Pell-Mell & Woodcote January 2024

Pell-Mell & Woodcote The magazine of the Royal Automobile Club | January 2024 | Issue 185

DRIVING REVOLUTION The inside line on how motoring is being transformed

SPORT FOR ALL

Kick off 2024 with a new bespoke fitness routine at Pall Mall

MOTORING IN 2024 Highlights of the Club’s motoring programme for the year ahead

IN DEVELOPMENT Building for the future and progress on ESG at the Club

OLD FAVOURITES

The Great Gallery’s history and the Long Bar’s unique charm

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WELCOME

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CLUB SECRETARY

January is a time both to reflect on the year just ended and to look forward to the year ahead.

The clubhouses hosted many wonderful events in 2023 but perhaps, for me, the ones which most epitomised the spirit of the Club were those held to celebrate the coronation of HM King Charles III, with members of all ages coming together over the weekend to experience this historic national event. Bringing members together is what sets us apart from other organisations and the Activity Groups also play an invaluable part in this through their many events, meetings, matches and tours: I would like to thank everyone who volunteers to help organise this vital part of Club life.

In the autumn, an extremely successful London Motor Week concluded with the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, with the Club’s cars running on synthetic e-fuel – an important symbol of how the Club is looking to the future as well as celebrating our history. I’m pleased to say that, as you will read later in this edition of PellMell & Woodcote, we are making good progress on reducing the Club’s impact on the environment through a multitude of measures.

The following pages also include an update on the Club’s investment in improving the facilities available

to you. 2023 saw the first stage of the refurbishment of Pall Mall’s bedrooms and, later this year, a further 34 bedrooms will be completed. Also at Pall Mall we will be opening a new Simms Centre, on the ground floor, while at Woodcote Park plans are progressing for major improvements to the clubhouse and to Cedars Sports. Another key area of focus this year will be ensuring that all our services are provided to a high and consistent standard throughout the Club, a task made easier by the very low number of staff vacancies we now have.

This investment is only possible because of the strong financial position the Club continues to maintain.

However, we are acutely aware of the pressures many members are under and providing value for money remains core to the Club’s operations. As well as keeping the increase in membership subscriptions to 5% despite some steeply rising costs, many prices across the Club are being maintained at 2023 levels or with very modest increases.

With an exciting programme of events and activities, and the planned investment in the clubhouses and our services, there is much to look forward to in 2024. I hope you are as excited by what lies ahead as I am!

Daniel Pereira

PELL- MELL & WOODCOTE

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WELCOME

WELCOME Annabel Harrison | Pell-Mell & Woodcote Editor

A new year begins and with it comes the promise of longer days, optimistic resolutions and a blank 2024 diary that is filling with celebratory, social and sporting engagements. Note down now the motoring events you don’t want to miss: Editor John Evans has rounded them up for you and the year ahead promises to be better than ever (p. 38). And if you’re wondering why the image on your 2024 membership card was chosen, turn to page 35 to find out more about Bentley’s first win at Le Mans.

A panel of experts gives an inside view of how best to fuel the future, a topic keenly debated at London Motor Week (p. 46) and reflected on this issue’s cover; we also look more closely at exciting building developments at Pall Mall and Woodcote Park (p. 58) as well as the strong progress of the Club’s Environmental, Social and Governance Strategy (p. 62). There’s time too to reflect, both on the remarkable story of the Great Gallery, one of London’s most magnificent dining spaces with a history to match (p. 52), and on the distinguished career of Sir Alastair Cook who retired last year and who will be guest of honour at the Annual Cricket Dinner (p. 78).

Last, but not least, we urge you to make the most of your Club as we enter another year: revisit favourite dishes and spend time with friends at the Long Bar (p. 74), and start a new sport or fitness kick, whatever your age (from p. 66).

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Annabel Harrison Editor

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CONTRIBUTORS

CONTRIBUTORS The Club members, journalists, enthusiasts and experts who have contributed to this issue.

CLUB DIRECTORY For more contact information visit www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk THE ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB Chairman, Ben Cussons 01372 229628 chairman@royalautomobileclub.co.uk Chief Executive & Club Secretary, Daniel Pereira 020 7747 3237 daniel.pereira@royalautomobileclub.co.uk CENTRAL RESERVATIONS For accommodation and dining. Open Monday to Friday 8.00am-8.00pm and 9.00am-5.00pm at weekends.

020 7747 3474 reserve@royalautomobileclub.co.uk MEMBERSHIP 01372 229600 members@royalautomobileclub.co.uk ACCOUNTS 01372 229608/9 accounts@royalautomobileclub.co.uk MOTORING 01372 229288 motoring@royalautomobileclub.co.uk PALL MALL 89 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HS 020 7930 2345 Hall Porter 020 7747 3267 Sports Reception 020 7747 3365 Simms Centre 020 7747 3349 Banqueting 020 7747 3386 Events 020 7747 3441 Library 020 7747 3398 Post Office 020 7747 3266 WOODCOTE PARK Epsom, Surrey KT18 7EW 01372 276311 Cedars Sports 01372 229266 Golf Reception 01372 229245 Walled Garden 01372 229257/8 Shop 01372 229248 Banqueting 020 7747 3386 Events 01372 229230 PELL-MELL & WOODCOTE MAGAZINE Editorial and Advertising 020 8152 7855 pellmell@royalautomobileclub.co.uk advertising@royalautomobileclub.co.uk Published on behalf of the Royal Automobile Club

by Luxury London Media Ltd.

By working together we can help to ensure that we use forests and forest products responsibly, shifting the global forest trend towards sustainable use, conservation, restoration, and respect for all. This publication was printed on FSC® certified paper by an ISO 14001 (environmental) accredited printer.

Our publication is Carbon Balanced. This is a means where the carbon produced by our publication is measured and then offset or balanced through investment in environmental schemes.

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ANNABEL HARRISON Managing Editor of Pell-Mell & Woodcote since 2018, Annabel is a freelance writer and editor with 16 years of multichannel experience. In this time, she has worked with a wide range of brands and publications across the luxury lifestyle, retail, education and publishing sectors.

JOHN EVANS John trained to be a concert pianist before becoming a car salesman. He went on to edit car, caravan and classical music magazines before becoming a freelance journalist specialising in motoring and music. He is Pell-Mell & Woodcote magazine’s Motoring Editor.

ANNA SOLOMON Anna is Deputy Editor of Pell-Mell & Woodcote magazine, and Senior Editor at Luxury London magazine and luxurylondon.co.uk. She has written for various other publications in the fields of fashion, hospitality and travel.

JENNY LINFORD Jenny is an established food writer, member of the Guild of Food Writers, and author of more than 15 books including Garlic, The Chef’s Library and Great British Cheeses.

Her work has appeared in The Financial Times and in Time Out’s Eating Out guides.

NICK SMITH Journalist-photographer Nick is currently UK Bureau Chief of the Explorers Journal and formerly Editor of Geographical magazine. His writing and photography have also appeared in many national newspapers and magazines.

TIMOTHY BARBER Timothy is a freelance features writer and editor, specialising in wristwatches, luxury and culture. He writes for the likes of Wired, The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, Spear’s, Mr Porter and Rolls-Royce, among many others.

ANDRÉ AINSWORTH André is a London-based advertising photographer and director specialising in food and drink photography. With more than 20 years of experience, his clients include Coca-Cola, Diageo, Nestlé and many more. He is happy both in the studio and on location.

JULIAN RENDELL Julian, a former news editor of Autocar magazine, has written about cars, technology and the car industry for more than 30 years, his stories appearing in top UK newspapers and major magazines across the world including US magazine Autoweek. Away from his desk he enjoys cricket, rugby and classic cars.

ROB CADMAN Rob has an expansive portfolio from more than 20 years as a professional photographer, specialising in advertising, commercial and lifestyle photography, as well as his regular work for Pell-Mell & Woodcote.

BEN SUMMERELL-YOUDE Ben graduated in 2010 with a degree in car design from Coventry University. He spends most of his time visualising the next generation of cars to support car scoops in Autocar magazine, and loves his VW Syncro.

ON THE COVER: Ben Summerell-Youde’s vision of an alternatively fuelled car of the future features innovations either already in production or at the advanced concept stage including organic LED side displays that can change the external appearance of the vehicle, camera ‘wing mirrors’ and multiple Lidar sensors enabling autonomous control. It’s also extremely aerodynamic and has active air intakes intended to reduce drag still further. Turn to page 46 to read more.

CONTENTS

CONTENTS JANUARY 2024 | ISSUE 185

03

From The Chief Executive Daniel Pereira welcomes Pell-Mell & Woodcote readers

08 Your Letters Members’ views and comments 11

Picture Perfect The Chairman shares a favourite photograph

12

In The Rotunda The 1904 Darracq and 1905 Spyker Double Phaeton reprise their starring roles

15

Club News

29

Club Promotions

35

Membership Card The story behind the image on this year’s membership card

38

46

Your Motoring Year Ahead The Motoring Team brings you a guide to the year ahead Fuelling the Future How the motoring industry plans to face its biggest challenge yet: decarbonising

The Great Gallery Fencing galas, tea dances, judo displays – the Great Gallery has seen it all

58 Building for the Future What does the programme of investment in the clubhouses entail?

70

Skills to Last a Lifetime Under-18s have access to a wealth of sporting opportunities at the Club

74

Off to the (Long!) Bar Why should members make a beeline for the Long Bar?

78 A Good Innings In May, the Club will welcome Sir Alastair Cook for the Annual Cricket Dinner 82 Underwater Adventures The Sub Aqua Group undertook the trip of a lifetime last autumn 86

Woodcote Juniors Spring activities for our youngest Club members

90

Club Events: March, April, May and Derby Week

52

62

Driving Forward Progress made on the Club’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy

66

Find Your Fit Carve out a new fitness regime at Pall Mall

115 Activity Group Events 118 RAC Foundation HM The King lays out plans for driverless cars 119 Classifieds Goods and services on offer from other members 122 Club Curiosity A relic of the exclusive self-styled ‘Circle of 19th Century Motorists’ PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB LETTERS

YOUR LETTERS Letters can cover any aspect of Club life which you think would be of interest to other members. As a thank you, a bottle of Champagne will be awarded to the writer of each letter published.

Please send your letters to pellmell@royalautomobileclub.co.uk The deadline for the next edition is noon on Tuesday 27 February.

Reciprocal Club in Abu Dhabi

Golf Course Paths

Whenever I am in Abu Dhabi I try to pop into The Club. It has a private beach, swimming pool, tennis courts and many other sporting facilities as well as 11 different restaurants and bars serving delicious food and the cheapest beers and wine in the Emirates!

It is a great place to escape the glitz of the five-star hotels – the only downside is they don’t offer accommodation or golf. Well worth the visit!

In my near 28 years of membership, I have appreciated the continual improvements in the golf courses, particularly over the last few years.

This is, of course, a never-ending process and there will always be opportunities for further progress.

One such opportunity, I would suggest, is to replace the old stone paths on the Coronation Course with rubberised mulch paths. These are much easier to walk on, to pull a trolley or drive a buggy. They also look good and hold up well in bad weather conditions.

Jason Cope

Steve McAdam

What a wonderful picture! We are delighted with how popular the Walled Garden has become, with many families enjoying it throughout the year. Perhaps, one day, a fifth generation of members from your family will be playing there…

I am delighted that you enjoyed your visit to The Club – which is one of 86 reciprocal clubs available around the world for members to use. The Club in Abu Dhabi has been part of our network since 2010 and we have received lots of positive feedback about it.

We always welcome feedback from members after they have visited a reciprocal club as it helps us to ensure that the clubs are meeting the standards we expect. Any feedback should be emailed to members@ royalautomobileclub.co.uk

You will be pleased to know the pathways are part of the three-year development programme for the Coronation Course, which started in October. The programme also includes improved irrigation and newly designed bunkers.

The pathways on holes 3, 10 and 14 have already been replaced with the rubberised material as you have described, with the remaining pathways scheduled to be completed in 2025. This will improve accessibility as well as protecting the course against wear and tear.

Daniel Pereira Chief Executive & Club Secretary

Genevieve Griffin Head of Membership

Rhys Beecher Director of Golf

The Walled Garden I hope members will enjoy this photograph of two of my grandchildren, both of whom are members, taken in the Walled Garden.

As you can see, they are in deep discussion about important matters!

They are fourth generation members. I have been a member since July 1985 and my father, Jack D Scholes, was also a member for many years.

Stuart Scholes

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CLUB LETTERS

Members’ Memory Bank

Pall Mall Accommodation

Working at Woodcote Park

I write on behalf of the ‘Early Morning Squash Group’ as we are about to sit down for our annual and traditional reunion Christmas lunch at the Club.

We have come to realise, over the years, that one of the driving forces of our Club is the enthusiasm of its members and our interaction with each other, the staff and management.

As a means of contributing to the Club’s heritage, we thought it could be very interesting to ask members to submit photographs and recollections about the Club’s life for present and future members to share.

We would be interested to know if this idea could be taken up.

During the past 12 months or so I have found it very challenging to book accommodation at Pall Mall, causing me to question whether our clubhouse is the victim of over-use by visitors.

I may be wrong but my perception is that the number of visitors has increased markedly compared with the pre-pandemic period. Whilst our reciprocal arrangements must, by definition, include reciprocity, I wonder whether we have the balance right between usage of the Club by members and usage by reciprocal visitors?

I appreciate that there are many benefits to members from our reciprocal arrangements with other clubs, and I am not in any way suggesting that these are not valuable arrangements. However, I wonder whether we have the balance right.

Given the number of people working from home, or hybrid working, is the Club considering setting up a business centre at Woodcote Park similar to the Simms Centre at Pall Mall?

Currently, there’s only one ‘syndicate room’, but it can’t be pre-booked, and access isn’t guaranteed when someone else is using it. Laptops and iPads are permitted in the Fountain restaurant now, but it’s not an ideal space for focused work.

If a location could be provided on a smaller scale than the Simms Centre and designed for occasional use, I believe it would be a wellreceived and highly sought-after addition to the Club.

Nicolas Fenton That’s an excellent idea! Thank you to you and your fellow early morning squash players.

The Club’s archive is distinctly patchy: some decades are very well covered while we have considerable gaps in others.

Sources such as the history of the Club published in 1947 to mark our Golden Jubilee are invaluable because they record what happened from first-hand accounts.

We now have a large number of photographs and, of course, this magazine, which serve as important records for future generations.

However, in this digital era we should also be able to store video or audio recollections submitted by members, so this is an idea we will certainly investigate further.

I will contact you separately on this matter.

Daniel Pereira Chief Executive & Club Secretary

Amelia Macdonald

Thank you for raising this issue and I know that accommodation at Pall Mall is always in high demand. This summer, the closure of the fourth floor while it was refurbished added to the pressure for a number of weeks.

Please be reassured that we do limit the number of reciprocal room bookings each night to five in total.

Additionally, we only allow members to book up to two rooms for guests during nights of peak demand with the hosting member also staying in the clubhouse.

Overall, visitors from reciprocal clubs use 8.6% of the room nights available at Pall Mall. In comparison, the figure in 2019, before the pandemic, was 10.6%.

As you observe, laptops are permitted in designated areas such as the Syndicate Room, the Lounge and the bar area of the Fountain Brasserie.

It’s worth noting that phone calls are not allowed in the latter two spaces.

The possibility of expanding our business facilities at Woodcote Park has been carefully considered.

However, implementing such an expansion would require prioritisation over alternative uses, and, regrettably, there is no available ‘spare’ space at the moment.

Currently, the prevailing feedback indicates that the existing options cater adequately for most requirements.

I would like to reassure you that we will remain vigilant in reassessing and optimising our facilities to ensure they align with the evolving needs of our members.

Jonathan Brown Director of Operations

Moses Solomon Resident Manager, Woodcote Park

Harry Baines

PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB MOTORING

PICTURE PERFECT The Chairman has chosen this photograph of a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow taking part in the first ever Badawi Trail – an endurance rally that crossed the Arabian peninsula in a challenging adventure for cars and drivers alike.

OCCASION Badawi Trail to the Last Oasis

DATE TAKEN 17 October 2023

SUBJECT Nigel Keen and Bruce Norris drive their Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow convertible from Al Ula to Medina, Saudi Arabia.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Francesco and Roberta Rastrelli (bluepassionphoto. com)

STARTING IN AQABA, Jordan, and ending in the Emirate of Dubai, the rally attracted 45 cars from all over the world, among them a 1914 LaFrance, the oldest of the 13 vintage machines taking part. Whilst most participants choose a classic rally car such as the iconic Porsche 911 or Ford Mustang, Nigel Keen and Bruce Norris took a more unconventional motor: a 1968 RollsRoyce Silver Shadow convertible, a family heirloom converted into a rally car – which was all the more impressive when the roads being driven on were often little more than boulder-strewn tracks and the climate was both hot and harsh, to say the least!

Over 17 days and 4,600 miles, taking in Jordan, the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, the Badawi Trail (Badawi is Arabic for Desert Traveller) led the intrepid rallyists on ancient

tracks through land rarely explored. Marvels like the Rift Valley and the legendary city of Petra awaited participants from the start but there was more to come: Tabuk, Medina and Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and later the awesome Liwa Oasis, heralded by a sea of ever-larger sand dunes, until, at the end, Dubai.

But this was a competition too, as was made clear by the 23 regularities contested and the ten desert time controls conquered.

Taking the inaugural win were Argentine rally stars Jorge Perez Companc and Jose Maria Volta in their Chevrolet Master Coupe, while the Classic Category was won

by Belgians Ann Gillis and Filip Engelen in their Porsche Targa. The winners of the Against the Odds award? The splendid RollsRoyce Silver Shadow convertible of Nigel Keen and Bruce Norris – richly deserved!

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IN THE ROTUNDA 1904 DARRACQ 12 HP ‘GENEVIEVE’ 1905 SPYKER 12/16 HP DOUBLE PHAETON Words by John Evans Photography by Martyn Goddard

FANS OF GENEVIEVE, the classic British comedy film, may have done a double take during the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run when its pair of four-wheeled heroes, Genevieve and her Spyker co-star, reprised their starring roles.

They were celebrating 70 years since the film’s release, a movie that saw actors John Gregson and Dinah Sheridan in the Darracq and Kenneth More and Kay Kendall in the Spyker embark on the Run to Brighton before, on the return to London, racing to be first to Westminster Bridge.

In the week before November’s Run, 12 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

the Club was proud to welcome both cars to the rotunda. The pair go back a long way; longer, indeed, than the film they starred in.

The story begins in London in 1945 when a bailiff came across the remains of an old car buried in a hedge bordering a yard. He told two friends, Bill Peacock and Jack Wadsworth, about his find. They examined the car and identified it as a two-cylinder Darracq. Also in the yard were 14 other cars, many of them dating from the turn of the century and including a second Darracq. The pair bought the lot from the yard’s owner for £45.

The two men examined their haul before

1904 DARRACQ 12 HP ‘GENEVIEVE’ ENGINE In-line, 2 cylinders

POWER OUTPUT 12hp

TRANSMISSION 3-speed manual gearbox

MAXIMUM SPEED 40mph

CLUB MOTORING

1905 SPYKER 12/16 HP DOUBLE PHAETON ENGINE In-line, 4 cylinders

POWER OUTPUT 16hp

TRANSMISSION 3-speed manual gearbox

MAXIMUM SPEED 37mph

Below: The Spyker and Genevieve arrive in Brighton at the end of the 2023 Veteran Car Run

deciding to keep two of the cars and sell the rest to friends.

One of the purchasers was Peter Venning, who decided to buy both Darracqs, one already stripped to the bone but the other almost complete. He wanted to make one good car out of both but as the bills mounted up, he got cold feet and advertised his partially reborn Darracq for sale.

It was bought by Norman Reeves, a keen collector and the owner of a Ford dealership in Uxbridge. He had his mechanics continue the restoration of the Darracq, which he had christened Annie.

By 1949 they’d completed the work and the next year, Annie did her first London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Two years later, film producer Henry Cornelius approached the Veteran Car Club asking if anyone

would lend him two cars for his next film.

Reeves agreed to lend him Annie while his friend, Frank Reese, offered his own Spyker 12/16 HP, a car that had also previously been worked on by Reeves in Uxbridge.

Of course, the film that Cornelius was planning was Genevieve, for which Annie was renamed.

Following its release in 1953 it became a huge hit with audiences and was credited with kick-starting a wider interest in old cars. Only the sharp-eyed would have noticed Gregson’s inability to drive which is perhaps why, when Genevieve participated in the Veteran Car Run the same year, the Dutch rally driver Maurice Gatsonides (who, ironically, would go on to pioneer the Gatso speed camera), drove her instead.

Eventually, tired of his celebrity car, Reeves sold Genevieve to a museum in Australia but in 1992 she was auctioned and purchased

by Club member Evert Louwman, founder of the Louwman Museum in The Hague, where she remains to this day.

Meanwhile, the Spyker remained in Reese’s hands until his death in 1964 when, according to his wishes, it was returned to the country of its origin: the Netherlands.

In 2004 it went on display in the Louwman Museum. While Genevieve has been a regular on the Run, this year’s event was the Spyker’s first in more than a decade. To celebrate, the Louwman Museum painted it yellow, the colour it wore for the film, in place of green, its original colour.

PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB NEWS

News Club App In December the Club launched an app which provides a simpler way for members to view a wide range of key information and to make bookings. It also includes a digital membership card, which members can use when checking in at Club facilities and to charge items to their member account, and provides a means for the Club to alert you to any important news.

The app is available for members to download from the App Store on their phone – just search for ‘Royal Automobile Club’ and look for the Club badge on a blue background. To log in, members should use their membership number and the same password as they have registered to log into the Club website.

If you require any assistance with the app, please email communications@royalautomobileclub.co.uk

Fourth Floor Bedrooms The refurbishment of the 28 bedrooms on the fourth floor of Pall Mall was completed on schedule in November – providing a new, higher standard of accommodation for members to enjoy.

You can sleep easy in new beds, admire artwork and accessories inspired by the Club’s motoring heritage, gaze out of upgraded windows and enjoy underfloor

heating in the pristine new bathrooms. The rooms are also more energy efficient with new lighting, air conditioning and heating systems.

The easiest way to book accommodation is online via the Club website or app. Alternatively, please contact the Central Reservations Team at reserve@ royalautomobileclub.co.uk or on 020 7747 3474 (Monday to Friday 8.00am to 8.00pm and 9.00am to 5.00pm at weekends).

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CLUB NEWS

Fireworks Night 1,500 members and their guests came to Woodcote Park for a fabulous evening of entertainment, food and fireworks.

Arboretum The Club is planting a range of new ornamental flowering trees in the large open area between the woodland and the car park, which members regularly pass on their way to the clubhouse, Cedars Sports or the Walled Garden.

Each tree is available for members to sponsor. You may wish to mark a special event, remember a loved one or perhaps simply wish to contribute a tree which will be appreciated by future generations. A message from each sponsor will be displayed in the arboretum.

For more information please contact the Club’s Communications Team (communications@ royalautomobileclub.co.uk).

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CLUB NEWS

Christmas at the Club The season started with record numbers coming to Woodcote Park to enjoy the Festive Fair and concluded with spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks at the ‘Viva Las Vegas’ themed ball.

In between, the Club Choir led carol concerts at both clubhouses, the Young Members danced the night away at their ‘Polar Express’ ball, many of the Activity Groups held special Christmas gatherings, and, of course, Father Christmas kindly found time to meet our Woodcote Juniors.

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CLUB NEWS

MOTORING AWARDS The autumn saw a flurry of highly coveted motoring awards presented by the Club.

Motoring Book of the Year

The Dewar Trophy Awarded by the Club since 1906 for ‘Outstanding British Technical Achievement in the Automotive Industry’.

This year the trophy was awarded to YASA for its revolutionary axial-flux electric motor – a new type of electric motor which is significantly smaller and lighter than anything similar that’s existed before.

