All posts tagged: Garrick

Digested week: Kim Kardashian’s corset, dated insults – and a fuss at the Garrick | Emma Brockes

Digested week: Kim Kardashian’s corset, dated insults – and a fuss at the Garrick | Emma Brockes

Published by skeptic

Monday Credit for the success of the TV show Baby Reindeer is largely owed to one woman, Jessica Gunning, who rescues Richard Gadd’s baggy, self-absorbed script with her brilliant performance as Martha, Gadd’s stalker. (When Gunning disappears, mid-series, we are effectively left in a room with a man doing bad standup). For the last week or so, coverage of the show’s success – it’s No 1 on Netflix in the UK and No 4 in the US – has rubbed shoulders with commentary about the ethics of the race to unearth the real people on whom the seven-part drama is based. That search resulted, this week, in the spectacle of Piers Morgan publicising an interview on his YouTube channel with the “real” Martha, a woman who, if the show is to be believed, is a deeply unwell individual. The proper thing would have been not to watch. I did watch, however, for the first five minutes, to see how the supposed reality held up against the show – predictably, as it turned out. Where Gunning …

It’s as if misogyny was the vice that dared not speak its name at the Garrick. That cloud has now lifted | Simon Jenkins

It’s as if misogyny was the vice that dared not speak its name at the Garrick. That cloud has now lifted | Simon Jenkins

Published by skeptic

The Garrick Club’s vote this week in favour of admitting women as members mattered. It mattered – and was the subject of widespread public debate – because the club’s prominence in London’s establishment landscape made its exclusion of women seem unjust and wrong. With a large number of senior judges and other public servants as members, it simply could not pass as just another club. Some might argue that this popularity speaks to its standing, others that it also brings responsibility. The vote lifts a cloud from the club’s reputation, as did a similar vote by the Athenaeum in 2002. These places are not hole-in-the-corner institutions. In my view, the Garrick’s influence on Britain’s public life has been overstated. But privilege and influence are perceived, and that has been enough to make the club’s membership vulnerable to public scrutiny. That vulnerability was evident in the embarrassment some members felt at seeing the issue discussed outside the club’s walls. It was as if misogyny was a vice that dared not speak its name. This week, as …

Garrick club chair says ‘exceptional lady members’ may be fast-tracked | Garrick Club

Garrick club chair says ‘exceptional lady members’ may be fast-tracked | Garrick Club

Published by skeptic

The chair of the Garrick has told its members that the club may consider “allowing one or two exceptional … lady members” to join in the near future but that normal waiting times will apply for the majority of women. A leaked email from Christopher Kirker to all members on Wednesday described Tuesday’s vote ending the London institution’s men-only rules as “momentous” and addressed questions about how quickly the club might move to admit women. Pro-women members have acknowledged that the club would need to find a way to expedite the general admission of women members to bypass its complex and protracted admission process, which in normal circumstances can stretch over at least two years. Some Garrick members are proposing to fast-track Joanna Lumley into the club, as an apology for the behaviour of several men a decade ago who scribbled over and tore up an earlier nomination submission made by her fellow actor Hugh Bonneville. In an email seen by the Guardian, Kirker confirmed that “usual waiting times will apply to all regardless of …

After 200 years, women can join the Garrick. Now for the task of making it share power, not hoard it | Jemima Olchawski

After 200 years, women can join the Garrick. Now for the task of making it share power, not hoard it | Jemima Olchawski

Published by skeptic

Britain’s “old boys’ club” suffered a blow last night. The Garrick Club – an exclusive gentlemen’s club in central London and relic of some 19th-century fantasy of male dominance – voted to allow women to become members for the first time in almost 200 years. About 60% of the votes were in favour. In the 21st century, there is simply no legitimate justification for the exclusion of women. There actually never was. That the Garrick Club’s exclusionary policy has been so robustly defended in recent weeks speaks to a profound misogyny alive and well in Britain. What would including women do to the refined, rarefied air of the club? Contaminate it with our chit-chat? Our nagging? Would our feminine charms prove too much of a distraction? The refrain of “nothing to see here” is all too familiar to so many women. It’s not a work meeting, it’s just a couple of holes at the golf course. It’s just blowing off steam. It’s just a couple of drinks with the guys. We didn’t think you would …

Garrick Club ‘votes to allow female members’ | UK News

Garrick Club ‘votes to allow female members’ | UK News

Published by Sam

The Garrick Club, a central London private members’ club, has voted to allow women to join, after facing scrutiny over its diversity in recent weeks.  The club has been strictly male-only since it was founded in 1831. But a vote to allow female members passed by about 60% during a private meeting, UK media have reported. Read more: What is the Garrick Club? Actor Stephen Fry and journalist James Naughtie were among those who gave speeches arguing for the admission of women, it has been reported. The Guardian had previously published what it said was the club’s membership list, claiming the King, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6, were all members. Image: A man enters the Garrick Club, a private member’s club in London. Pic: Reuters Cabinet Secretary Simon Case – the head of the civil service – quit the club in March just one day after being questioned by MPs about his involvement in the institution. In April, a High Court judge was removed from overseeing a …

