jeffster

Eat in "Na Hvezde", the pub near the speedway....meals are very cheap, at least last October they were: http://www.sweb.cz/nahvezde/ Menu is "JÍDELÁK"

From recent pictures that I have seen of Tony, in both the speedway star and on the internet re his exploits in the Swedish version of "Come Dancing" or whatever its called, Tony now shaves his head, like myself... So : 1, IF the bloke you saw in the Wetherspoons was totally bald, then yes, it may have been TR. 2, If the bloke you saw wasnt bald, I very much doubt it was Tony

Pollyanna, I believe the dates / meetings are as I described above, but things may change, I guess. We will know when we get there EDIT : www.zlataprilba.cz has the following schedule listed : 3.10. 2008 pátek 34. Zlatá Stuha juniorů začátek 17:00 - Golden Band (AKA Junior Golden Helmet) 4. 10. 2008 MS juniorů - Finále začátek 14:00 (World Under 21 Final) 5. 10. 2008 60. Zlatá přilba města Pardubic začátek 12:30 (Golden Helmet)

No separate qualifiers as such.... The Golden Ribbon ( AKA Under 21 Golden Helmet) is on the Friday, 3rd October The World Under 21 Final is on the Saturday, 4th October Following the World Under 21 Final, there will be the first 4 four heats (one for each qualifying group) of the Golden Helmet itself. The remaining 32 heats of the Golden Helmet will then be staged on Sunday 5th October It is normal practice for the first four heats of the Golden Helmet to be staged after the Saturday meeting, normally the Golden Ribbon, or whatever meeting takes place on the Saturday. This year is the 60th Anniversary of the Golden Helmet, and the addition of the World Under 21 Final makes it a three day festival of speedway,or four, if you include the Tomicek Memorial meeting, taking place at Marketa in Prague on Monday 6th October.

FULL details of Czech Extraleague matches are always available on www.lubostomicek.com

Polish 2nd Division Team, Kolejarz Opole, have announced that Lubos Tomicek will join them for the 2008 season, and Lubos will in fact travel to Opole today to sign his contract. Lubos' team mates at Ople will include Lee Smethills, Brian Lyngso and Peter Kildemand from Denmark, Friedrich Wallner of Austria, and Robert Flis, Piotr Rembas, and Adam Czechowicz, amongst others. Opole will open their season on 29th March, in a home challenge against Turbina Balakovo of Russia. LINK : http://tz.sport.opole.pl and www.lubostomicek.com

On what dates will the meetings be held, Lee ?

Still working on the palace mate...."Phil the Greek" isnt too keen on leaving his large spread in central London...Trying to convince him about all the money he would save on the congestion charge if he moved to another of his places in Norfolk or Scotland...

That boy Nick Morris looks a good prospect Nice lad too, just hope he doesnt pick up his Dad's Brummie accent Looks like the deal done in Pardubice last year to take him to Swindon in oh 2013 or 2014 will pay rich dividends for the Robins... Hope you're all well mate, and give Nick my regards. Neil sends his best wishes to you too. He was well chuffed when I told him about this result last night !

The only date confirmed is the 2008 World Under 21 Final, by the FIM... As the World Under 21 Final is to be staged at Pardubice as part of the 60th Golden Helmet celebrations, unless there are any sudden drastic changes, that also gives a very large clue to the dates of the Golden Helmet weekend

Tommy, I guess it all depends on whether Jawa / The Pardubice Club would rather have the likes of Adams, Crump, Andersen missing from a Sunday staging of the Golden Helmet, as per this year, especially as it will be the 60th anniversary of the meeting next year. Doubtless, the full confirmed schedule will be released in the fullness of time, but at least we know which weekend the meetings will be staged on…

Looking at the dates on "Speedway A-Z" (http://www.speedwaya-z.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007102301), The 2008 World Under 21 Final is currently penned in for Sunday 5th October... I am guessing the meeting will be brought forward 24 hours to Saturday 4th October, with the 60th Golden Helmet taking place on the Sunday itself EDIT - On Second Thoughts, I see the weekend panning out like this : Friday 3rd October - Czech Gold Band (Junior Helmet) Saturday 4th Oct - 60th Czech Golden Helmet Sunday 5th Oct - World Under 21 Final The above schedule would allow the top riders to compete in both the Golden Helmet and the Polish League Play-Offs on the Sunday...

