National Housing Federation deputy chief executive James Tickell was hardly tickled pink at his treatment by after-dinner funnyman Bob "the cat" Bevan at the Fed's conference gala dinner in Birmingham last week.
"The cat" – an animal after your humble columnist's own heart – referred constantly to James as "Mr Tickle", that well-known octopus-armed orange person from the Mr Man books. And Fed chair Richard McCarthy was not spared from the feline one's rapier wit; he was branded "Cliff Richard". A bit below the belt, considering Mr McCarthy's past as a Sex Pistols and Clash fan.
Positive discrimination?
Ever been passed over for that high-profile housing job and wondered why? Let me explain a few home truths, passed on by a tenant who sat in on the interview process for the head of an RSL that, for reasons that shall become clear, must remain nameless.
One candidate was rejected by said tenant as he referred to empty homes as, er, empty homes. By calling them anything other than the official term – "voids" – this person was obviously just patronising everybody. The tenant then went on to explain that "two girls" – well-qualified mature women, both – did a lot better, but one was preferable because her hairstyle was nicer. If only my careers adviser at school had told me about that sort of thing.
Silence is golden
Mike Gahagan, the ODPM's only Turkish dancing expert, has never been your average mandarin. He's in his element working on the market renewal pathfinders, he tells me, because there are no civil service rules to follow. "I'm very proud of the fact that we haven't issued a single guidance note on this. It's a triumph!" he beams. And long may that continue, say all of us.
It just got personnel
In a climate of political correctness and spin, it's always nice to hear about those who speak their minds.
Spies in Whitehall tell of shock waves emanating from the office of Louise Casey, the straight-talking homelessness "czarina" now head of the government's homelessness directorate.
Angered when a loyal admin worker who had toiled diligently for two years was refused a permanent contract by sole virtue of the fact that her academic qualifications were gained in New Zealand, no-nonsense Casey fired off an expletive-strewn email to the pen-pushing bureaucrat in personnel who'd made the decision.
Ticked off immediately for the use of swear words, but receiving no reply to her request for a permanent contract, fuming Casey sent another missive, punching something along the lines of "this is sh*t" angrily into her computer until the personnel department relented. Go girl.
Revolving doors at the ODPM
Bearing in mind the amount of name-changing and ministerial reshuffling that seems to be the hallmark of the ODPM (formerly the DTR, DETR and DTLR …), one could forgive new housing minister Lord Rooker for wondering how long he'll keep his portfolio. In fact, he hinted at the transitory nature of being a minister no less than twice during the NHF conference in Birmingham last week, mentioning that, like most ministers, he was "passing through the department".
Source
Housing Today
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