**Talk**
Jonathan Aitken's
Heroes and Contemporaries
Through his political career, Jonathan Aitken developed close friendships with some of the United Kingdom's most remarkable people. He writes about them engagingly in Heroes and Contemporaries. There are too many to cover in an hour, so on 7th April, Jonathan will discuss Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, John Aspinall and Sir Frank Williams.
As Jonathan entertains and intrigues us, our perceptions about them may change.
Monday 7th April 2025
Upstairs, Hollywood Arms
45 Hollywood Rd, London SW10 9HX
Arrive 7 pm - Drinks at the bar
Talk starts at 7.30 pm.
Optional is at dinner 8.30 pm.
£26 Early Bird before 21st March .
£36 after that
What you'll discover includes:
* How Harold Wilson's message on the back of a menu card at a dinner for President Nixon transformed their prickly acquaintance into a life-long friendship.
* Why elements of MI6 thought Harold Wilson was a Russian agent, yet he was one of his generation's most successful though underrated political leaders.
* How John Aspinall, whose Clermont Club was disastrously £1.5m down in one night, used the terrible news that one of the winning players had died in the loo to cut House losses.
* How Margaret Thatcher wasn't a thinker living for ideas. Instead, she was of formidable intelligence, hungry to live off ideas.
* How, after Frank Williams became a tetraplegic following a car accident, his team went on to win seven drivers' championships and nine constructors' championships.
* How the priceless sales advice Jonathan gave Frank Williams disrupted Mayfair traffic but helped secure vital Saudi sponsorship.
* The extent of Frank Williams's kindness and loyalty. After his driver, Piers Courage, tragically died, Frank took care emotionally and financially of Sally, his wife. After the Court found Jonathan guilty of perjury, Frank regularly visited him in prison and provided a Williams (racing?) car for Jonathan afterwards when he had few financial means.
Chatham House rules apply.
Monday 7th April 2025
Upstairs, Hollywood Arms
45 Hollywood Rd, London SW10 9HX
Arrive 7pm - Drinks at the bar
Talk starts at 7.30 pm.
Optional is at dinner 8.30 pm.
£26 Early Bird before 21st March .
£36 after that
About Jonathan Aitken
Old Etonian and Vietnam War correspondent Jonathan Aitken won his Parliamentary seat in 1974. He witnessed Margaret Thatcher's historic first election victory in 1979 as an MP. He served as the Minister for Defence Procurement under John Major and then was First Secretary to the Treasury in his Cabinet. In 1999, he was sent to prison for perjury. After his release, he became an Anglican priest, chaplain at HMP Pentonville and a leading advocate for prison reform.
Jonathan is an author, lecturer and broadcaster.
Monday 7th April 2025
Upstairs, Hollywood Arms
45 Hollywood Rd, London SW10 9HX
Arrive 7pm - Drinks at the bar
Talk starts at 7.30 pm.
Optional is at dinner 8.30 pm..
£26 Early Bird before 21st March .
£36 after that
Cancellation Policy
If we must cancel the event or you (with at least five days' notice) can't make it, you will receive a complimentary ticket to another Revellers' Club-organised event. If there isn't one that you wish or can attend, you will receive a refund. Tickets are not transferable unless you are an annual "Roaring Reveller" member.