It’s a sad day in the Startups office and we have to admit it has nothing to do with the demise of Lehman Brothers or the banking crisis gripping the business pages a little closer to home. As worrying as all that is to a lot of us, especially if you currently hold a position at HBOS or Lloyds, there is in fact a greater loss to be mourning today.
With a deep sense of regret we awoke this morning to hear Declan Curry, our beloved business correspondent on BBC Breakfast graced our screens for the last time today in his early morning slot. For eight years he’s given us the trading lowdown as we’ve enjoyed our coffee, and now we’ll have to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of some other business hack.
Sorry, this may seem a bit of an overreaction but, you see, Startups loves him. Know how to do a report on the state of the Northern Ireland economy while making it fun and engaging for those of us in Dorset? Declan does. He scampers off to the Bushmills distillery and explains it all from there (while tasting whiskey as 7.30am of course). Want to explain how the UK economy relies on debt to thrive but needs to keep a fine balance between borrowing and growth? Well you conquer your fear of heights, get in a hot air balloon and use it to illustrate the dangers of soaring economies and dramatic drops.
We’ve also seen Declan in a motorcycle sidecar, unsuccessfully steering a Segway and getting a face full of silly-string all in the name of business journalism.
Breakfast will never be the same again, but we’re confident that he’s now off to single-handedly save the global economy armed only with a sausage balloon and a quad bike.