Sean

well last season it was the genius mind of Len Silver that started the ball rolling with this poor excuse for a joke! would hazard a guess that he was behind this introduction as well!

Yes SCB....and they get to talk speedway with the luxaries of Sun Sand Sea and Sex in RUGBY!!!!! "that'll teach me not to quote you eh!!"

Rach.. the CL conference is in January. nothing happens until then..

theres no need to lock this topic. it can be left open for general views about the AGM as a whole.... there are two other polls and discussions about main points including Guest facility and Golden Joker. Guests facility thread can be found at http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/ind...?showtopic=5597 and the Golden Joker can be found here http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/ind...?showtopic=5596 Mod note..please be careful with the language content..i am as frustrated as many of you, but lets keep the language down ..please.

it would add to the atmosphere created in some EL stadia!!!

spot on...dmac....the only other place that a golden joker is used..sad isn't it!! next we will be seeing Stuart Hall in the Sky Commentry box!!! and god forbid..royals running round our centre greens!!

Sandman..here are the contacts.... Peter Lipscomb 1, London Road, Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, HP22 5HG Phone/Fax 01296 630404.

Tony, i am a regular, avid reader, picking up the latest copy from my good friend Peter Lipscomb each time. I love sitting and reading about the good ol days, reminising about certain riders, and having a nostalgic laugh at some of the stories. i spoke to Peter after the Film Evening at High Beach recently, about the Lokeran road disaster back in July 1970 (thanks to the guys on here for the info they posted!) and after hearing Stan Stevens account of the happenings of that fateful Morning, i would like to see maybe a piece written either as an interview with Stan, or about the interview that John Chaplin did that saturday night at High Beach. it was an interesting and moving story that Stan gave, and personally i think it needs a bigger audience than the 100 or so that attended the Film Night. My heartiest congratulations, by the way, for the Film Evening. it was a very good show, and the work that Tony Steele has done in order for us to marvel at the hero's of yesteryear, was incredible. The work he must have put in was unthinkable, and my thanks go to John, Peter, Tony, yourself and the VSM Team for taking the time, and having the heart to put the evening on for us. Carry on the good work Sean

yes also saw it on the london evening news tonight. a sports arena to house the Basketball, netball and handball was what they said! and it showed the site, which they said is to be "raised from the ground where the old Hackney dog stadium once stood"

and if you haven't got a copy yet..WHY NOT? if there was a wire on the end of your post, i would say.... that was a plug!

i have a copy upstairs somewhere, so i will look it up..cheers Norbold

i'd be very interested in reading them . thanks CH

thanks for that Miro, thats the first time i have seen any reference to the unfortunate incident and the riders who was lost. i do recall Stan mentioning Peter Bradshaw, and Colin Pratt, but they were the only two he spoke about.

ah...i did wonder where you was!! There was around 100 people there, a good turn out, and as this was the first one they had tried, i guess CH, that its best to ask Peter Lipscomb or John Chaplin if they plan anymore! as for the "Lokeran disaster" (thanks for the spelling!), i have never read anything about it before, and being around a month old when it happened, i can only go by what was said last night by Stan. this is the first time i have heard about the tragic incident, and was amazed that i hadn't read about it any where. i did ask Peter Lipscomb after the show, if there was a possibility of the story appearing in VSM in the coming issues, and he has said it could well do! any idea where i can find any archive material about it? i know its sounds morbib to think i want to read about it, but as i say, i was young, and never knew until last night, what happened.

