[Ad- gifted experience] Earlier in the year, we got invited along to mezcal event as apart of London Cocktail Week. Mezcal have very different processes when they are made, meaning that unlike tequila, they have a wider variety of aspects that comes when making them. They are made with many different agave, meaning there is more age, soil density, growing conditions, etc that are all taken into account to make different mezcals.
Glass blowing is something that I have always found beautiful in a lot of ways. Dann says it’s because we see nature in glass as it almost shows movement and shaping in a way that we, as humans, compare to the world around us. When I was younger, my parents use to take us to a glass blowing studio, where a family friend would blow glass into bubbles and shape them or make stained glass windows. It was always so interesting to watch. When I saw that Kew Gardens was having a Chihuly collection, full of beautiful glass work which mimics nature, I just had to go along.
With Dann and my brother in tow, we went to their last night session, exploring the gardens completely light up, showcasing the glass work on a cool autumn evening. Arriving at Kew Gardens, which we’d never been to before, was a simple task. There was a short queue into the exhibition, which is nearly entirely outside. Once our tickets were checked, we were face to face with the first piece; a giant blue, spiky glass orb-type thing, that we had seen on all the advertisement, especially the images on the London underground.
[Ad- gifted experience] Described as a ‘Subversive adult cabaret musical theater burlesque show’ Zeus on the Loose is a somewhat distant take on Greek mythology, containing all of your favorite gods; Zeus – who only really has one thing on his mind, Hades – played by the hilarious Vicky Vox, who is really just looking out for herself, Hera – who is really just quite jealous of everyone Zeus sleeps with, and a bunch of smaller characters and nymphs. Dean McCullough plays a stage master, much like in children’s pantomime, talking between segments of the show and interacting with the audience.
My brother really does enjoy museums. After taking a look at the Science Museum, he wanted to see a more war focused museum. A friend suggested the Imperial War Museum, which really hit the spot when it came to exactly what he wanted to check out. With Dann in tow, we went off into London to explore this museum.
Lots to see and read
It’s worth noting that the Imperial War Museum takes more time to make it through, as the museum has a lot more reading to do than other museums we’ve been too. The well laid out areas showcase different time periods in war, walking you through what happened, different major points and explaining different sides. Dann mentioned a lot of this was what he learned in school here in England, while we didn’t go this much into depth of wars in America. Following through the first wing, there was so much to see; interactive points like an old football-inspired game that taught children what trenches were, jackets and hats that were warn in war, showing how heavy these objects where and even some physical trenches you could walk through, with shadows of others on it. There was even a simulation game that allowed you to pick strategies to fight off submarines getting sunk. Everyday objects used around the time of the war like gas masks and different guns were on display, as were posters and advertisements that encouraged women to help in the workforce or men from different countries to join the war. We walked quite slowly around these areas, sucking everything in. You could learn basically everything about World War I and World War II in this museum.
My younger brother is visiting me from small town New York! This is quite the excited adventure, as I didn’t really think my family would really start flying across the world to visit me. He just graduated High School, so for his gap year, he has decided to do some traveling and generally taking things slow. This means that he is attending gaming events with me and exploring the city. He’s super interested in Russian history, space, and seeing the amazing museums around London. If you didn’t know, most of London’s museums are actually free, with small paid exhibitions that swap out, making it a very affordable day out in the city. We selected the Science Museum for his first weekend out.
My brother can’t seem to stand still for very long!
