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A-Z of Oxford’s outdoor eats from 12th April

Shreya Banerjee
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A-Z of Oxford’s outdoor eats from 12th April

The moment that so many of us have been waiting for since December has almost arrived. Picture this – the sun is shining, you’re soaking it up riverside, and a waiter is approaching, balancing plates and trays that are fated to bring bliss to your taste buds. Though Deliveroo and recipe boxes have had their time in the limelight, there’s no doubt that the return of outdoor eating is about to inject the spirit of summer into 2021. If you’re in Oxford, there’s a lot to look forward to, especially since the city council recently announced funding available to support restaurants, pubs and cafés as they upgrade to an al fresco experience. If you’re looking to find out which newly pedestrianised streets will be all the rage to make for a tasty Trinity term, look no further!

Streets for eats: Cornmarket Street, St Michael’s Street, Broad Street, Dawson Street, Observatory Street, North Parade Avenue, and more.

The Anchor – North Oxford

With charcoal-cooking, Japanese pop-up food trucks (Mondays from Apr 19) and even a paella night (Apr 20), this pub near Port Meadow with a huge tent has got a lot of reasons why you should visit – don’t miss out on an excuse for a delicious burger paired with a pint!

Arbequina – Cowley Road

Opening on the 16th April, this tapas bar will be spilling out onto outdoor seating and also offering takeaway, all while serving delicious food and drink.

Cherwell Boathouse – North but nearly Central Oxford

The perfect riverside venue, whether you choose to punt or dine outside, serving contemporary English food. Their al fresco experience includes tables overlooking the river – what more could you need?

River in summer with punts parked outside traditional looking pub
The Cherwell Boathouse. Photo: Experience Oxfordshire

Gee’s – North Oxford

Although Gee’s is known for their stylish conservatory, they’ll be opening up their terrace dining to serve Mediterranean grills and refined dishes, with a lunch and all-day menu.

Handlebar Café and Kitchen – Central

The beloved brunch spot will be upgrading their takeaway service to an outdoor dining experience – along with other restaurants on St Michael’s Street such as Bill’s, Chutney’s, and Mission Burrito. Alongside breakfast and lunch, Handlebar will also be serving dinners outdoors. 

The Head of the River – Central

Situated next to Christchurch Meadows and overlooking the Thames, this pub kitchen is taking bookings to take your summer pub trips to the next level. With a contemporary menu filled with popular dishes and a beautiful setting, this is not to be missed!

The Jericho Café – Jericho (unsurprisingly)

This café, situated on Walton Street, is perfect for quick bites, brunches, sweet treats and more. With their signature blackboard menu, this Jericho favourite will soon be open to outdoor diners looking for a variety of café dishes.

Kazbar (Coco’s by day) – Cowley Road

With their immediately recognisable and iconic yellow wall on Cowley Road, Kazbar will definitely be on the sunny side of your summer as they reopen for North African and Spanish style tapas, delicious cocktails, and their unbeatable atmosphere.

Groups of people sat working and chatting at tables outside the Handlebar Café
Photo: Handlebar Café and Kitchen

The Magdalen Arms – Iffley Road

You don’t have to have a Home Secretary’s budget to visit and enjoy the food and drink at this pub on Iffley Road offering outdoor dining and plenty of variety on their Lunch, Dinner and Sunday menus.

Mamma Mia Pizzeria – Summertown

This iconic Italian spot, said by some to be the best pizza and pasta to be found in Oxford for over 30 years, will be reopening its kitchen to serve its classic dishes and desserts on their outdoor terrace. By May 17th, both the Jericho and Summertown branches hope to reopen for indoor dining alongside many of the other restaurants in the city.

The Perch – Binsey, just west of Port Meadow

This 17th century tavern is reopening to serve its classic British menu outdoors, and it’s an absolutely stunning place to lunch if you’re enjoying a pre-term trip to Port Meadow.

Empty chairs and tables in the early evening in the courtyard of Quod
Photo: Quod Oxford

The Plough at 38 – Central

The Plough has been open at several points during the pandemic, and they’ll be reopening as part of Oxford’s new and brilliant Al Fresco District spanning Cornmarket and St Michael’s Street, alongside the Three Goats Head pub and the newly refurbished (and eagerly awaited) Thai Street Kitchen. Let the Plough pull you in with the promise of pints and delicious food – this part of central Oxford is looking to be buzzing with great grub this Trinity.

Quod – Central

If you need an excuse to feel a bit fancy as restrictions ease and you finally emerge from your accommodation, Quod’s gorgeous Italian style garden terrace with views of Magdalen tower will make you feel as though you’re vacationing in the Med from the comfort of central Oxford. With stunning food and drinks menus, this is somewhere to go to treat yourself.

The Varsity Club – Central

Serving up delicious cocktails and rooftop views at the same time, TVC is definitely one to book to safely reinject the fun and excitement of pre-pandemic life as restrictions ease. Nestled on Oxford’s High Street, you can enjoy a panoramic skyline alongside drinks and bar snacks here.

