Club Review | Michael Stiff - Club Chair
Thursday 5 December 2024
As 2024 draws to a close, it is time to reflect on what has been a year characterised by elections and global strife. I hope that now that 2024 is behind us the new year will bring some stability and opportunity for our members.
2024 has been a busy year for the Club and, as I am sure most of you are aware, Rowena has gone home to live in New Zealand, we wish her every success in the future and of course we thank her for the eleven years she spent as Club administrator. Some of you will have met Jenny Adler-Potts, who stepped into the role this autumn, if you haven’t, make sure to book a ticket to the Winter Party on the 10th of February where you will have the opportunity to meet her.
The Club is proving to be as popular as ever, so much so that we have decided to cap membership and create a waiting list. Our reasoning is that as the membership grows demand for events increases. We want to ensure that as many of you who want to attend our programme can, this year we organised nine events, all of which were at capacity. We intend to do the same in 2025, with perhaps another building visit and an extended Club Social programme. For me, getting the members together socially is the joy of Club, and the Winter and Summer parties allow all who want to attend to come along and bring guests. We have held your annual subscription at £85 for seven years, the committee has taken the decision to modestly increase it to £90 with effect from January 2025.
Our Robert Maxwell lecture is now firmly established in the calendar and will again be in held the autumn of 2025. This year took us to Brighton in the summer, thanks to Richard Coleman for organising this, and we had a great debate at Heyne Tillet Steel’s studio in May. The first Club Social was held at Grimshaw, and was oversubscribed, I would like to thank Commiitee member Chrissa Stamatopoulou for coming up with the idea and making it happen. The next one will be held at Foster and Partners and will be announced in the new year. Your committee works hard to ensure that we have a vibrant and diverse programme and I would like to thank them for their hard work this year.
Looking ahead, the Winter Party is open for bookings, and we are planning next years programme. I can say that we are in the process of organising a trip to Barcelona in the autumn, and work is in hand for the Spring Debate.
Thanks once again for your continuing support, and I look forward to seeing you on the 10th of February
Mike Stiff
Chair