Rough justice

Lawyers and rock musicians normally only meet in court tussles overy royalty payments and drugs charges - but all that is about to change.

The Specs, an office band from law firm Trowers & Hamlins, will perform in a battle of the bands event later this month for homelessness charity Broadway.

Rumours that they plan to perform a cover of The Clash hit ‘I fought the law’ are unconfirmed.

It was good to see Anthony Mayer retaining a philosophical attitude to the imminent demise of the organisation he chairs at last week’s National Housing Federation conference.

‘I have been three years at the Tenant Services Authority, which has been an almost surreal experience in that we spent the first 18 months of our
existence setting ourselves up and the past 18 months closing ourselves down,’ he told delegates.

‘You win some you lose some.’

Closed Circuit enjoys a trip abroad as much as the next person so it was with some excitement that we received the agenda for a three-day trip to Paris from housing association London & Quadrant.

The email gives details of a trip to the Institut d’Urbanisme de Paris, visits to an urban renewal project and lunch with French housing and planning experts.

Sadly, before Closed Circuit had time to pack a bag, a second email arrived from L&Q saying ‘apologies, not one for you’.

Closed Circuit is trying not to take it personally.

There was a commotion at the Communities and Local Government department’s Eland House headquarters last week after a pane of glass fell out of a high window.

Civil servants returned to work after the weekend to find they could not walk through the atrium in the building as other windows needed to be checked to ensure they were safe.

Is this an omen that the department’s policies are also about to come crashing down?

Send your juicy housing gossip to closedcircuit@insidehousing.co.uk