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Review: Ritual Union Festival Ranked

Guy Brabbins
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Review: Ritual Union Festival Ranked

Ritual Union Festival delivered the goods for the third year on the trot, bringing 45 bands down to Cowley Road for a day of joyous musical revelry. I will preface this ranking by saying that all the acts I saw were of a very high quality and are well worth a listen, but for me, some shone brighter than others. So without further ado, on a scale of least enjoyable to irrefutable masterpiece, I give you Ritual Union.

Eight – Heavy Lungs

The major downside of doing a ranking is that someone must inevitably end up last, and this is particularly upsetting here, since Heavy Lungs, on most festival line-ups, would be leagues ahead of their competition. This is not the case here, though. This was my second time seeing Heavy Lungs in Oxford, after their riotous performance in the O2 academy supporting IDLES last year. That performance, though, was in front of a crowd destined to lap up whatever Heavy Lungs offered; after all, one of IDLES’ biggest songs to date – ‘Danny Nedelko’ – is named after their lead singer. When the IDLES cord is cut though, it becomes apparent that Heavy Lungs struggle. For a start, and it pains me to say this, the songs just aren’t that great, and there is little to set them apart from the slew of other post-punk bands plying their trade on the UK circuit today. The crowd was largely indifferent towards them, at least until Danny Nedelko, the undeniable bright spark, whose glorious dancing and passionate delivery will always make Heavy Lungs intriguing at worst, ploughed into us and sang at our faces. There were promising moments, and I maintain that Heavy Lungs have potential in spades, but as of now, the songs just don’t do it for me.

Seven – Teleman

I feel bad putting Teleman so far down the rankings, since I am sure they suffered heavily in my estimation because of the mastery that preceded them (don’t worry, we’ll get there), but sometimes this is just the way things go. The performance was fun, groovy, and – as was frightfully apparent by glancing at the crowd – very danceable. They are reminiscent of both Hot Chip and Metronomy but sadly fall short of the former’s musical muscle and the latter’s big hooks. Overall, the performance just felt a bit lacklustre, especially considering their headline slot. 

Six – She Drew the Gun

This was good. I’ll start with the positives; the instrumentation was a fresh blend of guitars and keyboard, and the grooves they produced were consistently arresting, serving as the perfect backdrop for the long spoken-word passages of Louisa Roach. These passages, however, did prove to be the major detraction for me. The content was interesting and important, maybe even vital, but the delivery was, if I may be frank, really quite annoying. The whole performance came off as self-righteous and preachy as Roach marched the stage like a prophet, bestowing infinite wisdom upon us. The lectures I get at university are ample; I don’t need more in my free time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for delivering important messages in music (Nadine Shah, in the very same place, achieved it spectacularly in the best performance of last year), but this just fell very flat, as was manifest in the dejection and apathy of the crowd. If this can be improved, their live show will become a serious tour de force. 

Five – Psychedelic Porn Crumpets

Say what you will about the name – hardly something that would make me eager to spread my love for the band – this was a mature, well-paced and exciting gig. Yet another success story from Australia’s burgeoning psych-rock scene that includes Tame Impala, Pond and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Crumpets deploy elaborate fuzzy riffs, catchy choruses, and a whole lotta fun, to create a hugely enjoyable sound that proved to be very popular amongst the Ritual Union crowd. A lively but friendly mosh pit was present throughout, while the band echoed the joyful goofiness, if not quite the versatility, of the aforementioned King Gizzard. My sole criticism beyond this is that the performance hasn’t lodged itself in my mind as vividly as some of the others. 

Four – The Soft Cavalry

In contrast to Teleman, The Soft Cavalry likely benefited in my mind from their positioning in the line-up, since their warm melodic lullabies were a welcome change of pace to the pummelling noisy punk that had preceded it. Their set was sadly cut short but was nevertheless long enough to make a fan of me. The harmonies between bandleader Steve Clarke and Rachel Goswell (not only vocalist and guitarist of the now-legendary shoegaze band Slowdive, but also Clarke’s wife), were quite simply beautiful. The shoegaze influence is ever-present in the winding ambience of the songs and of course, in Goswell’s ethereal vocals, but The Soft Cavalry is its own beast; a folky aesthetic and the guile to include spiky basslines and captivating guitar set this group apart. The true crowning achievement, though, is the production. All the sounds coalesce in a marriage so pleasurable and alluring that it even rivals that of the two singers. 

Three – PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS

Right. I’ve counted and re-counted the number of times I’ve typed PIGS to be sure I’ve got all seven down (yes it’s a silly name), so let’s crack on with the review. For a band as primal and aggressive as PIGS (x7), I feared they might struggle with a slot early in the day, before the cover of darkness and before the crowd had been loosened up with a few drinks; I couldn’t have been further from the truth. PIGS (x7) delivered a blistering set, full of piss and vinegar, spitting out brutal, sludgy acid rock and crafting a ferocious mosh pit in the process. It was wild. The inter-song banter was probably the best of the day too, with vocalist Matt Baty at one point proudly declaring, ‘this song is what it’d be like if Aleister Crowley went on bake-off.’ Many know of Crowley from Ozzy Osbourne’s classic ‘Mr. Crowley,’ and you can be sure that the Black Sabbath frontman would’ve appreciated a gig like this. 

Two – The Murder Capital

This one was pretty special. With sharp dress sense and even sharper musical sensibilities, The Murder Capital looked and felt like a big deal. The set began patiently, with sparse guitar parts and jagged bass, creating an ominous, foreboding tone. Every so often, more and more noise would creep into this sonic wasteland, until vast, cavernous walls of static filled the room – a suffocation of sound. The other bonus of this sparsity was that it put focus on the depressing gloom of the lyrics. They are delivered in a variety of ways – be it sad, dejected, angry or indifferent – and repetition is utilised in such a way that the words, although hardly catchy, bury themselves deep within the memory nonetheless. The audience is given the time to dwell on small phrases that are vague enough to make them truly consider what is being said. The performance can be best summed up in one image; vocalist James McGovern offering a sardonic grin as he casually shakes his tambourine along to a dreary drum beat. It was also lovely to see them supporting the other bands throughout the day. Top marks.