It is scheduled to enter mass production in the next generation of Mercedes-Benz all-electric AMG cars from the end of 2025. The trophy was presented to YASA founder and Chief Technology Officer Dr Tim Woolmer, the motor’s inventor.

The Club presented its tenth annual Motoring Book of The Year award to ‘Driven to Crime: True Stories of Wrongdoing in Motor Racing’ by Crispian Besley, published by EVRO. Author Karl Ludvigsen received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the UK’s motoring book industry and Andy Saunders was recognised as Best Debut Author for his book The Automotive Alchemist.

Royal Automobile Club Historic Awards

The Simms Medal Awarded for ‘An Outstanding Contribution to Motoring Innovation’.

The recipient of this award, named after the Club’s founder, was Alex Summers, creator of a groundbreaking hillclimb racing car that aims to help female drivers compete at the very top of the sport.

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At an exciting event at Pall Mall in November, awards were presented in nine categories. The Dunsfold Collection (the largest collection of Land Rovers in the world) took the prize for Best Collection and the MG & Triumph 100 centenary event won Best Motoring Spectacle. The award for Best Competitive Event went to the Castle Combe Autumn Classic and the HEROERA Rally for the Ages won the Innovation award.

Clark & Carter Restorations and Ivan Dutton Ltd were recognised in the Restoration category for their work on a 1937 Bugatti Type 57S. The individuals recognised were Doug Hill (Lifetime Achievement), Karl Ludvigsen (Outstanding Journalism), Tom Parrott (Young Achiever) and Tiggy Atkinson (Personal Endeavour).

CLUB NEWS

MOTORING RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run On Sunday 5 November, 345 veteran cars set off from an unseasonably mild Hyde Park heading for Brighton, encouraged by crowds of enthusiastic well-wishers.

The Royal Automobile Club has been the custodian of this, the world’s longest-running motoring event, since 1930. It marks the anniversary of the original ‘Emancipation Run’, which was held in 1896 to celebrate the recently passed Locomotives on Highways Act. This raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 to 14 mph and abolished the need for a man to walk ahead waving a red flag.

An impressive 303 of the pre-1905 motor vehicles which left Hyde Park reached the sea-front in Brighton, some in as little as three hours.

In Memoriam Mr Brian Coombs 18/12/1936-20/05/2023

Mr Nigel Smith 02/08/1950-08/06/2023

Mr Peter Croucher 02/12/1942-07/07/2023

Mr George Burt 03/06/1931-10/07/2023

Mr Stanley Pitt Miller 07/02/1934-15/07/2023

Mr Patrick Morrish MBE TD

Mr Charles Battersby

Mrs Margaret Hollamby

19/01/1953-10/08/2023

31/12/1930-17/09/2023

Mr Gordon Forster 20/03/1932-12/08/2023

Mr Bryon Lawrence 12/06/1927-20/08/2023

Mr Gerald Upsdell 06/05/1944-20/09/2023

Mr Scott Shepherd

Mr David Bright

25/05/1931-28/09/2023

29/04/1944-22/08/2023

Mr Albert Gabizon

Mr Laurence Silman

17/02/1931-28/09/2023

04/04/1935-23/08/2023

Mr Ian May

Mr Marcus Cload 14/02/1968-04/09/2023

Mr Vivek Rattan

30/03/1946-01/10/2023

Mr Brian Hodges

22/01/1956-13/09/2023

01/08/1949-01/10/2023

Mr Colin Chater

Mrs Pamela Wilson

Mr John Ivey

05/06/1930-02/08/2023

30/06/1937-15/09/2023

23/12/1941-08/10/2023

12/03/1932-25/07/2023

PELL- MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB NEWS

Jeffrey Rose CBE 1931-2023 Jeffrey Rose, who has died aged 92, was Chairman of the RAC for 17 years and played a key role in rescuing the Club from its almost terminal financial crisis of the later 1970s.

Jeffrey was born in London in 1931, the son of Samuel Rose, a jewellery designer, and Dorothy, née Bentley. He attended grammar school in Southend, where he combined a fondness for poetry with a taste for adventure, bicycling around Scotland for a month in his early teens. Jeffrey finished up as head boy. He was commissioned in the Royal Artillery during his national service and, as a Lieutenant with a gift for explaining technical matters in simple terms, ran gunnery training programmes. He also developed a discriminating palate, once getting into trouble for driving to a London wine-tasting on behalf of the regimental mess in a ten-ton truck.

Jeffrey had won places at both Cambridge and the LSE, choosing the latter because of his left-wing views (which changed later) and immediately being elected as Chairman of the Labour Society. But before he could finish his law degree, his father died and he left to support his mother and sister. He began by starting a profitable television insurance and rental business in Leeds, soon diversifying into other enterprises, notably property investment and development. This involved complex negotiations with companies such as General Electric and Grand Metropolitan, for which he managed to purchase three top Paris hotels in the teeth of French government resistance.

In 1958 Jeffrey married Joyce Clompus, whom he had met at the LSE. Although, after four decades, the marriage ended in divorce, he remained close to their three children all his life. Despite family and business commitments Jeffrey found time to enjoy 20 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

music, drama, art and books, a favourite author being P G Wodehouse. He was also keen on walking and swimming, and he loved sport, particularly rugby – his children once saw a close-up of him on television at the start of a game in Paris, belting out God Save the Queen with hand on heart, the tweediest Englishman the French cameraman could find. A car enthusiast himself and long an Associate Member of the RAC, Jeffrey was also a fan of motor racing – but he joined the Club to play squash and had nothing to do with its other activities until 1977.

In that year, thanks to sustained mismanagement, the Club faced bankruptcy. Matters came to a head when the Chairman, Sir Clive Bossom, announced that it would have to close its doors unless members paid a hefty surcharge. They were outraged and at a tempestuous meeting in the Mountbatten Room a sixman ‘ad hoc committee’ was set up, led by a dynamic, abrasive lawyer called Sidney Lesser. Quite fortuitously Jeffrey was elected to serve on it. He did not know its other members but together they worked tirelessly to ensure the Club’s survival. This involved refurbishment and reorganisation at Pall Mall, restoration at Woodcote Park, the temporary introduction of corporate members, and the restructuring of the various RAC entities, notably the Motor Sport Division. The last was especially fraught, requiring firm but delicate diplomacy. Jeffrey was a congenial colleague and, in 1979, he became deputy to the new Chairman, Sir Carl Aarvold, whom he duly succeeded two years later.

As the first paid, full-time holder of the top job, Jeffrey bound up old wounds and, with much able assistance, presided over the renaissance of the Club.

His initial task was to negotiate a renewal of the clubhouse lease with The Crown Estate which had not been done, he was shocked to learn, even though it was due to run out in 2007. He then instituted an extensive programme of renovation in Pall Mall, focussing especially on the Great Gallery. He masterminded improvements to the food and catering, eventually hiring Philip Corrick as Head Chef. He also carried out a redecoration scheme worthy of Versailles, culminating in the installation of the joyous painting La Fête des Paysans, which he had spotted in a sale at Christie’s. Not for nothing did Jeffrey’s Who’s Who entry list ‘dining’ as one of his hobbies.

His other main undertaking was to reform the RAC’s motoring organisation, which provided its millions of Associate Members with a cumbersome paper-driven service. Jeffrey pushed through the most important technological change in the Club’s history. Drawing on an Australian model, he inaugurated a computeraided rescue system known as CARS. In the event of

CLUB NEWS

a breakdown members could ring a single freephone number and new control centres would automatically dispatch rescue patrols. CARS had a rough ride but it drove the RAC onto the information superhighway, to its great gain.

Not all Jeffrey’s initiatives were successful, notably the RAC Insurance Services, though this was sold very profitably to Guardian Royal Exchange in 1996. But he proved an adroit ambassador for the automobile at home and abroad, setting up what would become the RAC Foundation and acting as a Vice-President of the FIA. In that capacity he once took the heat out of Russo-Polish antagonism by telling a story, at a dinner in Poland, about a landowner who wanted to be on the Polish side of the border because… he couldn’t stand another Russian winter.

Jeffrey took immense trouble with the Club’s centenary celebrations in 1997. He organised a series of lavish events, equipped motoring services with a new livery, commissioned a history of the Club and engaged the artist Mao Wen Biao to paint a mural for the first floor of the Rotunda. This was a good moment to go but, having announced that he would retire as chairman in May 1998, Jeffrey departed in a quite unforeseen manner.

On 27 March he sent a letter to all the Full Members of the Club, stating that its control of a large commercial organisation was anachronistic and recommending the sale of RAC Motoring Services.

However, he had neither consulted beforehand the RAC Holdings Board (of which he was Non-Executive Chairman) nor informed any of its members of his intention to write this letter.

The Board reacted angrily. At an emergency meeting the following day the directors unanimously voted to remove Jeffrey from the chairmanship, and his membership of the Club was temporarily suspended. It was an unhappy end to all that Jeffrey had achieved.

RAC Motoring Services, under its new management team, had been expanding rapidly and was competing strongly with the AA. So, a demerger, which could finance its further growth, had been on the cards for some time. Jeffrey’s premature intervention unhelpfully put its potential sale into the public domain. When it was sold, in 1999, members received a significantly larger dividend than even Jeffrey had predicted.

The passage of time would eventually heal relationships. In recognition of his past services Jeffrey was appointed a Vice President and a Life Member of the Club and he remained a convivial presence in Pall Mall. He was also an enthusiastic member of Brooks’s and he went on to become a Master of the Coachmakers’ livery company.

Jeffrey is survived by his children, Adam, Katherine and Susannah. He was especially proud that his daughters are second and third on the list of the original lady Full Members, and that Katherine has become a member of the Elections Committee.

Jeffrey Rose celebrating his 90th birthday in the Great Gallery with (l to r) Tom Purves, Ben Cussons, Christine Gaskell and Tim Keown.

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CLUB NEWS

CHESS Centenary Hamilton Russell Dinner The Centenary Hamilton Russell Dinner was truly a landmark occasion, commemorating 100 years since the first clubland annual chess tournament was played, competing for an ornate and large silver trophy – a trophy that is now proudly on display in the Club Room in Pall Mall.

The Chess Circle was thrilled to host this exciting event in the newly decorated Mountbatten Room and it was decided at an early stage that this event should have a special 1920s theme.

Executive Chef Matthew Marshall created a glorious menu fit for the Roaring 20s and, between courses, entertainment included a pair of eyecatching dancers in flapper costumes, some close harmony jazz singers and a skilled magician whose props included a goldfish named Darwin.

Another highlight of the evening was the launch of a book about the 100-year history of

Chess Triumph in Paris The Club’s chess players made their annual visit to Paris in the first weekend of December.

The high point was the 30-year anniversary match on Saturday against Guy Fouchet’s all-star team: a team which had defeated us heavily in 2022. Thus the Club entered the fixture as rank underdogs according to the form book and based on ELO grades.

Remarkably the Club’s team included their talisman, Henry Mutkin, who had set up the original match in 1993. 30 years later the ever

22 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

the Hamilton Russell Trophy by Norman Britten and Danny Rosenbaum. After dinner, a speech was delivered by Guest of Honour Viscount Boyne, the great nephew of FG Hamilton Russell himself.

Viscount Boyne then presented his ancestor’s trophy to Royal Automobile Club match captain Rob Matthews, with the Club being the victorious team in the 2023 competition. To top it all, more than £3,000 was raised during the evening for the charity Chess in Schools and Communities.

youthful Henry could still muster the skills to hold the French captain, Guy Fouchet, to a draw.

Whilst seven of the lower nine boards in the 18 player team managed wins, the pivotal match proved to be on Board One between former Chess Chairman Stephen Meyler and French-Lebanese Grandmaster Bachar Kouatly. In a brilliancy against the GM’s favourite Grünfeld Defence, Stephen broke through the centre, spectacularly winning to the sound of rapturous applause from his own team and gasps of incredulity from the French team in the beautiful Cercle de l’Union Interalliée games room. Defeating a Grandmaster is one thing but to achieve this in a pivotal match game is a tremendous accolade. Many congratulations to Stephen!

The Club’s team had earlier played the Cercle de l’Union team on Friday, winning the Coup de Beaumont by a record margin of 19-1.

At a gala dinner a 30-year anniversary cake was unveiled and Chess Chairman Henry McWatters delivered a rapidly composed victory speech in the best French he could muster, clearly not having expected this amazing outcome. Noteworthy too is that the Club’s top scoring player over the visit was Leela Widger who won every single one of her six games over the weekend.

CLUB NEWS

PHOTOGRAPHY Annual Exhibition The Photography Group committee has announced that this year’s Annual Photography Exhibition will take place at Woodcote Park on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 May, and at Pall Mall from Friday 10 to Friday 24 May. The exhibition at Pall Mall will be across different locations in the clubhouse including the Picture Gallery and Simms Centre.

As in previous years, the exhibition is open to any member of the Club and images may be submitted of any subject matter and location, in colour or monochrome. Last year there were more than 170

submissions which were generally acknowledged as being of the highest standard ever.

Further information is available on the Photography Group section of the Club website.

The committee very much looks forward to receiving your pictures!

Leica Photography Competition for Club Members We are delighted to announce that the members’ photographic competition will be returning this year – this time sponsored by Leica, the international camera and sport optics brand, founded in 1869 and dedicated to the advancement of photography.

The company is kindly donating a wonderful first prize of a camera and associated equipment worth over £10,000. The competition will be open to all members of the Club (and only to members).

Full details will be announced in February with the competition opening for entries in April. The deadline for submissions will be in September.

YOUNG MEMBERS The Young Members’ Committee has once again arranged a back-to-back calendar of events in 2024 for members aged 18 to 35.

After a wonderfully successful 2023, many of the most popular events are returning. The Committee will again host three black tie balls in Pall Mall’s beautifully refurbished Mountbatten Room, alongside quarterly supper clubs, spirit tastings and the Young Members’ ski trip. Coming up fast are the Moulin Rouge Ball (16 February), Spirit Tasting (1 March) and the Supper Club (8 March).

As usual, every first Thursday of the month there will be a casual Young Members’ drinks evening in the Long Bar. There’s no need to book – bring along

a friend and join us from 7.00pm.

If you haven’t been to any of the Young Members events before, the Committee very much hopes to meet you this year!

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CLUB NEWS

GOLF First graduates from the Academy November saw the graduation of the first 68 Juniors, aged from six to 14, from the newly established Junior Golf Academy. Each had completed two to

FILM Special Screening of Blind Flight The Film Society was delighted to welcome more than 130 members and guests to the Mountbatten Room in October for a special screening of the acclaimed film by John Furse, Blind Flight.

The film is the true story of the kidnap and captivity, in Lebanon, of Irishman Brian Keenan and Englishman John McCarthy, and their ordeal as hostages. We were delighted that both the Director, John Furse, and John McCarthy attended the screening, meeting Club members and answering questions after the film.

24 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

six months of structured coaching provided by the Club’s golf PGA professionals.

The coaching follows a carefully planned pathway through three levels, from ‘Pit Crew’ to ‘Grid Lane’ and finally ‘Chequered Flag’ – before reaching the ultimate goal of becoming a Junior Pass Holder.

CLUB NEWS

BRIDGE New York It was with great excitement that 12 Club players crossed the Atlantic to play for the first time in NYC. The venue was the University Club, which came to Pall Mall last year for the inaugural match between the two clubs.

The Royal Automobile Club’s team had been invited to play at the Cosmopolitan Club – a ladies’ club on 66th Street on the Upper East Side – on the day before the main match. The ladies arranged a beautiful lunch in the 10th floor Sunroom, three sides of which are glass, with spectacular views over the city.

After lunch the team went down to the card room and had a very spirited game of bridge. It was a tightly fought match but at half time the RAC was way ahead. Sadly, we started to flag in the late afternoon (which could, perhaps, be attributed to jet lag); the team lost to the Cosmopolitan Club by a very slim margin, with a final score of 34½ to 37½. After the match the team was invited to the stunning apartment of one of the Cosmopolitan Club players for very festive drinks, and received the most wonderful hospitality. Do look at the card themed balloons in the picture to the right!

Saturday saw the main event take place at the University Club. Unbeknownst to the hosts, the visitors had arrived with a new Bridge Trophy to be presented to the winners that evening. At half time the match was drawn 18-all, and, in an echo of the friendly spirit of the event, by the end of the match it was still a draw at 36-all. Somewhat embarrassingly, it had been decided to go by

Ryder Cup rules, so the cup stayed with the Royal Automobile Club!

The US team were delighted by the new trophy and very touched that the Club’s Bridge team had thought of providing it for the matches, which look set to become a firm annual event on both our calendars.

The Club’s team (above) consisted of Henry and Fiona McWatters, Paul and Sally Found, John Craggs, Pascale Hakim, Terry Smith, Lester Pereira, Fay Lucas, David Wilson, Michael Bailey and David Manooch.

PELL- MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB NEWS

Ray Reardon MBE with awards event host Alisha Singh, Connor Maguire, President of the International Snooker League (left) and John Veness, Chairman of the Club’s Billiards Committee (right).

SNOOKER International Snooker League Tournament The Billiards Committee at Pall Mall was delighted to host the International Snooker League Autumn Tournament at the end of September. Players came from the USA, Canada, Republic of Ireland and Bermuda; from the UK there were seven Royal Automobile Club members and four from the East India Club.

The competition comprised both singles and doubles and took place over three days. Club member Christian Harris was the runner-up in the

Scratch Singles Competition, which was won by Bryan Tan of the East India Club. The winner of the Singles Handicap was Paul Sammin of the Stephen’s Green Club and the Doubles competition was won by Paul Sammin (Stephen’s Green Club) and Paul Fedden (Bermuda).

On the Sunday afternoon and at the dinner that evening we were honoured to be joined by special guest Ray Reardon MBE, six-time world champion, who entertained the competitors and guests with stories from his career and also the early days of the ISL. A special thank you must be made to the Royal Automobile Club professionals for preparing and keeping the tables in such fine condition.

Match Against the East India Club The St James’s Cup is the prestigious biannual competition between the East India Club and the Royal Automobile Club snooker teams. This autumn’s event, held on 26 October, was hosted by the EIC in its beautifully refurbished billiards room. Its two superb tables hosted six singles games and three doubles matches with Bradley Stanton captaining the EIC and Brian Harding as captain of the RAC team.

By the end of the singles, the EIC was already leading 4-2, with just the three doubles games to play.

Unfortunately the Club’s fortunes didn’t improve and the EIC finished very worthy 7-2 winners.

After the match the players retired to the Canadian Room in the East India Club for a delicious dinner. There is no doubt that very high standards are being set by these two thriving snooker teams and the friendly rivalry is a pleasure.

26 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

CLUB NEWS

Snooker at Woodcote Park The Woodcote Park snooker section hosted its annual dinner at the end of September to launch the new season and to make the draw for the singles and doubles in the 2024 competition.

The evening welcomed many first time attendees, some of whom have also entered the competition for the first time.

The dinner represented the thriving, fun and active section which welcomes all snooker abilities and encourages everyone to enjoy our two superb snooker tables, which are looked after impeccably.

If you would like to find out more about playing snooker at Woodcote Park, please visit the Activity Groups section of the Club website or email the Snooker Committee at snookerwpcommittee@ royalautomobileclub.co.uk.

BACKGAMMON Visit to the University Club of New York The home of club backgammon in New York City is the University Club on Fifth Avenue. Backgammon is played there by the swimming pool, in the Tap Room and in the Club’s magnificent library.

For the past ten years the Royal Automobile Club has held a friendly annual competition with the University Club, competing for the Marmite Cup (so called for reasons nobody can quite remember).

October saw a team of six from the Backgammon Circle travel to New York to play for the Cup, under the captaincy of Richard Edgecliffe-Johnson.

The University Club members were great hosts, but fielded a strong, attacking team that defeated the visitors. We now look forward to welcoming the University Club team to Pall Mall later this year for the return match.

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CLUB NEWS

RUNNING In September, the Woodcote Park Running Circle held its first 5km/3km run gathering since 2018. The last time that the event had been planned before COVID intervened was in 2019, when storm-like conditions forced a cancellation. This time, the day was blessed with lots of sun and no wind, which made for a perfect day for a run up the Captain’s Drive and around the Cedars building/tennis courts (twice for the 5km and once for the 3km).

Over 20 members and guests took part and were joined by guest runner and awards presenter

Mara Yamauchi, the double Olympian who holds the third fastest British female marathon record.

Mara was particularly helpful in encouraging younger runners to complete the course. She also presented medals to the top three runners in each category, 5km male (won by Peter Bolton, 20:27), 5km female (Zuzanne Garside, 26:06), 3km boys (Benjamin Hewson, 25:05) and 3km girls (Isabella Ventris, 15:51). Refreshments were served afterwards.

The Running Circle meets throughout the year every weekend. For more information please see the Club website.

ACTIVITY GROUP INFORMATION Up-to-date information about all the Activity Groups is available on the Club website.

To receive emails about their programmes of events, visits, matches and meetings please record your interest in the Mailing Preferences section of My Account on the website.

28 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

CLUB PROMOTIONS

Club Promotions For more information and to book, please visit the Club website or contact the Central Reservations Team by emailing reserve@royalautomobileclub.co.uk or calling 020 7747 3474. All prices are based upon VAT at 20%.

CURRY AND NAAN Until Sunday 31 March Woodcote Park: 19th Hole Warm up this winter with a curry and naan feast.

Enjoy a selection of hearty and fragrant curry dishes served alongside refreshing Indian beers.

Curry with naan and rice £14.00 or £19.00 with a glass of Club wine or beer included.

REVITALISE AND REVEAL Throughout January and February Pall Mall: Sports Reception Woodcote Park: Cedars Sports Indulge in our 90-minute treatment that combines the rejuvenating power of a full-body scrub with a refreshing facial. Experience the ultimate pampering TEMPLESPA serum infusion that melts deep into your skin, unveiling a clearer, smoother and more radiant complexion.

Pall Mall: £130.00 Woodcote Park: £120.00

PIES AND PUDDINGS Throughout January and February Pall Mall: Long Bar A winter go-to for many: savour a delicious warm and filling pie in the relaxed comfort of the Long Bar. Enjoy our adventurous pie and pudding menu and pair it with full-bodied red wines, dark beers and whiskey to enhance your experience. All are served alongside the usual Long Bar daily dishes. À la carte prices from £19.00 per dish.

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CLUB PROMOTIONS

VALENTINE’S DAY Wednesday 14 February Pall Mall: Great Gallery Woodcote Park: Stirling’s, Fountain Brasserie, Dining Domes Enjoy a romantic meal for two in one of our Club restaurants. Our Club chefs will prepare a memorable meal for you to sit back and enjoy.

SIX NATIONS RUGBY Friday 2 February until Saturday 16 March Pall Mall: Long Bar The annual Six Nations rugby championship is back for viewing on the big screen in the Long Bar. Cheer on your team while being spoilt for choice with a selection of fine beers, ales and spirits available from the bar.

REPLENISH YOUR CELLAR

Great Gallery: £104.00 (or £152.00 with matching wines), includes four-course tasting menu.

Stirling’s: £85.00 (or £130.00 with matching wines), includes four-course tasting menu.

Fountain Brasserie: £49.00, includes three-course menu and a glass of rosé Prosecco.

Dining Domes: £200.00, includes four-course tasting menu for lunch or dinner with matching wines.

Prices are per person.

Monday 5 until Sunday 18 February Club Shops and the Online Club Shop Enhance your wine collection and take advantage of our home delivery service to stock up your cellar. For two weeks only we will be offering 12 bottles for the price of 11 on selected Club wines and Champagne from our Club shops and Online Club Shop. Moreover, spend £175.00 or more in one single transaction and you can benefit from standard home delivery free of charge to one UK address.

Please note that the à la carte menus will not be available in the Great Gallery or Stirling’s on this evening and that a cancellation policy applies.

