Declan's week: to Hull and back

Declan: filming in the fish market

This week, Declan finds going out on the road filming is not all it's cracked up to be

It was the other passengers I felt sorry for, because I was sure I was stinking of catfish.

Let me explain.

While you were enjoying Max Foster's broadcasts from the Stock Exchange, I spent last Thursday morning at a fish auction in Hull.

And I'm sure that - despite a wash and change of clothes - the smell of fish lingered around me all day. Even on the train journey home.

Why Hull? Well, we're taking the business news on the road this summer.

We're shutting up our studios at the Stock Exchange for a fortnight, and travelling down the east coast of Britain, and back up the west to find out what's going on in the real world - in the companies and industries we work for.

I was in Hull last week with my producer Dawn, doing a bit of early research and filming some promotional trails, so you can see what we're up to! (You can see those on Breakfast all this week).

Catch our trails this week

And Hull gave us an example of how our working lives have changed - and how sometimes these changes seem to make little sense.

The fish auction still takes place in the early morning, just as dawn is breaking. But that was about the only traditional thing left.

The fish being bought and sold had not been landed by trawler at Hull Docks; much of it came by road, in a refrigerated truck from Grimsby. Nor was it British catch; it was caught in Icelandic waters.

Many of the fish traders were not even in the sales room; the auction was taking place online, with buyers all across the UK. A bit like the Stock Exchange - it got rid of its dealing floor more than 15 years ago.

And - a sign of how our High Streets have changed - almost all of the fish was destined for the processing factories that fill up our supermarket freezers, rather than going direct to local fishmongers.

So why the changes? One reason is the rising cost of fish. With cod now almost as expensive as salmon, fish is starting to become a luxury food, and is in danger of being priced out of everyday shopping baskets.

Some of the traders were a bit bewildered by it all. We all know that feeling. You leave school, get a job, and learn new skills. Then somebody says - forget all that, there's a new way to do your job, and you've got to learn it.

Online trading like this helps the industry trim its costs - and keep prices down in the shops.

Some of the traders were a bit bewildered by it all.

We all know that feeling. You leave school, get a job, and learn new skills. Then somebody says - forget all that, there's a new way to do your job, and you've got to learn it. Or - worse - someone says, your job doesn't exist any more, you've got to learn a new one.

It has happened to millions of us. Workers have gone from cotton to culture, from fish to micro-chips. During our fortnight on the road, we'll tell you why.

Declan Curry presents Breakfast's regular business updates live from the London Stock Exchange each morning, from 6am.

From Monday August 18, he'll be touring Britain in our new series Cash n Curry

click here to find whether Declan will be visiting your area