11 Things You Should Know Before Drinking A Pumpkin Spice Latte

Forget changing leaves, chilly temperatures or your frattiest guy friend putting his white jeans in hibernation—these days, nothing ushers in fall quite like the Pumpkin Spice Latte’s return to cafe menus nationwide. The beloved drink’s at the forefront of the still-going-strong, pumpkin-flavored everything trend (which now stretches from cereal to salad).

Before you take your first sip of the season, here’s what you need to know.

1. IT’S ABOUT AS CARB-LOADED AS EATING A BAGEL.

Thomas’ everything bagel clocks in at 53 grams of carbs per serving, which is about as many carbs as you’d find in a large, whole milk, no-whip pumpkin latte at most major chains. (In fact, a Pumpkin Ginger Latte from Caribou Coffee has more than twice as many carbs, clocking in at 127 grams and 710 calories, according to FOX News.)

2. IF YOU’RE ON A LOW-SUGAR DIET, BACK AWAY FROM THE LATTE. NOW.

Variations of the pumpkin latte and PSL range from 47 grams to 116 grams of sugar per large serving—well above the American Heart Association‘s recommended 24 grams of added sugar per day. While FOX News’s data uses Starbucks’ old recipe for the PSL—before it contained pumpkin puree—even updated info lists the drink as having 49 grams of sugar. And that’s for a nonfat, grande-sized latte.

The challenge is knowing how many grams of sugar are added in each drink, since nutrition labels cluster naturally occurring and added ones under the blanket category of just plain “sugar.” At this point, the American Heart Association recommends checking the ingredients listing for sucrose, maltose, honey, cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, syrup, corn sweetener or fruit juice concentrates.

3. DUNKIN’ IS USHERING IN FALL FIRST (SO FAR).

While Starbucks hasn’t officially announced the date its PSL hits stores—not yet, anyway—Peet’s Coffee, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts have been quick to release theirs. Dunkin’s the first to bring back the drink, releasing its fall menu in stores on Aug. 29, while the Golden Arches went with Aug. 30, and Peet’s pumpkin latte will roll out a day later, on the 31st.

If history is any indication, Starbucks will wait until after Labor Day to bring back the PSL. Though who knows, the drink has reached a level of fame that the ‘Bucks could pull a Beyoncé and quietly drop it in stores unannounced. (Not likely, but hey, @TheRealPSL has just as much sass as the former Sasha Fierce.)

4. IT’S THE MOST POPULAR SEASONAL DRINK THE ‘BUCKS HAS EVER SOLD.

The PSL has such a cult following that 108,000 people follow the drink—yes, the drink—on Twitter, waiting for clues to its return. It even had a secret Orange Sleeve Society last year, and to this day, it remains the siren-logoed store’s best-selling seasonal drink of all time. More than 200 million have been sold, according to a representative for the brand.

5. STARBUCKS USED PUMPKIN PIE TO CREATE THE ORIGINAL PSL.

The next time you complain about your job, consider how rough the recipe developers at Starbucks have it: To create the very first pumpkin spice latte, the product development team ate slices of pumpkin pie while sipping espresso to figure out how to blend the two flavors together, without one overpowering the other. It took three months of tasting and re-tasting drinks until they settled on The Pumpkin Spice Latte—a recipe that hadn’t changed until last year (more on that below).

6. NOT EVERY PSL CONTAINS REAL PUMPKIN.

Just because “pumpkin spice” is in the name doesn’t mean the gourd’s actually used to make the drink. In fact, it wasn’t until last year that Starbucks reconfigured its PSL to include it—previously, the pumpkin spice sauce was largely autumnal seasonings.

If drinking a latte that doesn’t contain real pumpkin puree makes you feel like you’re living a lie, ask to see the ingredients listing before ordering (or Google it). Sometimes, pumpkin spice simply refers to a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, and the drink’s golden hue can be the result of caramel coloring. As more brands move away from using artificial colors and flavors, expect to see more of the real thing.

7. IT COULD MAKE YOU SPEND MORE MONEY.

People tend to spend a $1.14 more in stores when they’re ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte, according to a study by the NPD Group. The organization analyzed 35,000 receipts, finding that buying the latte was a true #treatyoself moment—many people also splurged on something to eat with it, ratcheting up their bill a bit more than usual.

8. THE DRINK *COULD* HIT GROCERY STORES BEFORE CAFES THIS YEAR.

Right now, this is all a matter of timing: Starbucks hasn’t revealed the official release date of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, but a spokesperson confirmed its line of PS-flavored products sold in grocery stores (including its bottled Frappuccinos) would be in stores by September. So, depending on when the ‘Bucks actually releases the drink, you could—theoretically—find it in your local Kroger or Target before you can ask your barista to whip one up.

9. PEOPLE CRAVE PUMPKIN THE MOST ON ALL HALLOWS EVE.

For three years running, more people have downed pumpkin-y treats (including PSLs) on Oct. 31 than any other day of the year, according to data from MyFitnessPal. That’s probably because Halloween acts as a trigger, making you crave a festive drank to go with your mood.

10. THIS MAN IS THE GODFATHER OF THE PSL.

Twelve years ago, when Starbucks’s director of espresso, Peter Dukes, was a project manager, he was given a task: Create a pumpkin-y latte to round out the brand’s fall seasonal drinks. Duke’s team decorated the “Liquid Lab,” an R&D kitchen at Starbucks’s Seattle HQ, with fall decorations and brought in the aforementioned pumpkin pies, testing what was almost called the “Fall Harvest Latte,” before they settled on the name (and acronym) you know today.

“Nobody knew back then what it would grow to be,” Dukes said in 2014. “It’s taken on a life of its own.”

