Window Cleaner Talks Safety, Ultimate Frisbees & Connecting People

The builder on top of the 100ft high roof in Blackfriars, central London. Click pictures to enlarge.

Fearless builder balances on 100ft high rooftop in central London… without any safety equipment: This is the terrifying moment a shirtless workman was pictured “inches from death” after balancing on a roof edge on top of a four-storey building – without any safety equipment. The builder was seen doing maintenance work on the top of a law building, approximately 100ft in the air above a central London street – without a harness.

The man was spotted repairing the roof for top firm Bark and Co, situated just yards from the newly revamped Blackfriars Bridge. He was working on the project with another colleague and spent at least 20 minutes hammering away on the edge of the rooftop, balancing precariously on a slanted corner of the huge building, with his feet seemingly inches from the edge.

Local window cleaner Jimmy Moreno watched the pair from a friend’s nearby flat for about 20 minutes. The 42-year-old, from Heathrow, said: “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was so stupid and dangerous. “There were two of them up there, but one seemed to just be working right on the edge. “He was inches from death, and if he’d dropped a tool and it had hit someone, from that height they’d be goners too.

“As a window cleaner, the only thing more important to me than cleaning windows is safety. “You always have to wear a harness, because even on the calmest of days it can get very windy very quickly on top of buildings. “To see something like that made me feel physically sick.” A representative from the top law firm confirmed they were having the roof repaired in June, and are investigating the conduct of their contractors.

The captains of an elite New York Ultimate Frisbee team are working to bring advanced statistics to their budding sport, armed with a 32-foot Unger window-washing pole and a GoPro camera.

Ultimate Frisbee Enthusiasts Toss Around Data and Scrutinize Video for Statistical Edge; Ultimate Frisbee is a sport that Sean Childers wants to game. Mr. Childers, a 25-year-old law clerk, learned in college how to play Ultimate Frisbee. He liked it so much that he stuck with it in law school and still makes time to play on weekends.  Now, to get even better, he's on a new team with a different aim: Mr. Childers is trying to put a statistical spin on Ultimate Frisbee.

It's a common goal in sports obsessed with numbers. Professional baseball and basketball teams, in fact, have been overrun by geeks since the 2003 publication of the Michael Lewis book "Moneyball."

Mr. Snyder was in charge of beefing up PoNY's statistical efforts for this season. He decided to collect as much information as possible about his Ultimate Frisbee players.

He knew what he had to do: film every practice. That would let him review footage afterward and record individual statistics. But he needed an overhead shot, which was more expensive and complicated than setting up a camera on the sidelines, to see every player on the field at once. "The bird's-eye perspective is really telling," he said.

He came up with a solution—on a shoestring budget. On a recent Sunday morning, before PoNY practiced on a field near the Brooklyn waterfront, Mr. Snyder unveiled his eye in the sky: a 28-foot-tall pole meant for window washing that he attached to a small GoPro camera. To make sure it wouldn't fall down on the job, though, Mr. Snyder checked off one last task before practice: He tied the contraption to a nearby fence with hot-pink laces.

A chance conversation with a window cleaner led to a 22-year-old university graduate from Pentewan landing her dream job designing home interiors for the rich and famous.

Chance encounter lands young designer dream job: A chance conversation with a window cleaner led to a 22-year-old university graduate from Pentewan landing her dream job designing home interiors for the rich and famous. Talented Yolanda Craig was still studying for a degree in interior design at Southampton Solent University when she received a surprise phone call from award-winning London design agency, Sarah Ward Associates (SWA). The company were on the hunt for a graduate to assist managing director, Sarah Ward, in designing luxury interiors for her portfolio of multi-millionaire clients.

Stunned, Yolanda accepted an invitation to attend an interview at the company's base in glamorous Chelsea Harbour, and from there she was offered the job. "It's a funny story really," Yolanda said. "Apparently the window cleaner at Sarah Ward's house was talking to her husband about the job, and the window cleaner's son knew my lecturer who put me forward for it. "I didn't actually know what had happened until after I got it and my new boss told me about it. I was completely shocked, but really chuffed." In her new role Yolanda will help create bespoke interiors for high profile clients all over the country, with recent projects featuring swooping marble staircases, dazzling chandeliers and plush furnishings. She said securing a job with a company like SWA meant the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition.