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World’s oldest IT dining society breaks into the House of Lords

And Reg readers are invited... for a price

Promo If you’ve ever wanted to network like a lord while having your brain stretched, now’s your chance. Venerable tech dining society The Real Time Club is holding a dinner at the House of Lords on 12 March.

Lord Lucas of Crudwell and Dingwall will be hosting the evening and the RTC has roped in the founders of Decoded as after-dinner speakers. They will explain how to get the message of the latest digital revolution into the boardrooms of large UK businesses.

The Sunday Times has a “Top 30 Female Power List” and Kathryn Parsons is on it, so presumably she has interesting things to say about how IT is going to change the world, while her sidekick Alasdair Blackwell does a lot of good work getting coding into UK schools.

Like all RTC speakers they will stretch your mind and because the RTC is a “dining club with attitude”, you can expect to hear things you disagree with. A lot.

The Real Time Club has been pondering tech issues over dinner for over 45 years, and has an iron rule that dinners are held in licensed premises. So, after whetting your appetite in the bar you will partake of the sort of dinner you’d expect in the House of Lords.

You don’t have to be a member of the RTC for this particular event, and we promise you will find it welcoming to first-timers.

The dress code is formal: frock coat, bow tie, medals, top hat and optional sword to be lodged with the Master-at-arms, or if you can’t be bothered with all that, a suit will do fine.

The RTC is an ancient dining club which was founded in the late Bronze Age (1968) and which has held dinners in the National Liberal Club and the Palace of Westminster, with the membership being an eclectic mix of CEO/CTOs, entrepreneurs, peers, politicians, academics, BOFH’s, OS/2 developers and of course some of the hacks who write The Register.

It is about as good a networking and dining opportunity as you will get this year, but of course there is a price to be paid, since the House of Lords kitchens and bar aren’t a charity (apparently).

So it’s £99 for a single ticket and if you have a mate who also wants a good night in a posh venue, it’s a bargain at £180 for two.

Dominic Connor is a member of the RTC council ®.

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