micman

A few people have suggested that it might be a good idea to set up my own dedicated speedway Facebook page to feature the 1000's of old photos from the 60's & 70's and share some of my video clips from 2006 onwards. I've found some programmes that we produced for Motors TV back in the day too so what do you think? Are there enough speedway groups already on there or do you think more speedway fans would enjoy a dedicated page just for these videos and photos? Thinking along the lines of 'Bennett's Speedway Stuff' but open to suggestions! :-) Let me know and if enough people are interested I'll set it up this week.

Thanks for your response Gustix and glad you like the group. I'm actually happy for the images to be shared. What I meant as that I personally wouldn't be posting the photos to multiple speedway sites. I'm just happy that my late Dad's photos from Hampden Park in Glasgow are being seen for the first time. He would have liked that :-)

550 plus members in just a few days so clearly we must be doing something right. The majority of photos will not be shared on any other group pages but the video clips may be posted on other sites. Come and have a look if you like the old Black and white photo era of the late 60's and 70's :-) https://www.facebook.com/groups/300758520920134/about/

Thanks for the response. Quite a few folk on Facebook have said they would be interested so I'll set it up this week. There are many unpublished old Black and white photos from the late 60's and 70's to keep any speedway fan interested :-)

After suffering from a post operative stroke, former Monarch Brett Saunders had to learn the basic skills of walking and talking after being placed in an induced coma.Brett talks about the long road to recovery and the support of his family and the world wide speedway community. If everyone in the world wide speedway community could share this interview and the Go fund me page set up by Glenn McDonald, that would be very much appreciated! 101fM Interview click HERE Go Fund me page HERE

Sad but true on all count JC. . .and I still have the Shell suits! :-) We may not have seen eye to eye on some occasions but there is no doubt that you were a forward thinker who had great ideas to move the sport into a new direction and bring it up to date. The atmosphere that we all generate in that amazing era was 2nd to none and one of the best times I can remember in speedway.

Somebody sent me the link to this 'anthem' and I honestly thought April 1st had come early! Seriously guys, I'm halfway across the world and speedway people I know here have tears running down their legs laughing so much!Whoever thought this was a great way to inspire/motivate/put the fear into the opposition needs to reconsider when their meds kick in! Yes, I know it's nothing to do with me, I'm long retired from speedway and live in Aus but I still care about the club where I spent many a happy evening on the mic from way back in 1988.Hell we go rid of the war crys in 1990 (sorry Wild Wayne and Mother T!) because they were old hat . . .let along a choral extravaganza. Back in the days of the PL when the club were feared home and away it was 'Welcome to the jungle' that became the parade truck theme tune and even that sounds dated now so, for what it's worth, whoever came up with this idea. . .maybe ask the paying public for once - or as that just stating the blindingly obvious? Wishing everyone a safe and successful season ahead. . . now where did I put my Vera Lynn records????

Really appreciate that Steve. I was never a great commentator but tried to make the videos and DVDs interesting making the commentary "as live" even though it was dubbed on later. The toughest time was trying to voice over the tragic race that ended Erik Gundersen's career in that first race crash at the WTC in Bradford. At the time, we didn't know if Erik was going to survive. Trying to sound enthusiastic when loaded up with severe hay fever was often a challenge too!

