brianbuck

I wouldn't normally react to negative postings, but here we have a group of people working really hard to keep our club in business - and the response we get from a significant minority of posters, who still purport to call themselves speedway enthusiasts, is to just to sneeringly pour scorn on their efforts.

Thanks for the good wishes Rob, which are much appreciated. Hope things are progressing well with your Rye House campaign.

Next Speedway Tavern show will be next Tuesday November 9th at 8pm. My son is one of the presenters so he'll give the meeting a good airing. (I'll skin him if he doesn't!!!)

Directions to Aston Manor Cricket Club: From M6 Motorway: Leave at Junction 7 and join A34 towards Birmingham (NOT towards Walsall) Continue along A34 for about 2 miles then turn left into Church Road (just past the Alexander Stadium) The Cricket Club is on the left hand side of Church Road just past a group of flats. Postcode is B42 2LA

Directions to Aston Manor Cricket Club: From M6 Motorway: Leave at Junction 7 and take A34 towards Birmingham (NOT towards Walsall) Continue along the A34 for about 2 miles, then turn left into Church Road (just past the Alexander Stadium) Aston Manor CC is on the left hand side of Church Road, just past some flats.

A meeting crucial to the future of Birmingham Speedway has been arranged for Tuesday November 16th at 7pm, at Aston Manor Cricket Club, Church Lane, Perry Barr, at which the leader of the consortium seeking to take over the promotion, will outline their plans and will answer questions from supporters. Everyone, whether a Brummies supporter or a supporter of any other club, is invited to attend.

A meeting crucial to the future of Birmingham Speedway has been called for Tuesday 16th November at Aston Manor Cricket Club, Church Road, Perry Barr, starting at 7pm, where the leader of the consortium prepared to take over the promotion of the club, will outline their plans and will answer questions. All speedway supporters (whether those who support the Brummies or any other club) are invited to attend.

Shocked and saddened to learn of Chris's untimely passing. A gentleman and a sportsman who was well liked by everyone who met him. Rest in peace old friend.

My understanding is that Len promoted at Kent on behalf of the then stadium owner Roger Cearnes (don't think I've spelled that right!). Therefore, no rent would have been necessary. No doubt ARC are now wanting the speedway promotion to pay rent - perhaps what they are asking is excessive - only the two parties concerned will know that.

Nothing at all on Kent's official website. Really hope that this might be a false alarm.

It was one of the original conditions set by the chief planning officer Alan Orr. Mr Orr had recommended refusal but when it became obvious that the Planning Committee weren't going to comply, the chairman David Roy said "Should I take it that you are minded to approve this application." The answer was "Yes - with conditions" but Alan Orr must have been so confident of his recommendation being accepted that he hadn't suggested any conditions, so he had to go away and dream some up and this was one of them. As I remember, Tony Mole was not happy about accepting a planning consent without knowing what the conditions were, but he was advised to do so by senior councillors who WERE supportive of the speedway application, to do so in order to meet the BSPA's deadline for declaring league membership.

Just to clarify. The planning condition requiring the track to be removed and the land to be restored to its original condition, if the speedway ceased, was relative only to the time that we only had temporary planning approval (IE the first 4 years). Once a full planning consent was approved, this condition no longer applied.

If we must have the playoffs (and it seems that we must), then surely the team finishing top of the table should be seeded directly to the final?

The majority of supporters would like to see the Premiership expanded to 8 or 10 teams, but if this does happen, there would have to be a pretty drastic reduction of operating costs (or a big increase in admission prices - which nobody wants!) and there would also have to be a dramatic reduction in team strengths in order to make the new entrants competitive. People always jib at any suggestion of weakening teams, or "watering down" as it is usually described, but in reality, there isn't an alternative - we have to accept that team strengths can only be levelled downwards - not upwards! As far as doubling-up is concerned, it is my firm opinion that allowing this to happen in the first place, has been the damaging decision that the BSPA has ever made, and we are left in the situation of now finding it totally impossible to get rid of this, or even restrict it. The riders now consider themselves to have a God-given right to belong to more than one team, and any attempt to do away with doubling-up will be savagely opposed. I detest the rule myself, but I just don't see any way of getting shut of it.

