Elmo Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 8 hours ago, Gemini said: So why wasn't that last meeting like the usual final meeting of a season with rider farewells, a bit of fun and games etc? I had followed the Hunters/Lions since 1949 and it was completely different that night in October 1983. There were lots of fun & games from my memory as a 16 year old. Here’s the 2nd half from my programme. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 9 minutes ago, Elmo said: There were lots of fun & games from my memory as a 16 year old. Here’s the 2nd half from my programme. Ah! The good old Second Halves! I used to enjoy them! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 (edited) 24 minutes ago, Richard Weston said: Don't know the answer to that. I was told by Martin Rogers that the rug was pulled late in the day for the following season Martin talked at length about it in an edition of "Backtrack" a couple or so years back. He was less than impressed with the way that it had been dealt with and how it left him high and dry as promoter at Blackbird Road at the time. Edited June 16, 2021 by steve roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 51 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Ah! The good old Second Halves! I used to enjoy them! Any idea who Lester Lion was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 20 minutes ago, Grachan said: Any idea who Lester Lion was? Would be interesting to know? We had a Tony Brooklister ride at Cowley once...turned out to be Colin Meredith incognito! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 2 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Would be interesting to know? We had a Tony Brooklister ride at Cowley once...turned out to be Colin Meredith incognito! Whoever it was it can't have been difficult to recognise him considering he had no helmet on. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 5 minutes ago, steve roberts said: Would be interesting to know? We had a Tony Brooklister ride at Cowley once...turned out to be Colin Meredith incognito! A Bengt mudegaard rode at Berwick i seem to remember. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrs Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, Grachan said: Any idea who Lester Lion was? It was probably Gemini just having one last fling. Edited June 16, 2021 by jrs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 17 hours ago, Midland Red said: Does anyone know whether the BSPA have been in touch with the “All-Party Parliamentary Group for Motorcycle Speedway”, if it still exists? Not sure about that but I heard Rob Godfrey has been to a seance to try to get in touch with the living. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Elmo said: There were lots of fun & games from my memory as a 16 year old. By 'fun and games' I don't mean a second half like in the programme you quoted with perhaps a few unusual races. ( I have still got mine too.) I mean a bit of banter between everyone that usually happens on the final night of the season and 'Goodbye, see you next season' little speeches from the riders. None of this happened whereas it did on every previous season. I was 43 then and can remember thinking how strangely it all fizzled out. Edited June 16, 2021 by Gemini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 4 hours ago, Grachan said: Whoever it was it can't have been difficult to recognise him considering he had no helmet on. Still had the mascot suit & head on though lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 6 hours ago, Elmo said: There were lots of fun & games from my memory as a 16 year old. Here’s the 2nd half from my programme. No-one finished Event 7? An exclusion for no helmet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Humphrey Appleby said: No-one finished Event 7? An exclusion for no helmet? Yes the mascot was not wearing a helmet lol They were on 50cc mini bikes. Edited June 16, 2021 by Elmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startline sid Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 (edited) 20 hours ago, Pinny said: Have said it before but will say it again, it was an utterly bonkers decision to even attempt to run the season this season and this was always going to happen. Clubs going on hold, promoters begging for donations to stay afloat , riders not being able to travel freely etc. In a sport that , even before a hint of this pandemic, was on its arse with nearly all promoters struggling, what hope did it have with reduced fans? It was a crazy decision to attempt to get the season going and I cannot believe those in charge actually let it happen. I want everything to get back to normal, everyone in the world has in someway been affected by this pathetic virus and I am one of those who feel that we should just continue to get as many people vaccinated and forget about the virus and get everything back to normal . I am in Australia and cant even get a flight back home to see family without being stuck there until Australia reopens its borders and dread to imagine how many others are in the same boat. So seeing stupid decisions like restarting speedway only for clubs to start whinging about money less than a month in really is a joke. can't see much getting back to normal in Oz for a long time - the figures i have seen only 5% of the population have had any vaccine doses (at that rate you will be there for another 3 years) - it is not a bonkers decision HERE(over half the adult population have had both doses) as its not just speedway but everything (theatres cinemas clubs racetracks etc are all opening and there would have been many complaints if speedway had not tried to open. Many of the riders from Oz are here and enjoying their racing. Its a vastly different situation here to Oz. Edited June 16, 2021 by startline sid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 1 hour ago, startline sid said: can't see much getting back to normal in Oz for a long time - the figures i have seen only 