Michael Gove might not know much about mid-50s swingers, but I do

At this week’s cabinet meeting, Michael Gove said that MPs hoping for a better deal from Brussels were like “mid-50s swingers” waiting for Scarlett Johansson to turn up to one of their parties. Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, added “Or Pierce Brosnan”. But while the casting choices were up for debate – David Gauke added that they were expecting Johansson to make her cameo on a unicorn – no one at the cabinet meeting asked what Gove, 51, knew about mid-50s swingers parties.

Now I do know about mid-50s swingers parties. I went to one. Killing Kittens Silvers is a club for “the sexual elite” over 45, with, according to its press releases, “attendees from all walks of life, including celebrities, politicians, opinion leaders, the rich and the beautiful”. It doesn’t name the celebrities or politicians who attend, of course; its publicity is more focused on the fact that the organiser, Emma Sayle, used to know HRH the Duchess of Cambridge. 

But that’s not why I went.