Buildingtalk Editor retires and highlights key industry issues

29 May 2018

Howard Chapman, Buildingtalk Editor

Today I am retiring from my role as Editor at Buildingtalk and want to take this opportunity to thank all the great people I have met over the years and especially those individuals and companies that have supported Buildingtalk.

Buildingtalk continues to be in good hands with Max Banner now heading up a new generation of editorial staff.

As this is the last Buildingtalk newsletter I will edit, I have reprised of some of the recent stories and Blogs that reflect my interests in the industry. But I begin with a little background to my retirement.

I began my working life in 1966, leaving home in Manchester aged 16 to begin work in Customs & Excise at ‘London Airport’ that later became London Heathrow. I lived in a bedsit in nearby Harmondsworth in a house that will soon to be submerged under the airport’s 3^rd runway. So unfortunately no blue plaque there.

I also met my wife Carole at the airport and we were married in the summer of ’68. This year we celebrate our 50^th wedding anniversary and enjoy living close to our 4 children and 6 grandchildren in south London.

After leaving London Airport I had a number of jobs before training as a nurse and worked for more than decade as a community psychiatric nurse in Hampshire. More recently I founded a graphics company providing marketing material for the construction industry and later published two magazines. In 2002 I established Buildingtalk, editing and adding construction industry news to an online platform originally created by Chris Rand for the engineering industry. Buildingtalk was one of the first dedicated online construction news providers. I continued my role as editor after Chris sold the business to Centaur Publishing and, more recently, after Buildingtalk became part of Koru Media.

Now I am retiring so I can enjoy life with my family and continue my role supporting an incredible charity in east London called ALTERNATIVES that provides support and advocacy for families facing challenging situations. I also want to spend more time in France where we have a home that we share with 9 families who are all friends. We have had the house near Honfleur in Normandy for over 15 years and are now part of the local community there. It has been quite an adventure and I plan to write about our experiences.

Once again, thanks to all you who I have been so supportive over the years. You can contact me via [email protected]

And finally, here are just a few of the stories and blogs that reflect my wide-ranging interests in the industry. These include building more homes, modular building, building accessibility, mental health, trade shows in the UK and Europe, women in construction, the Grenfell disaster, smart cities, skills and young people, sustainability, and my favourite Blog site….