1973 and all that

Sun 29th January
Martin Tidd's Life On Mars

Thanks to the power of that good old-fashioned technology, the trusty VHS Video recorder, I watched last night the first three editions of the BBC drama, ‘Life On Mars' (Yeah, yeah, I know, three hours of TV, straight off the bat. I really should get out more). Apart from enjoying the story line, which I shall briefly state here for the uninitiated, it had me reflecting on the 30 odd years I have been around this wonderful construction industry of ours. Anyway, the TV drama that has caught the imagination of all 40-somethings is this:

It's present day Manchester and a police detective is knocked unconscious by a car. Next thing he knows he has gone back in time, awaking in exactly the same place… in the year 1973.

Unsure if he is dreaming, or just gone completely mad, our TV Detective was last ‘here' as a primary school child. Obviously he is somewhat alarmed to rediscover this world that exits against a backdrop of industrial strikes, London bomb blasts and a highly contentious war involving the Americans. (Actually, if you work at Wembley for Multiplex, you might be forgiven for thinking, "yeah, so what's different?")

Our confused detective finds himself assigned to a Police force dominated by cigarette smoking, gum chewing, unreformed men, (Actually, if you work for any UK based contractor, you might be forgiven for thinking, "yeah, so what's different?")

The first episode had our reluctant time travelling plod discovering a connection between the murder that his new 1970's colleagues are investigating and the serial killer who kidnapped his girlfriend back in 2006. Thus setting up the intriguing scenario of:

a) Could solving this case be the key to getting ‘home' to 2006?

b) Could it be a way to save his girlfriend?

It was just this development in the story line that shifted my thoughts away from my career and onto that of Martin Tidd's, Multiplex's under-fire UK managing director.

Like our TV detective, Martin is experiencing a living nightmare. According to Sunday's Observer the will they/won't they Wembley Stadium saga that Martin is ultimately responsible for rumbles on and the opening could be "delayed indefinitely".

Wouldn't it be cool if Martin, whose career has experienced the proverbial rough end of a pineapple up its rear end once before when he was boss of the now defunct Churchfield, innocently strolled around Wembley one morning only to be knocked unconscious by a freak blow to the head as the depropping of the roof on the south side of the stadium (which is the main obstacle to completing the stadium on time) got underway.

Suddenly, all Life On Mars like, Martin is transported back into the past, while remaining on exactly the same site: Wembley. Only this time Martin arrives in 1923, when the original stadium was constructed. Here, against the backdrop of 5,000 men taking just 300 days to build a colosseum-inspired structure with an outer wall the same height as the Biblical city of Jericho and over half a mile in circumference, Martin discovers a connection between the success his new 1920's colleagues are enjoying and the corresponding failure his project ream are suffering back in 2006. Thus setting up the intriguing scenario of:

c) Could this connection propel Martin back ‘home' to 2006?

d) Could it be the solution to save the project and ultimately get the FA Cup Final played there after all?

Yep. Total fiction, no chance!

Even with today's modern technology and the industry's inordinate amount of knowledge and experience from over 80 years of constructing huge stadiums across the globe, not to mention the third-world debt amount of money pumped into its design and construction, the arena's 13 May unveiling may not happen until several months later.

The FA is allegedly drawing up plans to deal with "the nightmare scenario" of Multiplex going bankrupt and no contractor to finish the stadium. It is believed officials are preparing to announce next month that the stadium will not be ready in time to host the final. Sad, but true. For the FA, the Sven Goran Eriksson scandals pale in comparison.

Now, here is the ‘Ooh!' bit: I find Martin Tidd's actual ‘real life' scenario spooky, more so than the fantasy of our TV copper in Life On Mars.

Review these facts, not a TV script:

• Bovis bid for Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and lost it to Laing. Bovis state Laing's bid is heavily under priced and Laing Construction, Martin Tidd's old employers, duly loses a packet and is ultimately flogged for a quid.
• Bovis, the contractor who undertook the modernisation of Wembley for the FA's Centenary in 1963, bid for the reconstruction of the fine old stadium. Controversially, Bovis' JV partner, Multiplex, ends up getting the job by itself. Many in the market state from the outset that Multiplex, Martin Tidd's current employers, has a bid that is heavily under priced and they go onto lose a packet (estimated at £75m). Multiplex's future, certainly in the UK, is in question.
• Spookier still, one of the last football stadium projects in the UK to have its contractor go ‘bust' while undertaking the work, was also in west London. The re-building programme of Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC, not only nearly bought down the football club but took out French, its contractor. The initial work, a spectacular three-tier cantilever stand, was finished by Bovis, who else!

"When was this?" I hear you ask. Well…in the year 1973.

Wed 1st February
Who sent the text?

Little Britain narrator Tom Baker is the new voice of BT Text. The star was chosen for the service, which allows text messages to be sent and received on home phones, because of his recognisable voice. Engineers took five months to record and process Baker's voice. He spent eleven days recording 11,593 different phrases, which can be broken down into different combinations of sounds and reassembled by computer to make new words.

"What appeals to me is the thought that I will be bringing good news to people whether it is a cheeky message, a birthday greeting, or just a quick hello," our nation's favoutire time-travelling Dr Who has reputedly stated.

Well, on arriving home this evening I found one such new fangled "cheeky" message had been left on the answer phone, albeit a wind up. "Is it true that you are an expert in dealing with cantakerious wheel chaired bound men?" came the rather slurred ‘Tom Bakeresque' voice mail. Oh yes, very funny!

Still, have to admit being tempted to send a similar ‘Cheeky' Tom Baker/Dr Who message to one particualr and in-the-spotlight individual with a large construction project hanging ‘Sword of Damacles' like around his neck - "Mr Tidd, can I offer you a trip in my Tardis? Back to 1923? A time when stadiums were completed on time!"