Sunday 12th October 2025
Blog Page 253

Mo Farah – How Britain’s greatest athlete enhanced his legacy even further

Oliver Hall
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Mo Farah – How Britain’s greatest athlete enhanced his legacy even further

Mo Farah is a four-time Olympic gold medallist, the only man in history to achieve a historic long-distance ‘double-double’ by successfully defending his 5000m and 10 000m titles in 2016 and is undoubtedly among the greatest athletes ever to represent Great Britain in any sport.  I, like much of the British public, have long admired him for not only his remarkable talent but his kind and down-to-earth nature in the face of adversity on and off the track.  However, by openly revealing that he was trafficked illegally to the UK as a child servant on Tuesday morning he somehow found a way to gain even more respect from me and those around the world.  His athletic achievements are nothing short of extraordinary, but these latest revelations couldn’t have come at a more important time and will only enhance his legacy yet further.

The sad truth is that our country’s politics has never been more divided.  In the midst of a leadership election for a Prime Minister that very few seem to truly want we are a nation still reeling from the messy outcome of Brexit and the Union is in more danger than ever.  Despite being the foundation of much British success throughout time, immigrants are facing more unjustified hate and backlash than ever.  At the same time, light is only just beginning to be shone on the huge number of child slaves and servants in the United Kingdom, brought here by human traffickers from all over the world.  This is why Mo Farah’s story is more important now than ever and why his openness is even more admirable than it might at first seem.

I am a runner, a big runner.  It’s one of my true passions and that is perhaps why I have always loved Mo so much.  Also a member of the generation defined by London 2012, I was lucky enough to be in the Olympic stadium to see him win the 5000m on that famous night.  Farah’s relentless drive in the face of adversity whilst also managing to focus so much on his family has endeared him to me even more over the last decade.  There is perhaps no athlete that I love more and I firmly believe that his four Olympic gold medals, six world titles and six European Championship medals will see him go down in history as one of the greatest athletes we have ever produced.  On Tuesday, my respect for him rose even higher.

Farah announced that he was illegally trafficked to the UK as a child and exploited as a servant.  His real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin and, at the age of nine, he was flown to the UK by an unknown woman and made to work for a family he lived with, caring for their children and completing domestic tasks.  In the BBC documentary in which Farah tells all he also reveals that his father was killed in Somalia in 1991 during the period of extreme civil unrest, ‘tearing his family apart’.  A few years later, he was sent to Djibouti to stay with other members of his family and shortly later child traffickers took him to the UK. 

The documentary shines a remarkable light on child trafficking into the UK with Farah giving extraordinary insight into the truly traumatic experience.  He talks of his initial ‘excitement’ of flying for the first time, shows the viewers copies of his fake visas, and tells of how he has spent much of his life dwelling on the guilt he feels for assuming the other Mohammed Farah’s name and identity.

Last year, the ONS reported a nine per cent increase in the number of reported child slavery victims in the UK, rising to a staggering 5 500 potential cases.  Modern slavery cases also rose by 27%.  And yet still experts assert that the true number of victims is far higher than these figures suggest.  Covid-19 lockdowns and outdated reporting mechanisms mean that in a country where public awareness of child slavery is low, more young people are at risk than ever.  Farah’s hope in revealing his story is that people sit up and take notice and reaction in the immediate aftermath at least shows some promise that the general public might just be shocked into awareness.

Amongst the tragedy of the story, there were too rays of hope and kindness.  When Farah was first allowed to attend school in year 7 it was his PE teacher, Alan Watkinson, who noticed that sport transformed a previously ‘alienated child’ who barely spoke English.  He then referred him to social services and that led to Farah being adopted by a Somali family.  The teacher went on to help him apply for Britain citizenship, allowing him to compete in competitions in Latvia where he made his name on the athletics circuit and would eventually become the Olympic champion’s best man.

Farah’s story is one of incredible tragedy but also one of resilience and hope in spite of adversity.  Many tell athletes to ‘stick to sport’.  Tackling social and political issues has never been made easy for them and history is full of sportspeople facing backlash for standing up for what they believe in on issues ranging from human rights to anti-racism protests.  By telling his story world he has shown just how important it is for those with a platform to speak up and as a result, I only hope that people will begin to take notice of the silent victims of child traffickers in our country, perhaps thinking twice next time they deride immigrants for ‘stealing jobs’ or ‘clogging up resources’.  Mohammed Farah is a great athlete but above all, he has shown himself to be a truly special human being.

Image: CC 2.0: By Marco Verch via Flickr.

The Trade Union Scare

Laura Koscielska
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The Trade Union Scare

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) conducted industrial action on Tuesday 21st, Thursday 23rd, and Saturday 25th June, in order to pressure employers into improving pay and working conditions of their workers and prevent significant job cuts. The reaction of the media was hysterical – it was neither faithful to the idea of keeping the public well-informed, nor was it fair to the trade union and workers themselves. In the end, this response became a small-scale ‘trade union scare’, which points to a wider demonisation of workers undertaking industrial action and trade unions as a whole. 

I am able to understand why someone might feel mildly suspicious about the term ‘strike’ – a big portion of this attitude in Britain seems to have come from the events during the miners’ strike of 1984–1985. It was a chaotic dispute accompanied by violence, which echoes through our heads to this day. It is, however, immensely unfair to assume that every strike is inherently ethically problematic, which is what some media did in the case of recent rail action conducted by the RMT. 

Kay Burley, the Sky News presenter, naggingly questioned Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, about what the workers running the picket line will do when someone attempts to cross it. Shortly after, she made a reference to the miners’ strike, to which Lynch responded: “Does it look like the miners’ strike? What are you talking about?” The interview felt aggressive — overall, it seemed as if Burley tried to provoke an emotional reaction from Lynch and make him appear in the wrong. 

