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Poetry with a purpose

It was National Poetry Day recently, and to celebrate, one of my more cerebral colleagues saw the alternative poet John Cooper Clarke at the Royal Albert Hall. Some of Clarke鈥檚 output featured rather 鈥渞acy鈥� language but my colleague has a strong constitution and was somewhat enamoured of the chap鈥檚 revamp of his poem 鈥楤easley Street鈥�, entitled 鈥楤easley Boulevard鈥�. It featured a nod to Manchester developer Urban Splash, which was founded by rakishly tilted hat enthusiast Tom Bloxham. The poem was dedicated 鈥� and I quote 鈥� to 鈥渢he urban splash regeneration generation鈥�. I get the impression Clarke didn鈥檛 include it as a compliment. 

A legend for other reasons?

I see football manager Roy Hodgson was down to speak at a conference on technological innovations in the sports infrastructure industry last week. The blurb lists him as a 鈥渟porting great鈥�, but I鈥檓 not so sure. His last match in charge of England was a beating by Iceland last summer that was not so much eating a slice of humble pie as a three-course meal with after-dinner speeches, and at the time of writing his reign at new club Crystal Palace reads: played three league games, won none. A Liverpool-supporting colleague reminds me he was in charge of that club as well. 鈥淗e was useless,鈥� he adds for good measure.

Intellectual vanguard

For years, the species known as 鈥渨hite van man鈥� has had a bad reputation, caused in no small part by its dodgy driving technique and penchant for waving two fingers out of its vehicle鈥檚 window at anyone taking issue with being cut up on the roads. But the image of the belligerent motorised thug could be transformed, thanks to the hunt to find 鈥淏ritain鈥檚 brainiest van driver鈥�. Van leasing outfit LeaseVan.co.uk wants drivers to send in a photo of themselves enjoying 鈥� and I quote 鈥� 鈥渢heir favourite brainy pastime鈥�. The contest鈥檚 organisers say they want people to know that 鈥渄riving a van is a noble profession and many such drivers are smart and highly successful鈥�. So if you鈥檙e combining delivering goods across the UK with studying for an MA in politics, philosophy and economics, you know what to do. 

Boozing like it鈥檚 1969

Like many of you, I鈥檓 an admirer of the public house, a place where men and women can go to relax, enjoy each other鈥檚 company and drink the tipple of their choice. I have often pondered on the lack of such establishments in new housing developments. One sees all sorts of leisure facilities in newly built housing schemes 鈥� gyms, bicycle parks, cinemas and so on 鈥� but ne鈥檈r a sign of a pub. Perhaps with Theresa May鈥檚 new-found enthusiasm for council housebuilding, we can look forward to a rash of new flat-roofed boozers springing up across the land, replete with Watney鈥檚 Red Barrel, Worthington E (鈥淕oes down easy!鈥�) and bottles of Campari.

A lucrative profession 

Who says architecture (and journalism, for that matter) doesn鈥檛 pay? I was reading an online magazine about furniture, and one of the features was about the best places to live in London. Interior designer Faye Toogood took up the story for Highgate, a posh bit in the north of the capital. Lots of media types and architects live there, she tells us, and Highgate School seems to be a popular choice for folk in the area to send their kids to. With fees at a little over 拢20,000 a year, I can see why cash-strapped architects and hacks are making a beeline for such a bargain. 

Send any juicy industry gossip to hansom@ubm.com