For more information please visit the Online Club Shop or email shop@royalautomobileclub.co.uk

MOTHER’S DAY AFTERNOON TEA Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 March Pall Mall: Drawing Room and Club Room Woodcote Park: Lounge Celebrate Mother’s Day at the Club by heading off to either Pall Mall or Woodcote Park for a special Mother’s Day afternoon tea. Add a glass of Taittinger Brut NV Champagne to make it even more memorable.

Including Taittinger Brut NV Champagne, £52.00 at Pall Mall or £49.00 at Woodcote Park 30 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

CLUB PROMOTIONS

EASTER SUNDAY LUNCH Sunday 31 March Woodcote Park: Stirling’s, Fountain Brasserie, Dining Domes

MOTHER’S DAY SUNDAY LUNCH Sunday 10 March Pall Mall: Great Gallery Woodcote Park: Stirling’s, Fountain Brasserie, Dining Domes Celebrate Mother’s Day by treating her to a special lunch at the Club. Add a glass of Champagne to say thank you for all that she does.

Great Gallery: £63.00, includes three-course set menu with a glass of Champagne.

Celebrate Easter with family and friends at the Club this year. Enjoy a traditional Easter Sunday Lunch menu, created by the Club chefs using the finest seasonal produce.

Stirling’s: £59.00, includes three-course lunch menu with a glass of Champagne.

Fountain Brasserie: £39.00, includes lunch or dinner set menu with a glass of Prosecco.

Dining Domes: £75.00, includes four-course lunch menu with a glass of Champagne.

Prices are per person.

Stirling’s: £59.00, includes three-course set menu and a glass of Champagne.

Fountain Brasserie: £39.00, includes three-course set menu and a glass of Prosecco.

Please note that the à la carte menus will not be available in Stirling’s on this day and that a cancellation policy applies.

Dining Domes: £75.00, includes four-course set menu with a glass of Champagne.

Prices are per person.

Please note that the à la carte menus will not be available in the Great Gallery or Stirling’s on this day and that a cancellation policy applies.

SPRINGTIME PERSONAL TRAINING Throughout March and April Pall Mall: Sports Reception Woodcote Park: Cedars Sports

Blossom into a new version of you for the summer with a training package tailored to your particular goals and requirements by our in-house personal trainers. Whether you are looking for a full body transformation, improved energy levels or increased overall health and wellbeing, we’ve got you covered.

Three 60-minute sessions: £162.00 Eight 60-minute sessions: £416.00 Available to book from Friday 1 March.

To book at Pall Mall, please email sportsrecept@royalautomobileclub.co.uk To book at Cedars Sports please email cedarsreception@royalautomobileclub.co.uk PELL- MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB PROMOTIONS

STAY AND DINE AT WOODCOTE PARK Available all year Woodcote Park: Stirling’s, Fountain Brasserie

STAY AND DINE AT PALL MALL Available all year Pall Mall: Great Gallery, Brooklands Room, Long Bar Stay and dine in the heart of London where you will be welcomed with a half-bottle of Champagne in your room on arrival.

Treat yourself to a choice of dining options from a casual meal in the Long Bar to a delicious three-course meal in the Brooklands Room or head off to the Great Gallery and enjoy the fine dining tasting menu.

Treat yourself to a night away in the countryside with views of the Surrey Downs. Choose between a delicious three-course meal in the Fountain Brasserie or indulge in the Stirling’s tasting menu, accompanied by a bottle of Club wine.

Member prices start from £248.00 per room per night, based upon two adults sharing a Club double bedroom, on a Sunday night.

A supplement charge will apply for dining in Stirling’s.

For further information and to book, please visit the Club website or telephone the Central Reservations Team on 020 7747 3474. Please quote the package you would like to book.

Lie in, on us, with a late checkout time of 1.00pm.

Member prices for the Brooklands Stay and Dine start from £347.00 per room per night, based upon two adults sharing a standard double room, on a Friday night.

A supplement charge will apply for dining in the Great Gallery.

For further information and to book, please visit the Club website or telephone the Central Reservations Team on 020 7747 3474. Please quote the package you would like to book.

PRE-THEATRE MENU Available Monday to Friday 4.00 to 5.30pm Pall Mall: Brooklands Room Start your night in the West End with a delicious two or three-course pre-theatre menu served in the Brooklands Room – the perfect way to start your evening before heading out to see a West End show.

Last orders for this menu are at 5.30pm.

Two courses: £27.00 Three courses: £34.00 32 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

Luxury watches valued at £1m+ currently in stock.

CLUB NEWS

Patek Philippe | Nautilus | Rose Gold *IN STOCK

Luxury watch market attractive

18%

rise in one year

Rare watches rose in value by a healthy 18% in the past year, reports Knight Frank’s Luxury Investment Index.

Patek Philippe | Aquanaut | Stainless Steel

Rolex | Daytona | Platinum

*IN STOCK

*IN STOCK

This is an excellent opportunity to enter a market where demand outstrips supply, by far.

Our stock includes limited production editions, hardly ever seen on the market in unworn condition.

They are available now, so please call or email, we are here to help.

Anthony Love HEAD OF SALES

Paul Fraser Collectibles

info@paulfrasercollectibles.com

+44 (0) 1534 639998

paulfrasercollectibles.com

PELL- MELL & WOODCOTE

33

*IN STOCK at time of print.

Handmade Bespoke Suits from only £1280 10% discount for all Royal Automobile Club members

Contact us today for more information 0207 925 2238 www.apsleytailors.com 2 Mill Street Mayfair W1S 2AT

CLUB MOTORING

A picture tells a thousand words

The image on this year’s membership card marks 100 years since Bentley’s first win at Le Mans, with Frank Clement and John Duff taking turns at the wheel.

Words by John Evans Image colourisation by Tom Marshall

John Duff and Frank Clement in their winning Bentley, 1924

THE PASSENGER IN the car featured on this year’s membership card looks every inch the film star – but it was the chap behind the wheel who taught Hollywood stars to fence.

They are, respectively, Frank Clement and

Captain John Duff; two of motor racing’s more obscure personalities but, to those who know, among its greatest heroes.

A hundred years ago this year Duff, a veteran of the First World War (and PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB MOTORING

in later years a member of the Royal Automobile Club) and Clement, a works driver, won Le Mans at the wheel of Duff’s Bentley 3 Litre Sport. It was the second Le Mans 24-Hour race to be held (the inaugural event had been held in 1923) and their car was the first Bentley to win it. Although our picture shows the scars on the car from the 24-hour battle (note the stone-chipped mudguards and fuel-stained race number), Clement and Duff themselves look surprisingly fresh. It’s a sign of the times, of course, when social manners dictated smart dress, even in the immediate aftermath of a gruelling endurance race…

Duff sounds British to his boots but he was born in China in 1895 to Canadian parents who ran a trading company. He loved adventure which is, perhaps, why, at the outbreak of war in 1914, he travelled to England and joined the army. In 1917 he was badly wounded at Passchendaele and evacuated to England, his war over.

Three years later and now a successful car dealer, Duff began racing, mainly at Brooklands where he would set many records. In 1921 he took his pre-war 18-litre Fiat race car ‘Mephistopheles’ to Denmark to compete in the Fanoe speed trials, setting the fastest time with a run of 103.09mph.

Back at Brooklands, the following year he drove both 12-hour shifts to win the Double 12 endurance race at an average speed of 86.52mph, clocking up over 2,082 miles.

Now with a taste for endurance racing, it was inevitable that Duff, who by this time had a Bentley dealership, would, in 1923, be drawn to a new 24-hour race at Le Mans.

WO Bentley was unimpressed: “I think the whole thing’s crazy. Nobody will finish.

Cars aren’t designed to stand that sort of strain for 24 hours”. Nevertheless, he agreed to prepare a car, a 3 Litre with the chassis number 141, for Duff and also to provide a co-driver; his works driver, Frank Clement.

It was a tough race made tougher still by the Bentley’s uncompetitive brakes and even more so by the large stones that littered the road. A still sceptical WO Bentley arrived in time to witness the pair’s heroic fourthplace finish, on the way to which Clement 36 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

“I think the whole thing’s crazy.

Nobody will finish.”

WO Bentley

had established a lap record of 66.69mph.

Bentley was overjoyed and committed to racing his cars at Le Mans from then on.

With sales of his cars booming it was no surprise when Duff entered the 1924 Le Mans race with his own Bentley 3 Litre Sport. WO agreed to provide him with factory support and Duff chose Clement as his co-driver.

Following their bruising experience the year before, the pair uprated their Bentley with additional strengthening, four-wheel brakes, tougher Rapson tyres, protection for the fuel tank and mesh guards for the headlights.

Meanwhile, new regulations stipulated that cars must carry a spare wheel and their exhausts must not blow dust around.

Convertibles, including the Bentley, now also had to pit stop every five laps to have their hoods erected before, two laps later, re-pitting for them to be checked and lowered. Any sign of failure would result in disqualification. Duff practised hard to raise and lower his car’s hood quickly and without damaging it, which paid off during the race.

On the day itself, the weather was hot and dry and Clement’s lap record was soon shattered. The 1923 race winners René Léonard and André Lagache took an early lead in their 4.0-litre Chenard-Walcker but,

Duff in his Bentley at Le Mans, 1924

CLUB MOTORING

Cornering at the end of the Mulsanne Straight, Le Mans 1924

as dusk fell, the car caught fire. With rivals fast dropping out (only 12 of the 41 cars that started would finish) Duff and Clement found themselves trailing the leading Lorraine-Dietrich team fielding a trio of Type 15 Sport racers, at the time considered the equal of the Bentleys.

At one stage, Duff miscalculated and pitted too early for fuel. Fortunately, he had just enough in reserve to go back out, narrowly avoiding disqualification. Six hours into the race he was back, wasting 30 minutes trying to fix a gearbox issue that turned out to be electrical. Miraculously, by the early hours, Duff and Clement had taken the lead from the Lorraines, which had suffered accidents and breakdowns.

By the morning, and thanks to some spirited driving that forced one of the Lorraine cars to break down under the pressure, Duff began extending his team’s lead by 10 seconds a lap. Then, as the Lorraines fought back to second and third positions, the Bentley pitted for fresh rear wheels. The work overran and, with only an hour left, Duff and Clement’s lead began to look in doubt. However, thanks to the unassailable 120 laps they had accumulated before the stop, they eventually won the race

by one lap over the two surviving Lorraines.

Duff and Clement returned to Le Mans in 1925 but a carburettor fire ended their race. The following year, a major crash in the US ended Duff’s career and he moved to California where he trained movie stars including Gary Cooper in sword fighting, as well as coaching the US Olympic fencing team. Later, in England, he became a member of the British Racing Drivers’ Club and the Royal Automobile Club. He died in a horse riding accident in 1958.

Frank Clement returned to Le Mans with Bentley in 1926 and continued to race its cars there until Bentley withdrew in 1930. A painting hanging outside the Terrace Room at Pall Mall depicts one of the most famous incidents of this era; in the 1927 race, the entire Bentley team was involved in a crash at White House Corner. It was painted by one of the drivers, SCH (Sammy) Davis.

During this time, Bentley cars dominated the top positions and won Le Mans twice more, taking their tally of wins to three.

Clement died in 1970, aged 84. Reflecting on his company’s success, WO Bentley said he owed much of it to the pioneering efforts of John Duff and Frank Clement, the heroes on the Club’s 2024 membership card.

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The Cedar Lawn at Woodcote Park will be the destination for members and their guests keen to enjoy a rich and varied programme drive-ins and events in 2024 38 PELLof - MELL & WOODCOTE

YOUR MOTORING YEAR AHEAD

A new year, a fresh new motoring calendar…

The Motoring Team brings you your guide to another exciting year at the Club and beyond.

Words by John Evans

WITH THE ANNUAL Motorcycling Dinner and Torrens Trophy Presentation, and the Motoring Open Evening already under our belt, it’s been a slick start to what looks like another stellar year.

New events include Motoring Book Club evenings and a Club Concours. Together with returning favourites such as the seasonal drive-ins, factory tours and, of course, the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, the Club’s new motoring year has something for everyone.

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CLUB MOTORING

FEBRUARY With the new year’s celebrations now a distant memory, the Club’s motoring year moves up a gear with an informal evening of drinks and great company in the Long Bar. It’s the first of the Club’s Noggin and Natter nights (Tuesday 6 February) when members come together to discuss entertaining topics such as their first car, what to buy and sell and their dream garage. Four more of these events are planned through the year and, to ensure everyone can have their say, numbers are limited to just 15.

Two weeks later it’s the inaugural meeting of the Motoring Book Club (Wednesday 21 February) – inspired by the surge in interest in motoring books and the success of the Club’s own Motoring Book of the Year awards, which last year had a record number of entries. It’s a chance for up to 12 motoring bookworms to gather in the Library at Pall Mall and pore over the latest titles, as well as enjoying talks by guest editors.

The following weekend the action moves to the Motor House at Woodcote Park and the year’s first Tyre Kicking event (Saturday 24 February). Join fellow members for a casual get-together in the company of Michael Moment, the Club’s Heritage Car Engineer, who will talk you through the historic car fleet, alongside a very special guest. The annual Motoring Dinner at Pall Mall returns, and the ever-popular factory visits will be a key part of the 2024 calendar, with trips planned to McLaren and Bentley.

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MARCH This month, the hugely popular Sim Race Championship returns; four rounds throughout the year conclude with the final in the Long Bar during London Motor Week. March will see the first of many Junior Sim Racing mornings, with young competitors driving the Club’s simulator at the Motor House; the racing promises to be close, the tension alleviated only by tactical discussions over coffee and bacon rolls (racers must be accompanied by an adult). Following a triumphant return in December last year, members will have the opportunity to gather in the Long Bar for the next instalment of the Club’s Motoring Quiz, towards the end of the month.

Above: The Sim Race Championship returns in May with rounds held throughout the year.

Below: Among the factory tours members can look forward to is one to McLaren’s Woking HQ

CLUB MOTORING

APRIL The month opens with the return of the popular Young Members’ Drive-In at Woodcote Park (Saturday 6 April). Enjoy a light breakfast while chatting about all things motoring – whether it’s a Maserati, Mini or Moto Guzzi, anything is welcome.

April will also be when this year’s Club tour takes place, an event already established as one of the highlights of the year. Be sure to keep a close eye on The Motoring Bulletin for an announcement with all the details!

At the Young Members’ Drive-In at Woodcote Park in April, any vehicle is welcome, whether it’s a Maserati, Mini or Moto Guzzi.

Above: The Club’s ever-popular drive-ins include April’s event for Young Members and May’s spring event on the Cedar Lawn.

Below: In June enjoy Le Mans and lunch at the Motor House

MAY We kick-start the month of May with the Spring Drive-In (Saturday 11 May) at Woodcote Park. Around 130 vehicles belonging to members will be displayed on the Cedar Lawn while, to keep everyone well fuelled, a light breakfast will be served in the Cedar Room from 8.30am. A week later the action moves to the Motor House and the Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Sunday 19 May). Enjoy the racing and a lunch in the company of fellow enthusiasts.

JUNE The next gathering in our Noggin and Natter series falls this month (Tuesday 4 June). Later in June, the Motor House will be the venue for the Le Mans Lunch (Sunday 16 June) and then three days later it’s time for the popular Midsummer Drive-In (Wednesday 19 June) when the Cedar Lawn will once again play host to an eclectic display of historic and modern motors. An evening event starting at 5.30pm, it promises to be a memorable occasion with dinner and, of course, awards for the vehicles deemed best in show.

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CLUB MOTORING

JULY The Long Bar is the place to be this month for the second round of the hotly contested Sim Race Championship – then it’s the real thing when the British Grand Prix comes to the Motor House, at least on television (Sunday 7 July). New for this year is the inaugural Royal Automobile Club Concours (Wednesday 10 July). Enjoy some of the world’s most desirable cars belonging to members, in addition to some star exhibits, all of them displayed in the beautiful surroundings of Woodcote Park.

Members are invited to spend a glorious summer’s day in the company of these magnificent machines, which will be judged by a panel of experts to determine a Best in Show, among other awards, while enjoying all of the banqueting delights the Club has to offer.

With the London to Brighton Run now less than four months away, the Summer Veteran Car Run (Thursday 18 July) is an opportunity for members to exercise their pre-1905 pioneers. Around 30 cars are expected to set out from Woodcote Park for 42 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

a tour of the beautiful Surrey and Sussex countryside. Members are welcome to greet the cars as they return to the clubhouse and view this impressive collection while they are parked on the Cedar Lawn.

The month concludes with still more Formula 1 action, this time the Belgian Grand Prix (Sunday 28 July), being shown at the Motor House.

Above: The Motor House is the place to be for July’s British F1 Grand Prix.

Below: Also in July, the Summer Veteran Car Run is a good excuse to exercise your four-wheel friend

CLUB MOTORING

SEPTEMBER

AUGUST

Above: In August race action returns to the Motor House with the British Grand Prix MotoGP Below: Sharpen your hillclimb skills at Shelsley Walsh in September

The month starts where July finished – at the Motor House, for the British Grand Prix MotoGP (Sunday 4 August). Still on two wheels, the Motorcycling Barbecue (Tuesday 27 August) is the finale of what promises to be a great day of motorcycling with fellow Club enthusiasts. Whether you’ve been on the ride-out or just want to talk two wheels, you are welcome to join everyone for al fresco dining with fellow members and their guests.

With the holidays behind us, the pace begins to pick up, first with the Shelsley Walsh Driving School event where members can learn to ascend the hill safely and quickly. It’s always a sell-out, so register your interest as soon as it’s advertised. This will be followed a few days later by the next Noggin and Natter in the Long Bar (Tuesday 10 September).

As a new season arrives, enjoy one of the highlights of the Club’s motoring year, the Autumn Breakfast Drive-In (Saturday 21 September), when members, guests and families can admire the stunning array of fine machinery on display in the autumnal surroundings of Woodcote Park.

Along the road at the Motor House, there’s more entertainment for the Woodcote Juniors, with another exciting morning of Junior Sim Racing.

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OCTOBER We’re back on two wheels this month, starting with the Triumph Adventure Experience Day in Wales. It’ll be a chance to try the latest models but also to hone those off-road skills, including low-speed riding, balance and throttle control, that can benefit your on-road motorcycling.

Hone those off-road skills, including low-speed riding, balance and throttle control, at the Triumph Adventure Experience Day. Above and right: Try the new machines and hone your biking skills at the Triumph Adventure Experience Day in October

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CLUB MOTORING

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER Spanning the end of October and the beginning of November, London Motor Week (Monday 28 October until Sunday 3 November) promises to treat members to an astonishing array of events and activities dedicated to the motorcar. Highlights include the Motoring Book of the Year Awards and the final of the Club’s Sim Race Championship (both on Wednesday 30 October) and the Art of Motoring exhibition. These are followed by the Motoring Lectures (Thursday 31 October), with the day rounded off by a motoring quiz.

Days later, on Saturday 2 November, the Veteran Car Run International Concours is an opportunity for everyone to admire the cars embarking on the jewel in the Club’s motoring crown: the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (Sunday 3 November). On the big day, get to Hyde Park early to see the cars leave or grab breakfast at one of the pubs located on the route to Brighton and cheer on the intrepid motorists!

DECEMBER

Above: The unique Art of Motoring exhibition returns in November.

Below: No year would be complete without the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

With Christmas now firmly in sight, members can test their knowledge in the Club’s ever-popular Motoring Quiz (Tuesday 3 December), taking place in the Long Bar. Outwardly a friendly affair, you can be sure that for some participants winning will be everything!

And so the curtain falls on another varied and fun-filled motoring year at the Club.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the monthly Motoring Bulletin for updates on further events – those events with limited numbers can fill up quickly and we wouldn’t want you to be disappointed!

To receive The Motoring Bulletin simply go to the ‘Mailing Preferences’ page in ‘My Account’ on the website and tick the relevant box.

Please note that some of the events and dates listed above are still provisional. Up-to-date information is published on the Club website.

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Fuelling the future Decarbonising road transport is arguably the greatest challenge that the motor industry has ever faced, and it was a key topic for debate during the Club’s London Motor Week.

Words by Julian Rendell

CONSTANT EVOLUTION HAS kept the automotive industry moving forward throughout the 138 years since Carl Benz’s formative patent for a ‘vehicle powered by a gas engine’ but, now, the most dramatic development of all is rapidly changing the face of motoring. Instead of hydrocarbon fuels and combustion engines, batteries and electric 46 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

motors are taking over, as the automotive industry battles to decarbonise.

This pivot is probably the greatest challenge to face motoring since it was invented all those years ago and, during London Motor Week last autumn, the Club brought together a panel of experts to discuss the thorny question of fuelling the future.

ELECTRIFICATION IS INEVITABLE

The current focus on electric as the primary automotive power of the future is likely to broaden as alternative energy sources come on stream

Governments have gone all-in on electrification for private vehicles; there’s no mistaking that fact, despite the reservations expressed by some experts and the challenges of making it work in practice. It was reinforced in the UK when the

government confirmed in September details of its Net Zero Mandate. It now requires 22% of a manufacturer’s new cars to be zero emissions, defined at present as powered by either battery electric or hydrogen fuel cells, with the figure increasing each year to reach 80% by 2030 and with a final ramp-up to 100% in 2035.

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CLUB MOTORING

“Undoubtedly cars and light duty vehicles are going to be totally battery-electricpowered by the late 2030s and early 2040s,” says Ian Constance with the confidence of a man looking into the UK’s clearest crystal ball on green automotive technology.

Constance, who spoke at the Club during London Motor Week, is Chief Executive of the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which is responsible for administering £1 billion of public/private investment to decarbonise road transport.

Stepping up to collect the prestigious Dewar Trophy the same week was Dr Tim Woolmer, founder of YASA, whose permanent-magnet axial-flux electric motor was recognised as a technological breakthrough, thanks to its compact design and powerful output. Woolmer can also see the advance of electric cars. “They make sense on cost and environmental grounds and new technologies are coming that reduce their weight. Their cost will hit parity

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“[The cost of electric cars] will hit parity with petrol cars in the next couple of years and after that it will be a quick transition.”

Below: Sharing their visions for the future of fuel during London Motor Week were, left to right, Steve Gooding (Director, RAC Foundation), Dr Tim Woolmer, Professor Neville Jackson, Alex Wolfe and Dan Parry Williams

CLUB MOTORING

with petrol cars in the next couple of years and after that it will be a quick transition.”

Battery technology is really only in its infancy, too, so developments like solidstate batteries are expected to offer big performance improvements in the 2030s.

“Solid-state has greater energy density and the batteries are potentially safer and more durable,” says Dan Parry Williams, founder of Spherical Design consultants and the former Technical Director at McLaren.

The pros and cons of electric cars are well known but their success still hangs on car buyers making the switch. For Professor Neville Jackson, a consultant with 40 years’ experience at engineering experts Ricardo, a non-executive director at the APC and Chairman of the RAC Foundation, the issue of how drivers are going to refuel is key.

“The driveability of battery-electric vehicles [BEVs] is very good but the big issue is, ‘Can I charge it when I need to?’ We’ve stalled a little bit in the UK on EV sales at 17-18%. It’s difficult to persuade people because of the lack of charging infrastructure.”

GREEN ENERGY AND THE NATIONAL GRID The practical challenges of boosting the electrification of road transport go more deeply than just new technology and new cars. Electricity generation from renewables has to double to replace fossil fuels and power distribution must be upgraded accordingly. Long-term, the UK is still aiming for net zero by 2050 and, on the way to that goal, last year around 42% of electricity came from renewables, a six-fold increase since 2010.

The National Grid is planning £42bn of investment in power lines, sub-stations and the like to 2025/26. However, not everyone is convinced these huge upgrades can be achieved in time, raising a question over how motoring can wholeheartedly switch to electric power. Professor Jackson has concerns: “I know one proposed large car charging project that has been given a 2034 connection date,” he cautions.

