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Honestly If you read through the earlier posts I have been pointing this out for some months now and a great deal will depend on how the Brexit negotiations pan out and if we get a soft Brexit that keeps travel pretty free and relaxed across borders and allows for Citizens from the EU/UK to keep comparative rights they have now; like fast tracking through immigration; or if we end up with a hard Brexit and we go on World Trade Organisation Terms which will result in all borders tightening up between the EU and the UK and anyone travelling in and out of the UK will be standing in queues to get in and out of EU countries. A Finnish colleague who travelled from Spain to Germany with an Asian colleague walked through passport control unencumbered as an EU citizen the Asian colleague took just over 3 hours to clear passport control and immigration (both live in the UK but one travels on an Indian passport the other a Finnish one)!!! Brits will potentially end up in the "Non EU Citizen" line and have to go through immigration and passport control and of course the process will be reciprocated this end. (we cant have those Johnny Foreigners treating us Brits like TCN's) (can we?) There are ways (potentially) at the moment to get around this work permit situation and if you get bored pick any EU country and pretend that you are trying to comply with the new UK rules and go through the process on the gov.uk web site (doesn't cost anything) at https://www.gov.uk/transition this actually shows you the hoops EU citizens will have to jump through to live and work here. Potentially setting up as a Sole Trader business in the UK with a UK Business address would allow riders to ride without a Visa/work permit. Again being seen as a UK resident would negate the need of a work permit and that's about it. Oh and the deadline for applying is 30 June 2021 and you must have started living in the UK by 31 December 2020. Not much time left eh!!! If anyone has been cute (and I do know of one rider who has become a UK Sole Trader) they will avoid the need for a work permit (possibly). If not then from 1 January 2021 each club using a non UK citizen will need to have a sponsor licence to hire most workers from outside the UK and those personnel will need a Visa/Work permit to operate here. As you correctly infer from 1 January 2021, freedom of movement between the UK and EU will end and the UK will introduce an immigration system that will treat all applicants equally (allegedly), regardless of where they come from (aye righto). Any club who wants to recruit from outside the UK, (excluding Irish citizens), will need to apply for permission first to use this rider and will need to obtain a sponsors licence. Honestly this Brexit carry on is an absolute can of worms and here is another link to look at for what is required from an employers (or clubs) perspective https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruiting-people-from-outside-the-uk-from-1-january-2021 and if a club does not already have a sponsor licence in place these clubs will need to consider the Home Office sponsor licence application fee which is £536 (for small companies/charitable sponsors with 50 employees or fewer and annual turnover of £10.2 million or less) (so basically a Speedway club) and the form takes about 30 mins to complete. The riders... well this is where the fun starts as every Tier 2 migrant must be assigned a valid Certificate of Sponsorship – commonly referred to as a ‘CoS’. Each certificate costs £199. This fee is the same whether the certificate is assigned for a 1 or 5 year period. Then there is the Home Office application fee and each applicant will be subject to a Home Office application fee which will be dependent on the type of visa they are applying for. The amount due will also be dependent on the length of the visa being applied for and whether the application is being made within the UK or from outside and these fees range from £464 - £1,408. If the application is refused, it is unlikely this fee will be refunded. Once you have cleared that hurdle there is an Immigration Health Surcharge (‘IHS’) which is a fee of £400 per applicant per year which is payable when the application is submitted. For example, if an applicant is applying for a three year visa, they will be required to pay an IHS fee of £1,200. Now riders do pay insurance because Speedway is a dangerous sport so I am not sure where this charge will sit however this fee is a surcharge levied by the Home Office for the migrant’s use of the National Health Service (‘NHS’) during their time in the UK. If refused, this fee should be refunded, although there can be a processing delay. Then there is the Immigration Skills Charge and this charge was introduced on 6 April 2017 and is used to address skills gaps in the UK workforce now could not having enough UK riders be classed as a "Skills Gap". This Charge is due each time a CoS (see above) is issued. The fee requested depends on the size and type of the sponsor and the length of employment stated on the CoS issued. If the company is classed as a small or charitable sponsor (as defined in regulation 2) the fee is £364 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months plus £182 for each subsequent 6 month period stated on the CoS. In all other cases, the fee is £1,000 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months plus £500 for each subsequent 6 month period stated on the CoS. If a club sponsored a migrant/rider for 3 years, for instance, the fee would be £1,092. Now most of the above I have pulled off the internet in a five minute search and from having to do this for one of our employees and it is only an indication of the fee summary which is for guidance only and is definitely "subject to change" the nearer we get to 1st Jan 2021 and Brexit. However it does give an indication of the "Slaver" that clubs will need to go through just to get a foreign rider into the UK. Now some clubs are already doing this and following all the processes and as stated I believe the process will either be tightened up further or slightly relaxed depending on what type of Brexit deal we get. Oh and of course the web site did state Home Office Fees are subject to change (which is usually a euphemism for "if we get lots of them we will put the price up). So from Jan 1 there will be an additional cost involved in employing riders from the EU that some clubs may find to much to bear... but as you rightly say work permits will be required to race in the UK and all you have to do is look at the commonwealth countries to see what type of criteria will be needed to race in the UK; it may work against (and stop) many of the young Scandinavians who used to come over to do their apprenticeship in this country which will be a shame. Aye all those little "Englanders" "two world wars and one world cup do da"; coming home to roost now eh... if you think we were hated in Europe before just wait until we get this Brexit malarkey out of the way... we will never get another point in Eurovision ever again... Regards THJ

