Beaver Sound in print

An alternative dissertation title: dating, dudes & other disasters

by ALICE AURELL & illustrated by CHARLIE TO

A er 2.5 years of the uni dating scene, I can rmly say every encounter I have had with a member of the opposite sex has been resoundingly underwhelming. One time a guy threw a drink in my face (and my all-white out t) and then 10 minutes later tried to chat me up in the line to the bathroom. Another time, a guy approached me on the dance oor with the coldest breath making me imagine our, blessedly short, encounter to be similar to that of being eaten by a White Walker. Most frequently, however, whenever approached I always end up having to defend women's rights. ese conversations usually take place outside of a random McDonalds at 2 AM while the alcoholic buzz wears o and whoever I am talking to shrinks from 6 -4-hottest-man-alive to a

Dating Tip #1: If you wanna get with a girl maybe don’t ne-

A night for vintage & vino

by EMILY GOBELS & illustrated by NOORA BELCAID

Our Word On e Street (WOTS) podcast, which is part of e Beaver Sound ( nd us on Spotify), brings you the who, what, where and why of London’s current trends and experiences. is WOTS episode started with an Instagram ad: a post for Vintage & Vino - an evening of vintage fashion and great wine. We were easily convinced to buy tickets via their Instagram bio.

Gen and I went to the pop-up with the intention of checking it out for the podcast. We wanted to get a glimpse of what the London fashion start-up industry might have to o er to non-industry people. Before going, we discussed our own observations of trends on social media, both seeing a similar increase in attention to small-brand, micro-fashion events, along with general promotions for more sustainable and vintage/second-hand fashion (i.e the popularity of Depop, Vinted, Ebay etc.). With this in mind, we wanted to see if Vintage & Vino - V2 for short - lived up to our perceptions about fashion pop-ups, and whether such an in-person event added something to the shopping experience that might be lacking in typical online vintage shopping. e non-Depop experience, if you will.

‘For me, the biggest thing was nding myself in my work. But not forgetting to nd my work in myself’.

As a funky and hip London comedian (who is actually in his late thirties, slightly fat and steadily balding yet still somehow labelled a ‘young comic’) Miles is a mainstay of the British stand-up scene - despite now appearing solely on BBC panel shows and not having got on stage since his triumphant four minute ‘Live at the Apollo’ set in 2006. A graduate of Lesbian Studies (BSc) at the University of Oxford, Miles quickly became a working class folk-hero and is now much the talk of the popular Islington Eco-Co ee houses. A er dipping his toe into screenwriting in 2022, you can catch his debut sitcom ree Men in a Beanie’ on ITV4.

It’s that time of year when everyone pairs o their bedrooms. It can be a hard time (no pun intended) for the single ladies out there. But just because you’re single doesn’t mean you can’t experience some love today!

is Valentine’s day, it’s time to love yourself even more than the other 364 days of the year. It’s time to be your own independ ent girl boss because partners come and go, but you’re (for better or for worse) stuck with yourself. Because of that, I invite you all to indulge in my little Valentine’s day tradition — self-love.

‘Basically, I wanted to toss it o as long as possible… My parents continuing to nance my lavish charcuterie habits as I masqueraded as a City Journo was a big part of that’

As one of Britain’s few young right-wing writers, Harvey has broken through the glass ceiling which generally prohibits white, male Russel Group-University Graduates from writing in newspapers. But he hasn’t con ned his work to mainstream journalism. Indeed, soon a er graduating from the London School of Economics in 2021, he pursued a Master's degree at Venereal College, Cambridge, where he won the prestigious Cecil Rhodes Award for Most Bigoted Dissertation for his ‘Essays on Culture: A Pompous Inquiry into the Skull Shapes and Eating Habits of the Scotch and French’. Shortly a er, he began work on a hugely successful theatre adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays:

‘I just found myself looking at Richard III and thinking - why was he always the bad guy? It’s such a cliché that the wealthy patriarchal tyrant has to be the villain - and I wanted to ip that narrative on its head’.

