norbold

Well, of course, the original idea was to alternate between the two venues, so that High Beech would not be forgotten. However, there has been so much positive feedback about the event at PPW and how much better the facilities are compared to High Beech that this might have to be reconsidered. As I have said before, the Speedway Museum does not have a monopoly on organising speedway events and maybe someone else could organise a get together at High Beech on or near the anniversary. It wouldn't have to be a big event but just something to honour the memory. Over to you, Derek! (We could put up a set of traffic lights on red and you could give a demonstration of driving during the day... )

Thank you, Lejon...I try my best. Next is a biography of Tom Farndon. Tom was already my hero, but the more I read about him while researching "Out of the Frying Pan" the more I felt his story just had to be told and made public. He was the greatest!

Never happened in my day!

Danny Carter was yet another of Eric Linden's pen names.

That was a brilliant report, BOBBATH. I still remember it as being one of the outstanding pieces of journalism in the speedway press.

Funnily enough, a couple of days ago, John Chaplin sent me some articles Cyril May had written on Tom Farndon with the following comment, "Cyril May was a boring writer but he managed to include a lot of detail. When he died I took over from him and tried to make it a bit more entertaining."

Didn't there used to be a really good writer called John Hyam? I wonder what happened to him.

Under the old 13 heat format there was usually a second half of scratch races, reserves' races and so on. The interval was at the end of the match after the 13 heats. There have been many double-headers throughout speedway history. The second match just follows the first. Admission price is normally the same as for a single match.

I'm glad to hear it. Thanks for letting us know.

Yes, that's why Nigel is querying it, because although the site says that he has found no actual reports of his death from around that time.

If he'd died later as a result of his injuries surely Stenner's would have known. I presume the 1953 edition would have come out at the beginning of the 1953 season say March, whereas the match concerned was in July 1952. That's 8 months.

The 1953 Stenner's Annual says, "Goran Andersson was hurt in the opening match [of the Southern League v. Sweden International series]". Nothing about him being killed.

I have a 25,000 word history of Crystal Palace locked away, unwanted by my publisher...

Hi Phil Entry will be free for the event. Just say you are going to it and you will all be let in free. When we were shown the draft of the advert and leaflet at the last Committee meeting, Bert Harkins and I asked why it said "entry free with this advert/leaflet" and asked for it to be removed as we had agreed that entry would be free for all to the event and the museum. The reason the Park gave for wanting it on there was so that they would have some idea at the gate who was coming for the celebration and who was just a normal visitor to the Park, who will, of course, still be charged entry. However, they agreed to tell the people on the gate that if anyone said they had come for the "Celebration of Speedway" they were to be let in free with or without the advert/leaflet. I hope that helps. Norman

I appreciate your views Harry but as has been said if we didn't have the Speedway Museum in Paradise Wildlife Park we probably wouldn't have one at all. I also appreciate your views about High Beech, though there is nothing to stop anyone else organising an event there. However, as the event and entry to the Museum will be free on 8 February perhaps you might consider coming along and giving it a go.

Thanks for the suggestions, DK, I'll chase it up.

You can always buy a copy of Speedway in the South East, speedyguy!

Thanks Shadders, I wondered where they were. The reason The History Press have given me for not reprinting the book in spite of neither them nor me having any left and in spite of dozens of requests which neither of us can fill is that there are still "a few" copies left in a couple of W H Smith's shops in London and until they are either sold or returned they can't make a decision on a reprint. So, in the meantime, speedway supporters who have contacted us can't get hold of a copy unless you go to W H Smith's in Oxford Street. By the way, DKRA, any news from Lewisham Council?

Not just your post! But I'm glad he agrees with me as well.

I think I'm suffering from deja vu!

Charlton was certainly looked at in 1965. Pete Lansdale, Wally Mawdsley and Len Silver were looking to enter a team in the British League. They even signed up Denis Newton for the team, but, in the end, of course, it came to nothing.

1928 - 1940 on and off... But I think star ghost is correct. I believe they were looking at Selhurst Park as a possible speedway venue in 1964/5.

Had the Museum not been built in Paradise Wildlife Park it is doubtful it would ever have been built at all. The Park gave the land free and paid for most of the construction work. They now pay for the continued services (electricity etc.) and maintenance and staff time to look after the Museum and carry out repairs and improvements. I should also add that any money raised by the Museum in terms of sales of sweatshirts and other merchandise is kept by the Museum for buying objects and not paid to the Park. Were it not for the Park's support probably the running costs alone would be prohibitively expensive let alone its original construction. In spite of the good work the Barclays did they simply did not raise enough money for a proper museum to be built and maintained if it were not for the generous support of Pete Sampson and Paradise Wildlife Park. It is, of course, a problem that people have to pay to get in to the Park but this is because there is no separate entrance at the moment. To try and ameliorate this the Park gives free entrance to all members of the WSRA and also prints, from time to time, free, or reduced price entry vouchers to the Museum in the Speedway Star. The 8th February event will also be free and they are hoping to hold a couple more free entry days later in the year. As well as that the Park is looking in to ways of creating a separate entrance to the Museum, again at their own cost. All in all, however, given its continuing support I would say the Park probably loses money on the Museum rather than making any financial gain.

Sorry, I should have said. It's 10:00 - 3:00.

Yes, we did think about a putting up a plaque as the focal point of the day, but we're not sure where it would go as there are no buildings there.