Every Monday we profile one of our Members. This week in we are joined by Proprietor 474, our newly appointed Honorary Secretary, Carol Madeley!
Who are you ?
I was born and brought up in and around Ormskirk but as my family were Liverpool people from Bootle , I consider myself a Scouser.
After University in Sheffield, I ‘got on my bike’ in the early 1980’s and went south for work and was based in Essex for over 35 years. For family reasons we started to spend increasing amounts of time back in Liverpool and 4 years ago decided to come back up north permanently and have settled in Cheshire.
What is your greatest achievement ?
I don’t think I’d single out any one thing here.
I was always career orientated so becoming an Executive Board Director in my 30’s was pretty important to me.
On a personal level, reaching our 30th Wedding anniversary next year will be a significant milestone.
Can you give one interesting fact about yourself ?
I love my food and dining out with friends is a real pleasure for me. I’m a member of a group we call ‘The Ford Girls’ ( average age 63) who have been meeting monthly/quarterly since 1984 for dinner and debate. We all worked together at Ford Motor Company in a tough environment and our dinners have been a really valuable source of mutual support.
Covid has put paid to our meetings for now but hoping to resume in the Spring.
What brought you to the Athenaeum ?
I was a member of the Army and Navy Club in London when we decided to relocate and I decided to check out alternatives in Liverpool, keen to make new friends and contacts. Harry and I attended a Remembrance Sunday lunch at the Club and, happily, I was sat next to Hilary Gatenby who did a great job of promoting the Club and subsequently sponsored me. Thank you Hilary.
Is there anything you would like to change about the Athenaeum ?
Whilst retaining the sense of history and ‘place’ and respecting what current proprietors value, I think it’s vital that we get the Club onto a firm financial footing with much improved levels of sustainability.
Socially, we should do more to bring members together and maximise the opportunities for networking and friendship, particularly when new members join the Club. Another one for after the Pandemic.
Do you have any Athenaeum memories or stories that you’d wish to share ?
One of my memories concerns The Burns night 2 years ago. David Roscoe asked me if I’d do the ‘Response from the Lassies’. I readily agreed thinking I could just print off what I needed from Google. Wrong !
It took me a week to research what it was all about, write my speech and rehearse. Still, it seemed to go down well and it was a great night. The haggis was fantastic.
What would you say to anyone considering joining the Club ?
What’s stopping you ? Give it a go and you won’t be disappointed.