A pity... Life is far too short to keep holding grudges..

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Would love rebels to continue with Wednesday night's because of M5 problems,so would go to Plymouth instead as not so bad from my house,but know Somerset have to best for the club,as long as covid doesn't much it all up

On top all the other things mentioned John, are promoters going to be geared up for a cashless society?,,, There may have been cash deals that slipped under the VAT radar.

Four and twenty of them were baked in a pie.

Oooooòh am so tempted but when a guess right a get accused of spoiling the fun... So mums the word from THJ.. But I prefer the intelligent guess with a bit of reason behind it rather than pick 7 riders whose averages add up to 53 and wouldn't come to Newcastle as long as they had a hole in their posterior... you know the type... so here goes... 1. Freddie Lindgren 8.25 2. Ludvig Lindgren 4.20 3. Richie Worrall 8.11 4. Stevie Worrall 7.39 5. Kenneth Bjerre 6.25 6 Lasse Bjerre 4.05 7. James Wright 4.00 Total 42.25 with 0.25 to spare... The reason behind the team is we will only have half the travel cost cos they can all pair off and when James comes up he can drop Charlie off at Redcar on the way and save on travell there as well. Who needs @Dandelion it's Simples... Regards THJ

Indeed, I live not far from Goodwood car circuit and they aren't allowed a permanent structure, other than the listed ones that have been there for decades, but put up ( and take down) a fair number of large temporary stands every year.

The extra turnstile! Been a mainstay at SOME tracks since time began. That's a very good point, as people won't carry cash for programmes, burgers, drinks, as well as admission.

As Glasgow started world war 3 to get Fridays ( “ We are running Fridays or we will sue ) I can’t see them changing now. Godfrey did the same ( “ I’m running Fridays or I close “ ) Redcar probably can’t do regular Sundays because of the closeness of Newcastle and the car park is shared with the other race track ( plus shared staff, crowd etc ). Would make no sense whatsoever to let Somerset run on a Friday. But the mafia will do what suits them and sod the rest, as Workington found out to their cost.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. 12 Teams in the League Tuesday - Kent Wednesday - Poole / Brummies Friday - Edinburgh / Glasgow / Redcar / Scunthorpe / SOMERSET Saturday - Berwick / Eastbourne / Leicester Sunday - Newcastle So presumably the other 4 Friday Clubs take precedence over Somerset for CL Fixtures as they are changing dates?. Leaves most Friday's with 10 Teams therefore in action? You only need a few Friday rain-offs and it will be complete carnage. Would only also need one of the Teams not involved to refuse to release Guests and it would be a complete joke! As Workington / Lakeside found out the Chairman does not like to be left without Guest options. The fact this is a Management Committee Member Club really does not look good for the transparency of the Sport. Unless of course one of the other Friday Clubs are seeking to change their race night? Could Redcar move to Saturday or Sunday , could Glasgow move to Saturday or Sunday, especially as most foreigners won't be back so needed on the Continent Will have to wait for it to all come out in the wash!

