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Today has been Hildie’s birthday. As I draft this posting, she’s out with ‘the girls’, and I know we all hope she’s having a great time. No-one deserves it more than Hildie does.

Ever since the unpredictable and frankly wayward hours of The Nightshift, Hildie has always struck me as a ‘model’ truckshunter. She has the necessary senses of wonder and curiosity - and the even more obligatory sense of humour - in waggonloads.

Consequently, she regularly responded to quirky queries and puzzles, often by supplying her own! I received countless internet print-outs through the post, often taken from weird websites full of wondrous ‘trivia’ - information which truckshunters believe to be the most useful useless information on the planet.

In these and other ways, Hildie ‘fed’ the programme some of its juiciest and most interesting titbits, and often started inter-listener discussions that lasted weeks.

The minx!

In fact - and she probably didn’t know it at the time - it was Hildie’s way of encouraging the involvement of other listeners that helped give birth to the truckshunting idea after I retired in 2009. And it’s substantially due to her efforts that it’s still going so strong after all this time.

Since I retired, Hildie has become a true and trusted friend. I have shared my bad times as well as my good with her. Even so, she probably doesn’t realise how much I value her sensitivity and thoughtfulness, as well as her scrumptious sandwiches and her ability to make me laugh.

Each member of our unique truckshunting community is important and essential to all the others - and not just those who leave Comments on this blog, attend AGMs or send me emails. The blog - and thus the community - has more ‘followers’ than it seems.

But I make no excuse or apology for singling out Hildie on this special day. And I know you won’t mind, either. That’s the sort of people truckshunters are.

Happy Birthday, Hildie. From all of us.

CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or email me: truckshunters@googlemail.com

7 comments:

Sid said...

I'll second all of that Ian. Hildie is a truly wonderful woman. I've thought so for ages, well, ever since she produced those Ambient sausage rolls from her bag....and caused a huge discussion as to how they were 'ambient'.
Then Lo and Behold, the good old co-op had to stop using the word ambient with the sausage rolls.

Ian Robinson said...

You're right Sid - she's a star!
BTW - hope we can see you soon?

Vivienne said...

Hi Hildie,

I hope you had a super birthday. Ian and Sid are right, you are a star. We wouldn't have a Truckshunters if it wasn't for you! You kept us together when some of us were straying by the wayside.

Keep up the good work!

Lots of love,
Vivienne xxx

Hildie said...

Oh, my goodness, THANK YOU .... I am quite blown away!
All those lovely things you Truckshunters have said .....
it was like opening the nicest birthday gift, it was like one of the cuddles I get from the seven year olds when I go into school on a Friday, it was like the birthday card I had from my nephew, Ross, that said "To (Great) Aunty Hildie"
- I ought to mention here that he has just found out he is going to be a Daddy - and , being on the receiving end of all those compliments, came a very close second to receiving the very special 'ghd' hair straighteners that my gorgeous daughter bought me for Christmas!
I popped on here to say thank you to Ian, Maureen and Sid for getting in touch with me yesterday to say Happy Birthday .... I came to thank Ada and Vivienne for sending me beautiful birthday cards ..... and I would like to thank linda, Neville, Michael, Mietek, lawrence and Jim for writing birthday messages on my facebook wall.
I feel very honoured and extremely lucky to know you all .....
you are the fun in my life!

Nev , I keep wondering if you got the Christmas Card I sent to Tanfield Railway for you.

Vivienne , I still agree with your theory on what the object in the cracker is!

Sid said...

Weird News Latest...
An Italian man who was struck in the head by a stray bullet during New Years Eve celebrations is recovering after sneezing the projectile out of his nose.

Longest Jail Sentence...
The longest jail sentence passed was in the United States (okay, you guessed). Dudley Wayne Kyzer was jailed for 10,000 years by a court in Tuscaloosa,Alabama, in 1981 for murdering his wife. He was then sentenced to two life terms for murdering his mother-in-law and a college student.

In 1994 Oklahoma rapist Darron Bennalford Anderson received a 2,200 year jail sentence.
When he appealed and won a new trial, he was convicted again and resentenced to more then 90 additional centuries behind bars...including 4,000 years each for rape, 1,750 for kidnapping, 1,000 years for robbery, and 500 years for grand larceny.
In July of 1997 the State Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the 500 years for Grand Larceny. His new release date is 12,744.....but they don't give the month.

I don't take any credit for this posting cos Hildie started it, ages ago!

Hildie said...

Ummm, wouldn't your heart just sink, if you were sat in your cell, knowing you couldn't get out for 12,744 years?!!
I wonder if anyone has been in touch with Ian about the next AGM
..... is a Saturday or Sunday better for anyone? That's what he was enquiring about. You do know
.... a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Sid said...

I'll let others decide when the next AGM should be held Hildie, and if I can, I'll get there.