When electric truck charging is added, the challenge moves to another scale. “We park 150,000 trucks every night in the UK, so I wonder just how practical charging them will be,” adds Alex Wolfe, regional director of Certas Energy which fuels 400 Gulf service stations in the UK plus a network of truck stops.

Ian Constance, Chief Executive of the Advanced Propulsion Centre, also spoke at the Club during London Motor Week

THE CASE FOR HYDROGEN While industry visionaries like Ian Constance see the future of cars, vans and medium trucks dominated by electrification, especially for urban deliveries, they accept different technologies need to be explored for heavier vehicles. “Electrification is less clear-cut for heavy trucks doing less predictable routes,” says Constance. “That is going to be really difficult to do with BEVs, so that is where we see hydrogen coming in.”

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it can be passed through a fuel-cell, which generates electricity, effectively acting like a large battery but with the advantage that it can be refilled in minutes.

Although it has its advantages, there are also downsides to hydrogen, such as complexities in handling the gas and, to be classified as green, the hydrogen has to be made using renewable electricity – and some experts believe there are better uses for the available wind and solar power.

However, there are many applications where hydrogen could be an invaluable alternative, such as powering heavy trucks and off-highway vehicles. For example, JCB is developing H2ICE use for its diggers and dump-trucks because the rough terrain its vehicles operate on is too aggressive for delicate fuel-cells.

Another possible development is a hydrogen range-extender, in which a battery and H2ICE are combined in the same vehicle, such as a heavy truck or bus. The hydrogen engine could be used for longdistance driving and the battery reserved for inner-city zero emissions zones. “Legislation will drive a lot of this,” says Constance. “For 40-tonne trucks, there may have to be some form of combustion engines allowed.”

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COMBUSTION ENGINES WILL REMAIN In all this enthusiastic talk of electrification, it’s also worth remembering that 20% of volume manufacturers’ cars can be combustion engines up until 2030, and existing combustion-powered vehicles will still be legal to drive. There is an argument that forcing these cars off the road prematurely to replace them with electric vehicles is environmentally negative, due to the amount of energy required to create a new car.

This legacy fleet poses its own questions for the future. “How do we address the large quantity of internal combustion engine vehicles which still be on the roads in 2035?” asks Professor Jackson. “We’ve got to find a way to provide a less carbon intensive fuel; a next step after E10. Maybe that includes a 5% blend of synthetic, adding increasing proportions of e-fuels as supply increases and cost reduces. We have to think seriously about this.”

Synthetic e-fuels are a chemically exact replica of fossil fuels but sourced from hydrogen – so they may yet emerge as a viable combustion fuel, especially when blended

Toyota is developing a version of its popular Hilux model in the UK powered by hydrogen

CLUB MOTORING

Synthetic e-fuels could be part of the answer but so too could be HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil), which is produced from waste cooking oil.

Top: Solar and windgenerated electricity stored in batteries could help manage peaks and troughs in the National Grid as the number of electric vehicles increases

with petrol or diesel to serve the remaining ICE vehicles. The potential of e-fuel is clear, with the refuelling infrastructure necessary already largely in place and existing vehicles able to make the switch – indeed the Club’s veteran cars have already used e-fuels in the London to Brighton Run. Last December, Porsche began pilot production of e-fuel in Chile with a target of 14 million US gallons by the middle of this decade and a tenfold increase towards 2030. Initially, production will be directed to motorsports but the option to keep combustion-engined Porsches on the road for decades to come is clearly in sight. That said, Porsche is also forging ahead with a commitment for 80% of its new car sales to be EVs by 2030.

Porsche’s plant in Chile is fed by a wind turbine located on site. It’s essential that green energy is used for e-fuel production, as it involves electrolysis of water into hydrogen that is then refined into the e-fuel which burns in combustion engines. If sufficient green energy is available for e-fuel production it could become mainstream but there are huge competing demands for wind and solar, so there remain question marks over how quickly production could be ramped up.

There’s also the puzzle of how to keep the heavy-truck fleet moving, given the limitations of electric power. Alex Wolfe says synthetic e-fuels could be part of the answer but so too could be HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil), which is produced from waste cooking oil and is a renewable green technology already in widespread use. “We are already using HVO that can save up to 90% of CO2 emissions,” adds Alex. “In 2023 a quarter of a billion litres of HVO were supplied in the UK (enough to fill 1.4m truck tanks) and this is forecast to reach over two billion litres by 2030.” In aviation, December saw the first transatlantic flight by a large passenger plane powered only by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which similarly is made from sources including crops, household waste and cooking oils.

CONCLUSION Vehicle engineering is in one of its most dynamic and exciting eras since the dawn of motoring. Lessons from that time suggest progress now will be rapid, ever-changing and hotly debated – but that, as we know, is when the automotive industry is at its innovative best.

These new technologies are developing at pace, and we are yet to understand their full environmental impact – with rare minerals and large amounts of power required for many of them. The one thing that we can be sure of is that change is all around us and accelerating.

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CLUB DINING

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CLUB HISTORY

The Great Gallery Fencing galas, tea dances, jazz bands, judo displays – even an upside-down dinner. The Great Gallery has seen it all...

Words by Timothy Barber

HERE’S A POSER for which any London gourmand ought to have a ready answer: what is the capital’s most picturesque and storied dining room? The gilded wonder of Café Royal, perhaps? Or Bibendum’s art deco romance? How about the old-world charm of Rules, or Brasserie Zedel’s marbled Parisian fantasy? Ah, but let’s not forget the Byzantine splendour of the legendary Criterion or – but of course – the stupendous pomp of The Ritz...

Well, you know where this is going, because anyone who has dined in high style at 89 Pall Mall will likely have settled the question for good there and then. The Great Gallery, the Club’s temple to haute cuisine, fine wines and peerless hospitality is, without question, a dining room at the very top of the pecking order when it comes to architectural majesty and epicurean opulence. And storied? Oh yes, that too – especially since, as it happens, fine dining is only one part of its history.

Before becoming a full-time restaurant in the 1970s, there were several decades of functions, knees-ups, dances, concerts,

displays and grand events – and even an exploding bomb. Join us as we take a tour through the history of the sybaritic jewel in Pall Mall’s crown.

In 1910, a year before the building’s opening, an article in the Club’s journal reported excitedly on its construction. It included reference to a general purpose “lounge hall, 130ft long, 40ft wide and 30ft high, with a platform at one end. This may be utilised… as an assembly hall for important dinners, concerts, balls and receptions, and it is overlooked by a balcony”.

By the time of the building’s opening, the Great Gallery had its name: a pamphlet printed for the opening of the clubhouse in 1911, showed it as members would have then found it: devoid of furniture, its wooden floor stretching away, ready to host any gathering. It was described as “an oblong hall of great size, very lofty and splendidly decorated”.

Well indeed. The name, one might speculate, was a reference to other gilt-laden Great Galleries – that of Vienna’s vast Schönbrunn Palace, for instance, or Turin’s Palace of Venaria Reale; and, in particular, the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, also known as the Grande Galerie. All paragons of high Neoclassicism, to which the Pall Mall Great Gallery, with its Ionic pilasters, golden plasterwork, ornate arches, arcadian murals and huge, oval upper-tier windows (styled after the famed ‘bulls-eye’ window at Versailles) is one almighty tribute.

The architects, Charles Mewès and Arthur Davis, were inspired by a range of Neoclassical influences – French in particular, but also English – throughout the clubhouse; but the Great Gallery specifically displays the exalted proportions, golden grandeur and perfect symmetry

There were decades of functions, knees-ups, dances, concerts, displays and grand events – and even an exploding bomb.

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NEW YEAR’S EVE The annual celebrations included a ball in the Great Gallery and swimming displays

1920

Dancing in the Great Gallery (1920s)

of the Louis Quatorze style. For the ornate decorative elements (including the ceiling mural), Mewès and Davis roped in the renowned Parisian designer and plasterwork sculptor Marcel Boulanger. He was a veteran of their two other Classical Revival masterpieces: the Ritz hotels in Paris and London.

The space having been thus laid out – ‘ritzy’ in spirit and, indeed, in actuality – the Great Gallery was ready to be used however the Club required. A 1911 article in The Modern Building Record described it simply as a concert hall, and a photograph from the same period shows the stage area with curtains on either side and a grand piano to the fore. Soon, the dawn of the Jazz Age was welcomed by the membership at Pall Mall: an early-1920s announcement, headlined Dancing in the Great Gallery states: “Owing to the popularity of the special programme arranged for Ascot week in the Great Gallery, it has been decided to continue it nightly (except on Sunday) until further notice… The special engagement of the new Jazz Band will be continued… Dancing until 2am.” Renowned dancers T C Askew and Mlle.

Gioia, who were then bringing the new style to the Capital with popular performances at 54 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

the Coliseum, were engaged to demonstrate their ‘Speciality Dances’. Dinner was served alongside the dancing – all for 12 shillings and six pence.

In fact, while exclusive use as a restaurant lay far in the future, the Great Gallery was clearly intended for dining as well as concerts and dances: it benefited from the prescient way in which Mewès and Davis had laid out the clubhouse, with extensive kitchens at the eastern end of the building designed to service the Club Restaurant (now the Brooklands Room), the Members’ Dining Room (now the Mountbatten Room) and also, when needed, the Great Gallery.

In January 1914 the room hosted one grand dining occasion that speaks rather gloriously of the tenor of those pre-war, post-Edwardian days. The Upside-Down Dinner was held to honour the aeronautical achievement – clearly quite a momentous occurrence – of the first loop-the-loop,

The Upside-Down Dinner was held to honour the first aeronautical loop-the-loop; the entire occasion was inverted.

CLUB HISTORY

Display of Fencing and Judo

1925

On the night of 20 February 1944, a 50kg Luftwaffe bomb crashed through the Great Gallery’s terrace roof. performed by the aviator Benfield Hucks.

Inspired by the aerial manoeuvre, the entire occasion was inverted; God Save the King was sung at the start, and diners were handed toothpicks and cigars (which were immediately lit) before food was served. Dessert came first, while speeches accompanied the culminating arrival of soup and starters; Hucks even gave a backwards speech, beginning with his conclusion and ending with an introduction.

Inevitably, New Year’s Eve parties were a major occasion, beginning with ‘Unique and Novel Entertainment in the Swimming Bath’, followed by a ball in the Great Gallery with ‘Dancing, Supper and Merry-Making’.

But there were more unusual events too. An evening display of the Japanese martial arts Kendo and Judo, for instance, in 1925; and, a year earlier, a fencing gala, in which several of the finest fencers in England took part.

The sport had originally been a major part of Club life, with a ‘fencing salle’ installed in

1944

Bomb damage

the basement. The 1924 display was helmed

by Lord Howard de Walden, a remarkable Corinthian who had fenced for England and competed as a powerboat racer – how very RAC – at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Not that his gala did much to enforce the popularity of fencing at Pall Mall; by the mid-1930s the fencing room had become a squash court.

As well as hosting sporting displays, the Great Gallery enjoyed life at a more genteel pace too. At one point Tea Dances, or rather Thés Dansants, were held “every afternoon except Sundays”; while in quieter moments the room was used simply as a lounge with tables and chairs laid out in convivial fashion.

During the Second World War the Great Gallery was kept closed – the vast French windows meant that flying glass was too great a risk should German bombs fall nearby. And, while the clubhouse came through the war relatively unscathed – at least compared to the flattened Carlton Club next door – it was the Great Gallery that sustained the one serious hit. On the night of 20 February 1944, a 50kg Luftwaffe bomb crashed through the terrace roof above: its explosion blew great holes in the walls PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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1957

1970s

The Queen’s visit for the Diamond Jubilee of the Club

above the archways leading through to the entrance hall, causing a fire that lasted several hours.

Perhaps the most vaunted event to have occurred in the Great Gallery was in 1957, with a visit from HM Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of the Club’s Diamond Jubilee. In a ceremony attended by 200 eminent members and officers of the Club, the monarch presented souvenir awards to founder members, RAC road patrol operatives and long-serving staff. Six decades later she was back in the Great Gallery, attending the celebration held in 2019 for the 80th birthday of the motor racing legend and Club Vice President, Sir Jackie Stewart.

By the 1970s, the age of white tie balls and roistering motorcar enthusiasts was fading; tea and biscuits were the room’s main entertainment, with a pot of China tea costing 30p, buttered toast at 15p a slice and a biscuit for 10p – bare details that somehow suggest the conversion to the wonderful restaurant we know today couldn’t come soon enough. Long-standing members may remember the imposing presence of Mr 56 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

Hans Jahns, the esteemed and long-standing restaurant manager who led the transition of the Great Gallery into a restaurant worthy of its imperious surroundings.

Arguably though, it was the 2006 refurbishment by interior designer Robert Parker that really cemented the Great Gallery’s success as a dining room that’s as convivial and comfortable as it is dramatic.

Parker pulled off some dexterous sleight of hand, installing the luxurious carpets, marbletopped cabinets and hand-blocked wood floors – inspired by those at the Pavlovsk Palace in St. Petersburg – to help divide up the voluminous space and install a sense of intimacy. He also installed the balustrade upon the stage, creating a raised and rather exciting dining area enhanced with superb new murals by the artist Catherine Lovegrove.

Her work also decorates another of the room’s most singular features: the walls of the wonderful Minstrel’s Gallery. If

By the 1970s, tea and biscuits were the room’s main entertainment, with a pot of China tea costing 30p.

2015

DOWNTON ABBEY

2019

The characters of Lady Mary and Henry Talbot dine in the “temple of car lovers”

2006

ROYAL VISIT 13 JUNE 2019

If the Great Gallery is one of London’s most spectacular restaurants, then the Minstrel’s Gallery is one of its most dramatic private dining rooms.

MURALS New murals at both ends of the Great Gallery, created by artist Catherine Lovegrove

the Great Gallery is one of London’s most spectacular restaurants, then the Minstrel’s Gallery is one of its most dramatic (and exclusive) private dining rooms.

All of which makes a particular episode of Downton Abbey, filmed in 2015 but set in 1925, entirely anachronistic: in it, Henry Talbot invites Lady Mary to join him for dinner at “the temple of car lovers”, as he describes it, and they dine amid the magnificence of the Great Gallery as a restaurant. Even the 2006 balustrade is present, as are guests up on the stage where the piano – and perhaps a jazz band – would have been. Such a scene could never have happened. But then the Great Gallery has been telling stories – old ones and new – for 113 years. So what’s one more?

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CLUB DEVELOPMENT

Building for the future The Club’s programme of investment in the clubhouses, in areas used by members and behind the scenes, continues to ensure we have buildings fit for the present and for the future.

Words by Martin Brown

Daniel Pereira

“THROUGHOUT 2023”, says Daniel Pereira, the Club’s Chief Executive & Club Secretary, “we continued to effectively manage the challenges presented by high inflation and economic volatility. The Club’s owner/ operator business model provides us with the ability to adapt to changing conditions but still have the confidence to invest in our property for the long-term. All this is underpinned by the Club’s strong financial performance.

“Most public areas have been refurbished over the past decade but there is still much to do. As well as bringing the clubhouses up to the high standard that members expect, the programme of improvements also creates opportunities for the Club to become more efficient and to promote sustainable practices.”

Members will see further improvements taking place at Pall Mall over the coming months while, for Woodcote Park, 2024 will be a year of “planning, preparation and permissions”, as Daniel puts it. “The projects planned for Woodcote Park are large and complex and some of them are in the Grade 2 listed clubhouse, where respecting the existing architecture at the same time as modernising the facilities is essential but sometimes quite a challenge.”

Here’s a round-up of the major developments planned for the clubhouses.

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PALL MALL BEDROOMS Members have been enjoying the 28 refurbished bedrooms on the fourth floor since November. “The feedback has been extremely positive, with many members expressing a preference for these rooms when booking,” reports Daniel. “As well as providing excellent accommodation, the new rooms are also contributing to the Club’s sustainability goals with upgraded windows and more energy efficient lighting, air conditioning and heating systems.”

This summer, the second phase of the project, the refurbishment of the 34 rooms on the third floor, will take place. “The new bedrooms are going down very well with members,” confirms Laurence Mutkin, Chairman of the Pall Mall Committee, “and I have no doubt that the third floor rooms will be in high demand as well when they become available in the autumn.”

After these two floors have been completed, 2025 will be a year to take stock and review member feedback, before the Board decides whether to progress with

“I have no doubt that the third floor rooms at Pall Mall will be in high demand as well when they become available in the autumn.”

CLUB MEMBERS

refurbishing the remaining two floors of accommodation, potentially in 2026 and 2027 respectively, and, if so, exactly how this will be done.

FAÇADES

Laurence Mutkin

London’s air does no favours to the Portland stone of the clubhouse’s external walls. As well as a somewhat grimy look, both façades require important repairs to both the stonework and some of the windows.

“The first priority is the rear façade, where additional repairs are required, and that work will take place this spring,” explains Daniel. “This will follow on from the refurbishment of the terrace outside the Terrace Room and of the lightwell below the Great Gallery, which is taking place at the moment.”

Next year it will be the turn of the front

façade, and the clubhouse will once again be looking its glorious best!

SIMMS CENTRE As any members coming to Pall Mall will have seen, the office building next to the clubhouse has been virtually rebuilt on the inside, unfortunately creating significant noise and disruption last year.

However, this reconfiguration of the building will allow the Simms Centre to be relocated from the second floor to the ground floor from late spring. “This will be a big improvement for members,” explains Laurence. “As well as providing brand new hot desks and meeting rooms, the new position will make it much more part of the clubhouse. Members will be able to enter the Simms Centre direct from the street and there will also be a door to connect it with the Club Room, so it will be easy to pop out from the Simms Centre for lunch in the Long Bar, for example.”

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CLUB DEVELOPMENT

WOODCOTE PARK CEDARS SPORTS As the Club announced at the end of 2022, an affordable plan to improve Cedars Sports is a high priority. “It’s 35 years since Cedars Sports opened and the facilities are in more demand than ever,” says Daniel. “Throughout last year consultation took place with users, committees and focus groups, and the plans are being finalised to submit to the council for planning permission.”

“The key change,” explains Richard Arman, Chairman of the Woodcote Park Committee, “is that the building will be extended on its golf course side but still within the boundary of the existing sports area, so there will be no impact on golf. This will enable the expansion of the gym by 50%, the creation of a second exercise studio and two new treatment rooms, ensuring a true spa experience with its own entrance, new

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reception and relaxation areas.”

Other changes will increase the changing room space by 20% and a new heat experience area will provide a steam room, sauna and plunge pool for use by both men and women.

Another requirement which was highlighted during the consultations was for a social area; the outdoor area between the squash courts will become an indoor social area, with light refreshments and snacks available. There has been considerable interest in building a ‘padel tennis’ court, smaller than a standard court and enclosed with walls and a roof. “This is still under consideration,” explains Daniel “and the Board will make a final decision in the spring.”

Subject to the timing of planning permission, it is planned to undertake the work at Cedars Sports in 2026-27.

Above: Richard Arman Right: Woodcote Park bedroom concept Below: Woodcote Park arrival area concept

CLUB DEVELOPMENT

“Woodcote Park has been transformed in recent years but some areas of the clubhouse itself need major work.”

THE CLUBHOUSE “Woodcote Park has been transformed in so many ways in recent years,” says Richard, “but some areas of the clubhouse itself need major work to bring them up to the standard of the rest of the Club.” The lounge, restaurants, bar and banqueting rooms have all been refurbished already so attention is turning to three of the (even) more challenging areas.

“Woodcote Park was conceived with a long drive (now the Captain’s Drive) leading up to a sweeping stone staircase and grand entrance. Now, frankly, the main entrance is a small side door accessed through a car park, so we are planning a modest extension on the side of the clubhouse to create an arrival point worthy of the Club”, continues Richard. At the same time, the car park area will be reconfigured to move parking and service deliveries further away from the entrance area.

The second major project in the clubhouse will be the refurbishment of all 22 bedrooms. It is impossible to do this in stages, as is happening at Pall Mall, due to the extensive plumbing, electrical and ventilation work which will be required, so the intention (again, subject to the timing of planning permission) is to close all the rooms for a period in early 2026, the time of year when demand for accommodation is at its lowest, to refurbish all the rooms in one go.

The third element will take place at the same time, and that is the refurbishment of the main kitchen. “It is overdue replacement,” explains Daniel. “It needs to be rearranged and have new equipment to improve efficiency and meet the current demands of the clubhouse. We will replace the gas hobs with induction ones, which we have already done in Pall Mall and it has substantially reduced our energy consumption as well as making the kitchens a better working environment for our chefs.”

THE CORONATION COURSE The improvements to the Coronation Course are already well underway. The bunkers on the remaining nine holes which were not worked on this winter will be refurbished in the last quarter of this year.

The remaining irrigation work will also be completed later this year and then the remaining pathway upgrades, in the areas impacted by the bunker work, will be completed in 2025.

Altogether, this two-and-a-half year programme will greatly improve the playing experience on this much-loved course.

For updates throughout the year, please visit the Club website and look out for announcements in The Club Wire.

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CLUB DEVELOPMENT MEMBERS

DRIVING FORWARD

“I’m pleased to report that strong progress has been made already on the Club’s ESG strategy.”

IN 2022, THE BOARD approved the Club’s first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, with three overarching aims: to reduce the Club’s impact on the environment; to improve its operational efficiency; and to further enhance our reputation with members, staff, suppliers and other stakeholders.

I’m pleased to report that strong progress has been made already, with 2023 being the first full year of the programme. For example, in 2019, 56% of the waste from Pall Mall was recycled and that figure now stands at an excellent 82%. In 2023 we used 150,000kWh electricity less than we did in 2022 – enough to power more than 50 typical UK households for a year – and nearly two million fewer litres of water, equivalent to more than four times the volume of the Pall Mall swimming pool.

Below is a brief update on our progress so far and our aims for this coming year. Watch out for more information, including how you can contribute with suggestions, throughout the year.

Daniel Pereira Chief Executive & Club Secretary

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The path to achieving net zero for the Club’s ‘Scope 1’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions started with the, far from straightforward, task of identifying the sources of all such emissions.

Having achieved this in 2023, we now have a detailed plan for working towards Scope 1 net zero over the coming three years. The Board is reviewing the plan in early February and it will then be published on the Club website.

Scope 1 emissions are defined as those from sources that are controlled or owned by an organisation; in our case from sources such as boilers, air conditioning and Club vehicles.

Our 2023 objective was to reduce our energy consumption across the Club as a whole by 5%, comparing our monthly consumption with the equivalent month in 2022.

The installation of a new building management system has helped us greatly in identifying where and when energy is New lighting has being used, helping us to come helped to reduce our energy consumption very close to achieving our target by reducing consumption by 4.2%.

During the course of this year, we aim to reduce consumption by a further 5%. We also hope to be able to move at least one of the clubhouses onto a tariff which provides electricity exclusively from renewable sources.

CLUB CLUB DEVELOPMENT MEMBERS

Executive Chef Matthew Marshall visiting our fruit supplier in Surrey

To receive a third party view on how we are progressing, we have entered the Green Tourism scheme, with the aim of achieving Gold ratings for both clubhouses. We have entered what we believe are two strong submissions to Green Tourism and are eagerly awaiting the results.

A new purchasing policy has been developed and, subject to Board approval, we intend to implement it imminently. This will enable us to enhance our sustainability impact through our supply chain and includes a drive towards local sourcing.

2024 is the first year that the Club will have specific performance indicators for responsible purchasing.

Our objective for 2023 was to reduce our water consumption by 5%. Through a combination of water awareness and engineering changes, including new showerheads in many areas of the sports facilities and accommodation, we had achieved a reduction of 3.2% by the end of the year.

By the end of 2024 we plan to reduce water consumption by a further 5%.

