Property’s fittest family survives brutal challenge
This could be property’s fittest family. Husband and wife Janet and Jeremy Lefton, of Lancashire-based Roundhouse Properties, with their daughter Michelle Rothwell, development surveyor at Capital + Centric, and her husband Tom have just completed the Marathon de Sables.
The family hauled themselves 156 miles across the sands of the Sahara to complete what is billed as the toughest race on earth. All four finished among the top 400 competitors of the brutal challenge, where temperatures can soar to more than 50ºC.
Competitors are required to carry all of their own food and equipment, the equivalent of 9kg on their backs.
Janet said: “It has been an unbelievable experience, extremely hard, but highly rewarding.”
She finished the race in 54 hours. Her husband crossed the line in 41 hours, with Michelle and Tom, co-founder of sports organisation Cassius Camps, describing the heat as a “deal-breaker”.
They have raised more than £20,000 for Brain Tumour Research. You can donate at www.justgiving.com/family-in-sahara
Is your idea the next big thing?
Do you have the answer to the world’s population problem? Want to have a go at fixing it? Then you should enter The Next Big Thing.
The international competition, launched by Estates Gazette and Cluttons and supported by RICS, aims to reveal an urban development solution to easing overpopulation in global cities.
Like Charles Pearson’s Tube map, or Ellis S Chesbrough’s plan for a city-wide sewerage system in Chicago, your idea could be a game-changer.
Submit your vision to the competition and get your idea in front of the biggest names in property, design and forward-thinking, who will ultimately decide the winner.
The winner will receive £1,000 and have their idea professionally produced and published as a front cover of Estates Gazette.
You have until 10 July to submit your entry, through either words or images.
To find out more, go to www.estatesgazette.com/thenextbigthing
Sociable lads have a reason to run
Congratulations on a gallant effort by Sociable Surveyors lads Sebastian Abigail and Elliott Sparsis, who completed the London Marathon in difficult circumstances.
Abigail, of Knight Frank, and Sparsis, of Blackstone, who founded the internship programme, crossed the finish line hand-in-hand, in four hours and 28 minutes.
Just a week earlier, Abigail’s father died of a rare liver disease. But the tragedy motivated him when the going got tough.
He said: “The last two miles were very difficult, but I remembered we were running for my dad and we got over the line.”
The pair are raising money for the British Liver Trust.
To donate, head to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/someonespecial/simonabigail
Calendar of events
MAY
Variety’s Yorkshire Property Awards
When: 7 May, 6.30pm
Where: Rudding Park Hotel, Follifoot, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
What: Hundreds of property professionals gather to celebrate the industry’s best performers in the region and fundraise for disadvantaged children and young people. www.variety.org.uk
JUNE
EG’s and BCSC’s 3rd Annual Retail Summit
When: 2 June, 8.30am
Where: The Waldorf Hilton, WC2
What: Experts come together to examine the changes in food retailing, how store design is influencing the industry, consumer behaviours, the importance of leisure and the growing emphasis on brand recognition. www.estatesgazette.com/eg-conferences
Cardiff Question Time
When: 4 June, 5.30pm
Where: Cardiff City Hall, Cathays Park
What: EG extends the Question Time series to Wales for the first time. A top-flight panel will be announced imminently. Register now to secure your place and submit the questions and themes you think should lead the discussion. www.estates gazette.com/questiontime
Annual BPF Conference
When: 4 June, 12pm
Where: King’s Place, 90 York Way, N1
What: Factors that will affect property in the next five to 20 years will be investigated at this half-day conference entitled Fast Forward: Can property keep up with the pace of change? Steve Norris,
Ken Livingstone, and Baroness Olly Grender will discuss the changes likely to emerge under a newly formed government. Other sessions will focus on technological challenges, demographic shifts and customer behaviour. www.bpf.org.uk/events
The North East Student Housing Awards
When: 4 June, 6.30pm
Where: Newcastle Civic Centre, Barras Bridge
What: The best landlords, letting agents and halls will receive awards at this gala dinner event for the student housing sector. The event will produce winners for Durham, Sunderland, Teesside and Newcastle, overall regional winners, and provide networking opportunity for the sector. www.nesha.co.uk
JULY
Planning Convention 2015
When: 7 July, 8.15pm
Where: 155 Bishopsgate, EC2
What: New Politics for Planning aims to set the agenda at the start of a likely period of challenges following elections in UK and Ireland. There will be presentations and debates on neighbourhood planning, sub-national strategic planning and co-operation, and the changing relationship between the UK’s nations and regions. Eugenie Birch, chair of the World Urban Campaign, will give a keynote address. www.rtpi.org.uk/events
