Monday 13th October 2025
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Review – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Henry Shalders
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Review – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

At its basics this is a film about internet connectivity at a data centre. It’s often written that the Disney-Lucasfilm compact is to bring the stale space-western sci-fi flicks of George Lucas to a younger and more sceptical Millennial generation, reared on a supersize-me diet of CGI and special effects. Transported back into a time at the very dawn of the rebellion, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story tackles issues all too prevalent in the real world today.

Rogue One is a new kind of Star Wars movie, a stand-alone film spun off from a slither of text crawl at the beginning of A New Hope, the original Star Wars episode released in 1977. Its British director, Gareth Edwards, calls it Star Wars 3A and it forms the prelude to the 1977 movie, as the Rebel Alliance uncover the existence of the Death Star.  It’s a gripping movie about triumphing against all odds, happily shorn of the Ozymandian baggage that encompassed 2015’s A Force Awakens. The cast has a refreshing diversity, with Felicity Jones playing the troubled anti-hero Jyn Erso and Diego Luna as the rebel alliance captain Cassian Andor. The film probes questions around resistance theory and looks at the legitimacy of the Rebellion itself. This is as close as we’ll get to Marxist-Sci-fi; we’re up personal with the foot soldiers of the rebellion, caught in a hopeless clash between forces that far transcend them.

Diehard Star Wars fans will be relieved that the core tropes survive. Though less derivative than A Force Awakens, Rogue One borrows enough from the original trilogy to fit in snugly to the Star Wars universe. There are cameos from C3PO and R2D2, and Darth Vader returns with all the camp malice the 91-year-old James Earl Jones can muster. Michael Giacchino’s score is a fitting pastiche of John Williams’ dissonant overtures in the original soundtrack.

Rogue One is also a triumph for Oxford drama. Felicity Jones (Chalet Girl, The Theory of Everything) is an alumna of Wadham College (BA English) and was active in OUDS. The key supporting part of Bodhi Rook is taken by Christ Church’s Riz Ahmed (BA PPE) of Four Lions fame. Apparently Jones attended the grime nights Ahmed ran in Cellar, a thought which clouded my judgement as they engaged in intergalactic warfare.

Where the film succeeds is its problematising of the usual Manichean good-evil divide adopted by every Star Wars film. Edwards probes the idea of what it means to be a rebel. Everyone is compromised, from Cassian Andor who is willing to kill in cold blood, to Erso’s father, Galen, held in Imperial Captivity as he is forced to complete his work on the Death Star.

Rogue One is let down by a slightly bizarre finale where the lead protagonists are engaged at a pitched battle at an Imperial data centre. Without giving too much away, they’re engaged in a fight to gain control of a comms tower in order to transmit a large data file. As a wifi addicted millennial this set off immediate alarm bells. Don’t they have 4G in this galaxy long ago, far far away (they’re capable of the “jump into hyperspace” after all)? What about Dropbox? Have they thought about uploading it offline? Doesn’t the Empire use a Cloud storage facility? If 4G’s an issue there must be a way to set-up a WiFi hotspot.

These issues plagued me as I sat watching the finale. Surely the writers could have come up with a better premise for a closing sequence than this? I understand the imperative to appeal to Millennials. I am one. But what seemed to be unfolding before my eyes was a parody of my tussles with Boingo Hotspots every time I go to an airport, except I don’t have a lightsaber to express my wrath.

WiFi issues aside, this is a film worth seeing for Star Wars aficionados and newcomers alike. At points audacious, it lacks the black-white thematic clarity that typifies the other Episodes. We’re left with a heart-rending story of bravery, love and loss.