What has gone largely unsaid over the years was Zenon's appearance at this meeting was his first for the Hawks since 1976 and he was replacing Vic Harding so terribly killed just a few weeks before. Most Hackney fans never truly recovered from the loss of Vic but Zenon's arrival certainly had a major impact on restoring the clubs soul and making the healing process a little less raw. A month later, he beat Olsen from the back smashing the Track record in the process and Zenon was truly back!

I would say that the current promotion are professional enough and business savvy enough not to fall foul of the current U.K. tax system... unlike the previous Dummkopfs who ran the spot... Just saying like... Regards THJ

It was always expected the sport would end up like like it has. The punters have always been regarded as mugs, where the promoters and riders think only of themselves. Rather then focus on the bigger picture as to why the fans are drifting away, their answer has always been to increase the cost of admission . Thinking back to those years when speedway was a full house, even then the stadiums was in desperate need of repairs. Some of the toilets were atrocious. Not fit for the purpose. When I see on the television those wonderful stadiums in Poland I marvel at the vast spectators in those wonderful appeasing vantage points, protected from the elements so enabling to be dressed in casual clothes, you then realise how far behind we have been for years. We are expected to go to our dated stadiums, pay top dollar, get mediocre racing, watching meeting that dragon for hours. Its little wonder this sport has all but died....

Reading a biography of the travel writer Norman Lewis, who raced Bugatti cars in the 1920s and 30s. He also tried his hand at speedway at what was said to be the first meeting in England at High Beech, Epping Forest, in February 1928 before tracks became established at Harringay and White City. The meeting was said not to have been advertised but it drew a crowd of 25,000 and 42 riders rode in 50 races. Before his engine “exploded” Norman came last in every race he rode, bar one when “two of the four contestants crashed”. I assume he came second! No idea how accurate this is!

Is anyone else having trouble with Google translate, doesn't seem to be working for me at the moment....

A like the way ya thinking Ruff but av seen the YouTube of Freddie singing so we will get him on the club and pub circuit Ludde can go to Warbys and need the dough to make the baps... the two Wozzas are like the Trotters off "only fools and horses" so they will get by... the Bjerres can do Snow White owa the Christmas as two of the 7 and then become Grape Tredders making the Chateau Gallowgate from the grapes grown on the banks of the Tyne and if James is owt like their kid we can get him a job in Greggs putting the holes in the doughnuts... Jobs a good un as the saying goes... Regards THJ...

Looks good, the non brits could maybe come over as fruit pickers, but I could see James and Charlie squabbling over who drives there and who drives back.

As we now have two vacancies in next season's team, I'm disappointed that @Dandelion hasn't come up with any suggestions yet.

Absolutely re Vic and Zenon's arrival. I recalled that race back to him with Olsen and breaking track record 20 plus later. He reminded me Olsen was World Champion at the time ! Zenon just turbo charged past him back the back straight and the place went mad !!

I dont think the beautiful new stand is considered a fixed building/structure. From what I saw and heard, the promotion built it as a kit. So it would qualify as a temporary structure.

'The extra turnstile',,, I have heard it mentioned. It could be well possible for businesses to run with a 'card only facility',,, a mean like, a can spent 49p on me card on the supermarket to avoid the massive queue to pay cash at the one till in lidl, lol. There's even now cards for kids to use, 'Go Henry' (dunno wherever they thought of that name),,, but using a card to pay for stuff might, mean that you don't leave a 'tip'. Many folk appreciate a little bit extra in the form of 'tips' and might not declare it. A might just be guessing, but am sure that these 'tips' might amount to quite a bit and maybe government's want a slice of that pie. Doing away with cash would make it easier to see what's coming and going, in the new digital world, (The Matrix),but it could also see a lot of businesses struggle.