Overhead view of the Varsity Club in the evening, lots of tables filled with people drinking and a view of Oxford
Photo: The Varsity Club, Oxford

Westgate rooftop restaurants – Central

Restaurants reopening in Westgate shopping centre for outdoor dining include The Breakfast Club, Victors, Pho and Pizza Pilgrims – with great panoramic views of Oxford and plenty of terrace dining, there’s no better way to celebrate the reopening of non-essential stores and brighter days ahead as restrictions ease.

The White Rabbit – Central

Another favourite in Oxford, this pub that’s tucked away between Gloucester Green and the St John Street area will be reopening to serve pizzas and pints in their pub garden. If you’ve been craving a pizza fix, this might be the spot for you!

Header image credit by Barbare Kacharava on unsplash.com

Nomadland review: questioning American individualism

Wang Sum Luk
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Nomadland review: questioning American individualism

The ideals of rugged American individualism are a powerful national myth, so much so that when they are questioned, it can feel like an attack on our very self-definition. The notion that freedom lies in cutting all ties and forging beyond the horizon, to claim and civilize a new frontier, has survived long beyond its origins in the Wild West. Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, perhaps mindful of this, takes a subtle route with exploring the reality of these ideas. The American wilderness of Zhao’s film is populated not by larger-than-life cowboys, embodiments of masculinity and rugged individualism, but modern-day van dwellers, primarily elderly people lacking social security or stable jobs due to the Great Recession. Nomadland reminds us that this seemingly exciting life of freedom on the road, paradoxically enough, exists in the context of myriad social inequalities.

Zhao has stated in interviews that she wanted to focus on the psychology of her characters instead of making an explicitly political film, but these aspects of Nomadland’s narrative go hand in hand. We see Fern, the film’s protagonist, making her way between seasonal jobs, from harvesting beets to being a camp host in a national park. There’s a moment in the portrayal of the latter which especially struck me: when Fern is cleaning a bathroom, a park visitor walks in to use it, calmly ignoring Fern’s request for him to not come in. I may be overstating the significance of this little scene, but watching it, we can both feel indignant at the visitor’s behaviour and wonder if we’ve ever reduced a worker to a faceless uniform, just like the visitor does. The heartwarming moments of the film—its beautiful natural vistas, the stories of friendships forged between these nomads—are all tinged by these social facts, so that the movie is never quite escapist, and never quite willing to valorize the idea of individualism.

If anything, Nomadland takes pains to show how these characters are always reliant on others. This is true on the level of physical needs—with Fern learning to survive on the road from more experienced nomads, and gradually becoming part of their networks of mutual assistance—but what I found more immediately moving was the way the film sketched out the brief relationships formed during life on the road. From advising a teenager looking for a way to express his feelings for his girlfriend to listening to a cancer-stricken friend who wants to spend her last few years enjoying nature, Fern and the audience are able to, briefly, transform and be transformed by the lives of others.

It’s a cliché to talk about how films speak to our current mid-pandemic situation, but watching these little exchanges from the safety of home, I found myself thinking of university. While students in Oxford are clearly very different from the van-dwellers of Nomadland, I thought of how, in just the first term that I spent in-person at Oxford, we all met people from very different subjects and backgrounds, learning names, quirks and idiosyncrasies. Maybe in most years, we would have less of a need to know our households and flatmates. But knowing that any of us could test positive or come down with COVID symptoms, we realized early on that we needed our households more than ever. Even as someone who’s congenitally un-social, I came to love the brief conversations with my housemates as we passed each other at mornings or mealtimes, the jokes we shared, simple occasions spent together like movie nights and communal meals.

Part of Nomadland’s critical resonance comes from the universality of its message and the growing importance of found family. We are no longer living in a world where we can limit ourselves to interacting with people we’re born knowing, whether that’s because of social media and globalization, or upheavals throughout every level of society that has created a rapidly changing 21st century. This is not to lessen the importance of the families that we are born into, but the ones that we choose to form are equally important. We are, all of us, in a world of communities which span nations—now we can easily support good causes in this country or far abroad, share our interests with other fans of everything from classical music to TikToks, or simply find support and new friends. In this unstable world, human connection is one of the few constants left, and Nomadland dramatizes the very real search to fulfil this need.

At this point, it bears mentioning that this film is not perfect. There has been justified criticism of how Zhao’s desire to avoid making an overtly political movie means that it occasionally soft-pedals its presentation of inequality and exploitation, especially given how its portrayal of Amazon is positively glowing compared to the grittier presentation of other jobs the nomads engage in. But even with its flaws in portraying how these modern nomads subsist physically, the movie remains a powerful psychological study, especially when it asks questions about how we survive emotionally—not through food and shelter alone, but also in the families which we find in each other.

Image credit: Runner1928

In pictures: Extinction Rebellion Oxford stages protest outside Barclays bank

Anvee Bhutani
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In pictures: Extinction Rebellion Oxford stages protest outside Barclays bank

On Thursday the 1st of April, protesters from Extinction Rebellion (XR) Oxford gathered outside Barclays bank to protest the bank’s heavy investment into fossil fuels. Around fifteen individuals marched up and down Cornmarket Street beating their signature drums and holding placards that read “This bank funds climate chaos” and mock caution tape that displayed the words “Climate crime scene”.

