Sunday 27th July 2025
Blog Page 375

Lamb and Flag could be turned into community asset

Daisy Aitchison
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Lamb and Flag could be turned into community asset

Oxford Liberal Democrats have suggested that the Lamb and Flag pub, which was owned by St John’s College, could be turned into an asset of community value.

The scheme would involve a community group buying the historic pub to prevent any potential future owners from demolishing the venue or changing the building’s use without planning permission. 

Last month, St John’s College announced that the pub, which opened in 1566, had become unviable and would be closing due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The news was greeted with dismay by groups such as the Campaign for Real Ale and Oxford Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran.

At the time, St John’s Deputy Bursar said the pub had been “hard hit by the pandemic” and that  “the college, as a charity, is not allowed to financially support a loss-making business that is not part of its core charitable objectives”. 

The pub was famously frequented by literary legends such as JRR Tolkein and CS Lewis. It was also said to have inspired parts of Thomas Hardy’s novel Jude the Obscure.

Now the Liberal Democrat councillor and city council opposition leader Andrew Gant has also stated his desire to see the long term future of the pub secured. Speaking to the Oxford Mail, he described the Lamb and Flag as a “historic institution” and pledged that he would work to ensure the pub had not “pulled its last pint because of the pandemic”. 

The Liberal Democrats have also launched a wider campaign to try and prevent other Oxford pubs from closing due to the pandemic. A petition has been set up asking for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to be extended for as long as social distancing remains in place.

In response to speculation about the future of the pub, St John’s has said: “Following Lamb & Flag (Oxford) Limited’s announcement that the company will close and cease trading at the pub effective 31 January 2021, St John’s College has received a number of enquiries about future operations at the pub. The College is encouraged by the support and appreciation shown for The Lamb & Flag, which confirm the special place it holds in Oxford’s history. 

“The pub will remain in the College’s ownership and the focus now is to work to look beyond the present situation and ensure the pub’s long-term future is secured.

“Given the challenges the College faces during the COVID-19 restrictions, the College is not in a position to discuss future commercial arrangements for the pub at this stage. However, despite the immediate uncertainties, the College remains optimistic for the longer term future of the Lamb & Flag pub.”

Image: oxfordmaps.

Children as young as six join Oxford vaccine trial

Charlie Hancock
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Children as young as six join Oxford vaccine trial

Oxford University has begun a clinical trial of the vaccine it developed with AstraZeneca on children aged between 6-17. The trial will assess whether the vaccine produces a response in young people, giving them immunity against COVID-19.

The single-blind, randomised phase II trial will include 300 volunteers. 240 participants will receive the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, while the remaining 60 will receive a control meningitis vaccine to act as a placebo. Only the researchers will know who has received which vaccine.

Chief Investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, Professor Andrew Pollard, said: “While most children are relatively unaffected by coronavirus and are unlikely to become unwell with the infection, it is important to establish the safety and immune response to the vaccine in children and young people as some children may benefit from vaccination.”

Currently, children under the age of 16 who are clinically vulnerable are eligible to receive a vaccine as part of the prioritised groups in the national vaccination programme. The Joint Committee on Vaccination has advised that children aged over 12 who are considered “clinically extremely vulnerable” can receive the vaccine through their paediatrician. The paediatrician would have to inform the child’s parents that the vaccine was not licensed for children that young, and that there is a lack of data into its effectiveness. In this instance, the vaccination would be considered off-license.

Including children in the vaccine trial will increase the amount of data available to scientists to make recommendations about its use in young people.

16 year old Meera, who found out about the trial via Twitter, told ITV she was taking part in the trial to “make a difference”. “It is quite strange but I’m feeling really lucky to have been given the opportunity to have the vaccine,” she added.

12 year old Sylvia decided to volunteer as she “just want[ed] to do something”. Her father volunteered to take part in the vaccine trail in 2020.

