Epigram 352 - The Croft 13

the croft

Not-so-splendid isolation Déjà vu, anyone?

Lifestyle • Style • Food • Wellbeing • Travel

issue 13 23.11.20

Editor ORIN CARLIN Digital Editor ALLEGRA LETTS Deputy Editor FREYA SCOTT-TURNER

top stories

5 sex (mis)

education 14 quarantine qualms 19 artist's retreat inside

2 lifestyle 6 style​ 10 food 14 wellbeing​ 18 travel​

editor's letter

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amma Mia, here we go again!

On the subject of disappointing sequels, at least no one is going to have their high hopes crushed by a significant lack of Meryl Streep during round two of lockdown. If you need me I’ll be watching Julie & Julia (2009) on repeat. I for one have fervently lowered my expectations – consider any deluded notions of freshlybaked banana bread, perfectly-executed family TikToks or humbly-bragged under 30 minute Strava 5Ks (is that a socially acceptable time? I have literally no idea, I’m allergic to exercise) fully eliminated from my mind.

For some, diamonds are made under pressure (my dear friend who deliberately starts an essay with 10 hours to go, please

Logo by Bethany Marris

the croft

do continue to show the rest of us up with your firsts) and is there really any situation more stressful than a pandemic?

Carpe diem! One really ought to be writing a novel, painting a masterpiece, becoming a social media influencer ahead of one’s impending Strictly appearance and other such fruitful deeds, but for those of us who favour our sanity fully intact, is now really the time?

Take it from me, extreme productivity isn’t always on the cards (or ever, in my case) and that’s okay. Indeed this fortnight in The Croft, Wellbeing have written a particularly helpful guide on how to deal with quarantine qualms. If you do happen to find yourself stumbling blindly through a particularly hellish day, let it be known that even the most unpleasant situations can be eased by an early night with a Magnum in one hand and a book in the other.

And if you wake up bleary eyed and covered in chocolate? Well, no need to boast.

Orin x

THE TEAM The Croft Editor ORIN CARLIN The Croft Digital Editor ALLEGRA LETTS The Croft Deputy Editor FREYA SCOTT-TURNER The Croft Chief Proofreader ANNABEL MORGAN Style Editor MANON WILIAM Style Digital Editor MORGAN COLLINS Style Deputy Editor MAY GARLAND Style Sub-editor OLIVIA ANDREWS Food Editor SAVANNAH COOMBE Food Digital Editor MARIA SHEVCHENKO Food Deputy Editor TIM QUINEY Food Sub-editor PHOEBE RANSOM Wellbeing Editor ROSIE ANGEL-CLARK Wellbeing Digital Editor EVE COLEMAN Wellbeing Deputy Editor ELENA VENTURELLI Wellbeing Sub-editor SANJANA IDNANI Travel Editor DAISY GAME Travel Digital Editor MIA MUSA-GREEN Travel Deputy Editor REBECCA PARDON Travel Sub-editor SANJANA IDNANI Illustrator ALICE PROCTOR Front Cover EDDIE WESTALL

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Illustration by Lizzie Burgess

lifestyle

Pillow Talk

Carrie Brizshaw, our resident sex columnist, takes on...

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and frustration that we just couldn’t fuck. It left me starving for more. The night we finally had sex was honestly the best I ever had. It made me think of that post-breakup sex that always hits the mark. I can’t delve into the details otherwise we’d be up all night, just like I was.

You’re probably wondering what my friends were up to during their isolation. Nothing.

Not a thing or person to do. So, it came as no surprise to me that two of them became total ‘horn-dogs’. Their levels of horniness reached new heights and straight after they were released, they did what they had to do. Both completed an impressive hattrick, sleeping with three different guys in three days.

I have no idea how they will survive with this national lockdown.

Carrie's top tip Vibrator heaven If you don’t have a lockdown love, this is your next best thing. My personal favourite is the Naked Grapefruit vibrator which comes with free vegan goodies. It will rock your world and more. Never has it made me squirt more than during lockdown.

2 r, £ Vibrato 5.99 apefr ed G r | Nak

aving been a drama queen my whole life, I just want to confirm that I am not exaggerating when I say the devil himself tried to take me and my girls out. Let me explain. Everybody has that toxic ex, but my friend’s ex is like no other; he is Satan personified. Recently, they had a night of passion but unfortunately for us, he failed to disclose to her that he had tested positive for COVID-19. So, by the time the weekend rolled by, my friend tested positive and we all had to self-isolate.

The only option for me now was to make my boyfriend isolate with me. In my mind, I was imagining a sort of honeymoon bliss with sex, sex and more sex on the cards. But if you’ve ever been in a relationship, you know that sex can become a routine. It was like we were actors acting out the same script on how to initiate sex, the positions and the orgasm. I mean I wasn’t complaining, at least I had a lockdown love. My flatmates who also had to self-isolate were stuck on dating apps matching with boys just to escape the inevitable daily boredom.

Having spoken to a friend who was not isolating with her boyfriend, I learnt that self-isolation actually improved their sex life. Withholding sex should really be used more in relationships; if you’ve ever watched Peep Show (2003-15), you know it’s the ultimate taboo, according to Nancy. Once that routine gets broken, suddenly it’s like the first time you ever had sex with your partner, all over again.

The funny thing was that for me I had no choice but to withhold sex. If you have read my first article, you will know about my undying love for lube. But sometimes, it’s the things you love most that come and bite you in the genitals. A new lube left me and my boyfriend with an allergic reaction and thus out of action. What resulted was nights of passionate dry humping

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ating at university is difficult enough for the average woman. Navigating making and pursuing friendships whilst endeavouring to maintain some sort of love life can be a challenge. Whether that manifests itself in trying to pull in a club, finding that inconspicuous Tinder shag that you hope you have no mutual friends with or orchestrating a fully-fledged everlasting uni romance (or for a couple of years at best, but, hey, at least you can say you were in a relationship!), it can be seriously tough.

Even harder though, is taking on this challenge as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. From my perspective as a lesbian, moving into halls was an extremely straight experience. Very rarely did I meet any other openly queer women, and when I did no one seemed to particularly celebrate this fact, or indeed flaunt it. This arresting lack of options led me to believe that I was maybe one of the only lesbians at Bristol. Statistically it didn’t make sense, but where the fuck were all the gays?

Unlike my straight friends who could wait until the lights turned on in Gravity and then make eyes at the nearest man, I soon realised that if I wanted to have any form of love life as a lesbian, I was going to have

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Georgia Dimdore-Miles finds her feet in Bristol's dating minefield

to actively search for it. This took me some time but when second year came around, I was ready. Hating to fuel lesbian stereotypes but needing to meet other women who were queer like me, I joined Women’s Football. Luckily for me, I have always been quite sporty, so it wasn’t such a stretch to participate in the club, and I soon found out that I loved the game. What I loved more though was the sudden visibility that I had. Stepping into a football social for a lesbian is like walking into any bar or club for a straight person, you’ve got a lot of options. Trust me, it’s powerful.

But what happens to those who don’t feel confident enough or aren’t able to join a particular society or group? Many heterosexual students enjoy a fulfilling and fun life at university without dating or sexual experiences. Yet this is often a choice.