One – The Comet is Coming

Electrifying. Breathtaking. Faultless. Despite the quality on display throughout the day, I’d be lying if I said that anything came close to this. Shabaka Hutchings (here using pseudonym ‘King Shabaka’), has been one of the most important figures in the British music scene over the last couple of years, and within just a few seconds of this live show, it became most evident why this is so. Revitalising jazz through masterful, rousing and innovative saxophone playing, King Shabaka is absolutely worthy of his moniker. The three-piece have such a distinct identity, and keyboardist Dan Leavers, (‘Danalogue’) and drummer Max Hallett (‘Betamax’) are both as integral to this as Shabaka. For a start, all three are quite simply superb at their respective instruments, which is always handy. This can be witnessed in absolute clarity, since each of them are given the freedom to go off on galvanising and explosive solos. It is when playing together, though, that they are at their most powerful. 

Their update on jazz is not merely refreshing, it is essential, maybe even historic. Propulsive, chunky synths give the tracks a rampant momentum, made even more thrilling by the unmitigated bluster of Hutching’s saxophone. The drumming is intricate, but potent. What makes the live show so perfect though, is that every single beat is timed to perfection. As soon as a solo reaches its climax, a filthy synth pattern is introduced, which will itself build with steady groove until it explodes into an even wilder house beat, and then just when things are threatening to get a bit too raucous, or the crowd is about to lag, suddenly they jump into a spacey ambient piece. It was so precise, so academic, but somehow also so animalistic and off-the-cuff. In short, it was the best live show I’ve ever seen. Show me someone who wasn’t dancing; I’ll show you a liar. Show me someone who wasn’t smiling; I’ll show you a cheat. Most heart-warming of all, is the fact that the band were quite clearly loving it every bit as much as those watching. I’m not a particularly cheery fellow, but I’m still buzzing from that over a week later. 

Review: Ritual Union Festival Overview

Guy Brabbins
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Review: Ritual Union Festival Overview

We all know Oxford, right? Home to grandiose museums, lavish theatres, all sorts of student shenanigans and exhibitions, it is a cultural hotbed for artistic triumph. The city is nigh-on gluttonous with a wealth of wonder and fascination down every hidden side-alley, and secret nook or cranny, but one aspect of this cornucopia is consistently besmirched with allegations of insufficiency. I speak, of course, of the live music scene. To all you bitter detractors, I respond with this; just because your fav band ain’t making a stop here on their world tour, doesn’t mean that our live scene is shoddy or in any way sub-par. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Of course, it would be foolish for us to expect stadium filling acts to make a little venture over to Oxford’s cute and cosy venues, just to please the small handful of us who can fit in the buildings, but who ever said that the best live music came from those who have either been around for so long that they’ve amassed immensely bloated fanbases or those lucky few to have struck big with a gold-mine of a radio hit? In fact, many such bands (from Radiohead to Rage Against the Machine) have played at Oxford at the start of storied careers, when intrigue was through the roof, so we must open our eyes to the fantastic talent on our doorstep; who knows who could be next!? There is no better place to do this than Ritual Union Festival.

I’m not quite sure how to best sell Ritual Union; it hardly helps that it sounds more like a cult than a festival, nor that the majority of the bands aren’t exactly ‘household names.’ Perhaps this is the point, though; it is the perfect opportunity to sample a smorgasbord of diverse and cutting-edge bands making waves in the UK (and indeed beyond). There are four main stages – two in the o2, one in the Bullingdon, and the fabulously charming basement of the Library pub – all of which are reasonably small, creating intimate and visceral gigs that stay with you long after the final notes. Additionally, all these stages are located along Cowley Road – itself a bombastic hoard of out-there cuisine, niche cocktail bars and seductive boutiques – which proves itself to be the ideal relaxation location between bands. 

This year (October 19th) was my second time on the bounce at the 3-year old festival, and even after the immensely high bar set by last year, boy oh boy did it fail to disappoint! For an in-depth analysis of some of the bands performing, see cherwell.org, but it must here be noted that the festival has an unparalleled knack of booking bands at the peak of that thing we call ‘buzz,’ and this is what makes Ritual Union so special. The palpable excitement for Nadine Shah and Ghostpoet last year, and the zeitgeist they managed to so ably tap into, was somehow topped this year by the Shabaka Hutchings-led The Comet is Coming. There is an intangible chemistry between audience and performer that only seems to exist in these early phases of bands’ trajectories, and no festival I have attended taps into this more successfully than Ritual Union. I am proud to say with all honesty that The Comet is Coming’s was the best live show I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing; those ignoring Ritual Union, and Oxford live music on the whole, are in need of a stern wake-up call.

EGG – A Musical Parable

Zijian Wei
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EGG – A Musical Parable

In early September, the IOC published an article celebrating the life of ‘Father of Modern Olympic Games’ Pierre Coubertin. Whilst highlighting his struggles in launching a modern revolution, bringing about a grand feast that aimed to resemble the spirits of the ancient Greeks and celebrate sport on a worldwide scale, it also illustrated the complexities of contemporary realities – namely the politics and wars of early twentieth-century Europe – which largely hindered and tainted his grand ambitions. His experiences act as vivid reminders of the complicated power dynamics behind the façade of Olympic Games, especially in terms of politics and history, which deprives the Games from possibly achieving their sacred and, perhaps more importantly, ‘pure’ status that Coubertin envisioned.

