I’m still waiting for someone to explain to me the particular attraction of private members’ clubs. I’ve visited a couple as the guest of a member and left on each occasion feeling that my money would be best spent avoiding the kind of people who seem to frequent them. Celebrity spotting can be fun, but even that depends on the celebrity. Never would I wish to replicate the evening I spent at the Shoreditch House club, practising my rictus grin as an ageing, leather jacket-clad marketing executive hinted at the possibility of a menage a trois with his suspiciously youthful girlfriend.
And it seems that increasing numbers of people are coming round to my way of thinking, for one of London’s most high-profile private venues, Soho House, seems to be in financial trouble. The company has racked up the debt as it has rolled out a programme of significant expansion opening new locations in cities across the world. Peter York, who wrote The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook, claims that it might have been author of its own misfortune, for “oversupply has ruined the magic” of venues that rely on exclusivity as the source of their appeal. And it’s not only the Soho House franchise doing the flooding; several other new private members’ clubs have also opened in London within the last year. At the pricier end of the spectrum is the Devonshire Club, which demands a £2,400 joining fee as well as a £2,400 annual fee. More affordable options (relatively speaking) include Quo Vadis and the Chess Club in Mayfair, both of which cost £500 for annual membership. That’s a lot of money for drink and self-validation. Pity them, but pity much more the normal watering holes of the capital if the affluent and self-important really do abandon private members’ clubs en masse. The likes of Soho House perform a public service keeping their dreary members confined to one place.
Ukip unleashed
Talking of people you wouldn’t want to be trapped in a pub with, Raheem Kassam has dramatically withdrawn his bid to become the next Ukip leader. Channelling the Donald Trump campaign he had been running under the slogan “make Ukip great again”, but yesterday issued a statement claiming that “the path to victory is too narrow” for him to continue. If you have tears to shed …
Among party insiders, there’s disagreement about whether Kassam, London editor of the alt-right’s house magazine Breitbart and professional troll, was ever serious in his bid, with some claiming the whole thing was a wheeze to improve his personal profile. On Twitter, a user with the handle @PoppyEnforcer revealed that they have long been suspicious of Kassam’s credentials. “TBF never trusted @RaheemKassam doesn’t have a poppy in his av [online avatar] and don’t look like a proper patriot to me.” There was no further information about what a “proper patriot” might look like. Readers will draw their own conclusions.
Beware the poppy police
With less than a fortnight until Remembrance Sunday, the tradition that is Poppy Wars returns. Have you bought a poppy yet? Have you remembered to position it to make it clearly visible at all times? If not, why not? Are you glad that our brave boys died to defend your freedom, is that it?
The poppy police are ever vigilant, and this year they are joined by Kay Burley of Sky News. When the Daily Mirror’s Kevin Maguire appeared on Sky without a paper flower pinned to his lapel, she tweeted to question whether none had been available or if he had opted out by choice. Maguire was forced to issue a response explaining that he usually purchases a poppy in the week of Remembrance Sunday and wears it only for that period. In the wake of Brexit, this enforced patriotism feels more concerning than in previous years. Some would happily make poppy wearing compulsory and for the first time, that threat feels credible. Wear one, or give inspector Kay a wide berth.