New showerheads have helped to reduce our water consumption

Members may have noticed that we have already eliminated single-use plastic items from the member areas of the clubhouses. Our objective for 2023 was to achieve this and to eliminate single-use plastic from our back-ofhouse operations too, which has proved even more challenging.

We are currently trialling alternatives to clingfilm, the final item we have to remove, and, if successful, we will be able to meet our objective in full.

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CLUB DEVELOPMENT

New beehives and a herb garden have been created at Woodcote Park

The 350 acres of Woodcote Park are an important site for biodiversity.

All our food waste is now recycled and turned into fertiliser or biofuel, which was our objective for 2023.

In 2024 our focus will be on reducing the amount of food waste we create, which comes primarily from food left uneaten on plates, without adversely affecting the quality of the experience in the Club’s restaurants. This will include new technology to help analyse the waste to provide information on what it is and where it is coming from.

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The 350 acres of Woodcote Park are an important site for biodiversity. As well carefully and sustainably managing the golf courses, in recent years we have regenerated the woodland and introduced beehives and a herb garden.

A full ecological survey of Woodcote Park is being undertaken shortly, which will enable us to identify further measures we can take over the coming months and years to improve biodiversity.

Club members and members of staff have already provided many useful suggestions which will help the Club achieve its ESG objectives. This year, that engagement will be increased further, particularly to ensure that we understand and can reflect members’ priorities. We also intend to step up sustainability training for our staff to help increase the impact they can have.

We adapt to suit your lifestyle

CLUB MEMBERS

We can insure all manner of complex personal risks, including high net worth homes, classic cars, supercars, fine art, wine, jewellery and luxury watches.

Hayes Parsons’ Head of Private Client, Richard Moxon, is a longstanding member of the Royal Automobile Club and has years of experience creating tailored insurance solutions. If you would like to arrange a meeting at your home or at either of the clubhouses, please contact Richard:

0117 930 1658 | 07771 904 202 r.moxon@hayesparsons.co.uk Hayes Parsons Insurance Brokers is a trading name of Hayes Parsons Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN311881 for general insurance business.

Registered in England and Wales Company No.816448 at Beacon Tower, Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 4XE.

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CLUB HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Find your fit Pall Mall provides members with a unique combination of facilities – as well as expert staff – to help you with your fitness routine, whatever your requirements are.

Words by Annabel Harrison Photography by Rob Cadman

THERE ARE MANY things that are special about the wellbeing offering at Pall Mall.

There are the obvious ones – like the stunning pool and the Turkish Baths – but what really sets it apart is the holistic approach made possible by the variety of facilities available under one roof.

As the examples on the following pages illustrate, the Club’s personal trainers (PTs) can work with you to develop a programme which is bespoke to your situation and your objectives. As well as making use of the gym and the pool, you can incorporate exercise classes and treatments which add variety to

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your week, strengthen your whole body and minimise the possibility of strains.

This holistic approach is not just about the range of facilities: the culture throughout the Club’s wellbeing services is one of inclusivity. The programmes are designed to meet the requirements of any member, whatever your starting level of fitness or attainment aims are.

Whether you are new to exercise, picking it up again after a break or looking for a change of routine, please contact the sports reception team at Pall Mall and they will happily arrange a tour or induction session.

CLUB HEALTH AND WELLBEING

MONDAY – GYM

Under the guidance of your personal trainer, start the week with a focus on building upper body strength. After a general warm up on the treadmill, move on to equipment such as the lateral pull-down machine, chest press and shoulder press.

TUESDAY – CLASS

Join the beginners’ yoga class or the Pilates class. Both help with weight reduction and increase muscle strength and tone. Alternatively, take your class in the pool with some aqua aerobics.

EXAMPLE PROGRAMME 1

“

PERSONAL TRAINER: PABLO ZAPATA This programme is ideally suited to members who are new to personal training and perhaps a bit intimidated by the gym.

It incorporates gym sessions, classes that improve flexibility and strength, and time spent in the Turkish Baths – a really special, unique area of the Club.

Please don’t be intimidated by the number of elements within this suggested programme; it is simply one possible programme and all elements are optional.

You can talk to the PT who creates your programme about what you like to do most, what time of day works best for you and how many days you’d like to commit to.

Resistance training is vital for strength, posture and helping to prevent osteoporosis, while many of the elements of this programme – steam, sauna, swimming, Pilates and yoga – are considered ‘active recovery’. Studies show that movement ensures the best recovery; the worst thing you can do is nothing at all.

”

WEDNESDAY – GYM

Second session in the gym, this time concentrating on lower body strength.

Use a cross trainer for five to ten minutes to warm up then use just your body weight to do air squats and alternating lunges.

THURSDAY – TURKISH BATHS

The sauna, steam room and 45°C tepidarium in the Turkish Baths offer many health benefits for joints, circulation, skin and sinuses. The combination of high heat and humidity relaxes muscles and soothes nerves.

FRIDAY – SWIMMING

Improve your fitness and strength in the pool. Whatever your starting level, try to swim a bit further and faster each week.

Alternatively, take part in another yoga or Pilates class.

SATURDAY Rest day.

SUNDAY

Family time – but try to combine it with exercise. If you have a dog, take it for longer walks!

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CLUB MEMBERS

MONDAY – GYM

EXAMPLE PROGRAMME 2

“

All over strength building in the gym: begin with some floor exercises (with assistance if required) and follow these with the rowing machine.

PERSONAL TRAINER: SUTERA JIEAMTARVORN This programme would be fantastic for an older member who wants to train injury free, or who may be carrying an injury.

Swimming is ideal for those who fall into the latter category and our pool at Pall Mall is beautiful. It’s a pleasure to swim in and you have the added bonus of the Turkish Baths or a massage to enjoy afterwards, or a meal in the restaurants upstairs.

In terms of remaining injury free, I’d like to stress the prehab element of this programme; preventative massage is vital if you tend to get sore joints, you’re over a certain age and you train regularly. You’re always going to have wear and tear from life so it’s all about managing those joints. A decent sports masseur or osteopath will help save you from missing exercise time because of an injury. We recommend prehab and lots of members have regular sessions which they fit in like a training session.

Jack Sunde, Osteopath

”

TUESDAY – SPORTS THERAPY

Take advantage of the Club’s sports therapy services. Whether you have an injury or are just trying to avoid one, the massage and other techniques ease problems and help identify any underlying causes.

WEDNESDAY – SWIMMING

Perfect for improving general fitness, particularly for anyone carrying an injury.

Set yourself a goal of swimming slightly further each week in the same time.

THURSDAY – GYM

Repeat Monday’s exercises in the gym and add some gentle stretching to target the lower back, glutes and hamstrings.

FRIDAY – SAUNA OR TURKISH BATHS

Accelerate your muscle recovery by using the sauna in the Turkish Baths, or the full Turkish Baths experience with five hot rooms. The whole-body heat relaxes muscles, reducing muscle ache after exercise.

SATURDAY Rest day.

SUNDAY – SWIMMING

A gentle swim to keep your muscles moving – and perhaps reward your week’s progress with a light brunch in the Brooklands Room afterwards!

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CLUB HEALTH AND WELLBEING

EXAMPLE PROGRAMME 3

“

PERSONAL TRAINER: SEB OBEADA This is perfectly suited to experienced gym users who want to make best use of the facilities at their disposal in Pall Mall. We never want to see people finding it hard to commit to a programme and dropping out so we try to make the whole week manageable and focused, whatever your fitness levels.

When you meet your PT, they will ask about your priorities and they will then ensure your programme is goal-orientated.

For a lot of people, it’s about overall health and wellness as opposed to performance or aesthetics; people want to be able to train for longer and stay healthy.

Experienced gym goers will be familiar with the brands of some of the high-spec equipment we have, from Technogym to Concept2 and Wattbikes, but they might not have tried out many, or any, of our classes. We offer both yoga and Pilates, which are really popular, but there are also Power Circuits, strength classes and resistance training sessions. We offer beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

”

MONDAY – GYM

Start the week off with a full body workout in the gym, focusing on using the lateral pull down machine, then the chest press and finishing off with some squats.

TUESDAY – SWIMMING

A lower intensity day. Swimming will continue to improve muscle strength and help with respiration and lung volume.

WEDNESDAY – GYM

Focus on your upper body with weight training for the chest (kinesis station), back (TRX back rows) and shoulders and arms (bicep curls into shoulder press).

THURSDAY – CLASS

Join the Power Circuits class for 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and weight training across 14 pre-chosen exercises stations.

FRIDAY – GYM

Today the focus is on the lower body with some light cardio for five minutes to warm up the legs. Then move on to squats, leg press and standing dumbbell calf raises.

SATURDAY – MASSAGE

A deep tissue massage will relieve any tired, aching muscles with oils of juniper, lavender and cypress.

SUNDAY Rest day.

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Skills to last a lifetime From swimming and squash to golf, tennis and more, under-18s have access to a wealth of sporting opportunities at Woodcote Park, which offer both social and physical development.

Words by Annabel Harrison Photography by Rob Cadman

WHEN I VISIT Woodcote Park to speak to some of the sports professionals responsible for junior coaching, there are some common themes which quickly emerge: it’s not about ‘one size fits all’ – which is why there’s such variety on offer – and of utmost importance is having fun.

It is clear that physical activity for Woodcote Juniors and Junior Members at the Club is all about inclusion and participation, ensuring that children and teens are developed to the best of their ability, whatever their aptitude. When children are enjoying themselves, they are more likely to want to continue, benefiting 70 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

from improved coordination, new physical skills, new friendships and better social skills.

At Woodcote Park, under-18s can make the most of a wide range of sports. There are lessons available in swimming, tennis, golf and squash, as well as football and MultiActivity Camps in the Walled Garden for the younger ones and gym facilities available to teenagers. The quality and breadth of the offering has been expanded in recent years, both in the Walled Garden since it opened in 2021 and across the estate for older children.

All the sports professionals I speak to emphasise the importance of carefully tailoring their programmes to the age

CLUB JUNIORS

Having fun and feeling included are at the heart of Junior sport. When children are enjoying themselves, they’re more likely to continue.

Left: Caroline Legge provides lessons in both pools at Woodcote Park for children of all ages Below: Oli Pett is Woodcote Park’s full-time resident squash pro

and skill level of the children taking part. Swimming welcomes the widest age range, from four months upwards, and, as Swimming Professional Caroline Legge explains, lessons follow a nationallyrecognised pathway from complete beginner to proficient young adult swimmer. “They all start in the Walled Garden pool and I like to be close to them in the water; I want to be able to correct them when necessary. Once they’re competent enough to swim lengths in there, they graduate to the more formal training for young swimmers in the Cedars Sports pool.”

For golf, squash and tennis, the programmes are even more bespoke,

designed by the Club to best suit the youngsters enrolling in them, and developing year on year. The Junior Golf Academy course – run by Head Professional Jason Neve – was only recently launched but it has been a huge success, confirms Director of Golf Rhys Beecher. “The aim was to put a structure in place for Junior development, particularly those between the ages of eight and 14, and bring more young players into the sport. We came up with a tiered programme: the children progress through three stages – Pit Crew, Grid Lane and Chequered Flag – towards the ultimate goal of becoming a Junior Pass Holder.” The number of Juniors with a pass has more than doubled already, both boys and girls.

When it comes to tennis and squash, as with golf, the enjoyment factor is hugely important. I speak to Head Tennis Professional Mark Nash and Head Squash Professional Patrick Foster in the same

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CLUB JUNIORS

office, and their jovial attitude, camaraderie and sense of fun would certainly appeal to my children. There’s Mini Tennis for children aged five and above on Saturday mornings, Junior Tennis Academy sessions on Sundays during term-time, private lessons for children from the age of three and tennis within some of the Walled Garden camps. Floodlights allow tennis to be played even on the darker winter afternoons and evenings.

The pros are proactive in their approach, which is reaping rewards. “We didn’t have any junior tournaments to provide a pathway into adult tennis,” notes Mark, “so I started with an under-12s tournament, then under-16s and we now have under14s as well.”

Having listened to Mark extol the virtues of tennis for some 15 minutes, Patrick takes up the challenge of promoting squash with

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equal aplomb (and a broad smile). “We don’t get affected by the weather. And the serve is really easy!” he jokes. “It’s a fun, energetic sport. It is dynamic in terms of the movement and learning the tactics is essential. Those technical skills stay with them for life. In Oli Pett, our full-time squash pro here at Woodcote Park, we have one of the best in the country in terms of his level of play and his experience, both on this side of the pond and over in the States.”

Patrick would like to remind parents or grandparents reading this that the game is tailored to Juniors, in terms of the size

The jovial attitude, camaraderie and sense of fun emanating from the Club’s professionals appeal to children of all ages.

CLUB JUNIORS

Left: Tennis coaching is available for beginners to experienced players Above:The Golf Academy takes full advantage of the golf simulator as well as the outdoor facilities

of balls and rackets, and even the rules, to make it easy for them to get started. “It’s about safety first and foremost, and lively, energetic sessions, so kids leave chomping at the bit to come back. In the last year we’ve nearly quadrupled our numbers and held our first high-performance summer camp, with external coaches coming in – former professional players etc. It was very successful and we want to build on that.”

All the pros are mindful of the importance of imbuing in young members a passion for sport – as Mark states, “they’re the Club’s future players” and this development is an invaluable part of securing the future of the sports that members love – whilst also bearing in mind the wider use of the facilities.

For example, while under-17s have free access to the Coronation Course, an area of previously unused land (between holes three, four and six on the Old Course) has been repurposed to create three practice holes for the Juniors. “We can take Juniors in our Academy programme there and they can make a bit of noise and really

enjoy their golf without impacting other members,” Rhys explains. Caroline, too, works hard to maintain the right balance: “Swimming lessons, for all ages, are very popular but we don’t oversubscribe either pool with lessons because of the leisure and fitness swimming that is also on offer to members.”

What it comes down to is encouraging all children, from toddlers to late teens, to give new sports a go. The professionals are determined to do everything they can to ensure the Juniors enjoy themselves and their sporting experience at the Club is really positive. And it’s not just about the sportiest children – although there are structured programmes in place for the most talented – because the Club is much more inclusive than that. “We’d love to introduce more Juniors to new sports than ever before in 2024,” concludes Mark – a view echoed across the team.

For more information, please visit the Club website or enquire at the receptions in the Walled Garden, Cedars Sports or the Golf building.

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CLUB FOOD & DRINK

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CLUB FOOD & DRINK

Off to the (Long) Bar! Why should members make a beeline for the Long Bar? For many reasons, according to manager Kamal Saad: the food, the bar, the sport, the atmosphere…

Words by Jenny Linford Photography by Andre Ainsworth Food styling by Eliza Baird

Left and below: Two of the Long Bar’s signature dishes; roast beef with all the trimmings and classic battered fish and chips

DISCREETLY LOCATED DOWN the stairs from the Club Room, the Long Bar is something of a hidden gem, with a special place in members’ affections. While large enough to accommodate 150 people to watch a World Cup Final or host 100 people for a private party, the room – with its comfortable sofas – has an intimate feel.

“It does have a very welcoming atmosphere,” agrees Long Bar Manager Kamal Saad, whose courteous, hospitable presence is very much part of its appeal.

For Kamal, it is important not only to offer a professional standard of attentive service but also to do so with friendly warmth. “The

welcome we offer is the same we’d provide to guests coming into our own homes.”

The food available in the Long Bar is carefully chosen to reflect its informal nature, explains Pall Mall’s Head Chef Ben Gielen. “There is a cold and hot buffet, which allows members to choose what they want to eat and, importantly, be served quickly and efficiently. Whether you are short of time or here for a long, relaxing evening, we can adjust to your requirements.”

The cold offering consists of smoked salmon and mackerel, rollmops, sliced ham and salami, pies and salads. “The buffet reflects the seasons so in winter we move away from salad leaves and use more root vegetables. In the run-up to Christmas we put on a turkey and cranberry pie and in January we do a pie menu as they are especially popular in the winter – it’s nice to have that bit of crust!”

Excellent value packages for two diners are offered each day, such as battered fish or sirloin steak and chips with a bottle of wine.

While the members’ favourites are always available, variety is added through an everchanging dish of the day and themes, such as an Indian menu created in collaboration with the acclaimed chef Cyrus Todiwala, who champions Goanese cuisine.

With regard to the hot food, there are

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two classic dishes which are particularly popular. “The roast beef is a real favourite,” Ben confirms. “We don’t skimp on the quality. Our members know good food, so we always put ourselves under pressure to use great ingredients and cook them well.

We offer roast rib of beef – we’ll get through a five-bone rib of beef, which weighs five kilograms, every day. We cook it just under medium rare and serve it with Yorkshire pudding, roast or mashed potatoes and vegetables. It’s such a great cut of meat, with a real depth of flavour. I love horseradish cream or mustard with roast beef; something I discovered when I came to Britain, as we never had it in Belgium. It’s such a good accompaniment; it cuts through the richness and makes it even more special.”

The other favourite is that enduring British comfort food: bangers and mash.

“Our members love sausages!” laughs Ben. “If you have good sausages, freshly-made mashed potatoes and onion gravy, what more could you want?” These sausages are Cumberland-style ones, made to our very own specification by the Club’s butcher.

Ben understands their appeal. “The Club is our members’ home away from home, so sometimes they don’t want to eat fine dining or brasserie food; they just want a simple meal and that’s it. In the Long Bar you can have as much or little as you want – perhaps a salad, sandwich or a soup or something heartier – it is all about great, everyday food.”

By its nature, the Long Bar is a sociable space, somewhere where members enjoy coming with friends to relax over a drink, particularly after a busy day at work. “This is the ‘clubbiest’ room of the Club,” observes Laurent Gilis, Pall Mall’s Food and Beverage Manager. “We offer a variety of beers on tap – all the members’ favourites, such as Guinness, Asahi and London Pride. We don’t offer cocktails here – there is the Cocktail Bar for that – but our staff can make a proper mixed drink, as it should be.”

With regards to spirits, the Long Bar prides itself on stocking an ample range of gins and whiskies. “Gin has been a huge trend; there are more than 800 distilleries in the UK now. We keep all the classics, but

“You can have as much or little as you want – perhaps a salad, sandwich, soup or something heartier.” we also like to offer a wide choice. The same goes for the whiskies, so we have 76 different ones, from Scottish single malts to Japanese ones.” Of course, there is also Champagne, should members wish to celebrate a special occasion or a favourite sporting team’s win.

Prompt service is always important. “We make sure we have enough staff behind the bar to look after members. People don’t want to queue for drinks.” In addition to ensuring choice and quality, the Club aims to offer excellent value. “The pricing for all our drinks is very competitive; we aim to be around 20% cheaper than our competitors.”

The Long Bar, continues Kamal, is also the Club’s sports bar. “It’s a great place for members to watch their favourite sports with a drink and a bite to eat. When there’s an important match, we show it on the big screen and rearrange the seating. I love those big occasions: there’s such a fantastic atmosphere in the room; lots of excitement and energy.” The team can accommodate fans of all sports, with a large television available upon request. “If there’s a match that members want to watch, we will put it on for them,” says Kamal. “Some members love the tennis and football; rugby and cricket are always popular as well.”

The appeal of the Long Bar is that everything about it – the surroundings, the televised sport, the informal food, the pub-like bar offering, the friendly service – creates a convivial feel. As Kamal says with a smile, “this is a place where members can really relax and enjoy themselves”.

The Long Bar is open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, with the bar open from 11.30am until midnight. At weekends it is open for advertised sporting events and film screenings and, on Saturdays, it is also available to hire for private parties.

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CLUB EVENTS

A good innings In May, the Club will welcome the newly retired Sir Alastair Cook for the Annual Cricket Dinner at Pall Mall. Up for discussion will be some of the highlights of his astonishing career and the future of English cricket.

Words by Zain Hirani

Cook in action during the first Test between England and the West Indies at Lords, May 2012

THERE HAVE BEEN a select few sporting retirements which have touched a nerve – I dare say even made a grown man cry. In recent memory: the sight of an emotional Rafael Nadal saying goodbye to his good friend Roger Federer after the Laver Cup doubles loss at the O2 arena; Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad walking arm in arm onto The Oval the morning after ‘Broady’ announced his retirement. Day 4 at the Oval on 10 September 2018, though, is the one that has stuck with me. A week prior, Sir Alastair Cook had announced this would be his final game of international cricket.

On Day 3, you just knew the next would be special. Sure enough, watching Alastair Cook, on 46 not out overnight, walk onto the field, to a roar so vociferous that I felt it to my core, is etched in my mind.

On that day, in front of a crowd packed with fans wearing chefs’ hats in tribute to their hero, Cook hit his final test century in his final test innings. As he looked up to the heavens, no doubt to thank the cricketing gods for scripting such a perfect ending, the crowd, the dressing room and fans all over the world stood and applauded a magnificent innings – and a career that will be measured not only by what he achieved, but by the dignity and grace with which he achieved it. This memorable moment

“Cook has had a magnificent career that will be measured not only by what he achieved, but by the dignity and grace with which he achieved it.”

and many more will be discussed by Cook himself at the Club’s Annual Cricket Dinner in May – a must-attend for those who have, like me, delighted in following Cook’s remarkable career.

And what happened next, on 10 September 2018? 147 runs later and ‘The Chef’ is making his way back to the dressing room. What’s going through his head? “To be honest I couldn’t believe I got out the ball after Joe Root. You don’t ever want to lose two wickets in two balls. Then I had to remember that this was the last time I was walking off and to give myself that moment of looking round and enjoying the amazing ovation I received.”

It’s a measure of the man who says “you don’t actually ever want it to be about you” when talking about that final test. “There was still a job to be done. Playing cricket is all about the now. The team that is in front of you or the ball you are about to face. When you’re in the thick of it, there is no time to look back.” That is one thing he has relished since his retirement from international cricket. Catching up with teammates, reliving moments of glory and pain. Cook feels immense privilege to have played with the players he did. That feeling was no doubt reciprocated many times over.

When pushed to name one stand-out moment from his career, he cites Sydney in the 2010/11 Ashes; securing an Ashes victory on Australian soil “is hard to beat”. Cook’s 766 runs in that Ashes series is the sixth highest of all time. He hit three centuries, two fifties and a best score of 235 not out.

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Cricket Ground] as a squad of 30-odd with the players and backroom staff, we all spoke individually about what the last ten weeks had been like for us. It was an amazing time listening to people open up, knowing you had done something very special. That’s the moment I’d go back to. That hour and a half after the game.”

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develop in the last two years under Ben Stokes and Brendan McCullum, without Cook at the top of the order, has been at times disconcerting. How would Cook have fared under the current style? He says that he has had this very discussion with Stokes, who told him: “I would want you to bat and make the room sit up and take notice”.

There is no doubt that Cook made anyone watching the game do just that; his batting was unyielding, determined and deliberate.

Perhaps in the current set-up he’d be

Day 3 of the fifth Ashes Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, January 2011

CLUB EVENTS

Cook is confident that over the next couple of years we will see exciting new talent develop in the domestic game, singling out Harry Brook.

encouraged to take a few more risks. Cook does joke that he taught Root the ramp shot so maybe he had it in his locker all along.

Cook is excited about how the current test set-up has moved the game along. Test cricket is in direct competition with the financial rewards of T20 and much has been made of its future, and survival. While the last two years have “freed up certain players to adopt some short-form tactics and shots in the longer form of the game”, the demands of the cricket schedule and pace at which the different formats are developing means “increasingly fewer players will master all formats”. There are “generational players” who will thrive in all formats, and he singles out Harry Brook, who can be equally destructive in T20, 50 Over and Test formats. Cook is confident that over the next couple of years we will see exciting new talent develop in the domestic game.

Legacy is a word that, in his modesty, he shies away from, insisting that is for other people to judge. I remember watching a fresh-faced Cook score 104 on debut in Nagpur in 2006, methodically batting with a calmness of someone with 50 caps to their name. His 235 in Brisbane in 2010 set the stage for a famous Ashes win in Australia.

