Parsloes 1928 nearly

You're kidding me!! I know Ellesmere St. really well!!!!! Why was it called Beckton though when based in that part of Poplar!!?

Terry Stone once spoke to me about all the tracks around East London - wish I'd had a recorder rolling as it was a lot of info! Where was the Beckton Aces track, speedy?

And you're dead right - a real shame that Laurie missed that one (final - and that's an even BIGGER shame!) season for the Kestrels. I love the fact that something which it is said happened in the 1930s can be called a 'rumour'... Surely there's one way of knowing if the story is true, though...: ask Mr. Williams..!! Bryn would've been starting secondary school around then so surely he'd remember!!

And remember Sagey's amazing overall record - he had been ever-present in Division One with West Ham and then Ipswich (effectively same side) for four consecutive seasons before joining Crayford: and then racked up an incredible 327 consecutive appearances in official fixtures before breaking his leg riding for the Kestrels in July 1979. Then when he returned mid-season in 1980, he never missed another match for Crayford; and was ever-present again for Arena Essex in ’84 and ’85 and then for Canterbury in his final season of ’86. So in 16 seasons from 1971 to 1986 Sagey was ever-present in 14 of them: an incredible record! Great gas engineer too!!

And the Cearns family too. I know Roger is very proud of his father John's massively long period of service as General Manager at Wimbledon Stadium. Much of that time in tandem with Ronnie Greene

This is something about young Tom and his exploits as an Enduro rider... Considering the success of some other cross-overs in recent years, Braddock may very well be a rider to watch in 2012! http://www.enduroextreme.com/enduro/article/265/MPS+Racing+Enduro+Team+%26%238211%3B+Alex+Rockwell+%26+Tom+Braddock

Which in this day and age is a great achievement and certainly worthy of attention...

Yes just two you're right...

Er, and what other team do you suggest I'm hoping it will be 'easier' for..?! The only NL side I do have a connection with (write in their prog.: but 200 iles away so rarely get there!) is Stoke... And funny enuf they too are to have three 'rookie' three-pointers in their line up!! Which as a concept for the Potters I too entirely endorse!!

The confusion is over the name, 'Anglia Cup'... Sadly NOT as in the AJL but indeed a PL-level comp. One would like to think though that they'll be an AJL match betweeen the sides in the 'second half'...

A while back in the Star Nick Lee was pictured in a Dons race jacket (obviously from the CL era..) and described as having ridden for Wimbledon but to the best of my knowledge he never did... Maybe he was named as a no. 8 one time when the Dons visited Weymouth or something..?

Fair point me old mucker - though I do wonder how you know so much about my movements!! Did you know for example that me and davidba have been at Ilford vs. Thamesmead in the Ryman League this evening!!! What bemuses me is that a number of RH folk have in successive years come on here to give us 'good excuses' why in the season about to then begin,they're NOT going to watch the third tier side. First it was (and this WAS spurious) the change of nickname to Cobras. "I'm not going as long as they're called Cobras. Bring back the Raiders nickname". Then last term it was the use of the Hackney name. "I'm not going because I never used to support Hackney". This time it's over the partial team policy. "I'm not going coz they're, er, selecting some rookies/juniors". Tbh if people don't want to go, don't go...: but leave it with the daft 'reasons'. I don't go to RH much, you're right - but I don't come with a long list of reasons why not... Other than DIY!!!

And how will you not attending (for the most spurious of reasons..) help in any way... There's nothing unusual about two riders starting out in the reserve berths of the lower or lowest division teams. Alright, so three is one more than 'normal' but I applaud Len & the Raiders for doing this... The same old names is what threatens to make a small division like the NL now is, stale and uninteresting. New names making their way is what it (the sport) and this (the NL) is surely all about.

No Barrie Evans, I note... I hear he may have retired...

Any details available yet of line up etc. for this Easter Bank Holiday Monday (9/4) meeting at Collier St.?

tbf it was RocketBen who listed 'em, I just quoted him...

Collins and Lee: thatr's two great names to stir the memories of the glory days of English Speedway!!!!

Roger Johns deserves a mention too for his long years of service to what was actually his local club, the Wimbledon Dons

Yes very true but long way to go for just that but (perversely...: you know me! ) - wouldn't mind if it was, say, a 6pm start..!

Is it right that that AJL match at the Norfolk Arena after P&P not to start until 8pm..? Seems rather late..?

Agree 100%. For this, the BSF could play a really valuable 'service' function rather than its normal discussion-based purpose..

Cheers brilliant TMW. Hopefully a group of us interested in the AJL can commit to regularly sharing info. and updating on here results etc. too. btw does anyone know if the Leicester vs. RH match on the Saturday of the Easter weekend is going to include an MDL match at all..?

Best ever name for a second-half event... 'Kestrels Ketch'. In case anyone wonders (coz I did did I just looked on wikipedia!) a 'ketch' is "a cutter-rigged sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft (rearward of) the main mast"... Which when you think about it is a perfect name for a second half event at a Speedway meeting!!

To be fair, the National League DOESN'T have the word 'development' in its title - not really. Yes it IS there in the official title in the Rule book but it's NOT used in league tables, fixtures, on the BSPA website or in marketing, so effectively is NOT the name of the league. Some folks on here mischeviously try and say it is the name to suit some strange agendas they're peddling, but am sure for the stand-alones (Mildenhall, IoW, Stoke, Buxton and Dudley) they very much see the league as a proper third division. I agree that Newport really should join it too - so much bloody better than closing down... And surely (as Deano says) the fact that a big club like Stoke dropped down and made a total success of it, should be enough to show Newport (who are real third tier stalwarts anyhow) that it can certainly work for them..

Before my time too - but remember he was one of the 'top five' who all received that handicap in league racing here, so I guess that he was basically considered on a par with the others (Craven, Moore, Briggs & Fundin). I think the general feeling at the time was that he had been the best rider NOT to win the title, 'til he did.. Looking back in the future people might think similarly of Gollob with his one world title, when we know he was certainly good enough to have won several..