As the 2016 Olympic Games concluded in Rio, the next host nation, Japan, was given a section of around eight minutes to present a teaser of what was to come. The blend between sports and pop culture on top of the mix between upbeat jazz and contemporary dance gained widespread appraisal. The organisers successfully demonstrated a unity between the country’s rich history and advanced modernity, especially during the end piece where the dancers, dressed in bright white and red, brandished flags of Hinomaru and then proceeded to position themselves to form the futuristic skyline of Tokyo.

In seeking the origins of that very piece, however, the message conveyed here by the organisers becomes very interesting. The piece was a rendition of the original, performed by SOIL & PIMP SESSIONS and written by prominent Japanese musician Sheena Ringo. Titled ‘望遠鏡の外の景色/Bōenkyō no Soto no Keshiki’ (literally: view outside the telescope), it was originally written for Noda Hideaki’s 2012 play ‘Egg’ and was performed during the curtain call. The play, relatively unknown in the West, is a blatant critique of Japan’s war in Manchuria in the 1940s and its attitudes towards it. The story unfolds as a theatre director, played by Noda, discovers a draft of a play about a number of ambitious athletes who pursued victory against the Chinese in a peculiar sport named ‘egg’, where players aim to pierce a hole in the shell of a raw egg without breaking it. In the first hour or so the play rather successfully disguises itself as a modern farce about love and sports, centred around an energetic newcomer to the sport and his adoration for a pop idol who also happens to be the daughter of the owner of the sports club. At times it seems to be a bizarre critique of Japan’s pop industry and consumerism, though still incorporating strong literary flavours highlighted by the lines of Lautréamont and Busse. In the second half, however, the pace accelerates drastically, and the audience is taken from ‘the present’ back to the year 1964, and then eventually to 1940. It soon becomes apparent that it was the Olympics that linked three different realities in this timeline. The 1964 Games allowed Japan to begin to forget the atrocities of the war and demonstrate the country’s miraculous post-war recovery, while 1940 saw the Japanese Olympic Committee’s announcement to abandon plans for hosting the summer games in Tokyo due to the ongoing war in north-eastern China. Yet, the most shocking reveal is the identity of the sport ‘egg’, the essence of the entire play. In a black-and-white video, the audience is introduced the true nature of the ‘sport’: a biological weapon developed by students of Tokyo Imperial University and nurses of Unit 731 – an infamous unit under the Japanese Army responsible for much of Japan’s war crimes during the Second World War. The pop idol is revealed as a puppet, used by the authorities to entertain the Japanese soldiers, while the ambitious newcomer becomes the scapegoat of the chief researcher behind the project, who eventually retreats to Japan along with the higher authorities. At the end of the play, the protagonists, blinded by their fervent love for their country, are ultimately betrayed by it, fading as a bright, crimson red coloured summer Manchurian sky.

Haunted by the controversies that surrounded the 1936 Games hosted by Nazi Germany, Coubertin wrote the following lines for its closing ceremony: ‘The choices and struggles of history will carry on, but gradually understanding will replace dreadful ignorance; mutual understanding will soothe impulsive hatreds. In this way, what I have worked toward for half a century will be strengthened.’ Perhaps fortunately, Coubertin would not live to see the outbreak of WWII, nor the trauma and devastation it would bring on a worldwide scale that further shattered his visions. From the end of the War till this day, the Olympics, though commonly seen as a symbol of peace and unity, remain closely intertwined with and often troubled by politics, as the massacre at the 1972 Games and the boycotts of the three subsequent Games can demonstrate. For Japan, while the Showa-era is now commonly viewed in the nostalgic light of prosperity and recovery, it would be impossible for Japan to not address the period of imperialism and rapid expansionism which Noda’s work illustrated as fanatic and maniacal, when it attempts to show off its culture and history.

Noda’s play is a vivid and extremely impactful artistic reflection of the past, and the title of the piece of music corresponds with a line from the play: ‘I use the telescope in reverse, because the faraway views becomes small, and the past becomes distant.’ After an impressive demonstration at Rio, the organisers, in a rather subtle way, presented a powerful reminder for the world: as we keep marching on and keep moving forward into the ever-uncertain future in this fast-paced modernity, we mustn’t forget the lessons taught by history.

Friends of the Earth Present Vision of Carbon Neutral Oxford

Felix O'Mahony
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Friends of the Earth Present Vision of Carbon Neutral Oxford

Friends of the Earth, an international network of environmentalist organisations, has published a new report entitled “Fast Forward Oxfordshire” detailing their vision of a sustainable Oxford by the year 2040.

Published earlier this week, the report highlights the magnitude of the impending climate breakdown and outlines steps which must be taken on both a local and national level in government to deliver a fairer and healthier society.

Friends of the Earth Oxford begin the report by setting out the need for dramatic and fundamental changes to address climate collapse.

They assert that the changes currently being made fail to meet the pace of what is required to avoid environmental collapse.

Divided into six sectors: homes & settlements, transport, work, energy, food, and nature, each section begins with a short description of an ordinary scenario in 2040, but whose artefacts differ drastically from contemporary life.

In one example, a pair of friends decide to eat out at a restaurant. Unusually, they decide that they will eat from the restaurant’s “meat” page. In this alternative society, meat has become a rare experience which is described as “strange and different.’’

Additional proposed edits to the county include a new tram railway service, a set of long-distance bike routes, the re-inclusion of beavers in the county’s ecosystem, and a new electric vehicle plant in Cowley.

Oxford City Councillor Tom Hayes, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford, said: “It’s not enough to declare a climate emergency and fail to follow up with action. “I strongly welcome this facts-first report which gives the councils that I work with more of the solutions they need to meet the climate crisis. Some of the suggested policies will be challenging to implement, but we must rise to the challenge.

“It’s not just about getting serious about becoming a zero carbon county it’s also about enjoying cleaner transport, homes to be proud of, and greener spaces.”

Aside from combatting climate change, the report makes the case for a range of societal changes intended to improve universal quality of life and encourage a “safer” society.

For example, Fast Forward Oxfordshire says that travellers should be pushed away from cars towards more sustainable means of transport, like trains or cycling.

