From the womb to the tomb!! (literally, we went into a tomb)

Devon made his way the 6,000 miles to visit….. Italy!! (and now won’t shut the fuck up about it)

And then I guess he felt like visiting his silly little sister in rainy England.

Boy, oh boy, did I have our week PLANNED. As seen below…

We did everything a good Tourist should do: Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, The West End, The Shard and more!!!!

More importantly…we ate everything a good tourist should eat: Sunday Roast, Indian Food, Fish and Chips, Afternoon Tea, and a full English Breakfast!!!

We also did a pub quiz with Susana and Yaz, which we failed SO hard at. I did not help at all. My singular contribution was a drawing of Theresa May on Drag Race, and we didn’t even win that. Okay, thank you, AP Art, for literally nothing.

Dev and I then packed up and headed up north (?) to the beautiful Scotland home of Haggis, Kilts, and apparently ghosts!!

Yup. We did a ghost tour, and I LOST my fucking MIND. I am not one for the scary part of life.

Listen, you show me a bloody brain in a jar or a disgusting skin lesion, and I’m fine (this is referencing the Museum of Surgery in Edinburgh, which we also went to), but you say something along the lines of “boo!” and I will scream my head off.

Our ghost tour lady brought us into the pitch-black caves of the underground city of Edinburgh and told us how people died there and how their spirits are still seen. At one point, as she was describing a specific old lady ghost who “doesn’t like that, we come in here with our privilege,” a drop of water fell on my face…..and when I tell you I thought it was this old lady attacking me……I reacted so loudly and viscerally that Ms. Ghost-tour-lady had to stop the tour to see if I was okay.

She also took us to a tomb where she said people sometimes emerge with “bite marks, scratches or bruises.” Honestly, it's a 10/10 tour for the scare factor.

We toured Edinburgh Castle, I bought a purse, and we drank Kerr’s beer!!

We went to a French restaurant, and Dev got frog legs, which I tried but couldn’t really get behind the reptile of it all.

Edinburgh was gorgeous, and we had so much fun. There were good vibes all around, and the Scotts were very, very kind. It was gothic and historic and looked like what I thought London was going to look like.

I would like to give a BIG shout-out to my dearest Emily Taylor for providing the suggestions for our Edinburgh trip!

It’s been quite the month for the arts.

First, we start off strong at “the worst musical” Devon has “ever seen”

Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)

As Devon aptly points out…. they aren’t strangers, and they also only carry a cake for like 20% of the show if that….

(DISCLAIMER: I didn’t take photos while I was in the show, so much of this is from google.com)

This musical was written for someone who has never been to America, let alone NYC, which I should have considered before purchasing tickets.

It was a lot of “Pizza! The Statue of Liberty! Taxi Cabs! Empire State Building! New York is sooo crazyyyy!!!”

The plot was incoherent, and the music was basic. We laughed the most when we made fun of it. Peace and Love.

Next Up!

THE Drew Kerr came to visit his only daughter. Other than shopping and eating we saw some shows!

The Picture Of Dorian Gray with Sarah Snook was actually kind of life-changing. I’ve never seen a play like that before. The multimedia aspect of meshing live scenes with pre-recorded scenes was so innovative. I have a soft spot in my heart for one-woman shows, and Ms.Shiv Roy brought the house down. She acted her fucking face of….literally, she was spitting and snotting everywhere. We loved it!

Drew Kerr and I then saw an orchestra concert at the Royal Albert Music Hall featuring scores from famous superhero/hero-esc movies. These included Star Wars, Avengers, Ghost Busters, Harry Potter, Tom Cruise (?), and others.

I don’t think I’ve seen an orchestra show like that since I was forced to watch pubescent 15-year-olds play wind instruments in high school. Overall, it was long but beautiful, and I liked it when the conductor jumped while he was conducting… ok, maestro.

Next Up…

For Isis’ birthday, we saw a screening of Uncle Vanya with THE Hot Priest himself, Andrew Scott. It was another one-person show and another absolute banger.

Somehow, Mr.Scott was able to play two characters having sex with each other at the same time, making for an incredible theatrical experience.

