HUB managing director Damien Sharkey’s recent appearance on Coaches On The Couch, a podcast about leadership in the built environment, drew Diary’s attention for a very specific reason – Sharkey’s socks.
In the photo that accompanies the podcast, taken in the former architect’s front room, the shoes are off and a vibrant, multi-coloured pair of socks are on display. Diary mentioned it when speaking to Sharkey this week, hoping it didn’t sound like we had some sort of footwear fetish, and were relieved to learn that we weren’t alone in noticing.
“I’ve had 17 WhatsApps about my socks and multiple LinkedIn messages in the last 24 hours,” Sharkey said. “I feel like I wear quite boring suits to work every day, so the one thing I can have fun with is my socks.”
And the secret to ensuring there’s always a style to fit a particular mood or ensemble? Twenty-four pairs of Happy Socks to choose from.
‘Ey up, King Tut
Diary loves a novel bit of change-of-use, and even better if it succeeds in bringing some culture to our built environment. So hearty congratulations to Barnsley on its brand new museum, surely one of the smallest in the UK… after all, it fits inside a red telephone box (which isn’t even larger on the inside – and, yes, we know that one’s a police box, please don’t write in). It’s all part of Barnsley Museum’s plan to showcase culture in unexpected places. And nothing could be more unexpected than finding, in a telephone box in South Yorkshire, a life-sized replica of the innermost coffin of Tutankhamun. This celebrates the centenary of the discovery of the tomb of the pharaoh, who reigned in Egypt during the 14th century BC. Sadly there’s no word in the press release on whether the box remains connected, so you can talk like an Egyptian.
Who’s Muse gonna call?
To Lewisham for a tour of Muse Developments’ under-construction Gateway scheme. At the heart of phase 2, alongside the BTR homes and restaurants, is a nine-screen Empire cinema. There are roughly 11 months to completion, but will everything open at once? That’s up in the air when it comes to the cinema, as Empire likes to open any new screens alongside a blockbuster. So, what might the company eye as a prime title for the locals of Lewisham? A whisper from the site is that there’s a circle on the calendar around the next (as yet untitled) instalment in the Ghostbusters franchise in December 2023. Who said it was scary heading south of the river?
Blame it on the boss
“Ever wondered which industry has the worst bosses?” asks an e-mail in our inbox from Reboot Digital PR. As it happens, we haven’t, but now Reboot mentions it, we would like to know. The firm has carried out a UK study, asking 3,445 people from 29 sectors whether they like their boss… and it seems the world of property and construction is very much split on the topic. Some 45% of the industry’s workers said they dislike their boss, meaning that the sector ranks fourth on the list of discontent, behind retail (51%), healthcare (48%) and sales (47%). As for the reasons why, they aren’t separated by sector, but Diary imagines that the three most common UK-wide complaints of being underpaid (66%), micro-management (46%) and lack of communication (43%) are as applicable to real estate as elsewhere. Diary, for its part, loves its boss and would pay to work for her, as she very clearly told us to write (just kidding!).
Manchester vs Liverpool
Metro mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram are in training to face off in a charity DJ battle, pitting the legendary music of Manchester and Liverpool against each other to raise money for A Bed Every Night, the Greater Manchester mayor’s homelessness charity. This constitutes an epic rematch for Burnham and Rotheram, who took part in an online DJ face-off during lockdown as part of the United We Stream fundraiser. But now they face the added adrenaline rush of taking to the decks in front of a live crowd at the Archive on 2 December – and each, we are told, is eager to be crowned king of the turntables. “We all know Manchester has the greatest musical heritage,” says Burnham. “And I’ll be giving it my all in the set to prove that point once and for all. There’s serious pride at stake here.” But Rotheram, who has often taunted his counterpart over Liverpool’s musical supremacy, is sure to prove stiff competition. Forget Eurovision next year, for a mere £10 a ticket, this is the North West’s biggest song contest.
Share your tales from the quirky side of the property industry by e-mailing diary@eg.co.uk
