Why the painter was drawn to cypress trees

Even if you couldn’t stand him, you were glad to see him. Unless you’re Ryan Shawcross.

After his recent retirement, Marcus, Vish, Andy and Jim look back on the life and times of Zlatan Ibrahimović. 

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March 18 – June 11, 2023

We do not read the Bible as it is meant to be read. Theology always risks leading us astray by elaborating its own discourse, with the biblical texts merely as a point of departure. The presence of poetry in the Bible is the key to a more pertinent and more faithful reading.

There are many poems found in the Bible. We know this, vaguely and without giving it too much thought, but shouldn’t we be rather astonished by the role of poetry in a collection of books with such a pressing and salutary Word to express? And shouldn’t we ask ourselves if the presence of this writing—so much more self-conscious and desirous than is prose of a form it can make vibrate—affects the biblical “message” and changes its nature?

It is unsurprising that the Psalms are poems, given their liturgical purpose and the abyss of individual and collective emotion that they explore. At the heart of the Bible and yet also apart from it, they lay out, we might suppose, for both the individual and the community, the lived experience of religion that other biblical books have the task of defining. We can accept the Song of Songs as a love poem, Jeremiah’s Lamentations as a sequence of elegies, Job as a verse drama, and we discover without too much surprise a considerable number of poems in the historical books: the song of Moses and Miriam, for example, in Exodus 15; the canticle of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5; the lament of David for Saul and Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1. And yet when we think about the presence of all these poetic books in a work in which we expect to find doctrines, and about the turn to poetry in so many of the historical books of the Bible, it gives us reason to think again. And how should we react to Proverbs, in which wisdom itself is taught in a poetic form? Or to the prophetic books, where poetry is sovereign, where warnings of the greatest urgency, for us as well as for the writers’ contemporaries, come forth in verse?

Isn’t this curious? And poetry appears from the beginning. In the second chapter of Genesis (verse 23), Adam welcomes the creation of woman in this way:

7 min read

Oxford early sewage disposal

In 18th century Britain, many towns underwent rapid expansion, which resulted in widespread public concern around the appearance of urban surroundings. In Oxford, one such issue was the draining systems and sewage disposal, which before the late 18th century, mainly involved collection from domestic cesspits and drainage via open gutters, often in the middle of the streets. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the council was not very successful in tackling the increasing issue of drainage, resulting in frequent amercements (financial penalties imposed either by courts or peers) by the commission responsible for sewers. City drains and watercourses were considered at the time to be ‘open sewers’, a subject which was often complained about by inhabitants. Between 1700 – 1840, parliament passed approximately 600 Private Acts of Parliament, which at the time was the usual method of initiating infrastructure-related improvements, in which inhabitants were granted powers to undertake such projects. For Oxford, the appointment of the Paving Commissioners under the Oxford Improvement Act of 1771, marked the beginning of significant changes to its infrastructure. The city’s sewage and drainage were considerably improved between the years of 1778 and 1806, with several covered drains being built or repaired. However, most of the sewers still discharged straight into rivers, many above the waterworks site at the Folly Bridge, which proved to be a great issue pertaining to the cholera outbreaks of 1832, 1849, and 1854.

Cholera outbreaks in Oxford

Cholera is caused by infection with the bacteria Vibrato cholera, its symptoms including diarrhea, nausea and vomiting leading to dehydration from fluid loss, lethargy, erratic heartbeat, sunken eyes and dry, shriveled skin, with a blueish hue. According to Dr W.P Ormerod, a surgeon at the Radcliffe Infirmary and a member of the Paving Commission, the first case of cholera was recorded in Oxford on June 24th, 1832. The first wave of the cholera outbreak lasted 19 weeks, infecting 184 people and killing 95. An independent Board of Health, with members from the city, university and parish was established, in response to the first outbreak. They worked alongside the Paving Commission, the latter of which became the official body responsible for sanitation duties related to the epidemic. Some elements of public health were addressed at this time by passing the Oxford Paving Act of 1835, which banned certain acts such as the slaughter of cattle in the streets, but this was not enough to counteract the prevalence of cholera and other water-borne diseases, such as dysentery, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, influenza, yellow fever, and malaria, among others.

