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- Clash of the Cookies: After School Cookie Club vs Blondies Kitchen
Clash of the Cookies: After School Cookie Club vs Blondies Kitchen
A gooey face-off between Cookie Club and Blondies Kitchen, Murakami takes on New York and blood in the snow.

Hey Culture Clubbies!
In this article, we pit two sweet contenders against each other—London’s pioneering After School Cookie Club and the beloved Blondies Kitchen.
In under 10 minutes we’ll cover:
Clash of the Cookies: After School Cookie Club vs Blondies Kitchen
Murakami New York Exhibition
Antartica’s blood falls
Spotlight on Talin’s secret stories
Let’s dive in!
Let’s settle this: do you crave the gooey comfort of a fresh‑baked plant‑based cookie or the rich, chewy allure of a Blondie’s Kitchen cookie? In this article, we pit two sweet contenders against each other—London’s pioneering After School Cookie Club and the beloved Blondies Kitchen. We’ll examine what sets them apart, from ingredients and indulgence to ambiance and accessibility. By the end, you’ll know which treat deserves your devotion.
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The After School Cookie Club, London's first plant‑based cookie bakery, prides itself on crafting freshly baked, gooey, hand‑topped cookies, along with indulgent cookie dough and ice cream combos. All offerings are 100% plant‑based and gluten‑free, making them inclusive and guilt‑free indulgences. With kiosks like the one at King’s Cross and multiple locations across London, their reach is impressively local and efficient King's Cross.

After School Cookie Club
Menus boast a tempting variety: classic dough pots, peanut butter & raspberry jam dough pots, banoffee, chocolate orange and more. They also offer brand‑new Cookie Cakes, 7‑inch plant‑based and gluten‑free cookies available for nationwide delivery, at around £19.99—perfect for birthday celebrations or midweek treats.

After school Cookie Club selection
On the flip side is Blondies Kitchen, a name synonymous with the rich, buttery bar akin to a cross between a cookie and a brownie. It’s widely a household favorite for its gooey centers and caramel‑like sweetness—likely crafted with traditional butter, sugar, and flour rather than plant‑based substitutes.

Blondies Kitchen Harrods Counter
Ingredients & Dietary Appeal
After School Cookie Club stands out for its inclusive, plant-based, and gluten-free ingredients. These cookies suit dairy-free, vegan, and gluten-sensitive diets without compromising on indulgence—an increasingly rare feat.
Blondies Kitchen, by contrast, skew traditional: classic blondies often rely on butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Their appeal lies in their creaminess and nostalgic texture—but fewer dietary accommodations come with that comfort.
Verdict: If dietary inclusivity is your priority, Cookie Club takes the crown; if classic indulgence is your aim, blondies reign supreme.
Flavor & Texture Face-Off
At Cookie Club, expect rich, gooey centers, inventive flavor mash‑ups, and customizable toppings—think layers on layers of sweet, plant‑based creativity.

After School Cookie Club
Blondies shine with dense, chewy richness—often caramelized sugar, butter notes, and a satisfying bite.
Texture wins: soft, melty, and customizable vs rich, chewy, and classic. Your mood dictates the winner.
Accessibility & Experience
Cookie Club is conveniently present across London, with kiosks like King’s Cross and six locations total, plus nationwide delivery for Cookie Cakes. It’s modern and snack‑centric: quick, fun, and designed for the on‑the‑go sweet tooth.
Blondies Kitchen, while less widely available it can be found in the more up market side of shopping in places like Selfridges and Harrods. A more luxury brand.

Blondies Kitchen Beautiful Creations in Harrods
Sustainability & Accessibility
The plant‑based ethos of the After School Cookie Club taps into ethical, environmental, and health trends—offering indulgence with a lighter footprint.
Blondies’ traditional model is rooted in rich flavors and may not prioritize dietary inclusivity or eco-consciousness - but has timeless appeal.
Go with After School Cookie Club if you value plant-based innovation, inclusivity, and modern snack rituals.
Choose Blondies Kitchen when you crave classic, buttery, chewy nostalgia in cookie form.
Both satisfy sweet cravings—choose based on your values today: empowered wellness or timeless indulgence.
Murakami Exhibition New York
Murakami’s series reflects deeply on Hiroshige’s mid‑19th‑century woodblock prints, which captured a changing Edo through landscapes, city scenes, and seasonal impressions. By layering pop motifs, standard ukiyo‑e references, and his signature characters, Murakami bridges eras, inviting viewers to reconsider how history, memory, and modernity intersect.