190 in Kolkata helped England win in India 2012. To many, his legacy will be the joy he brought to fans in one of England’s golden eras of cricket.

And what’s next for Sir Alastair Cook?

Retirement will hit home when the “lads return to training” but for now he is enjoying time with friends and family and is looking forward to visiting Pall Mall for the Annual Cricket Dinner. Will he follow in the footsteps of Mark Ramprakash and Darren Gough by gracing the Strictly dancefloor in 2024? It’s not an outright ‘no’ and his daughters are massive fans of the show; despite his insistence that he can’t dance, I suspect his musicality (he plays the piano, clarinet and saxophone) and quick footwork will put him in good stead.

For more information about the Club’s Cricket Dinner, please turn to the Events section of this magazine or visit the Club website.

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Underwater adventures Following training at the Club’s superb facilities, ten members of the Sub Aqua Group – ranging from novices to experienced divers – went to the Red Sea in September for the trip of a lifetime.

Words by Nick Smith Photography by the Sub Aqua Group

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“THERE’S NOTHING quite like being privy to a whole other world under the surface,” enthuses Megan Alldridge. A member of the Club’s Sub Aqua Group, Megan went from underwater ‘zero to hero’ by passing the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) Ocean Diver qualification shortly before embarking on the Group’s expedition to the famous waters of Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh. “I didn’t know what to expect, but being immersed in the Red Sea was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.” Over the course of the week-long trip she engaged with blue-spotted rays, turtles and “thousands of incredible fish”.

It was an adventure Megan will never forget.

Veteran diver, and Chairman of the Sub Aqua Group, Mark Tousey agrees with the description. The magic of scuba diving, for him, is that “you’re a visitor in another world that you probably never even knew existed”. You can see similar things at an aquarium or on television, he agrees, “but that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the excitement of being underwater. We’ve taken some beautiful photographs and amazing videos on our trips, but these don’t tell you the full story of what it’s like to be

“I didn’t know what to expect, but being immersed in the Red Sea was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.” surrounded by a shoal of fish or to watch a shark go by”.

Mark is convinced that it’s far better to get your diver qualifications and see it for yourself, and there are fewer better places than the Club to make a start. The Sub Aqua Group has been in business for more than four decades and, with the exception of trips that should have taken place during the Covid pandemic, “we’ve never missed our annual trip. In fact, two years ago we received a certificate from BSAC congratulating us on our 40th year as a ‘special’ branch – special because you can only join if you’re a member of the Royal Automobile Club”.

Over the years, many of the Group’s stunning images and films have been captured

by Chris Barsley, its long-serving Dive Officer, responsible for training, equipment and

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health and safety. A Group member for 15 years, Chris has been diving in the Red Sea since he was an undergraduate at university.

He stresses that when it comes to learning to dive at the Club, safety is paramount: “We don’t take any risks. The training is very much progressive, building up skills as we go. Only when we’ve perfected those skills in the swimming pool and then in sheltered outdoor water do we go anywhere near the sea”. And, while he understands that some newcomers might feel apprehensive about entering an alien environment, “scuba diving really is for everyone” with no upper agelimit, providing participants are fit enough to take part and are reasonable swimmers.

Neither is it particularly demanding, says Mark, who remarks that “if you come out of a dive and you’re tired, you’ve done something wrong. Once you’ve managed your buoyancy – that will start to click after a few dives – it’s all about looking around.

It’s not a race and we never swim against currents. So long as you’re comfortable and gained the skills in training, there is nothing daunting about learning to dive. It’s all about safety and of course fun”.

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“As a first-time diver, having done my training at the Club, I was expecting an exciting holiday but three dives a day, with top guides, in some of the world’s best waters, simply blew me away.”

The Club’s divers and their guides head out to sea for another day of spectacular diving

it’s only for experts. To illustrate his point, he says that the September 2023 trip to Sharm El-Sheikh included three novices. “They’d completed our BSAC Ocean Diver course over a number of evenings in the Pall Mall pool, and on a weekend at an old, flooded quarry near Heathrow. They then joined the trip as fully qualified ocean divers.” One of the three, Simon Alldridge – who qualified alongside his daughter Megan – says he’ll be going back for more: “As a first-time diver, having done my training through the Club this year, I was expecting an exciting holiday, but this simply blew me away. Three dives a day, with top quality dive guides and highly experienced Club divers in some of the best diving waters in the world”.

Club members interested in becoming involved can start with a free ‘try dive’, then learn at cost in the beautiful surroundings of Pall Mall, with all lectures and scuba diving equipment provided. “I think it’s fair to say that we’re the best-funded BSAC branch in the UK,” says Mark.

The Club’s equipment is also available, free of charge, to anyone taking part in the Group’s annual overseas expedition. “The

trips are phenomenal value,” confirms Chris who ensures that only dive operators of the highest standard are used, while the hotels are (“Of course!”) five-star luxury. There’s a social atmosphere too, with group dinners competing strongly with the diving for the most memorable moments of the day.

Another newcomer to the underwater world is Nick Lintott who, under Chris’s “tremendous tuition” also gained his BSAC qualification shortly before heading to the Red Sea. Nick admits he was a little apprehensive about taking the plunge, but after 22 dives in seven days he can report that “this was an incredible experience.

The fabulous underwater environment was breathtaking, and it has been a privilege to quickly develop my skills and make new acquaintances with experienced divers from the Club. I look forward to enrolling for the next trip”.

From the feedback Mark and Chris have received, there’s no doubt that Nick isn’t the only Club member looking forward to heading underwater in 2024…

Please visit the Club website for information about the activities being planned by the Sub Aqua Group for 2024.

To join the mailing list, go to the mailing preferences page in the My Account section of the Club website and tick Sub Aqua. To contact the Group please email subaqua-support@ royalautomobileclub.co.uk PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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Woodcote Juniors Programme Woodcote Junior membership – for children aged up to 12 – is open to the children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of Full Members.

As well as the classes and activities listed below, Woodcote Juniors enjoy free of charge use of the Walled Garden and Cedars Sports.

Multi-Activity Camps Each day will include a wide range of activities, allowing your children to try new things, as well as enjoying their favourites. Depending upon their age group, they will be able to take part in multiple sports skills and drills, arts and crafts, dance contests, joke contests, quizzes, obstacle courses and daily challenges.

(drop-off and pick-up required) Tuesday 13 February Thursday 15 February £50.00 per day or £25.00 per half day for Woodcote Juniors £55.00 per day or £30.00 per half day for non-WJs Easter Holidays

The days will be varied and there will be something for everybody to enjoy.

For more information or to book, please email bookwalledgarden@royalautomobileclub.co.uk or telephone the Walled Garden Team on 01372 229 257.

February Half Term Toddlers: 10.30am-12.00 noon (parental supervision required) Tuesday 13 February Wednesday 14 February Thursday 15 February £12.00 per session for Woodcote Juniors £15.00 per session for non-WJs For 5 to 7 year olds: 9.30am-4.30pm or half day camps from 9.30am-1.00pm or 1.00-4.30pm (drop-off and pick-up required) Monday 12 February Wednesday 14 February Friday 16 February £50.00 per day or £25.00 per half day for Woodcote Juniors £55.00 per day or £30.00 per half day for non-WJs For 8 to 11 year olds: 9.30am-4.30pm or half day camps from 9.30am-1.00pm or 1.00-4.30pm

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Toddlers: 10.30am-12.00 noon (parental supervision required) Tuesday 2 April Thursday 4 April Tuesday 9 April Thursday 11 April £12.00 per session for Woodcote Juniors £15.00 per session for non-WJs For 5 to 7 year olds: 9.30am-4.30pm or half day camps from 9.30am-1.00pm or 1.00-4.30pm (drop-off and pick-up required) Monday 1 April Wednesday 3 April Friday 5 April Monday 8 April Wednesday 10 April Friday 12 April £50.00 per day or £25.00 per half day for Woodcote Juniors £55.00 per day or £30.00 per half day for non-WJs For 8 to 11 year olds: 9.30am-4.30pm or half day camps from 9.30am-1.00pm or 1.00-4.30pm (drop-off and pick-up required) Tuesday 2 April Thursday 4 April Tuesday 9 April Thursday 11 April £50.00 per day or £25.00 per half day for Woodcote Juniors £55.00 per day or £30.00 per half day for non-WJs

CLUB JUNIORS

Walled Garden Events

Swimming

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 February, 10.00am-4.00pm Valentine’s Day Arts and Crafts. Walk-in event, no need to book.

Swimming lessons are provided for children aged from four months upwards.

Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 March, 10.00-4.00pm Mother’s Day Card Making. Walk-in event, no need to book.

Please note that some classes are fully booked so you may be invited to join a waiting list.

The February term will be from Monday 19 February for five weeks.

In the Walled Garden

Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 March, 10.00-3.00pm (Easter Saturday and Sunday) Easter Arts and Crafts. Walk-in event, no need to book.

Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 March, 10.00-3.00pm (Easter Saturday and Sunday) Walled Garden Easter Egg Hunt. Walk-in event, no need to book.

Woodcote Juniors and non-WJs: £5.00 (includes clue booklet and guaranteed Easter egg per child) Walled Garden Easter Parties Face painting, party games, egg decorating, mini Easter egg hunt, dinner and a party bag to take home.

Saturday 6 April, 3.30-5.00pm: Toddler Party suitable for 3-4 year olds Saturday 13 April, 4.30-6.00pm: suitable for 5-8 year olds £15.00 Woodcote Juniors and £17.50 non-WJs This event is open for bookings from 9.00am on Friday 1 March.

For more information or to book, please email bookwalledgarden@royalautomobileclub.co.uk.

Tiny Tadpoles (4 months to 4 years) There are various classes according to age and ability, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Group Lessons Monday afternoons and Saturday mornings.

One-to-One Teaching Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons.

February Half Term Monday 12 to Friday 16 February A week of intensive swimming lessons for children aged 4 to 7. Classes will be 9.00-9.30am and 9.30-10.00am depending on ability. There will be maximum of eight participants per class.

Easter Holidays Monday 8 to Friday 12 April A week of intensive swimming lessons for children aged 4 to 7. Classes will be 9.00-9.30am and 9.30-10.00am depending on ability. There will be maximum of eight participants per class.

At Cedars Sports Groups (advanced swimmers) Saturday mornings.

Junior Training (advanced swimmers stage 7+) Wednesday evenings.

One-to-One Training Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings.

For more information please email CarolineL@ royalautomobileclub.co.uk with details of your child’s name, age and ability, their membership number if they are a Woodcote Junior and a telephone number where we may contact you.

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Golf Junior Golf is a great way for Woodcote Juniors and Junior Members to develop their golfing skills. Woodcote Juniors receive complimentary access to the Coronation Course while playing with an adult member, subject to an assessment of their standard of play and their understanding of the rules and etiquette of golf by one of the Club’s PGA Professionals.

Junior Academy Our Junior Academy programme offers Woodcote Juniors and Junior Members aged 8 to 14 a pathway from beginner to Junior Golf Pass Holder. The children progress through three development stages and are then able to play Club matches, enter competitions and receive an official England Golf Handicap. The ‘Pit Crew Group’ stage teaches beginners the technical aspects of the game. After this the ‘Grid Lane Group’ takes them onto the golf course followed by the ‘Chequered Flag Group’ stage to cover rules, etiquette and decision-making process, which leads them to becoming a Junior Golf Pass Holder.

Our next assessment days will be held on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 February. Please visit the Junior Golf section of the Club website, where 2024’s programme dates are listed.

Junior Roll Up Available every Sunday 2.00pm and 2.10pm on the Coronation Course for Junior Golf Pass Holders and Junior Academy students who have been assessed by one of the PGA Professionals. Competition entry is to be booked via the notice board at Golf Reception.

Junior Competitions Held on the first Sunday of every month from April to October with tee times at 2.00, 2.10, 2.20 and 2.30pm on the Coronation Course Available to Junior Golf Pass Holders with

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a valid WHS handicap. Competition entry is to be booked via the notice board at Golf Reception.

Coaching Clinic For Woodcote Juniors aged ten or under we offer coaching from 2.00-3.00pm each Sunday on the Driving Range under the guidance of a PGA Professional. These group coaching sessions are a great way to begin to learn the game before moving into the Junior Academy.

For more information about Woodcote Juniors and Junior golf, please visit the Club website, email jason.neve@royalautomobileclub.co.uk or call 01372 229277.

Tennis Tactics, skills and fun with our tennis professionals for players aged 5 to 16.

Mini Tennis Saturdays (from 20 January and continuously throughout the Easter holidays) 9.00-9.45am: 5 to 8 years 9.45-10.30am: 9 to 12 years Woodcote Juniors £7.15 per session Non-WJs £7.15 + £13.75 guest fee Please note, there will be no Mini Tennis on Saturday 3 February or Saturday 2 March.

To book, please email cedarsreception@royalautomobileclub.co.uk Junior Tennis Academy Each course last six Sundays. The next Academy dates are: Sunday 14 January to Sunday 18 February, Sunday 25 February to Sunday 31 March and Sunday 21 April to Sunday 26 May For more information and to book, please email barry.hewer@royalautomobileclub.co.uk

CLUB JUNIORS

Squash At Woodcote Park Mini Squash (beginners) Woodcote Juniors 6 to 10 learning the basic hand-eye coordination skills, holding and swinging a racket in a fun environment.

Saturdays 9.00-10.00am, six-week term sign up.

Junior Squash (beginners and improvers) For juniors aged 10 to 14 who have the ability to hit a squash ball consistently and have the skill to start to have rallies.

Saturdays 10.00-11.00am, six-week term sign up.

Junior Squash (intermediate and advanced) This class is aimed at juniors aged 14+ who have a good basic knowledge of squash and are able to play full matches.

Saturdays 11.00am-12.00 noon, six-week term sign up.

Mix-In Session (all standards) Wednesdays: 5:00-6:00pm Advanced Sessions Sundays: 1:00-2:00pm Drop-in sessions for Woodcote Juniors and non- WJs £12.50 per session.

For more information please contact: oli.pett@royalautomobileclub.co.uk At Pall Mall Mini Squash (beginners) Woodcote Juniors aged 7 to 10 learning the basic hand-eye coordination skills, holding and swinging a racket in a fun environment.

Saturdays 9.00-10.00am Junior Squash (beginners and improvers) For juniors aged 10 to 14 who have the ability to hit a squash ball consistently and have the skill to start to have rallies.

Saturdays 10.00-11.00am Junior Squash (intermediate and advanced) For juniors aged 14+ who have a good basic

knowledge of squash and are able to play full matches.

Saturdays 11.00am-12.00 noon Drop-in sessions for Woodcote Juniors and non-WJs £12.50 per session.

For more information please contact simon. white@royalautomobileclub.co.uk

Music for Toddlers Weekly sessions Tuesday 10.00-10.40am Thursday 10.00-10.40am £8.50 per session for Woodcote Juniors, £10.00 for non-WJs For more information and to book please email bookwalledgarden@ royalautomobileclub.co.uk

Ballet The ballet lessons at the Club follow the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and we have been entering students into RAD exams for a decade.

New joiners are very welcome to come and join us in our relaxed, friendly and fun environment.

Classes are grouped based on your child’s ballet grade. Classes start from Year 6.

45 minute classes: £99 per term For more information and to book, please contact Jenni Hay at jenni@jhballet.co.uk

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CLUB EVENTS

Events Events listed on the following pages which have not previously been advertised will open for booking at 10.00am on the following dates: Tuesday 30 January – Bookings open for March events Tuesday 6 February – Bookings open for April events Tuesday 13 February – Bookings open for May events and Derby events Bookings should be made via the Club website: www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/events

HOW TO BOOK ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF BOOKING If you are unable to book via the Club website you can make a booking by emailing the Events Team at events@royalautomobileclub.co.uk Please note, however, that bookings received by email may not be processed as fast as the online bookings, which are recorded automatically.

Your email booking request will be acknowledged within five working days.

Bookings must be made in writing. We cannot accept bookings (or cancellations) via the telephone.

make any cancellations as soon as possible.

We will always endeavour to resell cancelled places.

However, if we are unable to sell your place(s), your account will be charged the full amount unless you have cancelled at least 14 days in advance.

Most motoring events and some other events have a longer cancellation deadline and this will be clearly stated on the event cancellation terms, found in your confirmation letter.

Events may sometimes be cancelled or postponed due to circumstances beyond our control. We will give you as much notice as possible.

GUESTS AND CHILDREN All guests must be accompanied by a Full Member.

If a guest price is not shown, this indicates that the event is for members only.

If a child price (WJ/Non-WJ) is not shown, then the event is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18.

PALL MALL ACCOMMODATION OFFER

PM offer applies You can receive 10% off the price of an overnight stay at Pall Mall with certain events, indicated by this symbol.

Please note: this offer is subject to availability and T&Cs

BOOKING ON BEHALF OF OTHER MEMBERS If we do not receive written instructions for charging another member, all places at the event will be charged to the lead booker's account.

CANCELLING A BOOKING To ensure as many members and guests as possible have the opportunity to enjoy the events programme, please

WOODCOTE PARK ACCOMMODATION OFFER

You can receive 20% off the price of an overnight stay at Woodcote Park with certain events, indicated by this symbol.

Please note: this offer is subject to availability and T&Cs

The best way to contact the Events Team is via email: events@royalautomobileclub.co.uk Pall Mall events: 020 7747 3441 / Woodcote Park events: 01372 229230 90 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB EVENTS

March Quiz Night in the Long Bar Pall Mall Friday 1 March, 6.00-10.00pm Join fellow members for a veritable Olympic decathlon of challenges to your general knowledge. This quiz will test both your recall of long-standing facts and the nitty-gritty details of more contemporary matters. Points will win prizes, so be in it to win it! You can enter as a team or show up solo and we can team you up on the night.

M & G: £4.00 Dress code: Club dress code

Canapé Academy with Matthew Marshall Woodcote Park Tuesday 5 March, 6.30-8.30pm

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Join the Club’s Executive Chef, Matthew Marshall, for a hands-on Canapé Academy. Matthew will demonstrate how to make canapés and you will work alongside him to make your own! The event will finish with a tasting, a glass of Champagne and a discussion of your creations.

M: £67.00 Includes: Hands-on canapé making with Executive Chef Matthew Marshall, canapés, Champagne Dress code: Casual

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March Ladies' Lunch with Claire Rendall Woodcote Park Thursday 7 March, 12.00-3.00pm Claire Rendall is a leading international furniture and interior designer with more than 30 years of experience in the business.

In that time, she has designed the largest single bespoke furniture contribution to Longleat House for the flamboyant 7th Marquess of Bath; designed for and appeared on BBC’s DIY SOS; and created countless beautiful homes in locations from Sydney to London, city chic to country houses. Claire has many a tale to tell and inspiring interiors to show, and loves discussing her passion for design.

M: £44.00 G: £50.00 Includes: A welcome drink, two-course lunch, speaker Dress code: Smart casual

The Diversity of Rioja Wine Tasting Woodcote Park Wednesday 13 March, 7.15-10.30pm Bodegas Luis Cañas has been at the heart of Rioja since 1928, though the contemporary story begins in 1970 when Luis Cañas became the first Rioja Alavesa winemaker to bottle his young wine, rather than sell it in bulk. Juan Luis Cañas is now the powerhouse behind this highly accomplished winery, but everywhere you go there is a feeling of family, and of the lasting legacy that Luis Cañas has left for both his son and the Rioja Alavesa since his passing in December 2019. With 350 hectares of outstanding vineyards, split across 870 different plots, the viticultural department controls every aspect. Each of the plots has its own personality and is categorised and used for different wines according to its characteristics.

With meticulous care and passion for their craft, the Luis Cañas family are iconic winemakers of Rioja Alavesa.

M: £115.00 G: £132.00 Includes: Welcome drink, Rioja wine tasting, served with a three-course tasting menu Dress code: Smart casual

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Fashion Show with Carole Ann Geddes Woodcote Park Thursday 14 March, 2.00-4.30pm Join us for an afternoon of fashion, where stylist and image consultant Carole Ann will showcase a collection of spring 2024 seasonal trends and colours in a catwalk fashion show. The show collection will be exclusive French Brand Elora (not available on the High Street) and Danish smart and casual clothes. After the catwalk, Carole Ann will talk about shapes and styles, giving you inspiration for the upcoming season.

M: £12.00 G: £15.00 Includes: Welcome glass of Champagne, fashion catwalk followed by talk and Q&A Dress code: Casual

The Story of Fabergé Fabergé London Thursday 14 March, 6.30-8.30pm In 1882, Peter Carl Fabergé took over his father’s jewellery business. Together with his brother Agathon, he transformed it into the international phenomenon that it is today.

Join Sarah Fabergé, great-granddaughter of Peter Carl Fabergé, to discover the unique beauty and craftsmanship of Fabergé creations, including objets de fantaisie such as the Imperial Easter Eggs, now regarded as pinnacles of the goldsmiths’ art.

For prices please visit the Events section of the Club website Includes: Champagne on arrival Dress code: Smart casual

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St Patrick's Night in the 19th Hole Woodcote Park Saturday 16 March, 7.00-10.30pm Join us for a night of Irish magic and merriment as we celebrate St Patrick's Day in 19th Hole style. Be entertained by traditional dancers whilst enjoying authentic food. Whether you're Irish or just Irish at heart, dress in your finest green attire and join us for an unforgettable evening of laughter, joy and the warmth of good company and overall great craic!

M: £60.00 G: £69.00 Includes: Irish-themed welcome drink, three-course dinner, entertainment and cash bar throughout Dress code: Casual (green attire optional)

Lunch with… Shaun Pinner Pall Mall Tuesday 19 March, 12.30-2.30pm (drinks from 12 noon) For five months in 2022, Russian Donetsk People's Republic separatists held Shaun Pinner prisoner. A UK citizen and former British serviceman, he had married a Ukrainian and joined the army there in 2017. Thus, when Russia invaded his hometown of Mariupol, he took up arms. Had he not made clear his circumstances, he could have been denied Prisoner of War status, with grave consequences. On being detained, Shaun was stabbed in the thigh to prevent him from escaping, tortured with electrocution and tasering, and sentenced to death. When, amid this, he finally spoke to his wife, she told him to “Live, fight, survive”. He did all three and, as a result, can join us for this Lunch with… to share what, by any measure, is a unique story, and give his first-hand views on the situation in Ukraine.

M: £86.00 G: £96.00 Includes: Drinks reception, two-course lunch with Club wine, discussion Dress code: Smart casual

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An Evening with Andrei Kurkov Pall Mall Tuesday 19 March, 6.00-8.00pm Ukrainian author Andrei Kurkov isn't just your average novelist: he's a journalist, a one-time prison guard and a screenplay maestro. Kurkov's journey through various roles has shaped his unique perspective on life and literature. His bestseller Death and the Penguin is a gripping narrative that transcends borders, with translations into over thirty languages.

Join us for an evening of enlightenment as Andrei discusses the inspiration behind his new book, The Kyiv Mysteries: The Silver Bone, and provides unique insights into Ukrainian cultural life.

M: £26.00 G: £29.00 Includes: Welcome drink, talk and Q&A Dress code: Smart casual

MJ The Musical Pall Mall Wednesday 20 March, 4.45-10.15pm (coach departs from Woodcote Park at 3.00pm) He is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Now, Michael Jackson’s unparalleled artistry comes to the West End stage in the multiple Tony Award-winning new musical MJ. Centred around the making of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, MJ goes beyond the singular moves and signature sound of the star to offer a rare look at the creative mind that catapulted Jackson to legend status. MJ delivers a theatrical experience like no other, electrifying audiences with some of the most iconic songs in music history, including Billie Jean, Beat It, Man in the Mirror, Thriller and Smooth Criminal. MJ will premiere at London’s Prince Edward Theatre with its original lead actor Myles Frost, who won a Tony Award for his performance.

