You asked about what we thought fascinating of the UK and what you might be taking for granted so I’ll let 'er rip.

I felt the almost omnipresent pressure of an imperialistic black hole that pulled everything to it’s centre. I walked the streets of London and saw enormous edifices to grief and religiosity and greed. I saw graffiti from people yearning to express themselves against systems that often held them down. I saw stolen art and belongings of my ancestors hung in galleries to be admired and gawked at. I saw the whims of kings cut entire forests to the ground so that they could “worship” a distant speck of Christianity while hunting their favourite game in their historically exclusive fields. I saw the hollowed out guts of the Industrial Revolution turned into trendy shopping centres and into walkable cities. I saw Palestinian protestors laying on the streets of Oxford as graduates in their gowns stepped around and over them. I saw the land literally wrinkle before my eyes as I went North to Edinburgh. I heard Texans make a fuss at the top of Arthur’s Seat. I tried to see the Queen’s yacht from a parking garage because I didn’t want to pay (rather disappointing). I noticed that almost none of your industrial coolers and fridges actually kept anything cold (but the lights worked and I think I remember hearing the fans whirring, blowing lukewarm air). I saw a doorman enjoy his job and crack some jokes and making people smile. I saw the king’s “gateman” with a bullet proof vest and a semi-automatic rifle intimidate tourists to keep them away from his gate. I saw a highschooler throw an orange at a fabulous black actor at the Globe, and another thrown orange from a different high schooler soon after - the play kept going. I saw weapons of war used as posts in the ground. I saw a cyclist get chewed out by a “pensioner” for going too fast and almost hitting her. I saw works of art painted on discarded gum.

I bought a Yorkshire pudding burrito and walked far too long to find a place to sit and eat it - rather tasty.

Fascinating place.

I think we need to call it what it is now - a purge.

Purges can be both violent and nonviolent. I’d argue that the Trump administration is purging through deportations, litigation, and now raids against detractors. Likely, this style of purging will only escalate towards more violence through the legal system until it reaches an explosive, physically violent moment. We’re not even a year into his term…

We’ve seen this all before. History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.

I also really likes the news that said, “There have been no fatalities involving cyclists this year.” Great news!