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On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2003 at 7:43 PM, Grave said:

My dad was a contributor to the Mail for words and pictures - Bruce Grainger (RIP). We weren't allowed to buy the Star for some time.

Firstly, sorry that I have only just seen your 16-year-old comment!

What a lovely man your father, Bruce Grainger, was. Loved his laid-back approach, great sense of humour and his professionalism when supplying copy and pics during my time as editor of Speedway Mail.

Yes, he was one of the first to write AND take his own photos to complement his words. We really looked forward to his weekly package arriving at the Mail office. No email or digital images in those days, of course, so he had to type up his copy (always nicely spaced out for the benefit of our typesetters), print up his pics and then pop them in the post to us.

Bruce had a great eye for the offbeat and unusual pic too, so his contributions were always interesting.

Attending his funeral was a sad occasion, because his passing came so suddenly (heart attack, if I recall?). He was a great loss to the Mail and I had to be there to pay my last respects to a very likeable, humble guy.

While talking of the Mail, we have covered its rise and fall in considerable depth in past issues of Backtrack. But last summer I was delighted to catch up with and interview founding editor Ian MacDonald for our new 'The Write Stuff' column (issue 87), in which we talk to journos who have covered the sport. Ian gave a fascinating insight into the period 1973-78 (when John Hyam worked part-time shifts there) and explained all the issues raised earlier in this thread about the paper's struggles to gain readership and the obstacles it had to try and overcome.

You can order this back issue here at www.retro-speedway.com

Edited by tmc
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17 minutes ago, tmc said:

While talking of the Mail, we have covered its rise and fall in considerable depth in past issues of Backtrack. But last summer I was delighted to catch up with and interview founding editor Ian MacDonald for our new 'The Write Stuff' column (issue 87), in which we talk to journos who have covered the sport. Ian gave a fascinating insight into the period 1973-78 (when John Hyam worked part-time shifts there) and explained all the issues raised earlier in this thread about the paper's struggles to gain readership and the obstacles it had to try and overcome.

Perhaps it would be of interest to readers of Classic and Backtrack for articles about the speedway scribes for the various magazines and newspapers of those eras to be published, some of course did sterling work in helping to keep the sport and its publications going in the latter part of the 1950s.

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1 minute ago, Ruth Reddy said:

Perhaps it would be of interest to readers of Classic and Backtrack for articles about the speedway scribes for the various magazines and newspapers of those eras to be published, some of course did sterling work in helping to keep the sport and its publications going in the latter part of the 1950s.

Indeed, that is what we are now doing in each issue of Backtrack. Interviewees/subjects have so far included: Ian MacDonald, John Chaplin, Martin Rogers and now Don Allen.

 

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On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 5:34 PM, iris123 said:

The fact is Grachan proved the point to be true.He was a fan who wrote in and they used his pieces and it seems without accreditation they made him the Reading correspondent!!!Fact

To be fair, they were of a VERY high quality. :)

 

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On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 3:06 PM, falcace said:

Erm, let me get this right...you are digging out quotes from 16 years ago to revive a long-gone discussion? I've heard of quiet Sundays, but this is something else! :D

I remember replying to that comment. Was it really 16 years ago? Good grief.

 

 

Edited by Grachan
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Sometimes I see threads from 5 years ago and had totally forgotten I had posted on them!!!:unsure:

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Sometimes I see threads from yesterday and have forgotten that I have posted on them

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1 hour ago, Grachan said:

I remember replying to that comment. Was it really 16 years ago? Good grief.

 

 

...and I was only 8 at the time too B)

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2 hours ago, iris123 said:

Sometimes I see threads from 5 years ago and had totally forgotten I had posted on them!!!:unsure:

It's when you use a different user name to debate,/answer questions you posted 5 minutes ago that you should be worried!

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