WEDNESDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2007
TOILET FACTS
When I came across this list of statistics I knew they were destined for The Nightshift - that’s the kind of programme it is! It’s the awesome scale of them that got me. On average, we all go to the toilet 2,500 times a year! Two thousand five hundred. Channel 4 made a documentary last year which showed how much effluent that represents. It’s a lot. And the fact that only 30% of the world’s population uses toilet paper prompts the obvious question - what does the rest of the world use?
All of which reminds me.....on one of next week’s programmes I’m hoping to run an item about a factor of global warming which I think we’re not taking seriously enough: methane. In the cracking new series The Power of the Planet last night, we were shown what would happen if the Siberian permafrost should melt. It’s made of half-decayed vegetable matter which would immediately start fermenting and give off countless tons of methane - a gas far more poisonous to the Earth in general - and to us in particular - than either ozone or carbon dioxide. And that’s without taking into account the damage already being done by belching, flatulating, defecating cattle and other livestock. I tell you - I’m worried!
THE HAPPINESS WORKOUT
I suspect that I’m guilty of not taking these happiness tips seriously enough. They were well-researched, though, and deserve a repeat run here. After all, we’re not all as contented with our lot as we sometimes like to think.....
....make a note of three things that went well today, and why;
....identify your strengths and every week aim to use them in new, creative ways;
....imagine - and write about - your best possible self in 10 years’ time;
....write someone athankyou letter;
....commit 5 acts if kindness a week;
You can’t really go wrong with that lot, can you?
WHAT’S IN A NAME
Hill-island is, of course, Durham. Kev has made an interesting comment on this - and the legend of St Cuthbert - on this blog.
So.....where is the ‘murder-path’?
TRUCKSHUNTER GEMS
The ‘special’ tracks of music you heard last nght were, firstly, Words of Love, which Buddy Holly recorded in 1957 and The Beatles covered - beautifully - in 1964 on Beatles For Sale and secondly, (I’m No) Superman, the inspired choice of theme-tune for Scrubs. It was recorded in 2002 by Laszlo Bane.
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)
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.
TUESDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2007
FORGOTTEN ANNIVERSARIES
A big thankyou once again to Peter in South Shields who keeps my knuckles well and truly rapped by sending me frequent reminders of all the important or just quirky anniversaries I keep on missing. Tonight’s list was typical......11 November 1790: chrysanthemums are introduced to England from China ( - I thought they came from Japan?)......12 November 1956: the world’s largest glacier is discovered ( - it’s 208 miles long and 60 miles wide, but Peter doesn’t say where it is).....13 November 1002: King Ethelred (the Unready one?) orders all the Danes in England to be slaughtered ( - why?).......14 November 1896: the urban speed limit is raised from 4mph to 14mph.....15 November 1923: German hyperinflation peaks at 4,200,000,000 marks to the dollar!
I don’t know where Peter gets his information. Perhaps he has his own database of anniversary trivia. Keep them coming Peter!
Brian in Kenton telephones me once in a while too - with anniversaries of Britain’s worst railway accidents - an admittedly mawkish but nevertheless fascinating subject. He called me this morning to remind me about the Lewisham Disaster of 1957. Three trains were involved and there were 199 casualties, including 90 deaths. I’m meant to mention it on its anniversary day, 4 December. That, however, is my birthday - so I thought I’d mention it today instead!
If you think I’ve missed any important - or utterly trivial - anniversaries, do what Peter and Brian do. Get in touch.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The rock band UB40 took their name from the old unemployment benefit signing-on card. Thanks to Loz for expanding on the answer via email. Apparently, the band’s first album was called Signing Off and its cover was a facsimile of a UB40 card. Loz even sent me a picture of it.
From now on, the questions will all be about local place-names, starting with.....which local place’s name means ‘hill-island’?
