Hansom

Culture vultures

It seems that last week's announcement of the make-up of the Olympic Delivery Authority board came as less than a surprise to many leading members of our industry. News of the appointment of Barry Camfield, assistant general secretary of the T&G union, was apparently leaked by someone with connections to Whitehall before the board was formally ratified by culture minister Tessa Jowell on Wednesday. Speaking of Jowell, rumours are once again circulating about her future, following Sue Street's mysterious departure from her role as permanent secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Rumours that this had anything to do with the recent imbroglio surrounding Jowell and her husband have been furiously denied. Nonetheless, with Jowell once widely tipped to be Olympics minister, Games watchers are advised to watch the next reshuffle with interest.

In Dermot we trust

Following a shake-up of regulatory powers at the BBC last week, it was good to see that construction's own BBC governor Dermot Gleeson will stay on as part of a restructured regulatory body, to be known as the BBC Trust. Tessa Jowell (her again) will be recruiting eight members of the trust to work with four appointees from the existing board of governors, a mix that Jowell said would allow the trust to operate with "the right balance of change and continuity". Gleeson will apparently be helping with the transition and aiding the Beeb's property strategy.

The judge confesses

Given the increasingly litigious atmosphere on Wembley stadium, it was inevitable that the troubled project would be a hot topic of conversation last week when the great and good of the legal world gathered in London to celebrate the launch of a new adjudicator panel. There was slight cause for alarm, however, when the presiding judge on the Multiplex vs Cleveland Bridge trial, Mr Justice Jackson, confessed to some worrying holes in his legal knowledge. "I came here a year and a half ago knowing almost nothing about adjudication," he told assembled guests. "You may think that is still the case." Hopefully my Lord will show more confidence in his grasp of the finer points of High Court trials.

Helping the Helpses

Distressing news from the marital pile of Dominic Helps, bon viveur barrister turned eco-warrior. It seems that Helps' attempts to reduce his carbon tonnage, as pledged in the pages of Building two months ago, have been tempering his recently wedded bliss. Apparently, the installation of low-energy lightbulbs did not go down well with his missus, who contended that throwing out the old ones was itself wasteful, and he had to turn to Building-carbon-coach-turned-marriage-guidance-counsellor Dave Hampton for advice. However, I'm afraid it's not boding well - Helps' latest low-carbon ruse is to confiscate his wife's car keys and cancel all her international holiday plans. I wonder if our carbon coach knew what he was letting himself in for …

Say cheese, Norman

Given that Lord Foster has upwards of 600 architects toiling in the bowels of his vast Battersea fortress, clients have started to fear that some of the huge range of schemes coming out of the studio may not have had the benefit of his masterful touch. Which might explain why nonplussed cad monkeys at Foster Towers are apparently being encouraged to take pictures of His Lordship as he wanders round the office peering at projects.

It's not a dome!

A press release arrives from the good people at the O2. This, you'll remember, is the name that has been cunningly bestowed on the rebranded Millennium Dome. However, it seems that some people fear the disguise is not good enough. The missive asks journalists not to call it the O2 Dome, for fear of associations with its past life as, erm, a dome. Olympic gymnastics venue, casino and multiplex cinema it may be, at least when its £600m overhaul is completed. But for all the hype, when its doors open again, it will still be white, round, and dome-shaped.