The Surveyors

The Surveyors ' chronicles seven consecutive days in a fictional Oxford-based practice dealing with a range of property and construction events. It takes a humorous swipe at the pretentiousness of The Property Profession and some of its more pompous practitioners. The week's events include, among other things, the negotiation - and manipulation - of a range of technical issues, a court appearance as an Expert witness, flying sequences, a 'lateral thinking' solution to a Conservation Officer problem, an unusual Mediation, and an outré visit to Royal Ascot. The principal character, The Hon. Peregrine Vaughan-Uppington MA(Cantab) FRICS, is wealthy by his own efforts, decorated, and to every outward appearance a great success. But his 1982 torment at appalling casualties among the sappers of his command in the Falklands - later compounded by wretched distress at his family's humiliating rejection - has never abated; and these things have fuelled a decade of fiscal revenge against hapless third-party litigants. By the time we meet him, Vaughan-Uppington has achieved notoriety in his field, enjoys huge earnings, and assumes - expects - that he will win. Respected by many and feared by the rest, privately he agonises and perceives himself as a serial failure - his existence shallow and meaningless. His staff, from widely differing backgrounds, form a "mix and match" team - together they wield an intoxicating blend of psychology, technical wizardry and naked cunning to exploit the week's triumphs and disasters. "The Surveyors : Week 2" is currently in preparation.