Heathens 52's idea is unfortunately, not possible. A planning consent exists for speedway to take place at Perry Barr on Wednesday's or Thursdays (but not both in the same week), plus Bank Holiday Sundays - but the Bank Holiday Sunday meetings are only on condition that there is no Wednesday or Thursday meeting staged in the same week. A casual enquiry with the Planning Office this season produced the firm reply that the Council will not consider changing these conditions. Thursday nights are of course, reserved for Premiership matches and in any case, greyhound racing is now held on Thursday nights. A great idea in principle, but sadly, not possible.

Alan Grahame - a man who served all of his clubs with diligence and distinction over many years, and a true gentleman and family man. All of us will be shocked and saddened by his passing and especially the circumstances which resulted in his death. May I add my sincerest condolences to his family and closest friends. Rest in the peace of the Lord old friend.

This is a sad day for speedway. Colin Pratt served the sport of his choice with diligence and honesty, and was very often a solitary sane voice amongst the sport's administrators. My sincere condolences to his family and close friends. Rest in peace Colin.

May I add my sincere condolences to Dave Tatum's family. I met him a few times but did not know him personally, but I do know how hard he worked for speedway and for Stoke Speedway in particular. Rest in the peace of the Lord Dave.

Regardless of the result of this meeting, (and I am a lifelong supporter of Birmingham), I wish Newcastle and their loyal supporters, well. I hope that the attendance for this match will be big enough to convince either the current promotion or any prospective new promotion, that the club does have a future, and that they might have a re-think about carrying on. As far as Josh McDonald is concerned, it is ludicrous to suggest that he is intending to approach this meeting with an intention to make no effort. He is a young Australian rider who has made a promising start to his British career and will be wanting to emphasise this. Whether we like it or not (and I definitely don't!), guest bookings are an established part of speedway, and McDonald will be more than anxious to show that he is a rider worth booking when the need arises. I don't expect him to hit double figures, but I expect a return commensurate with his known ability.

Fingers firmly crossed that a way for Newcastle to survive can be found. My wife's home town - she was born in Byker. She isn't a speedway fan, but she recognises the fact that we can't afford to lose any tracks and agrees that things do have to change pretty quickly if the sport which I have followed avidly for the past 68 years, is to have a future. Good Luck Newcastle! Best wishes to all of their supporters for the right outcome.

Saddened to report that former Birmingham, Cradley Heath and Leicester rider Harry Bastable passed away yesterday 4th September. He had celebrated his 93rd birthday on August 30th last. Harry was never a superstar, but was a wonderful personality and always a genuine supporters man, and it was always an absolute pleasure to meet up with him and discover that his love of speedway hadn't diminished. Rest in the peace of the Lord old friend.

This meeting wasn't the best match that I have seen this season although it was eventful! This is a typical picture of all spectator sports - there will be good matches and poor matches often for no apparent reason, so no track should be universally condemned as the cause when the latter is the case. The much loved and lamented Brandon track used always to be immaculately prepared and the riders very rarely had cause to complain about it - yet it regularly produced some very processional races and was often criticized as being "too smooth." I have witnessed some very good racing (and some poor stuff too) at Perry Barr this season and in seasons past and like the vast majority of supporters I accept that every meeting isn't going to be a cracker, so I don't blame, the track or the opposition when a meeting falls short of expectations.

This is indeed very sad news. I never knowingly met him, but had occasion to write to him numerous times and always received a courteous response by return. My sincere condolences to his family on their loss. His contribution to speedway and to the Speedway Star has been invaluable, and will be sadly missed. Rest on the peace of the Lord old friend.

There is no possibility of running double headers at Perry Barr. Speedway only takes place there under the most stringent of conditions imposed by the City Council's Planning Officer who argued very strongly against granting a planning consent in the first place, and who was distinctly unhappy to find his recommendation for refusal, overruled. Amongst a plethora of conditions, one is the strict 10pm curfew and another is that no more than a maximum of 21 races be staged. Both would prevent the club from staging a double header even if the planning office would relax the rule - which they won't! We have made enquiries this season about the possibility of running one or two meetings on a Sunday, and the planners have confirmed that we can only race on the four Bank Holiday Sundays as Planning Condition 15 stipulates, and even if they had agreed to this as a one-off, it would have been conditional on us not running on the Wednesday of the same week, so it would have been no help in alleviating any fixture congestion. We had no choice but to accept all of the conditions when we were granted a planning consent, and to change or revise any of them would involve submitting a fresh application and one which it is highly likely would be refused, so there is no option now, but for us to abide by them. I hope this clarifies the situation for everyone.

Birmingham v Edinburgh (Championship KO Cup 1st leg) - Wednesday August 11th at 7.30pm