Parsloes 1928 nearly

There was one as I even bought a Kevin Piddock rosette at that grasstrack meeting!!! I'm guessing he MAY have done second halves at Kingsmead... As that was where both his brothers started...

Dave Piddock was actually my first 'favourite' rider when I started watching the sport at Canterbury in 1972. A while later I read about his brother Martyn who had died at Lokeren two years earlier.. And then a little while after that at the first Grasstrack meeting I attended, Kevin Piddock from the Tenterden club was racing. Kevin was I believe the third brother... Don't think Kevin over rode Speedway like his two elder siblings but I may well be wrong. Can anyone supply any more info.?

Strange choice of words... "It is with regret.." would be a more normal opening part of such a sentence one would've thought..

Heck I didn't know that! Many thanks for this info..!

Hmm, quite possibly!!!!! Yes that's the fella!!

Here's a question.. Ron Duke was a big star on the Kentish grasstrack scene back in the 1970s, but can anyone let me know if he ever rode Speedway too..?

And all of those, with the exception of 'Magic' of course, ARE very young...!!

The Conference League was an excellent product and it gave us - among others - Eddie Kennett, the King bros, the Allen bros, Lewis Bridger, James Wright...: so it didn't do a bad job!!

Two absolutely spot-on postings.. This is EXACTLLY what the "venture capitalist" owners of the GRA intend for themselves and for the stadia they own.. What's so tragic having sat last evening with real people who love Oxford Speedway and Oxford Stadium so much and knowing so well as I do, people who lived and breathed the Dons and Wimbledon Speedway is the fact that people's lives are made so much the worse by the cynical, uncaring and sheer selfish greed of such "venture capitalists". THIS is what we should also be out on the streets rioting about!! And yes, sadly Romford closed literally just before I attended my first Speedway meeting and in any case as an Orpington lad then I'd have had no idea where Romford was!; but I go to Romford almost ever day of my life now and I fully believe that if the Bombers could be reborn in a town where leisure and entertain,ment is so important it could indeed be a huge success again...

Well all I can say is that Romford dog track must be bucking the trend then! One needs also to remember that dog racing is nearly always on several nights a week... No wonder crowds are down on less popular nights like Thursday... As for Perry Barr losing its manager, just three words needed to describe such a tendency to jettison key operational staff..: Greyhound Racing Association...!!! At Plough Lane shortly before the Speedway was shown the door they sacked the Stadium Electrician and one thing a dog track needs (especially one with antiquated wiring...!) is a sparks!!

I agree with you that Saturday afternoon is the largely untried time slot... works well enuff for Football obviously, so why not (in the Football cloe-season...) try it for Speedway too..

I guess your comment about Speedway having bigger crowds than greyhounds must be based on Monmore Green in which case I bow to your superior knowledge on that venue... Am doubtful though that this is the case everywhere: Belle Vue, Perry Barr, Brough Park..: higher crowds for Speedway...? My experience of Dog Racing these days is at Romford (which of course doesn't double up as a Speedway track) but the crowds at Romford on Fridays & Saturdays (yes, two consecutive nights...) are hugely bigger than anyone could seriously dream of should Speedway return to that Essex town..

There's certainly been a boom in the number of amateur riders in recent years; but how many, I wonder, would be able (work and finances being the issues..) to commit to the time and vigours of competing in a national league with tracks from Plymouth to Buxton and several race days/nights involved..? Surely for many it would be impossible to commit fully to riding in an NL team - meaning that possibly we need a more flexible, less demanding approach to 'third' and, we could call it, 'fourth' tier Speedway..?

How about Carmarthen operating out of Ammanford instead..? Now THAT would be interesting...!

Fair enuff you were considerably closer to it than any of us... I just think that some people will express surprise that the FASTEST race of the whole night was in the heat immediately before the decison to stop. I don't think personally I've ever known that be the case before...

A brilliant letter in this week's Star about how farmers protect birds (in some cases) just so 'sportsmenm' (sic) can come in the hunting season and shoot them - and how THAT is a legitimate activity in the countryside... No wonder planners and NIMBY's and developers alike all fear Speedway fans, coz when it comes to coming up with brilliant arguments in defence of tracks (new ones or preventing demolition of existing ons) there are some terrific people out there and some superb arguments.. The Big Society to me should include us being allowed to have the sport we love!!!

I have a phone number for PM if you want to, er, pm me...!!!

Hmm, but not about me it seems!! The geezer 'Williamson' has more than ten years on me I'll have you know!!!

Hmm, well I did say I might struggle with this request for details... But surely SOMEONE out there must have a filled in prog. for this second half with these details..?!!

Yep - that sounds about right... Still I'm sure Bryn will tell us that this is fine!!

Which is when..?

So it's happened then.. I wonder when we'll hear anything...

Hmm, I think that the point was that non-Speedway folk having seen it during the season might have had interest stirred. It's generally existing Speedway fans who watch Sky's coverage!!

Hmm, seems even scribbler doesn't understand her previous posting...!!!

1) how is this holding anyone "to ransom"; 2) what on earth are these "few (sensible) rules [that] are in place that they don't want to abide by...".. I'm sure all of us whould like to know - coz frankly you've totally lost me here!!!!