Sidney the robin

It does not matter Chunky i also did not know that facility ran all year.I just remember being disappointed because they had R/R for Egon at the Abbey in 1977.

At Swindon not sure if this is accurate or not? the promotion earned nothing from the car parking, catering/ bars or souvenir sales.

You are spot on Steve Hull ran R/R for the whole of the 1977 season how that was granted for so long god knows.EGON had eight matches in 1976 averaging 8.75 on his debut he scored 11 from four rides at Birmingham .Other notable scores were scoring 13 points at Coventry and 12 at Halifax in 1983 NORDEN ( i went) he was awesome on his rocket fuelled engine.

Remember Hull having the R/R facility for Muller at Hull after making quite an impression.

Maybe i am wrong only saw Muller once in a British league speedway match at the abbey scoring 0 for Coatbridge.Did Coatbridge operate R/R for him at one time? also Conny Samuelsson did Oxford operate that facility as well.?

BL no slur on Ole he was truelly a great great rider one of the best i have ever seen.

Not in competition Ole retired in 1983 , Jacob aged 21 started his British league career in 1993.If I remember rightly Olsen did not ride that much over the years at Cowley? i did see him ride in that Champions individual meeting there .Did he REFUSE to sign for Oxford and Hull.? once upon a time.

I was never a fan of Cowley to be honest usually only went to that Supporters individual meeting there and the Swindon fixtures and that was it.Started then going to alot of the NL fixtures ( ie) Shields, Perks, Hunter, Hack, Lamb ( ect) and when Hans arrived most weeks from 84/89.I was then envious of Oxford because most weeks there track was superbly prepared (unlike the Abbey) and with that beautiful restaurant they had it was a great night out.Hans v Erik, Tommy, Sam, Blackbird stick in the memory.

Nielsen was just beginning to blossom then Steve he was terrific at the Abbey but god it could be bumpy at times.Nielsen was one of the first riders along with Crump( snr) / Lee that rode flat out never shutting off at the bends you could hear it in the engine.I would say Nielsen and Lee are the quickest riders i have seen before the modern day age rider came along then Crump ( jnr) Gollob took it forward never a fan of Ricko.

I don’t know what you think Steve but this meeting, the Mike Keen benefit meeting, 1983 BLRC at Belle Vue and Swindon v Reading 1984 are the four wettest meetings i have ever witnessed.Off the subject a tad did you take in any of the Evening Advertiser meetings at Swindon in which Hans rode in Steve.?

I do think this was a great win for the depleted Berwick side they really dug in and it is nice that Kasper is really flourishing now.Every visit to Berwick is very difficult for any visiting team the track is pretty unique very fast reminds me a little of the County Ground.

I believe in time Bob he will be able to cope as a top five Championship rider the confidence Poole have shown in him has really rubbed off.For me Hume, Flint, Palin, Thompson x2 ( like both) Bowtell, have shown they have a longterm career at Championship level minimum.Touch wood all of them will be fully fledged top flight riders in time Flint, Palin, Hume have already shown they are on the pace at that level

I only went to the rain soddened Reading world team cup round, White City 1982 Kings Lynn 1984 as i said was never a real fan of the competition.

Belle Vue for me are the biggest club in speedway the history of there club is there to be seen. 1972 Belle Vue——- 1983.Cradley Heath are the greatest two club sides i have ever seen.Poole yes have been the latest power house and they are the team everyone wants to beat.But don’t forget it has never always been like that they did have some really average sides in the 1970’s.

Bob were you happy with the point though generally? or are you a bit deflated.! A pattern that i have noticed Bob is that Danyon generally starts slowly but rapidly improves as the meeting develops maybe he takes a while to get his set up right..? If he could get his heat 2 sorted out he would be scoring even heavier still more to come from him though.He has been superb so far, even more encouraging is he doing it without having the NL to fall back on i really thought a lack of lap time might hinder him but it hasn’t.

Spot on Steve your memory is still terrific, sorted through my World team cup programmes.1985 KYM MAUGER rode with IVAN at BRADFORD he was surprisingly in the team in front of Alan Mason.Was never really a fan of the World team cup Steve my three main memories of the tournament are 1979 New Zealand winning 1982. USA winning it for Denny Pyeatt( RIP) at White City and Tommy Knudsen scoring a brilliant 12 point maximum at Long Beach California 1985.

These rules screm are a complete joke , give up to be honest can’t be ass,,, to even look them up.

Ivan and Kym Mauger ? i am sure they did meet in competition? Barry/ Tony Briggs i don’t think Barry ever rode against Tony.This was mainly because Tony started his career in the USA and i can remember there being a rumpus about Tony/ Dave Bargh being to young to ride in the Australasian Final.They could of met in one of those finals but didn’t, even though both of the Briggoe’s did ride endless laps against each other.

It should be a great weekend for the Pirate fans with three quick fire meetings.And for me it shows me why the Championship is a better product than the Stale old Premiership which needs revamping.I believe the Pirates with a full side would of got something maybe a win at Edinburgh but i believe Edinburgh will win by 8/10 pts .Berwick look to have injury problems ( ie Gappmaier - Etheridge) so are there for the taking and the last fixture Newcastle again the Pirates should get the win.But it is never easy at the renownedly difficult Brough Park stadium which has always been a tough track to master.

Sorry Smartie he was great value.

A shame about Basso Bob ,suppose you will just have to wait .A settled seven with Cook, Basso back meaning continuity and bolstering more team spirit could be worth at least another five points a meeting.

I know you enjoyed your Newport days Pinny , Iversen, Watson, Freddy ( ect) personally i enjoyed the Premier league with Gjedde, Allen , Fryer ( RIP).I know the Amalgamation did not really work all those years ago but for me British speedway maybe has some sort of chance of surviving if this happened and everyone worked together.???? Maybe this is pie in the sky, for me personally not really interested in the Premiership it is there in name only and the admission prices they charge are a joke.Do you think there is any chance of this happening? cannot see the Premiership surviving in this climate now for much longer.

God never knew that thanks Steve.

For me young Basso could be a win/ win scenario for the club a rider for the future Steve . Most of you Pirate fans will only expect a 3 or 4 point return from a tough number 2 berth and as long as the potential is there he could be a decent asset.This signing is far better than getting a journeyman type rider who has no real future longterm and will more and likely struggle anyway your six other Pirates should be able to carry Ben for a period.

In all honesty the day out and atmosphere was electric at Wembley in 1975, 78, 81 unforgettable the best sporting experience i have had.That includes having seen a Wimbledon Tennis final and seeing Mike Tyson live but were those finals that great entertainment wise.?