As well as being Mother’s Day, Sunday 30^th March saw the third instalment of Secret Forum’s imaginative and innovative ‘Sunday Papers Live’. A far better gift than the traditional gestures of flowers or chocolates, Sunday Papers Live allowed you to bestow the gift of knowledge and debate to your mum. And that’s far better than flowers. You don’t have to water knowledge. Or rather, you won’t forget to water knowledge leading to the horrifying realisation that you’ve let someone’s beloved gift dehydrate and die within 48 hours. Ahem. Myself and flowers have a chequered past.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Sunday Papers Live, speakers are invited to talk on a range of topics which make up the typical sections of the Sunday Papers – this edition saw journalist Melissa Gira Grant speaking on the Sex Industry as part of ‘World News’, Sally Howard speaking on international taboos as part of ‘Travel’ and Radmila Topalovic delivering the latest Science and Technology developments straight from the Royal Observatory. In addition to broadening your intellectual horizons, a tasty Sunday Roast is served in the banquet hall where you’ll dine with fellow news enthusiasts or – in my case – fight with them for ribs. (Beef ribs that is, not human ribs. They can keep their own ribs.)

One of my personal highlights for the day was ‘The Bullsh*t Tour’; a tour around Primrose Hill with a twist: it was entirely and hilarious factually inaccurate. As someone who has wandered round the National Gallery commenting how Monet used to shoot ducks for inspiration, to dupe any gullible, eavesdropping tourists, I greatly approved of this concept from the outset. Guided by the charming Reuben, we were introduced to the Bakers Appreciation Guild, re-enacted the final scene of Withnail and I atop a bridge and even met the King of the Daisies in Regent’s Park.  Reuben solemnly forewarned us that if we trod on any daisies, it would enrage the Daisy King. The fact that I adhered to this advice and trod a non-daisy adorned path would make me question both his persuasiveness and my sanity.

Another deviation away from the usual talks came in the form of a beatboxing performance from Reeps One and Shlomo, twice UK Beatbox champions and the current World Loopstation champion. Beatboxing is something I never think I’m going to  be that impressed with until it actually starts and I’m left chirping ‘HOW IS THAT SOUND COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH?’. Kind of like my reaction to hearing David Beckham speak, except meant positively on this occasion. I do find it astounding; whenever I try to imitate beatboxing, I sound like a character from Fraggle Rock. The talent and humour of these guys shone through both their performances and accompanying narrative, although I did wonder if they had tiny little men with tiny little instruments residing inside them. As science somewhat eschews that theory, I’ll remain impressed.

On a more serious note, the headliner of the World News segment was Melissa Gira Grant, a former sex worker and current journalist talking about the global impacts of criminalisation and prostitution. Provoking an engaging debate about whether you can be anti-sex work but pro sex-workers rights, Grant strove to explore the stigma behind it and whether those who shape and control the lives of sex workers are really in a position to do so. While forty minutes was nowhere near enough time to do this issue justice, it achieved the objective for which  talks like this should strive: encouraging debate and discussion long after the talk is over.

Once again, Sunday Papers Live provided a glorious antidote to the looming cloud that is Monday morning with laughter, debate, world music and a banquet feast. The next event is on Sunday June 1 2014 and you can check out the details of past and future events at the website here.