Recently in gossip Category

Peter Mandelson was confronted by an inebriated audience member as he sped away from the platform after delivering his speech at last night's Chemical Industries Association (CIA) dinner at London's Grosvenor House hotel, according to our own Will Beacham, deputy bureau chief of ICB.

Mandelson's speechwriters had been keen to stress reliance the chemical industry has on the automotive sector, and perhaps laboured the point, he remembers.

A furious chemical salesman contact told him afterwards that Mandelson was a fool for neglecting all the other key industry sectors, especially the product he works in. It showed his ignorance of how the industry functioned.

He told Will: "I happened to be coming back from the gents when I saw Mandelson was leaving the event and walking towards me. I went up to him and told him he knew nothing about the chemical industry and was an idiot to be coming here spouting all this nonsense."

Needless to say Mandelson's minder whisked him swiftly away from the ranting man.

A big hearty round of congratulations goes out to Heinz Inhester of Ruhrpetrol who tells us that yesterday he became the grandfather of triplets.

"It's been an interesting week. And it's certainly more interesting than propylene," he told our Nel Weddle when she called to talk to him about the olefins market.

More Chemical Babies

Chemicals II: The Next Generation

Alert: Kids in the Office

Anyone with Asian connections will know all about the cult of pre-wedding photos in exotic and luxurious locations, but one couple has chosen to make theirs unique by having them taken at AirAsia's low-cost terminal in Kuala Lumpur.  

The Blog is full of admiration at this scoop by fellow blogger Barbara Cockburn on Flight, since we both started our blogging careers at the Reed Charity Blogathon two years ago.

The photos remind me that when ICIS and Flight shared a Singapore office in Millenia Tower, romantic couples in wedding dress would come every day to be photographed at the foot of the tower, clearly an auspicious symbol in the Singapore landscape.

(photo: Dennis Yap/Flight)

Writing about writing - we are endlessly fascinated by ourselves. For some high quality journalistic navel-gazing, plus some sharp photos, see a new blog from my former boss, Andy Soloman: Global Journalism and New Media.

Returning from holiday to the office is always a wrench, particularly that first morning of getting up early, putting on work clothes and facing a wall of urgent emails. The Blog has received some insider photos from the ICIS Houston office, showing how one returning manager found a few messages waiting for him after being off for a week.

The Blog is in Edinburgh for the Festival and will be back refreshed.