Image credit: Feng Ho
Image Credit: Isobel Innes

One student who attended the protest, Isobel Innes, explained that the protest “was specifically against the direct involvement and culpability of banks in the climate crisis”. 

Innes added, “As a low income student, I’m not ready to just lay down and die. Minority communities are going to be the hardest hit by the climate crisis. And that’s my friend, that’s my neighbour. They’re not millionaires and neither am I so of course I’ll help them.”

Image Credit: Feng Ho
Image Credit: Feng Ho

Extinction Rebellion is an international non-violent direct action movement, demanding urgent action in the face of the climate emergency. The protest in Oxford was also followed by one at the Barclays Headquarters in London where several windows were smashed by Extinction Rebellion activists.

Image Credit: Feng Ho

A Barclays spokesperson told Cherwell: “We have made a commitment to align our entire financing portfolio to the goals of the Paris Agreement, with specific targets and transparent reporting, on the way to achieving our ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050. We believe that Barclays can make a real contribution to tackling climate change and help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

BREAKING: University claims information on in-person teaching delayed until after Easter holidays

Cherwell News
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BREAKING: University claims information on in-person teaching delayed until after Easter holidays

The University of Oxford has updated its guidance to suggest that information on in-person teaching will be delayed until after the Easter holidays at the earliest. The new guidance states: “Please remember that if you are on a non-practical or practice-based course, the Government will not issue guidance on your return for in-person teaching until after the Easter holidays.”

“We realise it will be disappointing for you not to get more clarity at this stage. However, we are committed to reviewing these arrangements as soon as possible after we get more guidance from the Government, and we remain hopeful that a wider student return will be possible in Trinity term.”

Ministers had previously promised to provide an update regarding a return to universities for all students by the end of the Easter holidays and with at least a week’s notice. Currently, only students on practical and priority courses have been allowed to return for in-person tuition, while previous exemptions which allowed for the return of individual students have remained in place.

This comes after correspondence from Stephen Toope, the Cambridge Vice-Chancellor suggested that “It now appears unlikely that guidance concerning in-person teaching at universities will change before Monday 17 May, at the earliest.” In light of this, the University of Cambridge’s policy on returning students remains unchanged. 

He went on to say that “While we continue to believe that for many students studying at Cambridge will be the best and preferred option, we recognise that others (for example, international students and those with increased susceptibility to infectious diseases) may wish to remain elsewhere. We will continue to support them and ensure they can complete their studies remotely if they so choose.” 

The University of Oxford’s guidance also included information on the new symptom-free testing centres. Three will be opening in Oxford from the 12th of April, and the University is encouraging students and staff to get tested twice a week. Tests are also available through the government, but the University is encouraging students to “use the assisted testing centres wherever possible.”

The Financial Times claimed that “Universities must remain closed to most students until at least mid-May,” and that easing of restrictions will not be possible until May 17th at the earliest. It suggests that the decision may have been made to reduce a spike in infections due to students moving across the country. However, it also reports that a survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics estimated that around three-quarters of students are already living back at their term-time address. 

Review: Romeo and Juliet at the National Theatre

Katie Kirkpatrick
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Review: Romeo and Juliet at the National Theatre

There’s a lot of hugging in the National Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet. Time and time again, we see delicately lit close-ups of hands on shoulders, around necks, clutching backs. It’s a production fascinated with touch and proximity, and thus one that feels antithetic to this era of distancing and isolation. Director Simon Godwin and Adapter Emily Burns’ interpretation of the age-old story is carefully crafted and intensely visual and makes some very interesting choices.

There is no weak link in the cast. Jessie Buckley as Juliet captures the joys and despairs of love expertly, and while Josh O’Connor as Romeo is outshone by Buckley, he does a good job of what could have become a very bland role. Tamsin Greig as Lady Capulet commands the stage, and her scenes with Buckley and Deborah Findlay as the Nurse have an excellent spark and pace. Shubham Saraf and Fisayo Akinade as Benvolio and Mercutio, respectively, stand out for their colourful, dynamic interpretations of roles which could be mechanical – the former particularly gives an excellent performance that moves fluidly from excitement to grief. 

What struck me most about this production was the absence of a specific time or place. The costume choices appear deliberately impossible to place, as does the set: the action all takes place on the Lyttelton stage, but the interiors created, such as Juliet’s bedroom, have no signs of a particular era. There are a few details, however, that signal to us that this is not the present: knives are used instead of guns, the poison is kept in old-fashioned glass vials, and there is no sign of technology. It could be said that the National forms the setting and era: the aesthetic is reminiscent of many of their previous productions, and becomes the play’s most significant cultural reference. Overall, though, it seems that this production has been kept deliberately ambiguous, creating a feeling of otherness and forcing us as audience members to focus on the plot. 

One of the direction choices most impacted by the choice of timelessness is the romantic connection between Benvolio and Mercutio. The pair kiss at the same time as Romeo and Juliet’s wedding, and throughout the play are offered as a parallel to the central couple. This adds a sense of the universal to the play’s theme of doomed love, as we see it affect people of all races and sexualities. 