Carrie Fisher: a tribute to the actress who redefined gender expectations in Hollywood

Daniel Curtis and Louis McEvoy
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Carrie Fisher: a tribute to the actress who redefined gender expectations in Hollywood

The Force Awakens was rightly commended for its diversity and strong female protagonist, but such praise neglected to mention the feminism of the first Star Wars film. Leia’s first appearance is an exercise in deconstruction: accompanied by soft, twinkling music and in an angelic white dress, the fairy tale princess suddenly, calmly kills a fascist soldier with a blaster. Upon rescue, she quickly and capably takes charge of the situation. Although the Star Wars narrative is largely a rehash of Flash Gordon, Leia is a significant alteration: she’s a steely politician and committed rebel leader, and as hyper-talented and witty as her actress. It’s a great role, and the original Princess Leia, as well as 2015’s General Organa, is worth remembering.

By the 1980 and 1983 sequels, however, she gets short-changed, reduced to simpering girlfriend of Han Solo (who instructs Chewbacca to protect Leia, as if the woman who stared down Darth Vader and Peter Cushing would need protecting) and clad in an objectifying, humiliating metal bikini Fisher reviled. Although she didn’t receive the same quality material as the first-time round, she would go beyond the inadequate gender politics of cinema, becoming a distinct, brilliant heroine in her own right. Check out her interviews—especially her appearance on ‘Good Morning America’ last year, when a question on her weight loss was dryly shut down with: “I think that’s a stupid conversation.” A manic-depressive drug addict with a gay husband, an idiosyncratic eccentric who brought her dog alone to fly first class with her, and a brilliant heroine in her own right, her legacy of defying conventions, in character and out, offers something valuable in today’s bleak political era: hope. Louis McEvoy

 

It is true that Leia has been a staple of both my childhood and my burgeoning adult life. Yet it is the person and creative behind the role, behind the fandom, that I mourn, and that we must remember. Fisher, in her tireless advocacy of mental health and body image awareness, was an inspiration. A vocal sufferer of bipolar disorder and substance abuse, Fisher’s journey through the turbulence of Hollywood was well-documented—but where many would be victim to the tabloid press’ corrosive glare, Fisher was empowered by outlining her life in her own words. That could be through the frank interviews destigmatising her battles, as well as her personal and revealing autobiographical writing— Fisher’s final book, The Princess Diarist, was only released in November 2016.

While her autobiographical writing was widely vaunted, her work as one of Hollywood’s most revered script doctors went deliberately uncredited: she worked on the scripts for Hook, Sister Act, Lethal Weapon 3, the Young Indiana Jones TV series and even the Star Wars prequels. In short, summarising her impact and inspiration is futile, for the late Fisher was someone who energised the lives of others by defining her own. In her play and book Wishful Drinking, she wrote, “I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.” Let it be known, then, that that was how she passed—as ever, her life remains her own, even in death. Daniel Curtis

Recipe: as American as apple pie

Julianna Lewis
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Recipe: as American as apple pie

Unbeknownst to many Oxfordians, Christmas isn’t allowed to start in America until after the pageantry of Thanksgiving and Black Friday are over. Once we have all eaten ourselves into comas after the second of only three days in the year where we actually eat roasts, then the wreaths and garlands and holiday lights can come out.

Imagine my surprise then, as an American abroad, when Christmas trees started appearing the week after Halloween. I felt like I was in a television special where suddenly an animated reindeer would appear and scold me for being stuck in my American ways. To be honest, at first, I was a little peeved at how excited and spirited everyone was. Primark selling garland and reindeer antler headbands? In November? Tesco stocking Christmas candy and advent calendars before I had had a chance to eat myself into a coma on turkey and pie and to ignore the racism and genocide on which my nation had been founded? It was absolutely absurd.

However, once I overcame my initial Scrooge-like reaction, I realised how delightful an extended holiday season could be. Beyond it being socially acceptable to eat peppermint bark and wear ugly sweaters for longer, it also afforded me an opportunity to take part in some new holiday traditions with my new friends and loved ones. I drank mulled wine, exchanged Christmas cards, popped Christmas crackers and generally enjoyed the holiday cheer.

