Bert Harkins

This year's 2014 Celebration of Speedway will be held in Paradise Wildlife Park on Sunday 16th February from 11am till 4pm. Outdoor and indoor displays of bikes, leathers, trophies, body colours and much much more. Bikes from pre-war to Ice Racing Jawas and modern lay-down GMs. Bikes will be fired up on the hour, every hour, so come and listen to the sound of unslilenced Japs and Jawas and the lovely aroma of Castrol 'R'. The 2014 Peterborough Panthers Road Show will be in attendance. BBQ and bar plus food outlets will be available throughout the Park. Donation of £5 would be appreciated and entry includes the Speedway Exhibition, National Speedway Museum and also the Wildlife Park. The donation will help the WSRA (World Speedway Riders' Association) to help members who fall on hard times and also assist the Museum in purchasing exhibits to put on show. Paradise Wildlife Park is signposted from Junction 25 of the M25,........See You There!

CELEBRATION of SPEEDWAY 2014. Sunday 16th February at Paradise Wildlife Park 11am to 4pm. Bike displays from pre-war to Ice Racing Jawas and modern GMs. National Speedway Museum open with bikes, leathers, trophies, body colours and much much more. Collectors' Fayre in the Events Marquee with old programmes, magazines, photos and DVDs. Bike will be fired up on the hour every hour so come and hear unsilenced Japs and Jawas and smell the atmospheric Castrol 'R'. BBQ, bar and food outlets all around the Park. Peterborough Panthers Road Show will be in attendance. Entry free but suggested £5 donation would be appreciated. This also gives entry to the Wildlife Park as well as the Speedway Exhibition, so come along for a grand day out. Paradise Wildlife Park is signposted from Junction 25 of the M25.........See You There!

Put the date in your diary, Sunday 19th February 2012 as that is the date for this year's WSRA Celebration of Speedway at Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire 11am till 4pm.Speedway bikes from Pre War Douglas and Rudge to Ice Racing bikes and modern lay-downs, all will be on display and some will be bursting into life again. Look out for the adverts in the Speedway press. Collectors' Fayre, BBQ and plenty of food outlets around the Park, so come and join us and you may even win a day at a Speedway Training School! Paradise Wildlife Park is signposted from Junction 25 of the M25,......."Seemples!"

STOP PRESS!! Former Hackney favourite, Bengt Jansson has just phoned to say that he is flying over from Sweden for the Celebration of Speedway on Sunday 19th.so get your cameras and autograph books ready. Other news is that the prizes for the Raffle which is in aid of a new more technical wheelchair for Mike Letch, will include;- 2 tickets for the Cardiff GP, courtesy of BSI Speedway, 2 VIP tickets for the Ben Fund meeting at Birmingham, courtesy of the Speedway Riders' Benevolent Fund, A free day's training at the "My First Skid" Speedway School,, a signed Ivan Mauger race jacket, a signed limited edition print of Tai Woffinden, courtesy of Jim Blanchard, etc. Entry to the Wildlife Park and Speedway Exhibitionis free on Sunday, so please buy some raffle tickets for the Mike Letch Fund. Thank you.

Sorry, Rico, the stunt man won't be there this year but at least we should have some unsilenced Speedway bikes being fired up from time to time. Hope you enjoy the day,.......Wrap up warm! More news on the raffle to raise funds for a new and more technical wheelchair for Australian, Mike Letch. prizes include a free day's training at "My First Skid" Training School to learn to ride a Speedway bike, Two Tickets for the Cardiff GP, courtesy of BSI Speedway, a signed Ivan Mauger race jacket and a Jim Blanchard action painting of Tai . Remember, entry to the Park is free for Speedway supporters on 19th Feb, so please support Mike Letch by buying a raffle ticket or two. Thankyou.

