Yes - Widger, an excellent post. When I left 2 years ago a MB tour was financially slightly advantageous; not now. Gone are the day of luxury pads in Vauxhall or Canary Wharf - now it's a shared basement bed-sit in Croydon. As a family we enjoyed our weekends and holidays in London, and after my first few months I began to spend mor5e evenings int eh flat - catching up with long-lost reading. I do miss the Friday morning Team Breakfast at the Embankment cafe - best value in London.
I found the staffing process intriguing - firstly at AD (now assistant Head level) then 1 star, then 2 star - each meeting would be attended by the same SO1s, suscessively representing the 1 Star and 2 stars etc. This business process has been progressively reformed but no one likes to be kept out of the loop - and then there will inevitiably be the political interferences from teh Embankment side of the 5th floor.