The other clear choice that set this production apart is the use of foreshadowing: at the beginning of the play, and at key moments throughout, we see images of bloodied hands and smashed glass, which eventually find their place in the final scene. This works excellently, really emphasising the feeling of doom and inevitability that permeates the piece. It’s also a testament to the new film-theatre hybrid that’s been cropping up over the last year: this piece shows the concept in its final, fully realised form, incorporating both the intimacy and intensity of theatre and the possibility and creativity of filmmaking. 

The filmed nature of the production allows not only for foreshadowing but also some striking visual choices that may have been harder to pull off live on stage. Moments that stand out include the masked ball becoming a purple-lit rave, the wedding being surrounded by tens of glowing candles that seem to appear out of nowhere, and the creative use of a darkened stage space with a single strip of light where Romeo finds himself exiled: particular commendation must go to Designer Soutra Gilmour and Director of Photography Tim Sidell for creating such a visually striking world.

There are times, however, when the ambiguity of this production leaves it feeling disconnected or lacking. One of the most interesting choices is the opening and closing scenes, featuring the cast seemingly halfway between being themselves and being their characters: a great detail is the presence of the dead characters, notably Mercutio and Tybalt, in the closing scene where the full cast looks at the lovers’ bodies. This choice blurs the lines between the world of the play and the real world of the cast, in the same way as we see mid-way through the production when the masked ball cuts away to Buckley and O’Connor running around a barer bedroom set. While these choices were interesting, they didn’t feel developed or deliberate enough; if perhaps more parallels with the present had been incorporated, this could have been used to better effect.

It’s difficult to find a material flaw in this production – in part due to it being filmed. Everything is polished and visually beautiful, and every detail is exactly as intended. This, however, combined with the inevitability lent to the production by the foreshadowing, rids it of the emotional impact it could have had. We lose any element of surprise or rawness, as everything is so intricately composed and choreographed that there isn’t enough space for the emotional intensity a play as concerned with grief and love as Romeo and Juliet should hold central. 

The question that remains to be posed, then, is this: why now? Why stage Romeo and Juliet a year into a global pandemic? Godwin’s primary response to the pandemic appears to be the focus on touch in the production: it reminds us of the power of human contact, and the depth of feeling that can only be experienced in person. The production could have had a further relevance: for a play about how the prejudices of adults impact young people, the ages of the cast took away this impact – had we seen a teenage Romeo and Juliet, perhaps the play would have read as a commentary of the experiences of young people following the pandemic and a particularly unstable political global climate. In many ways, though, the show feels like the beginning and end of a theatrical era: with theatres set to reopen in the next few months after a year where most remained fully closed, this production takes a classic play to show us how online theatre has developed over the past year, and what we can expect when the National’s doors reopen this summer.

The National Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet is available to stream via Sky Arts and on NowTV. For more information, visit https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/romeo-and-juliet-film.

Image Credit: National Theatre & Rob Youngson.

Oxford societies criticise Sewell Report as “misleading and false”

Charlie Hancock
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Oxford societies criticise Sewell Report as “misleading and false”

Several Oxford societies have joined the criticism from academics and campaigners surrounding the release of a government report into institutional racism in the UK. Since its release, the report has been dogged by claims that it was political in nature, and criticisms of its methodology.

The  Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was established by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. Mr Johnson said its aim was to look at “all aspects of inequality — in employment, in health outcomes, in academic and all other walks of life”.

Months later, the report declared Britain to be a “model for other White-majority countries”. While it acknowledged the existence of racism, and provided 24 recommendations to “build trust…promote fairness”, it concluded that Britain was no longer a country “where the system is deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities”.

The Runnymede Trust, a think tank advocating for racial equality, accused the report of “denying the evidence of institutional racism”. Their statement criticised the report for “failing to acknowledge the very real suffering of Black and minority ethnic communities here in the UK.”

Anvee Bhutani, Chair of Oxford SU’s Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE) told Cherwell: “CRAE is deeply concerned with the Sewell Report into Race and Ethnic Disparities. Its denial of ‘institutional racism’ is an alarming conclusion considering the report was commissioned by Boris Johnson after the reinvigoration of the Black Lives Matter movement last year. 

“The findings are based on a view of racism as an individual problem as opposed to a systemic one, but a vast body of statistics and lived experience exists to disprove that. In this way, the government has absolved itself of responsibility to create a better Britain.”

The report was also criticised for its characterisation of education as “the single most emphatic success story of the British ethnic minority experience”. An open letter signed by 429 academics, including several from Oxford University, described the report’s producers as having “limited knowledge of education research”. The letter also accused the report of presenting “simplistic understandings of education and divisive views of ethnic minority groups”.

Efforts to decolonise curricula were criticised in the report as “negative”. As a part of its proposed ‘Making of Modern Britain’ teaching resource, students would be taught to “reclaim their British heritage” and how “Britishness influenced the Commonwealth and local communities, and how the Commonwealth and local communities influenced what we now know as modern Britain”.

The report’s characterisation of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Caribbean plantations as not only being about “profit and suffering”, but “how culturally African people transformed themselves into a re-modelled African/Britain” has come under particular scrutiny. David Olusoga, a historian and the author of Black and British: A Forgotten History, criticised the reports authors for deploying “a version of an argument that was used by the slave owners themselves in defence of slavery 200 years ago: the idea that by becoming culturally British, black people were somehow beneficiaries of the system.”

