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The Thinking Salon · Circle & Star

Field Notes

Not the best way to learn the idea. The best way to think it — together.

One thinker. One idea. The ground first — then the whole case, made in the room and taken apart together. The lights come up, the phones go away, and a notebook waits on every seat. Fifty-five seats, thinking together.

See the seasonHow a salon runs
How a salon runs
Side A

The ground

Who this thinker is, how they came to the idea, and why it matters now. The story first.

Side B

The idea

The complete case, made whole in one sitting. The lights come up — the work is a living mind, not a playback. Phones away; a notebook on every seat.

After

Q&A & networking

The room takes it up — questions first, then time to stay, talk and connect. The conversation that doesn’t end at the door.

One idea. One evening. Then a conversation that doesn’t end at the door.

You won’t leave with the answer.
You’ll leave still thinking.

Volume One · Aug–Dec 2026

The season.

A launch, then four ideas · Each thought whole
Jay RaynerLaunchAugust 2026See it first →
00Opening night · The Thinking Salon
Work in progress · Before the tour
Jay Rayner

Nights Out in the Kitchen

The tour starts here — before the tour. Jay Rayner works up his new show in a room of fifty-five, before Fane takes it round the country. See it raw, see it close, see it first.

One of Britain’s sharpest food writers, live and finding the show’s shape — wit, appetite and twenty-five years of opinion. The national tour will play big rooms; this one plays to fifty-five. Field Notes opens with the show before the show.

Side A · The ground
One of Britain’s sharpest food writers — wit, appetite, and twenty-five years of opinion.
Side B · The idea
The touring show, caught early and up close — still being built. One night, fifty-five seats.
Tuesday 25 August 2026
Doors 7:00pm · One sitting, 7:30 · then Q&A and networking
See it first →£25 · book at the microsite
Katie Puckrik№ 001September 2026Explore the evening →
01№ 001 · The Thinking Salon
Katie Puckrik

The History of the World in 10 Smells

A scentertaining time machine — ten smells handed round a room of fifty-five, led entirely by the nose.

Broadcaster, writer, performer — and, since she launched the first perfume channel on YouTube, a genuine authority on scent. A playful journey across pop culture, psychology, history, science and sex.

Side A · The ground
The woman who built the first perfume channel on YouTube — and changed how we talk about scent.
Side B · The idea
Ten smells, one at a time. Bring your nose — and the lights come up.
Wednesday 2 September 2026
Doors 7:00pm · One sitting, 7:30 · then Q&A and networking
Explore the evening →Book · £22
02№ 002October 2026
The thinker — announced soon
One mind, one idea, made whole. Names revealed through the season.
£22First word →
03№ 003November 2026
The thinker — announced soon
One mind, one idea, made whole. Names revealed through the season.
£22First word →
David McAlmont№ 004December 2026See the night →
04№ 004 · The Thinking Salon
David McAlmont

USA250: I Have Some Thoughts…

250 years of America, told through his own digital collages — part memoir, part cultural archaeology. The last idea of the year.

Singer, writer and art historian David McAlmont presents an illustrated talk on America’s extraordinary presence in our lives — built around a series of his own original collages.

Side A · The ground
The voice of Yes, who went back to school to read the history of art — now reading culture itself.
Side B · The idea
The images, ideas and sounds that travelled — and stayed. Told through his own collages.
Thursday 10 December 2026
Doors 7:00pm · One sitting, 7:30 · then Q&A and networking
See the night →Book · £22
The room

Circle & Star Theatre

28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 6TE. Hampstead station, Northern line — thirty seconds from the door. Fifty-five seats. Every one close.

Doors 7:00pm · The idea 7:30–8:30, one sitting · then Q&A and networking

£22 per salon · 55 seats — every one close.
The Notes familyOne ritual, three rooms — the record, the picture, the idea.
Listen.The record.Sleeve Notes.heard in company.See.The picture.Reel Notes.the films we love.
You are hereThink.The idea.Field Notes.a conversation shared.