On another occasion, Richard Madeley from Good Morning Britain asked Mick Lynch whether he is a Marxist, because, supposedly, if he is one, then he is “into revolution and bringing down capitalism”. Lynch responded: “Richard, you do come up with the most remarkable twaddle sometimes. I’m not a Marxist, I’m an elected official of the RMT, I’m a working class bloke leading a trade union dispute about jobs, pay and conditions, and service, so it’s got nothing to do with Marxism, it’s all about this industrial dispute”. This question appeared bizarre, both because of its use of loaded language, as words such as ‘Marxism’ and ‘revolution’ have strong ideological connotations, and irrelevance to the matter. 

Lynch was also intervewed by Piers Morgan on his talk show Piers Morgan Uncensored, where Piers seemed to have tried to undermine the credibility of the unionist by pointing out that his Facebook profile picture is The Hood, an evil character from the 60s science-fiction series Thunderbirds. Morgan insisted: “Well I’m just wondering where the comparison goes, because he was obviously an evil, criminal terrorist mastermind, described as the world’s most dangerous man who wrecked utter carnage and havoc on the public.” After this odd interview, many people on Twitter and Facebook decided to make their profile pictures The Hood in display of solidarity with Lynch. 

Apart from provocative questions and statements of certain journalists, the most condemnable part of the overall discussion around recent rail strikes is misinformation, which is evident in framing the issue only in terms of salaries of train drivers. It can be found all over the internet and television. The average salary of a train driver is nearly £60,000 and so strikes are unnecessary, we are told. But it is worth knowing that train drivers were not included in this dispute for the most part. Strike action organised by the RMT included signallers, maintenance workers, ticket collectors, and cleaners, whose salaries are lower to those of train drivers. Additionally, most train drivers are represented by a different trade union, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF). 

Another example of trying to juggle data is citing an average pay of rail workers. This is what Grant Shapps did in one of his speeches, where he claimed that “The average train driver earns £59,000, the average rail worker earns £44,000, the average nurse, £31,000”. The £44,000 figure includes train drivers and does not take into account other workers involved in the dispute such as cleaners, making it unreliable in reference to the RMT strikes. According to the RMT, their workers’ median salary is £31,000, which is much lower to the average salary mentioned by Shapps. 

These events show that there seems to be a prejudice against trade unions and strike action. There is a lot of emotive language and misinformation aiming to hurt the workers’ cause. However, the response of the media is somewhat understandable – the disruption in transportation was heavy and certain voices pointed at the effects that strike action will have on individuals. For example, the principal of Hereford Sixth Form College stressed that industrial action will affect exams and professor Robert Thomas said that it will lead to loss of lives due to a further delay in cancer treatments, as oncology services are at a particular breaking point.

Mick Lynch responded to professor Thomas’ argument by saying that rail workers are not responsible for problems within the NHS and emphasised that the union keenly wants a settlement of the dispute. Industrial action is entirely preventable if employers and workers come to an agreement.

However, it is also worth asking: how can workers respond to unjust circumstances and work conditions if their demands are largely ignored? It is iniquitous to offer someone a wage that does not keep up with inflation and meet their basic costs of living. It is also unfair to act disloyally towards employees who kept railways running during the pandemic. 

The media discussion around rail strikes was mature enough neither to understand striking workers, nor to be honest with the British public. Strikes are not the end of the world and trying to portray them as such is a massive overreaction. Although Mick Lynch is claimed to have won this media battle, it is worth carefully thinking about the prejudices that striking and unionising workers have to face in moments like the recent industrial action.

Image: SoThisIsPeter, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Complicated Legacy of Shinzo Abe

Iseult de Mallet Burgess
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The Complicated Legacy of Shinzo Abe

I was in class when Shinzo Abe was assassinated in a city I had visited several weeks prior. The incredulity was palpable in Japan – not least because of the paucity of murders of any kind here, and the use of a gun in a country with among the world’s most stringent gun controls. But perhaps the most staggering thing of all was the target: Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was one of the most consequential – and controversial – leaders in postwar Japanese history. 

Politician and kingmaker, Abe sought to rewrite Japanese history at the expense of atonement. He was intent on reconfiguring Japan’s place on the international stage – a goal inherited, perhaps, from his father and grandfather’s nationalist politics. Abe was indeed born to occupy the highest ranks of Japanese political power. His maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was a fierce nationalist and suspected Class A war criminal who led Japan from 1957 to 1960. Abe’s father, Shintaro Abe, served as chief cabinet secretary. Both Abe’s father and grandfather were hugely influential figures in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) – the conservative party that has ruled Japan with few interruptions for 70 years – as was Shinzo Abe himself. 

Abe’s first year in office in 2006 was marred by scandals and missteps, and his sudden resignation in 2007 followed a heavy loss for the LDP in the upper house legislative elections. In 2012, however, the LDP returned to power, and Abe to prime ministership – he remained in power until 2020, largely unchallenged due to his influence in the LDP.

As Prime Minister, Abe sought to reassert Japan’s presence in international affairs. He cultivated strong relationships with such world leaders as Donald Trump and Malcom Turnbull, but exacerbated tensions between Japan and its East Asian neighbours with his blatant revisionist views – particularly after his 2013 visit to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, a controversial symbol linked to Japan’s militarism during WWII. Abe’s unwillingness to fully acknowledge Japan’s aggression and atrocities during WWII ultimately enshrined his status as a highly controversial figure, particularly to China and South Korea, which had suffered under Japan’s militarism during the war. 

Abe’s most cherished goal was to revise Japan’s ‘pacifist’ constitution; a goal he never achieved. Abe was clear that much of his effort in this regard was to exonerate the name of his grandfather. Nonetheless, he did, in 2015, manage to pass legislation allowing Japan to take part in overseas combat missions alongside allies. This was hugely controversial, sparking anti-war protests that hadn’t been seen in Japan since the 1960s Anpo demonstrations. 

