Jackie's driving force
From vintage car rallies to catwalk shows, Jackie Dickinson tells Alex Middleton all about her full-time job as events manager for the Royal Automobile Club, one of London’s most prestigious private members’ clubs.
Based at the Royal Automobile Club’s elaborate London clubhouse in Pall Mall, Jackie Dickinson is a relative newcomer to the full-time staff of the institution that, amongst its other achievements, includes the founding of the now independent RAC motoring breakdown organisation, the Tourist Trophy – one of the world’s oldest motor races – the British Grand Prix and the famous London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. “I joined the five-person events team in 2007 as Events Manager,” she explains. “The role has existed for five years, during which time our annual programme of trips and events has increased from 30 to 60, usually with places for 50 people a time. The number is still growing and we are constantly trying to find exciting new activities.”
Jackie continues, “We have two clubhouses; the site on Pall Mall, which includes facilities such as a restaurant in the Great Gallery, the Long Bar and Cocktail Bar, all of which form great backdrops for events. There is also a swimming pool and Turkish baths and to add to the club’s idiosyncrasies, Britain’s only private post office outside Buckingham Palace. At Woodcote Park in Surrey, meanwhile, members have the use of a country club which offers sporting activities such as tennis and golf. Total RAC club membership is about 16,000, although many members do not live near the clubhouses and only use them occasionally. Potential members are nominated by existing members, who then vote on whom to offer membership to. If offered, they can either pay an annual subscription or buy life membership outright. “We advertise the trips and events in the quarterly magazine that we publish – Club Life – and they are open to all our members and their guests at a slightly higher price,” Jackie explains.
Motoring, fashion and sport
One off and yearly events form the backbone of Jackie’s programme, with something different happening almost every month. “The club obviously has a great deal of motoring heritage,” Jackie says. “We celebrate this through many events, and having a rather grand venue in central London, we also organise several individual and annual events on site.”
“To celebrate the role the club has played in automobile history, it has been organising the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run each November since 1930,” Jackie explains. “It recreates a celebratory run of 1896, when the speed limit was raised from 4 to 14 mph and is only open to cars built prior to 1905. The event’s organisers are chosen from amongst the members and a large number take part.
“The last few months have also seen a number of other highlights,” Jackie continues. “In December, for instance, we arranged for Vivienne Westwood to show her haute couture Gold Label Collection in the Pall Mall clubhouse’s Smoking Room. Demand for tickets was very high, so we featured two shows in the same evening with a three course dinner in between. The event ran very smoothly, but we did have a little awkwardness in squaring Westwood’s designers with the club’s tie and jacket dress code!”
The grand Edwardian rooms of the Pall Mall clubhouse also form the backdrop to a number of regular musical evenings. “Last November, we offered members an evening of Italian gourmet food in the Great Gallery.” Jackie says, “The meal was accompanied by a performance of 19th century Italian pieces from the English Touring Opera.”
In addition to music, Jackie also organises an annual series of sports dinners at the Pall Mall clubhouse featuring guest speakers. “This January,” she states, “rugby international Austin Healey addressed the Pre-Six Nations Rugby Dinner and the Motoring Dinner in February included Wing Commander Andy Green – holder of the first Supersonic Land Speed Record – as guest speaker.” At the end of April, meanwhile, Alan Smith, the former manager of Crystal Palace, referee Graham Poll and football commentator John Motson will be attending the Football Dinner.
Away days
With both clubhouses having extensive catering facilities, Jackie tends to base her day trips in either London or the home counties. “This allows us to organise clubhouse refreshments for the group before they go to the attraction. Part of the group is picked up from either London or Surrey, depending upon where we are going, then taken to the other clubhouse by luxury coach before setting off to the attraction. We almost always use Westways Coaches of High Wycombe as we find them very reliable.”
Jackie’s winter schedule included a private evening tour of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. “The coach picked up members from Surrey and brought them to the Pall Mall clubhouse where we had afternoon tea before travelling to Whitechapel,” Jackie says. “The Foundry is over 500-years old and arranged a fascinating pre-booked guided tour of the workshops which have produced pieces such as Big Ben.”
Also in November, Jackie organised a guided tour of BBC Television Centre in London’s Shepherd’s Bush. “A guide took the group round backstage areas such as the newsroom,” she explains, “before heading to the interactive studios where you have a chance to use filming equipment and see how the broadcasts are produced. The day was very popular so we arranged a second for January, which was just as enjoyable.”