11. KNOWING WHEN THE PSL HITS STORES *COULD* MAKE YOU SEEM COOLER.

There’s a certain social currency in being that in-the-know friend; the one who tips other people off to what’s trending and what’s coming back, Invisible Influence author and Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger told us last fall. Even though Pumpkin Spice Lattes have become lampooned as the “it” drink for “Basic B*tches” everywhere (you know, those girls who like universally likable things, which has somehow been contorted into an insult), knowing when the latte returns before anyone else does could earn you bragging rights—at least in some circles.

Of course, it has reached such a mainstream level of ubiquity that you could argue it’s about to go the way of all guilty pleasures, like watching Grey’s Anatomy after season 3 or listening to Creed albums: Something you indulge in secretly, out of concern people will judge you for loving a drink that’s often compared to a Yankee Candle.

Our take? You do you. Drink—or don’t—proudly.

Monty Python at 50: a Half-Century of Silly Walks, Edible Props and Dead Parrots

It’s not dead, it’s pining for the fjords! … John Cleese returns his Norwegian Blue parrot. Photograph: Allstar/BBC

In this rare glimpse inside the BBC archives, we reveal the exasperated internal memos, the furious letters from wing commanders – and David Frost’s bid to bring them down.

In a memo sent in 1969, the BBC head of comedy seems to have lost his sense of humour. “Please will you have a word with the writers?” said Michael Mills. “I haven’t reacted to the funny titles that have appeared on the scripts so far. I hoped that they would cease of their own accord.”

The titles that irritated him included “Bunn Wackett Buzzard Stubble and Boot”, apparently a spoof legal firm, which came to be shortened to Bunwackett. The show, meanwhile, had the working title The Circus. Now, though, Mills had had enough: “The time has come when we must stop having peculiar titles and settle on one overall title … Please would you have words with them and try to produce something palatable?”

Following this intervention, a title was finally agreed upon: Monty Python’s Flying Circus. And on 19 September 1969, BBC North sent an invitation to journalists to go on location for the filming of the show at the Cow and Calf pub on Ilkley Moor. They were promised “crazy antics” and “the first opportunity to see this new-style brand of late-night nutty comedy in action, and all its writer-stars: John Cleese, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Michael Palin.” (As would often be the case, the animator Terry Gilliam was omitted, though he played many on-screen roles, and his brutal cartoons were the show’s signature innovation.)

This memo and press release are among the documentation relating to the premiere, exactly 50 years ago, of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Until exhumed by a researcher, the creative entrails of old BBC shows are buried in pink folders, hole-punched and tied with green bootlaces. Now, a rare peek inside the binders has uncovered all the secrets of the Pythons’ earliest days.

The archive is especially important for this show. The Pythons included a prolific diarist – Palin has published three hefty volumes already – but, dismayingly, the months around the start of the first Python show are one of the longest gaps. Palin attributes this to the busy-ness of filming, and having a young child and ailing elderly father.

The minister for silly walks … Cleese in Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Photograph: Allstar/BBC

Presumably following calculations on some abacus of celebrity value, accounts initially paid Cleese £67 per show more than the others, Palin £1 less than Jones and Chapman, and Idle £2 less. Gilliam, an artist rather than “artiste”, was contracted separately.

Although comic weirdness had been introduced to the BBC by The Goon Show, Monty Python went even further. BBC production teams may have sensed something odd was coming from the paperwork: a requisition form to the props department asks for a “selection of bras (6), panties (6), and tights (5)” and “1 swastika flag, approx 4’ x 2.6”. A list of extras for a filming day includes, after one name, the specification “no pigeon on shoulder” (parrots, on shoulders and flat on their perch, would become a Python speciality). A handwritten note asks: “What about topless on fountain?”

Most surreally, on 9 September, the show’s producer John Howard Davies sent a memo to Bernard Wilkie in visual effects requesting “1 copy of Turner’s ‘Fighting Temeraire’ … in a detachable frame, which can be broken off and eaten – with two eatable refill frames”.

Later the same day, Wilkie’s assistant returned the request with the note: “Unfortunately … all edible props must be obtained through the Catering Manager.”

While the head of comedy had persuaded the team to pick a title, he could not persuade them to take editorial procedures seriously. The Pythons wanted to caption the first episode “programme two”, a joke the corporation chose to ignore. They also described their show as “designed to subdue the violence in us all with gentle sick laughter”. This was not passed on to the press, though the misleading subtitle “Wither Canada?” was – which some newspaper previews reproduced unquestioningly.

Having survived the threat of a strike by BBC staff over the controversy that the new comedy show was replacing a late-night religious programme – the corporation cleverly argued that the devotional show was shifted to spare clergymen a late night on their busiest day – Monty Python’s Flying Circus was first transmitted at 22:50 on 5 October 1969.

Trail-blazers … Monty Python

A memo sent between senior executives reveals that the first episode achieved 1.5 million viewers with an audience appreciation (based on a small number of viewers paid to value what they watched) of 45 (out of 100). In comparison, the Rolf Harris Show (though in a primetime slot, and with a presenter then seen as a lovable family entertainer, rather than the convicted sex offender he later became) attracted 11 million viewers and a 64 enjoyment score.

The public response, at least from the correspondence archived by the BBC, seems to have been positive. The fan letters are a rarity, in that they immediately mimic and celebrate the tone of the Pythons. What seems to be a furious letter from a wing commander (retired), complaining about the “long-haired louts” making fun of the flying machines that won the Battle of Britain, is revealed to be written by a 16-year-old called Philip.

