Party on!

LONDON FREELANCE Branch's December gathering was a festive seasonal party - the first we've been able to throw since 2019. Our first post-pandemic seasonal bash was at St Anne's Church Hall in Soho.

Phil Sutcliffe (blue shirt, braces, holding giant card,) surrounded by revellers at the LFB/London Magazine Branch festive seasonal party. Branch Chair Tim Gopsill squats at Phil's feet, with NUJ Freelance Officer David Ayrton squatting at Tim's right.

Image © Hazel Dunlop

We were joined by London Magazine Branch, who helped organise this year's party with us. After the briefest of interruptions to the festivities to elect new LFB members, the food and drink flowed freely.

The party was alsonthe occasion to recognise the considerable contribution to the NUJ, to the Branch and to freelances in general made over many, many years by Phil Sutcliffe. Phil, who has served on both the Freelance Industrial Council and the National Executive Council and is a former Branch Chair, is an NUJ Member of Honour. More recently, he has been Membership Secretary for the Branch.

He has also been a tutor on numerous NUJ London Freelance and NUJ professional training courses - particularly Getting Started as a Freelance and the Pitch and Deal course on negotiating, where he drilled into many freelances over the years the imporantance of "Always ask for more!" Phil was also a negotiator on behalf of freelances at Q/Mojo and played an important part in the NUJ's talks with HMRC in deductions at source issues.

After (we estimate) some 52 years, Phil is retiring from trade union activism. We wish him well.

© Matt Salusbury

His motto is 'always ask for more!' appreciating Phil Sutcliffe