Clubbed to death? London’s Clubland is not going down without a fight

It is hard to think of a world more vulnerable to the effects of covid-19 than London’s Clubland. Even at the best of times, the elegant bastions of St James and Pall Mall have not been noted for their flexibility. For hundreds of years, they have been fortresses within whose walls men – still, mainly men – can catch up with friends, eat a bit, drink a lot and generally make merry. They are hives of business plots, scurrilous gossip, intrigue and intimacy. All activities vital to London life, and all all of which have been heavily proscribed for most of the past 14 months.