between this investment into research and the undergraduate teaching experience. “We are so high in the world rankings because we are such a great centre of research and of teaching,” he said.
Another key element of Hague’s election campaign was the focus he placed on broadening access to the University and ensuring that it was open to people from all backgrounds. Having attended state school himself, Hague has recently advocated for the 93% Club, this year attending as a guest at their ball. When asked about Oxford’s declining intake of state school students since 2020, Hague told Cherwell: “it’s not good that it’s slipped back. …Covid may have had a greater impact on education in state schools than in private schools.” However, he did caveat that whilst one “should not obsess about small changes, it is really important to keep up the momentum on this.”
Cherwell then presented Hague with comments from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has broadly spoken ill of the sector as it stands, leading him to stress that he “does not agree that too many people are going to university.” He continued that given the era of unprecedented change in the world, “highly successful countries will end up with a higher proportion of their young people going to university.
“We have some work to do… in improving the image of higher education, which is often seen by all political parties as something that just takes up money.”
The financial crisis that universities are facing has been widely reported in recent months, with 1,000 proposed redundancies in the sector projected in 2025, and more than 500 staff moving on from Oxford during the last financial year. On this topic, Hague said that “there is clearly a major problem in the funding of higher education in the UK.” He welcomed the increase of tuition fees in line with inflation, announced last year, but warned that most of its benefits had been “taken back away from universities by increasing employers’ national insurance contributions.”
Hague called for change in the ways of thinking about the issue, stating that he did not “see a solution to the problem in the UK without some greater public funding of higher education… On the long list of items that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has that need more money, the higher education sector is one of them.”
The new Chancellor also pointed out that as tuition fees rise, Oxford has the ability to “enlarge the resources available” to those in need. He pointed to the success of Crankstart scholarships in helping students at the University, and said that “we’re going to need more of that sort of thing… the financial pressures on students will not go away.”
Paying higher tuition fee rates than domestic students, international learners play a vital role in the financial sustainability of UK universities. However, new rules introduced last year restricted the number of dependents that students could bring to the UK. As a result, the number of applicants from overseas has declined.
Both in October and in this interview, Hague made clear that he does not believe students should be part of overall migration statistics. “The UK,” he argued, “should be accommodating to large numbers of overseas students who are buying a service in which we excel.” He went so far as to call the United Kingdom “a superpower in higher education”, citing the high positions many of its universities hold in global rankings.
Lastly, we turned to the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act, a bill delayed by the government that is now set to be implemented later this year. Among plenty of other areas, the act seeks to legally reaffirm the provision of free speech in university settings. Here, the Chancellor was clear and expressed his full support, commenting: “to know that the law reinforces that (freedom of speech and academic freedom) is important.”
On the recent protests that have taken place at the University, including the occupation of the Radcliffe Camera, Hague stressed the importance of respect and understanding. “There are bound to be really fierce differences… on both sides of the argument. The important thing is to hear both sides of the argument and to respect that people may have a difference of view.”
Another key provision of the new law is its prohibition of the use of non-disclosure agreements by universities in cases of harassment and misconduct. Oxford has faced accusations of using these measures in the past and Hague was emphatic in his stance that “it is not something that I would at all encourage or approve of. Hopefully this act is going to settle that once and for all.” The University told Cherwell that “the University of Oxford does not and will not use Non-Disclosure Agreements to prevent the investigation of complaints of sexual misconduct or other inappropriate behaviour, or to prevent responsible whistleblowing,” and encouraged anyone affected to contact the university.
A decade is a long time to commit to any job. The years ahead will be defined by profound change, something that Hague does not seem fazed by and appears to embrace. Within his remit, he has expressed his commitment to liaising with students and attracting donors that will drive Oxford forwards. On the national stage, his political experience will doubtlessly be important when working with governments of both colours to best represent higher education institutions across the UK. However, whether he will be successful in his mission still remains to be seen.
The sculptor who carved the “Emperor’s Heads” currently standing outside Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre, Michael Black, will be celebrated in a new exhibition at the Oxfordshire Museum this spring.