M: £189.00 G: £199.00 Includes: Champagne reception, two-course dinner with Club wine, return coach from Pall Mall and Woodcote Park Dress code: Smart casual

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A Night of Magic at Pall Mall Pall Mall Friday 22 March, 6.00-10.30pm Join us for an unforgettable evening of stand-up magic and entertainment courtesy of four of The Magic Circle’s own magicians. Sit back, relax and be mesmerised during this special evening of magic at the Pall Mall clubhouse.

After a two-course dinner, the magic will happen right in front of you – be prepared to be blown away!

M: £90.00 G: £99.00 Includes: Champagne on arrival, twocourse dinner with Club wine, stand-up magic show with four magicians Dress code: Smart casual

Famille Hugel Wine Tasting Pall Mall Monday 25 March, 7.00-10.00pm In 1639, the Hugel family settled in the town of Riquewihr in the heart of Alsace, and have remained there ever since.

Today, Hugel is owned by the 12th and 13th generations of the family, who own 30 hectares of sites around this town, only planted with the noble grape varieties.

Join Jean-Frédéric Hugel to taste some of Alsace’s best wines.

M: £120.00 G: £140.00 Includes: Arrival drink, tasting wines and canapés, followed by two-course dinner with wine Dress code: Smart casual

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©J. Lekavicius / Shutterstock.com

A Blue Badge Guided Tour of Guildford Woodcote Park Wednesday 27 March, 10.30am-3.00pm A walking tour of the Golden Ford… or Guildford, as we know it today. From its Saxon beginnings, which are evident in the High Street, we will travel to the Norman castle and see its medieval tower. We will learn of the importance of the wool industry and the development of a prosperous market town, which led to the successful navigation of the River Wey so that London could benefit from Guildford's cloth, grain and manufactured goods, and later to the building of the Guildhall, with its wonderful clock, and the Cornmarket. As well as learning about the town’s history and architecture, you will also hear some stories involving Alice in Wonderland, an Archbishop of Canterbury and a Monty Python member – by the end of the trip, we'll all be able to say that we’ve experienced “something completely different”!

M: £73.00 G: £84.00 Includes: Brunch, coach transfers, Blue Badge Guided Tour of Guildford Dress code: Casual

Lunch with… Rt Hon Lord (William) Hague, Former British Foreign Secretary Pall Mall Wednesday 27 March, 12.00-3.00pm During his illustrious career, William Hague served as party leader, Commons leader and Foreign Secretary – contending with war in Libya, terrorist threats and relations with Europe. During lunch, he will weigh up the impact of Covid, Brexit, the invasion of Ukraine and inflation on government policy, national security and globalisation. How will political leaders respond to tensions from Putin's aggression and Xi Jinping's ambition, as well as issues like tech battles, migration, and rising populism? Lord Hague is a man who has been the decision maker at so many moments of political drama, from his challenging time as Conservative Party leader to the wilderness years out of frontline politics, the four he spent as Foreign Secretary and now as a businessman and commentator.

M: £90.00 G: £99.00 Includes: Arrival drink, two-course lunch with Club wine, discussion, Q&A Dress code: Smart casual PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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WJs Easter Trail: Woodland Fairy Tales Woodcote Park Wednesday 3 April, 10.00am-5.15pm (four bookable time sessions throughout the day) This Easter, come and enjoy an immersive adventure in the Woodcote Park woodland.

Follow the twists and turns of the Woodland Fairy Tales-themed Easter Trail, where you will be given maps to guide you along the way. Meet characters who will help you solve clues, play games, collect treats and prizes, and eventually guide you to the Easter Bunny to claim your chocolate prize! Parents and guardians are required to accompany their children throughout the course of the event.

M & G: Free WJ: £16.50 Non-WJ: £19.00 Includes: Interactive Woodland Fairy Tale-themed Easter Trail around the Woodcote Park woodland, prizes and chocolate treats, a visit to the Easter Bunny Dress code: Casual (Easter outfits optional)

Jazz in the Long Bar

Pall Mall Friday 5 April, 8.00-10.00pm Join us in the Long Bar to enjoy two hours of joyous live music performed by our guest jazz group. Put the date in your diary and book early to avoid disappointment. Please note this is a ticketed event and booking is essential.

For more information please visit the Events section of the Club website Dress code: Club dress code

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Horse Racing Supper with Roger Varian

Pall Mall Wednesday 10 April, 7.00-10.00pm The success of Roger Varian’s King of Steel in the Champion Stakes last year, which gave Frankie Dettori a truly memorable farewell to Ascot and British racing, cemented the trainer’s place as one of country’s top handlers (and best dressed to boot thanks to his wife Hanako’s Newmarket 875 clothing range). A classic winner, with Group One success in 11 of his 13 seasons as a licence holder, join Roger to consider the summer of racing ahead, including a potential path for King of Steel.

M: £86.00 G: £98.00 Includes: Drinks reception, two-course dinner with Club wine, discussion Dress code: Smart casual Roger Varian lifts the trophy after winning the Cazoo St Leger Stakes with Eldar Eldarov at Doncaster Racecourse

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Quiz Night in the 19th Hole Woodcote Park Wednesday 10 April, 7.15-10.15pm Gather your team, choose a name, and brush up on those general knowledge skills. Quiz nights at the Club always promise spirited member rivalry, so get stuck into this quiz night in the 19th Hole. Of course, the ultimate prize is the glory, but winners will also be awarded a bottle of Club wine per person. Attendees will also enjoy a twocourse meal, with a cash bar available.

M: £40.00 G: £46.00 Includes: Two-course dinner and quiz, cash bar available.

Teams should be no fewer than four people and no more than eight.

Dress code: Casual

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Modern Calligraphy Workshop Woodcote Park Thursday 11 April, 9.30am-1.30pm (beginners), 2.00-4.30pm (advanced) Learn the art of modern calligraphy with tutor Judy Broad at this interactive workshop. During the morning session, members will learn the fundamentals, practising basic strokes before moving on to letterforms and developing your own lettering style, leaving with the skills to continue your calligraphy journey. For the avid calligraphers, join us for the more advanced session in the afternoon.

M: £80.00 Includes: Calligraphy workshop, refreshments and a calligraphy kit to take home Dress code: Casual PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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Les Misérables and the Wonderful West End Woodcote Park Saturday 13 April, 7.15-11.00pm The West End’s leading show band, Too Darn Hot, makes a welcome return to the Club, this time celebrating one of the world’s most popular musicals, the phenomenal Les Misérables. You will be swept into the world of Victor Hugo and 1820s revolutionary France by the stunning music and lyrics of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel SchÖnberg, including favourites such as I Dreamed A Dream, On My Own, and Master of the House among others. After this fabulous tribute, sit back and enjoy a further selection of songs from other wonderful West End shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Chicago, Guys & Dolls, and Mamma Mia to name just a few!

M: £99.00 G: £114.00 Includes: Welcome glass of Champagne, three-course dinner with Club wine, entertainment Dress code: Jacket and tie

The Power of The Flower: Seasonal and Sustainable Floral Fabulousness, with Simon Lycett

Pall Mall Monday 15 April, 11.30am-2.15pm From the age of seven, Simon Lycett has been captivated by the world of flowers, a passion that blossomed into a flourishing career in floral design after he established Simon J Lycett Ltd in 1993. He quickly rose to prominence, becoming one of Britain’s most sought-after florists, providing arrangements for royal weddings and prestigious events. Now an author and TV presenter, Simon is regarded as a worldrenowned florist, and the Royal Horticultural Society Ambassador for Floristry and Floral Art. Join us for this creative flower arranging demonstration and talk hosted by Simon, and a chance to ask him any questions.

Includes: Champagne on arrival, brunch, demonstration and talk M: £79.00 G: £89.00 Dress code: Smart casual 100 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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Exclusive River Thames Cruise Woodcote Park Wednesday 17 April, 10.30am-4.30pm Back by popular demand! Join the crew on board The Georgian at Maidenhead, Berkshire (coach transport from Woodcote Park will be provided) for a welcome glass of Champagne before setting sail along the Thames. The vessel was built in 1996; beautifully finished inside and out, she spends her days cruising the Upper Thames. You can enjoy your lunch as you meander down the river and take in beautiful views of the riverside greenery – there will also be a bar on board to purchase additional drinks.

M: £69.00 G: £79.00 Includes: Coach transfers, exclusive use of The Georgian, a welcome glass of Champagne, three-course lunch (additional drinks will be available to purchase on the day) Dress code: Smart casual

Langlois-Chateau Loire Wine Tasting Pall Mall Wednesday 17 April, 7.00-10.00pm Founded in 1885 upon the marriage of Edouard Langlois and Jeanne Chateau, Langlois-Chateau has been specialising in the wines of the Loire for more than 130 years. LangloisChateau has vineyard holdings located across the Loire Valley at Saumur, Saumur-Champigny and Sancerre.

The grapes used to make the wines hail from a variety of different soils, but generally in Saumur they grow on a mixture of clay and chalk, and in Saumur-Champigny it is predominantly limestone and chalk. The winery has also been working towards obtaining an organic certification for its vineyards in Saumur, which were some of the first to receive the Terra Vitis certification; this ensures the wines are produced with the utmost respect for the environment.

At Langlois-Chateau, it is believed that happiness should be shared. Take this mantra to heart and share a tipple with your fellow members at this dedicated tasting.

M: £120.00 G: £140.00 Includes: Arrival drink, tasting wines and canapés, followed by two-course dinner with wine Dress code: Smart casual PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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Rock & Roll London Pall Mall Thursday 18 April, 9.45am-2.15pm Join us on this unique opportunity to visit one of London's most iconic music venues: Ronnie Scott's.

Here, we will undertake a guided tour and hear about the jazz club’s links to The Who, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. On our way there and back, we will enjoy a walking tour that takes us to the place where the Stones decided on their name, the site of the last Beatles performance, and the birthplace of Cliff Richard & The Shadows. Hear about the advent of coffee bars and their impact on the music scene as you reminisce about the 50s, and take a stroll down Carnaby Street and remember the Swinging 60s. This walk is guaranteed to get your toes tapping all the way back to the clubhouse for lunch.

M: £72.00 G: £82.00 Includes: Walking tour with Blue Badge guide, visit to Ronnie Scott’s, a glass of Champagne, two-course lunch with Club wine Dress code: Smart casual (sensible footwear advised)

Ballroom and Latin Dinner Dance Pall Mall Friday 19 April, 6.00-11.30pm Get that little sequinned number waiting in your wardrobe out and bring a little bit of ‘cha cha cha’ into your life. Enjoy some dance performances and a teaching session with Arthur Murray Studios, before putting your moves into practice and dancing the night away. Arthur Murray began teaching Ballroom and Latin dance in America in 1912. Over the years, his studios have taught the likes of The Roosevelts, The Clintons, Patrick Swayze, John Travolta and Madonna, to name but a few. If you're a Strictly fan and watching just isn’t enough, join us for this night of musical splendour.

Bring a table or come solo.

M: £79.00 G: £89.00 Includes: Champagne reception, two-course dinner with Club wine, dance performances, teaching session, dancing to some great music provided by a DJ Dress code: From smart casual to black tie

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Afternoon Racing at Epsom Downs Racecourse Woodcote Park Tuesday 23 April, 1.00-5.00pm This is one of two extremely popular afternoons of racing at Epsom Downs Racecourse, with our own private box and a glass of Champagne upon arrival. There will be a cash bar throughout the event and a tote available so you can enjoy a flutter. Afternoon tea will be served to round off what we hope to be a profitable and exciting afternoon!

M: £76.00 G: £87.00 Includes: A private box at Epsom Downs Racecourse, a glass of Champagne upon arrival, badges and tickets, parking pass, afternoon tea. Members to make their own way to Epsom Downs Racecourse.

Dress code: Smart casual

Lunch with… Lord Sedwill Pall Mall Wednesday 24 April, 12.30-2.30pm (drinks from 12 noon) As Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, serving both Theresa May and Boris Johnson when they were Prime Minister, Lord Sedwill had a front-row seat for one of the most remarkable periods of government in British history. During this time he also held the office of UK National Security Advisor, all prefaced by a stint as ambassador to Afghanistan. Join Lord Sedwill for April’s Lunch with… to reflect on tumultuous times, beginning with negotiations over Britain’s departure from the European Union and including the early months of Covid. Enjoy an overview of domestic and world politics from someone often in the very room where decisions affecting these landscapes took place.

M: £86.00 G: £98.00 Includes: Drinks reception, two-course lunch with Club wine, discussion Dress code: Smart casual PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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Vineyard Experience at Gusbourne Estate Woodcote Park Thursday 25 April, 9.45am-5.15pm Join us for a day unwinding in the countryside, tasting award-winning wines over a leisurely lunch. Your visit will begin with a welcome drink, before embarking on an extended tour of the estate and vineyards at Gusbourne Wine Estate, Kent. You will then enjoy a wine tasting in a picturesque tasting room overlooking the vines, paired with a seasonal three-course lunch.

M & G: £159.00 Includes: Coach transfers, arrival drink, exclusive vineyard tour, tutored wine tasting, three-course lunch paired with wine Dress code: Smart casual (sensible footwear for tour)

Annual Football Dinner with Paul Merson Pall Mall Thursday 25 April, 6.30-10.45pm Paul Merson is a former English professional footballer and now-prominent Sky Sports pundit and commentator.

Beginning his career at Arsenal in 1984 as an apprentice, Paul made his debut for the side in 1986 against Manchester City before becoming a permanent figure on the team in the late 80s. The attacking midfielder played for Arsenal 423 times in total, scoring 99 goals in all competitions before moving to Middlesbrough for a record £5 million fee. Paul first played for his national side in 1991, in a friendly against Germany. Also playing in the 1992 Euro Championship, 1994 World Cup and 1998 World Cup, Merson racked up 21 caps for his country, scoring on three occasions. He played a pivotal part in a team that had one of the most successful runs for England in the modern era of the sport. This year’s Football Dinner promises to be an entertaining evening filled with stories old and new.

M: £99.00 G: £115.00 Includes: Drinks reception, three-course dinner with Club wine, talk, Q&A Dress code: Black tie 104 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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Let’s Lunch: Demystifying Women’s Health Pall Mall Friday 26 April, 12.30-2.30pm (drinks from 12 noon) This enlightening event will bring together two remarkable women: Libby Stevenson and Elizabeth Joseph, who have dedicated their lives to guiding others through the transformative stages of womanhood. Libby is a women’s yoga instructor, wellbeing expert and influencer, and will lead us in a discussion on holistic wellbeing tailored for women at every stage of life. As a yoga teacher for two well-known yoga platforms for women over 40, Libby's expertise extends from the challenges of menopause to navigating weight gain.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, is a respected influencer, freelance writer, columnist for Platinum magazine and pro-age model who has dedicated her career to dismantling the taboos around women’s health. Join them on a journey towards embracing the beauty of every stage of life.

M: £60.00 G: £70.00 Includes: A glass of Champagne, two-course lunch and discussion Dress code: Smart casual

Live Music in the 19th Hole Woodcote Park Friday 26 April, 7.00-10.30pm What is better than enjoying a delicious dinner? Enjoying a delicious dinner whilst listening to fantastic live music – that’s what!

Experience the perfect blend of flavours and melodies with an informal two-course dinner in the 19th Hole and music provided by acoustic guitarists The Loaded Duo. M: £58.00 G: £69.00 Includes: Sparkling arrival drink, two-course dinner, live music, and cash bar available throughout Dress code: Casual

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May An Evening with Cherie Blair CBE KC Pall Mall Thursday 2 May, 6.30-10.00pm Cherie Blair CBE KC is a leading King’s Counsel, committed campaigner for women’s rights, and wife of the former British Prime Minister. She set up the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in 2008 to support women in low and middle income countries in starting successful businesses so that they can be financially independent, have a stronger voice in their societies, and contribute to their communities and economies. Cherie is an advocate and ambassador for female entrepreneurs, working tirelessly to encourage the private sector, governments and civil society to support women business owners. She is also founder of Omnia Strategy, an international law firm that provides strategic counsel to governments, corporates and private clients. Join us this evening as we talk to Cherie about her journey, from life in 10 Downing Street to choosing law over politics and women's empowerment.

M: £86.00 G: £96.00 Includes: Welcome drink, two-course dinner with Club wine, discussion, Q&A Dress code: Smart casual

Musicals by Candlelight Pall Mall Friday 3 May, 6.45-9.45pm This evening will take you on a journey through numerous musical theatre songs and genres, including composers such as Andrew Lloyd Webber through to Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and even some Disney! Come and enjoy these much-loved favourites performed by the criticallyacclaimed Icon Strings Quartet – fresh from their sell-out season at the Actors' Church in Covent Garden – all by the light of gently flickering candles.

M: £92.00 G: £98.00 Includes: Performance by the quartet Icon Strings, glass of Champagne, two-course dinner with Club wine Dress code: Smart casual

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Auguste Rodin (1840-1917): Understanding his Bronze Sculpture Pall Mall Tuesday 7 May, 6.30-8.00pm Auguste Rodin is generally considered the father of modern sculpture. The world is familiar with his famous sculptures in bronze, found in museums and public places around the globe, and yet there is much confusion as to just what makes a genuine original Rodin, and what constitutes a fake or a copy.

Robert Bowman, a long-term member of the Club, keen classic car owner and enthusiastic squash player, also happens to be one of the world’s leading authorities on Rodin sculpture. Join Robert to learn about Rodin and what constitutes valuable art versus a decorative copy.

M: £33.00 G: £38.00 Includes: Welcome drink, canapés, lecture and Q&A Dress code: Smart casual

Lunch with… Richard Thompson, Chairman of the English Cricket Board Pall Mall Wednesday 8 May, 12.30-2.30pm (drinks from 12 noon) There is never a dull moment in English cricket.

After being elected in 2022 as chairman of the ECB for five years, Richard Thompson has experienced the extremes of celebrating a T20 World Cup win and an inquiry into allegations of racism at Yorkshire. Drawing on a decade of success both on and off the field, as Chairman of Surrey and in a hugely successful career in talent management, he has already began to shape the game in this country for the better. Join Richard ahead of this summer’s visits by Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia to consider what lies ahead for the game in an ever-changing sporting world.

M: £86.00 G: £98.00 Includes: Drinks reception, two-course lunch with Club wine, discussion Dress code: Smart casual

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May Ladies’ Supper with Emma Pears – What Does It Matter?

Woodcote Park Thursday 9 May, 7.30-10.00pm Emma Pears is the Founding Director of Solomon Hunt and is in demand as a consultant, public speaker, musical director, author and songwriter.

Emma will talk about living life with less stress and more joy by asking yourself: "What does it matter?" She is challenging ‘happiness propaganda’ and has been featured across media and television, including on ITV’s Lorraine. In a series of adventures, Emma has travelled the world, run the London Marathon on a broken leg, performed for royalty and recently published her best-selling book, What Does It Matter?

M: £33.00 G: £39.00 Includes: Welcome drink, one-course supper, speaker.

Additional drinks can be purchased at the event.

Dress code: Casual

Quiz Night in the Long Bar

Pall Mall Friday 10 May, 6.00-10.00pm Join fellow members for a veritable Olympic decathlon of challenges to your general knowledge.

This quiz will test both your recall of longstanding facts and the nitty-gritty details of more contemporary matters. Points will win prizes, so be in it to win it! You can enter as a team or show up solo and we can team you up on the night.

M & G: £4.00 Dress code: Club dress code

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Close-up Magic at the Country Clubhouse Woodcote Park Saturday 11 May, 6.30-10.30pm Witness the magic up close and personal as magicians from The Magic Circle entertain you with mind-bending illusions, mystifying card tricks, and unbelievable feats that defy the laws of physics. Start the evening with a Champagne reception and a two-course dinner, followed by an intimate close-up magic experience which will leave you spellbound. Don’t miss this unforgettable experience, where the magic lingers long after the show ends.

M: £83.00 G: £95.00 Includes: Welcome glass of Champagne, two-course dinner with Club wine, close-up magic experience Dress code: Smart casual

Lanson Champagne Tasting Pall Mall Monday 13 May, 7.00-10.00pm An expert from the maison will guide guests through a tasting of four exceptional Champagnes, including new releases to the house and exclusive vintages. They will also introduce the house, provide a glimpse into its 260-year history, and give an educational explanation of each Champagne and the processes behind crafting each wine. A further two Champagnes will then be introduced alongside a bespoke food pairing.

M: £140.00 G: £160.00 Includes: Arrival drink, tasting Champagnes and canapés, followed by two-course dinner Dress code: Smart casual

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Behind-the-Scenes Experience at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Thursday 16 May, 9.45-11.45am For more than 160 years, Battersea has been caring for dogs and cats. In that time, 3.4 million animals have come through their gates and found their second chance at happiness. The charity is delighted to offer members the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at its iconic London centre, home to Paul O’Grady’s For The Love of Dogs, to tour the facilities and hear from its expert team.

Following the event, members will have optional free time to explore the newly opened Battersea Power Station development.

M: £20.00 G: £23.00 Includes: Behind-the-scenes tour, presentation from one of the experts, refreshments, optional free time to explore the Battersea Power Station development.

Members to make their own way to and from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Dress code: Casual (closed-toe shoes required)

Herbal Masterclass Pall Mall Friday 17 May, 11.00am-1.00pm (refreshments available from 10.40am) This is an introduction to aromatherapy and how essential oils can be used to support the mind and body. During the masterclass, you will learn about the properties of a range of essential oils and how to use them safely to enhance wellbeing. Participants will create blends that can energise, soothe, balance, uplift and relax. Everyone will be able to customise their products with their own choice of herbs and essential oils and take them home at the end.

M: £55.00 G: £65.00 Includes: Arrival refreshments, masterclass and product to take home Dress code: Smart casual

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Club Dinner Dance Woodcote Park Saturday 18 May, 7.00-11.00pm Join us at the country clubhouse for this ever-popular event. Live music will be provided by our resident Club Dinner Dance band, Claudio Allodi, which has performed in the West End for more than a decade. Attendees will enjoy a delicious three-course meal. Members will be seated on tables according to their booking (for example, if you book for two people, you will be seated on a table of two).

M: £69.00 G: £79.00 Includes: Three-course dinner, dancing Dress code: Black tie

The Lost Gardens of Carlton House Pall Mall Tuesday 21 May, 6.30-8.00pm During the 17th and 18th centuries, the gardens behind Pall Mall were part of the royal gardens.

Melinda Hilliard, who has an MA in Garden History and was a lecturer in Planting Design at Capel Manor College, will tell the story of the gardens of Carlton House from the 12th century onwards, showing how they were part of Henry VIII’s hunting grounds before being used by Charles II, Frederick, Prince of Wales and George IV. M: £38.00 G: £42.00 Includes: Welcome drink, canapés, lecture and Q&A Dress code: Smart casual

A view of the South Front of Carlton House. The aquatint engraving of this picture was published as plate 77 of W.H. Pyne (1819), The History of the Royal Residences

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Annual Cricket Dinner with Sir Alastair Cook CBE Pall Mall Thursday 23 May, 6.30-10.30pm For this year’s Cricket Dinner, the Club is delighted to welcome Sir Alastair Cook CBE. He is a former England player and captain, and the highest Test run scorer and most capped England Test player ever, with four Ashes series wins under his belt, including two as captain.

Sir Alastair had an extraordinary 20-year career and was a titan of the game; his legacy will be embodied in the numerous run-making records he achieved, but also in the leadership and grace that he displayed.

M: £120.00 G: £135.00 Includes: Champagne reception, three-course dinner with Club wine, discussion, Q&A Dress code: Black tie

An Arabian Night in the 19th Hole Woodcote Park Friday 24 May, 7.00-10.30pm Join us in the 19th Hole for a mesmerising night steeped in Arabian enchantment.

Immerse yourself in the magic of the Middle East with a captivating belly dancer, live music and an ambiance that will transport you to a world of wonder.