The trial is no longer recruiting volunteers in Oxford, but has recruiting sites in London and Bristol. A further site in Southampton is recruiting volunteers aged between 6-11 years old. Children under 16 will require parental consent to take part. Participants from BAME backgrounds are “particularly welcome” to join the trial.

Image: CDC via unsplash.com

WHO provides guidance on use of Oxford vaccine

Yihang Fang
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WHO provides guidance on use of Oxford vaccine

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) has produced guidelines for the emergency use of the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

They recommend that two standard doses of the vaccine should be given at 8- to 12-week intervals, for people aged 18 and older. This is the current strategy adopted by the United Kingdom. Clinical trials have shown that this dosing regimen is safe and effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.

In particular, the WHO believes that the vaccine is safe and efficacious even among older adults. However, some countries have recommended the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine only to those aged below 65. Multiple European countries, such as Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal do not recommend the vaccine for older adults due to insufficient trial data.

Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity, and Chief Investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, said in an Oxford University article, “The new guidance from WHO is an important milestone in extending access to the Oxford-AZ vaccine to all corners of the world and providing further endorsement that after rigorous scrutiny by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts the vaccine can be used to help protect populations from the coronavirus pandemic.”

Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology, and Chief Investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, added, “It is excellent news that the WHO has recommended use of the SARS CoV-2 vaccine first produced in Oxford. This decision paves the way to more widespread use of the vaccine to protect people against COVID-19 and gain control of the pandemic.”

The new guidance is a crucial step forward in achieving the University and AstraZeneca’s goal of providing global access to the vaccine, which is being made available on a not-for-profit basis during the pandemic. 

The vaccine is easily manufactured, transported and stored at domestic fridge temperature (2-8 degrees C). It can be easily administered in existing healthcare settings, allowing for the vaccine to be deployed rapidly around the world. In contrast, the vaccine developed by Pfizer has to be stored at a temperature of -70 degrees C, which is more challenging logistically.

Image: Steven Cornfeld via unsplash.com

Wendy’s to open in Oxford on Magdalen Street

Jill Cushen
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Wendy’s to open in Oxford on Magdalen Street

The popular US burger chain Wendy’s is set to rejoin the UK market with Oxford hosting the second new restaurant.

The fast food restaurant company, founded in 1969 in Ohio, plans to relaunch its UK brand with the first store coming to Reading in early 2021. Under the current plan, the Oxford store will be located on Magdalen Street. A planning application has been approved by Oxford City Council for a Wendy’s shop front. The food giant is one of the largest and most successful burger outlets in the US behind only McDonald’s and Burger King and has more than 6,500 Wendy’s restaurants currently in operation. 

Speculation has been rising since 2017 when the chain launched a one-day pop up store in London on Great Queen Street. The company announced in October 2019 that it would open 20 stores in Britain. The Mirror reported that Wendy’s international division president and chief development officer Abigail Pringle said: “The United Kingdom will be our beachhead to European expansion. We believe it is a growing market and it has lots of great growth ahead of it.”

Wendy’s opened the UK branch of its fast food chain in 1992 and had 10 stores nationwide. However, after 7 years, due to retail and operating costs, the company left the UK and decided to focus on its North America base. In 2000 McDonald’s paid £750,000 to take over Wendy’s’ 3 London sites. 

A spokesperson for the burger chain quoted in the Oxford Mail has confirmed that the first UK store will open in Reading, and said that it is “very much looking forward” to reopening stores across the UK and is “excited about the future as we enter this market”.

The Oxford restaurant will be housed in the premises previously occupied by the shoe shop Schuh. Wendy’s will join US burgers and fries company Five Guys on Magdalen Street. The store will be located next to the recently-closed Debenhams department store. Debenhams’ store in Oxford permanently closed in 2020 after its parent company Arcadia went into administration. Last month, it was revealed that the Debenhams property would be converted into a hotel or office space.

According to a research report published in November, takeaway and fast-food industry revenue in the UK is expected to grow to £19.1 billion over the next five years. 

It is not yet known when the Oxford store can be expected to open.

