Main Events

Joseph Haydn was named the ‘Father of the Quartet’ and his legacy still lives on. But how did he also get dragged into an incredibly tangled affair including scheming, pseudo-science, lawsuit wars and one of the most elaborate funeral plans in the history of classical music? To say any more would require a spoiler alert.

Our speaker Ripley took us through this mysterious tale. Ripley is a former concert pianist – now turned baker, singer, crafter, avid reader, lifelong aficionado of useless trivia and a happy resident in the Venn Diagram intersection of Sunday Assembly, Nerd Nite and the London Humanist Choir.

We also had poetry from Morwenna James, a TV Producer, soon-to-be mum of two and spoken word artist and published poet who uses radical honesty and self-deprecation to explore universal themes with a playful, humorous slant.

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On this Earth Day, we welcomed Carmen Sheridan, Cultural Gardener at Wakehurst, to talk to us about how building relationships with the wildflowers around us can support us into new ways of being.

Carmen is passionate about creating gardens that are supportive for biodiversity and people, and creating spaces where people can learn about and connect with plants. She shared her personal experiences of connecting with and learning about wildflowers and reflections on belonging and our environment – with space for reflection on your own relationships with flowers and the world around us.

Carmen is also editor of FLORXL zine, a collaborative publication celebrating the joy and diversity of plants and gardens. All profits from sales go to the Lemon Tree Trust to support their work creating gardens in refugee camps:

/@_carmengardens /@florxl_zine

We also welcomed the UK’s ‘Green Poet’, Martin Kiszko, a hugely multi-talented poet, composer and screenwriter who has been performing his one-man show based on his publication, GREEN POEMS FOR A BLUE PLANET and VERSE FOR THE EARTH, since 2010, at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Edinburgh Fringe.

“The more aware you are that you are going to die, the better you live.”

Chris Bullzini is the UK’s most esteemed Funambulist [tightrope walker], who has travelled the world performing in circuses and festivals, and famously taught Peter Crouch how to walk the rope in under 24 hours.

Chris’ training requires him to develop heightened awareness, self-control, and focus which are not only fundamental to his profession, but also to his journey toward accepting the ultimate truth, namely our own inevitable mortality.

In this talk, Chris reflected on his practice to explore the universal themes of the human experience within the extraordinary context of walking the high wire, such as courage, fear, connection, separation, and balance.

To Chris, each wire walk is a meditation that takes him to a profound, transcendental state; one that impacts the audience on a deep level; touched by the miracle of life in the simple yet profound image of a man walking through the sky.

We also had poetry from Louise Stewart Daisy, or ‘Pure LSD’, dedicated to delivering messages of hope, inspiration, motivation, elevation and wild imagination.

Insecurities, worries, fears.. we all have them and – across the globe – seem to be at a loss as to the best way to manage them.

Officer Enema [Danni Emery], co -founder of ‘The Insecurity Guards’ was here to help – with a deep dive into the world of insecurities and an exploration of how different cultures have often found similar ways of eradicating them.

We also had the troupe of Guards on hand to help! Alongside resident Insecurity Guard poet, Cheryl Roberts who graced us with some spoken word.

The ‘Insecurity Guards’ are a global troupe of feel-good performers who travel festivals to rid people of their worldly woes, using immersive theatre and character play to tackle serious topics, such as mental health, in a light-hearted, fun and engaging way.

Scarhach, Cerridwen, Gwendoline, Coventina…our islands’ folklore is full of powerful women who brought the world enchantment and inspiration, warriorship and healing. And yet, we don’t know them.

Kim Willis is a writer and storyteller out to changed that. Her talk took us through her research into the ancient warrior women of the British Isles, and how they can provide us with a powerful new story for womanhood.

We also had some poetry from performance artist, Victoria Melody. Inspired by ethnography, she immerses herself in different communities and ‘becomes an active participant in their rituals as research for her work.’

Love is in the Air for our Sunday Assembly Valentine’s Special! To help us celebrate this most passionate of occasions, we welcome real-life husband and wife duo, Lonan Jenkins and Jodie Powell to delight us with tales of love steeped in ancient mythology.

A far cry from the ‘Disney-fied’ ‘Happily ever after’ narrative, mythological tales of love and eroticism are often steeped in grief and tragedy. In most of Greek mythology, love is the driving force behind a character’s action, and is there to teach us about trust, devotion and forgiveness, and how to navigate the grand themes of life and loss.

Lonan is a professional story-teller and independent celebrant, specialising in weddings, whilst Jodie is a multi-talented artist, poet, singer and performer. Together they run, ‘Rooted Revelry’, a pop -up event, offering intimate storytelling, performance poetry, live art, live music and workshops that honour the changing seasons.

Around a third of the UK population claim to have had some kind of paranormal experience, with around 40% having directly experienced a ghost or haunting. Chris French, Professor of anomalistic psychology at Goldsmith’s University, has a specialism in non- paranormal explanations for ostensibly paranormal experiences as well as the psychology of belief in conspiracy theories. He joins us today to explain what might be going on when we become spooked, from a rational, science-based perspective.

Drawing from his forthcoming new book, The Science of Weird Shit: Why Our Brains Conjure the Paranormal – covering everything from alien abduction to ghosts, psychic powers to visions of the Virgin Mary appearing in a cheese sandwich – Chris explores how far psychology can go to explain these kinds of beliefs and what underlies them.

We are also thrilled to be joined by spoken-word artist Rick Dove, who uses his background in psychology to unite the perspectives of artists and scientists through the medium of poetry.

‘Losing’, ‘failing’, ‘being dumped’- these are all experiences of rejection that can hit us hard and make us feel dejected, de-motivated and at worst, cripple our self esteem.

Rejection, however, can also be a fundamental element for growth, and even something to get excited by!

Guest speaker: Neil Morbey

Neil Morbey is a Mindfulness Coach and Counsellor at Positively-Mindful – helping people to find inner peace through learning skills of meditation, mindfulness and compassionate self enquiry. He believes that the unavoidable human experience of rejection can be reframed to help us, across dating, relationships, work and business.

When we hear a ‘no’ we can learn to respond with gratitude, curiosity and challenge – a process reflecting a growing awareness of ‘Rejection Therapy’. Learning to embrace hearing someone’s honest answer, even if it is not what we thought we wanted to hear, promises to help desensitize us from pain, learn to negotiate under pressure, open up new life opportunities and gain a positive attitude toward ourselves and humanity – plus, apparently, it’s tons of fun!

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