Hello and welcome back to everything else. This is the Culture podcast from the Financial Times.

That voice is Griselda and I'm John. We're both culture editors and writers. Today we're going to be

talking about the business of selling cool and whether that's even possible. Specifically,

we're going to be talking about the Ned Hotel slash Members Club, which recently opened up in London and everyone's been talking about it. Yeah, and private members clubs were once the elitist domain of the Bohemian and Rich, but now they're seemingly going mainstream. Or are they? And later on, we're going to be hearing from the Irish writer Emma McBride, who was known for

her award-winning book, The Girl is a Half-Form thing.

We love that book.

We love.

And recently, the equally great book, in my opinion, the lesser bohemians.

Yeah, she came in to talk to us about why modernism is back.

And also where there are no awards for good writing about sex.

Last night, we went to The Ned, Soho House's 200 million pound new hotel in the heart of the

city. Yep, right beside Bank Station, for those of you who know London. Private members' clubs are

back? Well, yes, or are they? This is the question that we will be answering this week. So the Ned is co-owned and co-run by Soho House and the Sidel Hotel Group. It's slightly different, though, from Soho House as people know it. Is that fair to say, John? Yeah, a lot of it's open to the public, but it's definitely more kind of banker types than the rest of the Soho House groups, which kind of pride themselves on their creativity, which is the buzzword they love to use.

Yeah, in New York. but it's definitely more kind of banker types than the rest of the Soho House groups, which kind of pride themselves on their creativity, which is the buzzword they love to use.

Yeah, in New York a few years ago, Soho House actually culled a lot of its members from the financial services because they were too corporate.

So that gives you a sense of kind of what they're aiming for in terms of creative cool.

So yeah, so we visited yesterday, and it is an absolutely amazing building.

Whatever you think of it, which we'll come on to, it's stunning, right?

Yeah, it's the former Midland Bank, a massive building designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutchins,

which is actually where the name the Ned comes from.

He did India Gate in New Delhi, the cenotar from Whitehall, very many English country houses.

I mean, it's beautiful, isn't it?

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