Female duo break down barriers by joining men for dinner
Oct 18 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal
TWO women sat down to eat with 144 men at a golf league dinner in Newcastle last night, ending almost six decades of tradition in the North East.
It was the first time females have been allowed into such an occasion, before now always an all-male preserve. But the Hadrian League have broken with the past because Wendy Robison and Julie Cornish are the directors of a company who are their new sponsors.
League secretary Colin Mussett, who lives in Ovington and is a former Newcastle Lord Mayor’s secretary and city protocol officer, said: “Our League is now called the Exclusive Estates (Europe) Hadrian League.
“For the ladies to come to the dinner at the Assembly Rooms did mean a change, so I had to make sure it was okay for them to do so.
“We have a committee of eight, including myself, and I phoned four of the others, senior members, and all five of us had no objections whatsoever. We were totally in favour. Time marches on and these are different times. We are happy to have them on board as sponsors and at our dinner. As a company they are a perfect fit for a golf league.”
The Whickham company, formed by Robison and Cornish a year ago, represent Polaris World, a property firm which has former top American golfer Jack Nicklaus as its figurehead.
Robison said: “We are responsible in our region for seven golf resorts in Murcia, Spain. We have already been involved in sponsorship at three golf clubs – Whickham, Prudhoe and South Moor – and it has been good for our business. It is a logical progression that we should go on to do something else in golf and we are delighted to be involved with the Hadrian League. There is an extra interest for us in that both Julie and myself have recently taken up the sport and we have been having golf lessons.”
The secretaries of the three other golf leagues in the region welcomed the move.
Ian Wilson, from the Maxim Cleaning Services North Durham Union, with 25 clubs the biggest in the region, said: “I am all for equality. This is the 21st century, not the 19th, and I not only welcome this but also the possibility of women playing in our league, as long as they are good enough to do so.”
The Kaims Country Park North Northumberland League, formed in 1949, was the first golf league in the region and their secretary, Malcolm Lynch, said: “It does not bother me at all. I can foresee the day when our league will discuss the possibility of the male golfers who play in our league bringing their partners to our annual dinners in the future.”
Ray Whiteman, from the Newcastle & District League, said: “As sponsors, I would say they should be at a league annual dinner. But I am not so sure about the idea of ladies playing in our league. They have their own leagues.”
Robison added: “We think it’s fantastic we are the first women to do this and we hope it is a sign of things to come in the future.”
