THURSDAY 28 FEBRUARYADDENDUM TO YESTERDAY’S POSTING
I have deliberately NOT read your comments on my posting yesterday. Nevertheless, there are two more brief points I’d like to make.
Firstly, I decided that ‘business as usual’ was not an option because, if I continued posting in the same old way, it would stifle the obvious creativity that exists within - and, hopefully, beyond - the Magnificent Seven.
Secondly, my suggestion of a developing ‘community blog’ is NOT exclusive. As a group, you may well decide against it. In any case, Pickler’s idea of a multi-moderated Yahoo Group is a good one and you should consider it carefully. I will naturally go along with whatever you decide.
Whatever it is, though, PLEASE don’t let this new-found group spirit go to waste!
GROSVENOR AT THE BBC
Lawrence is quite right; our mascot’s visit to the BBC was a runaway success. He’s a remarkably affectionate and cuddly critter and I was absolutely delighted to meet him at last. Believe me, in my long and sordid life I have encountered far less likeable rats than Grosvenor.
My BBC colleagues loved him too. In fact, he is now acquainted with more of them than I am! (Jonathan Miles squealed a little, but hey......)
AN OFFICIAL FLOWER
You probably already know that each of the United States has an Official State Flower, an Official State Bird, an Official State Tree - and so on, and so on. Some people regard this as typical Yankee overkill but, for me, it shows a welcome glimpse of the ‘softer’ side of macho, gun-toting, oilfield-invading American culture.
There’s a charming story about a State Congressman of, I think, Mississippi. Throughout the 40s and 50s, and on the same day every year, he would rise from his seat and propose to the State Legislature that the marigold be made the Official State Flower. Each year, his proposal was rejected. Over the years, it became an affectionate tradition; the Congressman would make his proposal and his colleagues would reject it - just so that they could look forward to the same ceremony next year!
Since his death - and on the same day each year - a marigold is ceremonially placed on the desk he occupied.
Dry your eyes.
In this spirit of gentleness and kindness, I am therefore proposing that the daffodil be made the Official Nightshift Flower. Its habits, its shape and its colours get MY vote each time. Its beauty has an almost ‘shameless’ quality; ‘look at ME - aren’t I gorgeous - aren’t I totally UNIGNORABLE??’ - qualities which seem to suit truckshunters admirably!!!
Feel free to make your own observations on my proposal - and/or to make your own. As always, I look forward to your comments!
THIS BLOG
I am on leave on Friday and Monday. My next posting will be on Tuesday 4 March. In the meantime, enjoy Leap Day and ‘Dydd Dewi Sant hapus iawn i chi, fy ffrindiau’.
CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or contact me in any one (or more) of these ways....
ian.robinson@bbc.co.uk
ianstuartrobinson@googlemail.com
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.
28 comments:
hiya ian..the daffodill is my fave ever flower it reminds of spring, lambs, new growth, new beginnings.
I,m glad you chose it as our truckshunters flower, did you say mascot ian? i can,t go back to check without losing my post and i can,t remember, anyway..
nice snippet about the marigold which is another lovely flower,
reminded me,as kids,
we made mud pies in the garden at home,
we used marigold petals as decoration.
interesting too, to hear of the marigold flower being placed on the congressmans desk even though he,s been dead a long time.
I was going to add a bit more there but it would seem frivolous,
so i will show restraint..
theres no one else here and i feel a bit? "stilted" which isn,t me. we all usually have a bit of banter going i,m hoping they all hurry back...
ps the recipe for the mud pies, just incase you,d like to make some, as follows.
a good heap of common garden soil,
plain tap water,
mix together until soft "claggy" consistency,
then spoon into, ? anything really i used mams best ringtons china. leave to set and harden in the summer sun,
turn out onto clean plate, decorate with freshly picked marigold petals.
lovely ..but not edible.
the desk with the flower?
if its the same desk,
i,m thinking its stood there, wherever, since the 40,s....
made to last.
bet it,s seen some sights and could tell tales.
bye one of the mag 7 ..
Afternoon folks, I feel pretty jaded today as well Gilly.Maybe its the weather.
But if I'm honest it isn't the weather. I feel that I may have inadvertently opened the doors of this blog and the darn thing is running away, and I have neither the will, nor the time, to chase after it.
aaww sid howay ..it,ll die if we don,t keep it going..just now and again. ?
but i understand,
i have to go with the majority,
i cant be here by myself.
well thats a big fib cos i can quite easily,
but its not right.
we all have to agree and i,m very sad..
bye 1 of the mag 7
On a lighter note, "Dydd Dewi Sant hapus iawn i chi, fy ffrindiau" does anybody know if its a place in Northumberland or not.LOL
sid ive laughed at that did you have it written down? is it a place?
where do you think the lasses are..?
having hot dogs for tea.
bye..