Gather your friends and experience the allure and mystique of the Arabian Nights!

M: £59.00 G: £70.00 Includes: Arabian-themed welcome drink, two-course dinner, band and dancer and cash bar throughout Dress code: Casual

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CLUB EVENTS

Derby Week 2024 Ladies' Day 2024 Woodcote Park Friday 31 May, 11.00am-6.00pm The social occasion and highlight of the year for many has arrived, bringing together family, friends and colleagues. Start the day with a sumptuous summer buffet of three courses in our stunning marquee before taking advantage of the private coach transfers to soak up the atmosphere at the racecourse. Should you prefer to stay on-site, we will also be showing the races on big screens in the marquee.

Full details, including pricing, will be available on the Club website Includes: Three-course buffet lunch, shuttle service transfers to and from the top of the Captain’s Drive, one race card between two. Tickets to the racecourse are not included in the ticket price.

These will need to be purchased separately via thejockeyclub.co.uk.

Dress code: Jacket and tie

Captain’s Drive Parking: Derby Day 2024 Woodcote Park Saturday 1 June, 8.00am-8.00pm Take advantage of the Club grounds, which will be at their most magnificent in June, on Derby Day. The top of the Captain’s Drive, just a few minutes' walk from the racecourse, will serve as a base for racing celebrations – bring family and friends, as well as your own picnics and

games. The Club will also provide a bouncy castle to keep the little ones entertained.

Car parking pass: £25.00 per car Includes: Parking permit Please note: Captain's Drive Parking events are separate to the main Derby Day event. You do not need to book parking if you are attending the main event.

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Derby Day 2024 Woodcote Park Saturday 1 June, 10.30am-6.00pm The Derby dates back to 1780 and is still ranked the greatest flat race in the world. Where better to celebrate this iconic day than on its doorstep at Woodcote Park? Start the day at the Champagne tent on the Fountain Lawn, followed by a fabulous full buffet lunch. End with an equally lavish afternoon tea. Coach transfers are available to watch the races at the racecourse, or, if you’d prefer to stay at the Club, races will be shown on screens in the marquee.

Full details, including pricing, will be available on the Club website Includes: Full-buffet lunch and afternoon tea, shuttle service transfers to and from the top of the Captain’s Drive, one race card between two. Tickets to the racecourse are not included in the ticket price. These will need to be purchased separately via thejockeyclub.co.uk.

Dress code: Jacket and tie or morning dress 114 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

CLUB EVENTS

Activity Group Events To book any of these events, please visit the Club website.

The Activity Groups cater for all levels and there is room for both social time and serious competition, whether internally or against other clubs. The Groups provide you with opportunities to learn new skills, refresh your ability in games played in years gone by or refine and improve your talents through classes and coaching.

The Activity Groups section of the Club website contains comprehensive up-to-date information about all the Groups and how you can take part.

FILM SOCIETY Film Society 2024 programme The Film Society’s programme of events for early 2024 includes some absolutely classic cinema, always best seen on the big screen.

This includes No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers’ neo-Western from 2007 starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin; Alan Parker’s 1991 feel-good musical comedy-drama The Commitments, set in a working-class suburb of Dublin and following

the fortunes of a newly formed soul band; The Leopard (Il Gattopardo), the 1963 epic historical drama classic directed by Luchino Visconti with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale, portraying the fall of 19th-century Sicilian nobility; and Once Upon a Time in the West, the 1968 spaghetti Western and an operatic wide-screen elegy to the old American West directed by Sergio Leone, with haunting score by Ennio Morricone.

A reminder of the great value of attending films at the Club, where tickets for our standard screenings at the Long Bar in Pall Mall, or in the Derby Room at Woodcote Park, are £9.00 per person, and this includes a complimentary drink (soft or alcoholic). Special film events and screenings, such as those in the Mountbatten Room, where we have a guest speaker, are priced a little higher. So please come along with family and friends for a great movie in the comfortable settings of both clubhouses.

Please enjoy all the films kicking off 2024 at the Club.

SQUASH Annual Squash Finals Night and Dinner 2024

Pall Mall, The Mountbatten Room Wednesday 20 March The Squash Committee would like to invite you to the Annual Squash Finals Night and Dinner. The evening is the highlight of the squash calendar and will be particularly special this year as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the squash leagues at Pall Mall, renowned for being the biggest in the world.

Whether you have competed in the tournaments, enjoy watching great squash or want to partake in the celebrations while enjoying a sumptuous dinner, please make note of the date in your diary.

Further booking information will be announced by email and on the Club website

Winner of the Ladies' Championship Campion Cup in 2023, Shayne Baillie, with the Runner-up Jill Campion, after whom the trophy is named

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CLUB EVENTS

PHOTOGRAPHY GROUP Tigers of India with Andy Parkinson

Online event Wednesday 24 April, 7.30pm Join Andy for a photographic adventure into the heart of India’s famed Bandhavgarh National Park, home to the highest density of tigers found anywhere on earth.

Andy has been visiting this park since 2006 and now visits every year for between one and two months, leading photographic trips as he seeks to create sensational photographic opportunities for his guests.

Andy is one of Europe’s most awarded photographers.

His work consistently features in the world’s most prestigious wildlife photographic competitions, and sells in more than 60 countries worldwide.

He also produces regular photo features for some of the world’s top magazines including BBC Wildlife and National Geographic.

His tours, workshops and talks are in high demand, so we are thrilled to have him back to share his experience.

M & G: £5.00

GARDENING AND NATURE GROUP Garden and Woodland Walks at Woodcote Park

Tuesday 9 April, Wednesday 15 May, Tuesday 28 May, Sunday 9 June, 2.00-4.00pm Join one of the Gardening and Nature Group committee members for a guided walk around the gardens and woodland at Woodcote Park. These will be in small groups, and you will be led around the estate, noting our botanical gems, recent developments and hearing about our plans for the future. The walk will last two hours and finish with refreshments in the Fountain Bar. Please wear sturdy footwear and bring a coat etcetera suitable for the weather. In the case of a yellow weather warning the walk may be cancelled. The meeting place is the Woodland Car Park by the electric charging points at 1.50pm.

M & G: £5.00 Includes: Refreshments

Bordering on Insanity

Cedar Room, Woodcote Park Tuesday 26 March, 7.30pm Timothy Walker, one of our most popular speakers, returns to tell us about the creation of a garden border.

The intention is to have all-year-round interest and we will discover the ‘must-have’ plants for such a venture. A plant list will be available.

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CLUB EVENTS

CLUB CHOIR Showcase Rehearsal

Woodcote Park Tuesday 14 May, arrive 6.30 for 7.00pm start.

Ends 9.30pm.

Showcase Performance

Woodcote Park Tuesday 21 May, arrive 6.30 for 7.00pm start This year, the Club Choir is pleased to announce its first Showcase Performance, which will include six songs sung by the Club Choir to an invited audience, followed by supper afterwards. Our distinguished Choir Director, Ian Holiday, will direct the rehearsal, which will take place the week before the Showcase.

Anyone who has sung in one or more of the Sing For Your Supper events at Pall Mall and/or Woodcote Park since September 2021 is welcome to take part.

The Choir Committee is looking forward to performing in this fun evening with fellow Choir singers and invited guests and enjoying a sit-down meal accompanied by Club wine. To book your place, or if you have a question, please email choir-support@royalautomobileclub.co.uk.

Showcase rehearsal: Free Showcase performance: M: £35.00 G: £45.00 Includes: Three-course sit-down meal, wine and singing

Singing Workshop and Supper

Woodcote Park Thursday 14 March Arrive 6.30 for 7.00pm start Join us for this singing and social event which is open to everyone, including guests. No auditions are required. Join us at 6.30pm for a social half hour with a glass of wine before spending just over an hour singing with our Musical Director, Ian Holiday, followed by a buffet supper and wine.

The song will be revealed on the night but the illustration might help you to guess! Do you recognise any of the Choir members?

M: £35.00 G: £45.00 Includes: Buffet supper, Club wine and singing To book your place, please email: choir-support@royalautomobileclub.co.uk

YOUNG MEMBERS’ COMMITTEE Young Members' (18-35) Valentine's Ball

Pall Mall, The Mountbatten Room Friday 16 February, 6.30pm Join fellow young bohemians on Friday 16 February as we journey to the Moulin Rouge for a glittering night to remember. Diamonds are a girl's best friend, but so is Champagne – we will enjoy a sparkling reception and three-course meal with Club wine, followed by a DJ and entertainment.

The ball is a highlight of the Young Members’ calendar and not to be missed. The Mountbatten Room will be transformed into a Parisian dream, ready for you to can-can the night away. So whether you're coupled up or a solo performer, ‘the show must go on!’ – we look forward to seeing you there!

M: £100.00 G: £115.00 Dress code: Black tie with feathers, sparkle or Parisian chic PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB MOTORING

RAC FOUNDATION HM The King lays out plans for driverless cars.

IT IS OFTEN reported that His Majesty King Charles’s favourite car is his Aston Martin DB6 Volante, given to him as a present by the late Queen to celebrate his 21st birthday.

Estimated to be worth at least £2m at auction, a DB6 is many a driver’s fantasy car for a spin on a sunny day.

Yet, in last November’s King’s Speech to Parliament, King Charles set out the Government’s plans for a radically different world where the person behind the steering wheel of a car – if indeed there is a steering wheel at all – could be a passenger, rather than the driver.

In the one hundred clauses of the Automated Vehicles Bill, ministers have set out the framework they have designed to accommodate self-driving vehicles on public roads.

Importantly, the Bill was unambiguous about where responsibility will lie in case something goes wrong when the vehicle is moving: the occupants of a vehicle are to be immune from possible prosecution should the car crash whilst driving itself. That said, owners are not absolved of all obligations and will, for example, be accountable for the things that the car can’t do for itself such as checking tyre pressure and tread, avoiding overloading and taking out motor insurance.

The Bill envisages the creation of a ‘Road Safety Investigation Branch’ to examine and learn from incidents involving self-driving vehicles. The Foundation would prefer the focus of such a unit not to be limited solely to driverless cars. The three-year pilot scheme the Foundation ran with a number of police forces shows that there is plenty of work for such a branch to do before driverless technology makes its way into car showrooms – the number of crashes every year on our roads is still worryingly, and stubbornly, high.

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The Bill is unambiguous: a vehicle’s occupants are to be immune from possible prosecution should the car crash while driving itself.

‘There’s many a slip…’ as the saying goes, and never is this more true than for the process of a Bill making its way through Parliament. There’s debate to be had, amendments to be tabled and detail to be fleshed out, some of which will come later in regulations. But the ministers’ intent is clear: to get their Bill onto the statute book as soon as possible as part of a drive to persuade the automotive world that this country should be their destination of choice for trialling and demonstrating their driverless designs.

Maybe one day automated technology will have consigned the routine business of driving to the history books, but surely not the pleasure to be had from driving a welltended DB6. Thankfully The King’s Aston Martin is unlikely to be heading for the scrap heap anytime soon.

CLUB MOTORING

CLASSIFIEDS The Club’s free online classified advertisements can be seen on the Club website: just look for ‘Classified Advertisements’ in the main menu after you have signed in. Please email communications@royalautomobileclub.co.uk to arrange an advertisement on the website or in Pell-Mell & Woodcote. Magazine entries are charged at £50.00 per edition and the deadline for the next edition is noon on Tuesday 27 February.

FOR SALE OR RENT For Sale: French Alps, 18th Century Farmhouse In Samoens/traditional village of Vallon. A high-end restoration completed in 2018. Built area 900 sq m, land 3,000 sq m. Ten bedrooms all ensuite, kitchen, dining room, sitting room, barn with party area/ fitness studio, mazot with sauna and hot tub. Fibre internet. €3,750,000 or €554,000 1/8 share.

Email: info@fermestchristophe.com Tel: 07876 557368 www.savills.com or www.lazazu.com

Villa Al Bastini, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy A beautiful, 18th century villafarmhouse, nestled in a stunning, peaceful and private wooded-hillside.

This spacious Tuscan home enjoys magnificent views. Traditionally furnished to a high standard it features local stone, terracotta, and high chestnut-beamed ceilings.

Fully airconditioned, sleeps 10, 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a new heated-pool and new gourmet kitchen. Available to rent all year, one-week minimum stay. 15 minutes from the charming city of Lucca, 30 minutes from the Versilian coast and 30 minutes from Pisa airport. Please contact Peter.

Email: peterjmoorhouse@gmail.com Tel: 07767 320153 www.albastini.co.uk

Luxury Homestay in North Cornwall

2023 SanLorenzo SX76 Motor Yacht For Sale

Treglasta Manor offers relaxed and flexible accommodation for up to 8 guests (plus one infant) near the Cornish village of Boscastle.

Proximity to the North Cornwall coast allows for easy exploration of the beautiful shoreline. Elegant interiors blend original period features with contemporary comforts including an alfresco hot tub with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and log burner for cosy nights during the colder months. Changeovers: Fridays or Mondays. Discount possible for Club members.

Email: hello@treglastamanor.co.uk Tel: 07776 172601 www.treglastamanor.co.uk

Why wait two years for a new build? Get on the water this year with a new luxury superyacht that is under full warranty.

Moored in Antibes, France, this 23.75 metre Sanlorenzo SX76 is nearly brand-new and is built with top-range finishes. Also included is 4G/5G/Starlink-ready internet, a Williams 395 jet tender and a Seadoo Jet Ski. 8 Guests, 4 Cabins, 2 Crew. €5,950,000 Euros (VAT paid) Email: crc@Edmiston.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 7495 5151 or +33670763673 www.edmiston.com/7200/radkatyacht-for-sale/

Luxury Ski penthouse, ski inski out, Courchevel 1650 To rent, in the heart of Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), this stunning 5-bed penthouse boasts spectacular views whilst offering bright, quiet, and spacious accommodation. 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms/shower rooms, 2 separate WC, 2 ski lockers, 3 parking spaces, ski in-ski out, ski school and ski lifts (Telecabine Ariondaz) close by. Chef, concierge, and other services available upon request. Weekly rate 4400-9900 Euros.

Email: oursblanc.courchevel@yahoo. com Tel: +44 7881 421 207

Villa Linnazello, Italy Stylishly restored with modern furnishing, this villa has four bedrooms (all air conditioned), two bathrooms, an openplan kitchen/living room with a fireplace and a view of Argentario, a swimming pool, and a secluded garden.

Available to rent at any time of the year, Villa Linnazello is just a 45-minute drive from Rome Fiumicino airport and one hour by car or train from central Rome.

Email: book@linnazello.com Tel: 07798 524502 www.linnazello.com PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

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CLUB MEMBERS

TRAVEL

Six Bedroom Country House in North Cornwall Luxury country house close to Watergate Bay and Mawgan Porth.

Far-reaching country views. Dog friendly. Swedish hot tub, large enclosed garden and spacious oak gazebo. Unique, unforgettable multigenerational holiday let which sleeps 12 (plus 2 infants). Wonderful in any season. Changeovers: Fridays or Mondays. Discount for Club members.

Email: tg23219@gmail.com Telephone : 07788 911971

Waterside Holiday Home Mylor Cornwall A well-appointed 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom cottage next to Mylor Creek. Stunning views across the water and open Cornish countryside.

Convenient for Mylor Sailing School.

Slipway and private foreshore for launching paddleboards, kayaks, or dinghies. Ideal for walkers and wildlife lovers or relaxing beside the water, this is an idyllic setting for families, friends and their dogs to enjoy all year round.

Email: nigelandjacquie@ mylorcreekside.com Tel: +44 (0)7775 676435 www.mylorcreekside.com

Pettitts Travel Bespoke Holidays to India

Mercedes-Benz SL Class, 3.2 SL320 2dr, 1999 (S reg) Absolutely pristine condition.

Garaged and covered from new. Current owner since 2001.

Panoramic (detachable) hard-top roof. This is truly a collector’s vehicle, smoke free, pet free.

Mercedes’ Benz serviced with full-service history. Almost 1 year’s MOT, Only 16,500 miles since new.

Silver, 2 owners, £25,750. Location near Woodcote Park clubhouse.

Email: phjchapman@btinternet.com Tel: 07971 249 902

Rolex and Patek Phillippe Watches Pre-owned

We have in stock for immediate Luxury Six Bedroom purchase many of the rarest items in Cotswolds House watches, coins, stamps, manuscripts, and sport, film and music Luxury waterfront six-bedroom, memorabilia. We have over £50M in six-bathroom home in the Cotswolds stock right now, which makes us the near Lechlade set in 850 acres of largest dealer in the World in highcountryside. Golf, tennis, swimming, end collectibles. Also, we can find spa, gym, paddle boarding and biking any item you are looking for, as we all close by. Available throughout the have been in this business for over year to rent including Christmas and 45 years, with worldwide contacts.

New Year. Contact Karen Lewis.

Club member since 1995.

Email: karenpaulinelewis@hotmail.

Email: ant@paulfrasercollectibles.com co.uk Tel: 07700 702962 Tel: 07950 464419 www.paulfrasercollectibles.com 120 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

Explore India with Pettitts Travel, specialists in holidays to India since 1988. Embark on your curated journey with a private driver, where your itinerary is tailored to your personal interests, desired destinations, and preferred level of comfort. For the best advice and service, speak to Steven Pettitt or a member of his expert travel team and book your luxury holiday to discover India.

Email: info@pettitts.co.uk Tel: 0203 988 5094 www.pettitts.co.uk

Bespoke African Safari and Island Travel Offering once in a lifetime holidays.

Organised to meet your every need across Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. Personalised service tailoring every detail of your vacation from start to finish. Member of ATTA. Use code RAC23 for a reduced members’ rate.

Email: info@safariworx.com Tel: 0027 782 330779 www.safariworx.com

A French Truffle Start to 2024 Join Club member Brian Smith for a lavish three-night ‘Taste of’ truffle weekend and a luxury stay in La Cité, Carcassonne, France. The trip features a Michelin star dinner with wine pairings, guided vineyard tour and lunch, traditional Languedoc dinners, truffle hunting, a visit to a village celebration of local foods and wines, and more. Club members receive a 15% discount.

Email: brian@briansmithassociates.co.uk Tel: 07770 277010 www.atasteof.org.uk

CLUB MEMBERS

SERVICES Westminster Wealth Independent Financial Planning and Advice from Top 5 Ranked Firm. There is never a bad time to review your current financial position, aims and aspirations.

Club member Joss Gale is a Financial Adviser at Westminster Wealth Management in London who pride themselves on wholly independent financial planning and advice. In 2023, The Financial Times ranked Westminster 4th in their Top 100 Advice Firms. Joss lives close to Woodcote Park, please call for a no obligation chat.

Email: joss.gale@westminster-wealth. com Tel: 07760285780 www.westminster-wealth.com

Bespoke PA and Administrative Services, London and Home Counties annabel provides a professional, on-site and/or virtual solution to your home, life and business administrative requirements so you can free your time to focus on things that really matter to you. Offering a complete A-Z of PA services delivered through your own dedicated, hand-picked consultant, annabel will bring calm and order to your life in no time at all.

Email: help@annabel.co.uk Tel: 07808 578260 www.annabel.co.uk

London-based Home and Office Organiser Say goodbye to clutter and chaos in your home and office.

Enjoy a stylish organisation and decluttering service that provides

personalised solutions tailored to your needs and preferences.

Organisation services offered for almost any room, cupboard or drawer. Storage, archiving and inventory advice also available.

Free 30 minute consultation.

Email: a.moralestessier@gmail.com Instagram: @la.perfectionista.london

Caiger Art: Bring Wow Factor to Your Home Newly moved or redecorated? Are you looking for stunning artwork to complete your space? With a decade as Art Advisors, we offer our clients budget-friendly art buying guidance. Our experience allows us to work with you to source the perfect artwork. We also have amazing pieces available to buy online, to view by appointment in Ewell or at your home. Contact now for a free advice call.

Email: carol@caigerart.com Tel: 07828 513885 www.caigerart.com

Singing Tuition with a Friendly Expert Tutor Club member Ben Costello, a freelance singing teacher, musical director, and adjudicator, working internationally, offers singing lessons at his studio in Surbiton (home visits by arrangement).

Teaching all ages, in a variety of styles to include classical, pop, and musical theatre. Ben also enjoys working with adults wishing to explore their singing potential, or who may be in a choir and want to remain ‘match fit’ or pass that audition! Ben has enhanced DBS clearance and is an ISM-registered teacher.

Email: maestrocostello@gmail.com Tel: 07889 659324 www.bencostello.com

OTHER Opus Oléa Finest Quality Olive Oils Multi-awarded extra virgin olive oils with sublime taste profile produced with scrupulous hygiene and quality control by a Club member in Greece. No chemicals used in our sustainably cultivated olive grove. This is like nothing available in the supermarket. Please order directly from our website www. opuslivewell.com. Club discount on 6-packs (WELCOMERAC) Email: a.liakou@opuslivewell.com Tel: 020 7225 1452 www.opuslivewell.com

Rare opportunity for a Boat Share: Dehler 28’ Sail I am looking for a sailing partner for next season onwards. The boat is moored adjacent to Hamble Point Marina, in great shape, all ready to go. Share all running costs 50/50. Preferably looking for an experienced / keen sailor.

Email: davidbrydon1992@ googlemail.com Tel: 07789 131350

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CLUB HERITAGE

CLUB CURIOSITY Oh, to own a car in those earliest days …

By Club Librarian Trevor Dunmore

The Club’s 1,000 Mile Trial spawned an exclusive group of early automobilists who styled themselves ‘The Circle of 19th Century Motorists’.

MOST VISITORS TO Pall Mall will have noticed the handsome wooden board which hangs on the first floor opposite the main staircase, listing all the Club’s Presidents and Chairmen. Fewer will have studied the crest at the bottom of the board.

The Club’s 1,000 Mile Trial, held in 1900, became the pre-eminent motoring event of its era. It demonstrated to the general public that these new-fangled machines were capable of transporting someone, in relative comfort, from A to B. The Trial had another indirect, and lesser-known, consequence too; it spawned an exclusive group of early automobilists who styled themselves ‘The Circle of 19th Century Motorists’. The qualification for joining this elite band was the date of the start of the Trial: it acted as a cut-off point 122 PELL - MELL & WOODCOTE

for those wealthy and foresighted enough to own a motor car by April 1900.

The Circle was founded in November 1927. By definition, membership of the Circle would only ever have a finite lifespan.

At one point its membership had reached 220 but its last recorded reunion was held in 1943.

The Circle’s main objectives were to record what motor vehicle(s) each of its members owned and to coordinate annual reunions, the first of which was held at the Piccadilly Hotel on 14 December 1927.

Contributions from Circle members, of “short and interesting anecdotes of their early motoring experiences”, were welcomed – so a 1931 dinner invitation letter in the Club archive cites!

It is not clear how much the Club was involved in or had responsibility for the Circle over the following decades. At the time, though, it would have been difficult for any committed motorist, driving prior to 1900, to not also have been a member of the Club. Three of the five original organising committee members, Walter Bersey (pioneer of electrically-propelled vehicles), James Critchley and Ernest Instone, were also founder members of the ACGBI, which later became the Royal Automobile Club.

This board was presented to the Club in 1966 by the very few surviving members of the Circle. It continues to be updated whenever there is a change in President or Chairman.

PRECISION GIVES SPEED A MEANING What drives us?

It’s the edge-of-the-envelope verve that impels us to set new records, push new boundaries… to go faster, further than ever before.

The exclusively inclusive power of British innovation to transform the roar of an engine or the whirl of a rotor into something that transcends the mere mechanical and enters the realm of the exquisite.

The way passion and precision combine to create enduring beauty that withstands the test of time.

This is the spirit of Brooklands.

Discover the Triple-Four Racing Chronograph at brooklandswatches.com

JAXSON II R Derb y B o o t i n D a rk Lea f Ca lf Lea t h er

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