The success of Abe’s economic program – ‘Abenomics’ – was dubious. It was intended as shock therapy for Japan’s moribund economy after more than two decades of deflation. As political branding, Abenomics was a success; certainly, the word made its way into the global lexicon. The policies themselves, however, fell short of Abe’s own economic target, and exacerbated economic inequality. Japan slipped back into recession in early 2020.  

For all Abe’s flaws, the LDP did manage to win six straight elections under his leadership; the length of his tenure enabled Abe to establish long-standing relationships with world leaders in a way that other prime ministers have had difficulty matching. Beyond his perception as a hawkish nationalist, he was pragmatic and savvy in foreign affairs. He did, in many ways, make Japan an important player in global policy. His tenure also generated momentum in Japan’s foreign policy, and Prime Minister Kishida’s assertive response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can be considered a result of Abe’s legacy. 

Abe’s death will undoubtedly have shaken the LDP’s long-term policy agenda; the party has lost a centre of gravity. But beyond that, it is, in some measure, a symbolic loss for Japanese people in a society of such scarce violence.

Image: Ajswab, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

“Colorful Queer & Bright”: Jasper Soloff Reflects on His Creative Style

Jack Twyman
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“Colorful Queer & Bright”: Jasper Soloff Reflects on His Creative Style

Jasper Soloff isn’t afraid to call Hollywood out on its false virtue signalling regarding queer representation. In a comment on Instagram in May, the 26-year-old Los Angeles based director and photographer decried the casting of the upcoming movie adaptation of the Casey McQuinston novel  Red, White and Royal Blue. It followed the systemic pattern prevalent in the entertainment industry that sees Hollywood ‘profit from Queer storylines, but not cast queer people’. Soloff has photographed many notable cultural icons such as Billie Eilish and Pete Davidson, and he is open about the role his queer identity plays when he approaches his work which has featured in Vogue, GQ and Cosmpolitan. We began with a discussion of his  journey to creating such self-assured and dynamic content production:

Jack: Can you give readers a sense of who you are and how you got to be where you are today?

Jasper: I started photography while I was studying at Sarah Lawrence College, NY, originally using black and white, which I really loved, and then progressing onto colour. It was just a great way to express myself, but I felt that I really started owning my personal artistic style when I went to Central St Martins in London where I studied fine art; I started coming out more with my sexuality, being braver and had reached a new stage of my life where I was ready and open to showcasing that within my work.

I communicated being gay and queer through the colours I was using in my work – with a very energetic and ‘out’ style – playing with makeup, gender-bending, clothing, really just expressing myself and taking lots of self-portraits. This was when my learning was progressing into me from student into an artist.  

After London, I came back to New York, and that’s when I started shooting pictures of a lot of my queer friends, mainly through run-and-gun shoots on my rooftop. I had my first celebrity client soon after with Brandon Flin, who was dating Sam Smith at the time, and the photos went viral on the internet. So I think that was just when I realised that this creative style I had developed could become a commercial success. 

That was the beginning of the ethos that I bring to my work, which is about showcasing queer talent and identities and to really showcase them as strong people, and their brilliant individuality; its really been a great tool for me in that regard. 

Realising sexuality is a big part of any queer person’s life journey growing up – and you call your work a form of expression: ‘colorful queer and bright’ –  is this what initially attracted you to the field?

I was initially attracted to the field when I was a dancer as I thought that it would be a really great way for me to capture movement. But that soon progressed onto identity and personality and the ways that photos can evoke feeling and the way it can be used as a form of expression. Like dance, film could be used as a tool to express and be yourself and I could use photography to capture those moments in time and document them. I think that the honesty of the art form is really cool because you really get to learn about someone when you are photographing and directing them in a film. It’s unique in that I feel like it’s an incredibly vulnerable experience to be captured on film or photograph. You learn so much about people, the way they interact with a camera and it’s my goal and job to make the subject feel comfortable, as that’s when the most honest important work happens. 

Growing up did you find many people on screen that you could relate to? Is the lack of this something that inspired you?

There was definitely a lack of representation within the queer community. I was really attracted to musical theatre, and I especially loved Cabaret and Chicago: The Movie Musical. I was inspired by the way that filmmaking could be a medium of expression through movement and dance, acting and singing. It was always so vibrant and fun and the creativity that surrounded it was so beautiful. Filmmaking could capture expression so dynamically, especially in Chicago and also the end-scene in Cabaret, with that character super fluid in their sexuality; it was really cool to see and made me feel that ‘Oh maybe I could be creating work like that someday. But definitely growing up there was a huge lack of queer representation for me, especially people who I could really look up to in the queer community like actors or singers even, it was just hard to find. 

How have you navigated being in the media industry with your identity – can it be polarising at times?

Luckily I feel like I’m hired for my identity, rather that it being something that I am forced to hide, because they know that I am out, and queer and that my work expresses and showcases that. So while personally I haven’t really had an issue I do think it is really difficult for a lot of people to be open in their jobs. This is a really sad reality as it is such a huge part of a person’s identity. If you can’t feel confident that, as a queer person, you will be treated as an equal in the workplace then we as a society need to address that immediately. Everyone deserves to feel comfortable in the place that you are working, especially when that too is such a huge part of all of our lives.

What particularly frustrates you about seeing straight actors continuously cast for queer storylines? 

What particularly frustrates me about gay actors playing straight roles is that straight actors have such a plethora of roles that they can play authentically. The power that we have as queer people to play roles that are about our lives is extreme. Growing up if you don’t see people who are openly gay playing openly gay roles on TV, its really hard to see that there’s a silver-lining to our struggles. If we’re continuously looking up to straight actors playing gay roles, its really unhealthy to believe as a child that ‘Oh one day I’ll gonna grow up to be like him’ because one day you find out that actors actually straight. I feel that there are so many people in the entertainment industry who are queer and we should be rewarding queer people by allowing them to play a truthful storyline that aligns with their identity. 

