Hurlingham Club Revolt Over Cherie Blair

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Members complain about her upcoming appearance

The club, which covers 42 acres of Fulham, has booked the former Prime Minister's wife to visit for a "night of conversation and superior Hurlingham cuisine with Cherie Blair."

Tickets cost members £30 each and Mrs Blair, a barrister and QC, is set to earn a free of £1,500 which she is donating to her Foundation for Women, which was set up to empower women, mainly in the Third World.

Members' emails to the club, which boasts polo,croquet and numerous tennis courts plus an outdoor pool and spendid clubhouse, have included complaints about the timing of her visit, in the run-up to an election and the possible content of her speech.

Executive director of the club Mike Kilgour admitted there had been some complaint from members, but added: " To counterbalance that, we have sold a record number of tickets."

Since the controversy erupted, news of Mrs Blair's appearance has been removed from the front page of the club's website, to be replaced by events including a Port and Douro Wine Tasting and Dinner, a Valentine Dinner and a Heathcote Reeling Party.

January 27, 2010