George Dodds

To be honest Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports are all closer to Berwick than Stansted or Gatwick are to the rest of speedway - and there's not the M25/Dartford Crossing snarl ups to content with either but you're right for anyone south of Sheffield it's akin to travelling to beyond the north pole

not sure they need to be National League but would like to see British and under-21 at reserve - which may not be quite the same. They do not have to be protected for the season - ie they can move up into the main body of the team - but personally I would allow them to stay at six and seven all season.

Welcome back to the second tier you mean - I kinda think that lots on here are unaware that Poole spent five years in the old National League in the mid-1980s, even one when they weren't Pirates. Now a repeat of the 1989 KO Cup Final would be rather pleasant - especially the crowds.

I have you admire your advanced sense of irony bearing in mind the avatar you choose

If only!!! Population 12,050 at the last census ... around 35,000 if you throw a 30-mile radius north, south and west . Biggest problems is that population is relatively lowly paid and largely in hourly/seasonal work which means their disposable income is limited and not guaranteed. There are few national companies and those that are here have little or no interest in backing professional sport in the town. Shielfield has always been fast and tight - it used to be considerably longer - but one of the problems is that a lot of riders are beaten before they arrive - or just can't be bothered to try if they miss the gate. Sheffield, Leicester, Craig Cook, Stevie Worrall, Ben Barker have all shown this year that it is possible to both race and pass here - Rory Schlein, Edinburgh and many others have shown that they either haven't got the ability or can't be bothered to compete.

If you actually look at the touchline markings this season you might have noticed that the football pitch was considerably narrower at the start of the season - probably about three-quarters of a metre. I was told from a vaguely reliable source that it is now the absolute minimum width allowable. Football teams cannot change the dimensions of their playing area during the season. If you look at most modern football stadia these days the areas outside the actual white lines are almost always artificial turf. Presumably if the cost was not prohibitive that could be employed at Shielfield too allowing the track to be widened up to the actual white lines. All that would be needed was the desire of Rangers to allow it happen and, presumably, the Bandits to pay for it.

can't believe they didn't contact you before arranging it - disgaceful

Berwick that's why he's training to be a retained fireman in the town (Berwick programme and Speedway Star about five weeks ago).

Berwick?

You're welcome

different opinion I can put up with ... different planet, different language is a different story altogether.

would be surprise if there's more than one card in it ... and even that's a blank

yeah ... I think I got that thanks

Jye Etheridge's take on the matter - from his Facebook page. Mind you what would he know about what went on compared to those on the BSF "IN the know" ? "... obviously it ended in a dramatic heat 15 race with me and Craig and we are good mates their was contact going into the first turn and with the shape of Berwick and how tight it is their was no way I could have stayed on and craig did apologise after the meeting, I hope this puts all the speedway fans to sleep easier that know how to ride faster then us and think I just jumped off the bike going into the turn to get Cook excluded from the re run." So to paraphrase a racer tried to race, desperate to get his team the point which may be vital come the end of the season; it went wrong, he knocked someone off, got excluded, stayed out of trouble, was waiting to talk to the other rider at the pits gate, at some point apologised. What sort of example was that to youngsters who may have been watching? Little bit harsh for Jye to be advocating that speedway fans should be put to sleep ... but quite mild compared to some of the punishment being called for against Cookie by some. ... now the Glasgow team manager - he might want to take a look at himself

we're thinking of putting your covers down

first prize a dictionary ... or a new record (or download/cd however the hip kids listen to music these days )

excellent idea ... put my 10p down for 30 heats

explain?

No but you can pay the full admission price (£30, £25 concession) and then, if you wish to leave, get a £13 refund (£12 concessions) between the end of the first match and the Glasgow meeting beginning.

£17 adults, £13 concessions, accompanied children free. Turnstiles will re-open in the interval between meetings. We estimate (OK we're guessing!!) the Glasgow match will start around 8pm. There has to be a 20 minute break between the end of Edinburgh and the Tigers (to allow preparations for the away side) so gates re-opening around 7.40 (probably, hopefully!)

Sheffield - started 7.30pm and usually bombing across the platforms to get the last train back to Donny at 10.18

... and yet back in the "golden" days the tractors came out at the end of every race and did a couple of laps. Meetings dragged on for two hours - only 13 heats in those days too - but everything was sunshine and lollipops. Admittedly at most tracks the music being played today is the same as we listened to as the tractors tootled round in the 1970s

#spenditonsarah (initially was going to be #splash .... but that sounded a bit cornhill special needs)

Northumberland County Council owns the car park and is responsible for booking events in. In fairness to them this was originally a reserved date so when they agreed the fairground there was no speedway or football planned for the day. Without the football it is a little easier to get control of the rest of the parking areas earlier than last week and there will be plenty of secure space for riders and spectators.

taken from the club's Facebook feed BANDITS SUPER SATURDAY | All you need to know... Here’s a run down of information for this Saturday night’s double header at Shielfield Park Stadium! We will be running free entry competitions so stay tuned every day this week for your chance to be part of one of the biggest nights of Speedway at Shielfield Park Stadium. Gates open at 5:30pm and Heat 1 is scheduled for 6:30pm. Admission for the evening will be £30 for adults, £25 for concessions and children under 16 accompanied by an adult will enter free of charge! Holders of the 15 match season pass who have attended all fixtures up to that date will need to pay £15 (£12.50 concessions) at the Box Office entrance as the Edinburgh fixture is the 15th and final meeting covered by the deal with the Glasgow meeting the 16th of the year. Anyone with a pass who has not attended one or more meetings ( U21 Final not covered by season pass) will be able to use their pass for both meetings. Attendance has been collated at the Box office on a meeting by meeting basis throughout the season. In addition anyone with re-admission tickets from the original rain-offs will be able to use them against the cost of general admission to the tune of the face value ticket. That means holders of a readmission ticket from the Edinburgh meeting- our special everyone for a tenner promotion- will get £10 off the double header, those with tickets from the Glasgow washout will get £17 off. A special edition programme will be on sale at £3. Anyone requesting more admission information or any general enquiries are encouraged to email the club at club@berwickspeedway.com We won’t be answering questions on the Facebook comments thread so please use the official email address supplied Spread the word folks and let’s see Shielfield Park Stadium buzzing on Saturday! Anyone wanting to make a day of it there's the Berwick Food and Beer Festival on the Parade, cafes and pubs galore, Berwick Rugby Club face Howe of Fife at Scremerston in the Tennants National League 3 (kick-off 3pm) or Tweedmouth Rangers entertain Coldstream in the East of Scotland football league at Old Shielfield (behind the back straight) at 2.30pm. One thing to note, especially visiting fans, all turnstiles are CASH ONLY