Shrub

Well if you do meet face to face you'll have to be prepared to quarantine for 14 days on your return thanks to the wonderful lockdown that you're such a fan of.

The phrase used by childish schoolboys learning to swear, people who know they've lost the argument or someone who has no point to make in the first place.

Mentioned this before but the ultimate side of the 70's was Ipswich 1975 and '76. Champions both years, the double in '76 and all with a home grown side. Six of the seven born within a 20 mile radius of Foxhall plus Billy Sanders who had only ridden for Ipswich once he turned 16. No guests used, instead used rider replacement or local juniors moving up into the team when required. One hell of an achievement and has never been given the credit it deserved.

Yes remember that as well. Not sure if it was the night after or later on in the cup semi final? Also seem to remember that the tractor driver wasn't your natural athlete and did well to maintain the pose for a couple of laps!

Green and everyone! The Green / Parker clash was during the return home league match at Foxhall, with Green being given a taste of his own medicine. The match at the County Ground finished with David Norris breaking his neck, Dean Standing sidelined for a few meetings after being dumped in the fence, Chris Louis being on the wrong end of a dodgy move and general fisticuffs all round! Green was certainly quick and able to pass but always seemed to want to take his opponent right out or into the fence, I think Parker was on the receiving end of one of those moves as well. Going on memory here I think Steve Regeling was involved in the Norris incident but Green dished out the rest. Ipswich were at Poole the following night with only one fit heat leader! What also sticks in the memory is Moggo riding round after the last race at Exeter, standing on the seat with one leg sticking out backwards at quite a speed! Stayed out quite a while winding up the locals, so unlike the normally shy, retiring Moggo....

Was a lively one to be on the terraces for as well!

This match shouldn't have really started, conditions were awful after heavy rain all day but because it was Sky they got the JCB's out to try and make a rideable surface. The big crash was in heat one and you couldn't help wondering how much the conditions played a part in it. From memory Bunyan broke his thigh and arm plus other minor bumps, Ermolenko broke his shoulder and other minor injuries but once home and reviewing the crash both could be considered lucky, it could have been so much worse.

Of course, two awful crashes in one night and Brett's was the far more serious one but the helmet bouncing down the track is what sticks in my mind!

This happened more or less in front of us, a genuine racing accident. It was a cracking meeting though ending in a Witches victory. There was also a superb last to first ride from David Norris. Other ones that stick in my mind - Kevin Jolly clipping Ari Koponen's back wheel off the 4th bend at Foxhall,(81?) he was launched over the fence and flew through the air, landing on the stock car track by the starting gate. Incredibly he played football the following day for the Witches supporters club. Frede Schott crashing on the back straight at Ipswich. I genuinely thought his head was still in the helmet that bounced down the back straight, though I was probably pi$$ed at the time. Robert Miskowiak somersaulting over the fence at Oxford, clearing it by a good 3-4 feet. He got up and won the re-run. Craig Hyde punching a hole through the 3rd bend fence at Berwick (Berrington Lough) after tangling with I think David Blackburn. All we could see from the second bend were his feet sticking out onto the track. Fortunately for Craig he hit it head first which was the safest way for him! He walked back to the pits. And finally Moggo disappearing in a cloud of dust, wire mesh and timber about a million times in all corners of the UK.

Chris was within a 100 yards of the finish line in the final when his engine went big time. He was leading by the proverbial mile and had been the best and most entertaining rider all night. But that's speedway! Remember that Sam was very gracious in victory saying that he was lucky to win. IF the engine had hung on a few more seconds it would have been the first time that a father and son had won the BLRC, with JL winning it in '79 (with a stunning last ride taking Penhall from the back!)

One of the things I really liked about Cradley was that little bit of 'edge' on the terraces, much more fun than the dull, morgue like atmosphere you get at speedway today. Good race track too and pork sarnies a must. I'm sure the banter there back then was top notch - if I could understand a word the locals were saying....!

Just thought I'd mention that as great as PC was that year, crowned with a fully deserved world title, he wasn't the top Englishmen in the league. That accolade goes to John Louis, who topped the averages with 11.10, PC was 4th on 10.98. Head to head in the league that year JL won 3-0, including two wins at Hyde Road. Alan Wilkinson was the only BV rider to beat the Tiger. But quite agree that 1976 was a great year!