Hello, Rico, Sorry for the delay in replying. Entry to Paradise Wildlife Park, Museum and Celebration of Speedway Exhibition, is FREE OF CHARGE on 19th Feb if you bring along your Speedway Star or Classic Speedway advert for the event. Normal admission to the Park is £16 so as it is free, we are asking fans to please buy some raffle tickets on the day as all proceeds will be going towards a fund for a new wheelchair for Australian, Mike Letch and you could win some good prizes whilst helping a good cause.

I can't agree that, (quote), "The Cardiff GP is going downhill fast". I reckon that it is a great weekend, only spoiled by the crazy hotel prices every year. I also believe that, despite my love of the old Wembley and its twin towers, Cardiff is the place for our British Grand Prix. Wembley has a nice new stadium, but the surrounding area is just a big Trading Estate and yes, you can travel into the West End for some entertainment, but in Cardiff, you have plenty of restaurants, bars, and Cardiff Bay all within easy distance and the noise and atmosphere inside the Millenium Stadium is just electric.

Too late, James Easter and the Speedway Star Travel Club have already booked a fleet of First World War Biplanes for the trip. (watch out for The Red Baron). Big Dave will be your In-Flight Host but remember to bring your own flying helmet and goggles and be aware that these planes have outside toilets. They will be leaving on New Year's Day to ensure that they get to NZ in time for the official practice. Book now for the trip of a lifetime!

The WSRA (World Speedway Riders' Association) have arranged their annual Dinner Dance at the Leicester Marriott for the night before the Ben Fund meeting so that our wheelchair boys do not have to make two trips to the Midlands in a short space of time to attend both events. It is also hoped that some of the guests from the Dinner who are staying overnight will make the short hop over to Birmingham on the Sunday.

Congratulations to Glasgow on running a Junior meeting,...We need some more up-and-coming Scots to fill the gaps and get us back onto the International stage..

Sorry about that, Shadders, I was unaware that the vouchers had expired so we will make sure that they are withdrawn from the Speedway Museum.

Thanks for your sarcastic reply, just loosen up and try to enjoy whatever pre-meeting enertainment is on offer as it doesn't cost any of us any extra and there is still the GP to look forward to.

I believe that BSI Speedway are not allowed to advertise some acts due to contractual reasons. Also, robert72, I spoke to many people who enjoyed the Royal Navy displays at Cardiff last year, but it just proves the old saying,..."You cannot please all of the people all of the time".

Why is everyone so pessimistic about the pre-match entertainment at Cardiff? IMG/BSI try hard to give us more than a Grand Prix to watch and, as robert72 says, not everyone wants to hang around a pub before the meeting, especially if they have got kids. What about the "Fanzone" where the street was closed in the afternoon? That was something new for a GP weekend and everyone seemed to be enjoying the carnival atmosphere, and, as regards Wembley, if we ever went back there, we would be stuck in the middle of a trading estate during the day whereas there is plenty to keep everyone occupied in Cardiff before the "Main Event",.....the British Grand Prix.

"Lady Luck", you are depriving yourself of seeing some great racing if you do not attend any meetings this year. The BSPA/Coventry/Peterborough situation is in the past, so relax, come out and enjoy the close racing we have been having at tracks all over the country so far this season.

Yes, I reckon SuddenSam15 is being over-sarcastic, even if it is in jest. Take yourself to Scotland to see this 'Cinders to Shale' Museum, it is a private collection put together by former rider, Ian Patterson and, as others have said, it is probably the best Speedway Museum in the World and I say that as one who is involved in our excellent National Speedway Museum at Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, Herts., so no more jibes about telephone boxes please!

Spanner47,......How can you say that the British team don't have the same attitude as the other countries? Like all the others, they have National pride in riding for their country and the personal pride of beating other world-class riders. No Speedway rider wants to lose,especially in a World Championship Final, so get behind the Brits and give them your support. If they lose, it won't be for the want of trying, unlike another national team in a different sport in South Africa. If Poland, or any other team goes into a big lead, the others will NOT give up as every point counts in the World Team Cup and also in the GPs, so,........Go For It, Great Britain!

