Diary: Savills chief scales new heights

Jackson embarked on the mission to climb the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in October, and spent five days on the mission to reach the 5,895m peak. "The final seven hours of trekking to reach the summit in the thin air was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done, but the reward of the view and the money raised for the charity more than justified the effort," Jackson said. "I have had amazing support and donations so far have already reached £10,000."

Luan Deda, associate director at consultancy Boyer, was also embarking on a tough mission in November when he ran the Athens Marathon to raise funds for MEDPAK, a charity for children with mental and physical disabilities. "Mission completed. Officially a runner of one of the most special marathons in the world," Deda wrote online after he completed the race on 11 November. He added that the response to his chosen charity had been "immense".

Town planners worldwide joined forces on November 8 to celebrate World Town Planning Day, with the Global Planners Network celebrating the role of the profession across the continents. Among those celebrating on social media were the Royal Town Planning Institute, the National Environment and Planning Agency in Jamaica, whose chosen theme was Planning with Climate Change, and the Canadian Institute of Planning, which held an online conference. Also celebrating, the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners called on policy makers to shift from "paying lip service" to physical planning to tackle challenges such as flooding, pollution and tremors. "No planning, No living," it said.