The suggested policies include workplace parking levies, congestion charging and even constraining road space.

While commuters are driven away from driving, cycling and rail infrastructure should be improved, including the commissioning of new rail links and re-commissioning of old, now disused rail lines.

Although the report made no specific requests or references to Oxford University, there is a general call to use public investment to minimise inequality.

It also promotes the advantages of harnessing the spending power of ‘anchor institutions’ which includes universities.

A spokesperson for the University of Oxford said: “The University, our staff and our students are deeply engaged in improving our sustainability.

“Through our Green Impact scheme, around 6,500 members of staff and students have taken actions to encourage more sustainable workplaces. Our Student Switch-Off campaign, which encourages practical energy saving and recycling, involves more than 3,000 students every year.

“The University has invested over £4 million in carbon reduction projects and emissions have fallen steadily since 2010, despite a large expansion in the size of the University estate.

“The University switched to a 100% wind power supply from Scottish Power in 2017, for which we pay a premium.

“More than 4,200 square metres of solar power panels have been installed across the University estate. “We know there is more to be done and will continue to work with partners across Oxfordshire on actions to tackle climate change.”

Oxford colleges hosting group with “homophobic, misogynistic and Islamophobic views”

Libby Cherry
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Oxford colleges hosting group with “homophobic, misogynistic and Islamophobic views”

Oxford colleges have been annually hosting the summer camp of the evangelical Christian group the Ravi Zacharias Trust, despite the Oxford SU having previously called for the University to “distance itself publicly” due to concerns over the group’s “homophobic, misogynistic and Islamophobic views”.

The week-long residential camp was held at Merton College this July with speakers including Prof. John Lennox, Oxford Emeritus Professor of Maths. It was convened by Sam Alberry, who promotes the principle of “agape love” or celibacy for homosexual Christians.

The Ravi Zacharias Trust is the European branch of the US-based Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), founded and led by the evangelical Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. RZIM shares an academic director, Dr Joseph Boot, with the Wilberforce Academy. The Academy was banned from colleges including Trinity, Jesus and Lady Margaret Hall due to the views of their founders, Christian Concern.

Oxford SU told Cherwell: “The University of Oxford should be a safe and welcoming space for all people, hosting events that jeopardise this are counterintuitive. We need to take action on the intolerance and hatred in its most extreme forms, but uprooting it wherever it exists and stop events like this happening on campus. We are calling for Colleges and the University to be more responsible when taking commercial bookings and setting a precedent that makes campus inclusive.”

The SU first became aware of the group’s presence in 2015, after the University expressed concern over the Trust’s close association with Wycliffe Hall in their PPH report.

The college and the ministry jointly established the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics in 2006, with Ravi Zacharias himself listed as one of the teaching fellows. The University expressed concern about the Centre because its “admissions to the centre were not clearly differentiated to the university,” raising questions about the rigour of the Hall’s assessment process.

Today, the Centre is wholly run by RZIM, although the Centre’s “Team” include Max Baker-Hytch, a professor at Wycliffe Hall and those participating in the Centre’s programmes have the opportunity to be accommodated in single rooms at the college. Despite the SU’s calls for the University to find “clear ways” to show that “the wider University is not in sympathy” with such views, Queen’s College hosted the Trust’s camp in the summer of 2015.

Speaking to Cherwell, a spokesperson for the Trust said: “Zacharias Trust did not respond to the call by the Student Union four years ago, as the proceedings were only known to students — thus, we were not invited to respond. Our organisation believes in the sanctity and value of all human life regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender. The women we employ occupy some of the highest positions of leadership within our organization, and we also employ individuals with same-sex attractions.

“As a Christian organisation, some people will naturally disagree with our viewpoint. When disagreements in faith or philosophy arise, no matter the audience, we urge civil dialogue. Any claim otherwise is false and unsubstantiated.

“Lastly, we are grateful for our relationships with some of the colleges and we have never had any issues using their facilities.”

Merton College JCR President told Cherwell: “Merton JCR is proud to hold the values of inclusion and equality at its core, and that is something we strive to promote amongst students through cooperation with college.”

RZIM’s purpose “is to reach and challenge those who shape the ideas of a culture with the credibility of the Gospel of Jesus Christ” which they facilitate through their “global team of speakers” based at their interna- tional offices. According to the Ministries’ website, their staff members work in 43 different countries, and their videos and blogs attract 60,000 users per month.

Ravi Zacharias, a self-claimed former sceptic, first launched RZIM in 1984, after securing financial backing from American evangelist Billy Graham. He first forged links with the preacher after being invited to speak at the plenary of his Amsterdam conference in 1983. Zacharias featured in one of Billy Graham’s video sermons as late as 2012.

The Association also works in the UK and was the subject of controversy in 2017. Critics of the group, including other Christian Anglicans, called for Graham’s son Franklin, CEO of the Association, to be banned from the UK after alleging his comments about LGBTQ rights and Islam were a violation of laws on hate speech.

In 2017, Ravi Zacharias was forced to issue a statement regarding a misrepresentation of his association with Oxford and Cambridge universities.

According to Christianity Today, his 2015 biography, now corrected, on the RZIM website read that he held “six doctorate degrees” when he had only been awarded honorary degrees.

In a statement, RZIM stated that referring Mr Zacharias as “Dr.” was “appropriate and acceptable practice with honorary doctorates” although they admitted the practice was “contentious.”

He also claimed to be a Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, a line which has been subsequently removed.

They said: “Ravi’s desire and our desire as an evangelistic ministry is to engage the honest skeptic, to take questions seriously, and to be as clear as possible in our communication. We therefore have restructured Ravi’s biography to better reflect his 45 years as an itinerant evangelist and apologist.”

Zacharias’ Spotify artist account still refers to him as “Dr”.

The camp included prominent evangelical activists that promote celibacy, including Sam Allberry, editor at the Gospel Coalition and David Bennett, a self-described “former gay activist.”

