Buck

I've also taken Speedway Star for a very long time - since I first followed Birmingham in 1953, and I think they do very well to produce such a good quality magazine - especially during the close-season when there is not too much going on for them to report on. If I have a criticism, I think far too much space is devoted to foreign affairs. Last week there was a double page spread about a training camp in Denmark and this week's edition has an extensive similar feature which has just taken place in Poland. There is also the weekly "Polish Scene" and quite extensive reports of European, Australian, and American events and plans, none of which I find particularly interesting. Rider interviews are tending to be a bit repetitive too - with a big overuse of the description "cool" in too many of them - and I dislike and object to, the growing use of casual bad language in some features. These are generally, fairly minor criticisms and I'd say overall, that Speedway Star is still a pretty good read.

Very depressing to read of this latest development which only mirrors the case of Hall Green Stadium in South Birmingham which is now no more. An application to build houses on the stadium side was submitted to Birmingham City Council. The chief Planning Officer recommended approval, but the Planning Committee voted by 9 to 2 to refuse the plans and to retain the stadium. This was an emphatic decision and should have been the end of it, but no, the Chief Planning Officer re-submitted the application at the next meeting along with a warning that (in his opinion) the Council might be liable for compensation if the application went to appeal, so the Planning Committee gave way, and approved it. A justifiable complaint about the unfairness of the system produced the response that the Planning Officer was within his rights to take the action that he did - a clear example of the one-sidedness of the planning procedure, and of the way that Councils can change and distort matters that don't go the way that they want. This is no compensation for all of the Peterborough people who have worked so hard to try to save their club from extinction, and they have my total respect for everything that they have done. The unfairness takes my breath away!

Yes. Both riders are still with us. Arthur Payne will be 102 on 28th August 2025, and Dan Forsberg will be 91 on 25th March 2025. Two grand old stagers - I watched them both in action and Dan still is my all-time favourite Brummies rider!