Another viewer called Rufus writes in the guise of an expert in the art or sport of “black pudding bending”. A gentleman from Tunbridge Wells is not outraged, in line with the local stereotype, but engaged, repeatedly sending handwritten sketches that are politely declined on the grounds that the Pythons write all their own material.Advertisement

While Cleese has latterly attracted a reputation for irascibility, he is caught out in the files in a gesture of striking kindness. A Kent schoolboy called Doug Holman writes, asking for tickets to a recording. Cleese arranges for a pair to be sent. Doug, boldly, writes back, saying he is part of a large group of friends who want to go. Cleese contacts the BBC to request a further 14 tickets, suggesting that the young will be “good laughers”.

Given the passage of five decades, many of the early Python audience have joined the choir invisible with the programme’s late parrot. But I tracked down a Doug Holman who grew up in Kent and is now 69, running a business in Hampshire. My email rapidly received the reply: “It’s a fair cop! Hearty congratulations on your detective work.”

‘Continually going over the edge of what is acceptable’ … the Pythons. Photograph: Allstar/BBC

In 1969, he was an electronics student at Portsmouth University, and an obsessive fan of the radio show I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, starring Cleese. Noticing a poster in the student union advertising the comedian as guest speaker, Holman went and saw Cleese deliver a “verbal assault on British Rail [he had arrived late] and BBC bureaucracy”, before inviting the students to write to him if they wanted tickets for a recording of I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again.

Then, “almost as an afterthought,” Holman remembers, “he handed round a few copies of scripts for ‘a new, as yet untitled, TV show’ he was hoping would be commissioned. The copy I saw included strange references to things like exploding knees, but I confess the general reaction was one of polite perplexity.”

Holman wrote off for tickets to the radio show but, some days later, “my sister rushed into the kitchen blurting out: ‘It’s … John Cleese … from the BBC … for Doug!’ Cleese explained that sadly, there would be no new series of ISIRTA that year, before asking whether I’d be interested in tickets for the new TV show? In the heat of the moment, I suggested: ‘How about four; that’s four car-loads?’ That’s why the number of tickets increased from two to 16.”Advertisement

The BBC response, the archives make clear, was far less positive. At the weekly meeting where senior managers discussed the output, the head of factual had found Python “disgusting”, arts had thought it “nihilistic and cruel”, while religion objected to a Gilliam animation in which “Jesus … had swung his arm”. The BBC One controller sensed the makers “continually going over the edge of what is acceptable”.

Early days … Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Photograph: Allstar/BBC/Sportsphoto Ltd.

In yet another sign of internal disapproval, the Pythons were commissioned to provide material for the 1969 Christmas Night with the Stars, the BBC end-of-year jamboree, but a brisk memo rejects their sketch.

The archives also reveal an undertow of tension with the TV presenter and producer, David Frost. On 20 April 1969, while the first series is in pre-production, the writer-performer Barry Took, then a consultant for the BBC, warns Mills, the head of comedy: “John Cleese phoned today to say that he is still under contract to Paradine Productions, who want to be involved in The Circus project as a co-production.”

Frost, only 30 but already a formidable TV impresario, owned Paradine (which was called after his middle name). Took reports that, if the BBC will not co-operate with Frost, Cleese will withdraw from The Circus. He recommends that the BBC produce a series with “Palin, Jones, Idle and cartoon inserts from Terry Gilliam”, then revive the idea of The Circus in 1971, when Cleese becomes free.

There is always a moment when what is now a classic comes perilously close to not happening; this was Python’s. The files do not reveal how the BBC saw off Frost, but the corporation seems to have played hard-ball.

In another intrusion of real-life surreality into the Python story, the postmaster general at the time was John Stonehouse, who would soon afterwards fake his death by leaving his clothes on a beach in Miami, and was subsequently arrested by police officers who thought he was Lord Lucan, another prominent disappeared Briton of the era. Stonehouse was jailed for fraud, and revealed as a Czechoslovakian secret agent. Having censured Python over the Frost incident, he later inspired another major BBC comedy series: The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, in which David Nobbs’ hero pretends to have drowned in a swimming accident.

On 11 August 1970, having commissioned a second run of Python, Mills laments in a memo to the BBC hierarchy: “I am very unhappy that all the regions are opting out of the new series.” The team had become victim to another BBC continuity announcement trope they liked to satirise: “Except for viewers in Scotland/Northern Ireland/Wales.”

But these rejections – and many memos reporting Cleese’s reluctance to make another series – could not prevent the Pythons going on to conquer TV, cinema (Holy Grail, Life of Brian) and stage.

Five decades after a 19-year-old student struck the audacious free-ticket deal immortalised in the BBC archives, Holman still energises his memories of the recording: “There was a restaurant scene but I think the producer abandoned it when Cleese – seemingly unhappy about having no lines – disrupted each take by performing random Tourette-like impressions of a mouse being strangled by a psychotic cat. I remember it being total anarchy yet excruciatingly funny, in the literal sense. We all experienced genuine pain from extended bouts of uncontrollable laughter.”

Everything You Need to Know About Soho House Hong Kong

A rendering of the House Brasserie, with views of Victoria Harbour from the 28th floor.

A decade in the making, Soho House Hong Kong is finally getting ready to open its doors this September. Memorably featured in a 2003 episode of Sex and the City and now something of a cultural phenomenon in its own right, the private members’ club was established in 1995 and has gone from one location in London to 24 clubs spanning the UK, North America, Europe and Asia. (When it opens this fall, Soho House Hong Kong will be the 25th.) In case you’re not familiar, the ethos of Soho House is simple: “to create a comfortable home from home for a community of like-minded people, wherever they are.”

Though one former proposed location was Tai Kwun, Soho House isn’t located in Hong Kong’s Soho neighbourhood but rather in Sheung Wan, on an unglamorous stretch of Des Voeux Road West. However, there are perks to this location: Occupying a 28-storey tower, Soho House features views over Hong Kong Island, Victoria Harbour and Victoria Peak. The interiors are being overseen by Soho House Design, an in-house team, with inspiration taken from the city itself, including colour palettes and references from Hong Kong films and the work of directors such as Wong Kar-wai. Patterns and fabrics that feel uniquely Hong Kong will feature prominently, while blending with the international design found throughout Soho Houses around the world.

