The final account

Fond farewell

So farewell then Paul Morrell, who last month announced his impending departure from Davis Langdon, after 35 years at the firm. In a typically erudite letter to friends and colleagues, Morrell paints a rosy view of his time in the industry, especially in the “fellowship” he enjoyed within the industry at large. “For all its allegedly adversarial nature, I have actually spent very little of the last 35 years arguing, and instead made countless friends,” he writes. Aah, bless.

Fundraising, virtually

Staff at QS and project manager RLF completed a so-called ‘Tour de RLF’ challenge this month to raise money for the Institute of Cancer Research. The initiative has raised £627 so far, with another month of collecting still to come. Staff from the firm’s Brighton office (below) undertook a virtual cycle around each of RLF’s eight offices. Winner of the tour was Guy Roberts, closely followed by Tim Weeks in second and David Foy in third place. We hope no illicit substances were used to improve performances of the top cyclists.

Donations for the event are still being accepted at www.justgiving.com/rlfbrighton

Lost opportunity?

Has the QS profession lost out on a potential leading figure? We only ask as it was reported recently in the diary page of a national newspaper that Ian Hislop, editor of satirical magazine Private Eye for the past 20 years, was told by a careers adviser at his school that quantity surveying was the profession for him. Given his magazine’s record for ending up in the courts, perhaps it was wise that he chose to become a hack rather than opting for our noble calling.

Only one Joe Giordano

We quoted the networking guru’s advice to thrust
out your hand and say, ‘I’m Joe Giordano’. Would-be networkers, use your own names, please...

Our recent article offering networking tips is spreading confusion, nay chaos, throughout the industry. While it’s great so many of you are heeding the advice we brought you from Joe Giordano of Devsol, some are taking him a little too literally. We quoted the networking guru’s advice to thrust out your hand and say, “I’m Joe Giordano” but now scores of people are introducing themselves as the self-same Giordano. Would-be networkers, use your own names, please... If not for your own sake, for Dr Joe’s. We hear he is having trouble getting anyone to believe he is the original.

Mysterious woman

We were delighted to be invited along to Mace QS arm Sense's quiz night this week. The invite came with a rather dashing picture of boss and founder Chris Goldthorpe with unidentified partner.

A presidential calling

Potentially big news reaches us from Nigeria. According to a report we picked up this week on the news wires one Mallam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufa'i, currently the Minister in charge of Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria, is being touted by those in the know as the next president of the country. His background? You've guessed it, he studied quantity surveying at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. We wish him the best of British.

Stand by your man

Turner & Townsend chairman Tim Wray has been hanging out in Nashville, Tennessee, our spies inform us. Perhaps he’s poised to open a third US office to add to existing operations in Houston and LA? Or has he merely been hitting the country and western scene with Faithful+Gould MD Richard Hall, who once confessed to us a penchant for Tammy Wynette. Reports from Tennessee of two QS bosses out clubbing in cowboy hats remain unconfirmed.