TRUCKSHUNTER GEMS
The first ‘special track’ I played today was Swingin’ On A Star performed by Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva. It was released in 1962 and I played it for no other reason than I found it when I was digging around in my collection of 45s the other day. Did you remember it? And what became of Dee and Eva?
Our Listen To The Banned track this week was Nellie The Nudist Queen. It was performed by Ross and Sargent (whoever they were) and was released - and promptly banned by the BBC - in 1933.
MARY HOPKIN
Blogster and listener Pat shares my enthusiasm for the sweetness of Mary Hopkin’s voice and tells me she’s still going strong. I’m really glad to hear it, Pat. Her version of No Business Like Show Business (on the Post Card album) is truly awesome. Her website is at: www.maryhopkin.com.
MIND-TEASER
Here's another of Kev's 'mind-teasers'.
Take a look at this. What TWO words can you see?
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)
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.
FORGOTTEN ANNIVERSARIES
A big thankyou once again to Peter in South Shields who keeps my knuckles well and truly rapped by sending me frequent reminders of all the important or just quirky anniversaries I keep on missing. Tonight’s list was typical......11 November 1790: chrysanthemums are introduced to England from China ( - I thought they came from Japan?)......12 November 1956: the world’s largest glacier is discovered ( - it’s 208 miles long and 60 miles wide, but Peter doesn’t say where it is).....13 November 1002: King Ethelred (the Unready one?) orders all the Danes in England to be slaughtered ( - why?).......14 November 1896: the urban speed limit is raised from 4mph to 14mph.....15 November 1923: German hyperinflation peaks at 4,200,000,000 marks to the dollar!
I don’t know where Peter gets his information. Perhaps he has his own database of anniversary trivia. Keep them coming Peter!
Brian in Kenton telephones me once in a while too - with anniversaries of Britain’s worst railway accidents - an admittedly mawkish but nevertheless fascinating subject. He called me this morning to remind me about the Lewisham Disaster of 1957. Three trains were involved and there were 199 casualties, including 90 deaths. I’m meant to mention it on its anniversary day, 4 December. That, however, is my birthday - so I thought I’d mention it today instead!
If you think I’ve missed any important - or utterly trivial - anniversaries, do what Peter and Brian do. Get in touch.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The rock band UB40 took their name from the old unemployment benefit signing-on card. Thanks to Loz for expanding on the answer via email. Apparently, the band’s first album was called Signing Off and its cover was a facsimile of a UB40 card. Loz even sent me a picture of it.
From now on, the questions will all be about local place-names, starting with.....which local place’s name means ‘hill-island’?
TRUCKSHUNTER GEMS
The first ‘special track’ I played today was Swingin’ On A Star performed by Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva. It was released in 1962 and I played it for no other reason than I found it when I was digging around in my collection of 45s the other day. Did you remember it? And what became of Dee and Eva?
Our Listen To The Banned track this week was Nellie The Nudist Queen. It was performed by Ross and Sargent (whoever they were) and was released - and promptly banned by the BBC - in 1933.
MARY HOPKIN
Blogster and listener Pat shares my enthusiasm for the sweetness of Mary Hopkin’s voice and tells me she’s still going strong. I’m really glad to hear it, Pat. Her version of No Business Like Show Business (on the Post Card album) is truly awesome. Her website is at: www.maryhopkin.com.
MIND-TEASER
Here's another of Kev's 'mind-teasers'.
Take a look at this. What TWO words can you see?
CONTACT MEPost 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)
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.
MONDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2007
URBAN AWARDS
I’m ashamed to say that a singular honour recently bestowed upon the city of Newcastle went unremarked on The Nightshift. On Friday 9 November, the Academy of Urbanism (an organisation previously unknown to me) handed out its European Awards and Tyneside’s name cropped up twice. In the Great Place Award, Newcastle and Gateshead’s Quaysides were narrowly beaten by the Peace and Winter Gardens in Sheffield - London’s South Bank came third. And - in the Great Neighbourhood Award - things were even better. Dublin’s Temple Bar came third, London’s Soho came second but the winner was......Grainger Town in Newcastle. Congratulations to all concerned - and my apologies for not trumpeting these victories loudly and clearly on The Nightshift.
CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA
Call me warped and twisted, but I thought this was one of the funniest stories we’ve ever had on The Nightshift. In case you missed it.........An American soft-toy maker has produced a range based on microscopic images of bugs and viruses. So, for £5.95, your child can now cuddle a six-inch high Typhoid Fever, Black Death, Rabies, E-coli, Salmonella, Halitosis, Malaria or Flu. The toys are allegedly proving very popular with grown-ups, so if you’re wondering what to give your loved one this Christmas, why not give them Syphilis?
I’m crying with laughter just typing this. If anyone knows a local or internet stockist, please respond here on the blog.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Gateshead can variously mean either ‘headland of goats’ (the only really ‘innocent’ explanation), ‘the goat’s head’ (possibly a sacrificial totem) or ‘the end of the road’ (a sentiment with which people far more unkind than me may well agree).
Today’s query concerns the rock-band name UB40. Where did THAT come from?
LOCAL TRACK
Kellyburn Brae - a personal local favourite of mine - was sung by Benny Graham.
BLOGGING
Naturally, I’m delighted that the army of British bloggers is growing by the hour. There are now 4m of us; almost 15% of internet users write a blog; and 20% of them post once a day (like I do). When Grosvenor, The Nightshift’s mascot rat, arrives he should be proud of us! If you want to search though blogs to find one that might interest you, use a special blog-search engine. Google has a very effective one. In the meantime, these are the blogs I’ve seen recommended.....
There’s bitchy opinion on music industry news at xrrf.blogspot.com....former Tory insider Iain Dale has a lively blog at iaindale.blogspot.com......a north Norfolk househusband makes a perfect modern Mr Pooter at privatesecretdiary.com.....and shinyshiny.tv evaluates all the latest gadgets from a female point of view.
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)
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.
URBAN AWARDS
I’m ashamed to say that a singular honour recently bestowed upon the city of Newcastle went unremarked on The Nightshift. On Friday 9 November, the Academy of Urbanism (an organisation previously unknown to me) handed out its European Awards and Tyneside’s name cropped up twice. In the Great Place Award, Newcastle and Gateshead’s Quaysides were narrowly beaten by the Peace and Winter Gardens in Sheffield - London’s South Bank came third. And - in the Great Neighbourhood Award - things were even better. Dublin’s Temple Bar came third, London’s Soho came second but the winner was......Grainger Town in Newcastle. Congratulations to all concerned - and my apologies for not trumpeting these victories loudly and clearly on The Nightshift.
CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA
Call me warped and twisted, but I thought this was one of the funniest stories we’ve ever had on The Nightshift. In case you missed it.........An American soft-toy maker has produced a range based on microscopic images of bugs and viruses. So, for £5.95, your child can now cuddle a six-inch high Typhoid Fever, Black Death, Rabies, E-coli, Salmonella, Halitosis, Malaria or Flu. The toys are allegedly proving very popular with grown-ups, so if you’re wondering what to give your loved one this Christmas, why not give them Syphilis?
I’m crying with laughter just typing this. If anyone knows a local or internet stockist, please respond here on the blog.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Gateshead can variously mean either ‘headland of goats’ (the only really ‘innocent’ explanation), ‘the goat’s head’ (possibly a sacrificial totem) or ‘the end of the road’ (a sentiment with which people far more unkind than me may well agree).
Today’s query concerns the rock-band name UB40. Where did THAT come from?
LOCAL TRACK
Kellyburn Brae - a personal local favourite of mine - was sung by Benny Graham.
