Ethos Public Relations Manchester

MediaCityUK: healing the north – south divide

by Allan Beswick, BBC Broadcaster

MediaCityUK is almost upon us, there is no turning back, we’ve sold where we are and where we’re going is almost ready. Soon we’ll be rubbing shoulders with students from Salford University and various odds and sods from London.

The students will be fine, I work from six in the morning until nine, so the chances of bumping into any of them will be less than slim but all those southerners is a bit of a worry. They’ll need mollycoddling, the poor dears.

Imagine going into a shop and not being snarled at but greeted with a smile, travelling to work on the surface of the Earth rather then scrabbling around in its bowels and the money. They’ll have tenners coming out of their ears after selling their fifth share in a semi-condemned, hovel of a flat south of the river and buying a four bed-roomed whole house in Didsbury. And God alone knows what they’ll make of grass and trees and drinking water that hasn’t been peed umpteen times. I’m not sure they’ll cope. Anti-depressant pill sales are already through the roof but I’m coppering up to buy a few shares anyway.

What the place is like, MediaCityUK, I can’t tell because I’ve not been. Some of my colleagues have and they reckon it’s smashing, all clean and nice and glass and lifts and carpets, there’s even going to be a 24 hour canteen - unless the Daily Mail gets on its high horse and starts being crabby about it.

And there’s a tram stop right outside the door, although stop has been more operative than is desirable quite a lot of the time; the operators seem to be having trouble with the traffic lights, or the bendy bit of track, or a shilling for the meter or something but hey there’s a plethora of bike sheds.

It’s going to be brilliant, the BBC in the sticks where it belongs, employing people from round here, thousands of jobs, thousands of theatre seats, meals out, shoes, bottles of disinfectant, thousands of everything that man needs to stay alive in the modern world. And best of all: a huge centre of expertise contributing to the entertainment and information business in a centre that is second to none.

Personally I can’t wait. I’m still not going on one of the tours organised for current staff, simply because from October this year I’ll be going there everyday so I’m saving it up. BBC Radio Manchester is scheduled to move on 8 October. An excellent date, that’s the day Warrington Wolves will win the Superleague Grand Final and it’s my birthday – happy birthday Beswick

Posted at 10:03am on 13^th April 2011

Paul Graham

Nicely put Allan - but don’t forget the all important BBC intro courses for the Southeys moving up here too. “How to race a whippet”, “Clogs: a walk on the wild side” and “You really don’t want to know what’s in a Black Pudding, mate”.