Hansom: Coming to my bash?

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Quarrels over ways of measuring embodied energy (no, really), communication breakdowns, last-ditch efforts to prevent desertion … oh, why can’t we just be Friends?

We’ll always have Paris

Another year and another reunion for former Jarvis workers. Despite the firm’s demise, the annual alumnis’ gathering will continue as planned although this one may feel more like a wake this year. The venue, as usual, is the Rising Sun in Tottenham Court Road, London, on 27 May. Interestingly the list of invitees includes ex-Jarvis boss Paris Moayedi will he be returning to put his credit card behind the bar? I predict a sudden outbreak of unquenchable thirst, if so.

Cut off in his prime

One person unlikely to attend the bash is Bill Rawcliffe, the ex-Jarvis rail worker who stood as a candidate in Doncaster North. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition party hopeful was in a race with Ed Miliband on a ticket of justice, or at least back pay, for those who lost their jobs when the contractor went under. He polled 19,637 votes compared with Rawcliffe’s 181. Little wonder he made such a feeble impact against a member of the Miliband dynasty. He had neither campaign team, nor funding. Worse still, he didn’t even have a mobile phone, as days after announcing his election “campaign” his phone, supplied by Jarvis, was disconnected.

Measure for measure

Judging from the crowds at a UKGBC seminar last week, embodied energy is going to be the next big green battleground. The trouble is nobody has come up with a standardised way of measuring it – plenty of scope then for disagreement and debate. But the delegates did agree on one thing: the body expected to help lead on this is being less than helpful: the BRE does not make public how it calculates the impact of materials in its green guide. One delegate pointed out that the 2012 aquatics centre roof contains 3,000 tonnes of steel while the velodrome roof only needed 100 tonnes. Yet both buildings had got a BREEAM “excellent” rating. One thing is certain, this argument is going to run and run …

Last of the summer whine?

Has the RICS board found a strategy to dissuade disgruntled QSs from breaking away to form a rival body? It has given over two of its floors to a “fine dining” restaurant run by Michel Roux Junior. The menu of Roux at Parliament Square, which opened on Monday, includes such epicurial delights as Landes foie gras, outdoor rhubarb and “glazed heritage carrots”.

Wine buffs should be impressed by the 250 bins which “represent a modern and diverse selection from the new and old worlds”.

A bit like the RICS membership really. Maybe the board should have a word with the sommelier about successful blends. Visit our website to suggest what else could grace the menu …

With Friends like this

Life in the US really is one long round of glamorous celebrity photoshoots. Even for architectural journals, it seems. Stateside magazine Architectural Digest has been showcasing the glam side of the business with some celebtastic covers, most recently one featuring alleged superbabe and haircut pioneer Jennifer Aniston. Now we’re not saying they pinched the idea from yours truly, but is it really a coincidence that just the other week our cover featured homegrown “celeb” Jack Pringle?

All bets are off

The hung parliament has given Doyle Group chairman Stef Stefanou a bit of a headache. Well known for liking the occasional flutter, Stefanou took nine bets from industry folk on the outcome. His conviction that Labour would win has saddled him with something of a debt – but unfortunately he can only remember who two of the bets were placed with. He has now asked that if the rest think they have won they should claim their money. Any unclaimed winnings will be sent to the Wishes 4 Kids charity.