Let's not knock the Royal Navy for their sponsorship of Speedway, they did a good job at Cardiff and Speedway needs all the big name sponsors it can get. It is, as mentioned earlier, a recruitment excercise and they have had quite a number of enquiries about careers in the Navy, including many from parents asking about prospects and apprenticeships for their children so let's welcome the Forces to our sport.

Yes, Freddie Williams was certainly there at the GP in Cardiff and had a great time. We had dinner on the Friday evening and he is very fit & well and looks much younger than his 84 years. He even looks as though he could hop onto an old Jap and still slide around the track! One thing I would like to see at the British GP is a 'Parade of Champions',where we could honour all the past World Speedway Champions. Cardiff in 2010 was a good opportunity with, apart from Freddie, other former World Champions were in the Welsh city that weekend. Ivan Mauger, Barry Briggs and Michael Lee were all on book-signing duties, whilst Tony Rickardsson, Sam Ermolemko and Hans Nielsen were all there and we still had 3 World Champions riding in the GP. Greg Hancock, Nicki Pedersen and current Champion, Jason Crump, that is a spectacular line-up of Speedway talent and history. Freddie Williams still attends Speedway meetings around the country and he was at Rye House the other Saturday to see the Edinburgh Monarchs beat the home side by 1 point. He is also a great supporter of our WSRA (World Speedway Riders' Association) events and recently attended the WSRA Southern Lunch in Bournemout along with younger brother, Ian, who rode for Swindon. I guess if Speedway does not honour Fred Williams, his home country of Wales should recognise that they have a double World Champion in their midst. Boxing apart,that country cannot have had too many sporting World Champions over the years.

Glad that you enjoyed your visit to the Speedway Museum and the Wildlife Park, Martin. It is a great day out for all the family. We have some special events coming up and on Sunday 18th July, Barry Briggs will be there from 11am signing his new book and collecting for the fund for our wheelchair-bound riders. Barry will be happy to talk about his charity ride, sign books or pose for photographs, so why not come along and meet this true Speedway Legend. On Saturday 14th August, we have the Ivan Mauger Book Signing and BBQ. It runs from 12noon till 2pm then Ivan moves on to Rye House Speedway in the evening. In between these book signings by World Champions, we have 'An Evening At The Mueseum BBQ', on Thursday 5th August from 5pm -9pm. Cost is £15 which includes BBQ and you can arrive early and tour the Wildlife Park to work up an appetite.

'Trees', Thanks for the old Stoke rattle, complete with photos of some of the old Stoke Potters such as Ken Adams, etc. It is a great addition to the Museum as, once upon a time, there must have been thousands of these at the Speedway and they must have been used a firewood since then. I haven't seen one of those old rattles since I used to be a kiddie-winkle Glasgow Tigers supporter waving my red & white wooden rattle at Glasgow White City!

Thanks, Bavarian, I remember Swede Savage at Costa Mesa but until I read the tribute site, I did not realize that he was such a top class car racer. Although he didn't do too well in motorcycle Speedway, he was one of the very best car racers in the U.S. R.I.P. Swede.

Oops, sorry, Shadders, I didn't realize that you had a wheelchair to push through the crowds and both the Museum and the Events Marquee with the Collectors' Fayre were jam packed all day, which was great to see, but difficult if you had a pushchair or wheelchair. Perhaps we can get you back on a quieter day with a special ticket and give you a personal tour as you missed a lot on Sunday.

Great photos of the Museum, Brian L,...Well done!

Sorry you didn't think it was worthwhile visiting the Museum, Shadders as you said that you have (quote) "Seen it all before". I think that if you HAD popped in to the Museum, you would have seen that it has changed a lot. Mac and Elaine are always replacing exhibits and bringing in new displays and ideas, so there is always something new and fresh to see. We are still hoping to raise the funds to extend the Museum by moving one wall out further as we still have lots of memorabilia and bikes to put on show. Anyway, I'm glad that you thought it was a 'pretty decent day' and I think the turnout of fans and displays was terrific despite the cold and wet weather, so thanks again for your support.