“It is the fact that the histories of slavery and empire are becoming mainstream, and that young people are entirely comfortable with the reality that “profit and suffering” were at the centre of both, that appears to disturb the authors and the government whose agenda they have so faithfully served. Determined to privilege comforting national myths over hard historical truths, they give the impression of being people who would prefer this history to be brushed back under the carpet.” 

“The historical illiteracy and internal inconsistencies do not stop there…Yet the report crudely characterises those struggles to bring marginalised black figures and communities into the mainstream of British history as “token expressions of black achievement” – a poisonously patronising phrase.”

The Oxford branch of Rhodes Must Fall told Cherwell: “[In] response to claims that decolonizing the curriculum is negative, we would like to reiterate that what we’re doing is the opposite of erasing history. Part of our movement is around education: to highlight Oxford’s colonial history and how it feeds into the present. That many people do not know the blood that Oxford is built on – for many people in our movement, the blood of their ancestors – is deeply problematic, because without first recognising and acknowledging the past, there is no possibility for transformative change and there is no possibility for justice. 

“In the end, we know institutional racism exists; we do not need a misleading and false report to tell us that it does. We will continue to stand alongside our brothers and sisters in this fight and do the work that needs to be done.”

In a statement published on Facebook, the Oxford University Labour Club expressed their “disappointment” at the report’s findings. “The club notes the findings of the Lammy Review, the McGregor-Smith Review, the Race Disparity audit, and the Windrush Report, all of which strongly suggest an institutional racist bias which the Sewell Report denies. We also express our concern at the “selective use” of evidence in the report, as reported by the New Statesman…”

“We believe the findings of the report, particularly pertaining to education, do not represent an accurate portrayal of life as an ethnic minority student in the UK, and we are concerned about the consequences of the actions the report recommends.

“Furthermore, the report’s suggestion that “geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion,” all impact someone’s life experience more than the existence of racism ignores the role that race plays in all these factors. The club recognises that race does not exist in a vacuum, and suggests that a thorough and proper report would take this into account.”

The UK Government has been approached for comment.

Image Credit: Number 10 / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Deconstructing Dr Seuss: the issue of diversity in children’s literature

Beth Proctor
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Deconstructing Dr Seuss: the issue of diversity in children’s literature

CW: racism

We don’t talk about children’s books like other literature. I’ve never heard anyone claim that The Gruffalo ‘blew their mind’ or that We’re Going on a Bear Hunt ‘changed their life’, yet these stories stay with us long after we think we may have outgrown them. It is easy to look back nostalgically at the books we used to love, but in the wake of recent controversy we need to take off our rose-tinted glasses and re-examine the books we read as children. 

Early in March this year Dr Seuss Enterprises, the organisation that owns the rights to the author’s work, announced that they would withdraw the publication of six of his books containing racist illustrations. One of the books contains an image of a white man using a whip on a man of colour. Another shows a white boy standing on the heads of three Asian men, holding a large gun. It is shocking that they have only just been recalled. 

As a writer and illustrator, Dr Seuss produced hundreds of racist cartoons, comics and adverts. In 2019, a study of his work described his depictions of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) and people from other marginalized groups as ‘dehumanising and degrading.’

The report went on to reveal that many of his children’s books reflect the same racist stereotypes as his cartoons, and convey messages of Orientalism, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy.

Researchers Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens found that 98% of Seuss’ human characters were white, with these characters also occupying all of the speaking and narratorial roles in his stories. In their report they noted that ‘[when] children’s books center Whiteness, erase people of color and other oppressed groups, or present people of color in stereotypical, dehumanizing, or subordinate ways, they both ingrain and reinforce internalized racism and White supremacy.’ Although children may be too young to understand why these books are racist, they are still able to internalise the message they give. As such, many feel that Dr Seuss’s work should no longer take up space on reading lists and classroom bookshelves. 

Luckily, there are many more deserving books to replace them. The best-selling author of Dear Zoo, Rod Campbell, has recently published a non-fiction book that highlights the importance of animal conservation. In Look After Us, the narrator searches for their favourite animals and discovers that many species are threatened by extinction. The book ends on a happy note with the final page showing whales living freely in the wild because “kind people are looking after them really well”- it’s a message of hope as much as anything else.  

After a report in 2020 revealed that only 5% of British children’s books featured a Black or minority ethnic main character, other titles are providing much needed representation. Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o features a young Black protagonist who wishes she looked more like her mother. The story deals with colourism as the girl is taken on a magical journey that shows her how beautiful she is. Meanwhile, Hair Love by Mathew Cherry is “an ode to your natural hair” in which an African-American father learns to help his daughter style her hair. For older readers there are books like The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf, an award-winning story about the refugee crisis told from a child’s perspective. 

These titles show that children’s literature is becoming more diverse, but there is still a long way to go. From 2007 to 2017, one study showed that fewer than 2% of UK children’s authors and illustrators were people of colour. Then, in 2018 another study examining the content of children’s books featuring black and minority ethnic main characters, discovered that half of them fell into the category of ‘contemporary realism’, whilst 10% contained ‘social justice’ issues, like war and conflict. In an interview with the Guardian, the director of the project, Farrah Serroukh stated that it was all about balance. ‘Topics such as conflict and the refugee experience are valid subjects for authors to explore and unpick,’ he said, but added that it was equally important for stories to focus on normal, everyday events like ‘going to the dentist’ or ‘going to the supermarket.’

