Hugh shows EG is key to a degree
Comedian, actor and all-round nice bloke Hugh Dennis has excellent taste in trade magazines. The Mock the Week and Outnumbered star, who delivered a fine after-dinner speech at the Midlands IPF dinner at the ICC in Birmingham last week, told Diary that he hadn’t just heard of Estates Gazette, but had pored over it in great detail when writing his Geography dissertation at Cambridge. EG provided an invaluable source of research for his piece, entitled “The Spatial Distribution of Elementary Education in 19th-century Wakefield.” Glad to be of help, Hugh…
Boris Island blues
Still at the IPF dinner where Hugh Dennis didn’t spend the entire evening reminiscing about essays and research. He tickled the 620 guests’ funny bones when he said that he was “very upset” that the Boris Island airport wasn’t now going ahead, if a little relieved. “It’d be far too tempting for pilots not to fly up the Thames Estuary on a moonlit night towards the Thames Barrier without humming the tune to Dambusters over the intercom.” On to another mode of transport – rail. He outlined the first three phases of the £50bn HS2 high-speed rail project and then quipped: “And phase four would be a replacement bus service!”
Rees says his piece
Peter Rees wasn’t afraid of speaking his mind while holding public office. But now he has joined the world of academia, the former City planning officer has really let loose. Speaking at MIPIM UK, Rees described the regeneration of Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea as resembling a series of “demented telegraph poles”, which unsurprisingly didn’t draw the warmest response from the audience of property professionals. Fortunately for Rees, new employer UCL is paying to send its staff on stand-up comedy courses to help them better engage their audiences.
Food for thought
And so to other highlights from MIPIM UK. First up – the food. Fudge, shortbread, Tunnock’s caramel bars and Dundee cake: the Scottish Cities Alliance stand was the place for tasty treats and sugar boosts at the event. Footsore delegates flocked to the stand to refuel, all washed down with some Irn Bru (we’d be disappointed if it wasn’t). But Scotland’s wasn’t the only stand luring delegates with snacks and sustenance. Leicester and Leicestershire came armed with Melton Mowbray pork pies and chutney and then brought out cake after lunch, perfect with an afternoon cuppa. Next year we are hoping for some Welsh cakes on the Cardiff stand, Bakewell tarts on the Derby stand and Devon cream teas on the Plymouth stand. Hint hint.
Cardiff: model standard
And how about the most impressive model? Cardiff took that accolade, with a huge re-creation of the Welsh capital’s city centre highlighting key regeneration areas attracting quite a crowd to its stand. The best view, however, came from the balcony, due to the model’s vast scale.
Owen comes off the rails
And the most embarrassing moment? Wednesday’s HS2 seminar literally went with a bump, when one of the esteemed panel suffered a “chair malfunction”. Robbie Owen, head of infrastructure planning and government affairs at Pinsent Mason, was just getting into his stride, waxing lyrical about what £50bn buys in terms of the high-speed rail project, when his chair snapped and he was rendered speechless. Cue laughter from the audience, but of course not until Owen had stood up, dusted himself down and proved that no injuries were sustained. Ahem…
Virtual reality
If all this MIPIM UK chat is making you nostalgic, or if you didn’t manage to get to Olympia last week, panic not. Help is at hand courtesy of Inspired Labs. The online virtual walkthrough tool captured the whole event on camera so you can wander through the stands to your heart’s content even now the show is over. Just visit http://bit.ly/mipimukwalk to revisit the venue, not least to try to spot yourself if you were there at the time.
Pearls of laughter
More comedic turns this week as Diary was delighted to discover a closet funnywoman in our property midst. David Pearl’s PA, Helen Ramsorrun, is clearly just as busy as the Structadene boss himself if her latest YouTube sketch is anything to go by. We are sure The Busy Battle isn’t based entirely on real events. Or if it is, she may need a longer lunch break. Over to you, David…
http://bit.ly/busybattle
