Chris-P

Hi Guys, I don't usually keep tabs on the forum these days, but it has been suggested that I have a read, as my name has sprung up a couple of times recently within the Leicester thread. After catching up on the posts, I am a little disheartened in the way that some opinions have been expressed. I think the most disappointing thing is the way in which these comments are written on a public forum in a clubs thread, and that it has distracted away from the team talk etc and potentially bringing negativity towards the club and the promotion, which is a big shame. However it is important that I must clarify one or two opinions which have been presented here as fact. I do not know who has posted the following comments, but I can say that they are simply not true. I have spoken to him and tried to help him and give him some tips on how to make his presentation better but his response was, "I have been a dj for over 20 years and don't need advice from you, if you don't like it don't come" I can truthfully and categorically say that this is totally false, I have never said, and never will, or even think: "I have been a DJ for over 20 years, I don't need advice from you, if you don't like it don't come ". I have spoken to, asked and been given much advice from many people over the years regarding presenting ideas etc. (I did in fact even post my personal email address on here or any help/advice/constructive criticism) Like anything in life, you can’t apply everyone’s suggestions, for instance ask any team manager what would happen if they did everything everyone tells them to do. I try to listen to everyone, take in everything that is suggested, digest it, apply what I think is right for my presenting style, and discount what I don’t believe is right for me. Ok, sometimes I get it wrong, but I do listen and take in thoughts and opinions and I am constantly working on improving in everything I do in life. I’m the first to put my hand up and say, 'you know what, I’m not perfect, I do make mistakes, but I try, and try harder to get better'. I know my presenting style or even my personality will not appeal to everyone, but I will do my best always. I am thrilled that I am back at Leicester on the centre green this year, and also at the Isle Of Wight as well. As I am doing all I can to help the sport that I love, and being amongst other likeminded people as part of a team. It’s a real shame, forums are such a great voice for the fans to get involved, but in my opinion, the way in which these opinions are put across have largely contributed towards promoters, riders and officials moving away from the forum, leaving the fans with a voice, but no one listening. Chris P.

Does anyone have copies of the last 3 gps for sale on dvd ? cheers in advance Chris-P

Does anyone know of any vintge/classic speedway bike owners clubs, preferably midlands based. thanks in advance

Well Well, never was the saying "he who has the last laugh" truer than with Bomber winning the GP. Where are the scheptics who posted stuff like, "its too soon for Chris Harris to be in the GP" and "he doesnt deserve to have been picked" etc etc Or what about those that said " Ok,....Chris Harris did well getting on the rostrum, but it was on a track he favours,wait till he rides the GP on a man made track, etc etc, blah blah" Large portion of humble pie for table number 4 please !!! Oh ye of little faith........... If Bomber came up for sale would any of you lot be itching for your team managers to bid on him ?.............. you know you would. Justice was done at Cardiff....................LONG LIVE THE BOMBER !! kEEP YER CHIN UP SCOTTY BOY, IT CERTAINLY WASNT FOR LACK OF TRYING ME OLD SON !!.................TOP EFFORT.

Ok,..... now that ive got my breath back after Sat nights shennanigans at Cardiff, i thought i would post a few bits n bobs thats we did post GP, as a way of reccomending the same to you guys & gals out there in British Speedway Forum land...... Ok, Instead of going down to Cardiff on the friday (work commitments wouldnt allow me)... The breadknife and I travel down on sat , getting train at 12pm.arrive cardiff 3.15, nicecly in time to drop bags at digs & go join the fun around the stadium. ( drove down first year,..never again !) This Year we booked to stay on sunday too,..the weather was excellent the sun was out most of the day, 1st reccomendaton: A tour of the millenium Stadium, every hour on the hour from 10am, £5.50 pp... see the changing rooms, players tunnel, out on the sideline of the pitch,royal box, VIP boxes,etc etc.learn about the roof & all the logistics of the stadium, there is also a massive hand painted speedway mural on the VIP exit from the stadium , made up of a collage of all the riders, all signed by the ridsers, i took some pics of that and will print them out as photos and frame them. The excellent tourguide "Pete" has lots of time for you, and answers all questions, allows photos & video...and you get a tour pass & neck strap to keep as a momento ( & if your are an annorack like me, you can collect a polystyrene cup of track shale from the piles that didnt get picked up by the machines!) Most of the previous nights event have already gone by morning, the track gets taken up overnight, all that remanined were trucks with the track safety barrier on etc. but to stand out there at the start line on the damp imprint of the track on the tarmack is amazing, Highly reccomended, you need to book in advance. details on the millenium stadium website. 2nd reccomendation, Cardiff Castle tour, (we did this last year before getting train home on sunday) Highly recomended. 3rd reccomendation. Take a bus to Cardiff Bay..... an amazing place, the home of the welsh opera house ( the armadillo building) and the welsh national assembly building, now we are no fans of architecture or anything tlike that, but the whole place is amazing, esp the opera house, where DR Who has been filmed (hostpital scene with the sisiters of plenitude nurses? ) again, not a Dr Who fan, but was nice to see the exibits on show. The bay in general is a real case of old meets new, with the old bay itself, & parts of the old piers & jettys, years old. all mixed with new & very trendy settings that put where i live to shame, lots of trendy restaurants & bars, or do what we did , sit and eat Harry Ramsdens fish & chips on the tables outside, surrounded by scavenging seaguls. I know a lot of people travel on friday & do stuff in Cariff, but arriving sat, then doing stuff sunday is a lot more relaxing, less stressfull,less crowded, etc. As a bonus we sat in a pub called the Queens Vaults and watched a scene from torchwood being filmed outside the building directly opposite( again im not a fan, but my daughter is so i toook pics & video for her)..... we saw a building get blown up by a young teenage girl who was apparently an alien, she was really sweet and smiled & waved to us. captain jack was standing beside a BMW wich was blown out in the blast too, it was amazing to whitness, and my wife picked up some of the rubble props material for my daughter. If any fans of torchwood would like any pics of the scene, pm me and send email adress. apparently the scene is from a show going out early in the new series starting soon, 3rd scene in the show we were told. We are going back to the same guest house , 4th yr running next year. we are keeping that location secret though ! lol