Gilly, The "Dydd Dewi Sant" thing is the Welsh quote that Ian left us with on his posting.
I thought it resembled something that the girls might have posed in an anogram.
yes sid i read it on ians post then must have forgot, as you do,or as i do.
I,ll try n figure out what it means..
i have nightmares about anangrams, but suppose i could get to like them,its like everything,
when i worked at woollies i hated yoghurt, everytime it was my turn to fill the shelves with the ski yoghurts that looked just like an old farmers milk churn i watched how quickly they flew off back off the shelves into customers baskets and thought,
i must be missing something so forced myself to eat them,
now ive just had my internet shop delivery and at the last count 13 yoghurts.
eehh that was a bit long n drawn out..
sid ? are you the original truckshunting truckshunter
and have you been down the allotment.? robins? thats broke my dream..
ive been dreaming about birds, always in pairs, bluetits and bluebirds.
when everyone comes back we,ll know more about whats gonna happen..
bye..
Hi All,
Sorry I haven't been on but I think as well as everyone else, I've had a lot on my mind! I'm flattered at your suggestions Ian, but for me this was just a bit of fun while you were on holiday. Like Sid, I'm afraid anything else would be just too much. I still say business as usual, but leave plenty of space when you go on your hols! I suspect by the lack of postings that others may feel the same and hope that we can keep this good thing going, it's been a lot of fun.
first of all , sorry for not keeping up appearances.
today was a somewhat strange day , i had my hair cut the first time this year so expect some bad weather.
i then went to the grainger market and had a word with the "waygood radio" crew.
i met HELEN SMITH who had just gained her novice callsign last week.
and i asked about her experiences and knowledge about radio so far .
i was blown off my feet when she told me how little she knew.
so i just stood back and thought
"woh there boyo other truckshunters seem not to know as much as me"!
and so perhaps i have seemed to be trying to be too "pushy"
and so i must sincerly appologise, my intention was not to "uppset" anyone but to try and reduce the stress and strain that our gaffer has been under since he came back off his hols in sheffield,
and was faced with his blog that he created that had fermented into a real brew.
all my fellow truckshunters have talents that need to be acknowledged.
IAN a rather nice voice and one i hope will go down in history also very good with people.
LOZ the keeper of our mascot and a good "musical ear".
GILLY our "investigator" and a poet.
MAUREEN a steady influence but when mixed with GILLY can lead to mayhem
(note to headmaster keep apart).
SID our historian with respect to all things pit and steel related. along with other things.
HILDIE a person that seems to like to roam the streets at night and then suffer from hearing problems.
and then me the "PICKLER"
jack of all trades master of none but due to my interest in "technical issues" more knowledgable that a lot of people .
take our gaffer for instance i dont suppose for one second that he knows how his voice gets from his microphone in the newcastle "1a studio" to you and other truckshunters.
that perhaps makes me the "bighead"
and then we have
KEV who would on appearance seem to be the "brains" of the truckshunters, i do use some of the technology he teaches "fast fourier transformation"
but i dont have a clew about it .
ps other people have done all the hard work before me.
so untill next time bye for now
but i will try my best to infiltrate the waygood radio mob and report back
Hello everybody, apologies for my absence but was at school today and have had friends round this evening. I had three days supply work this week, sometimes it is just one day a week ..... so I have to take what work is there ... have always, always enjoyed my job you know, there are days when it doesn't feel like work at all - primary school children, they are just a joy! Today I was in a Reception Class - helping the chidren to wrap daffodils in tissue paper and to write, on a little heart-shaped tag, a message to their mums. We sent them off at home-time, clutching their Mothers' Day Cards and their daffodils, into the wild wind and the rain, but into their mums' arms.
Just want to say that I am on board with Ian .... he has only asked a little thing of me - maybe once in every seven weeks to come up with a little bit of writing that doesn't have to be about anything in particular. I don't yet know what to write about - but I will think of something.
Where's he disappeared to now then?!
Hi Pickler - I saw your Grainger Market and your radio people on B.B.C. television news tonight!
Hi Sid - I would miss you, I find you full of fun. Stick around.
Hi Maureen - you can do it.
Hi Kev - you're not going anywhere , are you?
Hi Gilly - Help me talk them round!
Hi Loz - I've no worries about you ( nor of Grovenor!). x x x x x x x
Hi All,
Thanks for your comments, still thinking. I think this illustrates that we all have other demands on our time. I just like to dip in to see how 'my T/S friends' are getting along. I do a lot of emailing having family and friends scattered around the globe. A 'quick check' for emails usually results in at least an hour sitting here. Not complaining, just trying to explain. I've recently invested in a webcam and it still amazes me that I can watch the development of my grandson in New Zealand. Aren't we lucky to live in these times?
