The final account

Feel the love

If you're wondering what to buy this Valentine's Day for that special QS in your life, or even if you're feeling a bit unloved and fancy treating yourself for the hell of it, why not snap up one of these fabulous mugs? They're available now - and in a choice of two sizes - at www.cafepress.com/luvqs from $11.99 (£6.80).

Ground Zero's complex contract

Work finally appears to be starting at the site of the former World Trade Centre in New York. The contract to build the £600m new transport hub element of the Ground Zero rebuilding project was awarded last month after much political to-ing and fro-ing in the last four years. Both the winner and the type of contract are something of a handful. The winner is a consortium called Phoenix Constructors, comprising Fluor (a division of global contractor Skanska) with three local contractors and Bovis Lend Lease as a minority partner. So far so good, but the six-piece has signed up to an ear bleedingly complex contract. The deal is a mixture of construction management and general contractor, with the parties holding different percentage share of the contract. The client will cover around 80% of the project's costs while the rest will be signed up on a guaranteed maximum price. Confused? Here's hoping the project team aren't, or the lawyers will have a field day.

New name, new look

We were delighted to receive Faithful+Gould's snazzy new corporate brochure, which adheres to high-end production values in trumpeting the wide range of work the firm has on its books. One minor quibble - not sure it was necessary to include cheesy picture of 20-something (above) in a frenzy of air-punching jubilation.

Chim's limelight continues

Good to see one winner of our QS Awards last year is receiving more attention. A shot of the young achiever of the year Chim Lungu, a QS at Turner & Townsend, is now proudly residing on the homepage of the RICS website. Here's hoping she's signed an agent to negotiate future media appearances.

Two down…

Were you stumped by our impromptu Simon Jones quiz? No, we've still not worked out who that other guy we thought was Simon Jones was. One reader successfully spotted two out of four of the Simon Jones - the cricketer who's the ninth sexiest man alive according to a survey in New Woman magazine and the former bass player of 90s rock group The verve. He missed out on spotting the actor from 80s TV shows Brideshead Revisited and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.