Once back home for the vac, it was time for one of my family’s oldest traditions. My dad’s family has always considered their motto to be “all pie is good pie”. No matter the family gathering, there are almost always more pies than people. Apple, pumpkin, pecan, lemon meringue, anything. This is especially true at Christmas: there must be pie and at least one of them has to be an apple pie baked with my great-great-grandma’s recipe. Now I’m not sure how meat pies or mince pies fit into this “all pie is good pie” tradition as I bring it across the Atlantic, but either way, no matter the country, it’s not a real holiday unless there’s an apple pie for dessert.

Ingredients:

Crust:

  1. 2-2½ cups flour (240-300 g)
  2. 1½ tsp salt
  3. ⅔ cups vegetable oil (67 g)
  4. 4⅓ cup milk (77 g)

Filling:

  1. 6-7 Granny Smith apples (approx. 8-10 cm diameter)
  2. up to 1 cup sugar (200 g)

Method:

1 –  Mix ingredients together in a bowl until a soft dough forms.

2 – Divide dough in half and roll between wax paper until it fits the diameter of your pie pan (generally ½ cm thick, 32 cm in diameter).

3 – For bottom of pie, once dough is rolled out, remove top layer of wax paper and gently flip bottom layer (with dough on it) into the pie pan so that the wax paper is on top.

4 –  Form dough to shape of pan and remove wax paper.

5 – Peel apples and thinly slice into the pie plate (with lower crust already in place).

6 – Pour 100-200 g sugar over apples depending on the tartness of the apples (more tart requires more sugar).

7 – Roll out the second half of dough in the same way as the base and gently place over top of the apples. Use fork to press top and bottom dough together so that crust is formed and pie is sealed. Use knife to cut the excess dough off the edge and poke holes into the dough to release steam.

8 – Bake at 190°C for 45-60 minutes until apples at centre can be pierced with knife easily. If you prefer a more formed apple, take pie out of the oven when apples are still hard to cut as they will continue to cook while the pie cools down.

George Michael: a tribute to the man of words

Natalia Bus
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George Michael: a tribute to the man of words

If there was one thing that George Michael knew, it was words. The power of words to move, inspire, and change. The essence of what he stood for and what kind of musician he was will live on through the words he chose to inject life into his songs. It is only fitting, therefore, that we pay tribute to the activist, humanitarian, and entertainer through a selection of his most poignant and relevant lyrics.

“And it’s hard to love, there’s so much to hate/ Hanging on to hope/ When there is no hope to speak of/ And the wounded skies above say it’s much too late/ Well maybe we should all be praying for time”

It is seldom that a verse written 26 years ago rings so true in the world today. Michael’s bleak, almost-apocalyptic vision of the world resonates as a warning shot in a time of war, post-truth, and terrorism. On ‘Praying for Time’, the pop superstar fluctuates between a powerful and soft rendering, using his voice to convey both the need for change and the fear that it may already be too late.

“There’s something deep inside of me/ There’s someone else I’ve got to be/ Take back your picture in a frame/ Take back your singing in the rain/ I just hope you understand/ Sometimes the clothes do not make the man”

Taken from the same album as the latter (Listen Without Prejudice), ‘Freedom! ’90’ bears the message of self-love and individuality in the face of opposition. A man who was never afraid to show his true colours (no matter the number of questionable outfit choices they bred) and stand up for his homosexual identity, Michael drives home the importance of the “Freedom” to be anything you want in this catchy refrain.

“We could have been so good together/ We could have lived this dance forever/ But now who’s gonna dance with me/ Please stay”

With the most unmistakable saxophone intro of any track in the past two decades, ‘Careless Whisper’ is not only timeless for its thoroughly sexy musical arrangement. The hearts of listeners shatter to a million pieces as Michael agonisingly begs his lover not to leave him broken and alone.

“Sex is natural, sex is good/ Not everybody does/ But everybody should”

Released during the mid-80s AIDS hysteria, a time of fear and panic in the US, the lyrics to ‘I Want Your Sex (Part 1)’ are a refreshingly bold statement. Yet again, Michael dismisses ignorance and fear in the typically fun, tongue-in-cheek manner that he is known for. Unsurprisingly, the track, as well as its equally steamy video, was met with outrage, as Michael found himself in boiling hot water-not for the first or last time in his lively career.

