All articles by Hansom – Page 21
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CommentHobbies and/or interests
In tough times, it’s important to distract yourself with such activities as theatre rehearsals, horse racing and … er … whatever a former construction minister got up to in the House of Commons
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CommentHansom: Look at me!
Attention-seeking strategies were the order of the day at Mipim – from Twittering to leaping from moving buses – but if you find yourself in Bogotá, it’s probably best to keep your head down...
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CommentCakes and ale? Fat chance
While bigwigs from our own industry forgo power lunches and business-class flights for the communal fridge and easyJet, at least Dubai’s know the value of pointlessly exorbitant gestures …
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CommentSo, Mr Bond...
This week, I’ve been unmasking a phoney company chairman, burning documents after reading and planning my escape route to the south of France. Whoever said construction wasn’t thrilling?
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CommentJourney’s end
A melancholy tale of thwarted hope this week, for a travelling bank manager, Gulf ex-workers in search of liquid comfort and the poor Yorkshire lass who’s taken a fancy to my prose
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CommentFisticuffs
Warning: this week’s diary contains graphic scenes of violence, as a Unite officer tests out his right jab, a Wembley grudge match reaches round two and Tim Byles submits to the school bullies
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CommentCold comforts
As we all huddle for warmth and HSE inspectors don their crash helmets to go and play in the snow, some observers spy green shoots rising out of the frozen earth. Unnamed observers, obviously...
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CommentThe audacity of Hansom
Inspired by inaugural events across the pond, we indulge in some gentle globetrotting and encounter a failed QS in China, a cement protest in Greece and a lone Hungarian in the Middle East
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CommentPulling a fast one
My, some folk have been quick off the mark this year: the government on high-speed rail, Masdar on its zero-carbon accounts, Bellway’s boss on getting to work, and nearly all Dubai on Dubai’s great ‘secret’
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CommentDing dongs merrily on high
The season of goodwill to all men is well and truly over and it’s back to the usual name-calling, back-stabbing and top-level fist-fighting. A sigh of relief all round, then…
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CommentHansom: A fresh start
It’s a brand new year, and we’re giving up being gloomy, sowing discord, drinking champagne and getting people’s company names wrong. Starting next week, of course
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CommentComplete baubles
Plenty of seasonal fare here: a ghost story that Dickens would have been proud of, at least one joke worthy of a Christmas cracker, 10 Santas, and a well-earned nap in a snoozarium
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CommentLet the games begin
The industry heaves itself into its tracksuit this week, with football sponsorships, ODA stunts, a sporty rebranding, and some deeply unpleasant goings-on at Ashton Town FC
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CommentHansom: rethinking construction
This week, the industry takes a fresh look at urban regeneration, pay packets, energy performance certificates and even the design of the humble chair
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CommentWe can all learn something
The failures of 19th-century property developers, BAA’s cunning way of working to budget and Jamie Oliver’s efforts to reform school dinners all provide some lessons this week
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CommentComedy of errors
This week, causes for confusion include a mysterious marketing campaign, a dubious safety claim, a phantom contract and a rather naughty search term – plus, the RIBA’s clever job creation scheme
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CommentWe’ve got the answers!
To such questions as ‘How do you survive the recession using only baked beans and window cleaning fluid?’, ‘Does a large prison sound less scary than a Titan prison?’ and “Where do all the leaves go?’
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CommentPut on a happy face
What’s the best way to keep cheerful through the downturn? A quick game of golf, a few fireworks and then a glass of bubbly back at the in-office bar sounds good to me
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CommentQuestion time
Everything’s getting terribly serious, isn’t it? This week we ponder life’s big questions: what can make us happy? How can we save our businesses? And what is making Gary Barlow so miserable?
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CommentOut with the old
As the autumn trees are changing, we turn over a new leaf, with a different housing minister, some original vocabulary, a fresh-look logo and the option to go for tapas