BLOGGING
Naturally, I’m delighted that the army of British bloggers is growing by the hour. There are now 4m of us; almost 15% of internet users write a blog; and 20% of them post once a day (like I do). When Grosvenor, The Nightshift’s mascot rat, arrives he should be proud of us! If you want to search though blogs to find one that might interest you, use a special blog-search engine. Google has a very effective one. In the meantime, these are the blogs I’ve seen recommended.....
There’s bitchy opinion on music industry news at xrrf.blogspot.com....former Tory insider Iain Dale has a lively blog at iaindale.blogspot.com......a north Norfolk househusband makes a perfect modern Mr Pooter at privatesecretdiary.com.....and shinyshiny.tv evaluates all the latest gadgets from a female point of view.
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)
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.
THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2007
I’m sorry this posting is appearing late. I had to leave Newcastle for Cardiff as soon as I finished pre-recording and have only just returned.
MY CRAP HOLIDAY
This feature of The Nightshift is lifted from The Observer newspaper; it's always made me smile and I hope you like it too. It also serves as a reminder that not all holidays are the idyllic, get-away-from-it-all, escapes we may have been expecting when we booked them. If you’ve had any holiday experiences you would prefer to forget, I’d like to hear from you. Use this blog or contact me as below.
BRIDGES: THE LAST WORD
Chris and Jojo emailed from New Zealand to tell us about a particularly unnerving bridge there. “We have a single lane bridge in Whakatane which has a train track as well. You have to wait at the lights if there is a train coming over the bridge. Once the train has passed over the bridge, the lights turn green and you can then drive over; it freaks you out the first time you cross it - specially as it’s about 1km long!’ Quite so, Chris, quite so.
TRUCKSHUNTERS CERTIFICATE
Between us, Kev and I have been able to render his design for a Truckshunters Membership Certificate in a format usable on this blog. Here it is....
.Pretty neat, huh? Well done, Kev - and my apologies again for trying to run before I can even crawl on this blog!
Kev has answered my concerns about the expense of producing and posting these Certificates by suggesting that we make them ‘e-certs’. I would simply fill in the blanks and email each member’s certificate to them. Those benighted souls without computers would, of course, need their certs ‘snailmailed’. I guess I could just about afford that out of my own pocket - I doubt very much indeed that the BBC would pay for them.
Kev and I would appreciate your views on the draft Certificate.
Another reminder: if you’d like me to post a picture on the blog, please feel free to send it to me but PLEASE make sure it’s less than about 750 Mb in size. I write this blog on my Mac at home and don’t want it overwhelmed!!!
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The 'land of foreigners' is, of course, Wales. The irony is that the real ‘foreigners’ were the Anglo-Saxons who gave the country its name! The Welsh for Wales is Cymru (cum-ree) which means ‘brothers together’. It sounds very similar to Cumbria and indeed the two words are directly related; Welsh was spoken in Cumbria until the 17th century (or so I’m told).
Tonight’s question........where did the rock band UB40 get their name?
THE NIGHTSHIFT CLASSIC
This week’s classic was the wonderful Canon by Pachelbel.
NAMES
I’ve received an email from Adrian Calvo-Valderrama asking me to spell out on-air the name of this blog - which I have now done. Adrian is French and - o lucky man - lives and works in Paris. Hasn’t he got a delightfully exotic name, though? It rolls around your tongue like a chocolate profiterole! Adrian Calvo-Valderrama. Magic. I think the previously most exotic - or at least most sonorous - emailer’s name to the programme was Andy Tanglewood. I do wonder if the name-holders themselves rejoice in names like this or not. I once worked with a lass called Dawn Rainbow and asked her. I’m glad to say she liked her name as much as everyone else did. I do wonder, though, about the wisdom of Mr and Mrs Healey calling their son Austin - although BBC Radio Newcastle’s own Railton Howes is also named after a car and doesn’t seem to have suffered as a result!
Do you know anyone with an exotic or sonorous name?
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)
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.
