Not-just-Sunday Activities

‘Hark! Come all ye mirthful to Sunday Assembly London’s annual seasonal singalong, Yule Rock!’

Whilst we had been settling nicely into our new home at the Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green, for one night only we returned to the famous Conway Hall for the most festive night of the year!

We sang along to all your favourite Christmas classics once again, from Wham! to Wizzard, with our inimitable live band. We also hosted a silent auction and raffle, with a delectable array of prizes on offer to get you even more in the festive mood.

We had a cashless bar serving alcoholic and alcohol-free beverages as well as the requisite mince pies.

We were absolutely thrilled to have as our host this year comedienne, songwriter, science presenter and ‘Voice of an Angle’ Helen Arney. Helen features regularly on TV, radio and in theatres across the world with her unique mix of stand-up, songs and science, with credits including QI, Blue Peter and the science comedy phenomenon Festival of the Spoken Nerd.

Thanks to everyone who came dressed in their Yuletide best! Sparkles, baubles, tinsel and of course, questionable Christmas jumpers were actively encouraged.

Special thanks to our brilliant Sunday Assembly crew for another Yule Rock to remember!

Photo credit: Gwawr Thomas

This all-ages party was full of joy for family and friends. Doors opened at 7pm for drinks, with the singing and dancing kicking off at 7:30pm.

About Yule Rock and Sunday Assembly

Yule Rock is brought to you every year by Sunday Assembly London, a secular community that celebrates life under the motto of “Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More”. It is a heart-warming and inclusive gathering, embodying the essence of Sunday Assembly’s core values of community, joy, and wonder. It is the perfect occasion for individuals of all backgrounds to come together, sing their hearts out, and revel in the holiday cheer without any religious affiliations.

‘Calling all makers, creators, artists, and artisans among us. We are a creative community, so let’s show off! Please come and display (and sell if you want) your creations at our Winter market, after the Assembly on Sunday 3 November.

If you aren’t planning to run a stall, you have the opportunity to admire our community members’ unique and fantastic creations and get a head start on your holiday season shopping! Come and have a look and talk with the makers from 12 pm on Sunday 3 November. Be ready to be amazed, intrigued, and dazzled!’

Thank you to Astrid for organising our Winter Market, and to everyone who bought something from the wonderful range of items on offer!

The Winter Market accompanied our assembly on Multicolour Maths with guest speaker & performer Brook Tate.

The point of Sunday Assembly Article Club is to challenge ourselves to read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.

How Article Club works

1. We meet every six weeks or so in or near the National Theatre.
2. We vote in advance and pick two articles from a short list to read before we meet. Usually one relates to politics/current affairs and the other to history, culture or science.
3. We talk about each one for around half an hour and the beauty of Article Club is that we can think more deeply about the broader themes of a topic, and how well the article gets to grips with them.
4. We each give a score out of 10 for the articles that have been discussed.
5. We set the date for the next Article Club and sometimes adjourn to the pub.

The articles we discussed

Why was the Industrial Revolution British?
Robert Allen
CEPR, 15 May 2009

The only way the Ukraine War can end: Russia has to stop fighting
Anne Applebaum
The Atlantic, 2 October 2024

‘Join us after the Assembly for lunch and board games! Keep an eye on the weather and event listing in case we need to change venue. Bring a picnic mat and food from home or the nearby shops. And if you have any portable games, bring them too. Newcomers are very welcome. We generally play short, easy to learn, fun games.’

How does Sunday Assembly’s Article Club work?

1. We meet every six weeks or so in or near the National Theatre.
2. We vote in advance and pick two articles from a short list to read before we meet. Usually one relates to politics/current affairs and the other to history, culture or science.
3. We talk about each one for around half an hour and the beauty of Article Club is that we can think more deeply about the broader themes of a topic, and how well the article gets to grips with them.
4. We each give a score out of 10 for the articles that have been discussed.
5. We set the date for the next Article Club and sometimes adjourn to the pub.