Art features prominently throughout the property, with a permanent collection entirely focused on artists born or based in Hong Kong. Featuring over 100 works of art from established names such as Lee Kit and Tsang Kin Wah, emerging artists such as Firenze Lai and historic material from the likes of Ho Fan, Yau Leung, Wong Wo Bik and Choi Yan Chi, the collection has been curated by Kate Bryan, Head of Collections for Soho House.

What else is inside? Quite a lot, considering this is the biggest Soho House yet, spanning some 120,000 square feet. The gym, dubbed Soho Active, will span three floors linked by an internal staircase; reception and changing areas including sauna and steam rooms will be located on a separate floor. Elsewhere, a co-working space known as Soho Works will occupy nine floors of the building: Floors 17–23 will hold office space for Works members, while floors 2 and 3 will have a lounge and meeting spaces, where Works events will also be held.

A rendering of the Pool Room, located on the 30th floor.
The main member’s bar and club space on the 29th floor.

On the first floor, a white-box space called the House Studio will host exhibitions, shows and other events. On the ground floor, club reception will sit alongside a new concept called The Store, where members will be able to shop for products from Soho Home and Cowshed as well as items created by fellow members.

Most notable are the club floors, occupying floors 25–30. Up top is the 1970s-inspired Pool Room, designed as a solarium with plants, rattan furniture and daybeds, not to mention a swim-up bar. One floor below is the main bar and club space, with lounge-style furniture, a dark colour palette and a stage that will be used for karaoke nights. The House Brasserie is found on the 28th floor, where a menu of Soho House classics (brick chicken, the Dirty Burger) will be served alongside locally inspired seafood dishes, siu mei, dim sum and Peking duck.

A rendering of The Drawing Room.
A function room on the 26th floor.
An events room on the 25th floor.

On the 27th floor, the Drawing Room is a light, bright space with contemporary design: think cork ceiling, jade greens and burnt orange. The menu includes a daily afternoon tea set, and there are two private dining areas, which can be fully closed off for events. Two events spaces — a private dining room and a function room — occupy the 26th floor, both equipped with marble-top bars; there’s also a stage which will be used for members’ events. Last but not least, the 25th floor houses a pre-events bar, a screening room and a large function space. Different floors will open in phases, with the club floors expected to be finished by mid-September, while other sections of the building will open in winter and spring.

One of the changing rooms at the gym.
A rendering of the gym’s studio space.
The gym’s reception area.

If you want to become a member, you can start the process here, but note that demand is high and membership is limited to those in the creative industries. There are, however, benefits to joining sooner than later: Existing Cities Without Houses members and founder members will have free access to Soho Works and Soho Active for a year, while those who join after September will have to pay additional fees for usage of those amenities.

To find out more about this highly anticipated new opening, we sat down with Nick Jones, Founder and CEO of Soho House, to chat about Hong Kong’s creative scene, where he plans to open clubs next and more.

Nick Jones at Soho House Barcelona

Soho House is famous for having a rule against suits and ties, and not really welcoming finance types. Is that still true to this day? Has it changed over time?

Loads of bankers going out for a big knees up on a Thursday night is not something we want to become because it’s not very nice [to be around]. But, individually, we have nothing against anyone. We don’t want Soho House to be a place full of corporate entertaining; we want Soho House to be full of like-minded evenings and fun moments. I think people in finance have changed, so we’re not saying no to finance — the no suit and tie was just one way of [expressing our point of view]. And of course, there are plenty of people with great suits and ties who have nothing to do with finance.

There were reports that Soho House Hong Kong would open in March or earlier. What caused the delays?

We never announced exactly when we were opening. We were hoping to open before the summer, and if we really pushed it, we probably could’ve opened by the end of June. But what we decided to do is hold off and do it properly in September. So the answer is yes, it has been a slight delay but no worse than what we usually have. To achieve a 30-storey tower block and club within just over two years is a pretty good achievement.

When do you plan to welcome members to Soho House Hong Kong?

Certainly all the club floors will be finished by the end of September, but the four main club floors will be open the week commencing September 8th for an open house. To have one big party is, you know, you have to move all the furniture out, and what we want to do is show the house off in its glory. So we’ll just invite our founder membership over a period of four nights. We don’t want them all to come up the same night because it needs to be controlled. They’ll come in to experience the club, eat in the club, drink in the club, look at the entertainment.

The three floors of Soho Active will be ready from September the 8th. Soho Works will come online in January and the completion of the ground floor store will be in January or February. So by spring next year everything will be really up and running.

For someone who’s never heard of heard of Soho House, why should they want to be a member?

Just because the club originated from Britain, it doesn’t mean we’re an expat club. We are a club for Hong Kong Chinese and we very much want them to feel that we’re offering everything that they need. Hong Kong is a fantastic city with many incredible places to go. What we want at Soho House Hong Kong is just to add something additional to the city. I think what’s different is that we are under one roof, we’re in a great location, and we’ve got plenty of space. We’re not going to be here now and gone in three years’ time. We have a very substantial lease through our partners, Nan Fung. We are investing a lot of money to make sure that the members, every single member, is taken care of. I hope that the people of Hong Kong will find that very appealing.

As you know, Hong Kong already has many private members’ clubs. How is Soho House different?

Hong Kong has had lots of members’ clubs, a bit like the way that Britain has had lots of members’ clubs. I think what’s different about us is that we’re inclusive, not exclusive. We are aiming at a younger, more creative demographic — and the fact that we’re not about money.