Sam Allberry was the founding editor of Living Out, a magazine that claims “to help Christian brothers and sisters who experience same-sex attraction stay faithful to Biblical teaching.”

Writing in 2016 for the Gospel Coalition, Allberry said: “Sexual unfulfillment itself becomes a means of deepening our sense of the fuller, deeper satisfaction we await in Jesus. It helps us to hunger more for him. We skip the appetizer, but we await the entrée. Celibacy isn’t a waste of our sexuality; it’s a wonderful way offulfilling it.

“For marriage to be a parable of Christ and the church, it must be between like and unlike, male and female. Change this arrangement, and you end up distorting the spiritual reality to which it points. Alter marriage, and you end up distorting a picture of the gospel itself.”

Living Out and the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics itself are both considered organisations that hold “similar values” to the True Freedom Trust, and feature on the latter’s website. In April 2019, a conference held by the Freedom Trust was protested after describing the event as promoting “a form of gay conversion therapy.”

Allberry was one of the signatories, which also included Head of Welfare at St Edmund’s Hall Will Donaldson and former Pembroke Chaplain Greg Downes, by “concerned Anglicans” of the Oxford Diocese earlier this year that called for the bishops to define the “appropriate setting for sexual intimacy – namely in marriage between a man and a woman”.

Allberry was also among the signatories of the 2017 evangelical manifesto, the Nashville Statement, which The Guardian described as “a proclamation denouncing LGBT rights and anyone who supports them.”

The Statement was designed as a response to the “post Christian” age, where “common to think that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences.”

The Statement’s list of affirmations and denials includes a denial that “adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.”

Eliel Cruz, founder of the Faithfully LGBT Project, attacked the Statement in the New York Times, writing that the Statement “represents a renewed commitment to open bigotry.”

Allberry tweeted at the time: “The Nashville Statement brings much needed clarity to issues where there is often silence, pain and confusion.”

The opening address of this year’s summer camp was given by Os Guinness, author and co-founder of the Trinity Forum, a group that aims to “cultivate, curate, and disseminate the best of Christian thought” by “seek(ing) to connect thinking leaders with leading thinkers” in global policymaking.

Guinness’ co-founder is Alonzo MacDonald who established the McDonald-Agape Foundation, which describes itself as “a support group for scholars and other dedicated leaders to serve Jesus Christ.”

The Foundation lists Prof. John Biggar as its collaborative scholar in Oxford, and funded Biggar’s “Ethics and Empire” project in 2017. The project attracted criticism from Common Ground and Dan Iley-Williamson, lecturer at Queen’s College and Labour Councillor, who described Biggar at the time as an “ardent apologist for colonialism.”

Guinness was also a guest speaker at US evangelical pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in the April 2015. In 2008, Obama caused outrage after he selected the pastor for his inauguration due to Warren’s opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Oxford student living off GoFundMe page as she waits for renewal of refugee status

Matilda Allan
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Oxford student living off GoFundMe page as she waits for renewal of refugee status

A first-year student at St Hilda’s College has been receiving donations from the crowd-funder platform GoFundMe because she is unable to access any student finance until her refugee status is successfully renewed by the Home Office.

Rama Rustom, whose family is Syrian but is legally stateless, applied for her student loan in April, unaware that her refugee status would lead to any problems.

In June, Rustom applied for a new Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) which was to expire on 31st July. As her application is still pending, Rustom is currently unable to access any student finance as she is unable to provide Student Finance England with an in-date BRP.

Applications for new BRPs should take up to six months, however Rustom states that she knows of others whose applications have only been responded to after this time frame. Having applied for a renewal in June, this mean that Rustom could be ineligible for any funding until January.

Rustom came to the UK in December 2013 from Saudi Arabia, where she was born and where her parents had been living after relocating from Syria.

During what was meant to be a short visit to her older sister who was living in London, the family were told that they would not be able to return to Saudi Arabia because their guarantor, a Saudi citizen who acts as a sponsor to foreign migrants and handles their visa and legal status, had cancelled their visas after a dispute with Rustom’s father. The family was forced to apply for refugee status in the UK and Rustom started school in East London in February 2014.

Rustom has not been able to get any financial support from her family since she became estranged from her father after coming out as gay earlier this year. After threatening to kick her out of the family home, Rustom was able to avoid homelessness after negotiating with her parents.

Furthermore, Rustom is ineligible for a St Hilda’s hardship fund because the college assess each application based on the information given to them by data entered into a student finance application, which is currently inaccessible.

The college has agreed to postpone her battels until the end of the term in the hope that Rustom will receive her student loan before this point.

On the advice of the college, Rustom has applied for a Crankstart Scholarship, but is yet to hear back about the status of her application.

However, Rustom expresses no frustration towards college or the University: “I’m not frustrated with Oxford because… they’ve done everything that they can to help me out. I’m just frustrated at the Home Office and even Student Finance because they know I’m a refugee… and they know that I can’t really provide for myself.”

Rustom started her GoFundMe page at the suggestion of a friend in second week and has raised over £100 in donations from friends. However, until the money is transferred from the platform to her bank account in the next few days, Rustom is living off the remaining £10 of the money that her mother gave her before term.

In Rustom’s opinion, this delay in the renewal of her refugee status is “really unfair”. She said: “It’s kind of justifiable on their part because they do need that information but for me on a personal level… it’s not really my fault. They can’t just tell me to hold off on my education”.

For Rustom, going to Oxford was the chance to set her family on a new path.

Rustom, whose first language is Arabic, did not begin to learn English until she was seven and said that she came to London still “unable to form coherent sentences”. An offer to read English Language and Literature at the University came as a particularly welcome surprise.

She said: “I didn’t know if I deserved it but… my family was really happy. I was the first one that was going to get a good degree from an amazing university in a place where women are able to work.”

