Parsloes 1928 nearly

The League side finished in 1978 but the venue carried on staging big open and international events until 1982. The last Speedway meeting there was the Embassy Open (a World Final equivalent meeting won by Dennis Sigalos) You seriously obviously never went to a Sittingbourne double header!!!!!

QUOTE (Robbie B @ Mar 9 2009, 04:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I still can't beleive that the stadium was knocked down for a BBC carpark It's one of the greatest scandals in the history of stadiums in the UK that such a magnificent and historically-important venue was demolished in such a way... When you consider the enormous lengths English Heritage will go to save un-loved tower and other housing blocks (believe me, I have to deal with the legacy of this on a day-to-day basis!! ), their attitude to stadia defies belief... After White City, of course both the magnificence of Wembley's Twin Towers (the most iconic piece of stadium architecture in the world) and the Art Deco brilliance of Highbury Stadium have been bull-dozered away too (alright a bit of facade left at Highbury but not much..). Shameful..

Ah, but I was only 15...!!! Though IF I'd started driving that young I may have got the hang of it by now!!!

Can’t say I blame you for being confused HT… To date no posting here has actually given the full picture.. Neither does this one.. ; but my understanding is that there are to be six or seven rounds as follows: 2 May Scunthorpe 23 May Newport 13 June Weymouth 25 July Buxton 22 August Northside (??) 19 September Stoke (??) Round Seven(or rather an additional round meaning they'll be seven in total..) may happen at a track currently not open but due – hopefully – to be opening very soon…!!! BTW, I stand to be corrected (just for a change... ) on any of the above!!!!

Ah, now THIS is my sort of thread..!! Many thanx to Rebel 77 for giving an opportunity to remember the GREAT White City. I have many SO memories! The opening meeting!! It was simply breath-taking seeing inside the place for the first time. We went round to the home straight and climbed high into the stands where we came across an old press box which inside was covered in a good inch of dust..! Don't reckon it had been used (or cleaned!!) since Athletics had stopped at the place a decade or so earlier!!). The races between Gordon Kennett and Tommy Jansson that evening I'll NEVER forget! Gordon beat Tommy to clinch a 40-38 win to the Rebels in heat 13. Tommy got revenge in the second half final. Incredible to think back on how competitive second halves were back then; tragic to recall that, that was the last time I saw Tommy ride: six weeks later he was gone... Like Brian, I'd have the 1977 Inter-Continental Final as the greatest ever White City meeting. A huge crowd; a beautiful day; the GREATEST performance ever by the GREATEST English rider ever: Peter Collins. I also recall the same year, poor Tiger Louis losing it on the final bend for Ole Olsen to the GP title.. The 1976 WTC Final: swapping badges with the great USSR rider, Victor Trofimov!!! And following the Rebels away from home, who could ever forget that win at Wolves to win the BL title. Giving Stevie Weatherley the bumps in the bar singing: "Weatherley, Weatherley: he rides for White City and we've won the League"...!! Another tragedy that Stevie's career was to end so soon after.. So happy and poignant memories...

Ah right, yep makes sense about the 15 year olds.. Mind you, there are others in here who competed in last year's U-15 championships...: are those ones 16 by now then..??!! And what about Asbo (Aaron Baseby)..?? Surely he should be in there..??!!

God, the GPs are so boring...! Looking at this (and no reason to doubt that any of the above isn't in fact likely to happen..), how can ANYBODY opt to part with any of their time, let alone money, to bother themselves with such a bankrupt (from a sporting or entertaining perspective) series... Do yourself a favour and watch NL Speedway instead...: THAT'S where the action, excitement and unpredictability will be...

Surely NOT Chiswick!!??? Wimbledon was always a London post-code was it not..? As I'd have said was Clapton (Lea Bridge)..?? And you've forgotten White City, s-g.. No doubt, surely, that Shepherds Bush is 'London'..!!

Does indeed seem extraordinary that Aaron (I think he rode in a qualifier last year did he not..? ) and the one & two in the 500cc U-15s championship of last year are not included. As you say, no disrespect to the others you've named (who I know from Sittingbourne and so support wholeheartedly..) but it defies explanation that one or two of them could be ahead of these others..!!

Would've been but for some pesky red lights.. One or two of which I actually stopped at!!!

And were richly awarded: with a helpful lift to a station, for example...!!!

That sounds about right!!!!

QUOTE (Robbie B @ Mar 3 2009, 10:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I didn't that you were Derek Barclay the former Wimbledon programme editor. Do you want me to use your proper name or the Parsloes name on my site? My real name please! The Parsloes name's a bit naff!!!!

QUOTE (Robbie B @ Mar 3 2009, 10:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Many many thanks Parsloes 1928 nearly for the info, will put on website and give you a mention as promised. Brendan's name always strange spellings, at some tracks. Shame that he retired early in his career. Cheers mate! For that mention, in case you don't know ( ), I'm Derek Barclay - one-time Wimbledon programme editor...

QUOTE (Robbie B @ Mar 1 2009, 01:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Can anyone help me with the following Second Half heat details for the following meetings. June 30 Metro Fours (White City) Okay as promised. Just two races in the second half of this one: a reserves race and a 'Victor Ludorum' (as they were always called in those days!!) for the four teams' top scorers. Reserves Race: Trevor Geer (White City) Red 2nd. Steve Lomas (Hackney) Blue 1st. Brendan Shilleto (*) (Wimbledon) White 3rd. B. Proch (Reading) (**) Y/B fell. exc. Proch fell in first staging; excluded from rerun. Time: 75.0 Victor Ludorum: Gordon Kennett (White City) Red 1st. Keith White (Hackney) Blue 4th. Larry Ross (Wimbledon) White 3rd. John Davis (Reading) Y/B 2nd. Time: 73.6 * - the programme printed the Dons' reserve's name as "Brundan Shirreto"...!!!! ** TBH, I didn't write in the first name of Mr. Proch the Reading reserve who contributed a match-winning six points to the Racers total. Probably didn't know how to spell it then and can't recall at all what it was now!!!