I only want a membership to Soho House to improve someone’s life. It’s not just physical space I’m talking about, it’s not just a nice place to hang out and drink and meet and whatever. We care deeply about making sure that people in our community meet other people in our community who might be able to help them. I think with members’ events and everything we’re doing, all we’re trying to do is make our members’ lives better.

How will Soho House Hong Kong be different from the other 24 clubs?

Well, this is the biggest House, and it’s the first one where we’ve properly integrated the work space, the gym space and the House space into one building. We feel it’s a fabulous location. And of course, it’s our first entry into the Far East. That makes me nervous but at the same time it makes me incredibly excited.

Why should that make you nervous?

Because if you’re not nervous, you’re complacent. And I don’t think that’s a good thing.

Why open in Hong Kong before Beijing or Tokyo?

Beijing and Shanghai and Tokyo and Bangkok are very much on our list. It just so happened that we felt Hong Kong was going to be the first one to get into. And if Hong Kong works, we will be having a very, very proactive expansion around the Far East.

Why is now the right time for Soho House to open in Hong Kong?

The timing is more accidental than deliberate. We have been looking for a Soho House in Hong Kong for nearly a decade now. As you know it’s really difficult to find good properties with a decent lease in good areas in Hong Kong, so it’s taken us a long time to find it. But saying that, I think Hong Kong has changed and the creative industries are certainly popping up much more visibly than they were. Fashion music, art — these are very big parts of everyday life here.

Hong Kong has changed and will continue to change, and having something like Soho House here will also help it change. There’s also an incredibly interesting community of people who are in those businesses who would love a place where they could gather under one roof and feel that they are part of the same community. The people I’ve met in Hong Kong, they will be brilliant additions to our global community.

Unlike other clubs, this Soho House has no hotel accommodations. Was that a deliberate decision?

Well, it was not a deliberate decision because we initially put in an application for 60 bedrooms. Through some technical issues with the size of a building, at this stage it was not possible. Now, we could have reapplied and probably got them, but we sort of felt that actually, even though bedrooms are a nice amenity, it’s not an amenity that local Hong Kong people necessarily want, because they live in Hong Kong. We felt like giving more work space, more club space and more fitness space was better, so that’s why we dropped the idea.

How has Soho House changed since its founding?

When we started nearly 25 years ago, what we created there was a home from home for people who were prominently in the creative industries, but had a like-mindedness about them where they could meet, connect, work, watch movies, go to members’ events. I suppose in a way, the principle of that is exactly the same now. Soho House for 25 years has created a community for its membership, created content for its membership, and created connectability within its membership. As the years have progressed, we’ve really just added to what we had at the beginning, albeit in a more global, diverse, interesting way.

After you open a new club, how do you judge its success?

Our success is judged purely on member reaction. It’s not done on figures or P&L sheets. It’s purely done on reaction, how often our members are using us and the feedback we get.

What other Soho House locations are in the works?

We’ve got Rome opening next year, and Milan currently under construction. We’ve got Lisbon just about to go under construction, and Paris opening next year. We’ve got Nashville opening, Austin opening, and we’re doing one in Philadelphia. There’s many more houses to come. Our members love more houses: It makes our community of members more interesting because you go into each city and get the cream of that city and they join the global gang.

Will any parts of Soho House Hong Kong be open to the public?

Sure, we’ll have exhibitions which will be open to the public, and times when The Store is open to the public downstairs. But [generally], you have to have a membership to be able to come in here.

Light Sprang Forth: Celebrating Light Through the Eyes of an Artist

“Light Sprang Forth”, Henri van Bentum, 1964, acrylic on canvas

The International Day of Light (#IDL2019) is an annual event, a global initiative held on May 16th, providing an annual focal point for the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy.

The broad theme of light allows many different sectors of society worldwide to participate in activities that demonstrates how science, technology, art and culture can help achieve the goals of UNESCO – education, equality, and peace.

Why May 16th?
May 16th is the anniversary of the first successful operation of a laser in 1960. The laser is a perfect example of how a scientific discovery can yield revolutionary benefits to society in communications, healthcare and many other fields. The International Day of Light however is not just about science – the themes cover all areas of light in its general sense including art, culture, and development.

Light Sprang Forth 2
Celebrating the work of Netherlands-born artist and colorist Henri van Bentum, and to mark the International Day of Light 2019.

https://vanbentum.wixsite.com/lightsprangforth

“Perhaps his background as a diamond-faceter’s son is responsible for the almost crystalline aspect of van Bentum’s work. His paintings have a luminosity, a radiance, that emanates from within.” By clicking the link above, you will be taken to a rotating gallery of some 21 “micro-macro” paintings, all created in the years before microphotography or images from space were available — all inspired from an inner vision. (For the title and year of each painting, hover your mouse over the bottom of the image.)

About Henri van Bentum

“The art of Henri van Bentum reminds us of organic processes on the cosmic and microcosmic levels.  There are many organic processes embodied in the work; they help me sense the vastness, complexity and beauty of the cosmos.” Leslie Mezei 

Artist Henri van Bentum was born in the Lowlands. His work is represented worldwide.  He has travelled extensively, including three circumnavigations by ship as lecturer and art instructor, and also has made several snorkel expeditions to coral reefs.  He is a member of the international Circumnavigators Club.  Henri collaborated with NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory on a project called “Coloring Space”, juxtaposing images from space with his “Organiverse” Starry Night edition.

Hero Warship: HMCS Beacon Hill and Her Daring Commander


CFB Esquimalt’s Naval & Military Museum is proud to announce their upcoming special exhibit titled “Hero Warship: HMCS Beacon Hill and Her Daring Commander” which will highlight the WWII Canadian frigate which served as Victoria’s namesake ship during the war and immediate post-war era. Cdr Ted Simmons was a famous Canadian Naval figure of the Battle of the Atlantic who was also a Victoria native.