You work with people from a variety of backgrounds and have worked with drag race winners – drag race is such a huge cultural phenomenon and media presence – how far has representation come and how far is there still to go? 

We have come a long way in representation, particularly in the entertainment industry, but there’s always just so much more that we can do to make people feel included and make people feel loved. This is needed especially so that they can look up to the people on TV shows and in sports and feel like they can see themselves. There’s very few openly gay athletes and this representaton really matters in the media because so many more lives will be saved if we can look up to people and see ourselves in these successful figures.  I think this is always going to be something that can be a place where we can grow from. 

From an outsider looking into the US it seems the politics there is becoming more regressive – are you apprehensive for the future? 

I think that a lot of politicians focus on the wrong thing. Right now there’s a huge gun violence problem in America and yet Texas is busy passing laws banning drag queens from performing in front of  minors – it’s just really disturbing to see that. I hope that we can see through this hateful rhetoric and come to a place where we realise that these are just distractions. There is no point to being hateful towards the queer community; it doesn’t help anyone in anyway. Instead, we should be focusing on the real issues which would include regulating  guns and saving lives in America, not banning queer peoples’ self expression..  Guns will soon have more rights in America than gays and women, and I honestly can’t help thinking that we are beginning to live in a dystopian nightmare. 

What advice would you give to another queer person hoping to enter the entertainment industry?

My advice to content creators and artists is to really just be themselves unabashedly. You become stylized in your work  by focusing on who you are as a person and how your perspective differs from the people around you; just stay strong in that. As a queer creator I can say that a lot of my success has been attributed to being honest and not being afraid to say ‘This is who I am’. I know that while I may have lost jobs for being who I am, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far without being unapologetically authentic. So really, just be yourself. 

Linacre name change donation under government investigation

Charlie Hancock
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Linacre name change donation under government investigation

A £155 million donation to Linacre College from a Vietnamese billionaire is under investigation by the UK government over concerns about the donor’s alleged links to the Communist government of Vietnam.

In 2021, Linacre announced it would change its name to Thao College after a memorandum of understanding was signed with SOVICO Group. The company’s president, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, is the first woman in Vietnam to become a self-made billionaire, having built her fortune in the aviation and petroleum industries.

After news of the agreement broke, Cherwell reported that climate groups and alumni of Linacre College had raised concerns about the donation. The Oxford Climate Justice Campaign cited concerns over SOVICO Group’s partnerships with fossil fuel companies. Alumni raised concerns that changing the College’s name would erase its history.

Julian Lewis MP, chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, told the Telegraph it is impossible to have “genuinely independent companies operating in totalitarian Communist countries”. 

“Since the end of the Cold War, Communist regimes have been far more successful at subverting Western societies by using huge sums of money to worm their way into positions of control than they ever managed by ideological infiltration,” he added.

Then-Education Minister Nadim Zahawi proposed new laws in June requiring academic institutions to declare donations of over £75,000 from overseas, fuelled by concerns that authoritarian regimes could influence freedom of speech and teaching.

The donation to Linacre College is currently undergoing the final step of the due diligence process the College commissioned.

As part of the memorandum of understanding, SOVICO Group has agreed that all of its subsidiaries will produce net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and will produce annual reports on their progress towards achieving this.

Linacre College told Cherwell: “Major donations are approved by the College’s Governing Body in addition to the University’s Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding, both of which follow a robust, independent process, taking legal, ethical and reputational issues into consideration.  All donations are in line with government guidance and laws.  We have additionally engaged with a considerable number of key stakeholders to ensure that important information is shared as appropriate.  

“The vast majority of alumni and current members of the College have expressed support, enthusiasm and excitement about this wonderful opportunity. The donation will not only allow us to create the largest portfolio of scholarships for post-graduate students from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds of any college in Oxford, it will also enable us to create a new campus, built to Passivhaus standards, that will be a major step in our ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions.”

The University of Oxford and SOVICO Group have been approached for comment.

Image Credit: Trezatium/CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Balliol student ejected from accommodation

Isaac Ettinghausen
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Balliol student ejected from accommodation

A contentious week of mounting disorder saw one disgraced Balliol student ejected from their accommodation.

Boris Johnson, former president of the Oxford Union as well as of Balliol’s comedic “Arnold and Brackenbury” society, is being forced to vacate his accommodation at 10 Downing Street. This follows his Thursday morning resignation from the leadership of nationwide comedic society, the Conservative Party.

The resignation followed pressure from other hacks, including former slate member Rishi Sunak (Lincoln College) and historic Union rival Michael Gove (LMH), who turned on their leader in a move surely inspired by last term’s Union antics.

Speaking to reporters outside the accommodation block in Central London, (a neighbourhood just past Cowley), Johnson emphasised that he has enjoyed his extended rustication: “I’ve travelled to every part of the United Kingdom […] I found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality”. A sentiment that has, no doubt, crossed many reader’s minds on a Thursday evening visit to Bridge nightclub.

What next for Johnson?; finding another job with a 2:1 in Classics could indeed prove difficult. He previously edited conservative zine “The Spectator” (available at Common Ground), and it has been speculated that he may return to journalism. Perhaps on his return to Oxford, he will hole up and relax by working on a low-profile undergraduate publication such as the Oxford Student. 

Meanwhile, the fate of his vacated role next term is unclear. Oxonians Sunak, Truss, and Raab (Lincoln, Merton, LMH) are speculated to run for the post, but given how tumultuous the leadership campaign has been, it is not impossible that come Michaelmas it could even be filled by grad student Keir Starmer (Teddy Hall) or, God forbid, Cantabrigian Tom Tugendhat. Oxford (and, I suppose, the UK) awaits with bated breath.