QUOTE (Robbie B @ Mar 1 2009, 01:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Can anyone help me with the following Second Half heat details for the following meetings. June 30 Metro Fours (White City) Thanks in advance for any help. Was at that one and have a completed prog. in the loft. Will dig it out for you tomorrow... Question is, though, would I have stayed for the second half..?? Only one way to find out...!!!

Hmm, a lofty ambition indeed...

Though I guess (very) old-timers could have an argument for Jack Parker and especially Vic Duggan, there's really no doubt now that empirically (on the number of WC rostrum positions without ever finishing on top of it.. ), Gollob IS the best rider NEVER to be World Champ. Without the GPs he'd have two or three titles to his name for sure... I really hope, as you say, he can finally win the World title, he (and Poland as a whole) so deserves...

'Salright...: I made it to and from High Beech in one piece once...: no need to risk it again...!!!!

Well I certainly could not, by any wildest estimation, be called a High Beech "traditionalist" as actually I only ever went to one of the events there...: ironically the 80th. anniversary in 2008: what looks like being the LAST time such an event will be held at the King's Oak... And I AM a big supporter of the Museum - having helped out in a modest small way with George & Linda's fund-raising and having the massive privilege of being invited by them to the Opening Day in ‘07...: when a starting gate was erected and Luke Bowen and Chris Neath broke the tapes on their bikes to open the place... But I am puzzled nonetheless by the decision to 'move' the early Feb anniversary event to Paradise Park from the place (High Beech) it surely obviously should be at... Seems to me the 'solution' is to have a big event every year at the Museum...; but NOT to have this replace the hugely symbolic pilgrimage to that extraordinarily evocative place deep in Epping Forest at the point our sport here in the UK remembers its dramatic beginning...

Well, Crayford (disregarding its alleged '30s incarnation - as a grass speedway track I believe.. ), as a League track was ALWAYS in a London Borough (LB Bexley...) as opposed to an UDC of Kent... High Beech and Hoddesdon are not and never have been in London Boroughs.. Barnet & Staines are now..: but not sure if there were when Speedway was there; and fairly certain the same would've applied to Elstree and certainly Greenford... And Thurrock (where Arena Essex is...) has also never been in a London Borough So, yes, actually Crayford is far more of a London track than any of those other ones...!!!

Well I'd say Chiswick's as much 'London' as Barnet, Staines, Rye House (Hoddesdon), Elstree, Greenford and High Beech... So yes....

And I love (NOT) to see you revert to your oh-so predictable school playground bullying ways... Why, WW makes an inane comment, so good old Rob steams in to join in...!! Did I fact that I had already apologised mean zilch to you..? The debate had actually been about how good it was that the '09 championship will return to being a multi-round one. The main point about '07 was that it hadn't been.. I fully appreciate Dan's family would be a bit aggrieved at any comments about that championship, as their lad clearly won that title on merit over the two rounds and then final double-points round of that year. Being a father myself (something you Rob wouldn't know about...) I can feel for morganbike's pride in that great achievement AND his frustration about the barriers since (especially financial ones) which have suppressed Dan's development. It really can't be good for the sport for our national champ at Under 15 level of '07 not to be going to the tapes in '09 so I'm sure we all hope that that situation changes for the better one day soon... Ah, except you don't of course, Rob: you just want to make a few cheap and frankly pathetic jibes!! BTW, is it worth trawling through the BSF archives to find any occasions when, Rob, you've apologised (for example, over disgraceful slurs you've made in the past and repeated often about a very respected rider..)? : er, no I didn't think it would be...

Ah, so my geography was out..!!! When we need that Man Of Kent (who masquerades as a Taffy..! ), Mr Williams, where is he..?? Sunning himself down under, that's where... I'd be surprised if a Thanet track emerges though...: from the mists of history, I mean.. In the future..: well who knows?!

Many apologies for my mistake about the 2007 series, I accept that I was completely incorrect... I do think - as I'm sure you do too... - that it was a shame that the '07 series hadn't been the more multi-round series that we'd seen in the previous couple of years; and, because I'd become friendly with Bren and his father, I was of course backing him to win it. But clearly Dan's victory wasn't just fully deserved, it was quite remarkable because that all-important final round was actually at Bren's (by then...) home league track of Oxford... I saw Jason win the U-15 500cc title up at Hi Edge with as impressive a performance by a young (indeed any...) rider in fairly shocking conditions as one could ever see (indeed it was a truly remarkable and massively memorable performance ); and I for one have him marked down without doubt as a star of the future. As of course I do, Marc Owen who is quite outstanding.. And add to that list your Dan - who I saw ride a lot, particularly at Rye House, last year. I'm sure ALL of us on here sincerely hope young Dan returns to racing and please don't think that I or anyone else in any way demeans or belittles or underestimates the incredible financial and other efforts put in my youngsters like Dan and their parents in pursuing a Speedway career. As I say, my unreserved apologies for a thoughtless remark and I wish you and your family all the very best. Derek