I’m sorry this posting is appearing late. I had to leave Newcastle for Cardiff as soon as I finished pre-recording and have only just returned.
MY CRAP HOLIDAY
This feature of The Nightshift is lifted from The Observer newspaper; it's always made me smile and I hope you like it too. It also serves as a reminder that not all holidays are the idyllic, get-away-from-it-all, escapes we may have been expecting when we booked them. If you’ve had any holiday experiences you would prefer to forget, I’d like to hear from you. Use this blog or contact me as below.
BRIDGES: THE LAST WORD
Chris and Jojo emailed from New Zealand to tell us about a particularly unnerving bridge there. “We have a single lane bridge in Whakatane which has a train track as well. You have to wait at the lights if there is a train coming over the bridge. Once the train has passed over the bridge, the lights turn green and you can then drive over; it freaks you out the first time you cross it - specially as it’s about 1km long!’ Quite so, Chris, quite so.
TRUCKSHUNTERS CERTIFICATE
Between us, Kev and I have been able to render his design for a Truckshunters Membership Certificate in a format usable on this blog. Here it is....
.Pretty neat, huh? Well done, Kev - and my apologies again for trying to run before I can even crawl on this blog!Kev has answered my concerns about the expense of producing and posting these Certificates by suggesting that we make them ‘e-certs’. I would simply fill in the blanks and email each member’s certificate to them. Those benighted souls without computers would, of course, need their certs ‘snailmailed’. I guess I could just about afford that out of my own pocket - I doubt very much indeed that the BBC would pay for them.
Kev and I would appreciate your views on the draft Certificate.
Another reminder: if you’d like me to post a picture on the blog, please feel free to send it to me but PLEASE make sure it’s less than about 750 Mb in size. I write this blog on my Mac at home and don’t want it overwhelmed!!!
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The 'land of foreigners' is, of course, Wales. The irony is that the real ‘foreigners’ were the Anglo-Saxons who gave the country its name! The Welsh for Wales is Cymru (cum-ree) which means ‘brothers together’. It sounds very similar to Cumbria and indeed the two words are directly related; Welsh was spoken in Cumbria until the 17th century (or so I’m told).
Tonight’s question........where did the rock band UB40 get their name?
THE NIGHTSHIFT CLASSIC
This week’s classic was the wonderful Canon by Pachelbel.
NAMES
I’ve received an email from Adrian Calvo-Valderrama asking me to spell out on-air the name of this blog - which I have now done. Adrian is French and - o lucky man - lives and works in Paris. Hasn’t he got a delightfully exotic name, though? It rolls around your tongue like a chocolate profiterole! Adrian Calvo-Valderrama. Magic. I think the previously most exotic - or at least most sonorous - emailer’s name to the programme was Andy Tanglewood. I do wonder if the name-holders themselves rejoice in names like this or not. I once worked with a lass called Dawn Rainbow and asked her. I’m glad to say she liked her name as much as everyone else did. I do wonder, though, about the wisdom of Mr and Mrs Healey calling their son Austin - although BBC Radio Newcastle’s own Railton Howes is also named after a car and doesn’t seem to have suffered as a result!
Do you know anyone with an exotic or sonorous name?
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)
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.
WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2007
REQUESTS
I’m happy to play any requests you may have - provided, of course, they are in the BBC music library here and I can access them. If you do request a track, though, please tell me not just what and why, but also when. I know the ‘audience profile’ changes substantially as the night wears on and it isn’t always clear to me when you might be listening out for the track you’ve asked to hear. So please indicate - within, say, one hour - when you would like the track played.
TRUCKSHUNTERS CERTIFICATE
I obviously still have much to learn about blogging. Firstly, I’ve been saying on air that it’s possible to load pictures as part of your comment. As you will see from yesterday’s posting, I seem to have been lying to you. Loz has found it impossible and HE should know, after all! Sorry if my ignorance has caused anyone grief.
To kinda make amends, here are a couple of Loz's pictures.
