THING OF THE WEEK

SPORTING EFFORT… The black pudding vs the Yorkshire pudding. The latter might arguably be more loved, but the former travels further, as competitors will discover in the black pudding throwing world championships this weekend. Held in Ramsbottom, Bury, competitors will have three attempts to throw black puddings and knock down as many Yorkshire puds as they can, which will be placed in piles of a dozen on a 20ft plinth. All black puddings will be wrapped in tights, and throws must be underarm. The event starts at 12pm on Sunday 10 September outside The Oaks Pub. Entry costs £1 per person. There will be blood.

ONLY ALLIED… Two buildings by the prolific developer reached completion in close succession in Manchester’s Spinningfields: XYZ and No1 Spinningfields. While one is targeted at funky FinTech types, and the other at suited and booted professionals, both contain elements of the usual Allied London eccentricities. In shared space XYZ Works, tenants can have seminars in the Knowledge Wedge, chat in the Agora, and enjoy downtime in the Vault. All supplied with Prosecco on tap of course, the brainchild of recently appointed manager Steven Bailey. Nearby, larger No1 Spinningfields is at the fit-out stage. On visiting, an endearing aspect of the build process, which we vote should become a permanent feature, is having to literally shout for the lift. No mean feat when your voice has to carry up 19 floors. Imagine the din once WeWork and PwC move in.

VIDEO GAME… Forget Animal Crossing, Kier has installed interactive plaques, connected to a virtual world, on 25 of the contractor’s main schemes across the country. This includes the Finance Shared Service Centre in Manchester, and the Winsford Recycling Works. Each plaque allows members of the public to access information and history about the building. By providing locals with added insight into the infrastructure that surrounds them in their own city, Kier hopes that the plaques will help to demonstrate the importance of the built environment, and encourage more young people to consider a job in the sector.

With a Masters in Demolition you too could soon be tearing down buildings, such as the former Odeon cinema on Oxford Street

MASTERS OF DESTRUCTION…The University of Wolverhampton has started the academic year with a thump, launching Europe’s first Master’s degree in Demolition Management. There are 10 students on the first two-year course, whose studies will cover working with explosives, asbestos removal, BIM and façade retention. An undergraduate degree isn’t a pre-requisite of the course, with the University accepting candidates with five years’ work in demolition. Graduates of the two-year course will be officially certified in knocking ‘em down, with an MSc qualification.

Source: James O. Davies/Historic England

LISTS OF LISTINGS… To celebrate 70 years of Historic England listing buildings, the organisation has announced five new listings across the country. Newly listed structures include the Hobbit Hole-like Underhill in the Peak District, the first modern earth-sheltered house in Britain, designed in the 1970s by Arthur Quarmby. Also included are a London cabbie’s shelter, a Royal Navy wireless station in County Durham, a glass treehouse in Cornwall and the funerary buildings at London’s Willesden Jewish Cemetery. Historic England’s list of legally protected structures now has around 400,000 entries, including 710 windmills, 514 pig sties, 262 palaces, 72 piers, 16 plague crosses, 13 dung pits, three scoreboards, two fairground rides and one rocket. Listing buildings began as an emergency measure after World War Two, to identify which buildings should be salvaged and protected in post-war rebuilding. You can put a building forward to be listed online here: historicengland.org.uk/listing/apply-for-listing

MOST SATISFYING… These days, the internet seems to be 90% cat GIFs, and 9% Donald Trump’s twitter feed. The remaining 1% is made up of “most satisfying videos ever”, and if it’s this category which gets your heart racing, then this one’s for you. We want this door installed at Place North West towers, immediately.

What is this sorcery? pic.twitter.com/pHLdnMvvV6

— Work Fails (@FailsWork) September 2, 2017