chunky

Oh, I get it! As I said, uneducated westerners would often be unaware of the differences (and don't even get me started on the American confusion regarding the Netherlands and Denmark), and of course, even dear old Dave Lanning would refer to them as "Russkies".

That wouldn't surprise me at all! Then there was the term "Soviet Russia"...

I don't disagree at all, and honestly, progs never were the most accurate source of information! Of course, back then, western Europeans really didn't know the difference - particularly speedway fans - and the two terms were often interchangeable

Yep. It was 10th July at Meadowbank. The programme says Scotland vs "Russia", but it's listed on the international speedway website as "Soviet Union".

Wow! That makes no sense whatsoever! Is that really representative of logic and intelligence north of the border? Might just have well have had a "Spot the Ball" on a speedway photo...

I'd wondered if it was summat to do wi' spelling... Thought about that.... More than that, the vast majority were British!

NOW you tell us!!!

And they obviously expect at least three correct answers!

Unless we're all missing something!

There's obviously some kind of code - but nobody has a clue how to decipher it!

Not strictly true. He rode in three tests against England in 1964, and against the Soviet Union the following year.

I had no idea he was still with us! I never saw him ride (I am too young) but I've known of him my whole life. Remember, he was at Plough Lane in 1949 and 50, so my mum was very familiar with him.

Absolutely!!!

That was wonderful! Again - as some of us have stated on here - the racing really was no better back then. However, it was more of a spectacle because of dirt on the tracks, individual styles, black leathers, chrome machinery, and fans on the terraces. Nearly every male you saw wore a tie, mostly with a jacket! Real speedway...

I have a mate who lives in Dalton Avenue, and since they knocked down most of Phipps Bridge, I'm quite happy to get the tram there. Never had any problems elsewhere in Mitcham - despite much of it looking like a WW2 bomb site!

I have to agree, but I do feel that things are worse these days. I'm always seeing reports of muggings and stabbings - often in broad daylight. That being said, it's so much easier to spread the news now via the internet, so will see more of these stories. As far as you growing up on Blackbird Leys, I grew up on the St. Helier council estate, and it was never as bad (or it didn't seem to be) as the media would have you believe! Of course, we did have the bad areas, such as the Phipps Bridge Estate (Mitcham), Durand Close (Hackbridge), and High Path Estate (South Wimbledon), but I stayed away from those!

Realistically, I think that the 60's and 70's were probably the safest era to be out walking around. Before then, you had to deal with the dregs of post-war society, and since then, there are just too many self-important thugs...

"We often complain that gang crime in London is getting out of control nowadays, but gang culture certainly isn't anything new in the British capital. Some one hundred years ago, gangs were still rife in impoverished parts of inner-city London, the difference being that back then gangs were much more entrenched in local communities. There were several gangs operating across the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Bethnal Green Mob, the Hoxton Mob, the Broad Mob, the Elephant and Castle Mob, the Islington Mob, the Kings Cross Gang, the West End Boys and the Whitechapel Mob were just some of these notorious gangs. Some of these gangs were known as the 'Kosher Nostra', in reference to their Jewish background. The Yiddishers, the Aldgate Mob, the Russian Jews, the Bessarabian Tigers and the Odessians are examples of well-known Jewish gangs who used to run pockets of North London and East London during this period. Probably the most famous of these gangs were the Bessarabian Tigers, also known as the Stop At Nothing Gang. They were a group of immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe, the gang's name denoting their homeland on the Russian-Romanian border which is today known as Moldova. Instability in the region in the late 19th century brought many Bessarabian Jews to London, most of them settling in Whitechapel where there was already a well-established German Jewish community. Gang leaders were quick to recruit the Jewish newcomers, who they would use to both protect and terrorise local Jewish business owners."

I get where you're coming from, but I'm not talking about races - or even going flat out. Just getting them out there doing laps would help break up the surface, and they'd be getting valuable experience.

I've often said that the GP's usually start to liven up after 8-10 races - once the track settles in - and they could easily send juniors out before the meeting to get it in shape from the start. There is no reason at all why they couldn't do that at ALL meetings - and EVERYBODY would benefit.

Back in the day, you would get four or five of the team returning the following year. Look at Wimbledon. Trevor Hedge, Reg Luckhurst, Bob Dugard, and Jim Tebby were there from 1965 to 1970 (six years, they formed the basis of the team), and Olle Nygren was with them for the first four of those years...

All that should mean is that they don't get a testimonial then!

I see... That's weird, though. I remember seeing a bunch of posts on here about 17th April, 1946 - at New Cross; all saying something about a "first-ever meeting"...

Ah, that's interesting! There are so many "claims", and so many different views from so many different people. So, why?

So we don't count Droylsden in 1927?