The big move North has been almost two years in the making for me, and a lot longer for many others who were involved from the planning stage. Along with my Radio 5 Live colleagues I’ve now completed my relocation to the brand new BBC building in Salford.
Our new offices are in Quay House, which is right beside the Manchester ship canal. It’s bright, open, well laid out and I am finding it generally a much nicer place to work than in the old buildings in London.
There’s been a lot to get used to in general, and an awful lot of new stuff to learn on the technical side of things. Most of the equipment is pretty unfamiliar, so there’s been quite a lot of training going on. As the new year rolls in I am starting to feel like I’m getting to grips with the new kit now - that is good.
I don’t know whether its due to the improved layout of the building, or the fact that we can see water from every window which makes for a much more relaxed atmosphere, but I have found that everyone is chattier here. It’s often said that people from the North of England are friendlier than in the South. I’m not sure that’s necessarily accurate, but I think its definitely fair to say that people in London are not usually very keen to engage in conversation with strangers or even people they know a little. I believe that the kind of ‘keep yourself to yourself’ attitude, which prevails in the capital, was perhaps unwittingly brought into work by staff and contributors.
In Manchester the attitude is pleasantly different. Walking around in town people look at you, they make eye contact and smile. If someone almost walks into you, rather than look away and move on, they apologise. As is the norm in Orkney, shop staff are keen to engage in conversation. This almost inevitably filters into the work environment. It’s quite astonishing really, to have been working with people for months in London and barely exchanged pleasantries, then to come here and find yourself chatting about houses, their kids and holiday plans while making a brew in the communal kitchen. One producer even said to me after we’d been chatting for a few minutes, “we’d never be doing this in London would we!”
Another big milestone for me was buying my first car. My girlfriend and I are living with one of our best friends, who lives in a small village about 20 miles north of central Manchester. Al is also a Studio Manager, in fact it was he and his girlfriend who went on holiday with us to Naples earlier this year. It’s lovely being out in the countryside.
The view from our back windows is not at all dissimilar to a typical Orkney view, perhaps somewhere in the West mainland. There are a couple of small trees, which look as if they regularly take a battering from the wind, and a nicely built dry stone dyke covered in lichen, whilst in the distance there are hills providing a little bit of lee for the sheep in the fields below them. Quite a change from our old flat where the ‘view’ mostly consisted of a busy road and a direct line of sight into several of our opposite neighbour’s living rooms.
So far our W-reg VW Golf is running nicely. Admittedly we did have to call the AA out twice in our first week of membership, first for a 1am bump start and later to get the battery replaced, as it wasn’t taking any charge. I suppose you have to accept things like that with cheap old cars. It takes me about half an hour to drive into work, which isn’t too bad really. The stereo in the car is probably the best thing about it so I can enjoy some loud rock music while I’m stuck in ‘crosstown traffic’.
I will be back in Orkney for a large part of this month to spend some time with my family, and catch up with old friends. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very prosperous and happy New Year!
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