chunky

Yeah, not the easiest thing to do! One of my favourite trips there (apart from the fact it was dry) was for the KOC in 1980. Johnsy top scored for us with 16+1, and beat PC three times!

Laszlo Munkasci - Hungarian friend of Sandor Levai.

What about Bo-Hummel Bre-hell?

When we were up in Salford back in the 90's, we had a drive around the area (never spent any time in Manchester other than trips to Belle Vue), and Maine Road was just the same. Obviously, there were many more back in the day...

Unfortunately, while I certainly remember my trips to Custom House with great fondness, the fact that I was only a kid when they closed does blur the memory a little! Of course, I made many more trips up to Hyde Road in the 80's. Having said that, I do agree with you. It does sound like we feel the same way. Yes, construction was very "basic" with the old stadiums (football as well as speedway), but for me, there was something very romantic about concrete, wood, and corrugated iron! Seriously! I know I'm weird, but there is a certain mystique to early 20th Century British architecture. Of course, I think a big part of that was having a big bloody stadium plonked in the middle of terraced housing!

There was something wonderful and totally unique about the place... As much as I loved Wimbledon, Wembley, and all the rest, Hyde Road had the atmosphere of an historic and imposing place of worship.

No problem, but there is a lot of different - and interesting - stuff under that.

As I said, there is a place for "non-speedway" items - and it is not the "Speedway News and Discussions Page". You didn't post about your panic at the thought of a telephone consultation on this page, did you?

That wasn't directed at you; it is not unusual for someone else to do that - like he did today... Nothing wrong with that at all, but there is a "General Discussions" section for that. I'm off to make a post about University Challenge now, but it's not speedway-related, so it doesn't get posted in the "Speedway News and Discussions" (discussions about speedway).

But are you going to answer the question, John? I know it's not your forte, but...

So that means we can do away with "General Discussions"? No point in having two sections with the same title and content, is there? Oh, and who is "jingo"? Is he the person who starts a "discussion", and then hides it when people start "discussing" it?

This one never even got to the bloody track!

Yes, "Speedway News and Discussions"...

You don't vote for kings! Should this really be classed as Speedway News, or you think it should be in General Discussions?

Glad to be of assistance, and now you know that you sometimes need to look in more than one place!

Okay... You looked on Speedway Researcher, didn't you? At Poole 1972? We were talking about Speedway Researcher recently, and I did mention that there is information missing (certainly not the fault of anyone involved with the site), and also, that not everything is cross-indexed. Instead of going to the Poole archives (which I figured you'd checked), I searched by year, and then Season Results. It was in there, but not in the Poole file! So, whenever you want to check something on there, check ALL possible locations, as they don't always appear where you first look. The interesting thing here is that there was a note attached. The meeting was never advertised - and never reported on - in Speedway Star.

On October 11, 1972, Poole faced Reading in a challenge. Brian won his first three rides, and then broke the tapes in his fourth. He won his fifth ride. Could that be the one?

Most of the time, my memory is really good, but occasionally, it appears that things really aren't how I remember them! One of the perks of getting old, I suppose?

Could it have been in a second-half, perhaps?

I've seen both, but "On Any Sunday II" is the one for speedway fans.

It's hard to explain to people that have never been through that, isn't it? It's a terrible feeling when your body won't react in the way that you want it to, or the way you are used to. You really do feel just like an empty shell...

When I was on beta blockers for my blood pressure, it was the worst time of my life. Not only did I not suffer any nerves, but I couldn't experience ANY emotion; it was like I was a zombie. Not feeling nerves is one thing, but I never felt disappointment or despair, and worse than anything - I never felt joy or elation at winning. There was no adrenalin rush, no relief, no nothing. It also prevented me from "digging deep" when I was in a pressure situation, which is very counter-productive. Beta blockers may be good as far as your health, but they can destroy all emotion, and anyone in competitive sport can tell you that emotion is the biggest "hook".

Same with darts. It doesn't make you more "accurate", but once you get that supreme confidence, and removes EVERY doubt in your head, it does - as you say - lead to an accelerated level of performance.

It's certainly not the kind of photo that would encourage a kid to become a speedway rider!

Yeah, I've never seen anything like that! Still shocked that they would publish something like that in a programme!