On the subject of over enthusiastic security at the GP........We read on the back of our tickets regarding video filming, wich read something like, " still or moving photography is alowed at the GP , but only for personal use" ..or words to that effect. But,.... my wife was told to turn our video camera off by a steward,.... i explained and even showed him what it said on the ticket, but he was relentless. Then, ten minutes later he came back and said, ..carry on filming, if i dont see you, your ok !?..... Bloody hypocrite !! lol.......... mixed mesages or what. Then, low and behold on our tour of the stadium on sunday morning (wich i can highly reccomend!)...the tour guide said we were free to film on camera and video, so its ovbviousely not a stadium rule, and the FIM said on the tickets it wasnt a problem with them, so what was this stupid steward on about ? JOBSWORTH !

Exactly !!......................... I rest my case

A very adult & mature reply indeed !

I cant be assed to read every single post on this thread, But my opinion is,.., Germanys equivelant to Bomber Harris from the war days would probably be The Red Barron............... If there was a german speedway rider called Hans "Red Barron" Shmidt ! I for one wouldnt be offended,........would anyone else ??

4th bend, middle tier, front row.......GET IN !!! CUUUMON BOMMMERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR CUMMON SCOTTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

WELL DONE CHRIS "BOMBER "HARRIS !!! A REAL SCRAPPER, TRYER, RACER...ALL IN ALL A "PROPPER JOB" I HAD A GOOD FEELING THAT BOMBER WOULD DO WELL,BUT DIDNT DARE SHOUT ABOUT IT ON HERE FOR FEAR OF SARCASTIC REPRISAL. AND I URGED THOSE WHO WERE WHINGING TO GET BEHIND THE BRITS. WELL DONE BOMBER..... LONG MAY YOUR FORM CONTINUE !!! WELL DONE SCOTTY TOO,... MOST MEN ON THIS FORUM WOULDNT GO TO WORK WITH A BROKEN THUMB, INCLUDING ME !... LET ALONE RACE A FRIGGIN SPEEDWAY BIKE,... SCOTT DESERVES RESPECT FOR THE VERY FACT THAT HE WAS EVEN THERE.

Does anyone know of any vintge/classic speedway bike owners clubs, preferably midlands based. thanks in advance

LEICESTER SPEEDWAY SUPPORT GROUP HAVE UPDATED THE WEBSITE,AND ARE HAVING A NEW RECRUITMENT DRIVE FOR THE CAMPAIGN TO BRING THE SPORT BACK TO THE CITY. ANY HUNTERS OR LIONS SUPPORTERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE A RETURN OF THE SPORT TO THE CITY CAN OBTAIN A FACTSHEET AND COMPAIGN NOTES FROM THE ORGANISERS, AND EVEN A LETTER TEMPLATE TO SEND OUT TO COUNCILLORS/MP'S ETC. LOG ON A GIVE YOUR SUPPORT HERE www.leicester-speedway.co.uk ALL HELP TO GET THE RETURN OF SPEEDWAY BACK TO LEICESTER GRATEFULLY APRECIATED

I reccon a good choice of warm up act would be the Proclaimers..... They are enjoying a bit of a revival at present and 500 miles is an anthem, always has been, even gets 700 people in a nightclub singing along..always has done, and im talking the original, not the new peter kay version........ I think they would go down well,... speedway fans love thier anthems after all

Ill take that as a no then !!! lol

Well said, completely agree, .... its all in the spirit of fun in all fairness, Ok , suggestions...... mine would be UB40 if the budget ran to it, or if not a good UB40 tribute band, or what about Madness ? they go out on smaller (less paid) gigs now, probabaly not that expensive, they would get the crowd going. Ill be ahappy to sing along to chas & dave tho !!