LGBTQ+ individuals are starved of options which can ultimately feel isolating.

How do I counteract this? I am as loud as I possibly can be about being a lesbian. Some people probably find it annoying. However normalising being forthright with your sexuality as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, to me, is vital. It could make dating into something that we can enjoy in most spaces, not a select few.

Sex (mis)education

lifestyle

Sophie Hutchison shares what they don't teach you at school

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y school may well hold the record for producing the most teen mums and dads in the country – unsurprisingly really, given the quality of our sex education. Sure, I learnt a few things from the corny noughties educational videos they showed us in PSHE lessons, but you know what they say – the best way to learn about something is by doing it. Literally.

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Myth 2: It’s weird to ask for what you want Many 20-year-old guys would like to believe that shagging you in the style of Will from The Inbetweeners (2008) will bring you to climax within four and a half minutes, but alas, it

Myth 3: Everybody’s doing it I can’t count on one hand the amount of my friends who came to uni having never had sex, and many still haven’t. It’s nobody’s business, it’s completely normal and you’re definitely not the only person who’s not having sex.

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Myth 4: You’re a slut Sex education lessons s at school seemed to always focus on sex being a special, sacred act reserved for those with the benefit of holy matrimony, but in reality it’s just, well, sex. And no, having a lot of sex does not make you loose. It just gives you plenty of funny stories that you can tell at parties.

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Myth 1: Losing your virginity will be just like in the movies When I was fourteen, I saw the film Endless Love (2014) –on Valentine’s Day, no less –and decided I would lose my virginity like the protagonists in the film, on the floor in front of a fireplace, head tipped back in ecstasy.

Fast forward to four years later, I was lying on my ex-boyfriend’s bed, looking up at his garish turquoise walls, begging him to just hurry up and finish so I could consider myself deflowered. My point: you probably won’t have an earth-shattering orgasm your first time.

usually takes a little more than that. Whoever your partner is, it’s important to tell them what’s working and what isn’t. Anyone worth your time will be excited at the prospect of actually getting you off.

Myth 5: STIs aren’t really a thing Sexually transmitted infections aren’t nearly as rare as you think – unless you and your partner are sexually exclusive and you’ve seen their ‘all clear’ text from the NHS, yeah, you do need to use protection. Whilst having an STI is nothing to be ashamed of and usually can be easily rectified with some antibiotics, it’s still a hassle that you can easily spare yourself.

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Editor MANON WILIAM Digital Editor MORGAN COLLINS Deputy Editor MAY GARLAND

Nailed it!

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Elena Venturelli reviews brand new salon, House of Nails

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inding a nail salon with everything that you’re looking for is never an easy job - especially when on a student budget! So, instead of indecisively contemplating and worrying that it might not be quite right, my housemates and I decided to brave it and visit a new salon across the road from The Galleries in Cabot Circus, and review the place, in advance, for those days when lockdown has ended and you’re desperately wanting to feel luxurious!

As we entered the salon, the stylish interior made us feel like we were really treating ourselves, and in front of us, on the wall was the largest array of colours we’d seen! Despite it being quite busy we didn’t have to wait long after we walked in. At House of Nails, the prices are cheaper than your average nail salon, despite it being the classiest one any of us had been to, - so we thought why not get some pedicures too? We were then given fancy pedicure chairs to sit in which gave us each a full-blown back massage. As you can imagine, this was dreamy, so I tried to turn on the massage function again, but understandably, the nail technician couldn’t paint my toes with the vibration on.

For our nails, we all opted for the more mum-friendly rounded tips (sadly ignoring the coffin trend!) - I will venture for longer ones next time.

We adore our new nails and we cannot wait to go back and support our local bargain find! As soon as lockdown is over, be sure to check out House of Nails at 3 Union St, Bristol BS1 2DD.

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Olivia Andrews suggests some tips and tricks for looking your best on Blackboard Collaborate

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Gentle Buffing Cream, £20 | Caudalie Some prefer a physical exfoliator, one where you can feel the little grains scrubbing away at dead skin. If this is your preferred choice, please, I beg, use one that is gentle on the skin.

I really rate the Caudalie Gentle Buffing Cream. It is really gentle and yet it efficaciously leaves your skin feeling smooth and soft.

Vitamin C Glow Revealing Peel, £18.50 | The Body Shop

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Concealer, £21 | BECCA Cosmetics

9.99 | Maybelline

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4) Eyes To look wider awake and more engaged than you might actually be during your online lecture, open up your eyes by curling your eyelashes.

Put on a generous layer of mascara, but to avoid lashes looking clumpy, proceed to separate your lashes with an old, clean mascara wand.

When in lockdown it can be easy to neglect your skin. Keeping up with a routine can easily slip off your priorities list. If your skin is feeling tired and lacklustre, exfoliating will help reveal the youthful, bright and glowy canvas underneath.

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3) Bronzed and blushed Choose warm shades, as cooler tones can translate as greyish and ashy on camera. I like choosing a peachy blush to warm up my face – I even sweep it over my nose, top of my forehead and even a pop a little on my chin to add extra radiance.

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Exfoliators that excel With Olivia Andrews

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2) Brighten As videos pick up shadow, I say go in with a corrector to brighten the under eye area to eradicate dark circles. For concealer, pick an illuminating one, a couple of shades lighter than your foundation to add further dimension.

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Primer, £28 | Too

1) Start with a good base I recommend starting the makeup base with a mattifying primer, so you don’t look like a sweaty orb. Next, pick a medium coverage foundation to even out your complexion.

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Powder, £3

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5) Beam and Blur To blur and hide unwanted oiliness, I use a few swipes of Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder. To highlight, use a small detailer brush to pop a touch of sparkle to the inner corners of your eyes to brighten and widen. I swipe some under my brows and use the excess to sweep over my brows to subtly accentuate the high points of my face. As usual, I place some on the tops of my cheekbones and I also sparingly dot some between my brows and at the end of my nose, to tie the look together.

My personal favourite is a chemical exfoliator. This one from The Body Shop is packed full of Vitamin C, this little bottle kick starts your skin’s natural regeneration process; giving your skin the refresh it desperately needs in lockdown – I can’t be the only one?

BHA Blackhead Power Liquid, £19.50 | Cosrx Or, if you are slightly lazier with skincare, using a leave-on liquid exfoliant may be more up your street. The Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid sloughs off dead skin cells and reduces the appearance of pores by clearing out excess sebum.

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Winter lovin' Helena Reeds shares her five favourite trends of the season

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Couture and Iets Frans from Urban Outfitters.

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Velour sets Lockdown 2.0 has given me the perfect excuse to expand my loungewear collection again. As soon as lockdown began, the homepages of PLT and ASOS started promoting their loungewear edits once again – it really is déjà vu from March! If you want to feel cosy and on-trend, invest in a velour set. As an ode to her early years of fame, Kim Kardashian has just released a velour line for Skims with our Y2K queen, Paris Hilton.