The first article for this meet up was: 

I’ve got news for those who say Brexit is a disaster: it isn’t. That’s why rejoining is just a pipe dream | Larry Elliott | The Guardian

And the second one was: 

The UK’s forgotten ‘fifth nation’ – BBC Travel

The point of Article Club is to challenge ourselves to read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.

Article Club was set up by Ross Bailey in 2015 who did a fantastic job at running it. Ross was followed by the equally fantastic Claire Ferraro. Alistair Baker has been in the chair for the past six years.

‘The point of Article Club is to challenge ourselves to read a diverse range of articles, share them with like-minded people and deal with our anxiety that we aren’t reading books.’

At our Sundae Assembly special, ice cream scientist and Sunday Assembly’s own Tom Boulton took us through the history and culture of ice cream. Then we headed off on a delectable ice cream crawl through East London.

We departed from the Backyard Comedy Club immediately following the Assembly at 1pm, where we followed the rocky road onto:

1. E5 Bakehouse

Home to the famous Softy & Swirly. We sampled grown-up flavours such as loganberry and sheep’s ricotta as well as salted black sesame, honey with lemon and cardamom, and malted vanilla.

They also had La Grotta ices, a selection of seasonal frozen treats with an emphasis on fresh-tasting fruity combos – think pomegranate and leafy orange, pear and myrtle, wild fig and watermelon, or quince and bramley apple pie. 

2. Soft Serve Society

There were four basic flavours (vanilla, matcha, charcoal and coconut), but the thrill was in the photogenic toppings, which are arranged in Petri dishes on the counter ready for sprinkling.

3. Darlish 

Luxury ice cream inspired by natural botanicals and the magical flavours of the Middle East, including black tahini halva chunk, honey rum, date molasses & raisin, and Turkish coffee.

Gwawr Thomas wrote:

‘Such a lovely day today celebrating all things ice cream with Sunday Assembly – sorry, Sundae Assembly – pals, beginning with a fascinating talk about the science of ice cream making by the man whose job we all covet, Tom Boulton; progressing through a sampling of some delicious new Little Moons flavours, and culminating in a fabulous ice cream crawl around East London led by Ice Cream Queen Magdalena Hunter.’

Hanna Finn wrote:

‘Another great Sunday Assembly, with free ice cream, followed by the most money I’ve spent on ice cream in one day Thank you to Tom for the great ice cream science talk, and Mags for the tour of three different ice cream places in East London!

I had a cherry ice lolly, Oreo cheesecake ice cream in a cone, and a cup of rhubarb, pomegranate and rose gelato

Great to see everyone, and I’m glad we convinced two first timers, Naomi and Fiona, to join us for a few hours of walking and ice cream eating.’

Photo credit: Gwawr Thomas

→ Our next assembly: Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation, 15 September
← Our previous assembly: Cantat Ergo Sumus: Hymns of the Philosophers, 21 July

Extending the good times, these activities accompanied our ice cream themed Sunday Assembly and ice cream crawl on 1 September 2024.

‘Join us after the Assembly for lunch and board games! Keep an eye on the weather and event listing in case we need to change venue. Bring a picnic mat and food from home or the nearby shops. And if you have any portable games, bring them too. Newcomers are very welcome. We generally play short, easy to learn, fun games.’

This Boardgames Club followed our Sunday Assembly Cantat Ergo Sumus: Hymns of the Philosophers on 21 July 2024.

‘Join us at our second in-person boardgames meetup for July. If the weather is warm and dry we will picnic and play boardgames. If not we’ll be indoors. Newcomers are very welcome. We generally play short, easy to learn fun games.’

This picnic followed our Sunday Assembly Cantat Ergo Sumus: Hymns of the Philosophers on 21 July 2024.

‘Join us after the Assembly for lunch! Keep an eye on the weather and event listing in case we need to change venue. Bring a picnic mat and food from home or the nearby shops. We usually get others jump in last minute at the Assembly so there will be more people than are showing on the event.’