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Totally agree with DC2. Can't we all accept that Covid-19 is a variant of Flu - IT IS and that's irrefutable. Can't we all accept that if normal flu was reported in the same way as Covid-19 there would be far more incidences of normal flu reported. Can't we all accept though that it's a particularly virulent strain for those that develop pneumonia (or similar complications) and that death rates amongst that small percentage are a lot higher than other flu strains but that as Covid 19 has global attention and been reported differently it is clearly a bigger danger to susceptible groups. Can we all accept that 95% of the population could have it and either not know or have very minor short term symptoms but that 5% could develop worse symptoms of which a yes undetermined but significant number could die a very painful death with little than can currently be done to save them.

All at Speedway Star are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Eric Linden, our founder and first-ever editor in 1952. Quite simply, without Eric, there would be no Speedway Star. Our thoughts are with his family and we will have a full tribute to Eric in next week's issue

Very sad news about Peter R.I.P. and condolences to his family. Peter was a Diamonds fan through and through. Not only did he provide financial backing, but he and his wife did so much behind the scenes when speedway was making a comeback at Newcastle in the late 90s as well as providing heavy equipment for track work when it was needed One of life's genuine characters who will be sorely missed!

Normally I’m no fan of BWitcher’s heavy handed debating technique but I’m amazed that he is being as patient with you lot as he is. The comparison with flu is perfectly valid. They’re both contagious viral infections that kill thousands across the world. Flu kills 290,000 to 650,000, while Covid has so far killed 100,000. And that’s despite a vaccine existing for flu! If as with Covid there were no vaccine would flu kill 6.5 million or 66 million? Next, spl77, the death rate. You don’t get it by comparing deaths with closed cases, or even with all confirmed cases; you have to compare it with the total number of infected people (which most experts think is at least 10 times the number of confirmed cases). That’s why the experts think the Covid death rate is no more than 1%, despite it currently appearing to be 5% to 10% when calculated against confirmed cases in some countries.

Once a tool always a tool. And i am being kind.

Might be a nice bloke, might have methanol in his veins, Scunny is a decent track although poorly supported numbers wise . As the head man of our Sport though and on his record as Vice Chairman he was and still is way out of his depth. No marketing ideas, no vision, no charisma, look at the Scunthorpe programme (a joke) website (an embarassment) social media ( non existant ) and then compare with Barry Bishop, Lee Kilby, Peter Faceena and a few other Promoters and the likes of Rob Painter GB man Sport is cooked with "dumb down Godfrey" in charge. Time for an Independent professional approach.

You're underplaying it. That's just flu... it doesn't include pneumonia deaths which are another 100,000 or so deaths. At least 1/3 of which come from flu.. the rest from other viruses contracted from social contact. So basically 100,000+ deaths.. no lockdown necessary. They're expendable.

An average of 34,000 people have died between Jan and the end of March over the last five years. from flu/pneumonia. Sure, there's a vaccine but that will only cover one of the strains and even then isn't guaranteed... and as a result 34,000 people are dying. So why do we not lock down? After all, those deaths are caused from social contact. Effectively, what you are saying is, those 34,000 don't count.

We have 'flu vaccines to try to aid with that - we don't have a Covid-19 vaccine. Surely you understand that key and absolutely massive difference? It's why it's not necessary to lock down every time we have a 'flu outbreak, but it is during the current outbreak of Covid-19. It's very different. Of course, the 'flu is mutating every single year and therefore sadly, there are still deaths, but many are prevented. That's not to say every death is not tragic - it is. But Covid-19 and 'flu are not the same thing, due to the current lack of vaccine for one of them.

I had occasion to speak with Eric once on the 'phone. What a charming man he was. One of the great journalists who captivated me when I was reading 'Speedway Star' all those years ago. A writer I much admired. R.I.P. + Eric.

You've been given the facts and their official source. "My wife says" is not a fact. The Office of National Statistics is fact. It's time you grew up.

I was fortunate to see PK on a regular basis at Lakeside in his latter years. It was a dump, but i really miss the old place.

A true great. R.I.P. Eric Linden Danny Carter, Rick Eldon Angus Kix. (There must have been more) Not only a huge figure in speedway journalism but a stalwart of the TV Times' features division. His name was most publicised as editor of the magazine's crossword. Never got to meet him. Wish I had.

Heat 4 was Tony Davey's freak accident, a 'routine' coming together on the first bend with Hackney's Roger Wright, Shrimp's hand got caught in his back wheel and lost half his fingers and thumb. Who knows how good Shrimp would have been without this accident?

Correct, shows you how to spend loads of money and no win anything.

