By Tarun Chandy

The Hottest Day Of The Year 

Today was supposed to be the hottest day of the year in London and several other parts of Europe. The kind of day when the tube becomes like a little sauna and you get visibly excited by every patch of shade and gust of wind that comes your way. Some people choose to spend days like this in the nearest possible water body, or somewhere else they can cool off. I spent it carrying a coffin around London. A mostly improvised performance that turned a lot of heads, drew a few curses and cemented my identity as a millennial. For I have now successfully protested in support of a cause I didn’t fully understand. 

It was a once in a lifetime experience and felt kind of like a right of passage I must’ve missed in college. Of course, I do hope there will come time when I have the opportunity to protest for something I am actually passionate about. But who’s to say when such a thing will come along. I don’t want to give away too much of what we did today because I assume our orchestrater Mr. Dean Shein would like to tell this story his way. But it seemed like a waste not to talk about it at all when it has been one of the most interesting parts of my year. So, rather than going through the entire series of events, I’ll just focus on the key lessons and significant take aways from this whole ordeal. 

1. If you’re going to carry something painted, always make sure you paint it the night before and leave it to dry.
2. The people of Brixton are truly amazing. They were more willing to help out and actually pay attention to what we were talking about than the people we met everywhere else. It made me proud to live here.
3. Galvanise – verb meaning to shock or excite someone into taking action.
4. The TFL has a firm ‘no coffins on the tube’ policy that they enforce a little too aggressively. However, bus drivers can be far more open to transporting coffins when persuaded.
5. When you’re planning a protest at a particular place, ensure there isn’t already a group of shirtless IRA members protesting there first. 
6. Covent Garden is not a three minute walk from Westminster. Especially not when you’re walking with a coffin in your hands. 
7. Even if you are protesting one particular subject, there’s no harm in throwing in a couple of other ones while you have the attention of the people. A protest about education loans can just as easily become a rally for conspiracy theories and any other messages one might feel inclined to shout about. 
8. If your protest chant has no rhythm, it’s just not a chant. 
9. If a friend of yours ever tells you to go protest some obscure cause in the sweltering heat, just go! It will be more of an experience than you can have doing just about anything else. And for some reason it’ll leave you feeling proud and satisfied, even if you accomplished absolutely nothing.
10. Apparently you can’t throw a coffin in the river because it’s bad for the environment. Even if wood is biodegradable. So, if you’re looking to get rid of one, just place it in front of a church in plain sight and then casually walk away. 

That was my Saturday in a nutshell. The video should be coming soon!