wasn't sure where to put this topic, so i decided this as being the best place. Last night i attended a very good film evening, held at the Kings Oak Pub in High Beach, Essex, the spiritual home of speedway. In attendance, and answering questions about his career, was Wales's only speedway champion, Freddie Williams, Gp referee Tony Steele, and Stan Stevens. The evening opened with an interview with Freddie by John Chaplin, about his World Championship wins and other stories from long ago. Then we watched some footage that had been found and painstakingly remastered by Tony Steele, that included film from a very early meeting at Hackney, called Flying Cinders, followed by a meeting highlights colour cine film of Ashfield(Glasgow) V Norwich from 28th June 1949. The Giants won by the way, 50-34! :x Next we watched a world championship qualifying round from Ashfield, dated 5th July 1949 and another World Championship qualifier, from the next day from Glasgow White City. folowing a short interval, where Tony Steele, changed the film reel, we carried on with a really weird short programme called "heres how to in sport" depicting what it was like in those days to learn speedway. Another helping of Glasgow White City first V Newcastle from June 29th 1949, and Glasgow White City V Edinburgh 21st June 1948, which i won't talk about the score for fear of reprise from the Monarchs fans! Then it was off to Brough Park for a Northumberland Charity Cup meeting in the presence of The Duchess of Northumberland from 5th July 1948. The second reel finished with a stroy from Tommy Price, using some film from his private family collection, and billled as "a rare insight to the life of an inetrnational speedway rider before air travel and roll on roll off ferries were the norm, told through Tommys own family footage." Very interesting piece of footage showing Tommy on swedish tracks, with no amenities or stadium, just tracks in fields in the middle of nowhere. During the next interval, John Chaplin interviewed Stan Stevens. for those who don't remember the name, he was one of only four survivors(another of which was Colin Pratt) of the Lokerim Road disaster, which took the lives of 6 of our sportsmen late in the 60's on a trip back from a meeting in Holland. Stan spoke very uneasily about the incident, and descibing to us all, what happened that fateful night. Stories about the Doctor that operated on the riders, and how he spent 14 hours constant in surgery trying to save them. A very moving story. The final reel was a film about the diversity of Wembley Stadium, and all the sports that graced it , and took us to Rye house where the Lions had training sessions. wow, the place hasn't changed since 1949!!! the Refs box is still there! The final piece of film was a day in the life kind of thing with Split Waterman taking his first steps into the Wembley team, and having try outs for the most prestigous club in the world. A part of this film was given over to Splits first meeting for Wembley, against Odsal, where a crowd of 60,000 graced the terraces!!! it also showed the workshops at Wembley where the fully trained Mechanics looked after the bikes, and an office in the stadium that stored the names,address's and details of the biggest speedway supporters club in the world, the 100,000 strong Wembley Lions Speedway Supporters Club. all in all, a very good evening, watching film of the likes of Ken Lebreton, Jack and Norman Parker, Phil Clarke, Ken McKinley, Freddie Williams and Tommy Price, riders that i never saw in there day, but have been lucky to see on film.

teamwork my love!! teamwork!! something sadly missing from speedway these days!!

Maybe we jumping too far ahead with the europeon super league idea. but ..and maybe but.. i can see a Europeon Knockout cup working, taking say the top two teams from each of the Swedish, Czech, Polish, Danish, German and British leagues, and putting them into a knock out cup on a home and away basis. would you get People travelling as much as they do now for GP's if they were to follow a team all the way to the europeon finals. just a thought thats all!

ok Lioness will probably be at Fottie this arvo, so i will create a poll for you Shaz. i will put it up in Speedway genneral discussions and make up a list for you.

thats the one!!

you'd have fitted in well then !!! you old wrench!!!

see what i can do..i don't see any problem ... mail u later

stopped at the "rubble pile" today and had a look in. the track outline is still visible, but gone are the New stand, Old back straight stand, Vic Harding lounge, everything. the signs up along Waterden Road say ... " secure site to let for open storage. 11.25 acres " more interesting are the signs for the Sunday Market on the surrounding fence that say.... "No more Sunday Markets until further notice. Sorry for any inconvience" both these suggest that they plan to let the area for storage without cover for a considerable length of time, but are holding the "sunday market" idea as a fall back in case no one wants to let the area. interestingly the Christian fellowship building that stood between the stadium and the A12, has also disappeard. all that is left is the hard standing concrete base of the building. and i also notice that the Bus Repair facility opposite(what used to be Tibbett and Brittens) has been vacated, although still standing. I have a customer delivery at the Stratford end of Waterden Road on Friday, i will ask what is happenong around there.

sad sad day.... i have been going past it for the last three/four years, shedding a few tears, and suddenly i take 6 weeks off, and today its disapeard from the Marshes skyline! absolutely Gutted!! :-( :x :-(

well, i am glad that i am not the only one!! i collect programmes, only fill in the meetings i go to thou, and i also note passes, falls and where they occur, what lap, and the position in the race they are. also note at the bottom/top/side any warnings, fines etc dished out by a ref. yep..can relate to that! oh yes, and sometimes there can be some handy and useful news in those notes too!! if your looking for club rumours!! thanks Beowulf....you have put my mind to rest..there was me thinking i was the only anorak !!!!

i can see too many PL riders without team places if they take the limit down to 40. and that would have an effect on the CL with them trying to find places there, which only puts the youth of tomorrow at risk, stopping them from getting a place. why do they have to play with the only rule that is basically self explanitory. 45 pts is a match win , 40 is building a team to lose ,