Other amazing sets include the new Juicy

Sweater vests This trend has been here for a while and it seems insistent on staying throughout the winter months. Sweater vests instantly give an outfit that ‘fashion blogger’ look and are incredibly cosy. As we dive deeper into the winter, we will be seeing chunkier knits in comparison to the thinner iterations worn this autumn. If you want to be bang on trend, opt for a vest with an argyle pattern for that Y2K look that’s so in right now.

Statement collars Prepare to embrace BCE – Big Collar Energy! We first saw XXL collars in the Chanel Cruise 2020 and they are here to stay.

The way to wear this trend, without looking like an extra on the set of Little Women (2019), is to keep the rest of the outfit clean and fussfree. The statement collar is the perfect way to add a feminine touch to an otherwise basic layering look.

Shaggy coats Let’s be honest, it’s time that the shearling jacket trend had a little makeover. This year we’re taking inspiration from the 70s and are rocking the Mongolianfur, Afghan coat trend.

This long-hair styled coat dominated the catwalks at Burberry, Saks Potts and more, giving you the confidence to switch up your winter outerwear.

If you want to keep this trend looking as authentic as possible, have a browse on Depop or eBay for a vintage Afghan coat. This trend is going to keep you looking stylish and super toasty!

Knee-high boots Ok, I seriously love this trend. If there’s anything I would recommend buying from this list, it would definitely be kneehigh boots. Somehow, putting these shoes on makes me feel like the most confident version of myself and I find that they seriously elevate any outfit. I styled my knee-high boots with a black leather blazer to achieve that ever-sodesirable Hailey Bieber look.

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Shop sustainable

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Fast fashion brands mass-produce cheap, poorly-made clothes. Often, they use unsustainable materials and produce large amounts of waste. Steer clear of companies who manufacture multiple collections per year and instead try to buy one good quality garment from an eco-conscious brand that will last you a long time.

Buy better, buy less Buying less but buying better is a great mantra; though buying one high-quality item will be slightly more expensive than your average fast fashion brand, it will likely save you money in the long run. House of Sunny, the brand which popularised that colourful cardigan that everyone on Instagram has been obsessed with this autumn, is a great brand to invest your money in.

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To work out where to shop, download an app such as Good On You, which will provide you with a brand’s sustainability rating. Look out for brands which are committed to producing a few small collections per year and using sustainable manufacturing methods.

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The genius app

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Shopping second hand is a great way to restock your wardrobe on a budget and at the same time bring back life to old clothes. Bristol is full of great charity and vintage shops. Try Snows Stores on Gloucester Road or The Vintage Thrift Store on Park Street for lots of quality pieces at low prices when they re-open postlockdown. But, for the time being, shopping on apps such as Depop and Vestiaire Collective are great ways of finding pre-loved items.

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Annabel Ditchfield reveals her essential tips that cater to the student budget

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Editor SAVANNAH COOMBE Digital Editor PHOEBE RANSOM Deputy Editor TIM QUINEY

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A British take on Thanksgiving Joly Cox rates Thanksgiving food from across the pond

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n the US, Thanksgiving is the celebration of a successful harvest and an opportunity to be thankful for the things around you, but to most of us here in the UK it’s just an excuse for a meal of Christmas dinner proportions. I’ve rated the top three classic Thanksgiving foods for those ‘honorary Americans’ celebrating Thanksgiving who may not actually know their ‘football’ from their Macy’s Parade.

Pumpkin Pie 8/10

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Roast Turkey 10/10

The Americans do their Thanksgiving main much like our Christmas dinner. Roast potatoes, stuffing, veg, gravy, but most importantly they also do the roast turkey. If you can’t wait until Christmas and you have enough room in your weekly budget, the roast turkey is Thanksgiving. Plus, taking control of a huge roast turkey is surely the biggest alpha move anyone can pull.

Candied Yams 1/10

The name is already off-putting, but candied yams are even worse than they sound! All you do is make mash from some yams (or sweet potato if you have no idea what yams are). Put the mash in a dish, stick marshmallows on top and bake it in the oven. If all that sounds odd, it is. Having said all that, candied yams are a Thanksgiving essential, a question of ‘don’t knock it until you’ve tried it’ for sure (and then feel free to knock it because it’s disgusting). Surprisingly served as a side not a dessert, this sweet, and I mean SWEET, dish is the perfect extra to fill that last bit of stomach you never realised you had.

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I try not to wish away time, but after Halloween, November is basically just a run up to Christmas. Pumpkin spice season is great and all, but something more DIY-friendly, less Halloween-hyped (but still nodding to festive flavours) and definitely underrated, is chai. It’s deliciously spiced and making it at home means you can make it as sweet as you choose, perfect for when you want a cosy drink but don’t fancy a sickly-sweet hot chocolate first thing in the morning.

The cookbook Dishoom: From Bombay with Love, by chef Naved Nasir and cofounders Shamil and Kavi Thakrar of Dishoom restaurants, has a great traditional masala chai recipe.

They call for black tea (bags), cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, black peppercorns, sugar and milk. You could also throw in even more festive favours like nutmeg or star anise. Then add the tea and spices to one litre of boiling water, simmer until fragrant before adding as much sugar as you like and around 500ml of milk. Continue to boil to your preferred strength before straining and serving.

Originally, chai is made with whole milk, but I like to sub in homemade oat milk, which is made by putting a palmful of oats and a pinch of salt into a blender full of water and straining. If you’re making your own oat milk, try not to over-blend or it can get a bit slimy, and remember to shake it up a lot before each use.

A big jug of chai made in advance can last me a few days, reheated on the stove or microwaved in a mug for instant festive feels.

Chuck in ice cubes for iced chai, if that’s your thing, or caffeine-devotees make it dirty with a shot of coffee.

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Pumpkin season has been and gone in the UK with Halloween now over. But if you have any leftover lanterns, pumpkin pie is the perfect spiced dessert to fill you up on a cold November night. The pumpkin custard filling can be a lot, but what’s the point of a huge Thanksgiving meal if you’re not painfully full at the end? It can take a while to make, but you’re in luck, Boris has given us all the time we need to make the perfect pumpkin dessert.

Spilling the tea: Tim’s tasty tips

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Feta & spinach tart Allegra Darwood’s tart for when you want a bit of a cooking challenge

Ingredients 2 red onions, diced 800g spinach, roughly chopped Zest of a lemon

Top Tip!

Get a friend to help press the tea towel

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250g feta cheese, crumbled 3 spring onions, finely chopped 100g fresh dill, roughly chopped 200ml double cream 1 egg 100g pine nuts, toasted 1/2 tsp nutmeg Salt & pepper A dash of vegetable oil Shortcrust: 8oz plain flour 4oz butter, chilled & cubed 4 tbsp cold water

Method 1 Preheat oven to 190°C. 2 Wash spinach and allow to dry. Cook onions in vegetable oil until soft and translucent. Add spinach to pan and cook until wilted. Put aside.

3 Put lemon zest, dill, 3/4 of your pine nuts, spring onions and 200g of feta in a big bowl. Whisk the cream and egg together and add to big bowl.

4 Wrap the cooled spinach and onions in a tea towel and strain out the excess liquid. Add to the bowl and mix all together. Grate in nutmeg and pepper.

