chunky

That is not my responsibility, and if we can't get Split Waterman's passing on there, what makes you think we could get anything else changed? Have you ever considered that YOU may be wrong, and that this particular entry in Wikipedia may be inaccurate? I don't just assume that everything I read is correct (particularly if there is a question about it), so I will conduct my own research. I have always been under the impression that California (or California-in-England was not an actual place name, more a term applied to a certain area. I didn't actually know the history of the place until now, and so far, what I have found seems to agree with what The Doctor has said. The ONLY reference to California as a village is that single entry on wikipedia, which was submitted by an individual claiming supposed knowledge of the subject. We all know that due to the origins of the information on there, it is not 100% accurate. Steering away from wikipedia, a couple of the main resources I checked were detailed (and, it would seem, pretty accurate) gazetteer of towns and villages in Berkshire, and one of towns and parishes in Berkshire. There is no reference to it as a village, hamlet, parish, or any other locale with the actual name of California. All reference to "California: or "California-in-England" concerns the park. More to the point, if California WAS a true village or hamlet, then I am pretty sure it would appear on a map of the area. I have yet to find a map on which it is shown, other than in reference to the park.

This doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Wikipedia is designed for people to add their own entries and to add their own updates. Obviously, they do have to watch for questionable content, but this straightforward factual information. Again, many of us have updated the site on a number of occasions with no problems whatsoever, but this seems totally ridiculous.

Most of them were before your time, but they were ALL very famous. Desmond Dekker you should know, and you will have heard his biggest hit, "Israelites". Been to Abney Park (creepiest place I've ever been), and Golder's Green (and Golder's Green Jewish Cemetery opposite). One of my favourite hobbies is visiting famous graves.

Wilfrid Brambell is only one of many famous entertainers in Streatham Park. His ashes were scattered, but some of the others in there (and yes, I've been there several times) are comic actor Will Hay, music hall stars Gus Elen and Lupino Lane, comedian Ben Warriss, singer Dorothy Squires, American Pianist Charlie Kunz (who was the highest-paid pianist in the world - and is buried next to Lupino Lane), and reggae star Desmond Dekker. I haven't been there since Dekker was buried.

Oh yeah, Bentley was a local. You know that cemetery at the Croydon end of the Common; that's where he is buried. I've been to his grave... I'm not aware of the Phillips HQ, but they had a big factory in Hackbridge called "Mullard of Mitcham". My mum worked there. "The Fish" was regarded as one of the best dart pubs - with some of the best players - in the whole of Surrey, and I did play for them for a while. It was one of the last pubs I played in where they still used an old elm dartboard for league, rather than the standard bristle ones. I always look on Google street view at the old areas, and I've seen that "shisha lounge"; at least it's still the old building.

If you find the Kingsmead Car Park opposite Sainsbury's, and look across to the other side of the river, there is a curved housing terrace on Westwood Drive. That would have been on the centre green. The treeline on the south side of the park area opposite was where the stand and starting gate was.

Last time I looked, I think The Eagle was a community centre. You familiar with the story of Derek Bentley, who was executed for the murder of a cop in the early 50's? He didn't do it, and he was actually under arrest at the time! They made a film about it, called "Let Him Have It". That took place on the roof of the warehouse at Barlow and Parker, opposite The Eagle on Tamworth Lane. Coming across Mitcham Common, you turn left on Sumner Rd before you get to Reeves Corner, then onto Windmill Rd. It's more up towards Thornton Heath, near the Mayday Hospital. Yeah, that is by Lonesome Primary School. Not a great area!

Yeah, there were so many areas like that. Beddington Corner, Benhilton, Summerstown, and a bunch of others.

Yeah, I used to pass Mill Lane on my way to school, and played darts at The Sun on the corner of Mill Lane and North St. Tom was my barber for most of my life! Even after I emigrated, I would go to Tom's on my visits back! He finally retired in the early 2000's. The best story was about the other barber in Tom's, a guy called Gary (really nice guy, actually). He did a few years inside for helping to cut up the body of a murder victim at the Arms!

Okay. I played in a lot of pubs in the whole area, and actually played for The Eagle (Reeves Corner) and The Fisherman's Arms (Windmill Rd). Of course, both are gone now... I went to school in Wallington (Croydon Rd).

