Nothing is certain in the North West

There are fewer and fewer certainties in life.  I'd have bet Aziz Rashid, Head of BBC local and regional programmes in Manchester, would have done his best to persuade Gordon Burns to stay at the helm of BBC North West Tonight through the move to MediaCityUK; changing presenters as well as studio, set, production tools etc is usually too much.  It's why Alison Ford, at Breakfast, was desperate to keep Sian Williams as well as Bill Turnbull - and she may yet squeeze some Salford shifts out of her.

A smart move would be to hire big for North West Tonight; someone who could do Breakfast shifts as well.

Meanwhile, other old regional friends are talking about a come-back. Granada weatherman Fred Talbot thinks there's a case to bring back the floating map of the UK that used to be lightly tethered in Albert Dock, Liverpool, for his forecasts in the original Richard and Judy Show.  Maybe the dock at MediaCityUK will see Fred once again attempt the leap from Wales to Ulster to Scotland, watched with hope/anxiety by viewers and passers-by alike.

The canal itself is more problematic as a venue. A group of BBC executives, perhaps not fully trained as marine biologists, were overnighting at the Holiday Inn, MediaCityUK, recently, and a sharp-eyed pair thought they spied basking dolphins from their hotel rooms.  A dash to the canal-side ensued, iPhones akimbo, to find two floating bin bags.