5 Mix together butter and flour with fingtertips until they reach a fine consistency. Do not knead! Form into a bowl and leave in the fridge for 30 mins.

6 Roll shortcrust to about 0.5cm-1cm and put in tart tin. Prick pastry and bake for 15-20 mins. Add filling, top with remaining feta and pine nuts and bake for further 30 mins. Serve hot or chilled.

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Lockdown 1.0 trends: from best to worst Rosie Neville ranks the fads from round one of lockdown

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MIDDLE-TIER: Zoom Pre-lockdown, ‘to Skype’ used to be a common verb within English slang. However, during lockdown, this application was deemed inadequate by the British public. Zoom, enter stage left. ‘To Zoom’ no longer means to hurry or dash, but instead to use the notorious video conferencing application.

Zoom served us well over lockdown and even beyond. The regular virtual gatherings were an effective way to touch base with friends and family. However, by May, the Zoom-fatigue began to set in when my only reaction to ‘shall we do a Zoom quiz?’ was one of absolute trepidation.

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UPPER-MIDDLE TIER: PE with Joe Wicks During lockdown, Joe Wicks stepped up to the challenge of being the nation’s PE teacher. Prior to this, he was only in the public consciousness having branded tenderstem broccoli ‘midget trees’. His cookbook, Lean in 15, can be found unused across middle-class Britain. During lockdown however, his daily live-streamed workouts helped many get through – or rather Theroux – it all; even Louis Theroux admitted to tuning in every morning!

And don’t you worry, Joe Wicks has confirmed his eagerly awaited return for lockdown 2.0.

LOWER-MIDDLE TIER: Insta-challenges Instagram took on a life of its own during lockdown with a variety of different challenges. There are too many to name, but here are some honourable mentions that your friends would tag you in hourly: 30-day music template challenge, the controversial Virgin Media 5K run and the Gesture challenge.

My personal favourite, however, was the #ToiletPaperChallenge. All it consisted of was people trying to juggle toilet paper. The absolute absurdity of it was entertaining vannah Coombe a S – who would’ve thought toilet paper was the thing to keep people connected worldwide?

I am proud to say I managed eleven ‘juggles’ – a not too lousy attempt.

However, this trend fails to place higher in the ranking due to the moral ambiguity of kicking toilet paper about whilst your neighbours were stuck with kitchen roll in their bathrooms.

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GOD TIER: Dalgona Coffee This South Korean coffee drink took the internet by storm.

Dalgona coffee is like a cappuccino turned on its head with the frothy coffee on top and the milk underneath. Upon first attempt, one was often left with a gooey sweet puddle (blame the under-whisking). But if you got back up and dusted yourself off, you were in for a treat.

Once you had that caffeinated meringue in your mouth, the sugar-coma was able to sedate you into forgetting the uncertainty of the world.

AWFUL TIER: Baking banana bread/sourdough Undoubtedly, one of the biggest trends was baking. Be it banana bread, ciabatta, brioche or sourdough, someone you know was posting about it on Instagram. My house was no different. Each day I would wake to a delectable smell coming from the kitchen. You might then ask, why have I rated the baking phenomenon the worst trend? The answer is simple: my wheat allergy. Rather than a tasty trend, it was a torturous one.

Calling all aspiring chefs!

Bored in lockdown? We’ve devised a cooking competition to keep you entertained

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f banana bread and sourdough are no longer keeping you entertained, we have a solution. Every week over lockdown, The Croft will be releasing a cooking challenge to keep you entertained. The theme is released on Monday over Instagram and the deadline for entries is the following Saturday. Follow us for more details! Send us an image of your creation over Instagram either on your story, a DM or a post. Make sure to tag @thecroftmagazine_ so we see your entries. Our favourites will be published on our Instagram page and the winning recipe will be published on the Epigram website and might even make it into our next issue.

Competition time!

Get inspired!

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Thanksgiving is on 26 November. We’re looking for your best Thanksgiving dish or whole feast.

You could send us photos of a great roast turkey, an amazing pumpkin pie or even just the best roast potatoes we’ve ever seen. If you need some inspiration, have a look at Joly Cox’s article on page 10.

Our winner will be asked to submit a recipe for our website, so keep that in mind when you’re cooking.

Original or professional recipes are all welcome.

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Our Food Instagrammer of the month, Serena, tells us why she loves autumn

I write this in the midst of a Greek holiday with the sun blazing down and the blue waves casually flirting with the rocks at the base of my toes. It’s funny to think that, in comparison, Bristol is currently swamped with grey clouds and miserable rain. The quintessentially British autumn that I’m much more accustomed to.

Being a Filipino-British Lancashire lass brings a duality of food that centres my whole life. My favourite comfort foods vary from a hearty, potato-based pie, swimming in gravy so thick you could bounce a spoon off it, accompanied by a very generously buttered white bap for mopping or the iconic Filipino adobo: pork belly marinated in an unholy amount of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, onions and black pepper, always served with a Mount Doom portion of rice – bold, moreish and almost as addictive as crack.

Two very different dishes from opposite sides of the world, but that share the most incredible thing – that pure inner comfort of a satisfyingly full belly that you only get after demolishing some proper good scran.

It’s what I love the most about eating in autumn and definitely something we all bloody well need when it’s constantly pissing it down and the winds are harder and faster than Vin Diesel and The Rock karate-chopping logs.

Check out Serena on Insta @cookinflex

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Editor ROSIE ANGEL-CLARK Digital Editor EVE COLEMAN Deputy Editor ELENA VENTURELLI

Epigram / Alice Proctor

Epigram / Alice Proctor

laps of it. I was homes i c k for the outside world.

O n e thing that helped pull me through this period was planning walks with my housemates and friends for when we were allowed out again. The first walk with my housemates, following a big night of celebratory games together the evening before, gave me a rush akin to climbing a mountain. It was a similar rush to when the ice cream that I ordered at the start of our isolation period arrived.

Personally, being organised with the ‘admin’ of isolation helped a great deal. I sunk into a state of panic after I got my result, worrying about how we would get food and other supplies, and what would happen if someone got really ill.

Reaching out to people as soon as possible to see if they could support us and doing a group food order helped a great deal to alleviate this stress. If you are able to, get in touch with friends during this time who may need extra help.

With this network of support, my period of lockdown became a period of reflection, mirroring my experience earlier this year.

It was not without its stresses but by making a conscious effort to improve my environment, give myself structure, and to hold myself accountable to it, the situation became liveable.

As a second lockdown is underway, I’m definitely more prepared this time around – thanks to the first lockdown and also our period of isolation.

This does not mean it will be easy, but it does mean that we have developed coping mechanisms to manage the extraordinary circumstances we are in.

As always, it is necessary to remind ourselves that this is not what our bodies and minds are used to and that we should be kind to ourselves as the pressure of lockdown descends on us. ark gel- Cl ie An

bin Ireland

Epigram / Ro

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I

h a d b e e n c o n fined to my house for three days by the time I got the message.

Epigram / R After what felt obin Irela nd like an impossibly long time, I had my result.

