Roast, Toast and Soapbox

Roast

Lunch

What an absolutely inconsequential and obstructive waste of time.

How often do you find yourself in the midst of productivity, deep in concentration, only to be yanked out of it foot-first by that midday hunger pang? And now is set into mention a series of events that can only lead to disappointment. The quest for sustenance begins, yet rarely will you find satisfaction.

Lunch is a meal of reluctant animalistic survival. No pleasure can be gained from a squashed sandwich, or cold leftovers, except from the knowledge that your stomach-grumbling has subsided until the next meal comes.

Lunch has none of the glory of the morning meal, the end of that valiant nocturnal fast; nor will it bring together kith and kin alike at the culmination of the day’s activities as the evening meal does. It has none of the mischievous contentment of a mid-afternoon snack.

It is simply sad, a meal of reluctant convenience.

Tom Leach

Toast

Castle Leazes

Rumours surrounding the end of Castle Leazes have been around for years (none confirmed) yet the heady days of Castle Leazes are certainly numbered. Now is a good a time as any to pay homage to our shabby old castle.

Yes, it may be scruffy, loud, and full of Rahs, but compared to other stuffy Russell Groups, so is Newcastle. And nobody will ever match our parties, certainly not Park View. My dad remembers this place, a resident back in the 90s, and so with the passing of Castle Leazes, so shall also pass the old way. Dingy, unpretentious rooms and urinating in sinks give way to spacious flats and en-suits. It’s not a bad thing, times change after all, but in its own way, it is really rather sad.

So, charge your glasses and be upstanding, to soon-to-be absent friends. We shall never see their like again.

Alex Walker

Soapbox

Brexit

Brexit- whether you’re on the side of Leave or Remain, it’s inevitably an issue on which we all have an opinion.

Personally, I’ve always been open about the fact that I would’ve voted Remain, had I been old enough to vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum. We’re all entitled to our opinion. However, I can’t help but think that leaving the European Union on January 31^st has brought out the worst of both sides of the political debate. Those who voted Remain are acting as if the world has literally stopped on its axis. Those who voted Leave are insisting that Brexit Day marked the greatest day in the history of the United Kingdom.

Thinking in the long term, both views are over-dramatic. Whether or not Brexit is the referendum outcome you desired, I think it should teach the UK an important lesson about moving on. What’s done is done, even if we have stirred up a shit-storm.

Em Richardson

Brexit Castle Leazes lunch roast roast of the week sad meal soapbox Students toast toast of the week

Last modified: 10th February 2020