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The one I really liked was the Belle Vue one. Three colours but very distinctive and still clear if seen from one end of a big track to the other. Race jackets then were a huge part of the identity of a team. I don’t like to be a moaner but today’s jackets/race suits are an indistinct mish mash of colour, words and small logos which mean absolutely *£@* all. I think it has been forgotten that they were primarily for the benefit of the customers like a lot else from the days when the sport as a whole recognised that the customers were the main reason everyone else was there. whatever is written on today’s jackets they can never match the simple spectacle of seeing (say) two from Belle Vue and two from Wimbledon battling it out on the track under the lights on an evening in the 60s.

Well worth a listen I would suggest....

Ivan Mauger 11.67 for Belle Vue, 1969.

No the employee gets it for 50 pence a bottle the punter pays 450% more at £2.75 a bottle... Soupy prefers the draft ale from the pub... The bottle price actually makes the draft price in Spoons look like a good deal... I will keep an eye out for it and give it a go... when given the chance that is... Regards THJ

Well how much do you pay for it in the pub? Is that not the answer?

I'm in Catton, nr Allendale - Allendale Brewery doing home deliveries

This topic has been covered a million times on here and in the speedway press. Sadly those in the position to make real either won't or can't. No my own personal take on the sport. One spring evening in 1989 I was taken to my local track Ipswich by a family friend at the age of 12. I was instantly hooked and gave up watching football to go every week. The sound the smell the action on track was all very exciting compared to football. At that time the crowd cheering or jeering and the banter with the rival fans who were next to you was great. This was also apparent at other tracks I visited following the witches Hackney, Peterborough during those first two seasons and then Kings Lynn in 91. Atmosphere and passion from the crowd and the riders. Those first two seasons gave me my first and only speedway heros Loram, Moggo and oddly given he rode for the opposition Galvin. The national league days at Foxhall of 89,90 were superb so many different riders most clubs visited once a season the crowd's were good and as I said passion and atmosphere, and as several school mates alos went Friday was speedway discussion day. As I went though my teenage years and into my early 20s friendships were formed that stand to this day and the social side of speedway came to the for. For me the first time I became aware of speedway politics was the winter of 98,99 when dispite being agreed the year before the league champions could no longer keep their team. After that various micky mouse decisions that the BSPA made over a 10 year period drove me away as a regular the social group that used to go went once last year. Since my last ever present season of 2007 I have been to around 15 home meetings. That group of friends once ever presents most have totally walked away a few like me do one or two a year. For me the key points for my decline in intrest are the lack of passion from the riders for their team, doubling up and down the over use of guests and the rocket ship equipment that is not suited to the UK tracks. The BSPA had a superb opportunity to re invent the sport with the sky money and turn it into a proper professional sport between 199 and 2006 but failed to capitalise on it. Looking back reading speedway books etc the infighting with the BSPA seems to have been going on for years, John berry's books certainly show that. So will the sport change or die sadly given the evidence of how the BSPA operates both now and historically it will die out. In my own personal opinion the most professionally run league set up this county had was the old national league. I want nothing more than to go along to a meeting a get the wow I have to come next week feeling and become hooked again, instead of the see you next year.

I will give you a example, this year I'm helping Drew Kemp out (felt he was my best option for up & coming young English rider) I have put in the best part of £20.000 & not even scratched the surface as far as all his equipment being at the level it needs to be. For example 1 new Blixt carb off Joe Hughes £800, that gives you a idea just how much outlay is needed

Just to add, that when i was researching for my book, "75 Years of Eastbourne Speedway", I spent many happy days at the Colindale Newspaper Library searching through the Eastbourne Gazette and Eastbourne Courier files. I had read Homes of British Speedway, so I started my search for any mentions of speedway or dirt track racing at Arlington at the beginning of August 1928. The first mention I found, was the one I quoted above from 5 October 1928. There was absolutely nothing about speedway or dirt track racing before that. Honest, guv.

Firstly before I get into the subject , I just realised I am referring to things 55 years ago. That would be like me meeting an old geezer at Speedway in 1965 nattering on about events in 1910 FFS-how come time has gone by so quickly!! There was a thread about race jackets of the 70's etc. I hate the modern jackets with sponsors names and busy writing etc. and want to mention the simpler jackets of the mid sixties. I am old enough to recall Hackney in blue and red quarters with a gold sash from right to left (or was it the other way)-the checker board -which I thought too busy came later. I liked the simple designs -the green and white CH for Cradley (great)- the unadorned skull and crossbones of Poole(also great)- the black and amber quarters of Newport and the red and white quarters of the Bears. The great Black and White Diamond of Newcastle etc etc. My candidate for the best race jacket though was the Sheffield Tigers of 1965- see the front cover of Speedway Star 18 June 1965 with Jack Kitchen talking to Dick Fisher of Belle Vue- Jack is wearing the jacket I am referring to. Are any other forumlanders recalling this time -many other jackets of course West Ham, Belle Vue, Wimbledon etc.-all distinctive and continued for many years!! BTW for Tigers fans -always thought Sheffield had a strong team and enjoyed their visits to Long Eaton and Newport. I must be a traditionalist-I even got pissed off even Long Eaton changed the colour of their Archer from green to red.

