Reading the papers on a Sunday is one of life’s great simple pleasures. While the busy working week is usually limited to the headlines of BBC News or a cursory glance at the Metro, Sunday provides the optimal chance to indulge in every news story available no matter how big or small; important or trivial. “Giant ghost-rat terrorising small Derbyshire town”? Sure I’ll read it! I’ve got the time!

But what about those days when reading the paper just seems far too solitary an activity for your weekend?  If only there was some way that you could embrace your inner kitten, curl up on a comfy sofa and be surrounded by hundreds of like-minded literary kittens witnessing the Sunday Papers come to life before their very eyes.  Lucky for you, now there is. Step right up, Sunday Papers Live.

Sunday Papers Live is the brainchild of Secret Productions – the creative team behind the incredible and inspirational ‘Secret Garden Party’ in Cambridge each summer. Seeking a way to bring their innovative ideas to the Capital, they have expertly created an environment where you can learn, dine, debate and dance, all within the cosy interior of the Cecil Sharpe House. When I attended last Sunday, Poets, artists, speakers and columnists each took centre stage for between 15-20 minutes to deliver talks that are informative, provocative, humorous  and often all three. Enraptured guests sat around the stage in endearingly worn settees, adorned with blankets and nursing Bloody Marys and hot punch from the bar.

It would be impossible to mention all of the myriad talks throughout the day, but the stand-outs for me were an impassioned talk of adventures in Siberia by Mikael Strandberg, a fascinating exploration of Modern Art throughout London by Andrew Shoben and – the headline act to knock any band at Glastonbury out of the park – the World News as read by British journalistic icon, Mr Jon Snow.

Strandberg spoke about his Siberian explorations with a captivating mixture of raw passion and wry humour; two traits which are clearly necessities when spending months on end in a climate where icicles freezing around your face is commonplace. Indeed, the accompanying photos certainly put into perspective any complaints we might have towards the inclement English rain. After a five minute break for people to replenish their Bloody Mary supplies (or not, for those who refused to relinquish the coveted position of a sofa), this was swiftly followed by Andrew Shoben’s talk on Public Art forms.

As someone who eschews a great deal of modern art with a healthy cynicism, Shoben's talk was refreshing and insightful. He spoke of the need to ensure that any public art form engaged and involved the audience rather than seeking to isolate and ostracise them. His team’s latest ventures included a series of keys attached to trees in a woodland; when turned, the keys enabled the sound of a music box. In an almost Goldilocksian way, there were small keys for children to play around with and larger keys for the adults, all providing an effective dichotomy of the natural and the fabricated. Admittedly, were I to wander alone across a woodland of key-trees, each playing spooky music-box sounds in the dead of the night, I’m almost positive it would freeze my soul in such a way that no level of therapy could ever provide a cure.  But in daylight and surrounded by people, it was conceptually stunning.

Ay 7pm, guests gleefully gathered in the hall for the front page attraction – Jon Snow.  In the space of 45 minutes, he managed to cover an impressive array of topics ranging from the leadership of Iran to the changing nature of journalism through social media to the ever prevalent issues of climate change. Unsurprisingly, when he opened the floor to questions, the response was highly enthusiastic, none more so than the vociferous toddler in the front row. Snow dealt with this with all charm you might hope and solemnly commented ‘I quite agree.  Teddy is the only ally you will ever need.’

If all this intellectual nourishment wasn’t enough, you are also presented with literal sustenance in the form of culinary offerings from The Breakfast Club and, at this edition, award winning eco chef Tom Hunt’s sumptuous Sunday Roast. The food was fresh and flavourful and served on a decadent long table banquet allowing you to mix and mingle with your fellow diners; a perfect accompaniment to the cerebral treats of the day. I thoroughly recommend booking tickets for the next Sunday Papers Live event and I will most certainly be making a return visit.

Further details of Secret Productions future events can be found at their website here.