Thanks Triple H

I'm sure we can come to some arrangement Chris, I'll let you know when I need the advance book release publicity! :-) Just getting back to the original question, I can only speak from my own experience and the changes in the sport from 1986 when I was fortunate to join one of the best clubs in British Speedway - The Wimbledon Dons. Back then you could 'get away with' so much more. We didn't live in this ridiculous era of political correctness and speedway meetings were, for many people, the highlight of the week. Before I even picked up the mic on opening night against Hackney, Cyril Maidment said "Introduce the HL1 Kestrels (as they were known on those days) as the 2nd best speedway team in London and make sure you mention how old Malcolm Simmons is a few times" so I did and the crowd responded. There was one occasion where Rob Grant had taken down Roger Johns and I commented that it was a hard move by the Wooly Bully. From nowhere, Grantie comes running out of the pits and chased me across the centre green threatening to "knock my block off" much to the sheer delight of the fans. Nowadays he would be fined a ridiculous amount and I'd be putting in a claim for mental trauma but back then, it was fun and we played up all of the characters in the sport. These guys were box office, had a reputation and put bums on seats. When Simon Wigg ran over my foot with his front wheel at the same track, there was never any urge to call an insurance claim line and sue for compensation. We just laughed it off in he pits later on that night. No issue with the referee filing a 5 page report, it was all part of the evenings entertainment. By the mid 1990s the fun police had moved in, we were given instructions of what could and couldn't be said and presentation become bland and predictable. That's one of the reasons why I took a 7 year sabbatical and didn't come back until 2005 when a chance radio interview with Keith Chapman (whatever happened to him??) resulted in me going back to Kings Lynn for another 7 seasons. By then presenters and announcers were licensed and it was very difficult to stray too far from the basics for the risk of being fined and having your license removed. I'd like to think I managed to push the boundaries enough to inject some enthusiasm and fun into the meetings but, even before we knew we were leaving the UK to settle in Australia, I had decided to walk away from speedway presentation. There's a huge difference between being an announcer and a presenter. I started as a box announcer but by my 2nd season I knew I was happier on the centre green, grabbing interviews in the pits (wherever the mic worked. . .but that's another story!) and generally keeping things moving along. I had the good fortune to work with some great box announcers who were often the voice of reason when I was in full wind up mode. Barry Wallace at Newcastle, Doug Adams at Sheffield, Ted Sear at Hackney and, for me, simply the best box announcer in speedway Edwin Overland. Edwin is clear, articulate, accurate and the perfect partner for any presenter. He was an absolute joy to work with at Kings Lynn and Peterborough and any up and coming announcer could learn from his style. Unlike me, I've never known Edwin to upset or offend anyone! :-) Mike Bennett

Jeez Chris, I retired from speedway presentation 4 years ago and have lived in Australia for the last 3 yet you still manage to find a reason to have a dig at my 'style' ?? In the words of the song from frozen. . "let it go!" Yes, I'll be the first to admit that my style was not to everyone's taste but during the late 80s and 90s I was the busiest presenter in British speedway. I remember my first promoter dear old Cyril Maidment at Wimbledon back in 1986 telling me to grow a very thick skin, don't strive for universal popularity and make sure you big up the home team! I had an amazing 'career' working some of the biggest events in the UK over the years and was, in fact, the first British presenter to be invited to host the Australia v England test matches at the Brisbane Exhibition speedway in 1988 where we had crowds of over 22,000 people for those meetings. If you had ever taken the time out to have a chat with me on the many occasions you would have seen me work you would actually realise that the centre green performance is just that, a performance. Not too many of us are that extrovert in real life. Thanks for getting my name back out there though Chris. . . it will help with the sale of my book when I come back to promote it at a track near you next year! :-)

Thanks Steve! When I finish my book you'll understand why it just didn't happen for me at Oxford :-) Oh yes, I remember it well Steve. Bernard used to encourage me to 'wind them up' and always paid the fines. . .of which there were many! :-)

I'm delighted and excited to be on the mic for this meeting. Kevin Doolan is one of the most deserving and dedicated 'team men' in speedway. Along with Tomas Topinka in 2006, he encouraged pushed and helped the Kings Lynn stars win the league in memory of Ashley Jones that year. Kevin is more concerned with team results than individual glory and has always given 100% to every club he's belonged to. A joy to work with and one of the sport's genuine 'good guys' he deserves a huge turn out on the night. I am honoured to be a part of his BIG day and look forward to a fun and successful meeting!

I certainly enjoyed those days. The atmosphere was superb, there were characters on the sport, we had a HUGE home track advantage and the fans were 100% behind the team. In the couple of seasons I did after the team moved into the Elite League I felt the atmosphere had dropped and the fun had gone with it. Really sad to read some of the comments on here and I genuinely hope things improve on and off the track in the months ahead. As a few of you will know, I've been invited to present at Kevin Doolan's testimonial meeting in June so flights from Brisbane are booked and I plan to make a couple of visits to see if anyone remembers me at Kings Lynn! :-)

It's compulsory! :-) Here is our interview with Jason Crump talking about the Darcy Ward fund raising meeting this coming weekend at North Brisbane Speedway. Feel free to share :-) Good luck to Gavin for the presenter gig in the coming season. . . I'm sure I have a spare ski suit I can send back with Mr Holder :-) :-)

