AN OPEN LOVE LETTER TO MY MILESTONE MEALS

y food fixations define my life.

That’s not (entirely) an exaggeration.

While I do, of course, have interests and personality traits beyond food, as an autistic person, I’m prone to hyperfixating on certain foods, tastes, and textures. Some of these fixations vary and have relatively short lifespans; it’s not uncommon for me to love a certain food for a few months only to one day go off it and never want to eat it again.

But some meals, I come back to, time and time again. Sometimes it’s purely for the flavour. But more often, it’s because that meal has a special connection to something else that matters to me— something that speaks to what my soul needs at a certain moment in time. That’s why certain meals stand out to me as “milestone meals.” And that’s why I want to share a select few of those meals with you.

The Carvery

No doubt, the humble roast dinner holds a special place in the heart of many a British reader. But for me, as an American immigrant, their significance is a little different. Unlike you, I didn’t grow up with a traditional roast dinner on Sundays or holidays or any other event. So, when I first discovered roast dinners, it was almost a ceremonial moment of cultural initiation: a way of saying “welcome to an element of British culture.” Roast dinners quickly became my new hyperfixation and so I became friends with the staff. We added each other on social media. They invited me out for drinks. They remembered details about my life and asked about my day. And so, a roast dinner at my local carvery quickly became a multifaceted milestone meal for me. Gotten through a hard day? Carvery. Accomplished something? Carvery. In a great mood? Carvery.

No matter how I’m feeling, I’ve always known that going to the carvery and seeing my friends there would make me feel better. There’s just something about a Yorkshire pudding dripping in gravy, with a friendly chat on the side, that fixes everything.

Chicken Tenders From Friday’s

People often ask me what I miss about America and I always say, “Deep-fried everything.” (But if my mum is reading this, I totally said, “I miss my mum” first!) It’s beyond cliché, I know, but I really do miss American food. Someone once told me that what I’m missing is really just all the additives and chemicals (and, believe me, I know. I still miss them).

So, if I can’t get proper, deep-fried, chemical-filled American food, TGI Friday’s is the next best thing. Like the carvery, Friday’s became my second home almost as soon as I moved to Southampton. Now, 7 months later, I still eat at Friday’s on an almost daily basis, partly because the chicken tenders remind me of home and partly because I’m friends with all the staff.

On days when I’m writing towards a deadline that drains

me, on days when I feel as though life is leeching my very soul from my body, I go to Friday’s. Because I know that, no matter what, no matter who’s working, someone will always say something to bring a smile back to my face. The chicken tenders will always taste perfect. They will always taste like home and the flavour will always warm my heart. Sometimes it’s just the motivation I need to keep going on a hard day.

The Stable

I can’t write anything about The Stable without first acknowledging that I am not— and never will be— over the untimely demise of my beloved local Southampton Stable. From the moment I walked in there on a date with my ex in November— there truly could not have been a weirder beginning— The Stable felt strangely like home. You know how, sometimes, you meet someone and you just think, “You’re going to become very important to me?” That was how The Stable felt from the very first moment.

From that day forward, The Stable became my hub for literally everything. It was my favourite place to gather with friends— a beacon of bottomless brunch and joy, the site of many an emergency hang-out, and the unquestionable locale of every “Fancy a pint tonight?” text. I wrote the first half of my dissertation there, cried over heartbreaks, and celebrated every joy at the altar of those rustic wooden picnic tables.

Thankfully, the Winchester Stable has arisen as a new hangout and haven, offering the light of a new vibe and a new set of bartenders who have quickly accepted me as the town eccentric. It’s not quite the same but I’m still thankful for the consistency of my favourite cider and pizza and the presence of a new safe space to simply vibe.

So, as you can see from this slightly eclectic collection, the flavours that bring joy to my life may be different from someone else’s, but they are intensely meaningful to me. And no matter how our tastes may differ, I wish this same joy for everyone else who has a milestone meal to call their own.

WORDS BY ALYSSA-CAROLINE BURNETTE IMAGE BY ELF-MOONDANCE via PIXABAY

Dudley Tal Stokes:

The Real Cool Runnings

Chances are you may have seen Cool Runnings,

the 1993 Disney hit film inspired by the true story of the first athletes representing Jamaica in the 1988 Winter Olympics. If not, have you been living under a rock? In all seriousness, the film becomes undeniably impressive when you understand the reality of the historical 1988 run. I was given the opportunity to interview the founder of Jamaica’s first and now-iconic bobsleigh team: Dudley ‘Tal’ Stokes.

Stokes is the embodiment of this magazine’s theme. When one thinks of a milestone, the notion of making history and changing something forever are attributes that certainly can be linked to it. The unthinkable is what makes sport what it is: beautiful. Stokes and his team did not just make history, but they paved the way for Jamaican representation and appreciation at the Winter Olympics.

Growing up, Stokes never envisioned himself competing in a sport like bobsleigh, though the former Olympian grew up “dreaming of representing Jamaica at something.” Stokes’ Jamaican team only had a short five months to gel and prepare for the 1988 games in Calgary, so maintaining a strong focus on performing at their best possible level was key heading into the tournament. Stokes mentioned that the mentality he tried to instill in his team and himself was to do their “level-best” despite being viewed as the underdog as they did not seem to have enough preparation time to compete in such a dangerous sport.

Fast forward to the 1988 event, Jamaica powerfully proved themselves in their four-man debut. Stokes, along with his team, won the hearts of the world following their commendable performance. While they did not officially finish due to crashing, Stokes spoke of how people were “unanimous in welcoming the team back as heroes.” The success of the Jamaican cohort in 1988 would, of course, serve as the source of inspiration for the hit Disney sportsdrama Cool Runnings. Stokes’ response to the movie reflected his humble nature, stating that while the film took elements of the 1988 story, he has come to not criticise the movie over the years due to its mass success. He noted that “there are a lot of people to whom the movie brings a smile to their faces, I could not ask for more.”

