Parsloes 1928 nearly

Gracious me..: great pix and great memories. I was a regular at Blackbird Rd. when at University in Leicester '78-'81. Where was that pic of Ken McKinlay on Cycle Speedway track taken..?? Amazing stuff!! The whole business of stadiums not being listed in this country is a national scandal. In Germany they preserve their stadiums - goodness me, the 1936 venue in Berlin is being used for the Football World Cup Final in a few weeks' time... Here we demolished White City without a by-your-leave and even the hallowed Twin Towers bit the dust. Frankly, once Wembley was demolished without a finger being lifted by English Heritage (the organisation that regularly prevents Council Housing departments from demolishing unloved, unliveable-in and ugly tower blocks), then it became 100% clear that no stadium in this country will EVER be rescued from developers. Blackbird Rd. was a magnificent place.

But this sucks doesn't it..?? Why on earth are the two races (just one race each..: poor!!!) so early...?? This can hardly even be called a pre-meeting event, it's virtually a different meeting event!! Much as I'd love to see Bren and the others have their ride it's surely asking too much for us to get inside the Stadiium two hours before the GP starts to watch just two races..?? What possible explanation can there be for this..?

Goodness me..: I feel we've been here before!!!!! I'll just say, what I've said before..!! Have 'em at both..!! The Welsh GP in the Millennium and the English GP at Wembley. IF (and it's a big-ish, IF) we ever got the chance to stage Speedway again at Wembley it would be INSANITY not to take that chance. As I've (often) said before too, though, IMHO it's the Olympic Stadium we should (also) be eyeing up as a GP (or better still, proper World Final!!) venue post-2012...

Er, it's BECAUSE I'm a 'PR man' (sic) that I want to know the destination of the rounds - so I can pass on the info. (should it ever materialise..) to fans of the clubs I contribute prog. articles to: Stoke, Peterboro', Boston etc. The fact that no-one apart from the excellent Scunthorpe (surely one if not THE best club in modern Speedway..: witness their hugely progressive attitude to Short Track, Quads etc...) has announced a date speaks volumes.. And I take it that your reference to Sittingbourne was an attempt at a joke..??!!!

I notice from the (excellent) Scunthorpe web-site that they're holding a Round of this year's U-15 championships on 9th. July. Can't see any reference elsewhere to other rounds.. Does anyone know if dates/venues have been set for the championship as a whole yet..??

Hmm, and perhaps an even BIGGER incentive would be the chance to see great up and coming riders like Simon Stead and Lewis Bridger...: and I can't believe you've not touted him for a place: Ben Wilson..??!!!

Well, I have to say I DON'T know.. But is there any evidence of any EL club deciding to forsake one of their foreign riders and ask Ed to ride for them this season..???

And I think we can say that if she's going, Di will win them all..??!!

Hmm, notwithstanding the fact that NO-ONE has suggested replacing Cardiff with a London Venue (Wembley or the Olympic Stadium)..: I do feel that I've entered the twilight zone here...!! LONDON is now apparently a place in the middle of nowhere; where's there's nothing to do; and now, we hear: no shops or pubs..??!! And it's strange how Football fans have in the main been longing for the return of Wembley having had many problems with travel and especially accomadation during the time the FA Cup Final's been in Cardiff..??!!

Goodness me..: isn't anyone going to stick up for London on this one..??!! As Kevin says he (and I.. - and we don't ALWAYS agree, eh, KH..??!!) wasn't suggesting Wembley instead of Cardiff but in addition. IMO, the new Olympic Stadium would probably be a better bet...: no football 'baggage' there and will have the happy coincidence of being so close to the former home of Hackney Speedway. All I'd say is, haven't some of you just considered the difference in profile, though, a GP (or better still a proper World Final) at Wembley (or otherwise in London - eg after 2012 in the Olympic Stadium) would have. I don't exactly see the national media fallin' over themselves to cover the annual meeting in South Wales..!!!??

Hmm, something's gone pear-shaped with Wembley's web-site (not to mention its builders!!), I'd say; as surely this is no longer the plan..?? I think the fact that this quote comes from a LONG time ago is given away by the bit about bidding for the Olympics.. We've already bid and WON..!! And are building a huge Athletics Stadium to stage the Olympics. With that 80k seater arena available for track & field I cannot imagine in any circumstances, Wembley being needed to stage Athletics; and as far as I know, there are NO plans to resurrect the previous idea of a floating platform to stage track events at Wembley. Not that I'm dismissing the Speedway GP plans..: far from it..: if they can lay a track at Cardiff then I can see no reason why they shouldn't - at what is, after all, the spiritual home of the Speedway World Championship.. What a shame too, that the short-sighted people who have compiled the web-site talk about a totally spurious "charity Cricket match" (that didn't even happen!) but make apparently no mention of the MILLIONS (and it was well over a million A SEASON in the glory days of the Wembley Lions) that attended Speedway in the old Empire Stadium. We live in a country where history is regularly rewritten when it comes to our sporting heritage (and Speedway for one, is always air-brushed away...); and it's time to fight back...!!

Hmm, Ben was clearly THE boy's name 14 or 15 years ago!!! Five Bens in the Final!! Oh, and a Bren!!!

According to article in the Star last week one of the three remaining Academy fixtures (this KOC Final, 'League' semi and then Grand Final) will be at Buxton next Sunday (after the Hitmen vs. GB U-18 match). The other two would then happen at (as yet unnamed) tracks in the final week. Mind you, very few fixtures actually planned in that final (half-term) week, so I couldn't say where they mean by this..? Obviously, the Grand Final is out for Buxton: the earlier round not having been ridden. I think as the U-18 match is a show-case itself for young British riders that the KOC final should by rights really also be at Hi Edge on Sunday...