Snogglesworth’s new production - in which King Richard wins the Battle of Bosworth, imposes martial law over England and cuts public transport and community arts funding by 87% - has attracted praise from a variety of critical outlets. ese include the Spectator, Peter Hitchens and the Spectator. Catch ‘Richard III - Privatised’ at the Bury St. Edmunds Hippodrome until June 2023.

3) Synesthesia Fauxfur-Harrington e most liberating thing about my husband’s death was having the opportunity to experiment socially, literarily and sexually. I realised that no one had ever really combined these to create a novel about romance. And even fewer had been set in charming country villages’. stone (and become more e cient, as is the LSE way).

I'll be honest; self-love has meant a lot of di erent things to me over the last few years. Sometimes it means accepting myself no matter what, em bracing my insecurities, treating myself when I otherwise wouldn’t and even a little di erent kind of self-pleasure.

Whatever self-love may mean for you, here are a couple of things to make your Valentine’s day this year even more spe cial (tried and true by yours truly): Buy yourself some owers, à la Alex Russo. Liven up your room by put ting them in a cute vase — it doesn’t have to be very ornate. Simplicity is key sometimes.

Cook yourself a fancy meal — an upgraded version of something you love. Play some loud music in the background while you’re cooking, and take some time to reconnect with yourself.

Ground yourself in the present by going on an extra-long walk. Take the scenic route to or from campus, or explore a new park in London.

Take yourself out on a study date. Treat yourself to a nice cup of cof fee while you’re being productive.

And listen, if all else fails, the Internet is always there…

No matter what, remember to always be kind to yourself. Sending all my love your way. — C.G.

Still, it would be unfair of me to write o men completely just because LSE boys harbor misogynistic tendencies. So, as I entered my last Lent Term at LSE I decided to take fate into my own hands and force myself to go, not on one, but three rst dates. To increase the success rate I am casting a wide net as each guy will be a student at LSE, KCL, and UCL respectively. All the dates will be scouted on Hinge because (a) I want to minimize the chance of ever seeing these people again and (b) we all know Tinder is not used for First Dates ™.

Dating Tip #2: It is easier to motivate yourself to go on a rst date if you delude yourself into thinking that it is for research purposes instead of your personal enjoyment.

While I have not been on any dates yet, I have my three test subjects lined up and some preliminary results to share based on DMs. Firstly, the KCL guy has already given me the ick. Not to play into a well-known narrative but it is what it is. Secondly, the UCL guy is a horrible liar who said he deleted Instagram as a way of justifying him ghosting me. To be fair, I think this reveals more about me than him since I am still planning to get co ee with him. Lastly, the LSE guy does not strike me as a men’s rights activist but there is still time for him to prove me wrong.

Dating Tip #3: Schedule your dates in the same week as UCU strikes. nitive ranking of each boy, tune into the podcast “Nobody Asked” which I co-host with Woman’s O cer, Tito. Our episode premiers in LT weeek 5 for all of you lonely people out there!

Dating Tip #4: Do not go on a date for love, go on a date for the plot, the clout, and the slim chance you can start a journalistic career from it.

We arrived at Shaman Cafe space in Bermondsey where the pop-up was held, not being exactly sure of what to expect. Pleasantly surprised, we both felt that it was much more open and inviting than we would have guessed. As we discuss in the episode, the cafe/bar environment made it easy to chat to other attendees, with informal seating around the bar - which was selling the selection of sustainable wines - and a dance oor in front of the DJ booth, next to which racks of curated clothing were set up for browsing. We might have made a wine-induced purchase or two, but shhhhhh it was totally worth it for the - for lack of a better term - vibe.

Overall, we can say that it was de nitely a fun and unique way to explore vintage fashion, talk to industry creatives and drink some great sustainable wine. It was a cool way to purchase more sustainably without having to really think about it - the focus was more on having a good time and getting to know the V2 brand mission. We were sold: we’re actually going to their next event this week.

Follow V2 on Instagram @v2_ldn to stay posted on their next events and ventures.

Find the podcast on Beaver Sound's Spotify – Emily from Word On e Street