Hi everyone I thought you'd like to know that Darcy Ward will be joining me in the 101FM studio to talk about his rehabilitation,his fundraising meeting at North Brisbane Speedway and where he is with his recovery right now. He'll be joined by his partner Lizzie and it would be great if some UK fans could perhaps send him a message or two via the 101FM facebook page during the interview? I realise it's a big ask as the time difference means we'll be on in the UK at 1.15am but I will be recording the interview and posting the link on here whenever it's uploaded to YouTube so you can listen at a more respectable time. For listeners in Australia we will be on at 11.15 Queensland time on Monday morning. If you have any questions that you would like me to ask you can contact me in advance of the show via my own facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mikebennettradio/ or during the interview at https://www.facebook.com/101fmlogancity Look forward to hearing from some of you on the 16th! Mike Bennett

I'd love to say it was the camera angle but. . . .too many BBQs over Christmas to blame :-)

You're very welcome, glad you enjoyed seeing Darcy and Lizzie :-)

For those of you who didn't set your alarm to listen to our interview with Darcy and Lizzie :-) We split the chat into two parts. Part one is HERE and we talked about the accident, Darcy's rehabilitation and hopes for the future. Part two is HERE and looks at the fund raising meetings in Brisbane and in the UK. If you could share these links on your social media pages peeps it would go a long way to filling both of these meetings and raising much needed funds for Darcy's continued progress. Thanks Mike Bennett

For those of you who didn't set your alarm to listen to our interview with Darcy and Lizzie :-) We split the chat into two parts. Part one is HERE and we talked about the accident, Darcy's rehabilitation and hopes for the future. Part two is HERE and looks at the fund raising meetings in Brisbane and in the UK. He was very pleased when I mentioned the reaction from Kings Lynn fans on facebook and these pages. If you could share these links on your social media pages peeps it would go a long way to filling both of these meetings and raising much needed funds for Darcy's continued progress. Thanks for your help and see you on the book tour later this year!

For anyone interested in our interview with darcy and Lizzie today here in Australia. . . . . We split the interview into two parts. In the first section Darcy talks about his life changing crash and the amazing support he received from fans around the world. For part one click HERE In the second part we talked about his meetings here in Australia in February and the UK in March. To listen click HERE

Feeling the love peeps! Many people ask if Tracey and I miss our old lives back in Blighty. I always respond that we don't miss the place but we do miss the people. Nothing will ever equal the 2006 season when the boys 'did it for Ash' and dominated the Premier League in memory of Ashley Jones. Those meetings with Sheffield and Edinburgh were something special and I was proud to be a part of that era. I'm hoping to come across later in the year to promote my book called "confessions of a media tart - Part one. . .The speedway years" so look forward to seeing many of you then. I'll be uploading our interview with Darcy on to YouTube so will share the link on here next week but for those who want to set their alarms and listen live tune in on www.101fm.com.au :-)

Hi everyone I've already posted this in the general news section but thought I'd share it on this page too. Darcy Ward will be joining me in the 101FM studio to talk about his rehabilitation,his fundraising meeting at North Brisbane Speedway and where he is with his recovery right now. He'll be joined by his partner Lizzie and it would be great if some UK fans could perhaps send him a message or two via the 101FM facebook page during the interview? I realise it's a big ask as the time difference means we'll be on in the UK at 1.15am but I will be recording the interview and posting the link on here whenever it's uploaded to YouTube so you can listen at a more respectable time. For listeners in Australia we will be on at 11.15 Queensland time on Monday morning. If you have any questions that you would like me to ask you can contact me in advance of the show via my own facebook page https://www.facebook...kebennettradio/ or during the interview at https://www.facebook.com/101fmlogancity Look forward to hearing from some of you on the 16th! Mike Bennett

Hi everyone I've already posted this in the general news section but thought I'd share it on this page too. Darcy Ward will be joining me in the 101FM studio to talk about his rehabilitation,his fundraising meeting at North Brisbane Speedway and where he is with his recovery right now. He'll be joined by his partner Lizzie and it would be great if some UK fans could perhaps send him a message or two via the 101FM facebook page during the interview? I realise it's a big ask as the time difference means we'll be on in the UK at 1.15am but I will be recording the interview and posting the link on here whenever it's uploaded to YouTube so you can listen at a more respectable time. For listeners in Australia we will be on at 11.15 Queensland time on Monday morning. If you have any questions that you would like me to ask you can contact me in advance of the show via my own facebook page https://www.facebook...kebennettradio/ or during the interview at https://www.facebook.com/101fmlogancity Look forward to hearing from some of you on the 16th! Mike Bennett

Here's some more information about our interview with Darcy Ward next week. https://www.facebook.com/mike.bennett.radiostar/posts/10154891404377731