I have run my own catering business, and provided food and hospitality for the BBC, well-known universities and top football clubs. I already serve on our Board of Directors, seeking to help ensure the cuisine at the NLC, a crucial area of Club life, is among the best in Clubland.
I’d like to see more openness and transparency in the way our Club functions, and I hope we can foster stronger links between the Members’ Council and the Board… working more closely together to keep the club afloat and restore the NLC to
profitability.
I love music and am a former chorister at Salisbury Cathedral and the BBC Symphony Chorus. I’m an active member of our musical partners, the Kettner Society, which stages memorable concerts at our Club. I’ve organised some of these
and would love us to offer a wider range of musical events – from classical to jazz and beyond. Suggestions, please! (Tim joined the Club in 2017 and the Members’s Council in June 2022)
I have been a political member of the Club for nearly a decade now and was appointed as the NLC Honorary Librarian this year. The Club’s specialist Library, covering Liberal philosophy, history and politics, forms a unique resource and complements the marvellous physical heritage of the building and its art collection. We also provide a varied book collection for Members in the Smoking Room, such as reference books, biographies and satire.
My professional background is in healthcare and charity management and before retiring I was Chief Officer of the Unitarian Churches in Great Britain. I am active as chair of several charities, including The McDougall Trust, which aims to advance knowledge of democracy by publishing a well-regarded journal, Representation, among other activities.
I studied Politics and Economics at university followed by an MA in public administration and have an interest in the history of English and Irish Religious Dissent, especially its relationship with Liberal politics.
Libraries are not disappearing despite so much material being available online. I believe that a specialist Library like ours still has a contribution to make to supporting a healthy intellectual life in the NLC. (Derek joined the Club in 2015 and was appointed our Honorary Librarian in 2024.)
I now chair the Club’s Beer, Wines & Spirits Committee, and the Women’s Network. The popular Tuesday and Thursday Tables are something I co-host: these provide an opportunity for members, new and old, to meet together, get to know new people and enjoy the comforts of the Bar and Dining Room just as much or as little as they please.
My work is as an employment rights adviser for a trade union and, in such spare time as I have, I enjoy reading (mainly novels) and knitting. (Val joined the Club in 2008 and was elected to what is now the Members’ Council in 2019.)
I joined the Club as a political member in 2017, having been a regular visitor for more than 12 years. In 2018, I founded the Club’s LGBTQ+ Forum with a dedicated committee and represent an essential part of NLC’s motto of being London’s most “inclusive” and “diverse” club.
I moved up from Vice-Chair of the Club’s Membership Committee to become Chair in January 2023 on Karin Rehacek’s appointment as Chair of the Club following the resignation of Tim McNally, and stepped back from the Chair in May this year.
Currently, I work for a not-for-profit organisation, The Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI), as their Global Relationship Manager. In 2015 I stood, as the first openly HIV+ parliamentary candidate in Vauxhall, and then in Ipswich at the 2017 & 2019 elections.
Previously, I have chaired LGBT+ Liberal Democrats and, since 2018, I’ve chaired Liberal International British Group, part of Liberal International – which is also based at the Club. (Adrian joined the Club in 2017 and was elected to what is now the Members’ Council in 2020.)
Birmingham-born, I’m a committed European now living in Berlin and working with my husband, Michael, as a freelance translator to the music business. A General Committee member from 2007 – 2019, I also served on the General Purposes and Membership Committees, and initiated the Literary and German Circles. I introduced the first German reciprocal clubs, supported participation in “Open House weekend”, hosted LibDem receptions at the Club, and championed many recently-established NLC Forums.
I was a prison visitor, Witness Service volunteer – supporting witnesses at court, and a charity worker in Canterbury. I was active in LibDem politics – first in Canterbury from 2000, then in Bromley until 2018 – and am now an active member of the (reciprocal) International Club, Berlin. My interests: music, literature, handcrafts, swimming. (Janet joined the Club in 2004 and was Chair between 2016–2018; she is now a Vice-President and an elected, voting Council member).
