黑洞社区

Purcell Miller Tritton seems to have an unconventional recruitment strategy. The four architects are trying to convince me to drop journalism and give their profession a chance instead. They even offer me a job at their practice while I learn the craft.

As 14 years of part-time study doesn鈥檛 sound too appealing, I鈥檓 unlikely to take up the offer, but they do make it sound like fun 鈥�

鈥淲e went clay pigeon shooting recently and we have a lot of other social events,鈥� says Liz.

鈥淎nd it鈥檚 almost a 50/50 split between men and women,鈥� boasts Jeremy.

Liz is a proud career woman, but also quite likes being female in a male-dominated industry.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice when men open doors for you,鈥� she says.

Can you have it both ways?

鈥淵es, of course!鈥�

Recently, the firm took part in the Little Britain sailing regatta and came a glorious 142nd.

鈥淢y job was to lean against the side to stop the boat tipping over,鈥� declares Jeremy, proudly.

鈥淲e might have done better, through, if some boats weren鈥檛 cheating,鈥� grumbles Mark.

鈥淐heating little 鈥� 鈥� mutters Jeremy, grinding his teeth behind his pint. This is obviously a sore point, so we move on.

Over their years of sailing, the group has collected many a hearty seafaring yarn 鈥� and some less pleasant ones. An unlucky colleague once had four teeth ripped out when a rope he was holding in his mouth 鈥� 鈥渂ecause he didn鈥檛 have enough hands鈥� 鈥� spun away from him. Ouch.

Still, quick-thinking Mark managed to turn the tale to his advantage. 鈥淢y daughter lost a tooth soon afterwards and I forgot to replace it with a coin overnight,鈥� he tells us. 鈥淪he was upset the next morning so I told her the tooth-fairy had to deal with an emergency call-out by a grown-up who lost four teeth and ran out of money.鈥� He giggles.

Being out in the open sea may have its charm but the city has its advantages too, they say.

鈥淟ondon鈥檚 always on the go,鈥� muses Jeremy. 鈥淵ou can hire hotel rooms by the hour, you can have a massage for 10 minutes 鈥� it鈥檚 all part of the 24-hour lifestyle.鈥�

Tracey prefers the way of life in mainland Europe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more relaxed,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ating late, going out late, coming home late.鈥�

Our cultural influences may be drawn from further afield than just Europe soon, though.

Jeremy says: 鈥淏y 2020 there won鈥檛 be any European countries left in the G8 鈥� it鈥檒l be Asia and Latin America.鈥�

鈥淢ore people speak English in China than in the UK,鈥� he adds, as food for thought.

The group contemplate this for a while, then drift home.