Interview, Prose

Oriel Interviews: Nick

‘Everyone at Oriel is friendly and willing to help’ Interview conducted by Chloe Whitehead Nick, one of Oriel’s dedicated food preparation assistants, started working in College as a kitchen porter in early July this year. Born in Oxford when the Westgate shopping centre was still terraced housing, he enjoys walking along the beautiful canals and […]

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Humour, Prose

Misfortune and Monopoly

by Peter Hammerton Any self-proclaimed board games aficionado, sitting in a café playing The Settlers of Catan with a tattoo of an icosahedral die on his forearm, will tell you that Monopoly is terrible. It lasts forever; it’s obvious who’s going to win long before it ends; it’s a glorification of capitalism, rugged individualism and […]

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Creative Writing, Prose

The True Fortune

by Monim Wains Behemoth blocks of glass and concrete rolled by the window of the bus, wobbling in the streaks of London’s rain. Alex gave no notice to the wet-smelling air from the window, too busy tapping his foot on the floor. He kept biting on his lip, his head stiff and restless. Butterflies flitted […]

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Poetry, Prose

Destination / Extermination

by Ruida Ding   Four past twelve. ‘Forty-two seconds left to make it to the Exam  Schools’; I took in a last eyeful of the resplendent Oxonian  architecture and let out a deep long sigh, ‘My sincerest gratitude,  dearest punctual lecturer.’ A swarm of students made the beeline for the  Bodleian transport booths and I […]

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Comment, Prose

Close Campsfield

by Joanna Engle Unknown to many, North Oxford is the home to one of the UK’s ten immigration removal centres. Campsfield opened in 1993 and its detainees have included refugees, asylum seekers, foreign national offenders, and ‘overstayers’.  All of them are held without charge, without a time limit, often without legal representation. Around 25,000 people […]

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Poetry

Head Clot

by Monim Wains   Seeping out the hole in his heart, Black blood, clinging to the ribs in his core, Pulling him to the floor, Pulling the light in his eyes away.   At times he would hide it, Dam the lump in his throat with his teeth, Eyes grinning cheek to cheek, Happy as […]

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Comment, Prose

Fortune – A Fresher’s Perspective

by Martin Yip Would you agree with the claim that all freshers are fortunate? Each year, about 3200 undergraduates are admitted to Oxford, which comes to a 17% admissions rate. That percentage is slated to decrease, as the number of applicants has been increasing over the last few years, while the number of places has […]

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Poetry

On Fortune

by David Asamoah   Fortune’s a gentle breeze lost in life’s storm  Whose guiding breaths often keep me afloat I fear those breaths will stop being the norm And give cruel Neptune time to flex and gloat I steer the wheel yet move as fate allows  My destiny feels out of my control Is it […]

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