The Loud Lanky Lad is studying economics at AS level and his teacher seems to have a rather marvellous off-the-wall take on the subject. I have been reading LLL's course books, one called "Free Lunch" is particularly enjoyable and - well behind the rest of you I do appreciate - I have finally caught up with "Freakonomics" where I have learnt the secret to a successful blog......
It's all about reciprocity and back-scratching apparently. Oh the parallels!
Talking of reciprocity and back-scratching, I was out on Monday evening hoovering up the Sauvignon Blanc (which is drug of choice, after all) in the Black and Blue with that old smoothie, Alistair Parker of Cushman and Wakefield, plotting and scheming - as ever - about the British Council for Shopping Centres (BCSC) Conference being held in Manchester 9-11 November.
He is currently chairman of the BCSC of course and puts a huge amount of effort in; the old rogue and his team are planning a really good bash up there at GMex. Alistair has the energy of 10 men and he does tell it how it is. I was picking his brains about retail-led regeneration and he confirmed my suspicions that most of the old models are past their sell-by dates and we will need a new paradigm. He says it could be TIFs. I threw in my usual quip (somewhat glib and irresponsible, I do concede) about how TIFs were only a new form of debt and he got very agitated with me. Told me to shut up in fact. How very rude!
