"We think it has been a resounding success". That was the initial reaction from Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC following the end of Salford500, the BBC's experiment to see the long term effects on London employees moving to Manchester.
Salford500 was set up in a West London warehouse and was designed to recreate a 'northern' experience over 500 days, without actual leaving the safety net of the M25. 'A complete stranger saying hello, higher levels of rainfall, and all communication only being in a Mancunian dialect were just some of the experiments we completed on the participants' Mr Thompson told a disbelieving London based media.'Although there were some fights among them, they adjusted very quickly to settling their disputes using the 'bottling' technique'
'Overall, we can see no negative reactions or long term effects of moving our entire operation to Salford, but we still remain cautious', He told us . 'Before the big move, we will endeavour to help them adjust to life outside London, firstly by stopping their London allowance'
(Hat-tip dvo4fun)
