Men have been conducting business in smoke-filled private members clubs and on golf courses for many years.

However, these age-old traditions has been given a bit of a makeover by a group of women who have come together to form a think-tank aimed at tackling the problem of the credit crunch in the northwest.

The catchily-named ‘Think Tank Forum for Women in Business’ – which includes no less than five lovely ladies from northwest feminist factory Hill Dickinson – broke with tradition by staging its first meeting on a golf course (insert joke about birdies here).