According to the saying, birds of a feather flock together, and when it comes to the male elite of the British establishment, one of their favored flocking spots has long been the Garrick Club in London.
However, the male-only sanctity of the nearly 200-year-old Garrick Club has been ruffled following revelations that its membership had – until a few days ago at least – included such societal luminaries as the UK’s spy chief, government ministers, judges and members of parliament, the heads of publicly funded arts institutions, actors, celebrities, and even King Charles.
Calls for public servants and others to quit the Garrick Club have mounted as critics question the judgement of powerful men paying an annual membership fee of about 1,000 British pounds (approximately $1,260) to join an exclusionist club that actively blocks the admission of women.
Now, the row has reached boiling point on London’s social scene, with the head of MI6, Richard Moore, and the head of the civil service, Simon Case, as well as four senior judges all announcing their resignations from the men-only watering hole in the past few days.
This is what we know about London’s exclusive, private-members Garrick Club:
‘Men of refinement’
Situated in the heart of “Theatreland” in London’s West End, the Garrick Club was founded in 1831 under the patronage of Augustus Frederick, the Duke of Sussex and brother of King George IV, to honor the 18th-century actor, David Garrick, who the club considers one of the “greatest actors of his time”.
Established to bring together “men of refinement and…
Post from www.aljazeera.com