“‘Cause I gotta have faith, faith, faith”

The simplest repetition bears the most uplifting message. This upbeat pop gem of a track contains the most infectious chorus in 80s British pop music and is sure to have you bopping long after its three minute and 50 seconds run-time is up. ‘Faith’ captures perfectly the quick-witted, playful, and ultimately fun icon that was George Michael.

Unlikely champions and unbelievable success: Cherwell’s top sporting moments

Karl Frey
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Unlikely champions and unbelievable success: Cherwell’s top sporting moments

If we can thank 2016 for anything, it is some spectacular moments in sport. As the world bemoans the celebrity deaths, wars and political upheaval that have punctuated this turbulent year, let us also remember the brilliant and unlikely that we have encountered in the world of sport. It was in the arena of sport that we arguably witnessed the triumph of kindness, passion and determination, which seemed so absent from the wider world. Here are Cherwell’s top five sporting moments of 2016:

1) Leicester City wins the British Premier League

By far the most memorable moment of in the world of British football this year was Leicester City’s Premier League win. On Monday the 2nd of May 2016, a Tottenham 2-2 draw away at Chelsea confirmed that Leicester City had won the Barclays Premier League title in one of the greatest sporting stories of all time. Despite an excellent start to the 2015/2016 campaign, the Foxes have remained underdogs for the majority of the season. Football fans across the country were convinced that they didn’t have the squad depth or quality of football to remain at the top of the table; nonetheless Ranieri’s men never stopped to impress. In December 2015, Jamie Vardy received his award for consecutive Premier League goals. The striker scored in 11 straight games to break the record previously held by Manchester United’s Ruud Van Nistelrooy. An outstanding season also earned Riyad Mahrez the PFA Player of the Year award. Leicester City’s 2015/16 side cost an aggregate of £54.4 million with substitute Leonardo Ulloa being their most expensive signing (£10m). The other three teams that made the top four in the 15/16 season, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City, had squads costing of £161.1 million, £251.9 million and £418.8 million, respectively: clearly money isn’t everything in football. Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City have cemented their place in Premier League history.

2) Euros 2016 – Portugal win, Wales reach semi-finals and Iceland Vikings conquer Europe

Second only to Leicester’s Premier League success, comes a nerve racking and eventful European Championship hosted by France. Will Grigg was on fire, Zaza’s ball yet to land, and Vicente del Bosque was fired as Spain failed to impress again. France’s Griezmann proved to be unstoppable against the German giants. Wales beat Belgium to reach the semi finals and the Viking war chant echoed in the streets of Paris.

The most striking story of the 2016 Euros was that of the Icelandic football team. In the month of July, 27,000 Icelandic fans, or roughly 8 per cent of the nation’s population, made their way to Saint-Etienne for the group stage game against Portugal. With the now world renown Viking war chant as their trademark, the Icelandic players and fans gave it their all for their tiny nation’s proud name. Iceland’s goalkeeper works as a music video director and one of their coaches is a dentist. Nonetheless, the Vikings humiliated England in the last 16 stage with a 2-1 victory, which marked an end to Roy Hodgson’s disappointing managerial career. Iceland were then defeated by the hosts in the quarterfinals.

After Iceland’s inspirational run came the final held between France and Portugal at the Stade de France, Saint Dennis on 10 July. Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo tearfully abandoned the pitch with an ankle injury in the first half and handed over leadership responsibilities to former Manchester United winger Luis Nani. A goalless draw took the game to extra-time and Portuguese substitute Edér found the back of the net with a powerful 25-yard strike to earn his country the victory. 

Relive the drama of the final (with Titanic music):

3) Rio Olympics- records smashed, sacrifices made and success for Oxford

In August 2016, Rio de Janeiro became the first South American city to ever host the Summer Olympic Games. The lead-up to the Games was defined by controversies including a Zika virus outbreak, a doping scandal involving Russian athletes and instabilities in Brazil’s federal government. Despite this, Rio de Janeiro came to life like never seen before and the Olympics were jammed-packed with sporting talent and memorable moments.

