I was fascinated to read the last paragraph of Alistair McAlpine's column (14 February, page 31).
The thought of the chairman standing up to his waist in nettles with a staff on his foot to measure the "earth" must have raised many a smile. That august, cigar-smoking, claret-swigging gentleman would have expected his lowest paid site employee, the chainboy, to do just that. However, he would not want to know about it. How else could he declare his total lifelong innocence, abstinence, support for local mothers and toddlers, and commitment to fair play, when his site surveyors were caught with three different level surveys of the same field?

Postscript

A cynical old project manager who served his time in the nettles with a staff on his foot.