Zenons Funeral tomorrow at 830 UK time youtube stream Please try to join if you are able so we have a good turn out Thanks Chris

Yeh, and while these are tributes to the late great Zenon Plech, for info: the meeting was the Inter League 4's and Ivan Mauger wasn't scheduled to ride for Hull in any case, other teams lost their top riders for whatever reasons. Either way, Zenon made the journey from the World Pairs in Denmark, was present and correct on that very wet day in Sheffield and rode his best for his team, which being his first meeting for the Hawks for 3 years is all the more commendable....

Went to a wedding in Cheshire a good few years ago and to my surprise PC was doing the cars - had a nice chat with him and he signed my invitation- still got it somewhere - a lovely bloke!

Surely a precedence was set when God almighty Godfrey refused Workingtons move to a Friday night track as just too any tracks wanting Fridays. Nothings changed other than it’s a fellow committee member asking so..... we all know how this works!

Thought you only had a bath on special occasions Geoff ??

Deffo forum... lol...

It was good Tim , another regular that’s always a good read.

Blueherb speaks for most of us I think. Shame about Covatti, but not a surprise. He will not be the only rider from Europe not racing in UK in 2021. Next season will see some big changes, but it will also be a time for all our lives to settle down to normality and I would expect riders like Covatti to return to UK in 2022. I don't fully understand the things that Poland want to do that will affect us. In any case the number of riders rushing about all over Europe every week will not be the same as I'm sure that the cost of travel will increase.

No bath night with my comic again tonight

No star again getting the norm now not turning up on Thursday .

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I know that I'm being very simplistic with my view but it may present an opportunity for speedway to get back to some sort of basics?

Silver played his part by selling to a bloke who had no idea about the sport and had no attachment to the sport or club. A decision which has ultimately seen the demise of the club. Warren Scott had no real interest and then left the running of the club to Steve Jenson who again had no idea about the sport and came across as completely out of his depth. Had all the personality of a wet lettuce and employed people like Peter Schroeck who was out of his depth. Also seems he overpaid with wages to Harris, Nicholls, KK etc causing issues in the second season in the top flight. The whole situation is an absolute disgrace and sums up the sport and the prats running it. A track with unlimited restrictions, history in the sport and a profitable business for nearly 20 years. Then half a season of financial issues (due to being forced to run on a weekday by the BSPA) and the track is lost and ripped out within a couple of years. Chapman and Godfrey were an abomination in charge of the sport and played a huge part in the demise as well. Two more incompetent fools would be hard to find. Bringing fixed race nights nearly ruined many clubs and cost Rye. Rye has never been a midweek club and it was never going to work. After very good crowds in 2017(racing on Fridays/Saturdays) and only just missing out on the playoffs, you can't blame BMR for giving it ago in the top league again but the rule bought in killed the club. For the BSPA to then just chuck the club out midseason and wash their hands of the club was a disgrace. I wouldn't have thought Silver very rarely ever lost money at Rye and Jenson confirmed the finances were in good shape after the first season in the top flight. Three months of problems and the decisions of the BSPA meant the bulldozers have moved in eventually. With idiots like Godfrey still in charge of the sport, there is no hope. This is the bloke who stopped clubs running on their usual nights in case he needed guests for his club... How did the bloke in there now, Ricky Musk get hold of the venue off BMR? Why were the BSPA not in touch with BMR as soon as they knew they had problems and taking on the stadium or getting another promoter in there? They sat on their backsides and let someone like Keven Jolly try and get a deal to race at a venue where speedway was the number one priority at the venue for many years The situation at Rye should make every fan who has an interest in the sport very, very angry. A club with a long history and who had very healthy crowds in 2017 are now lost forever. A sad indictment on the sport.