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From the Archives: “You have no right to have coffee”: How robust is Belfast’s coffee culture?

Today marks the beginning of COP30. This week, delegates from around the globe will gather in Belém, a Brazilian city on the cusp of the Amazon River. Negotiations, diplomacy and dialogue, with the aim of preventing global warming, will follow.

As the climate crisis dominates the agenda internationally, I wanted to draw focus on the challenges closer to home. You can read my article, published this summer in The Gown, on the impacts of food insecurity and the climate crisis’ impact on coffee in Northern Ireland here.

Stay tuned for more,

Jo

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Introducing… The Gown!

Welcome back to JoBlogz!

I’ve recently joined The Gown, Queen’s University’s student-run paper. You can read my latest op-ed on Belfast’s academic brain drain here.

Or, you can read my first article with The Gown, on Labour’s history of donation scandals here.

Future articles will feature in The Gown first, with updates on published work linked here afterwards.

Stay tuned for more,

Jo

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In interview: Kate Nicholl MLA- enacting grassroots politics with an inactive Stormont

Northern Ireland remains in political limbo. The Assembly’s attempts to elect a speaker remain futile, and while Sunak’s Windsor Framework has gained praise from fellow Conservatives, it has done little to reassure Unionists.

To greater understand where change occurs and power emerges without a sitting Assembly, I spoke with Kate Nicholl MLA, former Councillor, and previous Lord Mayor of Belfast.

Continue reading “In interview: Kate Nicholl MLA- enacting grassroots politics with an inactive Stormont”
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A win for diversity or a Cabinet of crumbs? The failings of Truss’ Cabinet

Truss’ new Cabinet is highly unique in British politics. It is easily the most diverse Cabinet, with heritage ranging from Ghana, India and Sierra Leone. However, it is also a first for lack of opposition, even compared to Johnson’s cabinet of ‘nodding dogs’.

Truss’ Cabinet needs to reinvigorate the Conservative party, the UK’s economy and Britain’s position on the global stage. But with constant reshuffles and limited experience, the UK is less likely to look like “Singapore-on-Thames” but instead return to a perpetual position of the “sick man of Europe”

Continue reading “A win for diversity or a Cabinet of crumbs? The failings of Truss’ Cabinet”
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Ariadne by Jennifer Saint book review: “Saint’s Greek retelling joins a pantheon of modern classics”

Ariadne is yet another Greek retelling, reworking classic tales of heroism for a 21st-century audience. But its ability to co-exist beside genre-defining works like Madeline Miller’s Circe sparks hopes of success for both the genre’s future and Saint’s career.

Continue reading “Ariadne by Jennifer Saint book review: “Saint’s Greek retelling joins a pantheon of modern classics””