Soho House

On a brief trip to London in the winter of 2005, I was invited to celebrate a French director's 40th birthday at Soho House. It was packed with sparkling people that weekday evening and naturally I had a fabulous time. I didn't think twice about the visit until I met up with some work colleagues the following day. When asked what I did the previous evening, they looked at me chartreuse with envy that I had already had drinks at Soho House. It seems it is a private members only club which began in 1995, which is still trendy as it has traded on its exclusivity, particularly amongst the entertainment crowd. Their stunned looks reminded me of the phrase: Membership has its privileges.

Well just this morning I decided to take a gander at their application just to see what it cost for such privileges (£600 per annum, in case you were wondering) and amongst the questions asked are:

What is your favourite bar?

What is your favourite restaurant?
What is your favourite hotel?

What makes you laugh? (approximately 10 words)

How do you think your friends would describe you? (approximately 25 words)

You know they say there's probably no right answers to these, but I am pretty sure there are wrong answers.

What is your favourite bar? Hard Rock Cafe
What is your favourite restaurant? Denny's
What is your favourite hotel? Holiday Inn
What makes you laugh? redneck jokes
How do you think your friends would describe you? conservative, dirt poor, gun-loving SOB

All kidding aside, Nick Jones the founder of the Soho House and its sister establishments around the world indicated in an interview, "We have 14,000 members worldwide, 55% are men, 45% are women and the average age is about 33. 75% of them work in media-related industries." He has helped to make members only clubs cool once again. In fact the concept has traveled across the pond, with a New York club and a soon to be LA outpost on Sunset Blvd as well as Miami and Chicago.

By the way, if anyone asks for me while I'm out, tell them I'm having lunch at Soho House this afternoon.

Punchlines

Where did I put my common sense? I swear I had it just the other day.

It'll show up eventually. Meanwhile, I say, sit back and enjoy your rare sense.