I was only few months old so I dont think so but may have been

Documentary '' in the red'' being screened in full. Tomorrow evening @ 7pm on YouTube.

I was!

Who was there ?

I was also there in 1962 and heat 6 stands out in my memory as it involved four of the so-called 'Big five' of the 60's with Ronnie Moore missing out. Peter Craven came second to Barry Briggs in that race ahead of Knutson and Fundin but he was unbeaten in his other 4 rides and became a deserved world champion on the night.

So as covid19 is a cousin of the common cold, if it comes back mutated next year, there will be no effective vaccine against it. Should we lockdown every year in your opinion ? Just asking ...

Of course, it's all connected. But you're not going to tell me that the 15 folk who died this week in an old folks' home close to me, all displaying the Covid symptoms, were going to drop dead of the things above in the space of a few days are you? Similarly, in my small town of 7,000 I know of two deaths of people under 30 in the last fortnight who didn't even make it to hospital due to sudden onset of symptoms, and yet they won't be included in the figures. Repeat these sorts of figures all over the country and you have a hell of a lot more people than are being officially reported.

Auty Nielsen Auty Allen Auty Ayres Garrity Ayres Lambert Kinsley

As also explained on the other thread.. flu is not the killer by itself, although it does account for the deaths listed by DC2 above. The biggest issue is, flu can develop into pneumonia. In 2017 2.6 million.. thats MILLION people died from pneumonia worldwide. 800,000 of those where CHILDREN aged under 9. One THIRD of those cases developed from FLU. So you can add onto the figures solely attributed to flu a further 850,000 or so that develop into pneumonia. Now how does this fit into Covid-19? It's reported that in almost ALL serious cases of Covid-19, it has caused pneumonia.. (Sound familiar?). However... when they die, it's not reported as pneumonia but as Covid-19.. or 'complications from Covid-19'. The reality is, with both flu and Covid-19 in the overwhelming majority of cases you get over it fine... it's when they develop into pneumonia you have the problem. The problem is that Covid-19 cases developing into pneumonia are on TOP of the normal flu cases developing into pneumonia... which of course can contribute to overloading the health systems.

Very sad news. He was a truly great journalist and brought speedway alive through his various columns in the Star.

It was Morten Andersen i think who would have been riding at that time. Edit: Bagpuss just beat me to it.

Morten Andersen? Rode for Lynn in ‘95. And I was at that P’boro meeting too, seem to remember Sullivan riding in somebody else’s crash helmet as he had forgotten his own. But it should have been Crump in the run off (both had scored twelve and Crump only dropped points through an exclusion for having George Stancl off).

Good stuff. Of course in the 1930s the departure and arrival of some of the top riders was of interest to the national press. Seen photos, a lot of Vic Huxley and his wife being photographed at Paddington Station etc as they leave or at the docks when they arrive

And running off with the riders after a track invasion at Peterborough )

Too right, absolute epic race, lost my voice in that one for sure. The whole of 1996 was amazing. I was fortunate enough to get to every match home and away that year and will never forget it, so many memories. Stewart McDonald in the Cup Final 1st leg at Long Eaton, riding injured.. Winning that final, with our home leg on a neutral track just topped it all I think. I remember the crowd that night was massive, Wolves, Peterborough and a load of Long Eaton fans there for the occasion too.

Sorry to hear this but have we not got enough bad news to deal with without posts like this.... however now that you have raised the elephant in the room Newcastle have lost another fan and former sponsor not only of the club but a major supporter of various past and present riders.... Brian Paddison lost the fight against Covid 19 last week and someone else who although hadn't been regularly to Brough over the last couple of seasons will be sadly missed... Both RIP but I doubt they will be the last to succumb... especially with this virus still rampant... Testing times for everyone... stay well stay safe and look after yourself... Regards THJ

Swindon Steve was great , get there for 6. O'clock get your prize target Mauger, Olsen, Michanek, Betts, Wilson ( etc).The riders then it was a different era only certain foreign commitments then so mostly they stayed for the second half.Only got Hasse once Steve to sign did not see alot of him at all couple of times for the cheetahs and Sweden the one year there was a while when they operated R/R.

If that's your argument don't compare it to flu then as the vast majority of flu cases go un tested/confirmed. If you want to quote figures you can only use official ones in which case covid 19 is running at approx 8% in the UK compared to less than 1% for normal flu. People like you piss me off. Neither myself or my wife know any family that has had a loved one die because of flu so far between us we know 4 family's that have had a loved one die because of covid 19. I have nothing more to say if we don't see any speedway this year that is totally fine as long as this is beaten. In the meantime go and stick you head in the sand and let those of us who have to deal and work with this get on with it.