Also, Kev has come up with an awesome design for the Truckshunters Membership Certificate which I can’t show you because it doesn’t seem to be in the correct format. Sorry, Kev. I wonder if it can be converted into a jpeg. Or is that what it is already?
I think maybe I should slow things down a bit until I actually know what I’m doing.
COWS
Wasn’t the response to this throwaway item interesting? Both the weatherman (Steve Weston) and listener Val in Chapel House told gruesome stories about fatal bovine attacks. I had no idea! Although, as I said on-air, I often felt a little uneasy walking my dog Taxi on the Town Moor when the cattle were there for the summer. They are BIG animals and they don’t always take kindly to people wandering across that particular pasture. Is the story of the attack on Hunter’s Moor true?
GROSVENOR TRUCKSHUNTER ROBINSON THE FIRST
My misleading information notwithstanding, I still hope Loz’s offer to name a rat after me stands. What a singular honour! Alan Savage, keeper of the Millennium Arboretum at Cramlington, once flattered me by naming an oak sapling after me. You can still see it by the footbridge over the A189. And now I can’t wait to see the rat! My reputation is spreading. Loz’s website, incidentally, is lhpianotuning.co.uk. Quits, Loz?
TRUCKSHUNTER GEM
I really had been mooching down amongst my old 45s when I came across Those Were The Days. I used to like the ‘purity’ of Mary Hopkins’ voice and bought two other tracks by her - Goodbye and Temma Harbour - as well as her Postcards album. I don’t regret the purchases in the slightest. I wonder what’s become of her?
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)
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.
REQUESTS
I’m happy to play any requests you may have - provided, of course, they are in the BBC music library here and I can access them. If you do request a track, though, please tell me not just what and why, but also when. I know the ‘audience profile’ changes substantially as the night wears on and it isn’t always clear to me when you might be listening out for the track you’ve asked to hear. So please indicate - within, say, one hour - when you would like the track played.
TRUCKSHUNTERS CERTIFICATE
I obviously still have much to learn about blogging. Firstly, I’ve been saying on air that it’s possible to load pictures as part of your comment. As you will see from yesterday’s posting, I seem to have been lying to you. Loz has found it impossible and HE should know, after all! Sorry if my ignorance has caused anyone grief.
To kinda make amends, here are a couple of Loz's pictures.
Also, Kev has come up with an awesome design for the Truckshunters Membership Certificate which I can’t show you because it doesn’t seem to be in the correct format. Sorry, Kev. I wonder if it can be converted into a jpeg. Or is that what it is already?I think maybe I should slow things down a bit until I actually know what I’m doing.
COWS
Wasn’t the response to this throwaway item interesting? Both the weatherman (Steve Weston) and listener Val in Chapel House told gruesome stories about fatal bovine attacks. I had no idea! Although, as I said on-air, I often felt a little uneasy walking my dog Taxi on the Town Moor when the cattle were there for the summer. They are BIG animals and they don’t always take kindly to people wandering across that particular pasture. Is the story of the attack on Hunter’s Moor true?
GROSVENOR TRUCKSHUNTER ROBINSON THE FIRST
My misleading information notwithstanding, I still hope Loz’s offer to name a rat after me stands. What a singular honour! Alan Savage, keeper of the Millennium Arboretum at Cramlington, once flattered me by naming an oak sapling after me. You can still see it by the footbridge over the A189. And now I can’t wait to see the rat! My reputation is spreading. Loz’s website, incidentally, is lhpianotuning.co.uk. Quits, Loz?
TRUCKSHUNTER GEM
I really had been mooching down amongst my old 45s when I came across Those Were The Days. I used to like the ‘purity’ of Mary Hopkins’ voice and bought two other tracks by her - Goodbye and Temma Harbour - as well as her Postcards album. I don’t regret the purchases in the slightest. I wonder what’s become of her?
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)
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.
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