Two Oxford graduates, Constantine Louloudis and Tom Mitchell won medals in rowing and rugby 7s respectively. Louloudis – who is a graduate in classics from Trinity College – earned gold with the Great British 4 man rowing team. Mitchell led the Great British rugby team to the Olympic final, where the Fijians proved to be superior.

One of the moments that marked the Olympics, was Bahamian runner Shaunae Miller’s dive across the finish line to beat the seven times gold medallist Alison Felix in the women’s 400m race. In a different manner, British runner Mo Farah also found himself lying on the running tracks after being knocked down at the start of the 10000m race. Regardless of the fall, Farah still managed to defend his title.

There were some firsts. On the 12th of August, Fiji erupted with celebrations as its 7s rugby team won the country’s first ever gold medal, beating Great Britain in the final by an astonishing 43-7. On the following day, Monica Puig of Puerto Rico proudly wove her country’s flag after winning the gold medal match in the women’s tennis competition. This too, was Puerto Rico’s first ever-gold medal.

On the other end of the spectrum, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete ever; leading the USA to victory in the 400m Medley race, he retired with his 23rd gold medal. No other Olympic athlete has ever exceeded 9 gold medals. However, for many, the sensation of Rio Olympics was US gymnast Simone Biles. Winning gold for all-round individual and team performances, the 19 year old has already been described as one of the best Olympic gymnasts ever. She also earned a gold medal for the Vault and a Bronze medal for the Beam events.

4) Kris Jenkins sinks a championship-winning buzzer 3 pointer

On the 4th of April 2016, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) basketball final was held between the Vilanova Wildcats and the University of North Carolina (UNC). Kris Jenkins sunk a championship-winning buzzer 3 pointer to earn the Vilanova’s the title, in what is referred to as “The Perfect Ending”.

UNC had recovered from a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes to tie the game with 4.7 seconds left, leaving the Wildcats one last chance to clinch a victory before overtime. Four-year team captain Ryan Arcidiacono dribbled down court and passed the ball back to assist Jenkins’ game-winning shot. Coach Jay Wright credits the play to the “Wildcat minute”, where the team practices late-game scenarios at every practice. The game has been called one of the greatest in the history of NCAA Tournament Championships.

5) Chicago Cubs win the World Series Championship

On the 2nd of November 2016, after 108 years of waiting, the Chicago Cubs ended the longest drought in American sporting history. The Cubs won the 2016 World Series with a wild 8-7 victory over the Indians at Progressive Field. The triumph completed their climb back from a 3-1 Series deficit to claim their first championship since 1908, breaking ‘The Curse of the Billy Goat’.

This curse was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs by the owner of Billy Goat Tavern, William Sianis. The odour of his pet goat Murphy was bothering other fans and so Sianis was asked to leave Wrigley Field, the Cubs’ home ballpark, during game 4 of the 1945 World Series. Unhappy with his dismissal, Sianis declared, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more!”. The Cubs lost the 1945 World Series to the Detroit Tigers, and did not win a World Series championship again until 2016.

You bet Chicago Cubs fans won’t mess with the Billy Goat Tavern again.

Windy colours

Emma Leech
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Windy colours

“My ancestors were Portuguese painters,” Henry tells me in his thick Liverpudlian accent as he helps me carry a metre-long painted canvas back to my college. The bus shelter in which he lives is, by night, filled with a sleeping bag and tarpaulin as he tries to keep out the often harsh Oxford weather. By day, however, he clears this away to make a temporary art studio. The bench becomes both seat and easel and Henry is surrounded by various off-cuts of wood, packs of paints and a collection of his own works, all of which are for sale.

I walk past Henry every day on the way to my classes, looking at his works: an assortment of Oxford landscapes, religious motifs, and more abstract paintings. It might be overly generous to suggest that these are gallery-ready works of art, if there is such a thing, as many of them look unfinished or contain obvious mistakes. But they all have a certain colourful appeal against the stark greyness of Woodstock Road.