My three days in isolation were about to fade into insignificance – I’d either be set free and forget all about them, or they’d seem trivial in the face of a two-week quarantine.

After I got the positive result (and once I’d calmed myself down), my flatmates and I had a meeting about how we would approach things as a house. There are seven of us and we could’ve very much become sick of each other and of not having our own space by the end of isolation.

It’s easy for miscommunication to cause a sour atmosphere, especially in big student houses or flats.

With a second lockdown looming, it may be a wise idea to have an open and honest conversation with your housemates to make it as comfortable as possible for everyone.

One thing we did immediately was to turn our communal working area into somewhere we wanted to be, despite wishing we could be almost anywhere else. We all painted something for the wall and hung up fairy lights. With our world shrinking with a day’s notice, it proved valuable to make our remaining tiny pocket of the universe as bright and sunny as we could.

Days quickly became punctuated by very little. To provide ourselves with structure and to boost our wellbeing, my housemates and I did yoga together every day at the same time – after we’d finished our work and before dinner.

I will admit that before we started, I was sceptical and erupted with giggles during every pose. However, it soon became a highlight of my day and still is. We use Yoga with Adriene’s videos which are perfect for beginners. Taking the time to do this activity helped us to feel less static in our enforced sedentary state.

I am usually a fairly active person and exercise plays a major role in maintaining my mental wellbeing. Our house has a very small garden, but by day nine, my housemates were running dizzy

Ros am / Epigr

Robin Ireland discusses isolation and how to cope with lockdown

Epigram / Alice Proctor

Quarantine qualms

Tidy space, tidy mind?

Lily Sheridan Power explores the relationship between environment and mental wellbeing

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Epigram / Lily Sheridan Power

he vigilant barista asks if I would like to order another coffee. After politely declining, I peer around me. The once-bustling café has been converted into a graveyard. Each dolorous student has abandoned their coffee-stained table. Much to the barista’s pleasure, I take my cue to leave.

Despite the £3.90 price tag for a chai latte, I have always preferred working in coffee shops than in libraries. The background noise helps me to study. I also take great pleasure in watching elderly couples bicker over americanos.

On the walk home, it dawns on me: my bedroom is a complete tip.

After frantically

wellbeing​ cramming for a deadline, the last thing I want to do is come home to a messy house. Unfortunately, this is often the case when living in student accommodation.

It seems like a daunting task, especially when feeling tired and stressed; however – I remind myself – I will feel lighter afterwards. As with other menial chores, starting is the hardest part. Once you get going, it’s a breeze.

To psych myself up for the big clean, I start by drafting a mental to-do list, putting on my trashy 2000s playlist (normally reserved for nights in with my housemates) and grabbing the cleaning supplies from the kitchen.

To the tune of ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head,’ I start to sieve through the clothes scattered across the floor. This is usually my biggest obstacle. After the clothes have been safely returned to my wardrobe, I reward myself with a five-minute phone break.

Following on: I empty the bin, locate and remove all the glasses and mugs, vacuum the floor, clean my mirror and make my bed. By the end of the 20-minute clean, my head is cleared.

Due to government guidelines, we have spent more time indoors this year than ever before. Research has revealed that working in a decluttered environment can help concentration.

When your brain’s visual cortex is overwhelmed by irrelevant objects, it becomes harder to focus on your immediate task.

Getting rid of the mess helps us to work and think more efficiently, which subsequently benefits other areas of our lives.

A second lockdown means being stuck in our homes around the clock, which is a lot to handle, and a messy environment will not help. When your house is clean and ordered, you will feel less stressed and less distracted.

Throughout the nationwide lockdown, whether you’re quarantining with flatmates, locked down in halls or isolating with your parents – do not underestimate the importance of a clean space.

Epigram

es Eme / Jam

We live with information at our fingertips. I know that if I were to check my phone screen time I would be shocked (in a bad way). Whilst it’s great that we can communicate with each other all the time, the amount of information we have immediate access to is pretty overwhelming.

It can be easy to find yourself mindlessly scrolling through Twitter or BBC News, scanning headline after headline. Whilst you may not realise it, this constant saturation of news can actually have negative effects on your mental health – especially right now.

Our news at the moment is gripping: America has been on the edge of something crazy, and the situation surrounding Covid is constantly changing.

The news is exciting, but also stressful. Instead of reaching for your phone and checking the news first thing in the morning, maybe give yourself a bit of time to get on with your day before opening Twitter. Or set yourself limits. Allow yourself 20 minutes or three articles a day. Please remember that while it’s important to know what’s going on in the world, you don’t need to do so at the expense of your mental health. e Barnes

ac ry & Gr

Caitlin Palmer O’Shaughnessy Wellbeing Columnist

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y a W s

to wind

h m t o a e n w o d

Epigram / Rosie Angel-Clark

The Wellbeing Editors suggest four ways to boost your wellbeing without leaving the house I think we all learned in Lockdown 1.0 that finding the motivation to maintain an exercise regime can be near impossible when you are stuck indoors. Recently, however, my flatmates and I discovered a series of HIIT dance workouts by YouTuber emkfit that have us moving, grooving and loving every minute (well, maybe not the pulsing squats!). The videos have an incredibly creative range of themes: two of my favourites are the Mamma Mia and Shrek workouts – hey now, you’re an All-Star and a Dancing Queen!

If you’re having a down day, stick on a video and force your flatmates to get involved – I promise you’ll notice a total mood shift.

Try recreating things you would normally do outside your flat.

Whether it be setting up a movie night with a take-away and some popcorn, having a sleepover in someone else’s room or even pretending to be at the pub by sitting at your kitchen table with pints and having a game of cards.

Game nights are also a great way to spice up your lockdown life.

You could order a new board game on Amazon and get competitive!

Even if you’re not the most artistically inclined, it’s nice to have a break from staring at a screen and make something. Get the kettle boiling and gather whatever you’ve got that can pass for art supplies. In my flat we’ll often have one person sketching, one sewing up a holey jumper and another baking. Or you could do a Zoom class – Art Soc hold regular life drawing sessions, for example.

It’s really satisfying to create something tangible. Essays are all very well but the lack of physical evidence of your hard work can be a bit demoralising. Fix that by sticking your most recent painting on the fridge – your flatmates will love it.

If you have a healthy bit of competitive spirit like I do, why not challenge your flatmates to a baking competition? It’s a great way to get together and potentially discover a new talent! From almost-disaster-moment photo opportunities to brilliantly decorated cakes that smell absolutely golden, this is sure to make some heart-bursting memories!

And if you want to spend more time baking, why not make it a Tuesday tradition? You’ll have something to look forward to every week of lockdown and can top it off by sitting down with your yummy treat and an episode of actual Bake Off!

– Eve

– Rosie

– Elena

– Sanjana

rk Epigram / Rosie Angel-Cla

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wellbeing​

Lockdown loneliness and men’s mental health Patrick Sullivan reminds men to keep talking – even when it doesn’t come naturally

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Epigram / Patrick Sullivan

lokes, chaps, guys, lads, lads, lads. You alright?

Dr Geoffrey Greif sums up male friendship as ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ and those between women as ‘face-to-face’. Now in the second national lockdown and heading into the winter months, this idea is helpful as the measures make many forms of social interaction near-impossible.