Every child deserves to see themselves represented in the books they read. New titles like Sulwe and The Boy at the Back of the Class are helping make this a reality, whilst others are tackling important issues like climate change. These are the kind of books that children will love and learn from and, ultimately, that is what reading is all about. 

Image Credit: Al Ravenna via Wikimedia Commons

Meet the Linacre student that invented new vegan leather

W A Whitten
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Meet the Linacre student that invented new vegan leather

With the ever-increasing rise of awareness of pollution, global warming, and the use of plastic the search for alternative materials becomes more urgent, Gabriel Moreno and his father Alex started Fiquetex with the aim of providing a reliable source of alternative greener materials made from the Fique plant. Gabriel and Fiquetex won best postgraduate idea at the Oxford All-Innovate competition, whose previous winners include Neurolytic Healthcare, a precision medicine company, and Genei, a system that allows AI to reduce research time. The competition is judged based on the criteria of what is the problem the idea tries to solve, how well it tackles that idea, the strength of the team, and the viability of the idea. 

Cherwell spoke with Gabriel, a master’s student at Linacre College, to discuss the importance of green materials, as well as the importance of Fiquetex for Colombia and vegan clothing.

Cherwell: Where did the initial thought for this award-winning idea come from?

GM: “It started I suppose about ten years when we realised how many plastic bags we had stored away […]. We realised this just really wasn’t very efficient and a waste of plastic. We were walking in Colombia and saw the fique plant, and were wondering what uses it could have. Currently farmers only use it for string and rope, and they do not use the small fibres, and we thought these could be used for an alternative material. So, we came up with the idea of using these fibres for package bags.”

Cherwell: How important is it that alternative materials are used to replace plastic bags and other such plastic products? Why are alternatives important?

GM: “The stats speak for themselves. The issues of global warming and plastic pollution are killing animals in the sea and on land. The issue is a serious problem, and the population is going to get bigger, by 2050 the population is going to be [almost] ten billion. It is already a major problem, the Pacific garbage patch is already bigger than France. Imagine when the population is three billion more people! The problem is only going to be worse.”

Cherwell: Is Fique and Fiquetex the solution?

GM: “Yes. I mean, they are not the only solution. They are definitely a new material people can use. It is definitely a new idea, a new patent, it has not been done before. It is a circular economy, so we use the fibres and then you use the products and once you are done with it you can bury it and it will become nutrients in the soil within 100 days. So, a fique plant or whatever you want can grow in its place.”

Cherwell: What benefits does Fique have over other such alternatives?

GM: “Firstly, the material itself is quite durable unlike paper and other vegan alternatives made from things such as apple. It is relatively cost efficient: other vegan alternatives such as mushrooms or even cotton require lighting, artificial heat, and watering to farm. Fique does not. Fique does not need chemical, pesticides, it just grows naturally. Fique saves on water and chemicals are used and then thrown away, causing their own pollution. It is not only a biodegradable alternative in use, but it is also more environmentally friendly in production. Most things which are biodegradable are only about 80% biodegradable or take four hundred years, this is completely biodegradable in 100 days.”

Cherwell: Will Fiquetex have a positive impact on Colombia and the local communities there?

GM: “Yes, one million percent. We will give a fair-trade price for fibres [that] they are not currently using; we are going to create employment in rural areas where there are not many other opportunities. The Colombian local governments are behind the idea. It will also employ a wide range of people, across several fields from agriculture and farming to accountants. It will provide an alternative to people joining gangs.”

Cherwell: How big of an impact do you think winning the competition will have?

GM: “I think it will have a big impact. People are really starting to become aware of sustainability, look at the [documentary] Seaspiracy on Netflix [becoming] so popular. The fact that these expert judges saw the potential of our company is really great, it has given me lots of confidence, and it has given the company legitimacy. No longer are we an abstract idea from Colombia but we have the legitimacy from the Oxford name. This should help, especially going into pitches.” 

Cherwell: What is the company’s plan next?

GM: “We are currently building the production line; we are hoping to have that done next month to then go on and testing and standardising production. We will then go on to local distribution in Colombia in Medellin to see what is liked. Later on in the year I would like to come to the UK, as I am based here, and would like to continue that. I would like to go to fashion designers and get it in London fashion week, or something similar, for the unveiling for Fiquetex.”

Alex Moreno standing next to a Fiquetex production line
Alex Moreno standing next to production machinery. Image: Fiquetex

Cherwell: Fique can be used as a vegan leather. Is this going to be a major part of the company’s production and image?

GM: “Yes definitely, originally our plan was to look to climate change activists, but feedback from the Vegan community showed that they were an important target market. We definitely agree with their values that we need to stop harming animals […] as well as them being mistreated in farming.”

Cherwell: What advantage does Fique have over other Vegan leathers?

