Bryn

Good to hear 'snapper' Chris - er unlike your early days at Oxford eh?

Really glad to hear that both Tim Webster and Rob Smith were released from hospital after being taken there following their crash last night.

Same sentiments from me!

Don't forget your passport!

Anyone going to this meeting on Sunday via Dartford tunnel i.e. travelling from South of Thames, with a spare seat in their vehicle? If so would be grateful if you could PM me with your contact details. Want to go but usual travelling sources have other plans. Cheers BRYN

6.30PM FINAL WEATHER CHECK: No problems - and prior to parade at 7.45pm two or three of those practising this afternoon will be having a skid as indeed should be Hammers newest recruit Kim Nilsson who likewise has been skidding this afternoon. Then the table-topping Hawks will be looking to hit the Hitmen!

2.30pm WEATHER UPDATE: Nice warm day here at the circuit where the George & Linda Barclay practise / training session is in full flow and it's all looking good for tonight's match for the Hawks against the Hitmen.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Please note that BOTH front and back gates are OPEN as we believe there might be traffic problems in the area.

Ah but I was referring to my next door neighbour's window cleaner Ted Rogers who, as he collected all his money door to door used to say 'come on down to the Red Barn PH tonight - beer's on me!

5.30pm WEATHER UPDATE: Training will be ending shortly - they've been out there since 2.30pmish. NO problems with weather OR track. Traffic a bit heavy but, as Ted Rogers used to say, COME ON DOWN! First race 8pm.

2.45pm WEATHER CHECK: No real change other than rain clouds have now seemingly moved away, sun's been appearing with patches of blue sky too and Met Office indicate that there'll be NO further wet stuff (apart from drinks at the bar!) in the Tilbury (nearest they've got to our postcode) area today. So tonight's meeting is definitely on - come along and support the Hawks as they take on foreign invaders - well the IOW is a separate island isn't it? Next update circa 4.30ish! er.... make that 5pmish as NO change at 4pm and all systems go!

12.30pm WEATHER UPDATE: A strange orange ball-shaped thing and equally strange patches of blue sky have appeared above - hopefully they'll stay there! No problems then at this stage - next update scheduled for circa 2.30pm.

BRIEF UPDATE COMING UP TO 11am: Meeting and training both very much ON! Trackstaff have erected fence... all systems go.

Not surprised that it's wet up the Barking Creek Parsnips old fruit! Will be in touch with the track staff after they've put the safety fence up for an update on conditions but, looking at the Met Office Rainfall radar, rain will soon pass over. In fact here at Erith (just across the other side of the Thames from the circuit) it's not raining and the sun is trying to appear but has not succeeded so far. BBC Radio weather check has just imparted news that rain is heading north leaving sunshine and showers with latter decreasing in number as day progresses. Intend to be at the track early afternoon and will be updating further from there plus answering all the "Is it on?" phonecalls.

Tony Hurren has imparted the following sad news on the Hackney 'Facebook' page: "One of speedway's best known fans, Tony (Professor) Barnard passed away peacefully on June 27th at London's Whipps Cross Hospital. Tony, who was 83, had battled lung cancer for a long time. He supported Hackney from 1963 until its demise half way through the 1991 season. He was also a regular at The Wick when the club operated as The London Lions in 1996. He was well known for his meticulous calculation of the number of passes in each race at Waterden Road. He also pioneered a revolutionary starting system which, alas, never came to competitive fruition. His funeral will be held at 10.30am on Friday July 15th at the City of London Crematorium." Very sad news indeed for all who, like myself, had the honour of knowing him and marvelled at the accurate statistics he produced meticulously week in, week out all without the aid of all the modern gizmos including computers! If you wanted to know a rider's up to the moment average or a particular rider's average away score at any track (particularly useful when looking for guests!) then "The Prof" was THE expert as he was for telling us all that there were an average of 4.79132 passes or whatever on turn three of the third lap of races at Waterden Road in all meetings! A real character. My deepest condolences to his family, R.I.P Professor Barnard - I feel honoured to have known you.

Has all that rain last night enabled Lunchy to be two inches taller than he was on Monday BFD?

With the greatest respect Shadders, do you honestly think that a name change for the team would not only convince the Rye House management that it could be viable to stage a full programme of NL racing in addition to their PL commitments (assuming they could fit two complete league programmes into their calendar in 2012) but would also see hundreds upon hundreds of speedway fans flocking to the NL matches? Three words spring to mind alas those being cuckoo, land and cloud!

Paul.... I was taxing my brain trying to think what could help pass the time for fans on the terraces whilst track watering / grading was going on and then it came to me! You sir were one of the original members of "The Kestrelettes" at Waterden Rd so how about springing back as "The Hawkettes" asap?

Be warned Mr. Morosely! Men in white coats spotted heading your way so best hide mate!

Surprised there hasn't been a thread started on this meeting already. Before the match itself gets underway, Bronze Helmet holder James Cockle defends his crown against challenger Paul Starke. Anyone travelling down from Norfolk to support the Young Stars? If so, don't forget your passport and seasickness pills! See you there! 7.30pm start. Note: Please remember meeting topics should state the date and NOT 'tonight' which only applies for a few hours. Heading changed

Not many around where I was in the stadium sang along, as I did, with the Welsh National Anthem!

He didn't score a maximum Steve, he only scored a point and that in the final heat of the 13 heat match! .With apologies to the Branney Clan and other Cumbrian mates yes it was that night and if Tony, who we lent to the Comets hadn't have scored that point it might well have been 65-12! Trust me when I say the tension in the Crayford side of the pits gradually increased heat by heat as the 5-1s accumulated after a heat 2 5-0 in which both Greg Irvine and Alan Armstrong suffered exclusions in the first two runnings after falls.

You DO come across interesting things when 'Canterbury Dick' is trying to sort out speedway stuff you've accumulated over the years! For instance, well a quick question for you to muse over.... "what did No.8 Tony Brooks do on July 15th, 1980?" A night I remember very well indeed! No clues at the moment ... let's see some answers / guesses first!

Absolutely gutted that I can't be there tonight but, alas, the quacks have slapped a five day ticker monitor on me so they can possibly see what's happening and decide if they want to carry out any more experiments in the weeks ahead I guess! At least I'll keep my hair on at this meeting of Johno's though! Really hope that, whilst we may all be thinking of another Aussie star right now, tonight is a great success for another Antipodean superstar who has given us so many great performances (and quite a few laughs!) over the course of his glittering UK career on which the final curtain is coming down tonight. As I said, absolutely gutted I won't be there but the Aussies have an expression for such things which basically says brown stuff happens! Now PLEASE can someone who IS going tonight PLEASE, PLEASE buy me a programme, then PM me and I'll arrange to re-imburse them etc - thankyou. Hope it's a fabulous night Johno - I'm sure it will be and see you in the Walkabout at Cardiff on Saturday!

Received the following sad news from Steve Magro in Australia earlier today: Jimmy Gooch, 83, died peacefully Saturday, 18th June. During his long career Jimmy rode speedway for Wembley, Oxford and Hackney, eventually retiring in 1970. Jimmy was a member of the World Speedway Riders Association and will be sadly missed.