Where possible, Jackie always tries to take advantage of private guided tours and viewings at London attractions that give her group an opportunity to explore places at their own pace. Amongst the highlights were the tours of St Paul’s Cathedral last February, which received a very enthusiastic response. “The guide takes you round the public areas as well as ‘behind-the-scenes’ places that are not normally open to the public. Later in the month, we arranged for a Blue Badge guide to take a group around the Natural History Museum, which really brought the visit to life. Blue Badge guides are a great way to personalise a trip as they can join you on the coach, giving you a narrated tour on the way to the attraction as well.”
Moving outside the capital, venues offering private group tours also feature heavily in Jackie’s programme. “Last February, we took a group of 50 to Canterbury Cathedral.” She explains. “The tours are available for 25 people only at at time, so the Cathedral had arranged for us to split into two groups. One was taken around the Cathedral whilst the other went on a guided tour of the stained glass conservation workshops before swapping round. It was great to learn not only about the history but also about its modern-day role and work.”
The following month, Jackie also arranged a private tour of Goodwood House in West Sussex. “This was a great opportunity for members to enjoy it at their own pace without the crowds.” She adds. “We also had a private viewing of English Heritage’s Down House, Charles Darwin’s former Kent home in March. The tour was self-guided, but as it was a private viewing,, it made it very relaxed and enjoyable. Both English Heritage and The National Trust are very helpful when it comes to organising a group visit and offer you a range of guided tours that can be booked through the individual properties.”
Enlightening exhibitions
Numerous galleries and exhibitions also offer Jackie a varied range of options from which to choose. “We know that many of our members would go and see these exhibitions by themselves anyway,” she says, “but doing it through the club takes all the trouble and bother away from them and even allows them to be pampered a little.”
“The Golden Age of Couture, which we visited in November at the V&A in London, gave a fascinating insight into the glamour of high fashion in the 1940s and 50s,” Jackie says. “Later the same month, we also took a group to see the Falklands War Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. This was very emotional as we arranged for the exhibition adviser and Falklands Veteran, Major General Julian Thompson, to give the group a talk about his memories and experiences.”
“Also in November, we then went to two very high profile exhibitions,” Jackie continues. “The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army exhibition at the British Museum and the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibition at the O2. She booked the Tutankhamun tickets through London-based ticketing agent, See Tickets, which, Jackie says, has a very professional groups booking department, and bought tickets for the Terracotta Army through the British Museum, which was also very helpful when it comes to arranging group visits. Both trips sold out almost immediately, so we arranged two extra visits for January, both of which were also sold out within weeks.”
“We also try to take advantage of private tours available at permanent collections,” Jackie adds. “This gives members an opportunity to learn a lot more about the works. In March, for instance, we booked a private tour of the Wallace Collection in London. With it being so diverse, a private guided tour helps you understand each section.”
Exploring the West End
In trying to keep her selection of trips fresh, Jackie often looks to the ever- changing programme of music and theatre available in London’s Theatreland. “When tickets are not being sold by the producer or venue themselves, we generally book through See Tickets,” Jackie adds. “To an events organiser, the West End is an endless seam of ideas.”
Since November, members with a taste for musicals have been offered a range of popular hits through the club. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat was especially popular,” Jackie says. “Places to join the group going to the show last November sold out very quickly. When we offered members a chance to go again in February, it met with just as an enthusiastic response!”
Club members who prefer the classical to the contemporary are also well catered for, with Jackie arranging numerous concert, opera and ballet evenings. “The Royal Albert Hall has an interesting year-round selection of classical concerts and sells tickets directly to groups,” Jackie advises. “Last November, we took a group to the Classical Spectacular, which includes special effects such as light shows set to the music. In March, we returned with a group to see Puccini’s Tosca and we will be going back again in June to enjoy the English National Ballet’s Strictly Gershwin performance.”
What the future will bring
“Over the coming months, we are trying to keep the spread of events and trips as eclectic and interesting as possible,”Jackie says.
“By the time this goes out,” she says, “we will have just returned from private tours of the British Library, English Heritage’s Eltham Palace and the Guards Museum in London.” She continues, “Our upcoming programme also includes a private viewing of the Amazing Rare Things exhibition at Buckingham Palace in June.”
The West End also features prominently in Jackie’s plans. “With past productions having proven so popular, I will be organising many more group trips to new shows,” she states. “These include Jersey Boys, which opens at the end of April, and Gone with the Wind and Never Forget in July.”
Having settled into life at the club, Jackie certainly relishes her role. “It is incredibly interesting and gives you a chance to meet many new people and enjoy numerous things you would otherwise miss. Being part of a club such as the RAC is also an experience,” Jackie confides. “As an institution, it is very idiosyncratic with its dress codes, stewards and porters, rather like a bastion of old-fashioned Britishness, which, I think, is part of its enduring appeal to our members.”