Banks drive me mad! Look at all that fancy marble and those high ceilings.

Can you imagine how much it costs to air-condition all that space? Clearly, they don't care about the environment. And what makes it worse is that they are using my money to create this grand impression.

At least big hotels do not make any pretence about their costs. They practically charge you for breathing when you enter. In this way, they can afford the grand entrances, fancy furniture and smart designs. Even here though, there is some cheating. The rooms often do not live up to the glamour of the entrance. (This is a bit like some Thai houses with fancy gates.) There was a saying in the UK related to this, talking of women who wore fur coats (expensive) but no underwear (cheap - since no one sees).

When the archaeologists of the distant future are excavating the buildings of our time, they might wonder at the large palaces in which some people resided. They will of course be talking of banks and hotels. Of course you and I will be long gone, and no one will find remains of where we lived. Unless, of course, you happen to be a banker or hotelier!

John Kelly is a director of Mentor International. Visit www.Mentor.ac.