The Londoner: Scandal-hit women's club The Wing closes

In today's diary: The Wing shuts its London doors for good after "bullying" allegations| Historic Royal Palaces predicts normality is a long way off | Joe Lycett prefers lockdown solitude | Will Grant Shapps save Hammersmith Bridge as promised? | George Freeman's tips for a Covid-compliant wedding | Let normality return for singers and lovers
The rooftop of the London outpost of The Wing
The Wing
24 August 2020

Women-only club The Wing is shutting down its London location for good after being hit by accusations of racism and bullying.

The US-based company, which opened a space in Fitzrovia in September last year, has been mired in controversy for months. Many members — or “Winglets” — have left, and co-founder Audrey Gelman has resigned.

The club, which charges between £170 and £240 a month, counted Alexa Chung, Adwoa Aboah, Emilia Clarke and Cara and Poppy Delevingne among its founding members. An Instagram account called Flew the Coup described incidents where workers were allegedly “bullied” or publicly “berated” by managers, and people with subsidised memberships were “talked down” to by rich white members.

There were also concerns that workers have been laid off unfairly due to Covid-19, with six managers and 30 staff of the London space who were on hourly wages being made redundant.

“We have undergone major changes as a company,” the club wrote to London members on Thursday. “Unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic on our young London business has been too great for us to recover from.”

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Historic Royal Palaces, which runs the Tower of London, Hampton Court and Kensington Palace, isn’t expecting to be back to normal “until 2024” they tell us. Projected earnings have plunged to £10 million for 2020. Major building work is on hold and they hope for public funding. We trust the 1,000-year-old tower will survive.

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It’s the return of social anxiety. Comedian Joe Lycett felt more relaxed in lockdown “because I didn’t have to hang out with loads of the people that I would normally have hung out with,” he tells the I Weigh podcast.

“Not to slag off my friends and family, but I really like just sitting on my own and having a think.” Us too.

SW1A

Tory MP George Freeman gives us tips for a Covid-compliant wedding, after marrying theatre director Fiona Laird in Highgate earlier this month.

(George Freeman)

The ceremony had been delayed four times due to political turmoil. The 20 guests sat two metres apart, wore special red masks to match the bride’s dress, and had to hum rather than sing the hymns. “Life is short. Love makes the world go round, and less can be more,” Freeman told us from his honeymoon in France. Perhaps the engaged PM should take note.

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Will the Government step in to save Hammersmith Bridge, now closed to pedestrians as well as traffic?

A video has emerged of Transport Secretary Grant Shapps promising before last year’s election that the Tories would “get involved” if they won. We asked Shapps for comment.

Let normality return for singers and lovers

Things almost looked back to normal as presenters AJ Odudu, Pixie Lott and Danny Jones filmed the semi-finals of The Voice Kids over the weekend. The final is this Saturday.

Elsewhere, it was holidays. Robbie Williams and Ayda Field looked loved up by a lake. Georgia Toffolo cheerfully stared out to sea at a paddleboarder with a dog, and Sadie Frost sunned herself on a wall in Mallorca.

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