The exhibition, entitled “Michael Black: Chisel, Wood, Stone”, will include a full-size plaster ox – which was once carried over Oxford’s Aristotle Bridge as part of the annual May Day celebrations – and an artichoke-shaped fountain which will sit in the museum’s garden. Black’s family have contributed three short archival films.
Most famously, he was appointed in 1970 to create replacements for the 17 Emperor’s Heads that surrounded the perimeter of the Sheldonian Theatre, which had become weathered over the century during which they had been on display. His versions were first revealed in 1972 and have remained in place ever since.
When the Sheldonian was first constructed, William Byrd built the 13 original Heads commissioned between 1664 and 1669. Byrd’s heads had to be replaced in 1868 due to erosion. Black located seven of the originals, five of which were still in Oxford, and based his versions on them rather than the later substitutes.
Black was the son of a vicar and was born in 1928. He grew up in Dorset and began training as a carver during his undergraduate degree at St Catherine’s College in the 1950s. He died in 2019.
His life’s work also includes early commissions restoring gargoyles across Oxford; stonework at churches and colleges around the city and busts of the former British Prime Ministers Alec Douglas-Home and Harold Macmillan.
The Oxfordshire County Council representative Neil Fawcett said: “Michael Black was a talented sculptor who received notable public commissions, exhibited artwork at prestigious galleries, and restored the stonework of churches, colleges and other buildings across Oxford.”
“This exhibition is a rare opportunity to discover this important artist’s legacy. Through loans and archival material from Black’s family we are treated to an intimate insight into the artist’s life.”
The University of Oxford has announced an extended paternity and partner leave policy set to take effect from 31st January 2025. It will allow eligible new fathers, and partners of new mothers, to take up to 12 weeks of fully paid leave, inclusive of the statutory two-week period. Employers who have recently had or adopted children and are still within the first year after birth or placement will be able to access the scheme proportionately.
The University has described the extension as a “progressive approach to supporting new parents”. The policy aims to provide greater flexibility for employees and aligns with broader efforts to enhance family-friendly workplace policies in higher education.
Under UK employment law, statutory paternity leave currently entitles eligible employees to two weeks of paid leave, with the option for shared parental leave. The government’s policy indicates that employees can choose to take either one or two consecutive weeks’ leave, and be paid either £184.03 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Oxford’s new policy extends this entitlement significantly and provides additional support to working parents within the University.
The introduction of the policy reflects a growing trend among universities, including LSE and UCL, to expand parental leave provisions. LSE now offers a four week paternity leave period, while UCL updated its paternity leave policy in April 2024 to offer employees up to 20 days. A similar policy introduced by the University of Cambridge on 1st October 2024. Cambridge’s update was part of a broader set of reforms aimed at improving family leave provisions.
The move puts Oxford University amongst UK employers offering the highest length of parental leave. Oxford and Cambridge offer the longest paid paternity leave schemes compared to other Russell Group universities, which tend to offer the statutory two weeks’ leave only.
Plans are being put forward to turn the building which hosted the recently closed ATIK nightclub into a live music venue, restaurant, offices, and construct a roof terrace. The club was closed on 30th June 2024 by landlords, following the shutting down of 17 other nightclubs owned by Rekom UK across the country, the company which owns the ATIK and Pryzm brands.
ATIK laid claim to being one of the most popular nightclubs in Oxford, famous for hosting the Wednesday night ‘Park End’ event. Kiss Bar, located next to ATIK in the same building, Cantay House, permanently closed down just months after in December of the same year. It had existed on the site for 23 years.
The application for this work is being made by Elwood Fund Management, a real estate fund management company, who have been preparing the plans since summer of last year. Elwood held a public consultation with local residents and councillors in September, saying the proposals were “a rare and exciting opportunity to bring life back into an underused but important building in an under-performing part of Oxford City Centre.” The plans were officially submitted to Oxford City Council on the 28th January.
Planners are also considering the possibility of building a restaurant on the ground floor, office space on the upper floors, and a roof terrace at the rear of the building. A new staircase would be installed, and part of the back of the building would be demolished.
The nightclub closed because of a disagreement with the landlord of Cantay House, who originally planned to redevelop it solely into offices. Rekom had previously told Cherwell that the landlord plans “to redevelop Cantay House into offices” and although “we offered a number of solutions to enable ATIK to remain open…all of our proposals to continue trading were rejected by the landlord.”
