MERRY CHRISTMAS
to everyone, everywhere

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Merry Christmas Ian & all the Truckshunters.

Alison

Sid said...

I'll second that Alison. A Merry Christmas to everyone.

Sid said...

Gilly Marples...A very special Merry Christmas to you.

Hildie said...

Hello! I did intend to pop in and wish you Truckshunters a Happy Christmas .... but, instead, I am here to say I hope you all did have a very happy day yesterday.
Would you mind having a read of this poem ... to see if you've heard it before? ... It's in a poetry book Santa brought me .... and I am certain I first heard it on "The Nightshift".
I even think it was read on the programme by Ian's friend, Sue ....
anyone know if I'm right?!

'Warning' by Jenny Joseph.

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals,and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple.

Oh, for a million reasons, I still miss "The Nightshift"....and this poem makes me think of the spirit of Truckshunterness.

I do hope that you are all keeping well and I send you lots of festive wishes!

Sid said...

Hildie, can I point you in the direction of the website www.wheniamanoldwoman.com
It gives a pretty good background to both the author and origin of the poem.

Hildie said...

Thanks, Sid! I will have an investigate. We had a really higgledy piggledy Christmas Day here in Dipton .... the arrangements kept changing from the norm! Liam and I go to my sister's house for Christmas Lunch .... and usually it is at around 2p.m. .... but earlier in the week we heard it was to be at 6p.m. this year. My nephew, Andrew, is a chef at The Imperial Hotel in Gosforth and was working on Christmas Day till 5p.m. - so that's why dinner was rescheduled. However, at sometime in the afternoon my sister had a phone call from Andrew to say he was never going to be finished for five so we may as well carry on without him. My sister then brought it forward to 5p.m. ... so Liam and I had to kinda get our skates on and get up to my sister's house. Mary and Tony were there, along with Ross and Rachel... so the six of us pulled our crackers, had our Christmas dinner and exchanged our pressies ... but, sadly, there was no time this year for any of our party games .... as Ross and Rachel had to dash off to Rachel's dad's house to join the festivities over in Lanchester.
Nevertheless, we still went home happy, because the Flood Family had remained reigning champs by winning the Brussel Sprout Draw. It is traditional for everyone presnt at the Christmas Lunch to have a look at the sprouts in the serving dish and to have a guess, estimate how many there are! We pay £1 each to enter the draw and write down our guesses. Tony (who has prepared the sprouts earlier) has the answer in a sealed envelope. We even took guesses this year from as far away as Stockton and Manchester from folks who couldn't be with us ... absent friends, you might say! They were sent a photograph, of the bowl of Brussel Sprouts, by mobile phone and so were able to make their guesses. The Flood Family are notorious for being the winners ... and Liam's guess of 56sprouts ensured his win for the second year running. Kelly won in 2007 and I won in 2006! Mind you Kelly's guess via mobile phone was 54 .... as was young Robert's in Stockton ..... they did very well from just a photograph, don't you think?

Sid said...

Only a true Truckshunter could come up with a game like that.

Ian Robinson said...

I love it.