More Comment – Page 723

  • Comment

    Jacks of all trades

    2003-10-31T00:00:00Z

    We run a postgraduate course for construction industry professionals, Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment, at Cambridge University, and we tackle the issues raised in the letter “Radical thinking” (10 October, page 36).

  • Comment

    Be specific

    2003-10-31T00:00:00Z

    A two-stage procurement strategy for the Chemistry Building for Queen Mary University of London was described as "traditional" (18 July, page 64), presumably in the expectation that readers were familiar with the procedure.

  • Comment

    A tale of two monarchies

    2003-10-31T00:00:00Z

    “There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision,” wrote William James, Henry’s smarter brother, in his Principle Of Psychology.

  • Comment

    A question of currency

    2003-10-31T00:00:00Z

    This was an appeal by the defendant, Manuel Revert, from a decision of His Honour Judge Hegarty QC delivered on 6 December 2002. The Judge ordered that the claimant, Virani Limited, was entitled to damages which were to be assessed in US dollars. Manuel was a purchaser of cloth, while ...

  • Comment

    Check the expiry

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    Tesco was understandably peeved when one of its superstores burned down, and it wanted cash back. But was the claim past its sell-by date?

  • Comment

    Cruel and usual treatment

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    You contractors get stroppy when your subbies fail to deliver, but the culprit is often the dodgy, lazy, time-honoured ways of the good old British building industry

  • Comment

    Defective thinking

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    What do defects have to do with retentions? Nothing. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Sweet Fanny Adams. But just you try telling the government that …

  • Comment

    Hansom

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    OK, children. This week we're going to patronise you from inside a plastic foam suit, threaten you with a firearm and dismantle your house …

  • Comment

    Would you like some more money?

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    Not only are your labour-only subcontractors entitled to holiday pay, but if your arrangements for giving it to them are unclear, you could end up doling out twice

  • Comment

    Bye-bye, Bambi

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    The Be Collaborative contract is another adorable newborn legal fawn taking its first unsteady steps towards the combine harvester of the construction industry

  • Comment

    Who'll take on apprentices?

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    I'd like to respond to the news of a new training board (3 October, page 3).

  • Comment

    Fit for a comedy sketch

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    With reference to Roger Knowles' letter (10 October, page 36) and the rather tired debate over the RICS, may I point out that architects, engineers and solicitors all have their own specialisms yet remain quite content to practise under the generic banner of their profession.

  • Comment

    Show a bit of initiative

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    I was encouraged by the story "Clarke: Skills council will end need for foreign workers" (3 October, page 13).

  • Comment

    Do one job well

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    We have been watching several professional organisations agonise over agendas for change for some time now, among them the RICS and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

  • Comment

    Not so special

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    Your article "The Techmeisters" (26 September, page 74) was either written with tongue firmly in cheek or you fell under the spell of snake oil salesmen intent on cornering a market.

  • Comment

    Hearing you loud and clear

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    I read your news item about housebuilders being spared the need to test their houses for adequacy of sound resistance (29 August, page 13) and thought, what a shame.

  • Comment

    More to restore …

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    I recently watched Restoration on BBC2. Like many, I was both interested and depressed.

  • Comment

    How can you say that?

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    The Treasury would have us believe that the PFI can do no wrong. But, as James Nesbit points out, its data makes genuine comparisons impossible

  • Comment

    Good day at the office, dear?

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    The claimant, Mr Horkulak, had been threatened and humiliated by his manager over a period of some months. Finally, he walked out of his job as a senior managing director in a major broking house in the City of London. He saw his doctor the next day, who put him ...

  • Comment

    Working in harmony

    2003-10-24T00:00:00Z

    This month, a double issue of Specifier looks at doors and windows and flooring – and what dynamic sectors they are. Despite a flurry of new rules, architects are still turning out some great pieces of work – and Tinside Lido in Plymouth is one of them. The project team ...