Ray Wison was my boyhood hero too. I made a return to folowing speedway 4 years ago after a 30 odd year absence, and my first meeting after all those years bought the memories flooding back, i often take any opportunity to bang on about Ray to my new speedway friends, and im sure most of it goes over their heads with respect to how big a rider he was in those days, and not enough has been documented about him, im really glad that this article has put that to rights, and also the article in vintage, im now goin to try and obtain copies of both, even if it means a subscription. I have just bought a bike and plan to live out my fantasy of tootling round a track soon, and then show the bike in the future. I would dearly love to write or email Ray, would anyone have an adress or email at all ? Chris-P ( Bring back the Leicester Lions) !

Last year the missus and I wanted to meet up with some more fans after the meeting but obviousely chose the wrong pub ! lol. We must have turned the wrong way out of the stadium becaus the pub we went in to had hardly any speedway fans in after the meeting. So, where does everyone go ? can anyone reccomend a good pub to meet up in? we would love to meet with other fans, we are from Leicestershire, we go to Cov for our fix,.. but happy to meet fans from anywhere who follow any team... (cov fans would be nice though .... ) Cant really meet up before the meeting as we travel by train on the saturday morning, ( i have to work till 3 am on the friday night! ) Chris - P

Glad to hear that you are all well hun, i will look out for you at cardiff, bit of a needle in a haystack job, but ya never know !! Ive gone and bought myself a speeday bike hun, and now in the process of getting all my kit , hoping to "have a go" this summer, always wanted to do it. probably scare myself to death and never want to get on it again,.... hehe. I bought an upright though, the main reason being to show it later on in life. oh.... nearly forgot, got married since i saw you last too

Are you going this year Gemini ? How are you anyway, how are the dogs ?

Where are you travelling from....Australia? It shouldn't take too long to get to Cardiff surely if you are catching a morning train? Most forum members seem to head for The Prince of Wales in the afternoon so you should be able to meet a lot there. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> NO, im only travelling from Melton Mowbray , not Australia. But as i said in my original post. i work till 3 am the previous night, i arrive home about 4 am, cant sleep till about an hour later( its 4.55 am as i write this)... so even with say 5 hours kip, that means i cant get on a train till about 12 mid day, . so the day is just about gone by the time i get to digs & freshen up etc.. Unlike some i cant get to cardiff on the friday night, my workload wouldnt permit it, its bad enough trying to get the saturday off as it is.

This year will be the third at cardiff for me and the missus, we get our tickets online from www.speedwaywordl.tv, and we stay in a guest house on the Cathederal road which is within walking distance of the stadium. More tips for you : Dont drive, get the train or coach. Go see the castle on sunday its gorgeous For this year we booked on the night that the date was announced on sky speedway, weve also booked into the guest house for sunday night to so that we can have a night out in cardiff after sight seeing on sunday. We sat in top tier 1st time, was good, but a bit far away from the action. last year we sat on bottom tier, was ok but not ideal. This year we have booked middle tier and on front row, on home straight just after 4th bend, been told this will be wicked spot. As for booking hotels, it seems that alot of rooms get booked up in bulk, then discarded at last minute with people hedging thier bets, and some even doing it in protest at inflated hotel prices, , and trust me, they do get inflated for the GP !which you can expect. Look up guest houses on cathederal road on yell.com, there are loads. good luck. one thing is for certain, you will love the atmosphere, the racing, and the whole experience, and so will the kids ! Chris - P

Yeah, i have that website saved to my favourites, i think i came across it on a google search, very informative and interesting, thanks

I have just aqquired a Jawa 897 machine with a view to restoring / showing, maybe riding if i can find somewhere to ride it. Firstly, does anyone know where i can obtain a workshop manual, either hardcopy or online e-copy. Ive looked at Jawa website, but not any info on this model. Secondly, does anyone know of a Jawa/other speedway bike owners club ?? Third., any other retro Jawa/ Retro bike owners care to chew the cud ?? Cheers in advance Chris .

Sorry guys, i didnt mean to kick of a " is it old, it isnt old" , debate ! The bike is 20+ years old , not exactly a museum piece just yet, but becaus i am completely green i posted in this forum as well as the training track forum hoping that someone might be able to point me in the right direction for more info. Im a believer in blanket coverage lol....thx for all th usefull weblinks etc guys