GROSVENOR
It’s happened at last. The Nightshift has a mascot. Not, of course, one of those ludicrous fancy-dress mascots that parade around the touchlines at football matches looking faintly - or even totally - ridiculous. No man dressed in a silly suit for us. We have....a rat. A beautiful, big black rat. In an act of selfless devotion to the programme, Lawrence (‘Loz’ to his friends) has offered to be the official mascot-monitor on behalf of all truckshunters everywhere. In a further act of what can only be described as wanton lack of common sense, Loz has also agreed that this lovely creature shall be called Grosvenor, thus fulfilling a weird childhood fantasy on my part. In my pre-teen years - and for reasons which only an extremely perceptive psychologist could get a grip on - I wanted to own a pet rat called Grosvenor. In fact, as I remember it, I wanted to own a pet rat just so that I could call him Grosvenor. After all these years, my dream has finally come true. Who’d have thought it possible? Well shunt my trucks.CONTACT AND COMMUNICATION
I hope it’s fairly obvious that I thoroughly enjoy researching, producing and presenting The Nightshift. The amount of feedback I get via email, text, letter and here on the blog is awesome - especially considering the relative smallness (in numbers, of course) of the audience. In fact, this feedback is essential. You may think that I bleat on endlessly on-air about how to get in touch with me but before you put finger to keyboard to complain, bear one thing in mind. One of the most difficult things to get used to for me when I took over The Nightshift in August was the complete absence of ‘live’ contact with listeners. I was used to being able to generate ‘instant’ reaction to programme content. Now, of course, no matter what approach I take, we both know that the programme is pre-recorded and that I’m not there to take emails, texts and calls ‘live’ until 0545, Monday to Friday - and not at all at weekends. And that’s why I mean it when I say that I love getting your emails, texts, calls, letters and online blog comments. They are the oxygen I’m used to. So please, don’t be discouraged simply because the programme is pre-recorded. If there’s something you want to say to me......say it.
REMEMBER REMEMBER....
...the fourth of December. A very big thankyou to everyone who got in touch during the night, as well as during the ‘live’ part of the programme and throughout the day, to wish me a happy birthday. You made my day!
GEMS
The Gems tonight were Little Things by the mesmerising Dave Berry and an astonishingly saucy number (in our Listen To The Banned slot) called My Private Affair. It was sung - much in the manner of a nursery rhyme, I thought - by Dawn Davis. I wonder who she was, and what happened to her....
WHAT’S IN A NAME
A ‘haugh’ is a water-meadow. But what are ‘shields’ - as in South and North?
CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or contact me in any one (or more) of these ways....
ian.robinson@bbc.co.uk
text 07786 200954 (while the programme is on-air)
call (between about 0545 and 0630 Monday to Friday) 0191 232 6565
Ian Robinson, The Nightshift, BBC Radio Newcastle, Spital Tongues, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE99 1RN
NOTE
Please bear in mind that the views expressed in this blog are my own and NOT the views of the BBC.
2 comments:
Hi Ian,
Hope you had a great birthday.
Delighted to be Grosvenor's mentor who has thoroughly settled in to his new surroundings.
Now all we need if for you to meet the cheerful chappie... bring a mic if you like. I promise he won't eat it, although he may try.
Lawrence
grosvenor is beautiful. not at all as i thought he would look.
quote ian.
lady nancy astors words to winston churchill, "winston if you were my husband i,d put poison
in your coffee".
winston replied," nancy if you were my wife i,d drink it.".....
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