Well, St. Helier is the housing estate, which runs from Morden town centre to the other side of the hospital. It basically runs alphabetically, from roads like Abbotsbury and Aberconway, to where we lived (Welbeck) and others like Whitland and and Wigmore. St. Helier station is in Green Lane. The St. Helier Arms (played darts for them) was at The Circle, the other side of the roundabout from where my grandparents lived. There was a pub, The Rose, on the roundabout at Rosehill. The road that goes from the roundabout towards Sutton is called Rosehill, and that area is just known as Rosehill. If you go down Wrythe Lane from Rosehill (past the hospital) you come to Wrythe Green (by Carshalton FC). That area is The Wrythe. I don't know any actual boundaries or anything.

Where the hell do you live then? I had no idea you were a local? I was born in St. Helier and my dad died in there.

Where I lived, the church of St. Peter's served the Parish of St. Helier, which covers parts of Carshalton and Morden. There is no town/village/place called St. Helier. There are local areas called Rosehill and The Wrythe. They are often shown on maps, but there is no town/village/place called either Rosehill or The Wrythe.

Nope. It's in Berkshire near Wokingham. John's original post mentions the buses from Reading and Bracknell.

I couldn't remember the year, but yes, wheelies were banned for a while. Caused a big stink...

The Defunct Speedway website is not a forum. I can see why comments on a forum would be rejected, but would they do that to a standard website? Would Wikipedia staff go through every website to check for its authenticity and legitimacy? Steve

That's weird, though. I have updated a number of wikipedia pages over the years, and I have never had an issue. Unless they are really clamping down on things.

I have repeatedly stated that one of the GP's biggest selling points is that it is designed to find the top 15 riders (or close to the top 15) in the world, whereas the world final certainly wasn't. The problem is that a lot of people still think the old system was best. As dad as Lindback, of course, part of it was because of his nationality, but it is still not obvious - despite what some people think - that there were other candidates clearly better than him. So, you have one "debatable" inclusion out of 15? Helluva lot better than the old days!

This is what gets me with modern society, and of course, social media is largely to blame. What people do now is no different to what they did years ago. The differences are : 1) It is now rammed down our throats via social media. 2) People today are intolerant, and offended by everything they see and read. I've raised this issue several times on here when lack of loyalty has been discussed. Collins did it. Nielsen refused to ride for Denmark. Mauger and Briggs honoured continental commitments instead of breaking their contracts to ride in rescheduled British fixtures. Kennett said he was going to ride for Denmark. Wigg, Smith, and Cox all took out foreign licenses and represented other nations. There were a few minor complaints, but everyone got on with their lives. Not these days! Not just Woffinden either. Look at the criticism of Jolts for representing Poland. Why? He lives there, and he has Polish citizenship. Do people whine about Ronnie Moore and Bob Andrews? They are no different. Fact (and there's that nasty word again) is, it doesn't - and shouldn't - make any difference to the way a rider's ability or achievements are viewed. Particularly when it has been happening for years, and everyone was okay with it.

I have never questioned your opinion of who was better! What I questioned was the fact that you said PC was better because Tai "isn't committed to British speedway". That is totally irrelevant when it comes to ability, achievement, and rating.

I think most people are in agreement that what we have now works. We had a discussion about it a few weeks back, and I did raise the issue of the winner of the individual GP not being the best rider on the night - maybe winning only the one race. However, the fact that the overall champion was decided by simple accumulation of points seemed to be the main thing that people wanted.

Of course. It doesn't matter what system you use, there will ALWAYS be anomalies - or at least the possibility of 'em...

So, me telling you that your prejudiced opinion is not "proof" that PC is better than Tai, is talking down to you?

Oh trust me, Einstein, I'm not the one who needs help... Iris tells you that you don't help yourself, and that you let prejudices cloud your view, and you take it as a compliment?

I am not going to apologise for correct use of the English language, and I am not going to "dumb down" for anyone. I attempt to write in a manner that is easy to understand and is not ambiguous. If there is something you don't understand, all you have to do is ask! I break things down into separate paragraphs and sections to make it easier for people to respond to individual points and sentences. When people can't - or won't - make the effort to understand what I am saying, or respond directly to simple questions or points, that's not my fault! However, it frustrates the hell out of me... I have made a couple of points on here that you still can't get your head round. I have tried to explain, and I have totally broken everything down so you can understand, but all you want to do is argue and accuse, and get your knickers in a twist. And you think it's ME that needs to chill? I know you STILL haven't got a clue what I am talking about, but I will say again that whatever you think about Tai IS NOT A FACTOR TO DETERMINE HIS ABILITY OR ACHIEVEMENTS, AND CANNOT BE USED AS SUCH.