Eden and I fancied a laugh, so we went to the Top Secret Comedy Club, where we saw two great acts and four offensive and sexist acts!! Did you guys know hating women is still very much on trend! One of those acts was a man who looked like the villain in Despicable Me but with his ears pierced. He went on to tell us he is 42 with a 26-year-old (!!!!) girlfriend… who happened to have just given birth not two weeks ago. But he said bye to his child bride who just had his child and thought, “The world needs my stand up.” Isn’t that just beautiful ❤️ 

Susana and I went to the textile exhibition Unravel at The Barbican, which was FANTASTIC and inspired us to figure out how to crochet.

The photo below was taken yesterday at a gallery that I left early because I thought I was going to throw up (not due to the art quality but due to a burger at Seven Dials Market). I am sorry, Susana I owe you a night of being artsy in Mayfair. But look at that nice window… the art is also in the picture too, I guess

As your resident Anti-Zionist Jew reporting for duty, you know I was helping with LSE’s encampment!!!

It was inspiring to see so many of my peers and professors band together to demand peace and freedom. Although I always prided myself on my activism, I was wowed by my classmates’ defiance and strength.

I was honored to host a Solidarity Shabbat service with fellow Jewish students. We had home-cooked Challah, grape juice, and electric candles.

We sang songs and did the Mourners Kaddish and Mi Shebeirach.

There were almost 50 people! Students and faculty of all backgrounds and religions attended. For some, it was their first Shabbat, and I felt so proud to share it with them.

I want to attach part of the speech I gave at the Shabbat here:

“Shabbat embodies one of the Jews's favorite things…. no, not Barbra Streisand…. tradition.! Through the worst times in Jewish history, these traditions have grounded us. Celebrating Shabbat here in the encampment continues this resilient tradition. Throughout my life, Shabbat has connected me with my faith, and now I get to share it with you. “

andddddd a lit bit from another speech I wrote

“The trauma that the Jewish people have endured has passed through generations and generations, and now, all future generations of Palestinians will have that same trauma in their blood.

The fact of the matter is that we are here at the London School of Economics, and we will likely live through this. We will get futures. And in those futures, our children will ask us, “Where were you?” And what do you want to answer?
I want to give an answer I’m proud of.”

I'm getting on my soapbox now……As some know, I took a class on war this term and focused my final papers on resistance movements.

So because of that, I have been learning a lot about revolutionary movements like the Anti-Vietnam War protests.

I am reminded of how movements for peace are often seen as for “young people” and/or led by students (American Civil Rights, Black Lives Matter, the fight against South African apartheid, and the fight against dictators in Argentina, to just name a small few). And now here we are again. Another human rights and revolutionary movement is being thrown away as a younger generation being naive, overdramatic, or causing unnecessary trouble. Why haven’t we learned our lesson that sometimes it's GOOD to listen to the next generation? Maybe they know a thing or two.

And before ANY of you say, “But Mollie! But Mollie! Those were movements for PEACE!!!, and the Pro-Palestine movement is violent and calling for destruction.” 😠 (which is simply untrue, but alas) I would first suggest looking up the definition of destruction and then looking at any image of Gaza…. and then I would suggest reading a book! And maybe one by our beloved ❤️ Franz Fanon.

“When we revolt, it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.”

-Franz Fanon

It’s that me Aperol Spritz-o (references for the chronically online, girls, gays and they)

I got a job!!! British minimum wage!! Get in my bank!!!!!

I’m a bar maiden, also known as a bartender.

Clissold Park Tavern in Stoke Newington just got sexier!!!!

I have been pouring pints of beer, making cocktails, and an obscene about of Baby Guinness shots.

Besides the creepy 42-year-old man who would make even Ms. Ghost-Tour-Lady afraid (callback), everyone has been very nice.

Especially my girly Liz, who got me the job!

I have also taken over the pub playlists, and now Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, and Lorde ring through the halls of the bar. You're welcome, people of England. I am your new queen.

Excluding a few fights between the creepy 42-year-old man and bar patrons and British men (rudely) making fun of me being American… it has been fairly uneventful.

One customer did show me her sexts, so that was a special moment 💗

For all my London readers… please come visit me… drinks on me!

Rory and Mike visited me so they are now my favorites, and everyone else is canceled.

This lovely edition of Mollies Matcha, of course, had to be dedicated to Scotland!!!!

Look at the gorgeous green latte at The Lowdown in Edinburgh