From Hollywood To Hackney

[Guest Nostalgic]

With the forum getting a bit of help from the Superb Backtrack magazine I really feel the era of nostalgia is well and truly upon us. If you where lucky enough to witness speedway in the swinging sixties or earlier up to the present day, speedway has changed, and oh how I would love for those days to return. As I sit here at my computer, wondering what most of the functions actually do on this computerised box of components, my mind wanders on to how slow compared to today it was to get your teams results. Having to wait for the following morning’s newspaper or ringing up the track to find out how your team had done. Another excellent publication around in the late sixties early seventies that was I guess literally hot of the press in those days was the Speedway Stop Press, done by I think Donald Allen. Going to an evening bank holiday meeting, you could buy for about 6d [2.5p in today’s European money] about four sheets of paper stapled together giving the local scores and match reports from any meeting’s in and around Essex that had taken place that day, plus gossip and match reports from the previous meetings at Romford, West Ham, Hackney and Rayleigh. Then of course there was the Crayford Kestrel News, that was another great little mag. Crayford, bends that dipped into the bowls of the earth, Rayleigh cockle shells on the terracing by the turnstiles, the massive boats in the dock’s beyond bends 1&2 at West Ham, Romford with it’s white brick wall, Hackney with the smell from the Oxo factory, that fantastic funfair at Belle Vue, the massive banked bends at Hampdon Park, oh the memories! Well I suppose my little bit of nostalgia will be back after reading in the Speedway Star, another excellent magazine that has got better with time, unlike speedway, that the Hackney Re-union is in full swing. Although some of my hero’s may have aged just a bit, what a joy this will be for me. Perhaps the energetic organisers could award an Oscar on the night to… Well let the guests decide!

[colin]

Reading your post Nostalgic, reminds me what a sad old git I am, in remembering the speedway of the late 60's & 70's I had a 'moment' some time ago and when I was in a position to do so I bought an old JAP speedway m/c, which I start up every so often 'just to keep it turning over' but the noise & smell makes the hair on me neck stand up, scares the sh--e out of the dogs & the neighbours stare at me willing to stop it, but I'm gone by then, away in my own little world, to me it's like music

Can't ride it to save me life but it gives the memory banks a top up!!

Sad I know, but I'm harmless

Colin..

[bucket]

Never mind starting it up now and then, why don't you ride the beast, that's what it was built for!!!!