For the first time, Murakami’s pieces were shown alongside the original prints at the Brooklyn Museum in 2024, prompting dialogues about appropriation, homage, and evolution in art history. His works retain the compositional harmony of Hiroshige—balance, perspective, rhythm—while charging them with contemporary energy.

The exhibition spans 121 paintings, each on acrylic canvas mounted on aluminum frames, modest in size yet rich in detail (around 14½ × 9½ inches). The tactile shimmer, bold colors, and scale invite close viewing—Murakami insists we look beyond the gloss to the intricacies beneath.

Opening on May 8 and running until roughly July 11 or 12, 2025, the exhibition is held at Gagosian’s New York space on West 21st Street. It offers a rare, immersive entry into the artist’s artistic heritage and dialogue with Japanese aesthetics.

What makes this show remarkable is its thoughtful conversation with tradition. Murakami doesn’t simply update Hiroshige—he intersects centuries of Japanese visual culture, asking us to reflect on continuity, transformation, and how art adapts. It’s both nostalgic and forward‑looking.

For visitors, the exhibit is a compact yet expansive meditation. Small frames pack emotional resonance—if you’ve seen Hiroshige in a textbook, this will make you feel those landscapes anew. For collectors and art‑lovers alike, it prompts fresh conversation about where art can go next.
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Blood Falls Antartica
At the edge of Taylor Glacier in Antarctica lies one of the planet’s most haunting sights: Blood Falls, a cascade of crimson‑colored water spilling into a stark, frozen landscape.
First spotted over a century ago, this phenomenon remains a vivid emblem of nature’s chemistry. Let’s investigate its origins, geophysical secrets, and what it tells us about hidden water beneath ice.

Blood Falls was discovered in 1911 by British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor, who initially believed the deep red hue was caused by algae. Scientists later debunked that theory: it's not living organisms, but iron oxides (essentially rust) producing the vivid color.

The source of that iron‑rich water lies in hypersaline brine trapped deep beneath Taylor Glacier for potentially over a million years. Radio‑echo sounding surveys from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Colorado College traced a subglacial reservoir feeding the falls. These findings upend our assumptions about Arctic hydrology: even extremely cold glaciers can harbor liquid water if salinity and pressure permit.

As this ancient brine emerges at the glacier’s terminus, its iron content reacts with oxygen upon exposure, oxidizing and turning red instantly, creating the blood‑like cascade that stains ice and soil below.
The discovery of subterranean liquid water under a frigid glacier extends our understanding of glacial geology and climate science. And perhaps, hints at where signs of ice-encased water may be discovered elsewhere in the solar system .
Beyond its scientific intrigue, Blood Falls captivates with its surreal beauty—a vivid red spattering across stark white ice. It underscores how hidden Earth systems can manifest in unexpected, poetic ways.
What are your thoughts on the Antarctica Blood falls?Click and vote below: |
Travel spotlight: 3 Under the Radar tips for Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn’s Old Town is one of Europe’s most intact medieval centers and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. Wandering its pastel façades and turreted rooftops evokes tales of yore.
Telliskivi Creative City
A revitalized Baltic railway complex turned creative hub. It hosts galleries, theaters, eateries, street art, and a Fotografiska museum with a green-starred restaurant, melding history and modern culture beautifully.
Toompea Hill
Home to Toompea Castle and Estonia’s parliament, stands the flamboyant Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built 1894–1900 in Russian Revival style. Its gilded domes and ornate icons make it a striking landmark

Telliskivi Creative City
Thank you for reading! Hüvasti.
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