Ask a silly question So, the price can double,(easily),,, depending on which establishment you purchase it from

Thanks for the link Rusky, enjoyed that, although Suzi could've been better prepared with her questions it's good to get an insight into the sport and it's stars.

When lockdown kicked in my local starting selling pints at £2.50 to take home usually £3.00 in the pub but as much as I wanted it to taste the same it didn't. They stopped the take away service pretty quick

Did you ever see a copy of the programme for the first meeting Norbold, with the Opening Ceremony referred to?

No, what are you posting will be leaving most cringing that you are still pushing on it, let alone that you thought it was a good idea in the first place

It all depends on which pub you go into,Spoons can be £1.95 to £2.45 and anywhere else from £3.80 upwards.Also that is a pint and not a bottle and I never buy bottles in pubs.A bottle off the brewery £2.75 for 500 ml and a pint is 568 ml.

Trujillo had a best time of 75.2 in 1936, but George Newton had set a record of 73.8 on 10th May that year, with 'Bill Bennett' recording 73.6 on 11th October 1936. On 28th March 1937 Bennett set a new record of 68.8. 'Bill Bennett' was, in fact, George Newton. This record was still standing in 1950, as indicated in the newspaper report for the meeting on 30th July, when Harold McNaughton went close with 69.4. Subsequent record holders in the 1950s were Vic Ridgeon 68.4 (15.5.55), Mike Broadbank 67.8 (15.5.55), Merv Hannan 67.2 (26.6.55), Eric Hockaday 66.0 (30.6.56), equalled by Jimmy Heard, Frank Bettis (19.5.57), Leo McAuliffe (8.6.58) and Ivan Mauger (28.9.58), before being broken by Colin Gooddy with 65.2 (19.4.59).

It’s no ones fault we are in this predicament, there are so many grey areas regarding what we can do or even claim for. BSI and the individual promoters cannot be blamed per se, it’s that there are so many variations between associated companies. One will “help” and another chooses to ignore! All we can do is simply ask, hopefully we get the right answer, it is what it is!

I think it`s unreasonable of you to blame BSI for Warsaw refunds- they are not the promoters of this GP - the PZM are and as you say have promised to refund ticket holders who cannot make the restaging date( and no doubt the re restaging date !!) I would suggest you give them a bit longer to announce how they will do it. The president of the PZM is Michal Sikora as listed here https://www.pzm.pl/o-nas/biuro- you could try and politely ask him via social media (or any of the other names listed) if they can give you an answer to when refunds will start to be issued.

I remember a few seasons back Doyley started with a near 14 point average

But GM engine is basically standard, example Peter Johns only builds one type of engine & that's GP standard for around £5.500 & lets be honest in motor sports that's very cheap. Maybe it could be bought even cheaper in Poland of say Ash-Tech or Ryszard Kowalski as based in Poland, labour & overheads much lower

These numbers do really suggest the time has to be right for 'one make' standardised engine leagues doesnt it? The generosity of the sponsors is incredible but wouldn't all this sponsorship going to the clubs rather than individual riders help the sport overall in the UK? Seven riders all bringing in an average £70k between them would get a good few standard machines and leave money for spare parts and a mechanic to collectively look after them. And maybe enough to rent a club van to take all machines to the race meets? Riders could then be salaried, with payments reflecting their position in the team, but with the obvious lack of money being needed to pay for their kit which must make up a significant part of their remuneration package now.. All bikes to have their own passport showing photos, serial numbers etc. And any changes needing authorisation from the governing body, all logged, all with visual evidence and all signed off each meeting by the machine examiner that it all tallies with their records.. Similar to the way F1 shoehorns an individual sport into a team framework. With drivers often paying for their ride by bringing in team sponsorship and then they get paid a 'wage' to drive, and any changes to engines etc must get authorisation.. At the moment it does seem to be a race to no where given one rider will buy one top of the range piece of kit, so the others will also buy it to keep up, meaning nobody has actually moved forward, but in fact are all actually back to square one. The only thing therefore moving forwards are the costs collectively across the board, with seemingly no extra punters coming through the door to pay for them.. There must be hundreds of thousands of pounds given to individual riders in the UK by generous backers each year, so maybe it could deliver a better long term return for the sport, and obviously the riders, if it was used more collectively to pay the sports race meet costs and be used for marketing the sport nationally?