Testing me were you norbold? LOL I really don't remember too much about it though....but I was struck by the name of Hofmiester even at that young age. The first World Final I really do remember was 1962....with my childhood hero winning.

It's amazing how people twist numbers... The reason those confirmed cases are closed is because of the death rate, and not - as you seem to suggest - the other way round. If you are honest, you would admit that the final death rate will not be anything like that. As far as people criticising those who "downplay" the virus on here, claiming comparisons are "invalid" need to look at it like this. 1) Nobody is attempting to downplay or trivialise the effect of COVID-19. Yes, it IS serious, particularly for the elderly and infirm. 2) As serious as it is, there are many other things in this world that afflict people, causing suffering and death, and in great numbers. Therefore all comparisons can be classed as "valid". 3) As has been said, regular flu/pneumonia/respiratory afflictions kill people in HUGE numbers every year. The fact that most people are willing to sweep these under the carpet seems to indicate that the general public a) don't believe these numbers, b) don't WANT to believe these numbers, or c) don't care. 4) You're worried about catching COVID-19? Be sensible. Take precautions. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing. Even taking something totally different, let's consider this: There have been 1.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide. In 2017, 2.2 million people needed medical attention due to motor vehicle accidents. In the United States ALONE! 14,802 Americans have died from COVID-19 so far, and everybody is scared. 37,133 Americans died in motor vehicle accidents in 2017. You want to kick it up a notch? 607,000 Americans die each year from cancer. 647,000 Americans die each year from heart disease. Nobody thinks about that. More to the point, nobody worries about that. If you were to multiply the current number of deaths in the US from COVID-19 by ten, that would be a total of 148,020. You see my point? Nobody is trying to trivialise COVID-19, but as bad as it is, it still doesn't - and won't - claim anywhere near the number of victims that other things do. Other things that seemingly aren't worth a second thought to most of you. People die. We are all going to die. If it's not from one thing, it will be another. It's not worse, or more important, to die from one thing rather than another, and just because a single virus is bringing the world to a standstill, many more people will die from many other causes. And will be ignored...

I'm trying to do that also ! One of the dominant voices on that thread lives out in the sticks in Portugal with far lower deaths, so can presumably be more calm and spend time trawling thru websites of stats and the like, knowing that he is in a very cushy position and won't get the virus knocking on his door any time soon. Sadly, that's not something that many people in the UK can be so sure about. Nearly 500 deaths across 4 hospitals within 10 mins drive of me is certainly enough to make a lot of people in my part of the capital jittery. Don't get me wrong, they're entitled to opinions etc, but it's easy to be calm and contrarian from a place of relative safety.

Absolutely brilliant and heartwarming. Danny is a really genuine nice guy. Stay safe everyone and stay at home

Hi folks, had this from ‘Gornal Wolf’. Thought this was worth putting up for others to have a go at. Speedway Anagrams: All of these have been Wolves heat leaders: 1: enough regret 2: alison designes 3: prevented banger 4: ended girlfriend 5: lone sloe 6: Korean moslem 7: wet mom amnesty 8: dominika racks 9: enrico ornery 10: hyde anagram And some easier ones for any Cradley fans looking in. 1: Pruce Benhall 2: Bvor Irown 3: Toy Rigg 4: Polin Cratt 5: Hilly Bamill Enjoy

The European Championship final takes place today at Eenrum in the Netherlands. Lots of British Teams involved in this event. here is the line-up Line-up: 1 - Rafael SAN MILLAN / Benedikt Zapf (Deutschland) 2 - Markus VENUS / Markus Heiß (Deutschland) 3 - Wilfred DETZ / Wendy Arling (Nederland) 4 - Aaron VALE / Stephen Vale (Great Britain) 5 - Natasha BARTLETT / Kim Kempa (Great Britain) 6 - Oliver MÖLLER / Dana Frohbös (Deutschland) 7 - Sven HOLSTEN / Bonita van Dijk (Nederland) 8 - Mitch GODDEN / Paul Smith (Great Britain) 9 - Dave CARVILL / Dennis Smit (Great Britain) 10 - William MATTHIJSSEN / Sandra Mollema (Nederland) 11 - Josh GOODWIN / Liam Brown (Great Britain) 12 - Shaun HARVEY / Danny Hogg (Great Britain) 13 - Mike FREDERIKSEN / Steven Grandt (Danmark) Meeting has just started a few minutes ago (12.30 p.m) live result up-dates can be found here https://live.baansportfansite.nl/event/382/ek-zijspan-finale-eenrum.html

On a more serious note: https://newcastle-speedway.co.uk/newcastle-speedway-bid-a-sad-farewell-to-stalwart-supporter-and-backer-peter-gibson/