crescent girl

As do Scotland, Wales and Ulster.....?

Steve Worrall is a Belle Vue rider, bought him last year.

Or less likely to throw a punch. Jason Garrity had a go at Deek last season, ended up with a very sore face.

For 'services to rule-fiddling'?

Actually, it seems the BSPA do have their house in order, and have clarified the d/u regulations quite clearly before a wheel is turned.

Wrong question, Paulco. He can't apply for anything until his prospective employers have an approved certification from UKVI.

Like the title of my Gene Clark album, Taffy: Two Sides To Every Story.........

Good news! Tonight's Banditmail e-newsletter reports: MAIN TEAM SPONSORSHIP SECURED We are delighted to report that our beloved Bandits will be fully-sponsored for the 2015 season by K.Dixon Building Services, based at the Ramparts Trading Estate. This invaluable investment, added to the roster of Associate sponsors who have already endorsed their backing of the club's efforts this year, gives the Bandits an invaluable financial boost as the new season approaches. K.Dixon Building Services are well-established and well-respected in the Berwick area. The company was started by Kevin Dixon and his wife Vicky in 1996 and the business has now grown into a strong and prosperous company employing a staff of more than 40. The company coversan area from the north-east of England, up through the borders and into Southern Scotland. "As well as welcoming Kevin and Vicky into our speedway 'family' at this time, we should acknowledge the invaluable input of our friend Malcolm Leighton in putting the deal together" said George Hepburn. "This is a company renowned for the highest quality and finish in each field of work which is demonstrated by the numerous professional accreditations they hold. Having them on board is going to be a terrific help to us this term". *Kevin and his family are, of course, great speedway fans, and have kindly sponsored meetings at the speedway before this" agreed Berwick's Commercial Manager Lani Rae. "They backed the FIM Grand Prix Challenge we staged last season (see our picture of winner Linus Sundstrom with Kevin Dixon, his family and friends after the FIM event) and have also committed to helping many local resident groups, school sport teams and local junior football teams over the past years". "They also host an annual coffee morning at their premises' with proceeds going to Macmillan Care". Kevin ,Vicky and their four children Reece, Megan, Shay and Nyall are all looking forward to supporting Berwick Speedway this season and seeing a successful team in action -- aren't we all?

A wee bit of a playground squabble going on here, I think. Facts: In a mid-season match against Rye House in 2012, in Heat 2 the Rye House reserve Jason Bunyan was leading but got into trouble as he was passing the pit gate, locked right up and high-sided. The Berwick reserves, Robert Branford and Robert Ksiezak both piled into his bike. Bunyan was excluded, Ksiezak was taken out of the meeting, as was Branford (after taking a start in the two-man re-run, despite a knee injury, and limping around for two points. Neither Branford or Ksiezak raced again that season, in the case of Ksiezak the crash did indeed end his career. These are the facts. Observations: Whatever Robin is thinking of, it wasn't the night of Gjedde's return. It was the night Berwick's remaining four heroes (Alden, Aspregren, Smith and Bellego I think) defeated a full Rye House squad 50-39, despite having only one rider in over half the races.

Fair post. Really? And your alternative signing would have been........?

From Banditmail: MEET MATIC! Following ongoing concerns over the situation of a work permit visa for Australian teenager Jake Allen, your Bandits this morning changed their plans and finalised our 2015 line-up with the acquisition of 26-year-old Slovenian international Matic Voldrih. Matic has not ridden in the British leagues before and comes to Shielfield Park on the recommendation of his fellow countryman, Grand Prix star Matej Zagar. Zagar has been acting on Voldrih’s behalf in the dealings with Bandits' co-promoter Dennis McCleary, who says "We have had good reports about him from Matej who is very keen to get his fellow-countryman into UK racing and over the past 10 days or so, more or less since the Australian visa thing erupted, discussions have been going back and forth” “Matic will be based in Tweedmouth all season. His bikes and equipment will come over -- it is quite a long trip -- by road before the middle of March" "We appreciate British speedway, and indeed the whole UK set up, will be new to him -- he currently speaks very little English -- but he certainly should adapt to our big circuit. Fans like to see new faces, and of course he will join the club's list of rider-assets after completing a set number of matches" Matic Voldrih comes from the picturesque ski-resort of Kranjska Gora, a town on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region of northwestern Slovenia, close to the Austrian and Italian borders. He has already raced in the FIM GP Challenge qualifiers, European Championship rounds, Italian Championships as well as in his own country and in open events in Slovakia, Latvia, Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic. George Hepburn welcomed the signing, saying Matic would quickly learn of the warmth and good feeling of the Berwick public. "It is such a shame that for the third time in four years, we've 'lost' a rider from our declared 1-7 before the season has even begun" he said today. "But Matic Voldrih will be an able replacement for Jake Allen, and I'm sure the fans who stand on the third bend will already be at work, creating a big Slovenian flag!" The signing, which of course remains subject to BSPA ratification, leaves the new-look Berwick septet (in no particular order) as: Ben Barker and Luke Crang (England), Thomas Jorgensen and Claus Vissing (Denmark), Kevin Doolan (Australia), Matic Voldih (Slovenia) and Alex Edberg (Sweden).

