Housing associations feature all-too-rarely in Diary. And, while this particular keeper of the page has only so much experience to draw from, it’s a relatively safe bet that the East Lothian Housing Association has never before enjoyed the (dubious) honour.
Well, let’s rectify that right now. For the ELHA is celebrating its 30th birthday, and it is doing it in style. Its latest annual “How we’re doing” report is truly spectacular. Sure, it features all the data you could want on average rents, empty properties and tenant satisfaction. So far, so standard.
But where the association really earns its high score is in the presentation: it’s all packaged in a stunning celebration of retro arcade games. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong… all Diary’s childhood favourites. ‘Tis truly a thing of beauty – right down to the “Game Over” final page.
According to the ELHA, it’s all inspired by a look back to the association’s early days and how the two industries of housing and video gaming have been transformed over the past three decades.
But, it adds: “It’s still fun to blow aliens up and chase ghosts though, some things never change!” Words we can all live by.
What’s the buzz?
Well, if you’re in Manchester, it may well be the sound of the GVA bees. The adviser has installed bee hives on three of its managed schemes in Manchester and Salford: Piccadilly Place, Piccadilly Gate and The Soapworks.
The move builds on the success of its 2017 initiative, which saw the introduction of two hives to Ship Canal House on King Street. This brings the total number of GVA bees in the city to around a whopping 320,000.
A trained beekeeper is on hand to visit each hive once a month, to ensure the welfare of the bees and answer any queries from occupiers, and the honey produced will be sold to occupiers, with proceeds to be donated to The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.
“The bee has become a powerful symbol of Manchester’s community spirit,” says GVA’s Matthew Mears, “and our hive initiative is an extension of this, bringing the buildings’ tenants together, through events and charity fundraising.” It all sounds like the bee’s knees.
The desert of the real
The evolution of video gaming brings us neatly to Decentraland, a new city that has seen investment of tens of millions of dollars – but only exists virtually. For those who have interacted with any children over the past few years, it’s a bit like Minecraft, only you have to buy your 10m x 10m plot before you can build whatever you can think of on it – and, crucially, nobody else can knock it down.
Then, you’re free to exploit your virtual land commercially using the game’s own cryptocurrency, or even sell it on for profit. The game’s first 90,000 parcels sold at auction for, in total, more than $28m and the BBC spoke to one early investor planning to open an art gallery on the plot he bought for $900, who says he wouldn’t sell for less than $10m. Sounds like he’s living in a dream world, right?
Well, so far the highest price paid is $180,000, and plots are already listed for sale at over $800,000. According to author David Gerard, the success of the game (and would-be virtual property tycoons) will depend on whether it really captures the imagination of “people who do not give a hoot about blockchains” – and on surviving possible disruption by “trolls and griefers”. Will Decentraland change commercial property forever? Will EG need to reinvent itself as the trusted source of virtual estate intelligence? For the moment at least, Diary will keep on keeping it real.
Starbucking the trend
Another week, another Twitter meme, this time celebrating Starbucks baristas’ misspelling of customer names. Like many others before it, this one soon veered into oh-too-familiar territory.
Thank @EUflagmafia for:
Just gave my name in starbucks as 'stop brexit,. As the (remain) barrista screamed out my 'name' repeatedly, the whole place erupted in to applause. Result. Try it. #FBPE @Starbucks pic.twitter.com/M3qfvfNOaM
— EU Flag Mafia 3.5% 🇺🇦 (@EUflagmafia) August 25, 2018
And it was only a matter of time before real estate-related ones began to crop up. @ParadiseCircus began with:
Just gave my name in starbucks as 'mixed-use development’. As the barrista called out my 'name' repeatedly, the whole place erupted in to Evening Mail puff pieces. Result. Try it.
— Paradise Circus (@paradisecircus) August 28, 2018
But @JackTindale wins:
Just gave my name in Starbucks as “our continued failure to reform planning laws has led to a terminal shortage in housing stock” As the (neo-liberal) barrista screamed out my 'name' repeatedly, the whole place chanted "Abolish the Green Belt!". Result. Try it.
— Jack Tindale (@JackTindale) August 26, 2018
For keeping track of trending memes, you can count always on Diary (or, as Starbucks usually calls us, Dairy).