Image: Mike Mozart on Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Oxford City Council calls for vaccine to be accessible

Jill Cushen
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Oxford City Council calls for vaccine to be accessible

Oxford City Council is supporting a campaign to remove bureaucratic barriers that prevent people in the UK from receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The government has stated that everyone living in the UK will be able to access the vaccine, however failure to provide the right documentation as well as fear of accessing healthcare services are preventing people from receiving the vaccine. Migrant communities, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups are among those who are being disproportionately impacted in the vaccine rollout.

The City Council has added its name to a statement written by a coalition of 140 organisations urging the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that the vaccine is accessible to everyone. Migrant rights’ charities, health institutions, trade unions, faith groups and local authorities are all signatories of the statement initiated by the Patients Not Passports campaign. They call on ministers to take action to end the “Hostile Environment” and allow everyone living in the UK regardless of immigration status, ID or proof of address to receive the vaccine. Oxford City Council is one of two local councils to join the campaign with Haringey Council also pledging their support.

In order to receive the vaccine, people are required to show ID and must be registered with a GP. According to the UK government website, a person does not need to provide proof of address or immigration status when registering with a GP but can be refused registration under certain grounds. The Council is urging residents to register with a GP if they have not already done so.

Last week the government said that people living illegally in the UK would not be at risk of deportation as there would be no checks on immigration at vaccine centres. However, the coalition states that this does not go far enough to ensure that people are not left unvaccinated. In a press release on the Oxford City Council website, Councillor Dr Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini said “This welcome step from the government makes it clear that the Hostile Environment is a public health failure.”

Steve Valdez-Symonds from Amnesty UK told the BBC that many undocumented immigrants are “too afraid” to access healthcare services. He also added that “it has been the message, very clearly, from the government that access to health care is something that leads to information being passed about them to the immigration authorities”. 

Councillor Louise Upton said that Oxford City Council “believe it is in the interests of everyone that UK residents are able to access health care regardless of their migration status or homelessness. It’s not just the right thing for those individuals, these are people who live and work in our city and we know them as part of our communities and our businesses. Protecting their health is part of protecting all of us. We oppose any discrimination in government policy or the way it is delivered that denies them access to healthcare.”

The Oxford charity Asylum Welcome also signed the call for action and said they were “proud” that Oxford City Council had joined the campaign. They added that “temporary offers of safety are not enough to undo the decades of harm caused by policies that have embedded immigration controls into public services.”

Oxford GP Dr Kathryn Brown stated: “This is our chance to make lasting change to promote better access to healthcare for all and seek to improve the health gap that exists in our country not just for the vaccination programme but for the longer term”.

Oxford SU release summary of their work in 2020

Sasha Mills
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Oxford SU release summary of their work in 2020

The outgoing SU committee, headed by SU President Nikita Ma, has released a summary of their accomplishments in 2020, as well as their key initiatives until the end of their term. Some of the key priorities that the SU outlined include digital resources, ensuring no rent is charged to students not in Oxford, and the fair outcomes for students campaign. 

Oxford SU have worked with the University to establish a new Mental Health Task Force, headed by Sir Tim Hitchens, President of Wolfson College. Some of the priorities for the task force include support for those affected by pandemic, including those self-isolating and those that have faced disciplinary measures in light of Covid-19 rule breaches. The Mental Health Task Force will be providing an update on their work later this term.

Alongside the open letters penned by other groups, the SU were involved in writing their own open letter calling on Oxford to tackle systemic racism within the University, and commit to initiatives such as making equality and diversity training for staff mandatory. This open letter was written by the previous 2019-20 SU committee. The SU are currently working with the University as representatives on their race equality taskforce. 

Some of the SU’s largest achievements were in mandating the University to tackle the climate crisis. The Oxford Climate Justice Campaign, supported by the SU, led to a commitment from the University to formally divest from fossil fuel investments. The SU have also been mandated to lobby for the University to stop selling lamb and beef, which they have committed to until March 2021. 