Lovely picture of the kids leaving school with their Mothers Days gifts Hildie. Moved me to pass on a quote I read recently from Helen Thomson : "Inside every elderly human being is a small child missing its' mum." Very true. Sadly mine is no longer with me, but lots of happy memories. A time for nostalgia and celebration. If you still have your Mam, get out there and spoil her rotten! Sorry to be a bit serious...but wanted to share. Have a great weekend everyone.
Ian, forgot to mention, wonderful story about that Blind man (am I allowed to say that these days? noticed that's how he described himself) anyway, Dave Healy I think you called him, doing 7 marathons in a row. How inspirational! Why don't we hear more of these positive items? Good for you!
hiya everyone..
maureen? lovely to hear of your mum, very poignant too,
bit heartrending,
i believe when we pass on we just open, then walk through another door, so are never faraway,..
memories are wonderful things to have and share,
i do it all the time,
sometimes at the expense of living in the real world but its just the place i am in life at the moment,
waiting in the wings for my health to improve enough to be out and about.
i,m looking forward to it.
I picture it, might sound strange but i imagine a mind medicine room in my head from a book i read called "mind magic the mysteries of the universe" about staying positive as much as possible.
cos really you have nothing to lose but your negativity and thats gotta be good.
I have all this too, among other good things,t,s, blogging, friends on here,,
company, without a bit of company we just pine and fade away...
pickler? thankyou for your kind words esp,about poetry ect,eyncsscn
hi hildie? i,ll give it my best shot.i,ll cry if that,ll help..
pickler ive no idea what the gobbly de gook is at the end of my bit about you soz..my finger must have slipped, it happens often.
bye one of the mag 7
gilly gilly ossenfeffer
m/s marple..
promoted to special investigator.
by appointment and pickler aka gsxz ??
hildie? i,ll try and think of something to write too its a very good idea of ians,
thing is its easy waffling on about "nowt" i could make a career out of it but sensible things ?
i clam up...i,ll try my best,.
i promise not to scribble,
and won,t carry on shameful with maureen..
scouts honour dib dib.. dub dub.
bye...
are you all out?
i can,t highlight the big letters in the html..
hi gilly , you are now a member on yahoo groups and please you dont need to tell us why lettersand digits) go missing the truth is that
blogs and groups like this tend to keep my keyboard skills intact/
also i have to report that i went back to the "grainger market" today and i have high hopes the proffesional relationship that i have struck up will at some time in the future bear some fruit .
further to my last"gilly" you are now or at least should be listed as a moderator ans so with this in mind you can invite others.
however if thing go wrong , just ring the bell but i am back at work next week.
Hi There Truckshunters
praise where praise is due i refer of course to young "miss marples" (the truckshunters very own investigator)
under her own steam and without any assistance from anyone has succesfully done the following
no1 managed to create a yahoo account.
no2 logged on to said account and found me.
no3 succesfully uploaded a photo of the beloved "sprocker"
however gilly it needs more light!!
and all of this since i told the headmaster to keep gilly and maureen apart.
and there is me thinking this person will be a slow learner far from it "TOP MARKS to GILLY"
HIP HIP HU-RA.
on different topic
as you all know about my interest in radio i was struck dumb when i heard about a young (YL) who at this time shall remain nameless,
she knits i am not sure how well
anyway now that she knits has also become a foundation radio ham , thats the first step to the full licence.
well she is now sending kniting patterns back and forward in morse code , i think to sweeden/norway anyway a country in that area.
had i not been to the "waygood radio rally" i would never have found that out.
allthough to be truthfull there is a vidieo clip on the bbc website look under "looknorth".
bye for now back tonight
thankyou pickler. what can i say, ?
hiya everyone i,m trying to think of ians show last night, i listened, enjoyed,
and as usual can,t remember a thing. it,ll filter in later as with everything else
bye for now.
1 of the mag 7
hiya id like to report,
i put my sons nike coat on today (he,d have a fit if he spotted me) and went outside into the garden to take pics of the cathedral in the distance, considering its a year since last i ventured out i was happy, although i feel as if ive been down the gym,
felt like leaving a note on the brekkie bar "gone out... i may be some time"...............
the cathedrals hiding behind the trees that are nearly in full leaf,
i,m thinking of ideas for the posting....
please.. whats everyone else upto, have you all left the planet.?
its been ages...!
bye the only one of the mag 7 knocking about..
Afternoon chums.
Nice to hear you've been out and about Gilly, you really did need a big coat on.
