THURSDAY 6 MARCH

HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Yet another new trail is being blazed by The Nightshift and its listeners today. For the first time since the blog was started last November, it’s been written by a truckshunter rather than by the harmless drudge drafting this opening paragraph. The questionable honour of being the first in blog-posting history has - naturally - gone to Ratmaster Lawrence.

So....take a deep breath......

TRUCKSHUNTER BLOG: LAWRENCE
Hi and thank you Ian for allowing me to take the reins of this fine blog for this evening, although it’s taken quite a while to get writing as in many ways this is similar to the hardest set of articles I had to write for the Berwick Speedway programme of 1992 – no brief – freehand – just whatever I like and believe me that’s’ tough.

This is the first blog I’ve been involved with and I have to say it’s now become compulsive reading, with the vibrant gang on the comments really getting things moving.

We could do with a communal meeting over an Earl Grey some evening, or perhaps a glass or two of Old Peculiar, a very apt drink for Truckshunters as “Peculiar” as in the drink does not mean weird or odd, but in fact means “particular” as in a particularly quality ale, which it is, and as are the Truckshunters.

Real Ale is a passion of mine, but never over-indulged in. The ales of this land should be savoured, as Earl Grey tea. There was a time I was what the cask ale fans call a “ticker”, armed with my bulging booklet for carefully noting down each new ale tasted, and “ticked” off the list.

By the time I realised there was actually more pleasure in remembering which specific ales I adored most and going for repeat purchases of those I had ticked off over 2100 different ales, some of which were well departed from my pallet but had to be drunk as it was a new ale for my collection!

The brewers have a wild imagination at times with regard to naming their carefully constructed drinks although last week I had to take a deep breath at a local bar before saying to the bartender, “Can I have a “Long Willie” please young sir” that being the name of said ale. It was tasty but I tend to go for Dark Island or The Red McGregor from The Orkney Brewery if available although sometimes the more odd names catch the eye.

A brewery in Wyre Piddle brew several delicious ales with titles based on their home town hence bottles and pump clips adorned with titles such as “Piddle in the Hole” – a golfing ale, or “Piddle in the Snow” or “…in the Sun”, “…in the Wind” and “…in the Dark” . There’s also a beer called Miss Whiplash which turned my head – can’t think why.

So these days I’m not a ticker, but I adore my real ale it’s only a pity some ales can no longer be found, most notably “Nutcracker” and another delightful brew called “Malting’s Anniversary Ale” ahhh where for art thou now??

It’s a busy week for me, not least as Grosvenor, our mascot, the most handsome of black rats is still languishing in his “air de celebritaire” as I, his manservant as he now refers to me – cheers Ian – has to bow before the fine beast and shake his little paw before he’ll leap onto my shoulder for a hug adding to his “free range” time out of the cage with his cage-mates JD, JB and Caffery, his new found pal, Ziggy and Guy.

He can’t actually meet the other 7 as they are all girly rats and he’s …um… intact, shall we say and I’m not a ratty breeder although people have called me things sounding remarkably similar to that over the years. So he may pine to meet the girls, but he can’t and is very jealous of Guy, as Guy was castrated as a kitten (yes rat babies are called kittens – ah the irony of it all) so Guy lives happily with 7 girls!

All 13 need time out of the cage to run about and play and they all need their evening meals of smoked salmon and char-grilled chicken prepared every day so it takes time to treat them correctly.

Busy too as this weekend it’s the return of Speedway racing for a new season at Berwick and Newcastle and I’ve been embroiled in the sport up here for what is now 36 years – and that’s about 14,500 individual races seen, and I have been described as insane incidentally.

I write for both club’s match magazines – some 3000 words a week, D.J. and control their respective presentations, as well as being Berwick Bandit’s press officer and Newcastle Diamond’s Press Associate and update the club’s information and results hotlines, and with both clubs having their press and practice days in the last 7 days and both opening their doors this weekend it’s been manic and much midnight oil has been turned into carbon emissions in order to make sure each required deadline is achieved so that once Saturday night arrives the public will roll in and all will be well, then we all collapse in a heap and sigh a huge sigh of relief.

I’ll not use this blog to plug speedway by giving details of meeting times prices etc as that I would feel a misuse of this privileged position and I don’t want to abuse things at all.

Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor… Ian you’ve just talked about some bloke with a sexy young woman coming towards him as he tightens his lug-nuts…. Excuse me and as for her spike of pleasure and the hardened scars left by the wolves vicious bites I’ll just not go there.

Ah, back to reality, this piano tuning lark seems to surprise people, but there are a host of pianos in the North East, and getting out and about, even in stormy weather is an unrivalled pleasure.

The job itself is rewarding enough by making a ghastly sounding bucket of out of key clangers sound musical again, yes that’s job satisfaction, but the real “secret” pleasure is having no two days the same and ending up in every part of my North East as driving around Warkworth Castle, down the bank and over the bridge on the way to Alnmouth (a beautiful town). Or into Durham City, Thirsk, Norton, Great Thirkleby, Whittingham, Hexham, Haltwhistle, Wall, Rowlands Gill and Riding Mill or Minsterachres with it’s lane lined with massive trees.

I could have, as 90% of my old school mates seem to have done, migrate off to every corner of the UK and indeed the World but I’m rooted to this wonderful little corner of Britain. I’ll never want to leave here, why would I want to? It has magnificent coastlines and rural areas, gorgeous cities and everything in between and usually all within no more than an hour away. The North East is a region to celebrate and be vociferously proud of , which is why I feel so lucky to be in a position to see so much of it every working day of my life…. Heaven in a Ford Escort… it really is.

Hope this is okay as a blog entry Ian, never having done one before I just hope it fits the bill…. Thanks for allowing me onto its hallowed pages.

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.