We didn't christen him Captain Crash for nothing! Should of had shares in the company that made the Foxhall fence panels when Moggo was about. You're right, there was usually at least one Fx on his scorechart every meeting. But he just got up for more. All part of the legend!

I do! Whittaker somehow holding off every attempt by Moggo with Louis just pipping Galvin for third. I also remember the return match later in the season on a somewhat over watered track! Back to Moggo, the number of times you were left saying 'How the f--- did he do that?'

Thought long and hard about this. I was lucky enough to watch the great Ipswich sides of the '70's and had a Dad who took me to lots of away meetings. The 1975-76 seasons, which Ipswich won with a team of home grown, local riders, all born within 20 miles of the stadium plus Billy Sanders who'd only ridden for the Witches since he was 16, were great. Never properly recognised for the achievement it was and also proved you can compete and be successful without using guests. Saw every Ipswich home and away in '81. 82, 84 and 98, seeing the Cowboy develop in 81 was fantastic, the 84 league and cup double a pleasant surprise and the 98 super team was a little dull to watch at home but superb away. But I'm not picking any of them. I'm going for 1990, another season I was fortunate enough to watch every match home and away . After John Berry left we had three disastrous, embarrassing seasons under the ownership of the charlatan Chris Shears. When he was finally kicked out we dropped down to the National League and it was like a breath of fresh air. The two seasons, 1989 and 90 provided great speedway, the Northern tours and were immense fun, with 1990 just shading '89 for entertainment. A young exciting side lead by for me the most entertaining (and brave to the point of lunacy!) rider to ever wear the Witch - Moggo. Great days, but we actually won bugger all that year!

Same here, just had it the once. I'm never ill, rarely get a cold but went down with flu around ten years ago and it knocked me for six. A very uncomfortable week or so in bed, the one thing I do remember, (and am never allowed to forget) was when it was at it's peak, after finally getting in a vaguely comfortable position in bed, I needed a wee. The en-suite loo was about a dozen steps away, but it may as well of been in Ulan Batar, the way I felt. I knew I had to move, but didn't want to or felt I could. You become a little delirious with flu and your thought processes go out the window and I seriously considered just peeing in the bed. I didn't, I hasten to add, I compromised and managed half the steps and peed on the bathroom floor....

Heat 4 was Tony Davey's freak accident, a 'routine' coming together on the first bend with Hackney's Roger Wright, Shrimp's hand got caught in his back wheel and lost half his fingers and thumb. Who knows how good Shrimp would have been without this accident?

Best not to go over the events of heat 4....

Just realised that the info here is wrong - JL wasn't in heat 1 that day, that's heat 3, which Thomas won.

I was!

I believe the reason so many people seem to trivialise 'flu is because 'A touch of the flu' is what many will tell their boss was the reason they weren't at work yesterday. Or a football manager saying this player is missing today due to a dose of flu but they're back playing a few days later. Of course in both cases they've had a cold but feel the need to pep it up a bit. A cold can be unpleasant but is nowhere near as horrible or debilitating as a real dose of flu. Only this afternoon on the increasingly hysteria driven 5 Live a virologist when comparing influenza and Covid 19 dismissed flu as a virus that makes you feel bad for a few days but you're well after five days - clearly someone who's never had 'flu. Many simply won't believe that 'the trivial' little illness that they use to pull a sickie really can be a killer. It's just a spot of flu, right?

But this virus in the UK is now twice as lethal as Michael Barrymore's pool

As we're constantly being told to wash our hands with an alcohol based hand sanitiser if we want to help avoid what is, for a person of average health, a bad cold, wouldn't it be useful to line our insides with alcohol as well? Willing to volunteer if any research into this is happening

Not naive or unrealistic at all. He is a world class GP rider and as such should have had no problems at all scoring big points from day one, especially when considering the standard he was racing against. If you're saying that a short stint, lack of racing in the UK and unfamiliarity of Foxhall meant that his scores were always going to be lower than what could be expected then what was the point of the switch? It was a bold move by Ipswich which I fully applaud but it wasn't as successful as hoped, he didn't live up to expectations. That said, fully agree that he would be a bargain on that average, just can't see him doing the UK next year.

Don't quite get why so many want Iversen back. Rode nowhere near his true ability in his short time in Witches colours and to me was a disappointment. In the very unlikely event he was to come back to the UK it will be with perennial losers Lynn.