There is a great deal of variety when it comes to the theme or subject of his paintings. Amongst small skylines and vases of flowers stands a five foot tall painting of a clown, but in each he uses colour with such assertion that they all stand alone as impressive pieces.

Henry’s experimentation is clear as this ever-changing street gallery evolves in terms of skill and medium. Over a short few months, he moves from wood to canvas to even painting the Radcliffe Camera on a violin. His brushstrokes seem more deliberate and his use of colour becomes bolder, with skies of red and navy, and bright orange buildings.

The first painting to catch my eye was a long, landscape piece of wood painted completely black with a white streak breaking the darkness across the middle. It reminded me of home, of looking out at night on Aberdeen beach, the white horses of the breaking waves just visible in the pitch black of a summer after dark. However, and to my disappointment and surprise, a few days’ hesitation before I went to buy the painting was enough for it to be snapped up by someone else, whom I later discovered to be a friend in college. The speed of the turnover of paintings amazed me and so I was hastier when another one sparked my interest.

This time, the painting was of the Radcliffe Camera and was on a large canvas. The building stands in the middle, made of rough strokes of deep pink. Around it, other Oxford buildings form a backdrop but the perspective sets them slightly behind and the use of warm colour on the library brings it forward so that the eye is drawn to the building itself and then up to the spike on top.

From there, the sky opens up, with swirls of red, blue, and green which make it look at once stormy and summery. It was this unusual mix of colour in the sky that pushed me to approach Henry and ask to buy it. He told me that it was his mother’s dying wish for him to paint and we chatted about our shared roots in Liverpool.

More of a perfectionist than an art connoisseur, there were parts of the painting that I thought would bother me. Almost immediately after handing over my cash I was struck with the momentary regret of buying an unashamedly amateurish painting. Despite some poorly veiled looks of distaste from my friends, however, the painting (and its imperfections) has nothing but grown on me. The warm depiction of my adopted home brightens my dreary college room and reminds me of my favourite Oxford moments, when the skies are candyfloss blue and pink in the sunset.

Oxford Students outspend Cambridge counterparts by thousands of pounds

Benn Sheridan
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Oxford Students outspend Cambridge counterparts by thousands of pounds

A student at Oxford will spend, on average, £24,760 per year to live and study in the city, compared to the average Cambridge student’s £20,266, according to a recent study by price comparison website GoCompare.com.

Though both universities charge the same fees for tuition, and students at both spend the same on books and academic equipment (£14 monthly), Oxford students spend significantly more on accommodation and socialising.

Oxford students are caught out by hefty student housing prices, which average out at £568 per month for those living in College, and £563 per month for those living out. The average Cambridge student will, by contrast, pay just £433 per month when living in college, and £498 per month when out.

The study also found that Oxford students spend nearly twice as much on their social life (£182 per month) as Cambridge students (£95 per month).

Along with socialising, Oxford students also spend £182 per month on clothes. This is a full six times as much as Cambridge students, who spend just £30 per month.

The study also ranked UK universities by cost. Whilst Cambridge came in 38th place, Oxford and Oxford Brookes were the only non-London universities in the top ten, coming 7th and 10th respectively.

Earlier this year, Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) succeeded in preventing the University from raising tuition fees for the 2015 intake from £9000.

The 2016 intake are, like students at a majority of Russell Group universities, to be charged the maximum permitted by the government, £9250.

The University and OUSU have been contacted for comment.

An Indian Christmas feast

Gitanjali Sharma
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An Indian Christmas feast

Spending the holidays in India, especially at this time of year, is a real treat: the warm sunshine, the comforting faces of familiar friends and relatives and of course (most importantly) the mouth-watering, and indescribably delicious food being served at the table.