The Naval & Military Museum will be open over the Victoria Day long weekend, after the official opening on May 17, 2019.

HMCS BEACON HILL in characteristic west-coast camouflage during wartime (circa 1944).<br/><br/>Photo Catalogue No. VR991.383.1″/><figcaption>HMCS BEACON HILL in characteristic west-coast camouflage during wartime (circa 1944).<br>Photo Catalogue No. VR991.383.1<br></figcaption></figure></div>
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Workplace Accident Claims Life at Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club

A long-time employee at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club died in a workplace accident on April 23, 2019. [PNG Merlin Archive]

“We know this comes as a shock, especially to his colleagues. Counselling services are being made available to staff members,” the note read.

A longtime maintenance worker died at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis club on Tuesday, according to a statement released to members.

The statement, signed by the club’s board, read: “Yesterday was a tragic day at Vancouver Lawn. Ken Gordon, our maintenance lead hand, died in an accident during the take down of our bubbles. Our deepest sympathies have been expressed to Ken’s family, and we are doing everything we can to support them at this time.”

It goes on to state that Gordon worked at the club for over 34 years and was an integral part of the club community.

“We know this comes as a shock, especially to his colleagues. Counselling services are being made available to staff members,” the note read.

The club’s Facebook page said April 23 was the date set to take down the bubbles that are erected over the outdoor courts and swimming pool during the winter months. The bubbles, or domes, are kept up with air pressure and deflate slowly when they are being taken down.

WorkSafeBC spokeswoman Gillian Burnett said the organization was contacted by Vancouver police at around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Burnett said an inspection report would be filed in the next week. A detailed investigation report would be available at a later date outlining the cause and ways to help prevent similar incidents.

April 28 marks the B.C. Day of Mourning for people killed and injured in workplace accidents. According to WorkSafe, in 2018 there were six women and 125 men killed in workplace accidents in the province. The most deaths occurred in general construction and transportation.

Spirit of Canada: An Artist’s Journal of the Canadian Landscape by John Stuart Pryce

The Maritime Museum of BC is pleased to announce the opening of a new art show titled Spirit of Canada: An Artist’s Journal of the Canadian Landscape by Union Club member John Stuart Pryce, on now till August 29, 2019.

“The Golden Years” by John Stuart Pryce

About John Stuart Pryce

John Stuart Pryce

John’s love for art began at a very early age, as he discovered the great satisfaction derived from his ability to draw and paint. He continued developing his artistic interests, and eventually became an art major at the highly acclaimed H.B. Beal Tech. in London, Ontario. Since that time John has worked and studied in Montreal, Chicago and Toronto. During a successful career as an architectural illustrator, his work was used in projects around the world. His seemingly loose yet eloquent technique is the result of years of experience in the disciplines of drawing, colour and composition.

John currently divides his time between painting and sharing his artistic knowledge with others through his painting workshops.

“The purest and most rewarding form of painting, in my opinion, is “en plein air” as it challenges all of the skills and discipline of the artist.”

Artist’s Statement

“Na Nuq” by John Stuart Pryce

“There is value in all forms of art whether decorative, non-objective or representational but I prefer to use my artistic skills to bring an awareness of the beauty that surrounds us and the environment that we take for granted.

A painting should have a soul, make a statement or give rise to thought and conversation.

I paint only subjects or experiences that are personally connected and strive to share the emotions that I feel as eloquently and creatively as possible.

My goal is to share with others what my eyes see, my heart feels and my soul yearns to understand”

Show Dates: April 12 – August 29, 2019
Location: 634 Humboldt Street, Victoria BC
Hours of Operation:

  • 10am-5pm, Tuesday-Sunday
  • May 20 to August 29,  10am-5pm daily

The artwork is for sale.

Want Clubby Cachet? Stay at a Private Club

Growing numbers of travelers are staying at these old-school institutions, swapping the hotel experience for one that they say offers culture, history and a sense of belonging.

When Kwame Campbell, 48, a real-estate conference producer, travels to Providence, R.I., for events at his alma mater, Brown, he stays at the Hope Club in the College Hill neighborhood, chartered in 1876. “I love it,” he said. “It is like an Edith Wharton novel, one of those turn-of-the-century mansions.”

Mr. Campbell said he enjoys the sense of history, though room modernizations can make for unusual configurations. “My shower had a frosted window overlooking the hallway,” he said. “It was definitely a moment out of ‘The Shining.’ ”

As more boutique hotels offer a retro, club-like experience, some travelers have discovered that they prefer the real thing: lodging overnight in private, 19th-century clubs. So-called city clubs offer culture, history and a sense of belonging under one landmark roof, and, although it might sound counterintuitive, are often cheaper than hotels. The Hope Club, for example, starts at $110 a night.

Occupancy rates in city clubs, while lower than hotels (61 percent versus 69 percent in 2017) are on the rise overall, according to Jonathan McCabe, a consultant to the club industry who is the former general manager of the Union League Club of Chicago. “The Union League Club of Chicago, Union League Club Philadelphia, The Yale Club in New York and the New York Athletic Club are all chockablock full in their guest rooms,” he said.

The catch — which is also a great part of the appeal — is getting in.

American city clubs, many affiliated with elite universities, date back a century or more and come with some questionable historical baggage. Early city clubs excluded women, Jews, African-Americans and other minority groups.

These days, nearly all are coed, diverse and far more inclusive than they once were. The Princeton Club of New York accepts not only Princeton alumni but graduates and faculty of 16 associate schools, including Villanova, William & Mary and Bucknell; the Cornell Club-New York, to which Mr. Campbell belongs, admits members who are graduates of Brown, Tulane and Notre Dame, among others. Some clubs offer annual membership for under $1,000 a year to young applicants. Members can dine, read, drink or go to programs at their home clubs, and receive a major travel perk: They can lodge overnight in similar clubs worldwide at member rates.