To maintain friendships, men tend to use the following tools: football, video games, work, team sports, the gym, the pub, TV, FIFA (or Football Manager if you have taste), and more football. My school lads’ group chat revolves around fantasy football, trash-talking any FIFA since 2017 and a shared outrage around the Premier League’s new pay-per-view model. Little talk of lockdown.

A female friend recently got roped into a fantasy football league and was shocked to learn I have played every season for over a decade and – humble brag – regularly come in the top few per cent of the seven million competitors. She didn’t even know I watched football.

Herein lies a difference in men’s and women’s friendships. It’s not that men don’t talk, or that shoulder-to-shoulder interaction isn’t healthy. We just rarely talk openly about our health, mental or physical. ‘Not too bad’ is your typical male

response to ‘how are you?’, and I’ve found that men – even us more progressive millennials – are more likely to confide in women: female friends, g i r l fr i e n d s , sisters, mothers.

The university’s recent survey on lockdown wellbeing showed that loneliness and depression continue to be pressing issues among Bristol students.

Despite the first lockdown scattering us across the country and world, friendship was the most common step students took when seeking support. In Lockdown 2.0, many of us are staying at our ‘uni homes’ rather than moving ‘home home,’ and friendships are the key worry.

I was lucky with my first lockdown. The theme of my early 2020 was high stress, high trauma, and, consequently, high alcohol consumption. In the final weeks of social freedom, I was going to counselling for the first time, dealing with deeply buried emotional issues and starting a prescription for antidepressants.

Lockdown 1.0 gave me extended time with my lovely family, including my beloved cat Benji, a new focus on finishing my Master’s degree, and an overall calm.

When restrictions lifted, I had graduated, started a doctorate, gone over 100 days sober, and could afford to rent a cushy onebed flat in South Bristol (helped partially by not pubbing). Life was better than it was pre-lockdown. A lot of my uni friends have moved on, and without flatmates my social interactions have revolved around rugby, a running group, and a local organisation called Talk Club, where men can speak openly and practise ‘mental fitness.’ Of course, this has all been paused.

I’m in a good place mentally, but four weeks alone is a scary prospect.

My motivation is much higher after any (still rare) in-person interactions – Zoom just doesn’t quite cut it unless it’s a webinar that plays in the background while I eat my Crunchy Nut. If I’ve learned anything from the last year, it’s the need for hybrid friendships.

We can still exercise outdoors so running buddies are in. I’ve recently used Discord to chat with a friend alongside watching the football, and talked to another male friend while we watched the Season Two finale of The Boys (2019). It’s as close to shoulder-to-shoulder as I can get.

I’m a believer that men need to learn the concept of face-to-face friendship.

The value is in listening and connecting, and, while not the same, it can work online. I’m certainly going to be relying on the Talk Club group and other friends via phone and video calls to keep up my optimism.

Funnily enough, my closest male friend at university, who I made primarily through Talk Club, hates football.

Madness.

Talk Club UoB is running online sessions for male-identifying students Tuesdays 6-7.30pm, and with Project Talk for all-gender students Saturdays 11am-12.30pm.

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Editor DAISY GAME Digital Editor MIA MUSA-GREEN Deputy Editor REBECCA PARDON

m/D igra Ep

aisy Game

A letter to travel At a time when their relationship is somewhat longdistance, Theano Dmp gets back in touch with travel

Dear Travel,

Ep ig ra

I cannot wait to start packing for a new trip again.

I want to pick a new destination off my bucket list, to start planning outfits, checking the weather and researching possible activities so I am ready as I can be. To check my budget and start looking for a hotel.

I have missed the feeling of waking up at 5am to go to the quiet, yet full-of-people airport. The crisp, cold air outside, with a hot cup of cocoa in my hand. The excitement and anticipation of what this trip has in store. The airplane is off; in a few hours, I will be in a new destination full of endless possibility. Will I fall in love with this place, or will I hate it? I do not care at this point. I just want travel to be possible – I am begging for the exciting feeling of a new adventure.

One thing I never thought I would miss is the airplane food. The fear of what is in front of me. The choice between sleeping so time goes by faster or eating the strange concoction of ingredients on my tray - and I am not even a picky eater.

I have missed the feeling of going shopping in a new city with ‘I’ve never been here before, you never know what I could find,’ as an excuse.

I have missed the feeling of going through a phone full of pictures and feeling nostalgic for how fun my trip was. The only trip I have taken in the last few months was a rush home to make sure I was safe during the global pandemic. The trip was to make sure that, if the worst happens, I would be close to my family. I had so many plans for this year. My adult life is just starting, and I have the whole w o r l d Green to explore. Covid-19 has disturbed those sa u plans.

M ia I miss coming home. I miss M / that feeling of comfort – bem ing home for the first time in days. The fresh sheets and the comfortable bed. The environment I am used to, in a place I know like the back of my hand.

Sitting on my couch with comfy clothes, talking on the phone with my friends, filling them in on all of my adventures.

Thank you for all of this, Travel. I hope to see you again soon.

Theano x

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Xander Brett Travel Columnist

O

nce again, Europe is shutting down. England announced its second confinement just a few days after France, which came into effect on 30th October.

I left Paris and flew north to Sweden, a bastion of normality, before arriving home to Cambridgeshire.

After three days locked-in, I was one of the last to be ‘airlifted’ out. This meant, of course, that I had little time under the restrictions. It was not enough to properly experience French lockdown culture, but it gave a sense of what life was like in April.

Every evening at 8pm, a trumpeter called neighbours to their windows.

Below us, the streets were dark and barren. To use them, you are required to have an official document. Confinement is the only way to stop France’s hospitals being overwhelmed, something we’re told they’re dangerously close to.

During the summer, life returned to normal. Now, infections have shot up, but the mortality rate is not as high. Nevertheless, France will return in part to the old nightmare.

As in the UK, this virus shows no signs of remitting.

We’re in for a cold Christmas on both sides of the Channel.

Artist’s retreat Where: Hydra, Greece Who: Leonard Cohen

am

yG ais /D

ame

Where: Charleston, Sussex Who: Bloomsbury Set

Ep ig

Slow living is the name of the game on this sun-and-star-soaked isle. Cars, scooters and buses are an absolute no-go: a troop of port-side donkeys await the bag-laden visitor.

A fan of Hydra’s let’s-do-somethingby-doing-nothing attitude, Leonard Cohen spent many a beach-bronzed year d ia Chou hury kicking about the island. Leonard die- Soph / hard? It’s no chore to follow in the am r singer/songwriter’s footsteps – many happy hours can be spent hiking the island (which clocks in at a wee 50km squared) in search of a rocky beach or a cool pew of one of Hydra’s stone monasteries.

And in the evening? Sip on some chilled Ouzo, pick at a bowl of olives and keep an eye out for the ghost of Cohen – last seen singing with the donkeys...

Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant: during the second world war years, the infamous clique retreated to the sisters’ sussex farmhouse. It wasn’t anything luxurious – winters were notoriously icey, and there was no hot water to thaw sketching/writing fingers – but the creative crew proceeded to transform their new home into a painted wonderland.