Where do we go from here?  Reflections on a day of chaos in Downing Street

Oliver Hall
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Where do we go from here?  Reflections on a day of chaos in Downing Street

Where do we go from here?  Reflections on a day of unprecedented chaos in Downing Street…

The past few years in British politics have repeatedly defied belief but Thursday 7th July will go down in history as the most chaotic, bizarre, and extraordinary day that our country has seen in decades.  This morning, it was barely possible to make a cup of tea before returning to the television to learn of another ministerial resignation or letter from newly appointed cabinet ministers calling for the Prime Minister to go. Chris Mason taking the phone call from Downing Street to confirm Boris Johnson’s resignation live on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme perhaps perfectly summed up the incredulous nature of the morning’s proceedings. The big question now though is what on earth happens next?  Where do the Conservative party and the country go from here?  As it stands, the PM insists that he will stay on until a new leader is announced, but is that really feasible?  Who is best positioned to succeed him? One thing is certain, the turmoil is far from over…

Who Next?  The Runners and the Riders

The main reason why Johnson has survived in post for so long in spite of countless scandals that would’ve buried leaders of the past has been the lack of an apparent successor. Now the Conservative party is facing a leadership election with contenders from across the political spectrum, as it tries to decide its future.

Liz Truss

Bookies odds – 7/1

Long-time favourite of old-time party members but counting many enemies among fellow MPs, the outspoken Truss has never been afraid to make her leadership ambitions clear. Much like Johnson, she has been happy to bend her political beliefs to fit with her rise to power after backing remain in 2016 only to become one of the biggest supporters for a hard Brexit in recent years. Brash and brazen with political stances branded by many as ‘Thatcherism on steroids’, she certainly wouldn’t offer the dramatic change in tone and direction needed if her party is to stand any chance of rescuing themselves at any approaching election.  She may also struggle in early stages of the leadership race, with several MPs declaring privately that they wouldn’t back her.

Nadim Zahawi

Bookies odds – 8/1

Zahawi was centre stage in the political chaos of the last 48 hours after being appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on Tuesday night, doing the media rounds defending the Prime Minister on Wednesday morning, and then calling for his resignation on Thursday.  His political stock rose substantially as vaccines minister during the pandemic and, popular amongst his colleagues, he now appears to be one of the favourites to succeed Johnson.  The only thing standing against him may turn out to be his relative inexperience in government. 

Rishi Sunak

Bookies odds – 4/1

There are few men in history who have had such a dramatic rise to fame and fall from grace as Rishi Sunak. An unknown among the public when appointed as Chancellor he attracted fans throughout the pandemic with generous furlough and ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ schemes before becoming embroiled in the Partygate scandal and brought down by questions over his wife’s non-dom tax status.  There’s a chance that his shock resignation on Tuesday night might just have saved his chances and he is sure to be a front runner if he can convince MPs of his credentials.  Equally, his resignation letter suggested that his could be ‘his last ministerial job’ and a return to pre-political life could certainly prove to be an attractive proposition for the former banker.

Sajid Javid

Bookies odds – 7/1

Having already failed twice in leadership elections could it be third time lucky for the man who initiated the final chapter of Johnson’s prime ministerial career?  Although his dramatic move and speech after PMQ’s will appeal to some, few can really doubt his own personal motivations for moving against the PM when he did and that kind of ‘snakery’ as Number 10 likes to call it has been enough to see others named Michal Gove get the sack.  Javid would offer something different in terms of a political direction and would appeal as a more stable set of hands but his flip-flopping hasn’t won him many fans amongst MPs and party members.

Penny Mourdant 

Bookies odds – 5/1

Who? I hear you ask.  The bookmakers’ favourite that’s who!  Mourdant finds herself in the bizzare position where not having any experience working in recent cabinets will be seen as one of her biggest strengths.  If you are in search of a metaphor for the dire state of the Tory party then this is it.  Being a long-time Brexit backer makes her palpable to the right of the party and the ERG but her membership of the liberal Conservative ‘One Nation’ caucus means that she has a fairly wide reach.  She has perhaps the fewest enemies of any of the obvious contenders.  Then again that is inevitable when you consider that she has never held a post of significance within government.

Tom Tugenhadt

Bookies odds – 14/1

‘The rebels’ choice’, Tugenhadt is one of the few likely runners who has spoken out against Johnson from the start.  The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee slammed him for his performance as Foreign Secretary and has remained critical ever since.  His rhetoric always focuses on a renewal of traditional conservative values, the meaningful substance of that rhetoric unsurprisingly remains in the dark.

Jeremy Hunt

Bookies odds – 11/1

Hunt will undoubtedly frame himself as the man who stood up to ‘Johnson the bully’ and never served in his cabinet.  In reality, insiders suggest that his close relationship with Theresa May meant that he was never invited to – a quite extraordinary thing when you consider the amount of ministers Johnson went through.  Hardly a superstar as health secretary Hunt would represent a return to the more traditional style of government of Theresa May and although that be unexciting to some MPs, large swathes of party members could be convinced by a reassuring return to relative normality.

Ben Wallace

Bookies odds – 5/1

The defence secretary never resigned from the cabinet but did just about manage to squeeze in a letter calling for Johnson to go before the final decision was announced.  The former soldier is broadly seen as reliable and undramatic, both potentially very attractive characteristics at the moment.  He has won international acclaim for his dealing with the Ukraine crisis and the general public would be sure to back him on that but he is notable for his lack of experience in all other areas of government.  Despite his popularity, he has also previously stated his desire to take on the role of UN Secretary-General in the future and that may yet prove to be his next step.

So, in conclusion, the race remains very much open.  Dozens are sure to declare their leadership bids over the coming days and countless campaign websites will no doubt be launched within hours but the stark reality is that none of the options are pretty for the Conservatives.  The party is in a mess, politics is in a mess.  Opposition parties insist that Johnson cannot remain PM whilst the process continues and any caretaker would get the chance to audition their potential on the biggest stage.  It still remains to be seen how long the elected leader will stay in post.  Can any of those listed above really stake a claim to Johnson’s record-breaking mandate from 2019?  A general election may very well be on the cards and, if that is the case, then the calculations change all over again for the MPs with the fate of the nation in their hands…

Your Thoughts

We asked you to sum up your thoughts about our departing Prime Minister’s time in office and departure itself – it’s safe to safe that the responses were mixed and I am happy to report that you didn’t hold back!