5% of the population have had any vaccine doses (at that rate you will be there for another 3 years) - it is not a bonkers decision HERE(over half the adult population have had both doses) as its not just speedway but everything (theatres cinemas clubs racetracks etc are all opening and there would have been many complaints if speedway had not tried to open. Many of the riders from Oz are here and enjoying their racing. Its a vastly different situation here to Oz. Oz is largely back to normal internally, and with the exception of Melbourne never really had lockdowns to the extent of the UK. The country has had less deaths in total than the UK had in one day earlier this year. Of course, the Australian government claims to have controlled the virus by banning their residents from international travel, and forcing returning residents into hotel quarantine at their own expense. There is some talk that requirement will be lifted towards the end of the year for fully vaccinated residents, but we shall see. Australia was slow off the mark with vaccinations, but I think it's been ramping up quickly and it's closer to 15% of the population now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 3 hours ago, Elmo said: Yes the mascot was not wearing a helmet lol They were on 50cc mini bikes. My last meeting at Blackbird Road was the Golden Gauntlets in August 1983, won by Kenny Carter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 2 hours ago, cityrebel said: My last meeting at Blackbird Road was the Golden Gauntlets in August 1983, won by Kenny Carter. This one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted June 16, 2021 Report Share Posted June 16, 2021 8 minutes ago, Elmo said: This one What a line-up! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifaxtiger Posted June 17, 2021 Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 On 6/13/2021 at 1:17 AM, Pieman72 said: I attended Birmingham Speedway 2 years ago and quite honestly I was made to feel like a second class citizen. To be fair the Greyhound Track control the venue but the restrictions on the paying public was disgusting. It was made clear not to drink or consume you own food which we ignored or you could purchase anything as long as it was chips washed down with a £4 + pint of Lager from a hole in the wall. It was a freezing cold night and no admission was allowed in the main building unless you were someone important. Sorry but speedway is 'dead in the water'. Supporters need to be attracted to a venue also on a day or night that is normal i.e. Friday or Saturday oh sorry our wonderful foreign riders have European commitments. In a nutshell what a mess of our own making. Reading the posts on here there is a lot of denial but the truth is unless something very radical is undertaken then there is little chance of speedway surviving in it's present form. Therein lies one of the main reasons why speedway has declined so badly : taking its supporters for granted (not allowing patrons to take food in, taking heavy handed action to stop them and charging ridiculous prices for appalling food and drink remains one of my few complaints about Belle Vue). I am certain that a lot of your issues (while remaining totally valid) were the fault of the stadium owners but there's doubt that similar circumstances have applied at virtually every track in the country, including those who own their own stadiums. I have certainly heard such accounts many, many times and, indeed, have experienced them myself. Worse still, when we do get a track that is remarkably customer focussed the BSPL make their position so untenable that they withdraw. On 6/11/2021 at 7:33 PM, Humphrey Appleby said: Speedway has been practicing social distancing for quite some time though... That would be funny if it wasn't so serious, Humph. On 6/11/2021 at 5:08 PM, steve roberts said: I used to attend White City on the Wednesday, Oxford Thursday and Swindon on Saturday with the occasional Reading on Monday thrown in! It was still possible only a few years ago, albeit travelling a bit further afield. I used to do Birmingham or Kings Lynn (Wednesday), Ipswich, Peterborough, Swindon or Isle of Wight (Thursday), Plymouth, Somerset, Lakeside or Weymouth (Friday), Eastbourne or Rye House (Saturday), Mildenhall (Sunday) and, on occasion (or a bank holiday) Wolverhampton, Kent or a TV match on Monday. Then there was Redcar (Thursday), Edinburgh (Friday), Berwick or Workington (Saturday) and Glasgow (Sunday). The thing that used to annoy me was that Weymouth, Plymouth and Somerset all rode on the same night 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrizHeathen Posted June 17, 2021 Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 10 hours ago, Humphrey Appleby said: Oz is largely back to normal internally, and with the exception of Melbourne never really had lockdowns to the extent of the UK. The country has had less deaths in total than the UK had in one day earlier this year. Of course, the Australian government claims to have controlled the virus by banning their residents from international travel, and forcing returning residents into hotel quarantine at their own expense. There is some talk that requirement will be lifted towards the end of the year for fully vaccinated residents, but we shall see. Australia was slow off the mark with vaccinations, but I think it's been ramping up quickly and it's closer to 15% of the population now. I'm sure the recent trade talks between the two prime ministers included talks about international travel between the two countries. I haven't seen my Grandkids for almost three years because of the restrictions...so hopefully things will open up soon. The Daughter is a nurse over there and was emplyed on a vaccination program to isolated communities, it was soon halted because of concerns about Astra zenica, but now in full swing. Slow and steady seems to be the best way out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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