h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This morning's national BBC Breakfast programme on BBC1 is coming from my workplace.

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Are they interviewing that turnip sculpture?

Fortunately not – no, it's all politics. Of Southampton's three MPs, Romsey & Southampton North is considered a safe Tory seat, Southampton Test is a safe Labour and Southampton Itchen is classed as an 'Ultra-Marginal' with the Tories winning by 31 votes in the last General Election, having been Labour in the 2010 General Election and Conservative in the 2015 and 2017 General Elections. Solent University is bang in the middle of Southampton Itchen, so the question is who will win this year's General Election?

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I would think the turnip would be more interesting than the politicians.

I'd rather hear from the turnip...

Was the red spaceship thing on the programme?

Yes, they were broadcasting from the Spark, the vast aircraft-hanger room with a 50-foot gurt big red barbecue in the middle. Some people call it a Martian War Machine from 'War of the Worlds'

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It is officially 'The Pod', but as it is the uni's second newest building and the pride and joy of those in charge. The BBC did the normal 'sitting on sofa' bits in front of the barbecue with it in the background, and did the cut away bits on top of the thing.
http://www.solent.ac.uk/conference-centre/venue-information/the-pod
They're so proud of the Spark Building they actually clean it! When they opened up the new buildings, dramatically increasing the uni's floorspace, they didn't increase the cleaning budget at all, so now the cleaners keep the new buildings clean and tidy and only round here once every couple of months (just to pick up new dusters, judging from the amount of cleaning that actually gets done).

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