Not so many in that area as I am more west Hexham way but I did get lost after doing the quayside and walked along the Ouseburn to the Free Trade and managed to find the Brinkburn brewery.

Takes me ages to type and THJ beat me to it. pubsnewcastle.co.uk

About 5 roughly .Tyne bank tap room375 Walkergate located in St. Peter’s social club ltd,Anarchy Brew Tap Walkergate,Tyne Bank tap on walker road,Full circle brew tap in hoults yard Walker road and finally the Heaton tap in East Heaton.I feel like a real ale trip now lol

Honestly Mal these Micro Breweries will not be your bag mate; they are far to expensive for a tight "arris" like your good self... I mentioned yesterday Lidl Byker 20 Bottles of Stella £9.99 is more you for sure... but never mind if you want to try a bit of culture and hit some local ones just to say you have been... there is the Anarchy Brew Co at the Benfield Business Park, https://anarchybrewco.com/taproom/ Nice food and The Boot Boy Brown Ale is very tasty; oh and a warning they don't do full pints!! beer comes in 1/3 and 2/3 pint glasses!!! (three good swallies and a big one has gone) If you want something cheaper you can try the Middle Club on Walker Road where you will find the Tyne Bank Brewery & Tap Room which actual name is the St Peters Club rather than the Middle Club for the uninitiated https://en-gb.facebook.com/stpetersclub/ haven't been in the Middle Club for a long time now but it was always a canny spot. The Tyne Bank Brewery & Tap Room was the one originally on Brinkburn Street (I think) and one of the first Micro Breweries in the local area and the first one I ever tried until they went into the club but they still brew the beer round the back (again I think) on Brinkburn Street. So it doesn't travel very far... around 20 metres I reckon (if that) Then there is the new one which I have been made aware of but haven't been to yet in Hoult's Yard but Charlie Hoult has been raving about it on Linked-in and once the ban is lifted and the Pubs open back up again I will be giving it a go... this one is called the Full Circle Brew Co https://fullcirclebrew.co.uk/ and another spot on the same site The Pip Stop https://www.thepipstop.co.uk/ but I think The Pip Stop is more of an outlet for the stuff rather than a micro brewery but as I say I will give those two a go and see what the craic is once we get back to some sort of normality... If you want an invite when I go let me know and the first round is on me... That goes for anyone else who fancies a pint its an open invite and all three of these spots are within a 2 mile radius of Brough Park just for a reference... Regards THJ

Poles don't need Crowds for top League, a bit like PL soccer, is a small % of turnover, they have massive TV / Sponsor deal and that will cover costs for a season and also keeps Sponsors and TV happy.

I honestly feel for you spending the amount you have & then having the engine let go

if you go on to Joe Hughes web site, it will give you a idea just how expensive items are. I do a lot of Polish league meetings, the likes of Bartosz Smektala even at his age, the team & equipment he has is just mind blowing!!

The Long Eaton (1965-67) the one with the Archer, and the Wolverhampton Wolves with blood dripping down its mouth are both also excellent designs. The Sheffield 1965-66 race jacket is certainly striking. And I also agree with steve roberts the Oxford Cheetah design is probably my favourite Oxford design.

Wow. Really? I presume Charles must be the '30k' rider he descibes given his level.. (?) And 30k is still a staggering amount to outlay to compete in competitions that will often have a good deal less than 1000 people watching, (never mind paying out 'far more' as you suggest)... If you DU you will be racing around 70 to 80 times a season so a grand a night would be pretty much the minimum on average you would need I would think to make an outlay like that worth your while... And you can also see why DU (and guesting as well), needs to be available as you can't see either league being sufficient in isolation over here, to justify that amount of money being spent (unless you have overseas contracts).. I presume that kit will then get sold on at the end of the season to help finance the purchase of new for the following year? If so that will offset some individuals costs obviously, but even so there must still be collectively an astonishing amount of money overall being spent each year.. All to seemingly win an ultimate race to the bottom when you look at the attendance levels, track closures over the past few years, vast sums of money put in by some promoters to stay open, and general interest in the sport over here.. Surely reducing these costs (by significant numbers) to compete, must be the largest priority to assist the sports future?

Spot on, Ivan followed by Hans..

For obvious reason I always liked the "Cheetahs" jacket from that era...simple but effective.

