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TonyMac

What Me Miss About 70s Speedway

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working class supporters, soldier boy, those wooden clackers that people painted in their team colours, team rivalrys that ended up with two teams and mechanics fighting each other, the local pub after the meet, no silencers or dirt deflectors or air fences, and watching the fans pelt the winning away team with missles, rocks and bottles when they got ticked off over losing. all of the characters who were half a bubble off who supported the sport. bank holiday mondays. Barry Briggs shop in the tunnell under the bridge in southampton. :blink:

edit. almost forgot the most important bits.. the fellas that played trumpets in the stands between races! top that.

Edited by sandman

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I seem to remember quite a number of riders driving around in Citreon Safari`s :lol:

 

 

 

Aye, one of these baby's, Wuffy's was silver if i remember rightly!

 

 

http://www.citroenspecialists.com/images/CX.jpeg

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Aye that`s the one,room in the back for two standard bikes,and a local bike if so desired :P:lol:

 

 

:lol:

 

 

Some great humour on here tonight, i picked a good night to stock the fridge on my week off :approve:

 

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Aye that`s the one,room in the back for two standard bikes,and a local bike if so desired :P:lol:

 

Even though I wasnt the height of a decent stauner back then, even I wouldnt have touched the local Blantyre bikes :shock::P

 

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Aye, one of these baby's, Wuffy's was silver if i remember rightly!

 

 

http://www.citroenspecialists.com/images/CX.jpeg

 

You sure thats no a herse FB :blink: .......that looks like a herse tae me :wink:

 

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Speedway Stop Press (the 70s equivalent of the internet at London tracks in the early 70s).

 

Rosettes.

 

Tracks with solid board/concrete/steel 'safety' fences where you could lean over and literally touch the riders.

 

Peanut shells on the Hackney terraces.

 

Riders pulling up in Ford Zephyrs, Corsairs and Cortinas and, later, the Granada.

 

Basic pits where riders were lucky if they had a toolbox to sit on.

 

The shock of seeing a top rider bring TWO bikes to a meeting.

 

The box of four coloured balls that the colour/pits marshall shook to determine gate positions in the second half final (funny how the away team rider(s) always seemed to get the worst draw.

 

Second half finals that turned out to be the best race of the night...even though the four in it had already pre-arranged to split the points money.

 

The 'vultures' race before heat one (second division), where local juniors had their chance to win a team place on the night.

 

Millions of coaches all heading to the BLRC at Hyde Road.

 

Meetings sponsored by tobacco and alcohol companies.

 

The Gulf Oil British League - and those luminous orange anoraks that all BL promoters wore in the mid-70s.

 

The Belle Vue funfair and zoological gardens.

 

Riders smoking during the meeting.

 

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You sure thats no a herse FB :blink: .......that looks like a herse tae me :wink:

 

 

Hahaha aye its a huuuuge motor right enough!

 

 

Just reading a few other posts there, as i say, not the 70's, but i used to love getting into the pits at Berrington for autographs etc, no problem back then, no riders were bothered either, obviously you never bothered them when they were getting ready to race but great memories!

 

 

Just ignore me, i've gone into nostalgia overdrive since my Berrington visit, c'mon Marty son, you're 35, not 5, snap out of it! :lol:

 

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Hahaha aye its a huuuuge motor right enough!

 

 

Just reading a few other posts there, as i say, not the 70's, but i used to love getting into the pits at Berrington for autographs etc, no problem back then, no riders were bothered either, obviously you never bothered them when they were getting ready to race but great memories!

 

 

Just ignore me, i've gone into nostalgia overdrive since my Berrington visit, c'mon Marty son, you're 35, not 5, snap out of it! :lol:

I won`t mind betting that you`ll feel all of your 35 years in the morning when you wake up :lol:

 

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I won`t mind betting that you`ll feel all of your 35 years in the morning when you wake up :lol:

 

 

:lol:

 

 

DB - did you see my Berrington pics from last weekend?

 

 

Here's a few of them, i'm well chuffed to have them included on the site :approve:

 

 

 

http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Berwick%20Berrington.htm

 

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:lol:

 

 

DB - did you see my Berrington pics from last weekend?

 

 

Here's a few of them, i'm well chuffed to have them included on the site :approve:

 

 

 

http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Berwick%20Berrington.htm

Yep,I did see them,good photo`s although tinged with a good helping of sadness from you I should imagine.

Just hope the present site does`nt go the same way,I really hope something can be sorted out quickly.

Edited by Dietbowers

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Yep,I did see them,good photo`s although tinged with a good helping of sadness from you I should imagine.

Just hope the present site does`nt go the same way,I really hope something can be sorted out quickly.

 

 

Cheers mate, and i'll call you that as i always get a laugh on here with you, thats what its all about for me, a bit of fun as well as some serious chat now and again :wink:

 

 

I think there were 17 or 18 pics but John could only manage 7 of them on the site, but he picked the best 7 in my opinion, epecially to contrast with the two or three that were there of BL in its heyday!

 

Yeah it was quite emotional, i just think its such a waste of an area already established track, but just left to rot, when around the country we're struggling to get tracks up and running, as i walked round the track, i actually thought to myself, what it took to get it all off the ground back in the early 80's, when it was absolutely nothing in the first place, seeing it last week, yeah, you're missing the back straight stand, a small stand down from the refs box and the terracing, turnstiles, wee shed that was the shop etc!

 

And with Peter's announcement, a very emotional day, but funnily enough, one i was glad to be there to hear for myself.

 

Regardless DB, i had a great day out, i'm looking forward to Armadale on friday but i can't wait to see Berwick on saturday in the 1st leg of the final, i can't afford the 2nd leg, still, i'll be there at Shielfield, i can't wait :approve:

 

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The open-face helmets, the leather facemasks, the scarves, the rugby jerseys under the club racejackets, Castrol R.

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Seems you lot have forgotten the thing that sticks in my mind about the 70s.Mike Patricks trews :lol:

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In addition to some of the fabulous tear-jerkers already mentioned, here are some other things I remember (not all from the 70's though) :

 

Badges with year bars

 

Buying Trebor Bitter Orange and Bitter Cherry hard sweets from the kiosk under the second bend at Wimbledon

 

The Golden Helmet

 

Ken Tozer introducing "Hedgehopper" and "Slim Jim Tebby"

 

Speedway Express and Speedway Post

 

Black leathers

 

Not knowing what a "blue groove" was

 

Custom House

 

Star riders from other tracks competing in the second half

 

"With a 2-4-6-8, Who do we appreciate?"

 

Wright-Wood

Reading the league results in the Daily Mirror

 

Chrome bikes

 

Riders jumping on someone else's chrome bike when theirs wouldn't start!

 

Alf Jarrett selling the photos at Wimbledon

 

"Make It a Date, Friday at Eight"

 

Olle Nygren's white boots

 

Barry Crowson's blue facemask

 

Ronnie Moore's green scarf

 

£5 fines for delaying the start

 

Eddie Novak, a well-known supporter who used to travel by motorbike

 

Torchlight parades at Plough Lane

 

The Superama

 

Riders wearing footy socks

 

The Winged Wheel

 

Having to leave in the morning in order to get to Belle Vue in time

 

Bobble hats

 

"Angus Kix's Glamour League" in Speedway Star

 

"Seery's Statistics" in Speedway Star

 

After-the-meeting practices

 

For the real old 'uns, "Supplementary reserves", although I never did figure out what the term meant…

 

Steve

Edited by chunky

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