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Roberta is a DJ, Dan used to sing in band called First Reaction and Brian owns more than 300 records from his break-dancing days, before he 鈥渄iscovered beer and stuff鈥︹��

But they鈥檙e not so great, it seems, at planning a night out. We arrive at the appointed place but it鈥檚 too packed to sit down, so we鈥檙e forced to relocate. After a meandering detour through private property, we end up in EV 鈥� a Turkish bar tucked under some old railways arches by Waterloo Station.

鈥淚鈥檓 amazed how many musicians there are in the firm,鈥� says Roberta, finally holding a glass of wine.

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 related,鈥� Dan says. 鈥淢usic鈥檚 about rhythm, form and layering 鈥� as is architecture.鈥�

鈥淲hen asked what other profession they鈥檇 choose, most architects would say musician or chef,鈥� chips in Brian.

So what would they be?

鈥淚 want to be Seal,鈥� declares Dan. By which he means the singer rather than the aquatic mammal.

Despite much cajoling, he won鈥檛 sing, so instead, DJ Roberta tells us how the scratching noise produced by records can be recreated on CD players. The wonders of technology. What would we do without MP3s, Google Earth, mobile phones ...

Speaking of which, Roberta has just lost her fourth phone in two months. Rather careless, considering it took her 10 years to lose that many bicycles. Her new one, she says, has Romanian and Slovak language options. Not much use, since she鈥檚 Italian.

Dan has no sympathy for the number of bikes she鈥檚 lost.

He鈥檚 reluctant to embrace the cycling revolution 鈥� the motorists are too infuriating. 鈥淕et in your cars!鈥� he says. Before adding: 鈥淗ybrid cars,鈥� to protect his environmental credentials.

鈥淗ow do Oyster cards work?鈥� asks Julian, the non-Londoner. A flurry of explanation ensues.

鈥淭he smoking ban is a good thing,鈥� says Dan, helping himself to one of Roberta鈥檚 cigarettes.

鈥淵es, but with non-smoking pubs, you realise how smelly people are,鈥� quips Brian.

鈥淚鈥檓 a cigarette stealer too,鈥� admits Julian. 鈥淚 used to steal them from a girlfriend.鈥�

Talk turns to an architect who was recently accused of copying someone else鈥檚 designs.

鈥淏ut work often looks similar,鈥� says Roberta. 鈥淎rchitects鈥� intuitions are close.鈥�

鈥淟ike cooking, ideas are mixtures of things you鈥檝e tasted before,鈥� says Dan, philosophically.

With that, our accomplished group drink up and disperse.