Plus the Duke's residence, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

A washed everything a had even me sel... ya can get bored once in ya life on a warm day and regret it for ever... a even found and filled me washer bottle... Regards THJ

I am sure many feel exactly the same as you, I do. Until you get four riders albeit with various levels of skill on standard bikes rather than riders having to compete with those who have faster bikes because they have deeper pockets than a team mate it will never change. If they all start on a level playing field as far as equipment is concerned the product may be less processional. (Years back riders on track spare could win races). You have too many variants from machines through to the weight of riders and if that is to continue then without some sort of handicap so riders with different skills/equipment start at different points on the track again you will invariably be left with the gate and go merchants and the rest simply following the leader. Every track will be the same for each rider on the night so it is a case of getting on with it, that is not an excuse yet you regularly hear from riders who blame a track but it is probably more a case of the bikes simply not set up for the conditions. Speedway is well past its sell by date as it stands and needs freshening as a competitive sport if it is to flourish going forward. A fickle fan base or followers do nothing for those who run the sport and would like to make changes but dare not which alas is another reason why Speedway is stuck with an old outdated format and no new people coming through the gates. As a team sport, it has no credibility given you can get a rider participate in three different leagues in the U.K. and then ride for an opposing team the following night. The only way is go back to individual racing and re-build the league structure in a few years time. If any racing is to take place this year, then this is the time to experiment. With the way other countries are going to operate and cross border movements restricted the U.K. has no choice and at the same time no better opportunity than to try something different

God loves a trier... a divin"t wash me own vehicles let alone anyone else's... al pay ye to recommend someone else... Regards THJ

Do you wanna wash me van then? Al pay ye...

ALL very true ... and once again our sincere thanks to everyone who is sticking by SS through these difficult times.It is much appreciated.

I've been taking the Star since the early 70's, firstly ordered through my local newsagent, more recently on postal subscription, then last week for the first time on digital subscription. Like, I suspect many others, I was wary of "going digital" but because of the post being a bit unreliable in these difficult times I thought I'd give it a go. Wow! I wish I'd done it years ago, ok it feels a bit weird at first not having a paper copy in your hand, but you soon get over that and a big plus if your reading on a tablet and the print is a bit small you can just enlarge it to suit (useful for us old 'uns!) also great to have instant access to back issues. Anybody thinking about digital, I would say, try it, I don't think you'll regret it, and your copy is there first thing every Thursday, guaranteed!

You might say you’ve “invested” £30k in a van when in reality you’ve paid a £1,000 deposit and £200 a month.

I had an email from the Uni booking team on 03/04/20 saying if the event is cancelled, they are waiving their usual T&C’s and you will get a refund.

I have had a one way system in my store for six weeks.. Plenty of arrows on the floor and someone to advise you which way to go as you walk in.. Every day we tell plenty of people they are going the wrong way.. With the usual response "oh, that's what the arrows mean".. The country is sadly full of morons who will now decide "lockdown is over".. You cannot tell people to look after themselves as many are quite incapable of doing so due to being simply thick.. Chaos will no doubt ensue, and the Govt will be blamed for effectively asking people to behave like adults..

That'll be the "ridiculous" Polish contracts that are still paying the riders you've mentioned plenty more money than they'd be on with their normal UK contracts despite a hefty Polish pay cut to reflect TV-money only rather than gate-receipts as well. All this at a time when the Poles are on the verge of racing while there is absolutely no chance of any UK action before August given the latest government hints and the plans already published of other UK sports. Which of these statistics is the more "ridiculous" ? - Polish coronavirus deaths so far, 21 per million-population - UK , 460 per million-population !! "Ridiculous Polish contracts" or ridiculous for riders and their machinery not to go and earn some good money with no alternatives elsewhere for at least the next 3 months that's only risking missing out on a few weeks of ordinary money in the UK that might never take place anyway. ? !! One other thing, looking ahead to 2021 - if you don't make the effort to ride in Poland this year, good luck getting the deal you want there next year when hopefully all of speedway is returning much closer to pre-coronavirus days. It's only your UK-blinkered view that's hopelessly naive and "ridiculous", not the Polish contracts given the current coronavirus circumstances.

Personally think the star has become a better value magazine during these times. Love the stars of tomorrow pieces keep up the good work

It is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of Gordon Day. He was associated with Poole speedway for many many years, as press officer and historian. He was a walking speedway encyclopedia, and also a very good guitarist Everybody at poole speedway is shocked and saddened. My condolences go out to Barbara and the family. RIP Gordon Day

Think the Poles are hoping to get fans into their Stadiums soon, if that doesn't happen it could be a massive mistake as it will cost them a small fortune, with no way of recouping their outlay.