GM: “The material is much lower in maintenance and in production costs. With Fique we do not have to worry about irrigation and seasonal growing patterns. Fique grows all year. Our product is also completely biodegradable unlike other Vegan leathers, which are not fully biodegradable. Our product is more durable and can take more weight. Fique leather will be affordable, which vegan leathers currently are not despite the Vegan leather market growing at 50% annually, by 2025 it is estimated to be worth 90 billion dollars. The current leathers are very expensive and are really only for designers’ brands, we hope that Fique can be used both for these but also for less expensive and independent shops.”

Further information about Fiquetex can be found on their website and social media.

Featured Image: Fiquetex

8/4/21, 18:53 – this article was edited to remove a reference to Fiquitex being PETA certified. While they are certified, it is not yet fully binding

Over 100 protestors rally at ‘Kill the Bill’ protest in Oxford

Anvee Bhutani
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Over 100 protestors rally at ‘Kill the Bill’ protest in Oxford

Protesters in Oxford on Saturday April 3rd voiced their opposition against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently being debated by MPs. This bill includes a number of proposals on crime and justice in England and Wales, including changes to protest laws.

The protesters gathered at Bonn Square at 2pm and stood there for an hour before marching through the city centre towards the police station and crown court. Protesters were seen chanting slogans like “Kill the bill” and “No justice, no peace”. They held signs condemning fascism, racism, and political figures such as Priti Patel while supporting the right to protest.

Protesters march towards Crown County Court / Image Credit: Feng Ho

Speeches were also delivered by local organisers and community leaders. Dr Sheikh Ramzy, director at the Oxford Islamic Information Centre, spoke to the crowd at Bonn Square saying, “This is the most democratic country in the world and we are talking about people having the right to protest taken away from them. The freedom to protest is important and we should not neglect it.”

Protesters at the rally
Image Credit: Feng Ho

Lexie Turner, an undergraduate student told Cherwell, “I went because this bill has the potential to be extremely damaging and harmful to everyone, especially the marginalised communities who are already under threat from the police. When I was there, I found the speakers really inspiring and hope that we can continue to build on this momentum and spark real change.”

Protesters holding signs reading "Protest is a human right" and "Why are you protecting statues of racists over actual women?"
 Image Credit: Feng Ho

Petr Vesnovskii, a Russian student from the University of Oxford who also attended the protest commented further, “One can get this sense of deja vu, with this bill the UK is following the Russian steps in flouting civil rights. Attempts to extend the rights of the security services and make it harder to hold them to account, which we are now seeing in the UK, once led to Russia being plunged into securocracy. It is concerning to see how Western democracies have been adopting these ‘best practices’. Just look at the recent innovations in the French Republic. Fortunately, in the case of the UK, there remains hope for civil society, which is now being tested on the strength and resilience of its beliefs. With the regrettable examples before us of what the loss of control of the security forces has led to, one wants to believe that the Brits will stand up for their rights and freedoms.”

Protester holding a sign listing the warning signs of fascism
Image Credit: Feng Ho

The event, spearheaded by Oxford Anti-Fascists, was co-hosted by 17 other groups around Oxford, including Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion (XR), Oxford Youth Strike and Oxford Marxists. They all “oppose the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill, which criminalises the right to protest and other basic rights and will be used selectively against marginalised groups such as travellers and people of colour. [They also] deplore the police violence against protesters in Bristol and will stand up to defend [their] right to protest.”

Drummers from Extinction Rebellion join the protest
Image Credit: Feng Ho


There was also a presence of the Socialist Workers Party and Stand Up to Racism. These groups were not official organisers of the event and their presence was condemned by Oxford Youth Strike, who said that “inserting themselves into the press coverage of an event they had no involvement in is actively damaging to the movement as it silences the voices of queer people, people of colour, and travellers who had already provided quotes to the press and who worked to make the event happen.”

Protesters hold signs reading "Kill The Bill"
Image Credit: Feng Ho

A spokesperson for Oxford Stand Up To Racism told Cherwell: “Oxford Stand Up To Racism have been involved in organising many protests across the city – including demonstrations against Donald Trump, against racist attacks and in solidarity with refugees. We’ve also organised transport to London for demonstrations on UN anti-racism day and to oppose the far-right and fascists when they have mobilised. The Tories’ Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a major threat to the right to protest.”

“But more than that – the bill seeks to increase police powers to harass and jail Black and Asian people and to further criminalise Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities. So, of course Oxford Stand Up To Racism was involved in promoting, publicising and calling on supporters and activists to join Saturday’s Kill the Bill protest. And when asked by the press, we’ll condemn the Bill in the strongest possible terms. It was fantastic to see so many people and so many different organisations represented on the protest on Saturday – it’s that kind of unity that can finish off this bill.”

A group of protesters hold signs reading "Kill The Bill"
Image Credit: Feng Ho

Ian McKendrick, on behalf of Oxford and Thames Valley Socialist Workers Party, told Cherwell: “The SWP believes the Crime, Police, Sentencing and Courts bill is a threat to everyone’s right to protest, and that to defeat it we will need the broadest unity possible.  We must not let the campaign be divided by poor reporting, or attempts to set groups against each other. The SWP was involved in building the demonstrations around the UK last weekend, using its local and national online resources, national newspaper, and street stalls to build the biggest unified mobilisations possible against the bill. This included sending the details of the protest to over 1000 contacts in Oxford, and sharing it on our social media platforms, and urging our own members to join the protests.


