好色先生TV

The鈥檙e a competitive bunch, Ridge. Their prime concern at the start was that they didn鈥檛 look 鈥渁sleep鈥� like the previous week鈥檚 pinters. Things, though, got off to a slow start with well-meaning talk on sustainability thanks to uninspiring questioning from your correspondent, and perhaps a lack of alcohol.

After fears that Mark Nieuwenhuys鈥� theory on global warming could lead to pictures of dozing partners in 好色先生TV magazine, Guy Austin got straight to the point. 鈥淎ll the time there鈥檚 a snowdome in Dubai, sustainability is bollocks鈥�, he declares. 鈥淭here鈥檚 bugger all we can do for the environment when people in the Middle East want to go skiing.鈥�

Austin, whose international brief seems to be as wide ranging as James Bond鈥檚, says he鈥檚 amazed by how little attention builders overseas pay to sustainability, 鈥渆specially in America鈥�.

Working in Indianapolis, Austin said he was surprised to find there was no requirement for insulation. 鈥淭he attitude was to increase the air-con in the summer and the heating in the winter. While we and the client wanted insulation, the contractor just didn鈥檛 understand 鈥� even though it would鈥檝e meant he could have charged more for the job,鈥� says Austin. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the norm in the States.鈥�

Austin and Jones feel Ridge is obliged to push sustainability. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to start somewhere,鈥� says Jones, who is building his own eco-house in Oxfordshire.

Talk of terrible developments in eastern Europe 鈥� 鈥渄on鈥檛 buy off-plan in Montenegro鈥� 鈥� prompts Nieuwenhuys to recall the Eagles鈥� Last Resort, which concerned over-development in California. Nieuwenhuys, is a member of Ridge鈥檚 house band, which livens up the QS scene with the odd gig. 鈥淲e do rock covers, and do a lot better than the Abba cover bands,鈥� says Nieuwenhuys.

A conversation over the large number of overseas players in the Premiership brings us inevitably to the current shortage of home-grown QSs and the need to recruit from abroad.

Ridge has staff from all over the world 鈥� in the Birmingham office alone there are people from Malaysia, China and Ireland. Of course, staff retention is just as important as securing the talent, as London partner Adrian Spurrier discovered recently. 鈥淲e had two Chinese QSs in our London office but one鈥檚 left to become a nun on the Isle of Wight.鈥� Obviously celestial headhunters are as keen to poach staff as agencies in the mortal world ...

So, were Ridge entertaining? Judge for yourself by the pictures 鈥� some of which will have to remain unexplained in a 鈥渇amily鈥� business magazine.