This Christmas, our dinner was a fusion of cuisines from across the country, reflecting both our family’s own traditions and the influences from wider Indian culture. We enjoyed some traditional southern Indian dishes, such as chicken biryani and, one of my favourites, baingan bharta (mashed aubergine curry). There were also nods to North Indian influences in the Punjabi chole masala (chickpeas) and gajar ka halwa, a carrot pudding served with ice cream.

Our Christmas meal captured in microcosm the huge diversity and range of Indian cooking, inevitable in such a vast, ever-growing nation, with 29 completely different states that all have their own culinary particularities. There is a still a very strong affiliation to Christmas in the country and over the years Christians from every state have added their own unique flavours to the festivities.

These are only a small selection of dishes that feature in Indian homes during the festive season. In Goa, there is a throwback to rich Portuguese roots and beef, the most loved meat, is the star of their stir fries, cutlets, and croquettes, which accompany quintessentially Portuguese-inspired dishes like chicken xacuti (with white poppy seeds, grated coconut and dried red chillies), pork vindaloo or pork sorpotel curry.

In the south of Andhra Pradesh hot spices and hearty meals dominate, with some families preparing a handi (a large bowl) of mutton biryani the traditional Deccani way. While in Kerala, Malayi Christians begin Christmas feasting in the morning with piping hot palappams (soft pancakes made with rice flour and coconut milk) and meen moilee (a mildly flavoured coconut fish curry).

In the North East there are many tribes, each with their own cooking style, but most swear by the duck curry and steamed rice combination, where the exclusive use of roasted chilli powder and lack of masala differentiates it from other Indian curries.

There are also many Christmas sweets and goodies, mainly originating from Goa, traditionally called ‘kuswar’. These range from delicious dense fruitcakes and rose cookies to kulkuls, (semolina based dough balls made with cardamom and dusted with icing sugar). Traditional deserts like gulab jamun (a milk sweet drenched in syrup) and kheer (rice pudding with saffron and raisins), alongside jaggery (concentrated date sugar)-based sweets are also a must.

When comparing this with British Christmas traditions, on one hand, Anglo-Indian Christmas meals aren’t too dissimilar from back home and are teasingly English at heart—a roast turkey or duck is marinated overnight, and then roasted with a myriad of herbs and spices like thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Its stuffing consists of boiled veg and mashed potatoes and side dishes include cranberry sauce, pork chops, and good old Brussels sprouts.

However, many Indian Christmas meals also differ from their British counterpart: meat is less of a centrepiece, and there is a larger focus on other elements of the meal with perhaps more to excite vegetarians. Although Christmas dinners can differ somewhat in the UK, with the eternal debate on the inclusion of Yorkshire puddings, in India there is a greater celebration of this variety.

But the main aspect of it all is of course the same—a plethora of delicious food for family and friends to enjoy.

Post-Christmas ennui: cultural picks for when the inertia sets in

Priya Khaira-Hanks
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Post-Christmas ennui: cultural picks for when the inertia sets in

Album: Solange’s A Seat at the Table

As you become one with your sofa, Solange’s slow, dreamy vocals and gradually building soundscapes will sooth you as you sink further into your festive stupor. However, her lyrics might not be quite such a salve, as she offers her unflinching commentary on race and femininity, conveyed through deceptively delicate melodies. Re-engage your Baileys-soaked brain whilst avoiding anything too aurally jarring—her refreshingly caustic exposé of white privilege comes via a sound smooth as honey. The accompanying music videos are perfect for when the tinsel-and-Santa-hat aesthetic is beginning to grate, as her clean lines, artful colour palette and striking juxtapositions are worlds away from onesies and yet another novelty Christmas jumper.

Book: The Muse by Jessie Burton

The Oxford graduate’s second novel is as good as, or perhaps even surpasses, her debut, The Miniaturist. The story flits between 1930s Spain on the brink of the Revolution, and the bohemian art-world of 1960s London, and accomplishes the rare feat of being both intensely readable and intellectually challenging. Highlights include compelling fictional paintings you wish you could see realised, the atmospheric portrayal of winter in southern Spain and a cameo from Peggy Guggenheim. When all you’ve read for the last three days is the Christmas Radio Times, this is an excellent novel to ease you back into your Vacation reading list.

