What Mrs Thatcher told me about the Garrick...
...without looking like you’ve saddled up for a fancy dress party
WELL, what a kerfuffle there’s been ( again) about membership of the Garrick Club and its steadfast refusal to allow women to join. The head of the Civil Service, Simon Case, and the MI6 chief, Richard Moore, have resigned their memberships after criticism of their decision to join a club that has repeatedly blocked the admission of women since its inception in 1831.
If anyone doubts the relevance of the dusty old men’s club, earlier this week The Guardian published details of their closely guarded membership list, revealing that fellow members include judges, scores of senior lawyers, leaders of publicly funded arts institutions — and King Charles. So in other words the country’s top movers and shakers of the male variety.
How, then, can anyone deny that being barred is an impediment to women? even Margaret Thatcher could not become a member when she was Prime Minister — the top position in the land — and the significance didn’t evade her back then.
In 1993, a few years after she’d been ignominiously deposed from No.10, we sat in conversation after finishing an interview for Woman’s Hour.
We chatted about her early years in front of what would become her first Cabinet.
SHe described them as ‘the great and the good’ but, she said, they treated her, their leader, like ‘the cleaning lady’. ‘ Of course,’ she said, ‘I sacked them all, but that attitude to my sex was something I faced throughout my political career. It was obvious they saw women as nannies or domestics.’
She told me she had had to become the Iron lady because she wasn’t ‘ clubbable’. As a woman, she couldn’t join a club like the Garrick and, she said, this meant she hadn’t had the chance to get to know colleagues and perhaps enemies socially.
‘I could never hear the gossip, the chit-chat or the plots. I just had to be the boss.’
If even Thatcher isn’t the ‘ right sort of person’ for the Garrick, which is surely what they’re saying in barring her and others of her standing, this surely sends the message that they don’t belong at the very top of those professions.
An all-male club of such power and influence was — and remains — a distillation of sexism at its most abhorrent.
It speaks volumes of the ultimate insult to women. It’s saying there can’t be any of those girlies clever enough or powerful enough to join and benefit from the connections and influence they might gain from our club.
I have, I must admit, visited the hallowed space — invited for dinner by an old friend shortly before interviewing Thatcher.
I have no desire to be allowed there again. The food was not dissimilar to what my friend confirmed you might expect at a boys’ public school. Meat with gravy, overcooked veg and a sponge pudding with custard.
Bit like my own old school dinners, to be honest, and not a bit posh. The wine was good, but the company, which consisted of ageing blokes slumped in leather chairs, held no attraction for me. I couldn’t wait to get out.
In hindsight, what I really felt was that the Garrick, with a membership list of the great and good across the land — in the law, politics, journalism, business, even royalty for goodness sake — should welcome me and other women, not as decorative guests, but as equal members.
I have no objection in principle to men and women having separate spaces reserved only for their own sex.
There is no greater pleasure than going out with a group of women friends knowing the conversation can centre safely on anything from the irritations of being a mother, the horrors of an unsatisfying sexual encounter or the politics of pornography.
I’m sure men have topics of conversation they prefer to share exclusively with their male friends.
But that’s not what the Garrick is about. The Garrick is a forum for the establishment. They say no deals are ever made there. I don’t believe it.
When powerful people whose lives depend on making contacts, on learning who’s at the top of their game, come together in one spot as members of so exclusive a club, don’t tell me there aren’t endless nods and winks. ‘Ah, yes, you know so-and- so. I would really love to meet him.’ ‘ Of course, I’ll introduce you. I’m sure he’ll be very useful to you.’
The deals may not be struck within the confines of the club’s hallowed halls, but it must be where they are put in place.
It’s from this ancient game of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ that women are excluded. The Garrick is way behind the times in leaving women out of its sphere of influence.
Among many others, Queen Camilla should be there as she’s used her soft power to put women’s rights high on the agenda. Baroness Hale, the first female president of the Supreme Court, should be there reminding fellow High Court judges that their number should be more diverse. JK Rowling, too; a leading writer and one of the bravest commentators of our times.
As a journalist I’ve long known how hard it can be to persuade someone to join me in a studio and tell all.
Contacts in my business are everything and membership of a Garrick Club, where men and women can share their knowledge, would be invaluable. Time to let us in.
WE’VE had balletcore and Barbiecore. Now, cowboycore is trending. While there were nods to the Wild West during fashion month from the likes of Stella mcCartney and Isabel marant, it’s singer Beyonce who is responsible for the sudden cowboy-mania.
Her hotly-awaited first country album, Cowboy Carter, is released tomorrow. And Bey has been embracing the cowgirl vibe wearing red, white and blue leather chaps astride a horse on the album cover.
Here, we show you the four ways you can easily incorporate the look into your wardrobe, even if it’s your first rodeo . . .
FRINGED JACKET
NOTHING says cowboy quite like fringing and the best way to introduce it is through a jacket.
Jigsaw has bought its sellout suede black jacket back for another season. It is also
available in brown. The £450 price tag is hefty, but worth it as you’ll still be wearing it come winter. If you’re on a tighter budget, head to George at Asda for its faux leather, neutral fringe jacket for just £35.
A SUBTLER way to do cowboycore is by wearing rodeo-ready jeans. The best place on the High Street for denim is River Island. These baggy, wide-leg jeans are similar to premium label Agolde’s styles, but at £55 are a fraction of the price of the designer’s £340 pair.
M&S also launched a new palazzo jean, £45, this month, which has become its second bestseller in womenswear. Add a brushed plaid shirt like the one, pictured top right, from With Nothing Underneath to create a cool country look.
PAIR cowboy boots with jeans, or follow supermodel Emily Ratajkowski’s lead and style them with a midi dress.
Dune has authentic boots starting from £60 in brown and black as well as snakeskin and silver. If you’re after real wowfactor there’s Terry de Havilland’s red suede cowboy boots with crystal embellishment, £360.
BAGS and belts are an easy way to give a cowboy spin to your outfit; look for tassels, rhinestone studs and embroidery. Old West meets feminine flair with Loeffler Randall’s suede baguette bag, £255. Or the fringed design at fairfax & favor, The Nashville, £295, comes in a rich chocolate hue. As the weather warms up, you might even copy Beyonce and wear a Stetson. free People have a denim style for £32 or go bolder with its red woven version for £88.