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Expensive hobby

One of my hacks was out with a City type recently and talk turned to shooting. It turns out he doesn鈥檛 shoot grouse because of the prohibitive 拢100-a-bird cost. A party of 10 can rack up a 拢40,000 bill for a day鈥檚 shooting on the country鈥檚 grouse moors, he said. He told my man he sticks to cheaper game instead, such as pheasant. 鈥淎nd how much,鈥� inquired my hack, with an unfortunate slip of the tongue, 鈥渄oes it cost to shoot a peasant?鈥�

Changing the model

Contractors have upped their game when it comes to making presentations to clients while pitching for jobs. I heard Mace鈥檚 successful bid for Sellar鈥檚 Paddington Square 鈥� better known as the Cube 鈥� involved bringing in a rather fancy model of something resembling a Cube. Back in my day, the dilemma usually centred on whether to staple the presentation together or put it in a binder. 

Keeping in shape

Speaking of Sellar, I see the firm is swapping gritty Bermondsey for the swankier confines of Fitzrovia when it moves its head office to Clipstone Street this summer. Sellar鈥檚 staff may be glad to know that a short stroll from their office is a swish cocktail bar called the Lucky Pig, which promises patrons 鈥渁 relieving post-work tipple or a long-awaited night of dancing and debauchery into the early hours鈥�. Seems like ideal training for French property jamboree Mipim to me.

Not far enough?

Aidan Kehoe, who heads up the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS trust, is leaving to take up the top job at Hamad General Hospital in Qatar next month. Perhaps it鈥檚 no wonder. The Royal Liverpool hospital is one of two left incomplete by Carillion鈥檚 collapse. Though if Kehoe thinks moving to the Gulf state means he鈥檒l escape construction鈥檚 C-word, perhaps he should think again. Local firm Msheireb Properties was accused by former Carillion chief Richard Howson of contributing to its downfall by withholding payments, prompting the developer to threaten Carillion with legal action over the claims. Perhaps Kehoe and the bosses at Msheireb could swap Carillion war stories. 

Hosting with style

When press officers for a top 20 contractor asked to meet some of my reporters, my hacks were looking forward to giving them a hipster-style welcome at a favourite Shoreditch coffeehouse featuring wooden stalls, tattooed baristas and a shabby-chic aesthetic. So my writers were disappointed when the spin doctors ran out of time to travel east and summoned them to central London instead. A solitary reporter found himself impeccably tended to in a subterranean tearoom at a private members club. He decided this was no great hardship. After remarking on the splendid art, he was surprised to learn he faced a wall filled with originals by David Hockney. It was a timely reminder that whatever hardship befalls construction, it still has some cash to splash.

Getting on namelessly

One of my reporters attended a presentation about the Royal College of Art鈥檚 new campus in Battersea, designed by Herzog & de Meuron 鈥� the Swiss architect behind the Tate Modern. Given the high profile of the architect and the importance of design to the university, you might expect them to get on famously. But Ascan Mergenthaler, the German-born senior partner at the architect, ended an interview by asking: 鈥淒o you need my card? Because I鈥檝e known Paul [Thompson 鈥� vice-chancellor] for so long, but he still can鈥檛 say my name correctly.鈥� Awkward.