“The decision by the Oxford Mail to seek out and quote the SWP and not use quotes provided by other groups was not a decision taken by the SWP, but by the editors of the Oxford Mail.  The SWP has a long tradition of mobilising in defence of the right to protest and speaking out against all forms of oppression, including LGBT+ oppressions and racism, and this is widely recognised across the labour movement.”

Protester holding a sign reading "#KillTheBill. No one is born a 'thug'. Racism breeds thugs."
 Image Credit: Feng Ho

The protest in Oxford was part of a network of over 25 demonstrations across the country including in Aberystwyth, Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Derby, Exeter, Folkestone, Kendal, Lancaster, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Plymouth and Portsmouth.

‘Protest is a democratic and human right’ chalked on the footpath
Image Credit: Feng Ho

The Oxford Mail has been contacted for comment.

Featured Image: Feng Ho

The Masters 2021 Preview

Matthew Cogan
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The Masters 2021 Preview

Only five months on from the 2020 edition of the Masters, it is time now for the 2021 version. Back in its usual slot of April, it is the first chance that golfers have to get their hands on one of the four majors this year. Last year it was won by Dustin Johnson — his first green jacket — shooting a record 20 under par to win relatively comfortably by five shots. The question therefore is who is going to win this year? Johnson is at the time of writing the bookies favourite, but will he be able to defend his title or will someone else be wearing the green jacket on Sunday evening?

The course at Augusta national is one of the most famous in the world. The Masters is the only golf major to be held at the same course every year and this year marks the 85th edition and hopefully it will provide just as much excitement and as many surprises as those that have preceded it. Bubba Watson is the only man to win more than one Masters title between 2007 and 2020, underlining the difficulty to pick a winner of this prestigious event each year. Whether it was Danny Willet’s shock victory in 2016, or Tiger Wood’s return winning his 15th major and first for over a decade in 2019, the Masters in recent years has not disappointed. We are hoping that when they come through Amen corner for the final time on Sunday, this edition of the Masters will live up to those that have come before.

Dustin Johnson is the favourite for this year. His stunning performance to win in 2020 by a dominant margin must be the driving factor behind that. However, his 2021 form has not been anywhere near the same level. Since the Masters in November, he has a solitary top 10 finish to his name and in the biggest tournament of the year so far, The Players Championship, he finished a disappointing tied 48th, 13 shots behind the winner. However, the Masters is a tournament unto itself. In recent years the winners have often performed well in previous years before going on to win the green jacket. Therefore, with Johnson’s shown pedigree around the course at Augusta National, that might play a more important role than his current form when he steps out on the course to defend his title.

One of the biggest question marks for this year’s tournament is Brooks Koepka. His last tournament was WGC Workday Championship in Florida on 28th February, where he finished tied second, but since then he has had surgery on his right knee. The surgery took place only three weeks ago, although Koepka himself has stated that he will be fit to play at the Masters this week. He is quoted by the BBC after some practice holes at Augusta as saying: “If I knew I was going to finish second, I wouldn’t have shown up.” A former world number one, Koepka has four major titles to his name and a best finish at Augusta of tied second in 2019, so cannot be discounted, but with surgery only three weeks ago, I cannot help but feel that the Masters has just come too soon.

There are plenty of other names that could potentially be in a position to challenge by the fourth round on Sunday. Bryson DeChambeau is the current leader of the FedEx Cup Standings, and as one of the biggest hitters on tour, his pure power should suit the course at Augusta well, where traditionally bigger hitters have done better. Then come the names of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. Both major champions with proven pedigree at Augusta National and both in good form going into the event. Thomas with a couple of top 10s at big tournaments already this year, the most notable being a victory at The Players Championship, sometimes called the fifth major. Spieth too is hitting form at the right time. After a disappointing few years that saw him slip down the world rankings, 4 top 10 finishes already this year, including victory last week at the Valero Texas Open, means that he cannot be ruled out of contention.

What the about British hopes this year? Rory McIlroy is continuing his search for a Masters victory, the only major that continues to elude him, but he comes into this year’s event in no sort of form at all, failing to make the cut at the two biggest tournaments of the year so far. Lee Westwood has shown glimpses of his best at times this year, but for him to go on to challenge at the very top again seems unlikely. This could be the time for Tommy Fleetwood to win a major, something he has been threatening to do since his stellar Ryder Cup performance back in 2018. Then there are Justin Rose and Danny Willet. Two men in no form at all, but with pedigree in majors and more specifically the Masters itself they cannot be completely discounted. It seems unlikely that the champion this year will be a British one, but greater shocks have certainly been seen at the Masters.

The 85th edition of the Masters looks as though it has all the ingredients to be a great one. On Thursday 88 players will take to the first tee at Augusta National all with dreams of winning the Masters. 72 holes and a whole lot of ups and downs later, by Sunday evening we will have our champion. At this point it looks as though Dustin Johnson is the most likely after his dominant performance around the same course only five months ago, but as we know anything can happen at the Masters and it promises to be a thrilling weekend of golf.

Image credit: pocketwiley via Wikimedia Commons

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