Several issues were addressed in the community consultation, which aimed to allay the concerns of local residents concerning the plans. These included the sound insulation of the venue, space for independent merchants, and the protection of the nearby Yellow Submarine Cafe.
The potential future of ATIK is just one of the many hopes for regeneration of the west side of Oxford city centre. Other proposed plans include Nuffield College’s development of buildings on Hythe Bridge Street, Park End Street, and Worcester Street.
Whether or not you’re a believer in those who can see the future or speak to the dead, films featuring psychics and clairvoyants are never a dull watch.
If you’re looking for a new favourite thriller or supernatural drama to sink your teeth into, here’s a selection of the best movies featuring psychics and clairvoyants to add to your watchlist.
The Dead Zone (1983)
Directed by David Cronenberg and starring Christopher Walken, The Dead Zone is highly regarded as one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King novel of all time.
The sci-fi thriller features Chrstopher Walken as Johnny Smith, a teacher who gains psychic abilities after surviving a car accident that left him in a coma for five years. As he predicts his way through murders and accidents, the movie takes a turn when Johnny discovers a candidate for the presidential election is set on nuclear domination.
Not only is the movie expertly directed and well-acted, but the suspenseful ambiance and gripping storyline will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
If movies aren’t enough to satisfy your craving or you’re not entirely convinced that those with psychic abilities are genuine, why not immerse yourself in the world of psychics? There are plenty of places where you can find a free online psychic reading and get the full experience for yourself.
Ghost (1990)
Ghost is a classic romantic drama directed by Jerry Zucker, and features an impressive cast including Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg.
When Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is murdered one night in a dark alley, his spirit remains amongst the living. However, after discovering that the love of his life (Demi Moore) is in grave danger and he has no way of interacting with the physical world, he turns to an unsuspecting spiritual medium (Whoopi Goldberg) to help him warn her before it’s too late.
Despite a sombre tone, Whoopi Goldberg adds a quick wit and lightheartedness to an otherwise emotional film. With romance, sentiment, humour, suspense, and an iconic pottery making scene, this movie has everything you could want from a 90s romantic drama and more.
The Gift (2000)
The Gift, directed by Sam Raimi, features an A-list ensemble including Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, and Hilary Swank.
This captivating supernatural thriller follows a widowed mother of three with a gift who tries to make ends meet working as a psychic. When their small town is hit with the tragedy of a missing young woman, authorities enlist the help of the psychic to help uncover the mystery.
If you’re a fan of a good mystery with outstanding acting, a mesmerising soundtrack, and an unpredictable plot, The Gift is the perfect choice for your next movie night.
Minority Report (2002)
Directed by Stephen Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, Minority Report is an exciting and complex conspiracy thriller that often gets overlooked.
Starring Tom Cruise and set in the year 2045, this futuristic story centres around Washington D.C., where crime has been almost completely eliminated thanks to a new crime fighting system that warns authorities of crimes before they occur. However, when Chief John Anderton, one of the PreCrime cops, is predicted to kill someone, he must attempt to clear his name.
The movie offers nail biting tension from Spielberg’s direction, Cruise’s performance, and John Williams’ superb soundtrack.
Red Lights (2012)
A mystery drama with an unforgettable cast, Red Lights tells the story of a skeptical psychologist, Dr. Margaret Matheson, and her physicist assistant, Tom Buckley, who travel around debunking fraudulent paranormal activity. After a famous psychic, Simon Silver, returns after decades of absence, Tom becomes fixated on finding out whether or not Simon is a fraud.
Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, and Cillian Murphy, offer excellent performances in their roles, and the engrossing storyline of this unique mystery drama will keep you captivated from start to finish.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
If you’re a fan of the 1980s classic, The Shining, then you’ll love Doctor Sleep. This movie is a continuation of The Shining, which follows a now adult Dan Torrence.
Traumatised from his past and struggling to find a job, Dan moves to a small town where he meets a young girl with powers, who he soon realises must be protected from a cult of evil beings.