Charlie Aslet on the nature of Johnson’s departure:

“Boris Johnson’s resignation had as much dignity as a streaker at a football game. He clung to power until even his unkempt reflection was telling him it was time to pack it in. Some people would have thought it honourable to jump before being pushed. Not Boris. He was beaten up by all his closest friends and colleagues, his trousers hoisted around his ankles and then given a mighty boot up the buttocks before stumbling over the cliff. His only consolation as he tumbled down that rockface was that he managed to give Michael Gove a final slap in the face before he fell, giving him the sack when everyone else was resigning. In a way, I feel a bit sorry for Boris. His resignation was like the assassination of Julius Caesar, except this time it felt like he also managed to stab himself a few times before he died. But, then again, the man seems incapable of telling the truth. Even when he says he’s leaving it’s difficult to believe it will actually happen. When he says he’s actually staying, that’s when I’ll be ready to believe he’s really going for good.”

We then asked you for reflections on Johnson’s premiership:

“Good riddance babes”

“One word – joke”

And your predictions for the future:

“Same circus different clown”

“There is an unfortunate possibility that the Tories may be redeemed in the public eye”

“No chance anyone else will have anywhere near the decision-making prowess of Boris – prepare yourselves for an era of catastrophic indecision”

“I’m just sad for the people of Ukraine. Their future is now in doubt more than ever.”

“Someone equally bad or worse will become Prime Minister, there is no winning!”

Image: CC:2.0 (BY-NC-ND 2.0 via FLKR)

Music as Ammunition: Ukrainian Bandurists Give Tradition New Life in Their Concert Series

Sonya Ribner
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Music as Ammunition: Ukrainian Bandurists Give Tradition New Life in Their Concert Series

Julia Kogut-Kalynyuk and Kateryna Trachuk escaped the shelling of Lviv with only their banduras on their backs and their concert outfits in hand. The two women are warriors of “the Cultural Front,” fighting for Ukraine’s freedom through performance of traditional folk songs. The bandura is a sixty-five-string instrument unique to Ukraine dating back to the sixteenth century. Julia and Kateryna’s music not only conveys their people’s distinct and vibrant culture but demands the world’s attention remain on Ukrainians’ ongoing struggle against Russian aggression.

Julia (27 years old from Pustomyty) and Kateryna (25 years old from Chernivtsi) met at the Lviv National Music Academy, Ukraine’s leading music conservatory, where they both studied vocal arts and the bandura. Since their graduation, the duo has shared their music with audiences across Europe and North America. When the Russians bombarded their city, the women crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland on foot. They left their home and loved ones to continue the fight abroad with their instruments. Julia’s husband, a teacher of English, remained in Ukraine where he teaches English in online school lessons that continue despite the ongoing war. 

Upon arriving in the United Kingdom, Julia and Kateryna befriended Iryna Ganzha, a Ukrainian immigrant who has lived in London since 2005. By gathering British audiences around traditional folk song concerts across the country, the women extend the reach of the bandura’s rallying cry. Iryna translated for Julia and Kateryna during our conversation.

SR: What does the bandura’s musical language convey about the Ukrainian identity that words cannot?

Iryna: The bandura’s sound [deepens the resonance] of our emotion. Ukrainians share how we feel through song, and the bandura is like having a hug around our feelings – it expresses the entire range of what we feel through music. The instrument extends multiple musical registers and, thus, serves not only as a great accompanying instrument for vocals but also represents our full emotional range. Beyond that, the bandura is the Ukrainian people. The possibilities of its songs are limitless.

The bandura has a fascinating history. In the late nineteenth century, during Imperial Russia’s persecution of Kobzars (itinerant Ukrainian bards who sang to their own accompaniment), the instrument was banned as though its music itself was a subversive language. During the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks murdered bandurists who promoted Ukrainian independence. I wonder if you could speak to what about the bandura makes its music so transgressive.

Iryna: It is important to remember that the first bandurists had their eyes gouged out by the Russians [for expressing their views through song], and the bandurists still found a way to perform. For Ukrainians, everyone who plays the bandura represents our fight against any invasion of the country. Whether it be the Turks or the Russians, but especially the Russians. The bandurists told the story of what was happening to people at their time. Their songs represent resistance, the fight for our homeland, and our home freedom.

How do you select the songs that you perform?

Julia: We play Ukrainian traditional folk songs [with a modern twist] and contemporary songs by Ukrainian composers in our own arrangement. It is an honor for us to share our love for traditional Ukrainian music with the UK audience while supporting our people at home. Half of the proceeds from our concerts go to foundations that provide aid to the Ukraine: Come Back Alive Foundation, Serhiy Prytula Foundation, and Help Ukraine Center (https://helpukraine.center/?fbclid=IwAR2-jW-EfzPOEKBmWz53EkO_fsVXgCYwqoI73ZQyI4tpgm1ARHXRPBL_jJU). So far, we have raised over three thousand pounds across our concerts. [These funds provide] ammunition and protective gear for the military, among other essential materials.

Iryna: I would like to also add that right now, we are not singing because we are happy. We are singing because this is one of the things you can do when you are distant from the battlefield. Music is a grenade we shoot at Russians that they can’t stop.

What brought you to Oxford?

Iryna: I believe fate brought these two incredible talents to the cultural center of our country, Oxford. I know people who are fighting at the battlefield now and every time they hear that these women perform in the UK, it makes their day. 

At home your music helps Ukrainians persevere against the Russian invasion. In Oxford, audiences delight in its unique rhythms and harmonies as a source of entertainment. How does the audience and setting of a performance impact the way you play your instruments?

