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Quick chat

The chairman of Hurley Palmer Flatt鈥檚 owner HDR was in London earlier this week to meet the team. Eric Keen, who is also chief executive of the US engineer, flew in from California on Monday before heading home to the firm鈥檚 HQ in Omaha, Nebraska, the following day. I think that鈥檚 a good example of where the phrase 鈥渇lying visit鈥� comes from.

Rolling stones

Keen told my hack that he didn鈥檛 feel any tremors from last weekend鈥檚 earthquakes, which hit an area near Los Angeles. He was in northern California when they struck the state鈥檚 southern half, leaving thousands of people without power. But his son lives in LA and he certainly felt the shocks. 鈥淗e told me things were rocking and rolling,鈥� he laughs, shrugging off what no doubt would have taken us months to recover from in the UK 鈥�

The same old line

In the spring, the London Assembly published a report on what has caused Crossrail to be delayed, dramatically named 鈥淒erailed: Getting Crossrail back on track鈥�. Both Transport for London and London鈥檚 mayor Sadiq Khan promised to respond to it by June. In keeping with the theme of the railway, they haven鈥檛. 

Waste of time

Renewi seems to have thrown in the towel over its ability to hang on to a waste management contract it signed five years ago with councils in Derby. The waste-to-product business has told investors in its latest annual report that it鈥檚 blaming joint venture partner Interserve, which must wish it had never heard of energy-from-waste, for its impending Waterloo. Quite apt, then, that Renewi鈥檚 slogan is 鈥淲aste no more鈥�.

No building high enough

As Brexit uncertainty tightens its vice-like grip on the construction industry, my hacks tell me that signs of penny-pinching are becoming more evident across the wider economy. Just this week, urban climber George King scaled the outside of London鈥檚 Shard tower 鈥� designed by Renzo Piano for Sellar Group and constructed by Mace. This death-defying act can, surely, only be seen as an attempt to avoid the 拢19.95 entry fee to the tower鈥檚 72nd-floor viewing platform. I can鈥檛 think of any other reason for such lunacy.

Not so chipper

Press junkets used to be leisurely affairs in my day but on a recent visit to see David Chipperfield鈥檚 new museum in Berlin, my writer had a different experience. The trip to see the James Simon Gallery began at 3.30am and finished nearly 20 hours later when he finally crawled home. Flight delays rather than the Chipperfield people putting hacks through their paces are being blamed.

The high way

One of my team spent last weekend cycling close to 200 miles and climbing 16,000ft in Shropshire and Wales as part of an annual ride to raise money for charity Whittington Babies. He鈥檚 needed daily ice baths since. But it鈥檚 all for a good cause as the charity raises money for the neonatal 鈥� baby A&E 鈥� unit of the Whittington hospital in north London. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a tiny little charity, all parents of kids who鈥檝e been on the ward,鈥� says deputy editor Dave Rogers. Donations to this year鈥檚 event can be made at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jasminsjourney2019.