City clubs, by virtue of their long history, can charge low room rates because most are exempt from federal income tax. They are often located in city centers, in areas where comparable hotels might charge twice the rate. The Los Angeles Athletic Club, which rents rooms to the public starting at $249, has been in its downtown home since 1912, before downtown Los Angeles’s golden age and its more recent resurgence with the addition of the Nomad and the Ace to the local hotel scene.

Some city clubs like the L.A.A.C. have opened their rooms to the public because of economic circumstances, realizing they needed to increase occupancy. But they must walk a delicate balance. To avoid tax penalties, social clubs cannot derive more than 15 percent of their gross receipts from nonmember use.

The East India Club in London is near St. James Park, Buckingham Palace and Pall Mall. Patrick Williams, 52, a marketing vice president and Irishman living in New York, stays there through his membership in the Stephens Green Hibernian Club in Dublin.

The East India Club dates to the mid-19th century and was founded by servants of the East India Company and commissioned officers of Her Majesty’s Army and Navy. “It’s an old-fashioned part of London that’s right in the heart of the hedge-fund and private-equity industries,” said Mr. Williams. “There is also something rather James Bond-esque about saying, ‘I’m staying at the East India Club in St. James Square.’” But the East India Club does not have Bond-level luxury prices: a single with a shower is 87 pounds (about $113).

Modern clubs like Soho House in New York City were founded in the tradition of 19th-century clubs, and their members include young, media-savvy professionals who find athletic and university clubs too stodgy. Soho House has an international club network of its own, with 23 “houses” globally, 14 of them with bedrooms to rent for the night. All can be booked by members and nonmembers.

Natacha Tonissoo, 32, a London-born Brooklynite who works in travel public relations, joined Dumbo House in Brooklyn for $3,200 a year so she could utilize Soho House’s other locations. On a spring trip to London, she visited the White City Club, located in the former headquarters of the BBC, and used the gym, pools and sauna.

Why not save the annual fee and stay at a hotel? “It’s the access, the exclusivity and the amenities,” she said. “I’ve met people in similar industries and made business contacts. A hotel is a one-off experience, no matter how aesthetically pleasing it might be.”

To be sure, Airbnb has hurt city clubs, just as it has hurt hotels. The 2008 economic downturn was also a challenge, as membership rolls thinned. In recent years, many city clubs realized they were not maximizing revenue from rooms and launched multimillion dollar renovations. The University Club of Milwaukee, which merged with a country club, renovated and updated its rooms in 2015. The Detroit Club closed its 1892 building for four years and now has 10 new bedroom suites, in contrast to a few sparse rooms before, plus whirlpools and saunas.

Private clubs that open rooms to the public take measures to ensure that guests know the rules in advance; most have dress codes and other regulations. The Los Angeles Athletic Club sends its house rules in confirmation emails and on a card given guests at check-in that reads: “Conduct yourself with dignity, grace and courtesy at all times. Appropriate attire is expected. Smart casual, a collar shirt, no baseball caps, no shorts for evening use …”

Though some competitive hotels (think the Ace) have out-clubbed the clubs by offering an elite feeling, rich aesthetics and social events, they are nonetheless not private. Expensive does not necessarily mean exclusive. “We like being members of a club,” said Jason Kaufman, author of “For the Common Good? American Civic Life and the Golden Age of Fraternity,” which examined blue-collar fraternal organizations between the Civil and First World Wars. “We’re liked and accepted, and we benefit from the kindness of strangers who share our affiliations.”

“The reason people stay in private clubs,” said Mr. McCabe, the industry consultant, “is so they don’t have to be with the great unwashed masses, the proletariat. I was at the Four Seasons in Chicago for high tea and there was a man wearing a shirt that had the F word on it. And my grandchildren were with me.”

For other travelers, the appeal is the attention to service. “Nobody is looking for a tip or a handout, and is really not supposed to take one,” said Marsha Goldstein, 73, a retired tour-company owner and member of the Union League Club of Chicago who has stayed at private clubs all over the world. “They have set the bar very high for service, and if you don’t get it, you need to be vocal. It’s critical to clubs’ success to have you be vocal if you’re unhappy.”

Private clubs also offer safety, a factor that deters some solo travelers from Airbnb, as well as networking opportunities. “I really think city clubs are going to explode in the next decade — at least the ones who decide to put business connections and security at the forefront,” Gabe Aluisy, who hosts a radio show about private clubs and wrote a book on private club marketing, wrote in an email. “You won’t get a personal introduction to a key business contact in a city from a hotel concierge, but you might from a private club manager or membership director who knows the membership intimately. And with security concerns all over the world, private clubs are a comfortable refuge where patrons have been vetted.”

Robin Lee Allen, 34, a private-equity fund manager and Babson College alum who belonged to the Princeton Club of New York, moved from New York to San Francisco in 2016 and used reciprocal privileges at the 19th-century University Club of San Francisco, atop Nob Hill. He threw his 33rd birthday party in its red-walled Black Cat Bar, which features memorabilia from the now-defunct Press Club of San Francisco, and stayed over after his friends left. His room, he said, resembled “a Westin. But you’re paying for opening the door and knowing nothing weird will happen when you’re walking around the club in the middle of the night. It really isn’t about ostentatiousness or even showing off. It’s about knowing that as you walk in and out, people will recognize you by name and by face.” Mr. Allen is moving to France soon for a work assignment and switched to Harvard Club of Boston because of its wide reciprocal network.

