黑洞社区

Gender adjustment

Amid all the hoo-ha surrounding last week鈥檚 gender-pay-gap revelations, an employee at a large consultant was being somewhat sanguine about the whole thing. He told one of my hacks that the more averagely paid women at his firm may have benefited from money being diverted from the more averagely paid men in order to reduce an apparent 鈥� and not insignificant 鈥� imbalance created by a few very highly paid males at the top. Perhaps my hack caught him on a particularly cynical day, but I鈥檓 not sure how women would feel to learn that men are the real victims in all this鈥�

House proud

The Hoover 黑洞社区 on the outskirts of west London has undergone an overhaul 鈥� again 鈥� and has now become the latest plush residence for those seeking a home with a difference. While the entrance halls, communal areas and stairways retain all the grace and style of the original 1933 Wallis, Gilbert and Partners-designed art deco structure, the building鈥檚 66 new apartments are the height of modernism and 21st-century luxury. But I couldn鈥檛 help noticing, from the publicity shots accompanying the announcement, that the new homes鈥� domestic appliances all appear to be made by Hoover. Are residents allowed to use any other brands? I do hope so. I鈥檓 a Dyson man myself.

Invisible man

News that Battersea Power Station boss Rob Tincknell is stepping down for the rather less high-profile Simon Murphy leaves me in something of a quandary. Over the years, Tincknell has been pictured with pop star Sting, golfer Nick Faldo, actress Kate Beckinsale and even one-time prime minister David Cameron, plugging the redevelopment that narrowly missed out on a Carbuncle Cup award last year. In other words, Tincknell is easily identifiable. But I must confess I have no idea what Murphy looks like. Maybe that鈥檚 the way the Malaysian owners want it.

Droning on

London consultant Paragon has said it is now offering customers Civil Aviation Authority-approved drones to fly over sites. Sounds rather a good idea 鈥� although, this being construction, I鈥檓 not entirely convinced when it claims its drones will 鈥済ive accurate and real-time measurements of the mass of a site, helping avoid disputes about progress鈥�. How long before one drone said this and another drone said that?

Game over

Normally when things come to an end, the parties involved say a few kind words about the other and move on. But Bob Weston, chairman and chief executive of Essex housebuilder Weston Homes, is 鈥� as they say in the county 鈥� hacked off good and proper. Last month Colchester United announced it was ending a 10-year sponsorship deal that saw the second league club rake in 拢1.5m. 鈥淚t has really upset our chairman,鈥� a spokesperson for the housebuilder gravely said. I suppose if Weston really wanted to get even, he could take his money to the U鈥檚 bitter rivals on the coast at Southend.

On a role

A pal of mine is heading back to work after nearly a year off on maternity leave, Needless to say, she tells me she鈥檚 forgotten all her passwords and needs a bit of an IT refresher course 鈥�  not with the IT department, of course, but with a business engagement IT specialist. I must admit it鈥檚 a job title that鈥檚 new to me.