The American author and literary critic Henry James infamously described Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace as a ‘big, loose, baggy monster.’ James’s disparaging comment from 1908 couldn’t be further from my 2020 reading. The only commonality found in James’ viewpoint is perhaps the text’s monstrous size. Coming in at a whopping 1200 pages, Tolstoy’s work […]
Earlier this week, Nicola Sturgeon released a statement warning people to stay away from the Highlands amidst the Scottish coronavirus outbreak. In response to an influx of people moving to the Scottish Highlands to escape the virus, the First Minister of Scotland told accommodation providers and ferries to refuse “non-essential” visitors. According to Sturgeon, mass […]
At precisely 8pm on Thursday 26th March, the NHS was praised with a nation-wide applaud of appreciation. Members of the public, celebrities, royalty and even our trusty PM, took to the streets to celebrate the hard work of NHS staff amid the Covid-19 outbreak. In an extremely touching moment that saw young and old coming […]
Whether you’re heading home for the Easter holidays or packing up in light of Covid-19, the welfare of your plant babies may be one of your top concerns. Carrying a Monstera plant onto a plane or train and having it sit beside you may not be possible, but have no fear; there are plenty of […]
University College London (UCL) has issued a policy prohibiting student and staff sexual relations. The decision aims to protect against abuse of power and grooming. UCL is the first Russell group institution to implement a personal relationships policy. The policy bans “close personal and intimate relationships between staff and students where the staff member has […]
Whether you’re in full support of the lecturers’ strike or you are secretly thinking “how could you do this to me right before assignment season”, the impending industrial action doesn’t have to mean the be all and end all of academic success. Disruptions to class timetables are not an excuse to do nothing. In fact with less […]
Whether you love it or loathe it, there’s no denying the health benefits of regular exercise. Be it to lose weight, lower cholesterol or simply to clear the mind, physical activity can work wonders. Indeed for neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki, exercise changed not only her life, but also her brain chemistry. In a 2019 TED talk, […]
In the infamous words of 17th-century poet John Donne, “No man is an island”. In today’s society, however, the opposite seems to be true. Recent surges in technological advances, particularly in social media, mean it can sometimes feel we have built a world where we are disconnected from real life; and with it, human interaction. […]