“I’ve worked hard for this and I’ve tried my best… it’s the issue of the Home Office just taking their time.”

Rama Rustom’s GoFundMe can be found here.

Oxford City Council launch new provision to tackle homelessness

Amelia Wood
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Oxford City Council launch new provision to tackle homelessness

Oxford City Council have announced a new provision designed to tackle homelessness. The scheme, known as the ‘Somewhere Safe to Stay’ service, will provide beds for 12 people experiencing homelessness for up to 7 nights.

The hub will also offer thorough assessments to the users, linking them with support services and suitable housing. It is aimed specifically at those who are newly homeless, in the hopes that providing early support will prevent chronic homelessness.

Until the council has established its permanent hub at 1 Floyds Row in January, ‘Somewhere Safe to Stay’ will be operating out of Simon House.

Beds will also be made available for 15 people at a new winter shelter by the beginning of November, which will be open to anyone in need, regardless of local connections.

Both services will be operated by St. Mungo’s, one of the largest providers of outreach services in the country.

Expert assessment and reconnection workers will help people to develop personal housing plans and get the support they need from other services to move quickly into more sustainable accommodation.”

Statistics from Oxford City Council esti- mated that 51 people were sleeping rough in September 2019, a 42% increase from September 2018. Over a quarter of those surveyed had been homeless for less than six months or were newly verified by the count.

New action on homelessness is part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy, a recent effort launched by the government in order to alleviate Britain’s homelessness problem. Oxford City Council is one of 42 early adopters who were allocated funding for 2019/2020.

Councillor Linda Smith, deputy leader and cabinet member for leisure and housing, said: “It takes more than a roof to end homelessness and Somewhere Safe to Stay is the first stage in our plans to transform services for people experiencing homelessness in Oxfordshire.”

She added: “I’m really pleased that St Mungo’s are operating the new service and the winterlong shelter available to anyone experiencing homelessness will open in early November. Their experience of running this type new assessment service in London and the South of England has seen four fifths of people leaving the streets behind for good.

“We believe that nobody should have to sleep rough in Oxford and the best way to help someone experiencing rough sleeping is to get them to come inside and find the support they need to rebuild their lives.

“This fundamental change to front end homelessness services and winter accommodation will help us to achieve this and be a catalyst for change across the wider system.”

Oxford City Council is involved in numerous new initiatives to tackle homelessness, including the Oxford Homeless Movement, which launched earlier this month and is a partnership between numerous homelessness organisations in the city.

University “facilitated the spread of transphobia”, says Trans Action Oxford

Charlotte Moberly
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University “facilitated the spread of transphobia”, says Trans Action Oxford

Last week the University hosted a meeting of Woman’s Place UK in Exam Schools, despite the group being frequently condemned as transphobic.

Trans Action Oxford organised a demonstration on the same day to show support for the trans community in the city.

Trans Action Oxford called for the University to review its policies on hosting groups like Woman’s Place saying: “In hosting A Woman’s Place UK, the University of Oxford tacitly endorsed its transphobia.”

In response to the WPUK meeting, hundreds of people including students, University staff and Oxford residents turned out to show their support for trans rights in a demonstration outside the Clarendon building.

The WPUK panel was described as a discussion on “academic freedom and the current issues being faced by women.”

It involved Oxford academic Selina Todd, who has been criticised by many members of students and staff for her connection with the organisation.

WPUK was established in 2017 to campaign against trans rights being legally enshrined in changes to the Gender Recognition Act.

They have been widely condemned in Oxford, with a previous statement from Trans Action Oxford being signed by over 120 groups and individuals including college JCRs, Oxford University Feminist Society, Oxford LGBTQ+ Society and the Oxford District Labour Party.

Trans Action Oxford have submitted a statement to the University criticising their decision to host WPUK.

They said: “Now, more than ever, the University needs to listen to the message of frustration, empathy and defiance sent by trans students and staff, as well as those who stood alongside us, at the demo.”

They added: “The University itself endorsed and protected a group which has shown time and time again its disdain for trans identities, and its desire to erode our rights.

“To welcome transphobes into the University is to show trans students and staff the door. It is to make them feel alienated, disrespected and lacking in institutional support.

“It is simply unacceptable that the University has facilitated the spread of transphobia within its own institutions. Any policies and procedures which allowed this to happen need a swift and radical reconsideration.

“By welcoming transphobic groups and employing transphobic members of staff, [the University] is actively and seriously harming its trans community.”

The demo involved a vigil for the victims of transphobia, acknowledging the violence which many trans individuals face.

There was also music and speeches from members of Trans Action Oxford and other participants in the demo.

Trans Action Oxford said: “We were deeply moved to see the people of Oxford show that transphobia of any kind is not welcome in our city. The extraordinary turnout and enthusiasm demonstrates beyond any doubt that students and residents of Oxford stand in solidarity with the trans community.”

The Trans Report 2018 found that 98% of trans students at the University had experienced mental health problems.

Trans Action Oxford emphasized their view that the University is not doing enough to support trans students. They said: “We demand, above all, that [the University] invest properly and meaningfully in improving the well-being of its trans students and staff, because right now, it is only furthering our suffering.”

Woman’s Place UK denied much of Trans Action UK’s statement. They disputed claims that they are transphobic, adding: “We are disappointed that Trans Action Oxford have not taken the opportunity to attend one of our meetings and hear what we are about, instead of making wildly inaccurate assumptions based on others’ misrepresentations.

“The claim that the University paid for security staff at our event is simply untrue.

“Woman’s Place UK booked and paid for the venue and all security staff. The University imposed several conditions of hire on the booking as a result of vicious protests at our previous meetings in Oxford and Brighton. We look forward to a time when people who oppose our opinions are able to do so in a wholly sensible manner thus enabling events to go ahead in a climate of open, democratic debate and without the need to hire security staff for the safety of attendees, speakers and venue staff.”