Garrick Club to accept women for the first time in 193 years | UK | News

Garrick Club to accept women for the first time in 193 years | UK | News

Published by skeptic

An exclusive men-only club in London is set to welcome women as members for the first time in its 193-year history. The Garrick Club, which boasts members including King Charles, Stephen Fry, and Sting, looks set to allow women after 60 percent of its 1,500 members answered in favour of the change following a two-hour debate. Previously, women were only allowed to enter the Covent Garden venue if they were accompanied by a man. According to The Telegraph, people speaking in favour of the change included comedian Fry, news reader James Naughtie, historian Jonathan Sumption, and actor Nigel Havers. The club’s membership list, which also included Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gov as well as entertainment figures including Sting, Benedict Cumberbatch and the actor Brian Cox, was published in the Guardian earlier this year. It led to several high profile judges as well as MI6 head Sir Richard Moore and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case resigning their membership. The Garrick Club has repeatedly blocked attempts to allow women to join since …

‘No longer remotely defensible’: Garrick’s decision to admit women shows times have changed | Garrick Club

‘No longer remotely defensible’: Garrick’s decision to admit women shows times have changed | Garrick Club

Published by skeptic

Who cares that an elite organisation full of mostly elderly white men has decided to allow women to join them in a small central London private members’ club? Such was the reaction of many of the club’s members who had responded with extreme ill-temper to the Guardian’s recent decision to publish the names of about 60 of the Garrick Club’s most influential members. There has been an orgy of mansplaining in newspaper comment pieces. The Garrick’s rules prohibit networking or even working inside the building, these members say, so it would be very wrong-headed and silly to believe that anything of any consequence ever happens within the club’s four walls. The Garrick is merely a spot for friendly relaxation. “The Garrick Club is not a public body and the whole issue is too unimportant to make a fuss of,” the retired supreme court judge Jonathan Sumption admonished a New York Times reporter when the issue piqued the interest of US readers – though he added that he supported the admission of women. “This is such …

Garrick Club votes to accept female members for first time | Garrick Club

Garrick Club votes to accept female members for first time | Garrick Club

Published by skeptic

The men-only Garrick Club has finally voted to allow women to become members, 193 years after the London institution first opened its doors. The vote was passed with 59.98% of votes in favour at the end of a private meeting where several hundred members spent two hours debating whether to permit women to join. The meeting was closed to non-members, and a warning was made by the club’s secretary before the vote that details of the occasion were confidential and should not be discussed with non-members. However, sources revealed that 562 members had voted in favour and 375 (40.02%) voted against. The actor Stephen Fry and journalist James Naughtie were among those who gave short speeches arguing for the admission of women. “It will become a much better club with women in it,” one member said, asking not to be named. “It was a very courteous debate.” Hundreds of Garrick members, many of them wearing the club’s pink and green striped tie, had gathered inside the Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden in the late afternoon …

Bitterly divided Garrick Club prepares to vote on female membership again | Garrick Club

Bitterly divided Garrick Club prepares to vote on female membership again | Garrick Club

Published by skeptic

In May 1924, the Manchester Guardian revealed a “recent innovation in the Garrick Club to admit ladies to one of its rooms” meant that the queen of Romania would be lunching at the club during her visit to London. “What would Queen Victoria have said about such a notion!” the article wondered. A hundred years later, the club’s lethargic advance towards allowing women into the building on equal terms with men continues. On Tuesday, members will once again vote on the matter. Before the vote, at least nine of the UK’s most senior judges and barristers have parsed the club’s rules to assess whether they do or do not already permit the admission of women. How the Manchester Guardian reported the queen of Romania’s visit, on 20 May 1924. Photograph: The Guardian The former president of the supreme court David Neuberger and the former supreme court judge Jonathan Sumption (both members) have separately written to the club’s chair to inform him that they agree with the legal advice given by the senior lawyer David Pannick …

Now John Simpson issues ultimatum to men-only Garrick Club

Now John Simpson issues ultimatum to men-only Garrick Club

Published by Sam

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more John Simpson has added his name to the list of famous faces who have said they will leave the Garrick Club if they fail to admit female members. The journalist, 79, said it would be “impossible” to remain affiliated with the men’s-only club, which has previously voted against women joining. The issue is set to go to a member’s vote next Tuesday (7 May). Stephen Fry and Sting are among the other stars to have issued an ultimatum to the which is debating finally allowing women to join for the first time. Writing on X/Twitter, Mr Simpson said: “Various Garrick Club members including Sting, Mark Knopfler and leading actors and producers have reportedly written to the Club chairman saying they’ll resign if the membership doesn’t vote to accept women next Tuesday. Many others like me would also find it impossible to …