Expect Ben to arrive at press day with a large bunch of flowers, then!

I suspect Theo's parent club might be hanging on to him right now -- just in case their own duo don't make it! As was posted on the Edinburgh thread, the one single really good thing to come out of this visa business is that Mr Blobby has clearly been told by their management to totally shut himself down. Peace, perfect peace!

I don't disagree with any of that (shock!) and feel having such an out-and-out No 1 will attract people, put bums on seats, even if the club aren't top of the table. It's all about excitement and entertainment, innit? On another tack, hugely encouraging to see in newsletter that Associate Sponsors are signing up "pretty well" and the VIP Club is building membership as well. The future is black-and gold!

By happy coincidence, there's a full-page article on Luke Crang in this week's issue of Speedway Star. He praises Coventry, but feels he didn't fit in at Redcar and wasn't given a chance. Seems level-headed and will be a positive addition to the black and gold.

Spud is like guys such as Kevin Doolan, Christian Henry and probably Rusty Harrison, who have lived in Britain for a number of years, have residency approval. The often-quoted "British wife" isn't a guarantee of escaping visa requirements, having your primary residence in the UK for a number of years is the real silver bullet.

E-Newsletter reports: BANDITS LOOK TO LUKE:Moving quickly to reorganise their 2015 squad in the aftermatch of the confusion caused by yesterday's shock decision by the UKVI agency, Bandits have tonight recruited 23-year-old former moto-cross rider Luke Crang to fill the number 7 slot in their 2015 team. Luke comes from Darlington, and arrives on loan from Coventry where he will be ride as number 1 and captain of the Coventry Storm NL side. He had a spell in the PL with Redcar until a shoulder injury forced his season short in the 2014 campaign. John Anderson said “ Luke has been riding motorcycles since he was 6 years old but it was only in 2013 he took up speedway in the National League. He likes bigger tracks but in fairness until his injury he was also starting to pick up decent points at Redcar. He will be yet another moto-crosser coming into speedway, joining the likes of Richard Lawson, Craig Cook and the Worrall twins". "He is back to full fitness, training in the gym, doing lots of cycling and heading across to Cumbria to do speedway practice on Steve Lawson’s little purpose-built track.” Luke's uncle is Mark Crang, who raced during the 1980s, both for Middlesbrough and in the top league for a while with the famous Belle Vue Aces at their Hyde Road stadium. His signing leaves us with 5.66 points to complete the 2015 team. It is hopeful that the last piece of their jigsaw will be revealed shortly, with John Anderson playing his cards close to his chest -- although the club are hopeful of pulling 'a bit of a surprise' out of the woodwork to finalise the black-and-gold line-up.

What about Elite League ice-hockey? At least two-thirds of the players currently playing in Britain are Canadian or American?

The promotion were represented at the Supporters Club party on Saturday by Dennis McCleary, who was deservedly honoured on the night.

....and you probably think Nick Morris was correctly disqualified in the Pairs Final, too? Absolutely correct. Jake Allen was in the UK all last September, staying in Southport. Berwick were well aware of his potential.

On the Saturdays he isn't on Italian national or European duties, you mean? A disgusting comment.

Small print has no surprises, and I'd heard whispers there will be even more benefits announced shortly. C'mon lad, you've fathered a new wee Bandit and are on this thread so much more than Rye's, we know whose side you're on these days!

Would love to hear your mathematics on that one, Twaffy.

Should the club -- perish the thought -- sign Jason Bunyan, the drift of spectators away from Shielfield speedway-watching would be quite awful. Better have Benny Johansson back -- he's only two years older, and must have a better attitude,

Absolutely. Good post!