Cash n Curry: Aberdeen

Breakfast's business presenter Declan Curry is out on the road this summer, in his trusty white van

He'll bring us the latest on jobs and money from around the UK.

As well as our regular city updates, Declan will be finding out how well some of the UK's major towns and cities have risen to the challenge of a changing economy.

He began in Aberdeen - and he sent us a special e-postcard:

Postcard from Aberdeen
Declan Curry
for BBC Breakfast

There are some things for which you just cannot plan. You can book satellite links, reserve news trucks, hire cameraman, find engineers, track down guests, locate good sites for the broadcast - all the things you need do before venturing out of the studio.

But you can't bank on the weather. A shift in the wind, a few drops of rain - and suddenly all your carefully-laid plans fall to pieces. And our regular cosy, air-conditioned studio at the London Stock Exchange looks even more appealing than before.

The first sign of trouble came a little after six. We were high above Aberdeen, looking back on the harbour, and enjoying some beautiful views.

The sun was shining. The port was busy, with ships chugging in and out. Gulls were squawking overhead. Dolphins were leaping in the water. Various lone people walking their dogs wandered past every now and again. Serenity.

Declan delivers: The Cash n Curry timetable Monday August 11: Aberdeen Harbour Wall (please note the changed location) Tuesday August 12: Newcastle Wednesday August 13: Hull Submarium ("The Deep") Thursday August 14:Connisburgh Castle, near Doncaster Friday August 15: Cambridge Science Park (please note this is a change: we will not now be visiting Norwich) Monday August 18: St Austell: The Eden Project Tuesday August 19: Bristol Millennium Square Wednesday August 20: Cardiff Millennium waterfront Thursday August 21: Birmingham: Selfridges site Friday August 22: Manchester Cathedral Gardens

Then the fog appeared on the horizon. Not much of it, just a few wisps, and to me they seemed very far away. Hope that doesn't come over here, muttered Colin, our cameraman.

And it didn't. We did our broadcast at 6.15, and if you were watching then, you'll have shared the beautiful view too. Six minutes later, we were off the air, the guest drove off in her car, and the camera went back into the van. Everything still bright and sunny.

No more than two minutes later - the harbour had gone. We could not see a thing. Thick white fog - banks of the stuff - rolled in at an incredible speed. Grey Aberdeen vanished behind dirty wool.

Then the alarms started - ping, ping, ping. Car alarm? No - fog alarm, attached (we think) to the lighthouse or a floating buoy, warning the oncoming ships not to crash into it. That's how little you could see. Massive vessels with sophisticated electronics needed the maritime equivalent of a whistling key ring to tell them what was a few yards in front.

Well, that's that, we thought. May as well pack up. Not much point in broadcasting if there's nothing to look at.

Our control room back in London was less than pleased with this announcement. After all, we were due back on again in less than ten minutes time. But the argument ended before it could even gather steam, when the voice at the end of the phone said, but we can see perfectly!

And so they could. Well, not perfectly, but you could see the harbour again, and make out the boats. As quickly as it had obscured everything, the fog was starting to lift. So out came the camera again, and our plans were back on track.

Aberdeen's economics

Rapid change is something Aberdeen is very used to. Not just in the weather - but in the job market as well.

It has turned to many things throughout its past to make its money. Granite from here paved the streets of New York, and built London¿s Waterloo Bridge. In the 19th century, it was the centre of the British envelope industry; the self-seal envelope was developed here. It has also relied on farming, fish and textiles.

It relies on none of those things now. The granite pits shut down 30 years ago. The city that had a mining hole so deep it could be seen from space now buys its stone in from elsewhere - local laws say all new buildings must be made of granite to fit in with the City¿s characteristic grey look, so they import it.

They still have paper, farming, fish and textile industries too, but they are tiddlers now. Farming and fishing employ just a few hundred people between them.

Energy investigated

As we all know, the big industry is oil. The energy industry employs almost one-fifth of all local workers directly, and creates another quarter of a million related jobs throughout the UK. That¿s brought about massive changes in the city.

You may have heard the story of two of our guests this morning - Sandy Quinn used to paint people¿s houses, but turned himself into an industrial painter on the oil rigs, while Douglas Craig turned his family fishing company into an oil services and shipping company.

Those are big life changes for anyone. But change doesn't stop here. Aberdeen will have to reinvent itself again, before the oil runs out.

The energy industry is expected to start its decline in the next decade. But the city's planners say the skills learned in the oil boom will stand them in good stead in another new industry - renewable energy. The city says its next big fortune will come from wind, wave, sun - and other technologies like hydrogen and biofuels.

The market for renewable energy is currently estimated at £500 billion. The World Energy Council says that will by three times bigger - £1500 billion - by the year 2020. Aberdeen is already making its plans to capture a large slice of that.

Today (Tuesday) Declan is in Newcastle. The rest of his tour dates are:

August 13: Hull

August 14: Doncaster

August 15: Cambridge

August 18: St Austell

August 19: Bristol

August 20: Cardiff

August 21: Birmingham

August 22: Manchester