On 5th July TheStoneClub held its Summer Drinks party at Q Soho, The House of St Barnabas, in Greek Street. Around 400 members and their guests crowded into the garden and courtyard to enjoy the Club cocktails kindly created and supplied to us by Diageo.

On Wednesday 16th June Professor Sugata Mitra was our guest – what he had to say was remarkable. Sugata is the originator of the ‘hole in the wall’ experiment in the slums of Delhi and then beyond, which demonstrated the power of children to educate themselves without the formal methods we are accustomed to. His work inspired the Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup to write a first novel which became the basis for the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire. Sugata is now based at Newcastle University and is extending his teaching methods to children in Britain and Africa. The audience was riveted.

TheStoneClub members and their guests gathered for a ‘cash bar salon’ at One Alfred Place on Tuesday 1st June. On this occasion one of our members, Melanie Howard, Chair of the Future Foundation hosted the drinks, for which very many thanks, with club member Lizzi Loxam, Executive Editor BBC News, co-hosting the salon.

On Monday 24th May, a warm and balmy early summer evening, TheStoneClub members gathered at the Belgravia Gallery, Albemarle Street, for a glass or two of wine, good conversation and the chance to view the newly opened Dion Salvador Lloyd exhibition.

On Thursday 20th May TheStoneClub Gold Members met at The Club at The Ivy to hear Sly Bailey, CEO Trinity Mirror, give a powerful briefing on the future of news in a digital age. With her no-nonsense approach and broad-reaching understanding of the industry, Sly outlined key issues within the news economy.

On Monday 10th May, the day Gordon Brown resigned as PM, TheStoneClub was “In conversation with…” Peter Kellner, President, YouGov and author of ‘Democracy’, and Steven Norris, former Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party and Board Member London Development Agency and Transport for London. The timing was ripe for a rich discussion on how Clegg would play his cards; the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.

On Wednesday 21st April, James Smith CBE, Chairman of Shell UK, joined TheStoneClub Gold members for breakfast to give his views on Energy and Climate Change – Stepping up to the Challenge. Climate change, he says, has not gone away, but there exists the technology and knowledge to tackle it. He told us how party political the issue was in the US, how China will likely be the future leader in green technologies and how Shell will use its expertise in process engineering and high energy fluid transport to support bio-fuel development among other renewable energy sources. As he explained: if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.

It was standing-room only on 15th April when Matthew Bishop, New York Bureau Chief of the Economist and writer Michael Green were In Conversation With TheStoneClub about their book Philanthrocapitalism: How The Rich Can Save the World. They argued that despite some recent hiccups in capitalism it was still the super rich who are best-placed to take risks and find new ways of solving long-term problems like poverty or climate change. Their initiatives could in turn inspire changes in government policies and help to change the world for the better. The rich did not have to be nice to do good, they said. Afterwards the questions – and the criticisms of their thesis – came thick and fast.

On Wed 17th March we were In Conversation With former Panorama journalist and distinguished author Tom Bower on the topic of “Defying the Tycoons: Richard Branson; Robert Maxwell; Conrad Black; Tiny Rowland and Gordon Brown”. Tom’s tales of court cases, corruption, and personal encounters with Branson and co captivated the audience – standing room only - before it was their turn to provide a lively exchange from the floor about the financial and legal issues facing journalists and publishers; the need for mistaken public perceptions of ‘tyrants’ to be addressed; and general concerns for the future of investigative journalism and the British media.

On Monday 19th January we were "In Conversation With .. " the two political journalists, Andrew Pierce, then Assistant Editor of the Daily Telegraph and now Consultant Editor to the Daily Mail, and Jackie Ashley of the Guardian on the topic “What do we expect from our next Government?”. The room was packed with Club members and their guests who listened intently to the witty and insightful comments from these two key insiders on the political scene – and many stayed on to continue the debate over dinner.

"Where's the Influence: Google, or Murdoch?" was the subject of our debate on Monday 9th November before a packed audience at the Royal Society. Chairman Andrew Neil kept our panel in order - Peter Barron (Director of Communications & Public Affairs, North & Central Europe, Google), Adam Boulton (Sky News), Brent Hoberman (Co-Founder, lastminute.com), David Elstein (Chairman, DCD Media plc), Julie Meyer (Chief Executive, Ariadne Capital Ltd) and Richard Sambrook (Director BBC Global News).

Stephan Shakespeare (Co-Founder YouGov) reported on the findings of the YouGovStone survey: "68% saying they thought that Rupert Murdoch and his companies were more influential than Google at present while 20% thought that Google wielded more influence. However, most thought Google had a more positive influence on people's lives and, if they had to choose between the two, would prefer Google to be the more influential. Looking ahead 10 years, 68% expected Google and its companies to be the more influential, with only 13% expecting Rupert Murdoch (or his successor) and their companies to stay on top. These views were largely echoed by the YouGov survey with the general public." Following a feisty discussion, leading to simultaneous Twitter contributions, the vote at the end largely echoed the findings of the YouGovStone survey.

For details on the upcoming programme of TheStoneClub click here. For past events, click here.

To see photographs and the video from our 18th May launch party, when Rory Bremner welcomed Club members, see below.

TheStoneClub is a private members' club. We have two tiers of membership.

Silver (£500 pa +VAT)

Membership is for those who want a regular monthly 'salon' - wine and conversation sparked off by a controversial topical speaker We call it: In Conversation With ... Silver members are invited to two debates a year, backed by YouGovStone research, on major issues that affect us all. And there are Summer drinks and a Christmas party for all TheStoneClub members.

Gold (£1,000 pa +VAT)

Members have all the benefits of Silver but membership is more business focused. There is a monthly Breakfast when TheStoneClub members are briefed by experts from the worlds of business, politics and the media. We will be' taking the temperature' on topical issues of concern to us all.

If you are interested in more information about the Club please click here.

Carole Stone, Founder