Oh b****r!

102


THE HITFOOO AWARD
The text of the email I received from Sid on 29 October was:
Thanks to a rather splendid idea from Inga, it has befallen me to present you with an award. We decided amongst ourselves that we should mark the first anniversary of the Truckshunters Blog in a fitting manner. So with this in mind, I take great pleasure in presenting you with the Truckshunters HITFOOO Award. In the spirit of the BBC’s current policy, there isn’t actually a medal or certificate. Had there been one, it would have read: Presented to Ian Robinson - For Humour In The Face Of Overwhelming Odds. Well done, Ian - and thanks from all of us. Loud applause. Sid.

MY ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Ladies and gentlemen...
A few years ago, someone who has forgotten more about the skills and craft required to be an effective radio presenter than anyone else will ever know once called me The Compulsive Communicator - not altogether as a compliment, either. After all, by most standards most of what I have to say is almost unbelievably inconsequential, trite, trivial, unspeakably unimportant in the grand scheme of things and of questionable interest - even to those who, like me, have an undying curiosity about the world around them and about the other creatures with whom he shares it, coupled with an unquenchable sense of wonder at how jaw-droppingly awesome (and utterly inexplicable) it all is.
Nevertheless, the radio expert was right. To more-or-less continually communicate to anyone who is prepared to listen (or, of course, read) is what I have felt compelled to do since the day Jon Harle, as Acting Station Editor, was foolish enough to give me a six-week trial on-air in 1999.
You could therefore be forgiven for thinking that a silent Ian Robinson - speechless and somewhat lost for words - would be a comparatively rare phenomenon. Indeed, until fairly recently, I even thought so myself. You, however, have ensured that, for however brief a moment in time, my breath was taken in sharply and my vocal cords lay undisturbed and at rest. Not for the first time, the amazing community of truckshunters - The Nightshift’s worldwide family of listeners - has silenced me.
I have been singing your praises as individuals, and as a truly unique radio community, for many, many months now. For evidence, see almost any of the blogs I’ve written or - of course - listen to almost any edition of the programme itself, which invariable consists, to a greater or lesser extent, of contributions from you.
So, in accepting this (virtual, notional) Award, I think it is only fitting that I make a similar presentation myself.
For what I am convinced is the first time in radio history, I therefore take the very greatest of pleasure in bestowing up on you (sniff, sniff) this MAFOOL Award; you are indeed the Most Amazing Family Of Overnight Listeners. Ever.
Well done!!!

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, Monday to Friday)
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.

24 comments:

Inga said...

Hello from one of the MAFOOL recipients. So proud and happy to belong to this Amazing Family - it's a great honor!
Now let's see - do acceptance speeches ever get any awards?
Trust us, Ian, there is nothing "unbelievably inconsequential, trite, trivial, unspeakably unimportant in the grand scheme of things and of questionable interest" in anything you communicate to us. Also: thank goodness you did not remain "speechless and somewhat lost for words" for very long.
Just tuned in to the Monday Morning Nightshift with great anticipation knowing it will be another cracker!

Inga said...

just checking in again to tick the box. Don't know how to save that without sending another message.

Hildie said...

Hello
what a lovely surprise and such an honour - well worth all the sleep we've lost, Ian!
I'm holding tight and bracing myself, even as we speak ...
I suspect I'm about to hear you play the castinets, that seems to be the way we are heading!

Inga said...

Hildie, still got your ears on? Here we go with the newsreel!

Vivienne said...

Wow Ian!

It's my turn to be speechless! I completely concur with Inga's response. You may once have been called a 'Compulsive Communicator' but you also make compulsive listening.

Many, many thanks for our MAFOOL Award, which I'm proud to accept and share with my Truckshunter Family. (I'm not even going to attempt an acceptance speech, as it would pale into insignificence compared with your superb eloquent literation, Ian)

Maureen said...

Hi, like the others, I would like to express my gratitude for this honour that you've bestowed upon us. Unaccustomed as I am, etc etc, I'd just like to say, thanks a lot and it has pride of place on my virtual mantlepiece.

Sid said...

Hello everyone,
Thanks Ian, a lovely award, and presented in such an eloquent way.
I will treasure it forever.
At this point I would like to suggest 'three cheers' for Jon Harle, for without his astute instinct for star material, we would never have had Ian at radio Newcastle.
What a great week this has been.

Ian Robinson said...

OK OK - enough of the Mutual Admiration Society!!! Now to business...
Your collective assignment - should you choose to accept it - is as follows. Inasmuch as I am not allowed to mention the blog's existence on-air, or to direct listeners' attention to it, how CAN we increase the blog's audience? Excogitate, discuss and report back.
:-))

Maureen said...

Hmmm, by not directing listeners' attention to it, does that rule out passing communication from one listener to another?

Murphy and Dora said...

Hello Ian,

We have put a note in our blog Header with references to your blog. If you could continue to promote murphyanddorastravels.blogspot.com listeners would find this address.

Also, if you joined our blog from time to time, then folk could also find this blog by clicking on your comments' postings.

We're in the middle of writing a Halloween Story on our blog. Look for the Halloween photo. We, Murphy & Dora, are the central characters, who are about to arrive at Marsden Grotto for a Halloween Party. Why not add to plot then promote the story on the Nightshift? I'm sure listeners would read the blog and maybe join in too, if they thought they would have contact with you. We can all keep referring to Truckshunters on our blog, so listeners will find your blog. We know it's a bit of a confusing path, but hopefully everyone will get here in the end.