The Oxford SU has also worked to support graduate students, expanding the University’s Covid-19 hardship fund. They plan to lobby for support for graduate students starting in 2021, particularly at the new Reuben College. 70% of common room elections were conducted through the SU, and the SU held 20 RepComms online in Michaelmas 2020 online. These are conferences designed to promote communication and support for common room representatives. The SU also launched their online training platform, including workshops on issues such as disability training and training for socially distanced activities. 910 training sessions have been completed by students so far.

Oxford SU are currently in the process of analysing the results of their sexual health education survey, which received over 1000 responses. This year, they hope to develop and deliver online sexual health education resources from “world experts.” From the 13th October 2019 to the 30th September 2020, the SU processed 1350 student advice cases, 87% of which raised two or more issues and are therefore classed as “complex” cases. 42% of students that accessed the service contacted the SU for advice again, and in 2021 the SU hopes to continue supporting students with housing, academic, welfare, educational, and financial concerns.

Number 19

Katie Bowen
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Number 19

Walking along the Edgware Road 

It’s ten o’clock at night

I glance down at my phone amongst it all

And it’s your name that glows in the light

In this busy city, we work here, find anger there,

Ride on the tube to seek love

Your face floats in my mind as I stare

At the towering skyscrapers above

Sitting on the Jubilee line 

With a few glasses of wine on board

Isn’t much fun, far away from home

But here’s hoping that I can afford

Your love, with the fiver in my pocket, left over from tonight.

This rat-run of a place isn’t always the best

But then it pulls me to home, and you

Sleeping in a dodgy pub on Orchardson Street

Hoping you’re dreaming of us, too.

Artwork by Rachel Jung.

Rice-cakes

Cherwell Culture
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Rice-cakes

So I sat on my bed and ate a rice-cake.

Then it was gone.

I took another, thinking of last Tuesday:

standing naked in front of a man I didn’t love,

thinking sex was exciting. With the next,

I remembered forgetting to wear a bra

to school, the red-faced embarrassment of it,

sure everybody could tell. Crunch, and

I’m back falling in love again, lying

by myself watching Peep Show.

A few more down, a few more days

of worrying about weddings, wondering

why we seem to copy the lives of those

we wish would love us, and then I forgot

to take the pill and bled all over the jumper

that had made a car beep at me.

So I sat on my bed and ate a rice-cake.

Then it was gone.

Artwork by Rachel Jung.

Two Poems

Danielle Rae Childs
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Two Poems

Swollen 

for H.

It wounds me that I can’t tempt him

from his fate, but

I did feel beautiful this morning, 

weeping in the shower

and charmed by my cartoon 

balloon eyes—

skin stretched tight,

catching the light.

You should see them (he should,

he has, no avail). 

They are lovely, open sores, ripe

with paradox:

swelling up the more

they’re drained out.  

Voyeur’s Video 

for C.

The memory is hazy,

the photographic still 

of the memory I keep

in my head, more so.

It’s a fraction of face,

with the ear center frame,

little blonde hairs wisping

around, too short to tuck,

but I tried anyway. 

When the still breaks into

memory in motion,

that’s what I see: a hand, 

desperate to possess.

I don’t know that the hand 

is mine until the film blurs,

and I’m back in my body,

feeling my fruitless fingers:

I couldn’t reach him. 

Was the graze as good,

as the grasp might have been?

Next time I had his head

near me, I tucked it tight

under my chin.

Image Credit to the author.

Love from,

J Daniels
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Love from,

You’re a pelican-shaped cloud in the sky,

You’re sunlight on the back of a bird

You’re the home in the eyes of a friend

You’re that song I sing along to in the car

You’re in all the details, taking up the small spaces

You’re filling in the gaps between words in this poem.

You’re the smile I can’t keep off my face

You’re the cold of splashing into the waves

You’re all the love letters I don’t write

And in every letter I do sign:

Love from,

Artwork by Rachel Jung.
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