13 february 2013, smooth and tumble

A very pleasant distraction from work today, with a visit (strategically vital of course) to mediacityuk, the new home of the bbc. It is amazing. Deserving of the uk epithet, manchester's own little canary wharf really does start to make you believe the hype that some of the things happening around the place really are of a size and quality that have resonance around the world. And this just a stone's throw (albeit a large one) from manchester united. Not only do coronation street, bbc sport, 5 live radio, cbeebies (once a permanent feature on our box; alas no more) and breakfast (which I never watch, strictly today for me) beam out from what were once abandoned docks, but there's real digital research and development going on behind closed doors, as they try to invent the next iplayer. Here. I peered down onto the match of the day studio from the gantry, got to grips with the nasa-command style control centres that tv gets made from these days, gazed across europe's largest purpose-built studio and strolled past mr tumble's wardrobe. Yes, total corporate capture, but sometimes you've got to take a step back and admire what's been achieved to recharge the inspiration batteries and help make the next steps forward. Tomorrow, the 10,000 children in the conurbation's most deprived households. They could do worse than watch mr tumble.