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Over troubled waters

She鈥檚 not particularly known for her efforts to bring communities together, but DUP leader Arlene Foster has lately endorsed Scottish architect Alan Dunlop鈥檚 suggestion that a bridge be built between Northern Ireland and Scotland. However, given that the cost would be about 拢20bn the odds of getting the project off the ground aren鈥檛 great. Earlier this year, the now ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson proposed a bridge between England and France 鈥� a suggestion swiftly and unsurprisingly dismantled by Downing Street. 

Winging it 

At the launch of the Federation of Master Builders鈥� proposals for a new builder licensing scheme at the House of Lords last week, one of my hacks found herself face to face with construction minister Richard Harrington. After happily agreeing to stop for a chat with lurking journalists, Harrington said he would only field questions about the FMB鈥檚 proposal. Fair enough, but there was just one small catch 鈥� he fessed up that he hadn鈥檛 actually read the thing. Not leaving anyone much to work with there, eh, Richard?

Top of the line

In Harrington鈥檚 defence, he did admit to only being asked to speak at the event the day before the launch. He kicked off his speech by saying: 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to get top-line political speakers to these events. I鈥檓 told if you wanted the prime minister it鈥檚 a three-year waiting list; if you wanted the chancellor it鈥檚 two years. So when I got the call yesterday morning I was pleased to accept the invitation to come and speak today.鈥� He said he had discussed the proposals 鈥渋n outline鈥� with the FMB鈥檚 boss Brian Berry 鈥� he may not be 鈥渢op-line political talent鈥� but he could have at least taken a gander at them.

Moulded bricks

I discovered the other day that mushrooms could be working their magic to help regenerate Cleveland, one of the most run-down cities in the US. White-coated boffins have harnessed mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus, and blended it with construction waste 鈥� which is in abundance in the Ohio city, what with all the demolition work going on there 鈥� in a process known as 鈥渂io-cycling鈥�. The resulting 鈥渂ricks鈥� look like giant brownies, and yes, I鈥檓 sure there is a mushroom-related joke in there somewhere. 

Soaring ambition

I鈥檓 indebted this week to social media for a witty assessment of the new Brexit minister. A colleague pointed me in the direction of Twitter, which was reacting 鈥� as is the way of these things 鈥� to Dominic Raab鈥檚 move to the role from the housing brief he鈥檇 occupied for a scant six months. A certain Leonardo Carella noted that an anagram of the new Brexit minister鈥檚 name was 鈥渕idair bacon鈥�, which he helpfully suggested was 鈥渜uite apt for someone tasked with carrying out a policy that could only work when pigs fly鈥�.

A step forward

Fed up with going to building sites and finding no safety boots in smaller sizes, hacked-off Atkins surveyor Sophie Lydia Smith contacted safety footwear specialist Amblers with the idea of designing boots specifically for women working in construction. And lo, last month the brand launched the 鈥淎S601C Lydia safety boot鈥�, which it says has a 200-joule impact and resistant toe cap. It will complement Smith鈥檚 previous design, the 鈥淔S706 Sophie shoe鈥�. Smith says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 imperative that women in construction take the lead to bring new solutions to problems which might prevent more women joining.鈥� Hear, hear to that. 

Correction: The first version of this story noted that Cleveland was the capital city in the state of Ohio. This was incorrect (the correct capital city is Columbus).