chunky

Yeah, Yorkie was too good for Canterbury... Steve

But what about you, Yorkie; you still having a go? Steve

Absolutely. To rise from the status of a raw novice to a near 7-point average (in the BL) isn't exactly what I call "appalling". Oh, and if he was that "appalling", how come Birmingham gave him an invite for the Second City Trophy? Steve

Same as Les McGillivray. Steve

Exactly what I said earlier, Steve. Yes, what happened was tragic, but WE don't know the full situation, so therefore, we should not judge. Sometimes people just "snap". I'm not saying it was right because it wasn't, but these events should not be allowed to take away from his ability or career. Whatever you may think, his life and death, and life away from the track, are, or should be, totally separate from his career. Ron, do you think I am wrong or immoral in possessing a fairly large library of true crime books? Just because things are bad, horrific, or tragic, should we forget them? Should we not write about them? Should we not make TV documentaries or movies about them? Should we forget the Moors Murders and Jack the Ripper? Should we forget 9/11? Should we forget the holocaust? Kenny Carter deserves to be remembered, and whatever you may think, the majority of people who will buy or read the book will do so in order to learn, or to simply remember, not just to show their insensitivities or to gloat over a tasteless and tacky publication. By the way, I am not, and never was, a Kenny Carter fan... Steve

Exactly what I was thinking, Iris. Steve

Which is what I said a few posts back... Steve

Yes, on all counts. Mildenhall Unknowns 76 is Bob Coles leading, and I'm pretty sure that's Fred Mills behind. Steve

I thought it might have been Trevor, but no idea on the others. As far as the Hackney ones, 85-2 looks like Mike Fitzpatrick, and I'm sure that 85-3 is Gary Rolls. I'm thinking you will find that the other two (84-1 and 85-4) will be more Paul Whittaker. Steve

Sorry Tony, you got me stumped with the Kestrels there... Steve

Thing is Bob, JB has always been one for telling it like it is! Yeah, I've been over here 16 years, all in the St. Louis area. I've been to the Toronto area many times; I have a friend who lives in Oshawa, and I've stayed with him quite a bit. Steve

Like Bob, I know where you're coming from, but do we know that the "whole concept of the book" is insensitive to the family? Things happen, sometimes terrible things, but they are a part of life. Was the Carter family approached? Did they give their blessing, even supply information? Did they suggest that some things were best omitted? I'm sure that the answer to most, if not all of the above questions would be "yes". Had this been written soon after his death, maybe it would have been very tacky, tasteless, and insensitive, but it wasn't. Obviously, neither of us know the full content of the book, but I certainly wouldn't think it simply dwells on the tragedies and other unsavoury aspects of his life and death. This is a biography of one of the best speedway riders of all time, and, love him or hate him, one of the greatest characters the sport has ever seen. Why shouldn't he have a biography written about him? Why should today's generation, and indeed, future generations, be deprived of Kenny Carter's life and achievements? Steve

OK Tony, I'll be waiting... Steve

I think you are being a little premature there, Brian. There are a number of photos and programmes from the 60's also. I'm sure the site will expand to cover earlier years, but you have to remember that information from the 60's and later is far more readily accessible tha the older stuff. Steve

Glen Parrott was the only logical choice for me, too, even though the name "Glenn" is apparently incorrectly spelled on his leathers. I also wondered about Ian Stead, although I never really knew which one was which! Steve

If you look back a few posts, you will see Mike's name already mentioned. You didn't think I could forget one of our Dons, did you??? Steve

Even though he didn't appear for them in 1983, Canterbury 83-3 is Graham Knowler - the beard and blue leathers give it away! Weymouth 83-1 is Chris Martin. Canterbury 85-9 is Lawrie Bloomfield. I thought it was him from the start, but even though you have a portrait of him in different leathers (same handlebars, though), I did find a photo of him in those exact leathers. Canterbury 80-1 is Tony Reynolds (confirmed in a Crusaders team photo online). Steve

Jochen Dinse it was who rode in the 1967 World Final at Wembley, although neither he, nor 1970 World Finalist Hans-Jurgen Fritz rode league in the UK. Yep, he was another South African, as were Ettienne Olivier, Bob Serrurier and Trevor Blokdyk. Steve

Don't forget Zoltan Adorjan and Robert Nagy. Also, Laszlo Munkacsi. True, but Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe, and Dave Steen was Zimbabwean, I believe. Oh, and Mike Ferreira, of course. Jimmy Gibb, Eric Chitty, and Gary Ford, to name three. Denzil Kent has been mentioned on here, but World Finalists Doug Davies and Henry Long were also South African, and rode in England. Steve

I know he was in the Australian team for the test at Plough Lane in 1950, but we had a discussion about this a few months ago on a different forum. I can't remember which year it was (either 51 or 52), and even though he was apparently representing New Zealand by then (or so we think), I have an Australian team photo with him in it! Unfortunately, I don't think even Ronnie himself is sure of when he switched. Steve

Having said that, he did actually represent Australia in international competition, including one or two of his early World Finals. Of course, there have been some other riders who have done the same thing, such as Mitch Shirra and Tadeusz Teodorowicz. Steve

If they were were never classed as Brazilian or Fijian, I don't think that should count. The same for Mark Loram. Simply being born somewhere else, but never having adopted that nationality, doesn't cut it. Having said that, I don't know the full story about Antonio Lindback; is he actually Brazilian? Steve

Sorry, but Tasmania is not a country, but an Australian state. Steve

More than that, they have the same birthdate, so I'm pretty sure that is "our" Scott. I did hear that he had got into car racing. Steve

Whether you're talking league or not, there must be very, very few, who have had only one. I don't believe Marshall Pugh was actually Spanish. However, there were a number of Spanish riders who rode in England in 1930, including "Angel Arche" and the Poto brothers. We've had a couple of Frenchmen, several Austrians, a few Irish., and even a couple of Argentinians. For some reason though, I seem to recall something about a rider from Papua New Guinea, but I really can't come up with any more detail. Steve