Walls were covered top to bottom with painted murals, furniture covered in velvet and roses trained to climb the garden trellis: it’s all pretty fabulous. Today, Charleston is open to visitors and hosts an annual Literary Festival – it’s surely the dream destination for any budding Bloomsbury enthusiasts.

Sketch / sharpner : Epigram / Daisy Game

Ep ig r

Daisy Game tours some of the world’s most creative destinations

Where: Aix En Provence Who: Paul Cezanne Epigra m

/D

ais Fruit bowls, tree-lined avenues and hot, hazy y

m Ga

French houses: father of post-impressionist painting (...discuss) Paul Cezanne found inspiration in his home town of Aix. You can visit the ‘atelier de Cezanne’ – where the painter worked from 1902 until his death four years later – and play an immersive game of spot the difference: lavender, crickets, shaded coffee tables, cobbled streets, warm red wine – if you e

Where: City Lights Bookstore and Publishers, San Francisco Who: Alan Ginsberg

can see it, Cezanne probably painted it.

Where: Shakespeare and Company, Paris Who: everyone!

/ am igr Ep

Whilst the Beat writers found their footing in Greenwich Village, NYC, this bunch of disenfranchised youths (Diana Di Prima, Alan Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, etc) also spent time in the land of ‘no cultural advantage’(!), kicking the sidewalks of Los Angeles and San Francisco. A little grungy and anti-establishment-y, SF’s City Lights was an early Ginsberg backer – stepping in to publish the poet’s now-considered-seminal work, Howl. Today, the bookstore is still swaying to the rhythm of the written word, inviting visitors to indulge in both its history with the Beats and its present as a still-up-andrunning seller. Calling all ‘angelheaded hipsters’ out there – this is the one for you.

Established in 1920 by one Sylvia Beach, Shakespeare and Company might just be The Ultimate in creatively focused retreats. Acting as a kind of unofficial ‘salon’ through the 20s and 30s, Beach’s store hosted the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound and James Joyce (yes, really!) The spirit of Beach’s hospitality lives on through (now its second, relocated guise) Shakespeare and Co’s Tumbleweed Programme: in exchange for a few hours work in the shop, aspiring writers are welcome to tuck themselves into bedsamongst-the-bookshelves and sleep in the shop free of charge. To think that a place like this exists is – in my humble and forever bookish opinion – proof of magic in the world.

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Rebecca Pardon

irthplace of ‘Dixieland’ jazz, New Orleans has been home to some of the best-known jazz musicians, such as King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. This playlist of velvety 70s jazz and blues vacillates between soothing and invigorating with each melody. The perfect escapism for unwinding after a particularly glitchy seminar, or to simply have in the background as you return to your lockdown knitting/baking pastime, this playlist will make you feel as smooth and sophisticated as Sex and the City’s Mr Big, even if you are still wearing last night’s pyjamas.

3 Daisy

Berlin Techno

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2

he fall of the Berlin Wall came with it a new wave of freedom, rebellion and music. With a hard baseline and electronic sound, this Detroit-inspired music caused what was once a divided city to become a world-renowned hotspot for techno. Teens took over abandoned buildings, bunkers and stations and turned them into illegal nightclubs. Although you may not be clubbing in Berghain anytime soon, why not tune into this playlist for some Berlin-inspired beats…

Travel tunes

4

The Travel Team take you to some of their favourite destinations with the power of a playlist

Parisian Cafe

icture this – it’s a bright November day in Paris. The air is cool and crisp and sparkling; the last Autumn leaves crowd the roots of chilly tree trunks. You’ve spent the day nudging at the bric-a-brac of busy antique shops and twisting https://www.onceuponachef. past the shelves of dusty bookstores. It’s now late afcom/recipes/late-summerternoon. The street lamps have started to blink into plum-cake.html their soft-and-buttery selves, and you’ve tucked yourself away at the back of a side-street bistro. Cradled in your mitts is a cup of hot coffee, which pairs perfectly with the soft-sugary-squash of the almond croissant perched at your side. In an hour or so, you’ll trade the caffeine kick for a little carafe of red-wine. In the background, soft beneath the cafe-chatter of families, students and nervous couplesto-be, music hums. This playlist is all jazzy beats, crackling gramophone vocals and melodically rolled ‘rrrr-s’: tune into the Paris of cliched dreams.

Bollywood Energy

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his playlist has some of my favourite picks from mainly the 00s and 10s era of Bollywood music. If you’re looking for some music that will evoke the energy, colour and vivacity of India, this is a good place to start.

With most songs being up-tempo and designed for a good party, this playlist will quickly convince you that it’s possible to have a good night in, which is just what we need as we enter lockdown!

While there are some popular classics, some songs might be new and will be in a different language.

However, I invite you to lose yourself in the beats and the energy of it. If you’re still curious, check out the movie it’s from and be truly transported!

Sanjana

P

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New Orleans

Mia

Rebecca

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travel​

Naz Iskander makes a case for buses as the superior form of travel transport

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e honest: when was the last time you were truly happy to get on a bus or coach? Megabus, National Express and Flixbus might be household names, but they are also pretty much certain to tease a grimace on the face of many experienced backpackers.

Whether you’re crossing Bristol or Europe, buses are hardly the nicest form of travel. Legroom that makes Ryanair seem like business class, USB charging ports stuffed with chewing gum, eternally broken onboard toilets – not to mention the dreaded car sickness – are all part of the coach travel experience. And for those of us who’ve been on a Flixbus in Europe, there’s the added complication of being woken up every time you cross the border (on an 8 hour night bus journey!) so your documents can be checked!

Or maybe you’ve had a bus driver have a go at you?

Personally, I’m still a bit terrified of German bus drivers, as I was once scolded by one for a full minute in rapid-fire German for giving him the wrong fare while the bus-stop queue grew…I swear this is a true story.

But when it comes down to it, I think we don’t give the

Humble Bus enough credit. It doesn’t get you there in style, quite the opposite in fact – you get dumped out on the outskirts of Berlin with one hour of sleep, crumpled clothes and all, and desperately searching for a loo (see: broken onboard toilets). But in the end, it gets us where we want to get to: I think we love to hate buses.

The humble bus got me around Europe for slightly less than two fancy brunches, and I will forever cherish the memories I made on that trip. Buses allow us to travel ridiculous distances for incredibly cheap, and I am grateful that such an affordable option for transport exists. It’s not stylish, but in the end you get from A to B, and that’s what matters isn’t it? Quite frankly, most of us students simply can’t afford to fly or interrail around Europe, so we would be stuffed if Flixbus wasn’t a thing.

Bus travel isn’t the best, but it gets you where you want to go for the lowest possible price, and it’s definitely something that we don’t appreciate enough. I will be sure to tell myself this the next time I hop on a cramped Flixbus from Copenhagen to Hamburg.

