daveallan81 Posted April 14, 2016 Report Share Posted April 14, 2016 19 National League tracks operated in 1979. Here are brief 'reviews' of 12 of them - can you identify the tracks in the spotlight? A league table from the season can be found here http://www.speedwaygb.co/history/leaguetables1979.php but how many can you get off the top of your head? #1. Track under a motorway flyover! Best thing is the excellent snacks served in the stadium. #2. Beware of a nearby carry-out and stick to bottled beer at the track unless you're familiar with the local brew. #3. Interesting place to spend a day. Good selection of shops and eating places in the town and excellent overnight accomodation near the town centre. Many old, interesting 'refreshment' establishments. #4. Pleasant country setting if it's a nice day. Boating trips are recommended. #5. Interesting and historical place for the visitor to spend a day. Most impressive stadium, even if they do serve bottled beer, and numerous places for bed and breakfast available but seek local advice. #6. Very much in the middle of nowhere but the facilities are above average. Cheap and adequate accomodation in Newcastle. #7. Without doubt the number one track for facilities although in the middle of nowhere. Don't arrive too early! Locals always friendly. #8. Not the most picturesque of settings and on a bad day there can be quite a few unusual smells drifting through the stadium. #9. Can always do a bit of train spotting if bored. Local ale house tends to be too crowded. Good accomodation available if you ask at the track. #10. Beware of the plastic cows! #11. Friendly locals who appreciate good racing. The facilities now are second only to <blank>. #12. One of the worst circuits for watching unless you sit in a bar or a restaurant. Don't waste your time looking for accomodation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted April 14, 2016 Report Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) I'll give it a go! 1. Middlesborough 2. Newcastle 3. Edinburgh 4. Rye House 5. Canterbury 6. Stoke 7. Peterborough 8. Scunthorpe 9. Berwick 10. Milton Keynes 11. Oxford 12. Crayford Not confident! Edited April 14, 2016 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted April 14, 2016 Report Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) 8.Ellesmere Port 9.Nottingham Edited April 14, 2016 by Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallan81 Posted April 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 That's a solid 6 from Steve, but zero from two for Team Dibbley! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 Surely 6 cannot be stoke? I'll go with that being Middlesborough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallan81 Posted April 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 waihekeaces1, on 15 Apr 2016 - 04:42 AM, said:Surely 6 cannot be stoke? I'll go with that being Middlesborough? Number 6 isn't Middlesbrough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 Is it Newcastle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallan81 Posted April 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 waihekeaces1, on 15 Apr 2016 - 3:01 PM, said:Is it Newcastle? No. It's a bit misguiding but it's as it was printed. Number 6 is Stoke. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reviresco Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 No. It's a bit misguiding but it's as it was printed. Number 6 is Stoke. Clever, Newcastle-Under-Lyme rather than the one where the fog is on the Tyne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 No. It's a bit misguiding but it's as it was printed. Number 6 is Stoke. My answer was a guess based on Newcastle.....under Lyme! How long you going to let the quiz (excellent by the way) run for as I'm dying to know the answers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reviresco Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 My answer was a guess based on Newcastle.....under Lyme! How long you going to let the quiz (excellent by the way) run for as I'm dying to know the answers! Or at least the ones Steve got right so we can piece together (guess) the others. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topsoil Posted April 15, 2016 Report Share Posted April 15, 2016 I'm guessing #5 is Oxford (based on the "historic" reference) and #11 is Edinburgh (based on the facilities at Powderhall, which I always thought was a very nice stadium back in the day). Agree with above, very interesting little quiz this. Without doubt #1 is Middlesbrough, I was fascinated by the track back then, every time you would approach the stadium you would look down onto the track. #10 is obviously Milton Keynes Agree with above I think #6 is Stoke and #7 Peterborough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallan81 Posted April 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2016 Topsoil opens with two pointless rides, but comes back strongly in the next two. #7 is not Peterborough. Number 1 is Middlesbrough. Always wanted to watch a meeting from the stairs up the side of the flyover. Went looking for food late after a meeting one night, wasn't having much luck, then spotted an illuminated fish 'n' chips sign up a side road. After much u-turning and reversing up one-way streets I finally alighted beside said sign only to discover some joker had stuck it on their house for a laugh. Number 10 is of course Milton Keynes. I thought the cows were concrete but there you go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reviresco Posted April 16, 2016 Report Share Posted April 16, 2016 Topsoil opens with two pointless rides, but comes back strongly in the next two. #7 is not Peterborough. Number 1 is Middlesbrough. Always wanted to watch a meeting from the stairs up the side of the flyover. Went looking for food late after a meeting one night, wasn't having much luck, then spotted an illuminated fish 'n' chips sign up a side road. After much u-turning and reversing up one-way streets I finally alighted beside said sign only to discover some joker had stuck it on their house for a laugh. Great story Dave. #7 must be West Row Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallan81 Posted April 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2016 #7 is indeed Mildenhall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Dave any chance putting me out of my misery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallan81 Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 steve roberts, on 20 Apr 2016 - 7:51 PM, said:Dave any chance putting me out of my misery? Well I was waiting to see if we had any more guesses but I hate to think of you suffering sleepless nights so... 1 Middlesbrough 2 Nottingham 3 Canterbury 4 Rye House 5 Edinburgh 6 Stoke 7 Mildenhall 8 Workington 9 Berwick 10 Milton Keynes 11 Newcastle 12 Crayford 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Well I was waiting to see if we had any more guesses but I hate to think of you suffering sleepless nights so... 1 Middlesbrough 2 Nottingham 3 Canterbury 4 Rye House 5 Edinburgh 6 Stoke 7 Mildenhall 8 Workington 9 Berwick 10 Milton Keynes 11 Newcastle 12 Crayford Many thanks for that! Chance of another? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topsoil Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Really enjoyed this quiz. I wonder what the 2015 version would say of the same tracks (where still open), where the facilities for most will have changed very little since 1979. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallan81 Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) The reviews were taken from a recently acquired copy of the 'Glasgow Tigers...Into the 80's' book. By strange coincidence I also took delivery of a load of Shawfield-era programmes amongst which were some fanzines from the early 90's. Unfortunately like a lot of these supporters' publications they tend to be written by the terminally self-absorbed and if Glasgow fans today think Edinburgh supporters are a bit smug, a bit arrogant, then they perhaps want to have a read at some of these. Anyway, there is a track review section in one of them and quite a few of the circuits still existed from 1979. 17 of the 18 NL tracks from 1990 were featured (they didn't have the temerity to review their own midden) but unlike the 79 reviews they're written with forked pen although I'm sure it seemed funny to the clique supporters that produced it. Unfortunately the descriptions all easily give away the track in question so there isn't much point in listing them all for a quiz. There is one exception however. Bearing in mind what you know about the 79 reviews, which track do you think was reviewed this time around with a simple 'Ha Ha'? Edited April 21, 2016 by daveallan81 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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