Salon to bring leading cultural speakers to Standon

Would you like to learn about virtual autopsies, the history of dance music, bird watching, origami and how to spot a psychopath? Well, thanks to Salon, you can learn all this and more at Standon Calling.

Each month London’s leading monthly cultural fest showcases the UK’s leading lights in science, arts and psychology, while still finding space for a three-minute disco. Salon covers everything from beatboxing to quantum mechanics to extreme survival skills, all with a well-stocked bar and a large helping of gung ho.

Now, specifically for Standon, Salon curators Helen Bagnall and Juliet Russell have put together a very special festival line-up featuring the following:

Virtual Autopsy with Suzy Lishman
Sit yourself down in front of the slab as the vice-president of the Royal College of Pathologists brings her virtual autopsy to Standon, in which she’ll show us how to prise open the ribcage, spot a drinker from the inside and what the brain really feels like to the touch.

Is There a Psycho in Your Life (and is it you?) with Kerry Daynes
Between 1-3% of the population exhibit psychopathic tendencies – that’s potentially 1 in 100 of your Facebook friends, but you probably thought that already. Having explored the minds of some of the country’s most notorious psychopathic criminals, author and forensic psychologist Kerry will explain exactly how to spot that highly functioning psychopath in your life.

Origami with Mark Bolitho
Turn a simple piece of paper into a 3-D work of art with our world-renowned origami artist and chairman of the British Origami Society. In this session Mark encourages to explore exactly what floats our boat as we create our very own ships to sail upon the Standon swimming pool.

Salon’s Standon Birdwalk with David Lindo
AKA the Urban Birder, Davidis a one-man ornithological phenomenon whose whole vibe is about getting urbanites to realise that there is a whole world of wildlife under their noses. He’ll take us on a morning bird walk to see just what we can find in and around the festival site and let us know how we can spot birds anytime, anywhere by remembering to look up.

Summer Playlist with Lucy Tesco
With her finely tuned ear to the ground Rough Trade’s Lucy will lead us through Standon’s musical line-up, playing us key tracks from the bands on the Standon stages so you can plan your perfect musical moments, not only for the festival, but for your whole summer.

Electro-Funk Roots and the Hidden History of Dance Music with Greg Wilson
DJ legend and Standon performer Greg will step away from the dance floor, briefly, to talk us through the hidden history of dance music, exploring the influence of the post-Disco scene electro scene and playing us seminal tracks that influenced what we shake our funky things to today

Vocal Work-Out with Juliet Russell
Warm yourself up before letting rip on the Rockeoke stage or just come and have a sing with other festival goers. Vocal coach to the stars and for BBC 1’s The Voice, Juliet will lead us through a funky vocal warm up, singing harmonies and rhythms, before crescendo-ing towards a mass vocal jam

Philosophy Breakfast with Robert Rowland Smith
Grab a cup of coffee and organic croissant and join Salon for a philosophy late-breakfast. With the audience pitching the themes, nimble-minded Robert explores the themes of the day with help from some of the greatest thinkers ever, our own breakfast with Socrates.

Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain with Elaine Fox
Are you a glass half-full, or a half-empty type of person? Or do you swing both ways? Could you change your approach if you wanted to? Prof. Elaine Fox will be on hand to help you understand just what makes you tick from an entirely chemical point of view and help you to avoid those post-festival blues.

Discover What the Ancients Did For Us with Natalie Haynes
Quite a bit actually. Famed classicist and former stand-up comedian Natalie Haynes shows us how to benefit from the wisdom of the Greeks and Romans.  Leading us through the thinking of the sages, she answers once and for all exactly what the Greeks and Romans did for us.