‘The humble bus got me around Europe for slightly less than two fancy brunches’

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u b e s s o t e d O

Epigram / I Naz

n de ska r

Epigram/A

lice Proct or

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Signing out

Freya Scott-Turner shares the highs and lows of a social media detox

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ast week, as I checked my metallic fifth limb for the

Epigram / Freya Scott-Turner

666th time that day, I received a bit of a jolt: ‘Your screen time was up 21% last week, for an average of eight hours, seven minutes a day’. Shame washed over me. Is this how the Hulk felt, surveying the destruction left in the wake of his last outburst? Good God, I'm out of control! I knew something had to change. So, armed with my selfloathing and lack of content for a new article, I committed myself to a seven-day social media detox, vowing to chronicle my experience.

I completely appreciate how, for a phone junkie like myself, only deleting social networking apps seems very much like half-arsing it. But frankly, I was scared. Cold turkey can be debilitating. So in order to set myself some achievable parameters, I deleted the mindless scrolling black holes that are Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Hinge, Tinder…the list goes on. Essentially, I left myself only contactable via text or Facebook Messenger.

The night before deletion, I put my affairs in order. I informed a few group chats and told my mother I loved her. My mind was swirling with so many questions. Will I regret this? Will people forget who I am? Maybe I'll finally start my dissertation? Maybe I'll take up macrame? Maybe, with reduced exposure to radio waves and the mindnumbing hubbub of Instagram Stories, my brain will go into a sort of synapse-connecting euphoric state and I'll become a... genius?

In spite of my optimism, the first few days were very hard.

Pushed by the little devil on my shoulder whispering ‘must scroll, must scroll’, I spent the first day stalking my old classmates on LinkedIn (not including it in my purge was definitely an oversight) and seeing how they did in their A-Levels. On Tuesday, I finally achieved the 2048 tile. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about then you were probably a lot less lame than me in Sixth Form, good for you.)

But productivity did creep into other areas of my daily routine. By the third day, I noticed I was engaging more with the world around me, swapping my morning Snapchat storyinduced FOMO for a scan of the headlines on BBC News and pausing for a chat with an old flatmate across the street who I might not otherwise have noticed. By Thursday I was really in the groove. Eliminating those ‘five minute' TikTok breaks, I ploughed through my dense seminar reading the same way I would an episode of Made in Chelsea.

My conversations at the pub on Saturday night felt more organic, not interrupting them, as I’m prone to, with mindless message-checks at constant intervals.

Despite these improvements, I couldn’t kick the niggling anxiety that I was missing out.

With Snapchat out of the equation, I hadn’t sent my regular voice notes to a friend abroad, and I missed the highly amusing retellings of mundane goings-on back home that my group chats provided. There were points when I really wanted to cave. Without thinking, I’d search up Facebook on my browser or look down and find I’d started re-downloading Instagram. It turned out that a social media detox wasn’t the panacea I’d believed it to be, and while I’d gained in some areas, I was definitely missing many of tech’s little perks.

So, I’ve concluded that phones themselves are not the enemy. These magical little hunks of metal enrich our lives in so many ways, we just need to remind them who’s in charge. Find out what works for you. While many people I know have gone tee-total and banished social media for good, I’m re-entering the virtual world with some ground rules. No more Stories. Instagram and Snapchat have allowed me to keep and form connections with so many people I hold dear.

But with all this time saved not watching people pierce their poached eggs with a fork, I might finally start my dissertation. ya S / Fre ram Epig er Turn cott-

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Splash the cash: Money diaries

lifestyle

Caitlin Palmer O'Shaughnessy shares a week of pre-lockdown spending decisions

Day 3, £0 (cheers Mum!)

Epigram / Orin Carlin

After a relaxing morning of walking and swimming, we head back to the hotel for an afternoon tea – such a treat! We buy picnic food from the local supermarket and eat dinner in our room whilst watching the movie Late Night (2019). It was pretty good, not my favourite though.

Day 4, £23

On our walk around Cowes, I end up buying a coffee flask for myself (£20) and some rock and postcards as little presents for my friends (£3). We stop off for lunch and I have a very good hot chocolate. Boris finally makes his speech announcing that another lockdown is on its way. Oh well, I suppose it was to be expected.

Day 5, £3

I say bye to my mum as she drops me at the station and buy another meal deal (£3) for the train home. Back in Bristol, I have homemade sweet potato and leek soup for dinner.

te Epigram

/ MIran

da Shu

Scott-T urner

Day 2, £14.80

Off to the Isle of Wight with my mum, a spontaneous trip before another potential lockdown. Buy a student single to Temple Meads (£1.80) and stop off at Tesco to buy a classic meal deal (£3). At 3pm, I realise I’ve forgotten my swimming costume, not ideal! End up running to the nearest Sports Direct and spending £10 on one.

/ Freya

i Ep

Epigra m

Day 1, £7.90

Met a friend at Pret and throughout the day we make our way through four free drinks each (big up Pret for the first month free). Later, we grab an Eat a Pitta (£3.90) because we are starving and must live up to the Bristol student stereotype. Head to The White Rabbit in the evening for a pint with friends (£4). Quite frankly, the amount of time I spend there is slightly embarrassing.

/O

Day 6, £24

Off for a spontaneous trip to Bath today with some friends. £3 on a student bus return and then £5 on a day return to Bath. Buy three books from a charity shop (£6).

We stop off for a lovely lunch at this vegan café called Green Rocket. I had the gnocchi, which was delicious (£10).

Day 7, £14

My friend and I go for a wild swim in Clevedon Marine Lake. The bus ticket return is £5. When we get in, we realise it is absolutely freezing! Head to the pub for a pint (£4) and end up getting another one for free because the pub keeps running out of everything we order! Head to the Co-op for some pre-US election snacks (£5) before my friend comes over to watch the results.

Carlin Epigram / Orin

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Total = £86.70 This week was definitely not a normal week. I was far busier than usual, and after Boris announced lockdown on Saturday night I went a bit crazy, justifying everything by telling myself that I simply won’t spend as much during lockdown (which is true).

23

What film should you watch next?

Cerys Gasden speeds up your movie selection process (crucial for the isolating student)

m/ gra Epi

ya Fre

S

I enjoy watching films...

r rne t-Tu cot

...with others

...alone Yes! I love Christmas/ Halloween films

I like films that...

I prefer watching films at....

...scare or shock me

Nah!

...comfort me ...the cinema – it’s a cool experience

If I had to, I would rather study

...home, it’s way cosier and easier

I’d rather travel...

I enjoy sci-fi/ futuristic films ...Politics ...Art

...back in time

Yes!

24

No, not my thing

...all over the world

The Shining (1980)

Children of Men (2006)

La Haine (1995)

Amelie (2001)

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Jack is hired to care for a hotel over winter but, living in isolation, he loses his sanity. This ‘beautiful horror’ will keep you on edge.

In a science fiction world where no one can have children, Theo is sent to look after a woman who falls pregnant. This film is perfect for a sci-fi soul.

Set in the suburbs of Paris, three friends wander around their town following a brutal riot: this film will make you rethink, cry and laugh.

Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happines.

Her quest takes a turn when she seeks true love. This film is perfect for the dreamers and the romantics.

Teenagers celebrate the last day of high school by causing trouble, partying and flirting. This film is a literal 70s time warp and ideal for teen movie lovers.