I've had a busy day today. I took my daughter (also called Gillian) to her day care unit, and then went to my allotment. My wife went to browse the shops.
Can't wait for the weather to warm up and the clocks going forward, so I can spend a bit more of the evenings in ....the allotment.
hiya everyone,
sid,?.. fancy your daughter being called gillian too, its nice to hear.
yes its been chilly, i,m looking forward too, to spring,
well its here really, early,
cos the daffs are coming up and the grass is growing,
lovely big white fluffy clouds out the back window.
I think every man or woman should have an allotment, its like home from home peace and quiet away from hustle, bustle,
and world pressures although sometimes that could be debate able, depending.
I loved ours,..it overlooked meadowfield industrial estate,
at night the gentle hum and the bright lights were comforting,
i sat for hours, my brother brought a long seat from the club when they were refurbishing..essence of comfort.
I sat there perched high like lord of the manor, ( i know )
I think too, every woman should have a sanctuary,
if i could fit one in our back garden i,d have a shed,
a "grit" big one,
id park myself in it with a good book, but i can,t so ive turned the spare room into a haven of tranquillity, all my books painting kits, tv, radio,
all mod cons stuffed in,
window looking up the street so i can nosey, neighbourhood watch thingy,an eye on proceedings,
you never know who,s knocking about, i may be needed as a witness.
angel windchime hanging,
suspended from the window handle,
it tinkles in the breeze or clashes from side to side depending on the weather.
at the weekend it clashed, so did everything else including my head.
I just tittle off when ever the fancy takes me..20 times a day, i,m sure of it,although i can,t count.
one xmas, im ashamed to say i left the table in a strop,
saying "i,m off"...
and flounced upstairs in the huff,
but i caught sight of myself in the mirror still in my party hat and it brought me to my senses,
how ridiculous i looked,
and had acted, like a teen,
and was very sorry for my behaviour i went down and apologised. i was having a mid life crisis.
I suppose men say "i,m off to me shed"...when they want a bit peace too.
my meaning is, after going round the mullberries, or round brandon to get to crook,as they say,
everyone needs a bolthole..a bit of heaven on earth.
bye....
eehh that was a bit long and drawn out very sorry..i get carried away and it just writes itself..
wheres ian do you think?
any ideas where he,ll be mooching, i say somwhere up northumberland way,holy island? a nice big church.
durham?
i,m off to hide i won,t be back cos ive been in a few times already..
bye.
Hi Truckshunters
Sorry for my few days off, but I've been tackling Ian's challenge which is now complete..... Guest Blog is doned.
Hope it's ok..
Oh Gilly.... nowt wrong with being long winded... you're postings are good to read.
Back later..
Lawrence
hiya everyone, i listened to ian last night thinking such a good idea about the mills n boon affair, then thought oh lordy, what more can i say except .?
no best not...ians already had some experience of me n romantic novels, long long ago in another time and place, i,m up for the challenge..
thanks lawrence, glad to know your challenge is complete.
i thought you,d gone into hibernation, then thought you,d be busy with ideas............. keeping you occupied.
bye..
daffnee gazed into edwards eyes,
she could feel herself slipping further away from reality,
deeper and deeper she sank drowning in pools of liquid gold,
soz but i,m a bit bored...
good evening dear fellow TRUCKSHUNTERS.
i bet you thought i was going to give you a sob story.
well it might turn out that way .
but at this present time i am currently keeping an eye on the "incident offshore at blyth"
my audio mixers have gone into overdrive.
i have kinloss rescue on
hotel foxtrot(HF)
marine ch 67
marine cg ch 0
also and at the same time
bbc1 and radio newcastle
but every so often i get updates from
"humber coastguard" and thats either on ch 0 or ch 67
but due to these being on remote radios i dont realy know , i cant be botherd to get up and look .
by the way rescue 131 is also working "kinloss rescue" on 5.680mhz
rescue 131 is sea-king 131 from bulmer.
its an uncanny feeling having been on board that aircraft during a visit to "202 sqaudren a flight" at bulmer.
i dont think its alowed these days due to security requirments , after 911 and all that.
but my visit was in the days when "border radar" was based at bulmer, just in case you want to ask "border radar" was changed to "penine radar" which is located at some place on the east side of the country.
why you may ask , and i will do my utmost to find out , but i think the "MOD" and "civilians" on one site may have had a bit to do with it.
on a different note " gilly " our truckshunter investigator has uploaded a load of images to the yahoo system please feel free to join in by commenting on photos after all its open to the world
as long as they are registerd.
i will post some tips later but in the meant time , i am putting my headset back on .
bye for now and unless i am called
by parties or parties unknown this is "throckly comm center out"
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