Due to a "major plumbing problem" at the Penzion Zelena Zaba, Chris, Neil and I are now staying at the Hotel Euro, the same as Chris Brown and the Cheetah's crew... Luckily, we managed to get to get the last two rooms in the Euro.

Just a note that the qualification rounds apparently start at 10.00 AM, again according to "Speedway A - Z"

13.00, according to http://www.speedwaya-z.cz/kalendar.php

Looks a nice place from the website, Chris : http://www.hoteleuro.cz

Chris, found a way to sit on the train last year - Go into the restaurant car, and buy "Hemenex" (Ham and Eggs) for just over £1 a plate...Delicious it was too Oh yeah, the Castle, "The Zamecek" ? How could I forget ? Had insect bites to prove that we stayed there....LOL This year we are staying at the "Zelena Zaba" (Green Frog) - www.zelenazaba.cz in Pardubice

The Czech Golden Helmet is on Sunday October 7th at Pardubice.... Its the Golden Band (Junior Golden Helmet) on Saturday October 6th.... As you say, the Lubos Tomicek Memorial (Grandad of new Hammer Lubos...) is in Prague on Monday October 8th... Trains from Pardubice to Prague are very easy..... I have been going to the Golden Helmet every year since 1997, and there are others on the forum with great experience of travelling to Czecho... Email me if you want further info, etc : jeff (at) jeffpovey (dot) com Jeff

Try this as well as Tomaz' suggestion : http://www.speedwaya-z.cz/kalendar.php I dont think the Czech League fixtures have been announced yet, though...

I am with Grachan 100% on this...

I am sure I read in the Reading Chronicle a few weeks back (possibly when I went to the Reading FC V. Hull City game), a quote from John Posselwhite along the lines of "We have a million and one things to do before the season starts, not least of which is getting the stadium ready for the World Cup".... While the article didnt actually say that Reading would be hosting this years World Cup, why bother "getting the stadium ready for the World Cup" if it isnt being staged at Smallmead ? RacerX, can you confirm or deny my thoughts ?

Roosty Dude, How many times do I have to tell ya, dont beat around the bush, and tell it like it is ! Top post mate, as I couldnt understand where Berthoven was coming from either... After all the rumours I had heard on the lists, its nice to finally see the story out in the open mate..... Oh, by the way, your latest vid clips are OK, I spose.....Nah mate, seriously, they are top shelf as usual

Ladies & Gents, The letter below has just landed in my inbox, courtesy of "SpeedwayA-Z" (http://www.speedwaya-z.cz/) Jeff : Dear Sir or Madam, Following the approval from the FIM Management Council, the CCP is very pleased to announce the reintroduction of the Qualification system for the Speedway Grand Prix. In order to be able to start already in 2006, we would need your kind co-operation. We kindly request you to return to us the attached form duly completed and signed. Please ensure that this information reaches the FIM Secretariat at the latest by 18 November 2005. This Qualifying system will consist of at least 2 Qualifying Rounds and a Grand Final. We strongly suggest that you give priority to talented riders with SGP capabilities and be realistic in the number of riders requested, because the number of Qualifying Rounds is limited. Full details and the exact number of meetings of this Championship will be announced as soon as we know the exact numbers or riders requested by each Federation as well as the interest shown by the organisers. The first three riders from the Grand Final will be qualified for the 2007 Individual Speedway World Championship Grand Prix (SGP). You will also find attached the “Candidature for the Organisation of FIM Championship or Prize without a promoter” form which has to be used if your Federation is interested in organising a Qualifying Round or the Grand Final. Please be aware that the dates for the Qualifying Rounds are 8 or 9 July 2006 and the date for the Grand Final is 19 or 20 August 2006. These dates are fixed and cannot be modified. The deadline to send this document is also 18 November 2005 at the latest. Thanking you in advance for your co-operation, With our best regards, Yours sincerely, Christian MERCIER

You would think so, wouldnt you, and having watched the last 9 Golden Helmet meetings, I would love to see a GP at Pardubice, but... I have been told for the last two years while out in Czecho that the Pardubice Club do not think it would make good financial sense to stage a GP at Pardubice... Go figure, as I personally think they would pack the place to the rafters... Hopefully, that situation / thinking will change in the future... Tell you what, though - If ever a GP is staged at Pardubice, you will have to book your accomodation VERY early, or stay in Prague / wherever, and take the train to Pardubice...

The meeting is being held next Saturday, in Pardubice, Czech Republic