Stokes was not finished in 1988, if anything this was just the introduction to a beautiful story. In the build-up to 1992, Stokes utilised the crash of 1988 as an instrument to push his team to new limits.

A lot of it was on my own. Travelling to Europe and being exposed to different tracks, always looking around to get better athletes, sliding as much as we could with our limited project. But also working on our visualisation for training, there was a lot of training back home in Jamaica, visualising our run physically, seeing if I could recreate it as much when practicing.

With higher quality sleds at their disposal in 1992, Jamaica finished 24th in the four-man event. With two Winter Olympics two years apart, Jamaica familiarised themselves with their new equipment. As a result of such conditions, Jamaica finished impressively in 14th place in 1994.

We added a coach who was a bit eccentric but had very novel ideas, we were open to it. Cool Runnings was then released and suddenly we generated interest and were able to secure some sponsorship, we got $60,000 which we went to the games with. We finished ahead of all the American sleds. It was down to a lot of hard work, guided by an overall plan we tried to stick to.

Fast forward to 2022, Stokes took on a mentoring role in Benjamin Alexander’s alpine skiing pursuit. Alexander, a former DJ from Wellingborough, became Jamaica’s first alpine skier at the Winter Olympics. According to Stokes, Alexander pursued him over social media, seeking advice on his journey.

I was reluctant because a lot of Olympic athletes just go to the Olympic games because they can and just tick that off. I was afraid he was one of those people. But 5-10 mins into the conversation, I realised he had a rationale and a plan and he was pursuing this thing for significant reasons, that could also be for representing Jamaica. So, I agreed to help him where I could on his journey.

At the recent 2022 Beijing games, Alexander’s story was a breath of fresh air. He finished in 46th place, ahead of 43 other athletes who registered a DNF. Stokes’ influence was crucial in enabling Alexander to compete, the thorough conversations that took place between the two on important topics such as mental approaches proved to be pivotal in developing the necessary conditions for Alexander to achieve what he did. 2022 also marked the first time in 24 years that a four-man team entered the bobsleigh event. While they finished last, the ability to compete at the highest level remains a milestone in itself.

Stokes' efforts define milestones. His role in Jamaica’s evolution from 1988 onwards is worthy of total recognition and the fact that he continues to pass on his wisdom to future stars such as Benjamin Alexander highlights his position as a true leader. When asked what was one thing he wanted people to remember him for, this is what Stokes stated:

Remember me as a guy who went from comedian to competitor who crashed at the 1988 Winter Olympics after 5 months training and I kept coming back year after year until I became a competitor and took my place among the top-performing bobsleigh athletes.

WORDS BY MITUL MISTRY IMAGE BY DAVID ROCK DESIGN via PIXABAY

Milestones in Women's Cricket, Including Some From Our Own University

elebrating over 250 years of Women’s Cricket

The first recorded Women’s cricket match was in 1745, at Gosden Common, Surrey. It was said to be a match between ‘nine married ladies’ and ‘nine single ladies’. The sport has changed a lot since then and we have seen milestones achieved by women. Today we do not differentiate teams through marital status.

In July 2021, a remarkable milestone occurred when a tournament for the first time involved both women and men. The Hundred offers equal importance to both genders’ sides.

World Cup

With the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup scheduled for March and April this year, England fans are hoping to claim the trophy again after its victory in 2017.

At Lords in July 2017, we saw England win by 9 runs against India. The England Captain, Heather Knight expressed: 'I can't stop smiling. The girls have been outstanding. We've made it hard for ourselves, but we've won some tight games.'

Don’t forget to support England in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup by streaming on Sky Sports.

Hall of Fame

There are many terrific records broken within women's cricket. These consist of Amelia Kerr having the highest individual score (One Day International) of 232, in June 2018. Kerr also happens to be the youngest (17) double century scorer in both men and women’s cricket. Also, Jhulan Ghoswami broke the record of having the most career wickets of 245, with Cathryn Fitzpatrick coming second with 180 wickets. Just to name a few.

Watch out for Deano!

Charlie Dean is an instance of excellence, a 21-year-old who made her debut for the England women cricket team in September 2021 and since then she has been thriving. Not to mention that she is currently a student at University of Southampton and is part of the Southampton Ladies Cricket Club!

When she's not on the Switch dancefloor, you can find her out on the pitch. Originally playing for the Southern Vipers, she became the joint-leading wicket-taker in her national debut. In the 5 match ODI series against New Zealand she took 10 wickets. In the 2nd ODI, Dean led England to victory with taking 4/36 (meaning she got four people out!).

So how can we help?

We have made progress in bringing awareness, but we can still do better.

We have seen an increase in 24% of men following women’s sport than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, stated in a Sky Sports article. This exhibits the power the media has and that we all should continue encouraging women’s cricket. Despite this, we still have a long way to go, and we are all responsible for promoting cricket.

Things such as sharing on social media can help, but the most important thing we can do is implement sports in girls from a young age, this can be in school or outside of the classroom.

You can get involved too, here are some clubs you can get involved in whether you’re in school or an adult.

All stars : For Children aged 5-8 years old County Clubs : For all ages Volunteering: Make a difference Girls Cricket Club : Find a club near you

WORDS BY MANUSHI NAIK IMAGE via UOS LADIES CRICKET CLUB Charlie Dean is second from the right.