East End Fan

As I understand it, the BSPA gave Ledwith the 3.5 average because he had not been on a bike for well over 20 years. Not unreasonable I would say. He scored nothing in his first meeting at Plymouth.

Had a very enjoyable afternoon at Iwade in spite of a rather cold wind coming off the Thames Estuary. Some of the youngsters looked quite fast. In particular Alex Spooner and Nathan Ablitt. Good to see Paul Hurry having a ride too, and looking quite classy. Lots of fans there and I was able to chat to some old friends who all seem to think that the Kings will do well this year. Can't argue with that after watching them practice even though the track appeared to be a bit rough in places. To be fair, they graded it quite often and it did improve as the afternoon progressed. The big test will come on Monday. Belle Vue look to be a decent side and lots of people are tipping them for honours.

Teaboy makes a good point about racing every week. Not many clubs do it these days. I had a phone call yesterday to tell me that the Kings are practicing at Iwade this coming Sunday, but my friend was not sure about it. Can any body confirm ?

I think Teaboy hits the nail on the head when he compares cost to other items. We all see it in different ways, but I would rather have a club that is not living hand to mouth. It gives us a reason to be optimistic about the future. Quite a consideration these days.

Why are we reading stuff about Mildenhall on the Kent page ? Nothing against the Fen club, been there a few times and always enjoyed it in spite of having a problem finding a seat. Important for me these days.

So if the sport's "on the slide massively", the promoters should charge less than they do and put it into complete oblivion ? Rye fan Ben91 now has no team to support. I'll bet he wishes he had one ( at Rye House) at ANY price.

I used to go to Hackney on a regular basis in the old days. Can't ever remember feeling I'd been ripped off. Racing was great and always a good fun atmosphere. I see that the kevlar issue is now becoming THE topic of conversation !!

strange idea that any money that Speedway costs should come from some other source than our admissions. I know that some may come from sponsorship, but going back for as long as I have been watching Speedway, all the costs have been covered by admission money by and large. If riders are helped to improve, they score more points and help win matches. Isn't that what we want as fans ? Don't know what Kemp's kevlars have to do with it.

Not fair to compare Belle Vue with any other club in the League as their agenda is totally different and can subsidise their 2nd team. While I am all in favour of cheap prices, the extra £1 will not break my bank. I hear about moans from clubs everywhere that they are losing money, or struggling to break even. Inflation of all kinds hits us all. It's a fact of life these days.

Thanks Rebel1. Sounds as if you know a bit about Town Planning ! Maybe they should ask you to take up the challenge ! I had not given any thought to the Dogs on Mondays and did not even realise that they ran in the morning. Can't get many to watch it I would have thought, but then, I'm not a gambling man so I don't know what their habits are. But as you hint, it makes it even more attractive to run on Saturdays with Speedway.

Sadly for me it means fewer visits as Monday travelling is not as good as Saturdays. Does anybody know, is this the end of the matter or can an appeal go to a higher Authority ? Seems to me that the reasons given for refusal do not hold water.

I very much doubt that this is the case. With the comparatively small official fixture list, I do not see that Kent would want to race more than once a week. Just does not make any sense. BUT this is probably the misunderstanding which caused the current refusal. Be interesting to see what the official reason was.

Having read all the letters of objection ( thanks to the online details given by Rob Dyer), I am amazed at the objections which refer to things like air pollution. As a regular attendant at Speedway for many many years, I have never considered air pollution to be a factor. I simply do not believe that local residents could suffer such an intrusion. Noise in itself has always been a factor that our sport has had to deal with and we all know that silencers which have been compulsory for a long time now HAVE worked. Even inside a stadium the noise levels are way below what they used to be and it is even noticeable that bikes at the far end of the stadium cannot be heard as much as when they are close. It therefore MUST follow that outside of the stadium, it HAS to be much lower. None the less I accept that some local residents near any Speedway stadium COULD hear the bikes and it COULD be a nuisance. However, this has nothing to do with a change of race day. To my mind, if there is noise intrusion ( always debateable) what difference does the day it takes place matter ? Saturday, I would guess, would be the lesser of all evils, given a choice.

Ha Ha..........what has Teaboy got to say ?

Teaboy seems to know what is going on at Kent. Can you tell me when the Council will decide on the Saturday race day ?

What on earth has happened there ? I admit to not having visited Rye House since the days when my team, the Hammers, were in the same league as the Rockets. The toilets were very clean and tidy then and I could sit in comfort in the little grandstand with a really nice bar close by if I fancied a drink. Always liked it better than Arena simply because it was more comfortable for watching Speedway. Sounds as if someone has deliberately vandalised the place.

Like Cityrebel, I am from London and seriously regret the fact that there is no longer any Speedway there. Nearest point now, I suppose, is Rye House ( hardly London !) and I consider it the DUTY of the current Speedway bosses to get the place back in action for our sport at the earliest opportunity. I was told that more than one promoter is/was interested but that the cost of paying off the previous promoter's debts, as demanded by the ( BSPA ? SCB ?) was prohibitive. I read in the SS that the previous owner had been made a bankrupt...why should a prospective new promoter have to pay off his debts ? To be fair, this was just hearsay and may not be true. Does anyone actually KNOW the facts ?

I have to agree with Sir Sidney. Nobbling suggests some underhanded action that would be frowned upon. It is far removed from "Getting One over" which is what ANY manager should be doing about their opponents.

Just re-read HGould's file. Now I'm very curious. What on earth did Len Silver do to "nobble" Wimbledon ? Was not aware that he had anything to do with the Dons. Surely he cannot have been responsible for the stadium being demolished ? Or was he ?

As a Lakeside fan who has made quite a lot of visits to Kent over the past few years, I have to take issue with these comments. One of the reasons I make those visits is that I find the racing very good indeed, and I can watch while sitting in a seat instead of standing on a dirt pile as at my home track. I want the race day to become Saturday simply because it will make the journey easier for me with traffic not being a normal issue as it can be on a Monday. Sorry, just a selfish view.

Seems to have gone all quiet on the Saturday application front. Does anyone know anything about what is happening ?

I always buy a programme...I simply want the most important bit, the race card which I like to be very clear and on paper I can write on. I also look for information I need, or am interested in, but it doesn't bother me if the artistic side of things is less than perfect. Never read the SS programme comments. Great news about the new sponsor. Pity I couldn't get to last Sunday's thing at the stadium. I would have liked to have spoken to the riders. Seems a very young bunch this year.

The Kent web site is saying that a new sponsor is to be announced during a Dog Racing meeting at the stadium next Sunday. Seems a very strange way to introduce a new Speedway sponsor at a Dog meeting.

In the past I have been to Kent for about 6 meetings a season on Mondays. Always liked the comfort and view as well as the racing. On Saturdays, with easier motorway driving down the M2, I will quite likely, with no Lakeside to follow, go to Sittingbourne every week. Eastbourne is a step too far for me on a regular basis though I have visited several times in the past few seasons. So I hope the council make the right decision.

Thanks, Greyhoundp. Got into the site by clicking on to the web code you printed. Sadly, after that, I could get no further as my e-mail address would not be accepted...I'll just have to write a letter !