On these dark February evenings, why not enjoy some light and frothy TV viewing, a pint with a purpose in Bath, or a chance to rewrite social housing policy?
Beware the focus groups
Anyone who works for a housing association will probably want to look away now. Housing insiders tell me they are worried Alan Milburn鈥檚 attempts to wreck the social housing sector may yet succeed. The Labour election strategy supremo鈥檚 proposal to allow housing association tenants to buy their properties (not exactly one of the central tenets of the Labour movement) had been headed off at the pass by good old John Prescott, who said punters should only be allowed to buy an equity stake (thus not flogging off social housing on the cheap). But sources now fear that Milburn will be able to use pre-election focus groups to prove that nobody will understand Prescott鈥檚 more complicated policy, and railroad through his plan anyway. Watch this space.
Always the bad guys 鈥�
What is it about this series of BBC1 detective show Dalziel & Pascoe and construction? Two weeks ago, I settled down to watch the series
kick off with a plot about the Private Funding Initiative (sic) and a murder against the backdrop of a new PFI hospital. Then, last week鈥檚 effort featured some decidedly dodgy roadbuilders who, in no particular order, throw out kickback payments to council surveyors, attempt to rape an archaeologist, start a fight in a pub and desecrate an archaeological dig. What next? A bunch of bloodsucking architects rampaging across the Cornwall Countryside? A gang of binge-drinking quantity surveyors laying waste to the centre of Chelmsford? Sunday night on the Beeb is neither the time nor the place for such gritty realism.
The bane of Banes
Poor old Bath and North-East Somerset council. Not only is it involved in an interminable dispute with contractor Mowlem and architect Grimshaw over Bath Spa, I鈥檓 told it now faces a new and even more determined foe, and one in all likelihood fuelled by a flagon or two of industrial-strength cider. Sean Bentley, landlord of the Pig & Fiddle pub, has devised the crude but effective slogan 鈥淏ar the Spa鈥� (see above) for his campaign to halt the troubled project. So far his petition has more than 500 signatures. The only glimmer of hope for Banes鈥� harassed councillors is that, with elections looming, they鈥檒l probably all have plenty of time to take a good long holiday soon.
Hot off the press
Another excellently packaged press release from those nice people at architect FaulknerBrowns.
As one of the teams shortlisted for the Olympic aquatic centre, the firm was clearly proud of its exciting designs, and duly released four lovely images of said centre from a variety of different angles, with helpful info about the building鈥檚 adventurous curving roof. The only slight flaw is that everyone knows that Zaha Hadid has already won the competition. Keep them coming, lads 鈥�
There鈥檚 nothing like good timing when it comes to entertaining the press. On a recent visit to steel giant Corus in sunny Scunthorpe, one 黑洞社区 writer was treated to a two-hour tour of the company鈥檚 site. Everything seemed to be in order until the final stop, the firm鈥檚 medium-section mill. Anticipation built as a 63 ft long piece of steel made its way across the rollers, reached the end of its course and 鈥� promptly buckled, requiring workers to burn it into sections to remove it from the machinery. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 happen often,鈥� said the guide nervously, 鈥渁nd never when we have visitors.鈥�
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