Local doctors, such as Dr. Ormerod, linked the high mortality rates of the cholera outbreaks to the large open drains in the city. However, any new improvements to the city’s public health were hindered by conflicts related to individual responsibilities between the university, town, and commissions. Later, in 1856, Dr Henry Acland, medical professor, and public health advocate, would create maps recording cases of cholera and typhoid, as part of a wider campaign for sanitary reform, building on Dr. Ormerod’s work. The sanitary reform campaign was spearheaded by both university representatives, such as Acland, but also officials, such as Alfred Winkfield and Gilbert Child and William Henry White, Oxford’s chief engineer, at the time, representing a rare collaboration between town and gown. One such contributor of note from this group is Henry Liddell (whose daughter Alice is said to have inspired ‘Alice in Wonderland’), who at the time was the Dean of Christ Church College and used this influence to push for change alongside Acland by using the spectre of typhoid.

The City Council began considering implementing the Public Health Act of 1848, only after Parliament’s approval and threats of government-run health inspections. Between the years 1850 and 1873, multiple bodies were appointed and then re-appointed to no effect to survey the city’s drainage system, with conflicts arising around its state and the required improvements. In 1873, the first sewage contract was signed by all commissions involved, a sufficient sewage system only being completed in 1880.

That’s a wrap on the Champions League! Marcus, Jim, Vish and Pete salute Pep Guardiola for the second treble of his career and Des Kelly for his charitable generosity. 

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The 30-year-old film was both an action blockbuster – and a terrifying horror

Has the Premier League become harder to win? Is the Premier League becoming boring? These are the two questions running through many Premier League lovers’ minds. Imagine if Arsenal had managed to win the 2022–23 PL season.

How interesting would that be to worldwide fans? I bet there would be some Gooners who would have still been stunned by their league win. Unfortunately, Manchester City won it. The Citizens winning the 2022–23 league title now means they’ve lifted five of the last six league titles (only Liverpool has prevented them from doing so).

To some, that could be them becoming dominant. Still, to others, it is the PL losing its hype and turning boring, like the German Bundesliga, where Bayern Munich have won the last seven league titles, or the French Ligue, where PSG have also won 5 of the previous six league titles (Lille won it once).

The Premier League was interesting between the 2012–13 season and the 2017–18 season. Anyone could win it. In that run, Chelsea won it twice, Manchester City twice, Manchester United once, and Leicester once.

The Premier League needs to return to such exciting days. For it to be so, Arsenal must end the Citizens’ dominance next season. Why Arsenal? Last season, the Gunners had the best shot of stopping them.

The prospect of Arsenal signing West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is becoming increasingly likely, as the player has reportedly expressed his desire to join the Gunners to both West Ham and Mikel Arteta.

While Arsenal has been considered the front-runner in the race for Rice’s signature in recent weeks, they face competition from other clubs such as Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

Rice now faces the decision of choosing where he wants to play in the upcoming season, and according to a report from Football Insider, he has indicated his preference to join Arsenal. He has communicated this desire to both Arsenal and West Ham.

This development provides a significant boost to Arsenal’s pursuit of Rice, and the club will now need to negotiate an agreement with West Ham in order to secure the player’s services.

Just Arsenal Opinion

Pervis Estupinan, a player at Brighton, has expressed concerns about potentially losing his teammate Moises Caicedo during the current transfer window, especially after seeing Alexis Mac Allister move to Liverpool.

Brighton boasts some of the Premier League’s top talents, making it likely for them to be targeted by larger clubs like Arsenal.

Arsenal has been performing well both on and off the field and is determined to make changes to their squad.

During the previous transfer window, Arsenal made a push to sign Caicedo, but Brighton rejected their approach, fearing that it could disrupt their season.

It is expected that Arsenal will return with an improved offer in the current window, while other Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, have also shown interest in Caicedo.