Visits to the Imperial war Museum North and a Tour of the BBC at Media City are two new venues for the YPC. On Thursday 28th May sixteen young people and six parent / guardians joined two committee members at the Imperial War Museum North, Trafford Wharf Road for a tour of the museum. The striking Main Exhibition Space features a timeline of the conflicts that Britain and the Commonwealth have been involved in since the First World War. The YPC were able to discover personal stories of those whose lives have been changed by war, and explore themes common to all conflict in the six mini-exhibitions within the space – ranging from the role of women to science and technology. At the time of our visit the Special Exhibition Hall had as it theme “From the Streets to the Trenches” a look at how recruitment was conducted at the outbreak of WW1 and how it evolved as the demands of the War Effort called for more men at the front. The “Timestack Exhibitions” where the museum staff bring out items for the visitors to handle and discuss proved popular with our group, especially the opportunity to don body armour used in recent conflicts. Our visit also included a visit to top of The Air Shard. At a height of 29 metres the viewing platform offers a new perspective on the development of The Quays and Media City.
Following our visit to the IWMN it was a short walk over the bridge to our lunch venue, The Real China. Followers of the YPC News items may recall that we had intended to visit The Real China after the Warhorse at the Lowry last July but a fire in the kitchen the night before our visit had forced a change of plan. At that time the owner of the Real China offered us a discount on a future visit. We took up his offer and received a 20% discount on our food. Everybody enjoyed the buffet making numerous visits to the various counters.
A short walk from The Real China is the main reception area of the BBC, the meeting point for BBC Tours. Our guides for the day Jodie, Paul and Verity quickly briefed our group on the safety procedures for the Tour and outlined the areas we would be visiting. The tour began with a look at a Radio Studio. Interest was shown by our group in the range of technical equipment used and the roles of the technicians, presenters and producers. Next was the sound stage used for producing Radio Drama. The use of the space and materials to create differing atmospheric conditions, open spaces versus enclosed environments, were discussed and experienced by the group. The Match of the Day studio created great interest from the group, especially how the holographic pictures of players are displayed and their images avoided by Gary Linneker on his walks. The illusions created by light and the placement of objects were also explained to show us how the Football Focus Studio is changed to create the Match of the Day Studio later in the day. The “Studio Green Room “ shattered our illusion of the comforts enjoyed by the presenters off screen. Very cramped and drab. The last part of the Tour gave our party the opportunity to be presenters on the “Breakfast” couch, reading news items and to present the weather forecast using green screen technology.
At the end of the Tour and after transport home had been confirmed a happy group exited the BBC.
The Real China Restaurant – TLC tasting dishes available
Start of the BBC Tour – TLC gets his own pass
TLC sits in voices Judge Chair
TLC and Dr Who’s Tardis
BBC Sports Desk & Studio