Of course, private clubs are not for everyone. Children are not always welcome. Cellphone and laptop use is often permitted only in certain locations, sometimes as small as a closet. Dress codes might prohibit jeans, flip flops and baseball caps. Then there is the elitist history.

Mr. Campbell, the Brown alum, who hails from the Golden Isles of Georgia and is a first-generation college graduate, said this did not bother him. “The Hope Club was probably no blacks, no Jews at one point,” he said. (It was.) “But things have changed. You need to exercise your right to use those clubs and have access to them because it’s a right that you’ve earned. It’s a sense of belonging someplace where you formerly did not belong and claiming it. It’s my form of protest, to be the black person who shows up.”


Food for Families Gala: A Mustard Seed Fundraiser

The Club’s Community Outreach Committee Chair, Lyle Soetaert, and COC member Margaret Odishaw recently sat with Janiene Boice, Director of Development for The Mustard Seed Street Church, to discuss what it is the Mustard Seed does for our community.

The Union Club of British Columbia is proud to partner with the Mustard Seed for “Food for Families Gala”.

From Janiene Boice:

“To summarize a few points we chatted about:

  • The Mustard Seed is a very large non-profit organization that runs incredibly efficiently and effectively. Our administration costs are less than 10% of our annual budget (including personnel costs).  This percentage is from 2017 and is lower than most Victoria non-profit organizations. All numbers are public on the CRA website.
  • Our volunteer base is enormous; we have 1 staff for every 25 volunteers at the Food Rescue Warehouse and 1 staff for every 70 volunteers at our Queens location.
  • We provide:
    • 5000 individuals a month receive food hampers
    • 2500+ individuals a month receive hot lunches and family style dinners

But what makes The Mustard Seed different is that we believe in empowerment and setting our clients up for success; from need and crisis, to self sufficiency. We offer a hand up instead of just a hand out.  To do this, we run the following programs.

The Family Centre

  • Parenting classes, resume writing skills, interview skills training, day to day banking and cashier training. 
  • We work with Victoria Literacy Connection to provide free tutoring to 460 children from grades 2 to 12.
  • We have 1 social worker and 2 case workers who walk alongside families in their season of challenge.
  • Before school starts, we provide 780 school supplies kits free of charge for children; as well as 360 pairs of running shoes and new back-to-school outfits (2018)

Hope Farm

  • Hope Farm is an addiction recovery centre in Duncan where men can come and stay for 6 months to work through an intensive program to free themselves from addiction. On the farm, the men ‘work’ for the keep.  Daily farming duties include running a ‘U-pick’ as well as selling eggs and free range chickens.
  • Currently, there are 12 Men in our 6-month program. To date, 60 men have graduated from our program.
  • Two years ago we partnered with Oughtred Coffee to develop The Mustard Seed Coffee Co.  This is a social enterprise program that the men run and deliver coffee to Thrifty Foods and Save On Foods. All the proceeds from this coffee company go toward Hope Farm.

Food Rescue:

  • 4000 lbs of food is rescued daily from local grocery stores
  • At our Food Security Distribution Centre we ‘rescue’ fresh produce, meat and dairy from the local grocery stores, clean, glean, then re-distribute the food to 66 local agencies (Our Place, Esquimalt High, Women’s Transition House, Spectrum Community School, Cridge Centre, Life Cycles, just to name a few).  This is a free service because we believe that food waste is a big issue.  If we can lessen what goes into our local landfill and nourish people with fresh produce then it is a win-win for everyone.”

Yes, James Bond is an Alcoholic – But Which Other Film & TV Characters Should Cut Back on Booze?

An academic report shows 007 is frequently over the limit in life-threatening situations. But, from Homer Simpson to Tyrion Lannister, he is far from alone…

Shaken, not stirred … Daniel Craig as 007 in Skyfall. Photograph: Everett/Rex Shutterstock

oday’s “Well Duh” award goes to New Zealand’s University of Otago, which just published a real-life academic study in the Medical Journal of Australia pointing out that James Bond is an alcoholic. During one flight in Quantum of Solace, the study states, Bond consumed 24 units of alcohol; enough to kill a man. But this isn’t news. Anyone can see that 007 is a drunk. Why not focus on these other, lesser celebrated, screen alcoholics instead.

Homer Simpson

Has been arrested for drink-driving, has attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, struggled to go a month without drinking and is prone to bouts of impulsive violence that include, but are not limited to, angrily strangling his son. The man, quite simply, is a monster.

Mr Miyagi

Remember that scene in The Karate Kid where Mr Miyagi drinks a bottle of whisky, dresses up in his old army uniform, invites a 17-year-old boy to his house and then forces him to get drunk? It hasn’t exactly aged terrifically well.

Tony Stark

He was always an alcoholic in the comics, but Tony Stark’s film output has mostly skirted the issue of substance addiction. But it is there, if you look hard enough. He is drinking in a Humvee in the first scene of Iron Man, he is making a cocktail when Loki confronts him in The Avengers and, oh, actually, didn’t he wet himself in the middle of Iron Man 2? That’s a pretty good sign.

Bender

Futurama’s resident misanthropic robot has a good excuse to drink booze – he is powered by alcohol-based fuels, after all – but he arguably drinks more than is needed. After all, the ability to involuntarily burp flames is not usually associated with healthy, non-dependent alcohol consumption.

Charlie Kelly

James Bond might drink enough to die, but he has nothing on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie. In the episode The Gang Beats Boggs, Charlie attempts to drink 70 beers over the course of a single flight. He manages 71, plus a rum and coke, and miraculously remains alive. Maybe he should be the one fighting Blofeld.

Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion Lannister drinks an awful lot in Game of Thrones. Then again, if you had just murdered your father shortly after learning that your brother and sister are conducting a sexual affair, and your entire world is set to be decimated by an army of deathless ice zombies, you would probably want a tipple too.