A spokesperson for the University said: “Oxford University prioritises protecting academic freedom and robust expression of opinion and debate, while not tolerating any form of unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation. The University is also committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse environment where students, staff and visitors, of all backgrounds feel protected, valued and respected. Ensuring that our LGBT+ staff and student community are able to thrive and realise their potential is a priority for the University. We equally aim to create an inclusive trans-friendly culture, workplace and learning environment, free from discrimination, harassment or victimisation, where trans staff and students are treated with dignity and respect.

“External, lawful organisations are free to apply to book University premises for meetings and events. In this case, the University took the view that the event could go ahead, given our commitment to academic freedom and to freedom of speech within the law. University members are entirely free to participate in events like this and, equally, to protest peacefully against them. There is absolutely no question of the University, as an employer, ever taking action against staff expressing their legitimate right to openly discuss and debate their views.”

The University confirmed that they had not paid for the security at the event – these costs were met by WPUK.

Pupils Stage ‘Picnic Protest’ Against Climate Change

Imogen Duke
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Pupils Stage ‘Picnic Protest’ Against Climate Change

Oxford school children protested against lack of climate action in a small-scale ‘picnic protest’, last Friday.

The students gathered at Bonn Square at 11am then walked to stage a sit-in outside County Hall.

Many turned up with posters expressing warnings, including “Stop Denying We Are Dying”, “Frack off! We want a green planet”, “There is no Planet B”, and “No Future. Why go to school?”

Scheduled for the final day before half-term, many students arrived in school uniform to make the statement that they were missing lessons.

Protesters were encouraged to bring revision material on the Oxford UK Student Climate Network Facebook event : “We will be having a “revision session” to show that even though we are missing our education we still care greatly about it. So bring along your school books etc!”

EJ Fawcett, a 17 year old activist and co-head of outreach at Oxford UKSCN, told Cherwell about the responses of schools to student climate protests: “Most schools won’t punish people as long as they have parental permission, but some schools in Oxford have banned people from going. Some schools force students to jump through hoops, such as having to do a quiz.”

Imogen Duke Oxfordshire County Council has been supportive about young people’s protests.

The Director of Planning and Place at Oxfordshire County Council, Susan Halliwell, met EJ at the sit-in last Friday to discuss concerns about climate change.

Halliwell said: “It was really encouraging to meet this group of passionate young people. We agree that it is unforgivable if we all continue on a path towards an ever more polluted planet and I admire the determination of this group and the others I have seen recently in Oxford. I hope that they stay active and make sure that climate action stays high on the agenda for everyone.

“We felt that it was important not just to allow the protest to happen by our building but also to go out and actually speak with the group – we all have to keep talking so that we as a society can make a real difference.”

EJ was positive about the reaction of the council: “The county council were really enthusiastic about it and genuinely proud of what young people in Oxfordshire are doing. They don’t want to stifle us and want us to use our potential.”

She added that the “small symbolic demonstration’ was probably attended by about 30 students, the small numbers due to the large Oxford Climate Strike which already occurred on 20th September.

“This was attended by hundreds of pupils who marched, chanted, and gave speeches in Oxford’s city centre.”

She also spoke about the challenges of student-led movements. UKSCN is a “group of activists who are quite motivated and trying to do the right thing” but school commitments, it is difficult to take on the extra workload.

The next global strike day is planned for 29th November, with the UK campaign run by UKSCN as part of the #FridaysForFuture movement.

Interview: Richard Herring

Mattie O'Donovan
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Interview: Richard Herring

For many an ardent comedy fan, Richard Herring is the unsung king of interviews. His podcast “Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast” (or RHLSTP as Herring and his audiences are sure to remind you) would often be the reason I would scare early morning commuters on the tube with my earphones in and a frenzied smile on my face. As a prolific stand up, writer and radio personality, I was somewhat daunted at the prospect of interviewing Herring, whose guests have varied from Stephen Fry to Edgar Wright to Brian Blessed. Beginning his career as part of the comedy duo Lee and Herring, Richard’s early success was to be found in TV cult classics such as Fist of Fun (1995-1996) and This Morning with Richard not Judy (1998-9). Ahead of his upcoming episode of RHLSTP at the Playhouse later this month, we spoke to Herring about his podcast, and what to expect.

 So, Richard, you started your comedy career here as a student with the Oxford Revue?

“Yeh I was here from 1986 till 1989. I came to university and pretty quickly concentrated on the comedy rather than history. I met Stuart Lee in the first term, and we started writing together for the second term and then we ended up working together for thirteen years after that. So, it was a very good time and we had a lot of fun. I think what was one of the most enjoyable things we did was we put on an obscure medieval shepherd play- we walked around Oxford in a cart and performed this play in medieval English. It wasn’t our usual thing, but we collected donations and gave them to charity.”

Did you have a favorite venue that you performed at?

“I did a lot of acting and comedy, particularly in the Burton Taylor rooms which I’m sure are still there. I also had roles at the Playhouse, which I will be returning to. We used to do a comedy show in the Oxford Union, but it was in the cellar underneath; up above in the debating chamber, there was Boris Johnson and David Cameron and Michael Gove and underneath was us- it looked like some kind of Gunpowder Plot. But that was where, among various people, I met Armando Iannucci and Al Murray. So, I think there is a play somewhere down the line about the various destinies of those two groups of people- maybe the wrong ones ended up ruling the country.”

You are taking your show RHLSTP to the Playhouse very soon. What guests do you have lined up?

“I’ve got the journalist and author environmentalist George Monbiot coming on. I’ll probably pair him up with a comedian. I asked David Cameron if he wanted to come on- if he wants to do it then he’s welcome to, but he may get some questions that he doesn’t like.”

You mentioned that some of your contemporaries such as Armando Iannucci and Al Murray were at Oxford at the same time as you – were those the first guests you were looking to when you started your podcast?

