A few of us attended a presentation by Alexis Harrison, Arup's brick and ceramic expert, at their Manchester office last night. And yes – there were bricks, and there were beers, and some interesting and entertaining parallels between the two. The projects Alexis has worked on were fascinating; in particular, the ingenious methods used to conceal movement joints, engineer suspended soffits and other intricate details, and deal with swaying buildings... when you're working with such beautiful bricks, it's vital to get the execution spot on. Many thanks to Arup for their hospitality (and an impromptu tour of their office) and a thoroughly entertaining evening!