THING OF THE WEEK
KELL OF AN EFFORT…Euan Kellie, founding director of Euan Kellie Property Solutions, had planned to run the San Francisco half-marathon a couple of weeks ago but, for obvious reasons, that race is no longer going ahead. Instead, the planner has thought up a way to honour his commitment and raise money for the NHS at the same time.
Now they are both out! Excellent stewardship from both Ted and Ronald, making sure the course is up to scratch #sanfrangatleyhalf pic.twitter.com/IT4vIaCWQX
— Euan Kellie (@euankellie) April 20, 2020
Inspired by the backyard heroics of Captain Tom Moore, Kellie will be covering the 13.1 miles by doing 600 laps of his garden. At the time of writing he had raised more than £1,000 as preparations for tomorrow’s event were being stepped up with Kellie recruiting his dogs Ted and Ronald, to carry out meticulous inspections of the course.
SAM’S TOWN…Sam Stafford, host of the 50 Shades of Planning podcast and regional strategic land director for Barratt Developments, found a killer way of distracting himself from the stresses of his day job when he discovered a Playstation game which allowed him perfectly to replicate the stresses of his day job. City Skylines allows you to create your own ideal city from the name, Stafford Garden City, to the location of the local cemetery, the dead centre of town…
BUSINESS TRIP DIP… Many people predict that one of the positives to come from the coronavirus outbreak will be the subsequent reduction in the number of unnecessary business trips. The role of Zoom and Microsoft Teams in keeping businesses running cannot be underestimated and there is something eerily pleasant about seeing streets we are used to being choked with exhaust fumes almost completely car-free. THING hopes that John Wilson, MD at Preston-based Eric Wright Construction, speaks for a lot of us when he summed up his thoughts on the matter: “[The lockdown] makes you realise how many things you can do remotely and that we should have been doing them all along. Long gone are the days of driving an hour and a half for a half hour meeting.”
LEANING TOWER OF UPTON…An email from a worried resident in Upton-by-Chester to housebuilder Morris Homes expressed concerns that ongoing development at Upton Dene was causing a nearby grade two-listed water tower to lean. However, the claims that a tourist attraction might have been created inadvertently have been refuted by Morris Homes which called them “unfounded”. Meanwhile, reports are emerging that the collective sigh of relief breathed by the Pisa tourist board had enough force to correct the lean in their own tower.
ROARING SUCCESS…Liverpool One developer Grosvenor has launched a series of virtual activities for families to enjoy at home during lockdown including the relaunch of its Dinosaurs Unleashed event. The event saw a number of prehistoric creatures terrorise shoppers at Liverpool One last year and the horror of coming face-to-face with a triceratops or velociraptor can now be recreated in your own living room. Liverpool One said: “The Dinosaurs Unleashed home edition transports budding palaeontologists back to the Jurassic era, allowing them to hatch dinosaurs, feed and interact with them, and go into battle against other dinosaur fans online.” T-Rex-cellent fun for all the family.
LOFTY IDEA…Andy Burnham has been delivering weekly updates from his attic office as the Greater Manchester mayor updates us on the latest from his patch. The most recent instalment of Andy’s Loft saw the host of our new favourite vlog joined by Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram. When asked if Liverpool’s Champions League defeat against Atletico Madrid should have gone ahead amid concerns over the coronavirus, Steve, a dyed-in the wool red, said no and that it should probably be replayed. Needless to say that Burnham, a lifelong Everton supporter, was more than happy to let the result stand.