“I mean both have been on, so it’s nice to have my friends on. But mostly for the podcast, I don’t really mix in celebrity circles. I like to take a punt on someone I don’t really know, and therefore have to get to know on stage. Bob Mortimer, for example- I never met Bob before properly and that was a really great interview. I’m very excited for upcoming guests that I like, but who most people probably have not heard of- like the author Jonathan Ames, or John Hopkins, who plays for York City. So, it’s kind of fun to see who will come on. I asked Paul McCartney if he would do the Liverpool gig. I did get a response. The response was no”

You have heard of breadth of different guests on your show- who has been the worst?

“Nearly everyone is good. Weirdly, Stewart lee was pretty bad the second time he came on- he’d had a couple of drinks, so we edited that quite a lot”

Your shows are known for having interactive audience participation. Have you had your any difficult audience experiences?

“Most of have been okay. I think the success of the podcast is down to the audience being so great actually; during the Stephen Fry interview, when we he spoke about his suicide attempt, nobody in the audience even tweeted about it. No one went to the newspapers and when it broke it became a massive worldwide story. And that’s why I think it’s a very classy audience- nobody thought “ok let’s make 50 quid out of going to a newspaper to break this story”. The audience enjoys the comedy, but they also enjoy the serious bits, and that really does create this atmosphere. What’s great about the podcast is that the audience makes it- the listeners will decide if the show gets recommissioned. Recently, they have started chipping in and contributing a small bit of money to keep us going as well. It is a very symbiotic relationship, and I think they’re a crucial part of what makes it work”

Many comedians cite Herring and Lee as influential for them. What have been your favourite comedy duos?

“As a kid, I always loved more mainstream double acts- Morecambe and Wise were a brilliant act, and something that also brought all the generations together. I remember watching their show with my family- there were different levels of humour for different viewers. I used to love Cannonball in the early days too, but as you get older you pretend you thought those shows were a bit naff. But really, Rik Mayall and Monty Python were my main comedic influences. I’d listen to the Monty Python records because I was too young for the TV series. Rik Mayall was a man of that generation, and made it seem possible to me that being a comedian wasn’t just for working men’s clubs.”

If you could resurrect any of your old shows, be it TV or the radio, would you?

“I sort of feel like the stuff Stewart and I did in the 90s, it didn’t really get the credit it deserved. I think comedy fans love it and they’ve stayed very true to us over it, so it all retained this air of “cult program”. A lot of comedians were watching us as kids. We were young when we got on the TV and it just felt like a natural progression. I don’t think I appreciated how lucky we were to have that opportunity.  There’s an element where I would like to go back in and do some of those again. But also, you know you move on and you come to new things. I always felt I’d rather keep moving and find something else to do than the rest on your laurels and try and do the same thing over and over again. This podcast is the only thing I have ever done for this length of time and it’s only because I think it adapts and changes so much. It doesn’t feel like the same show I started with. I’ll carry on doing it until people stop listening or until I suddenly go that’s enough of that. I’m enjoying it more and more all the time, whereas usually with touring, I’m looking forward to It being over”

Speaking of your stand up- back in 2015 you attempted to carry out every single one of your previous eleven tour shows followed by one new one in six weeks. What was your response to going back to your old material?

“For the older shows there were bits that I wouldn’t do now but they made sense as I was at that time. As I approached my 40s, I was single and quite frustrated, and the shows were parodying that. I think the thing about those shows was it was pre-Twitter. I was a bit nervous about it because there were lines in the show, that if out of context in tweets, they might look a bit weird.

Shows like “Someone likes Yogurt” (2005) were too long and were deliberately aggravating and annoying. I had to listen to it so many times and I start to get quite annoyed. Now that I am a parent, I realize that my shows are sometimes peoples’ one night out in a month- I don’t want to aggravate them. I did my old shows because Edinburgh was too hard, but this obviously was much harder than doing the Fringe. Amazingly you know it worked out. I’m glad I did it. I don’t think I could do it again.”

A regular source of comedy on your own show is the topic of Pointless. Both you and your wife (Catie Wilkins) have been contestants on the show. Who would you say is better?

I’m definitely better on Pointless than she is, but our partnership on the show was the closest I came to winning. I’ve been let down by my partners every time. Catie got the highest answer on every question- it was like she was playing Family Fortunes. She was better than most of my other partners. It nearly worked and we only lost in the third round by two points, so it was very tight. So maybe I’ll win next time I go on- that’ll be the fourth time and there are only four teams, so statistically if I haven’t won after four, then maybe I should stop playing.

For those who haven’t listened to your podcast, often you introduce emergency questions to your guests- what is the criteria for a really good emergency question?

“It’s difficult really. I think I am pretty good at coming up with them and also pretty bad. I enjoy the more mundane ones, designed to give a very good choice between two things that are not diametrically opposed. Or even questions you wouldn’t ask, like “Have you ever flown a kite?”  that’s a good emergency questions because it’s something nearly everyone has done but would never have talked about. There will usually be a story. My favourite at the moment is asking what one item you would take from an art gallery or museum anywhere in the world. Often, it’s the questions that have the ability to allow the person you talk to give an interesting answer. I don’t know if I can be rude, but the one about whether a man has ever tried to pleasure himself orally- there are not many answers. So, some questions kind of run their course. “

In that vein, we thought we would conclude here by asking our own crafted emergency questions. Are you ready?

“Yes, I’ll be very brutally honest. You’re quite young, but you might be OK.”

Would you rather have bat wings and be able to fly but never have sex again OR only ever have sex in a bat costume?

“I would prefer to only have sex in a bat costume- that’s how I have sex anyway so that was the perfect question.”

Would you rather leave the EU with no deal or live in Boris Johnson’s armpit for 10 years?

“I think for the good of the country I’d have to live in Boris Johnson’s armpit. I think it would probably be quite interesting- I mean you would see him getting technology lessons quite a lot. I’ll do it for you!”

For the full interview, listen to Oxide Guestlist on Oxide Radio

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