黑洞社区

Droning on

In perhaps a clear case of having too much time on their hands, what is being claimed as the first drone race in UK office space took place recently. The Charter 黑洞社区 in Uxbridge, west London, hosted 30-odd of the country鈥檚 best drone pilots, who flew their machines around the building鈥檚 ground floor, negotiating hoops and obstacles through the building鈥檚 鈥渧oluminous atrium鈥�. After several knockout stages, a chap called Daniel Peters - also known as 鈥楧aWeapon鈥� - won the title of Charter Project champion. I鈥檝e watched footage of the racing, and it looks marvellous, although I fail to see how anyone can fit into the machines in order to fly them. Baffling stuff鈥�

Monster mural

Now, like many, I don鈥檛 know much about art, but I certainly know what I like. Word reaches me that what is being claimed as the UK鈥檚 tallest mural is, as we speak, going up on the side of the Platform building in Leeds, formerly known as City House, which is in the final stages of being refurbished. Backed by local arts groups and Leeds Business Investment District, the mural, entitled 鈥楢rena Rising鈥�, is the work of female street art duo Nomad Clan, aka Joy Gilleard and Hayley Garner. At 41.9m high and 11m wide, it will take four weeks to complete and, when finished, will feature an owl in flight as its centrepiece, alongside the moon and a crown. Sounds very 鈥� uplifting.

Sunscream

As summer starts in earnest, the risk of construction workers exposing themselves to too much sun has prompted Conquip Engineering Group to launch a new campaign in support of its chosen charity partner, Cancer Research UK. The Hampshire-based firm is offering clients at sites across the UK free kits that include educational flyers outlining the dangers of not covering up and the simple steps that workers should take to stay 鈥楽un-Safe鈥�. Conquip will apparently be handing out 1,000 bottles of SPF30 sun lotion, 1,000 refillable water bottles, plus chilled bottled water to site workers to help them stay hydrated and reduce skin damage from the sun. No mention of wide-brimmed hats, which I assumed would be de rigeur in the circumstances鈥�

Good causes

And while many of you are working or indeed relaxing in the sun, others are pushing themselves to the limit for a favoured charity. Shouts - as I believe is the most popular way of acknowledging people these days - go out to Wickes, which has raised a cool half a million quid for Alzheimer鈥檚 Research UK in less than a year. Staff at the home improvement chain are working with the charity to raise 拢1m in three years and have completed or got lined up a bunch of charity football matches, marathons, cross-Europe bike rides and skydives. Sadly, beard-combing and moustache twirling don鈥檛 seem to resonate with donors in this day and age.

An ironic infrastructure issue

I was delighted to note an impressive array of speakers had been lined up for last week鈥檚 National Infrastructure Forum in Excel, all ready to explain why the UK鈥檚 road and rail network needed more investment. Oddly enough, it turned out one could speak from first-hand experience - that morning. Tom Bridges, chief economic officer at Leeds City Council, was on his way to the afternoon session where he was speaking, but had 鈥榯weeted鈥� earlier to say he鈥檇 been delayed at Wakefield for an hour by a broken-down train. A speaker at an infrastructure conference delayed by an infrastructure failure - only in Britain.