Ewan McGregor delivers an exceptional performance as Dan Torrence and Mike Flanegan (director) honours both the Stephen King Novel that the movie is based on, and Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the first film.
Which one is going on your watchlist?
Whether you opt to watch an older classic like Ghost or a newer adaptation such as Doctor Sleep, movies featuring psychics and clairvoyants always offer suspense, intrigue, mystery, and exceptional entertainment. So, grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy.
Google’s 2024 Quality Rater Guidelines come with tougher rules to weed out lazy, low-value content and filler that clutters the web without benefiting users. These updates are designed to enhance search experiences by rewarding well-crafted, original content and pushing down pages that merely recycle existing material or are stuffed with fluff.
Low-effort and low-originality content targeted
One of the key updates making heads turn in marketing news addresses content created with minimal effort, originality, or added value. Google warns that websites repackaging information from higher-quality sources without meaningful enhancement will be rated lower in quality assessments.
According to the guidelines, a ‘Lowest’ quality rating applies if a webpage’s main content (MC) consists almost entirely of copied, paraphrased, embedded, or reposted material with little to no originality.
Meanwhile, a ‘Low’ rating is assigned to pages where a significant portion of the MC is copied or repurposed with minimal effort to create value, such as through superficial editing, manual curation, or minor reformatting.
Examples of content that may receive a Low rating include:
Social media reposts with little to no additional commentary or discussion.
Pages with embedded videos or ‘repinned’ images from other sources without meaningful curation.
‘Best’ lists or recommendation articles that rely heavily on existing reviews without adding original insights.
Filler content identified as a poor user experience
Another major change in the 2024 guidelines is the emphasis on filler content, which Google now explicitly defines as low-effort material that adds little value and does not directly support a page’s purpose.
Google advises content creators to place the most helpful and essential information near the top of the page, ensuring visitors can immediately access the core content. While supporting information can be included, it should not take prominence over the main subject of the page.
Pages featuring excessive filler—particularly when it obscures or delays access to useful content—may receive a ‘Low’ quality rating. Examples include:
Recipe pages that bury the actual recipe beneath large blocks of unrelated content.
Articles padded with unnecessary background information before addressing the main topic.
Visually prominent filler that makes it difficult for users to locate the helpful content.
What this means for content creators
For website owners and content creators, standing out means focusing on originality, user-friendly design, and delivering real value. To stay visible in search results, pages need to cut the fluff and move beyond simply rehashing existing content. Google rewards fresh insights, well-researched curation, and content that genuinely enhances the user experience.
Earlier this year, The Sutton Trust published a report on unpaid and underpaid internships, concluding that the current access to internships disproportionately benefits middle-class graduates over working class graduates and arguing that unpaid internships exclude young people without pre-existing financial support.
The report, published in January, recommends that unpaid internships over four weeks in length should be banned outright, and that all internship positions should be publicly advertised, rather than informally offered – only 1 in 10 internships are found through open advertisement. It also recommends that HMRC should promote information on internships, and conduct an information campaign to inform young people of their right to pay.
More than half of graduates aged 21 – 29 who took part in the research reported completing at least one internship, an increase of 12% from 2018. 59% of employers – rising to 80% in London – who took part, reported offering internships, which is an increase from 48% in 2018.
However, 1 in 5 internships currently offer no financial compensation at all, and 40% of unpaid interns rely on financial support from parents or relatives. There has also been an increase in the gap between those participating in internships from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The number of working-class graduates taking part in internships has risen from 31% to 36%, whilst the percentage of middle-class graduates has grown from 43% to 55%.
26% of respondents from a working-class background said they could not afford to take an internship, compared with 15% from middle-class background. 44% of those who attended private schools said they had completed multiple internships, compared with just 18% from state schools.
Nick Harrison, Chief Executive of The Sutton Trust, said: “Internships are an increasingly critical route into the best jobs, and it’s shocking that in this day and age, many employers still pay interns below the minimum wage, or worse, nothing at all. They should be ashamed.”
He added: “As well as paying interns properly, there’s also a whole lot more that employers must do to make sure they’re accessing a wider pool of talent, such as advertising internship opportunities rather than taking in family and friends of their existing staff or biggest customers.”