Kateryna: As Ukrainians, we already know the words and the music. But when we perform in this country, people here in England, without even realizing what the words mean, are often more overwhelmed [by emotion] than the people for whom we perform at home. 

Julia: When you connect with the audience on this deeper level, it gives your music new life on stage. We even perform better. 

Iryna: Everywhere in the UK that these bandurists sing, people have been touched even when they don’t know the words of the songs. They leave the concerts crying because the music communicates emotions stronger than words. Now, can you imagine if they actually knew the words?

The Ukrainian people continue to inspire the world with their courage in the face of evil. In what way does music fortify their spirit? 

Iryna: It is our ammunition. We are singing, that means we have not surrendered. This is how we fight back. 

Julia: When we sing here in the UK, we remind people that the war is not over yet. And not just a war, but a genocide and terrorism of our people. People cannot forget about us. We must scream about it. And loud.

Kateryna: We are the cultural front.

As we sit down today, Moscow announces its victory in Luhansk. Russia is now in control of large parts of the Donbas region. What does this mean for people at home?

Julia: Our hearts are broken for every person living in this territory. It’s hard to read the news and see the horror that the Russians [inflict] on our people and country.

 Iryna: The Ukrainian military had to step down in Luhansk to save our people. That’s how our military works. They will not lose people. On the other hand, where my close friend is stationed, near Izium, the military actually led a counterattack and advanced. [We are actively preventing] the Russian military from taking over the entire Ukraine. There was a lot in Ukrainian media about our retreat from Luhansk, but we are advancing in other regions. No one wants to repeat Mariupol. Our army is about saving our people. But we will be back. No doubt. And going forward, we will retake Crimea. It is not just my wish. I know Crimea will be back to Batkivshchýna, back to its Motherland. Crimea is coming home, too.

Where will you literally and figuratively be taking your music in the coming months?

Julia: Our repertoire is always changing. We want to learn some English songs. We recently performed Ave Maria and Hallelujah. We play jazz and classical music, as well. With bandura, exploring different types of music always takes on new and exciting sounds.

Iryna: Until the war is over, these wonderful young women are going to be singing. Every concert tells our audience that the war is unfortunately still going on.

What can people in the UK do to support the Ukrainian war effort?

Iryna: Come to the concerts! Keep talking about what is going on. I haven’t used Facebook for two years, but now I post every day to remind all my international friends that the war is ongoing. And this war is not just about Ukraine – it’s about us being Ukrainians. I know we will win. This war is also about Europe and the rest of the world. We must win because we must not allow the evil of Putin’s Russia to win. Every time Julia and Kateryna perform, every post we make on social media, it is all about not letting the evil of Putin’s genocide against Ukrainians win. A bandura has sixty-five-strings, and it sings the song of our resistance. Whether it is to one friend or sixty-five, we all must sound like a bandura.

On July 7, Julia and Kateryna will perform at Wadham College’s Hollywell Music Room. Tickets can be found here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dvidoliband/705691?fbclid=IwAR0-0k7Ybk2mBpN2SLQL9z3YYUHHTU70irky_5Yo-LZE5UsEg3R2Io1hHPk.

I finished my degree! Now what?

Ben Holden
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I finished my degree! Now what?

It’s a weird feeling, finishing your degree. I sit and write this at the end of the week in which I submitted my last online exam. For some strange reason, the Psychology department has decided that their students only need half of their last term to revise, setting out an examination timetable that finishes in 6th week. My working theory is that psychologists are just too smart – an extra two weeks of revision would simply make things too easy. Regardless of the reason, I now find myself with a lot of free time, and wondering what to do with it all.

First, and perhaps most obviously, the answer was Park End. As much as I enjoyed that (and the friends that had to take me to bed know all too well how much I did), it can only fill one drunken night and one hung-over morning. The streaming gods blessed me with the release of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ and the new season of The Boys on Amazon Prime, but these too only take up so much time – and I’m not desperate enough yet to commit to all of Stranger Things. In a testament to the strange Stockholm-syndrome-like effect that Oxford has, I almost find myself missing sitting in the SSL staring at lecture notes. Or, maybe I’m just annoyed that everyone in my year spends all their time there and I’m getting a really sad form of FOMO. 

But, after a few days of sitting around doing an awful lot of bugger all, I’ve realised that this time has given me an opportunity to do something I’ve rarely done in my three years here: sit and think about something other than my degree for a while. Doing so has given me a chance to reflect on my time, and since thinking about things at Oxford is useless unless you can tell someone else that you’ve done so, here I am now. 

Oxford was never a plan for me. I hear people talk about wanting to go to Oxford since they’ve been conscious, and I respect them so much for it – they’re much more ambitious than me and that takes you far. To be honest, I had never really given it any thought at all, until one day I met with my sixth-form tutor about University applications. “How about Oxford?” he said. “Why not?” I thought. I need to thank him for that. I decided to go for it, applying to the one college I had heard of that offered Psychology, and not really expecting anything to come of it. Fast forward to October 2019, rocking up after being accepted to a completely different college and having no idea how any of this was going to go. 

Luckily, I can safely say that the three years I spent here, whilst not always easy, have been the time of my life. This makes it slightly anti-climactic for it to start coming to a close simply by pressing the ‘submit’ button after an online exam. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so grateful it was online because I would have been hopeless doing my finals open-book, but not getting the triumphant walk out of exam schools was slightly disappointing. But the term isn’t over yet and I’m sure I’ll end things on a high, albeit probably very tipsy, note. 

This poses another challenge though, and one I’m sure I’m not alone in facing: what the hell do I do now? People I know have spent the last year talking about applying for internships, or the jobs they’ve already got secured with banks and law firms in foggy old London. At the time I thought of these more as conversation points, rather than things I should actually also probably be considering. Now, my degree is almost over and things aren’t set in stone for me – but you know what? That’s absolutely fine. The ‘go-with-the-flow’ attitude I had when applying seems to have worked out quite well for me, so I’m more than happy to use that again and just see where I end up. 

