黑洞社区

The heaviest snowfall seen in London for decades was a great excuse for the guys from Watts to congregate in the pub. Mark was the only one who had really suffered from the weather, though, as the combination of the hole in his shoe and their leather soles meant he was 鈥渨alking down the street like he had Tourette鈥檚 swearing at himself鈥�.

Jo shocks his colleagues by ordering a tomato juice 鈥� and makes me promise to tell the readers it is a Bloody Mary.

Once we are firmly ensconced in what Watts calls its 鈥渂ranch office鈥�, conversation turns to the big event that has been occupying nearly all of Kate鈥檚 time recently: Mipim.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be my second time. I just can鈥檛 believe how many men there are,鈥� she exclaims.

Since it鈥檚 Mipim, the next topic is naturally alcohol.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a real difference between the Brits and the rest,鈥� Mark suggests. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the guys from the UK who are smashed by 8 o鈥檆lock whereas the Euro types are busy doing deals.鈥�

Kate is prepared for hangovers. 鈥淟ast year I brought my 鈥榯oolkit鈥� 鈥� bumper packs of Berocca and Resolve Extra. By the end of the week, I had people asking me for Berocca but wanting to pretend it was vodka and orange.鈥�

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know they did Resolve Extra,鈥� butts in Tony, who goes on to sing the praises of the hangover cure. 鈥淚t cures your head, settles you stomach 鈥︹��

Jo, who will be attending his 17th Mipim this year, says he would describe property culture as 鈥渁 bon viveur, rather than a drinking culture鈥�.

鈥淢ipim is much better than it used to be. Four years ago it was pretty unpleasant,鈥� he adds.

Parties are of course a key part of the Mipim experience and Jo gets animated as he explains the key to a good bash. 鈥淲e have a party on a boat every year. The only thing you need to get people in is alcohol. Though we also have a band, which draws people in.鈥�

鈥淗ow big is your boat?鈥� I ask innocently. 鈥淏ig enough,鈥� shoots back Jo.

鈥淚t鈥檚 quality, not quantity,鈥� pipes up Helen.

鈥淣ot as big as Tchenguiz鈥檚, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥� adds Jo.

All that talk of yacht-based boozing must be making Jo feel a little guilty, so he steers the conversation towards the company鈥檚 gym membership.

鈥淭here鈥檚 one guy and all he鈥檚 done is enrolled and had an induction 鈥� he said that was more than enough for him.鈥�

鈥淭rouble is, I don鈥檛 want to see my colleagues sweating in a gym and I definitely don鈥檛 want to see them in a swimming costume,鈥� complains Helen. 鈥淥ne time I had a personal trainer session and a colleague came in and I had to tell the trainer not to ask me any personal questions.鈥�

鈥淚t can get rather competitive if you are next to each other on the treadmill,鈥� adds Kate.

On that note, we all exercise our biceps by lifting our glasses.