Film: Moana

What better way to escape the grey gloom of a British Christmas than to travel with Disney to a magical, animated Polynesian island, where the chief’s daughter Moana is raring to escape small-island life and save the world. It seizes upon the best elements of Pocahontas and Frozen—cute animal sidekicks, soaring ballads about teenage angst—whilst omitting the bad—an abhorrent colonialist message, the irritating snowman. Moana escapes the curse of an unnecessary romantic storyline, the downfall of many a good Disney film, and, as if that wasn’t enough, features Jermaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords as a very glamorous crab.

TV drama: Stranger Things

Utterly consumable without leaving a bitter taste in your mouth, this 8-part Netflix series is sci-fi gold.  A homage to 1980s pop culture and early Steven Spielberg movies, badly-cut denim and dubious hairstyles abound—but don’t let that put you off. The Duffer brothers have created a world that seems at once familiar and fresh, injecting familiar tropes and iconography with new life. It’s the kind of addictive television that makes you want to cancel plans to rush home and watch it—and, appropriately for the post-Christmas slump, you will never look at broken fairy-lights in the same way again.

TV comedy: Fleabag

Natasha Burton has already perfectly summed up the filthy, perceptive power of Fleabag for Cherwell, but the box set is still on iPlayer for those who haven’t yet abandoned themselves to its glorious cynicism and moral depravity. After the over-indulgence and familial strife of Christmas, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s paean to selfishness couldn’t be more appealing. However, there is real emotion at the heart of this razor-sharp sitcom, which features joyous performances from Olivia Coleman as a stepmother dripping in smug satisfaction and Hugh Dennis as a grizzled and pathetic businessman. If you have been badly behaved this Christmas, take solace in Fleabag.

The Oxford Alternotives’ Christmas release: a mingling of warmth and humour

Natalia Bus
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The Oxford Alternotives’ Christmas release: a mingling of warmth and humour

The Oxford Alternotives, Oxford’s longest established mixed a capella group, warmed the hearts of many an a capella fan last week with their cover of The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ released alongside their festive ‘Love Altually’ video. The video features a collection of favourite scenes from the undeniable Christmas classic and marks the group’s first charity release, with all proceeds going to UNHCR’s Christmas Syrian Appeal.

The group’s choice of song, despite featuring poignantly in the film itself, is perhaps not an obviously Christmassy one. However, it ties in perfectly with the message of unity and care for your loved ones, sentiments which play a vital part in every home this time of year. The vocal arrangement throughout the cover bolsters this, with each line of the track being sung by a different solitary voice, all coming together for the chorus in soothing, yet powerful harmonies.

Alice Robinson, a veteran member of the Alternotives told Cherwell that the video took around two weeks to film and that “a particular highlight was waking up bright and early to get to Port Meadow by 8am and film the ‘Aurelia’ scenes. We forced Imogen [Mechie] to jump into the river in nothing but underwear in minus temperatures. Sadly, those scenes didn’t make the final cut, much to her annoyance.”

The video, however, is much more than just a piece of wonderfully light-hearted fun. The group is hoping that their effort will raise awareness for UNHCR’s ‘Nobody Left Outside’ campaign. The ultimate goal of the organisation is to raise enough money to help shelter the two million people forced to flee their homes as a result of the ongoing Syria crisis. UNHCR are a highly effective United Nations organisation established in 1949 as a vehicle to protect and support refugees from all corners of the world.

Stressing the message of love and inclusion behind the Christmas cover, Rosie Richards, currently one of the co-presidents of The Alternotives told Cherwell, “We had so much fun filming the video and it brought us a hell of a lot closer as a group and we are lucky enough to be in a position where we could mess around and have fun with it. But we also wanted to ensure that it wasn’t just a good experience for us but could make a difference for those who aren’t as lucky. In the words of Hugh Grant, we wanted to show that ‘love actually is all around’.”

Watch the video here.

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