That’s not to say I haven’t thought about things at all. I like the idea of doing a Master’s at some point (although the where and what still needs some consideration), or getting a job in one of the colleges so I can still hang out with my friends who are doing 4-year-courses. There are options, definitely, but deciding on one is easier said than done.

And, again, that’s okay for now. Honestly, I think I just need a break from making decisions for a while. I think it’s safe to say that Oxford is pretty full-on – world-class education or world-class workload? – and so I don’t think there should be any shame in slowing things down for a bit to give yourself room to breathe. That should be the case at any point in your life as well, but it seems especially needed after finishing university. I applaud everyone who does have a set plan, but personally I think I need a year or so to step back, enjoy myself, work some odd jobs and give my life the thought it needs. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that either. 

I will admit, the idea of no longer being a student is daunting, but all good things must come to an end. In times of crisis, I often find myself turning to the words of my favourite philosopher, an individual who I think truly embraces 21st-century thinking and cuts through the superficial distractions to really get to the essence of life. I, of course, talk about former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker. In the 1998 album This Is Hardcore (which is outstanding by the way), there’s a lovely tune called Glory Days. Originally written as the bitingly satirical Cocaine Socialism, Cocker re-imagined it as a song that he has admitted “was about nothing really”. And yet, there’s a brilliant little bit of advice in there, advice that seems pretty obvious but that I really needed to hear in those dulcet northern tones:

“Where we are is where we’re meant to be,

Oh, come on make it up yourself,

You don’t need anybody else”

Life often feels like you’re always moving forward. Sometimes, it feels like you have to move forward. That’s fine if that’s what you want to be doing, but is it really a must? Like Cocker, I’m not entirely convinced. The only place you need to be is exactly where you want to be, and at the end of three short years at a crazy university you never expected to get into, that could be anywhere. Whether you’re going straight into a £50,000 banking job, an impressive internship at a multinational company, a graduate program that will catapult you into a career in academia, a year to travel the world and ‘find yourself, man’, or just moseying about trying to figure out where you want your life to go, the important thing is that it’s your decision to make and you’re happy with the one you do. And, if you happen to fall into the latter category and think that everyone else does have a plan, take some solace in the fact that I’m there too. 

Metaphorically of course – physically, I’ll be in Park End. I’ll miss you the most, cheese floor. 

Image credit: Ketut Subiyanto.

Downpours, ‘dank beats’ and Dionysus: reviewing the Christ Church Ball

Aidan McGartland
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Downpours, ‘dank beats’ and Dionysus: reviewing the Christ Church Ball

After being delayed by the pandemic, the Christ Church Commemoration Ball was meant to bring “together far reaching epochs of excess and extravagance into one night of Bacchanalian hedonism.” The incomprehensible theme of the ball was based on French philosopher Henri Bergson’s concept of La Durée. Sadly due to the weather, the belle époque extravagance morphed into a muddy wallow in the meadow, with some attendees becoming rather cold and being thoughtfully wrapped in silver foil, à la pomme de terre rôtie, by a slightly tipsy college chaplain.

The iconic Tom Quad was dressed up in Venetian splendour with cardboard cutouts of classical figures and lions, and featured a spectacular display of fireworks. The Garden was a reincarnation of Studio 54 complete with strippers, blasting out ABBA’s Gimme, Gimme, Gimme resounding throughout the Thames valley (which should keep the local NIMBYists raging until the next ball), before evolving into a silent disco at 3am. Meanwhile, the Pococke Garden featured a Moroccan-style tent with herbal teas and a selection of ottomans and hookahs, and the Jabberwocky tree was lit in bright orange as part of the celebrations. 1920s tent was styled upon the famed Weimar era Moka Efti, with a cocktail bar, casino, and series of performances by the Oxford Jazz Orchestra, the Oxford Gargoyles, and Out of the Blue (with their signature rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight complete with ‘choralography’).

Unfortunately the maze was flooded, becoming a swampy network of paths leading to an ice statue of the Sphinx surrounded by salivating junior members awaiting to guzzle vodka. 

For those of us with the dining experience, there was a lavish meal prepared by our resident Michelin-start chef in the famed Christ Church dining hall, with dishes ranging from mock turtle soup (as a reference to Alice in Wonderland) through to “Christ Church’s Interpretation of Scappi’s Braised Beef.”

In the spirit of the dialectical temporal nature of the ball, Yubba Yubba Doughnuts (the all night doughnut stand), included an enlightening quote from Bergson on their menu, in an attempt to connect the “devouring of the future” to the ‘devouring of fried batter’ at the witching hour.

As the sun began to rise shortly after 4am, the silent disco continued with a sea of blue headphones silently bopping along to some ‘dank beats.’ Around 5:30am, breakfast was served, consisting of a very British bacon and egg bap with coffee and fruit juice, followed by the traditional survivors’ photo.

The funfair was indeed fun, with notably a fiendishly difficult game involving rubber ducks and hooked poles (and no water). The most popular rides were the dodgem cars, where the junior members of the House were bumping with zeal, and the antique Merry-Go-Round (especially with its inbuilt vintage fairground organ)

Beyond the standard white tie attire and umbrellas, there were many notable top hats, dragoon-like military outfits, straight out of a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, and military medals displayed proudly. 

Sadly, there was no appearance from our disgraced Dean. In his place, the acting Dean and Censor Theologiae made an appearance, flapping along to the flappers in the 1920s tent with ecclesiastical vigour. 

Despite the notable paucity of champagne, it was an all-round enjoyable affair. Fortunately, I was well prepared for 11 hours of Oxonian Dionysianism from my reading of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster and Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited.

Image credit: Promotional poster designed by Gracie Oddie-James, the Creative Director of the ball. 

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