To date, we're not aware of anyone new accessing either blog, despite you, Sue Sweeney and Michael Poulter promoting our's. We think your input will make a huge difference. You saw all of our reactions when you returned, so we believe others will feel likewise.

Also, you could just mention that you've returned to blogging, without actually mentioning Truckshunters', and hopefully bloggers who have fallen by the wayside will check out your blog again.

Good luck!

Luv Murphy xx and Dora xx

Maureen said...

Some good ideas on there Murphy and Dora, well done!

Hildie said...

Ian, we've been doing this excogitating for months now. It really is a problem we have been trying to address. I thought that we just needed you on our side and then we'd cracked it. You see, I was thinking that if a listener emailed you , then you could email him back and invite him to join us on the blog. In saying that you are not allowed to direct listeners' attention to it, I now understand that you couldn't do an email invitation. Looks like it's back to the drawing board for me. I don't mind being a point of contact if you are allowed to say that I'd like other listeners to contact me by email .... and then I could direct their attention to the blog. Would that be allowed?

Sid once said it's a bit like the French Resistance, it is , isn't it?
Where there's a will there's a way, don't forget!!

Vivienne said...

Good Morning Everyone,

Ian, we are really your unofficial Fan Club. Perhaps the BBC will allow you to make us official? You have a willing band of helpers. Among us we can make this work.

Vivienne said...

Good morning folks,

Ian, I'm thoroughly enjoying the Nightshift, so won't be getting much sleep this night! It was super fun hearing the Tipsy Duchess after all these years. Please don't hide her away again!

Love and thanks,

Vivienne xxx

Sid said...

Afternoon everyone,
I heard quite a bit of Ian's show this morning, and then overslept later. I still feel as though I'm an hour behind everybody else.

Hildie said...

Hello
this morning's encounter with the Tipsy Duchess was my very first.
I go back as far as the Blue Bus days, but she must pre-date those.
Hope you're catching up with the day, Sid! A lie-down this afternoon, that's the answer!

Vivienne said...

Hi Hildie,

I'm sorry to say you really missed a treat when you failed to tune into Paul's Saturday morning show. The Tipsy Duchess' weekly episodes were hilarious. In fact until Ian announced it on the Nightshift this morning, then slipped into character, I didn't know he was the Tipsy Duchess! I had always wondered of course, but thought Ian wouldn't be able to hold it together for so long each week. I guess he had to do a lot of re-takes to cut out all of his and Paul's laughing.

Sid, have you got your bonfire ready for tonight?

Inga, congratulations on your new President. He seems very popular. Hopefully he'll become a World leader who will make a positive difference, in a climate of uncertainty and recession, and following years of mismanagement! I hope all your country gets behind him, now the contest is over. In turn, I hope he helps to lift the spirit of the Nation, if not the World.

Sid said...

Hello everyone,
Inga, I am delighted that Barack Obama is now President Elect. Our Prime minister looks forward to working with him in the future....that'll be till he calls an election then!.

No bonfires for me Vivienne, there is a large display of fireworks in Saltwell park tonight, luckily I can see them from the back door.
I can remember collecting bonfire wood as a youngster and storing it in the air raid shelters around the doors. Gangs of kids would organise raiding party's to pinch the wood. Funnily enough, while we were nicking their's, they were round our place stealing ours. The bonfires were large, and always in the middle of a cobbled street junction. Paintwork was invariably blistered on nearby doors, yet nobody called the fire brigade.

Inga said...

Hello Vivienne and Sid - thanks for your comments about the election. Believe me, I could not be any more delighted than you are. While I watched Obama's victory speech, enjoying his poise and oratorical abilities, I joined all the other people who could not fight back the tears. Thank you, America, for restoring my faith in you which I had lost several years ago! However, mingled with the joy is the fear that racism will rear its ugly head. I see it almost everyday where I live. But right now even this fear is overshadowed by joy, happiness, and hope for the future. He is clearly a man who values what the rest of the world thinks in stark contrast to what most Americans think. He proved that by making his trip to Europe and mentioning the fall of the Berlin Wall, among others, as one of the events which have shaped history. It's just too wonderful that we can - once again - listen to an intelligent President!

Ian Robinson said...

Inga....allow me to join in with the general worldwide jubilation that the people of the US finally seem to have come to their senses in electing a man who seems to have the qualities needed to lead your amazing country and its people to greater and better things. Wonderful!

Inga said...

Thanks, Ian! What a night - what a day! The world's reaction is completely as I expected it to be but is still a heart-warming wonder to behold! Wendell and I are going out for a drink tonight to celebrate a little bit. Might even light a small bonfire!

Inga said...

Hello Mr. Robinson, Dr. Inga Eubanks here! I believe that you were confronted with - what you believe to be - a friend with whom you should feel free to express your feelings according to whatever controversial situation arises. If this person is indeed a friend, she will understand and forgive. If you cannot stomp your feet in the company of friend, well, it would be a boring world indeed. Besides, think of your mental health. It is better to stomp your feet than bottle up your frustrations. Such attitudes lead to worse reactions than stomping your feet.

Inga said...

KEV - LOVED your "kid's answers" contribution.
Especially the last one: It's so hot in some parts of the world that the people there have to live somewhere else. LOL

Hildie said...

Hi Lawrence
I learned all about the British Dominion of Berwick on Tweed this morning, thanks to "On Your Doorstep". I liked the sound of The Wales and Berwick Act!

Hi Inga, I hope your celebrations went well. You must be so pleased to have your brand new president. I'm sure he'll bring change for the better.

Hi Ian,
you little tinker ...
so, what DOES Kyo mean?