If you haven't yet been to The Lost Lectures, you must. This series of talks that open up new dimensions in your thinking, export you to previously undiscovered venues and provide you with a totally different kind of night out to the default: go down the pub/ out for a meal with the beard or the bird/ fall over face first into a kebab.
I went to Lost Lectures towards the end of last year and had a refreshing time drinking mulled wine, avoiding other people's squeezey mustard hotdogs (we had already eaten), and listening to a wonderful variety of talks from Ruby Wax, Simon Baron Cohen (yes, that is Sacha's brother but more importantly he is a neuroscientist) and a rap vs. poetry battle. The whole thing took place in Bethnal Green's working boxing ring, giving it a rough and ready atmosphere and filling the speakers with adrenaline which most of them couldn't help but comment on.
Unfortunately, if you follow my advice and book for their next talk, you will not have the same experience that I had. The point of Lost Lectures is to enlighten you differently every time you go. I was lucky enough to hear Ruby Wax speak out about mental illness which was both brilliantly inspiring and... well, a little bit mental. This is an aside, but I was quite shocked by the horrible playground tittering that was going on behind me at one point. Whilst everyone else was mesmerised by the bravery of her honest personal account, there were a few who found it easier to laugh at the problem she was highlighting. Ironically, she spoke of the denial by 'polite society' of mental illness and how when it's something that people can actually see, they are far more sympathetic. Sorry for this tangent but I have to send a message to the haters that their hating comes from weakness and their judgement was misplaced as well as just plain RUDE. Ruby - you are right: you are quite mad but we love you all the more for it.
This January, Lost Lectures is putting on The Festival of The Imagination so if you're looking for a little more inspiration this January than dry nights, 'New Year, New You' drizzle and Orange Wednesdays then look no further than here. You won't regret it. You would however regret waking up unenlightened, bored of your own brain and face down in a kebab once again. This, friends is the alternative. Think about it.
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