boywonder

Apparently BP are about to be revealed as a new sponsor of Speedway Grand Prix. "Green Lights All The Way!" Is the oil company's current slogan after all.

Richard Knight

Planning applications are in to knock down a stand at Vicarage Road, the home of Watford FC. Documents show a 1969 application for speedway racing, I presume to be staged on the greyhound track that was around the pitch back then. The papers aren't accessible now. A shame it clearly came to nowt, but does anyone know anything about this or who, or which promotion, was behind the plan?

For a decade from the late 80s I was a non league football referee and member of LONSAR, the refs society, as was a younger Stephen Alambritis, now Mayor of Merton. My first love is speedway, his is football and he is very strong on non league and I expect he will be massively sympathetic to AFC Wimbledon as he will have moved in those circles for years and years. The best tactic is to court the rich Irish greyhound supporters and owners, research who Risk Capital actually are and hope the Irish can buy out the developers and Galliard Homes, as money talks.

Not strictly London but the Cobham services on the South side of the M25 is csrrying the last six editions! In the WH Smith there..

Can be found on this link.... http://footballgroundguide.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=13962&st=0 I hope it brings back memories for some like it did for me.

Whilst driving home tonight I enjoyed a wonderful tale of a great English gentleman footballer. The author was being interviewed by the greatly amusing broadcaster, Danny Kelly. Only at the end of the interview did I realise the said author was our very own Norbold. Hats off to you sir, I will be buying the book. I was entertained. Thank you. And yes, we listeners all heard your sharp intake of breath or sigh of disgust as Mr Kelly mentioned that Wimbledon Speedway was to be no more from next season!

My 13th birthday was on the Sunday that was Mildenhall's opening match vs Scunthorpe. May 18th 1975. Mildenhall lost as did my dad in the fens trying to find a way home to avoid all the traffic.

Volume three of The Sweeney's DVD collection has the episode showing two riders going around White City one afternoon,circa 1976, in practice before pulling up on the dog track for a chat wiv mister regan. There's about 50 seconds of "helmet cam" too.,

Very sorry to hear this. A very hard rider but decent enough to break off and sign an autograph for a young kid (me). He seemed a good guy. I'll always remember the smile, the white leathers, always nudging the fence with his front wheel before a racestart (loose forks?), and losing his temper a lot. Magic. Drove a left hooker white Beemer with German plates even in 76/77 and advertised his BMW spares bizz in Motoring News in the 80's. Too blooming young to leave us.

Stan Stevens won his last race (for Mildenhall) in July 76 when he retired to be replaced by Alan Cowland. Stan always rode JAP. I believe there was a Crayford rider who had one too (Sage?) Bob Coles talked of a four valve Jap like a Neil Street conversion but I don't think that ever happened.

Speedway rider from Watford. Left Mildenhall late 70's, rumoured to have become a Navy pilot? What happened to him anyone??

Dag's wife/girlfriend was very fit........

Graham and Denise Drury are currently planning next season's Premier League title assault at Workington. I don't know where he is now but I wonder what the views of Ron Bagley would be on this? Super-manager Ron won titles (e.g.NL 1979) at Mildenhall (after success at Ipswich) but left to promote Workington alone. I seem to remember that wasn't the best of moves for him but the comparisons between the two very dynamic men are topical. I think there is the essence of a very interesting article there, Ron Bagley worked with John Berry as well and must have opinions on that era too. Wonderful magazine by the way!

Someone's got a "street conversion" jawa bike on ebay at the moment.

John Gibbons of Rye and Mildenhall, 1970's.

Jim, Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Great shots, and a good rare one of the great Mick Bates , which I'd buy!

Does anybody know of a guy called BILLY TIPPING who was a Londoner who did second halves at Mildenhall in the late 70's??? I was impressed with his pretty immaculate machinery and leathers with sponsorship by "Jet Records" which was owned by Sharon Osbourne's dad Don Arden. They had artists like ELO, Black Sabbath, Gary Moore and Lynsey De Paul?! signed to them so Billy seemed very rock and roll to me. But sadly Billy didn't seem to make it. Where is now I wonder? Oh yes and Dingle Brown, now of the Dons, used to 2nd half at Crayford about the same time and owned a car breakers somewhere I think.

If we bring up NL then Joe Owen and Dave Perks were gods.

And on another thread forum's own "Tomcat" reveals he played in goal for England schoolboys...dunno his real name or speedway teams though. Step forward old son and don't be shy..

Yes, each to their own really. Hopefully people have fond memories of all tracks. Speedway anywhere possible had got to be good and I don't have time for slagging off near neighbours that goes on so much on this forum. Where you're from isn't anyone's fault and they aren't any well less endowed if you don't approve of the shape of their track. I always thought I was really lucky to have a speedway track near to where I lived in any event!! Yes I'd have liked the straights 20yds longer and the 3rd bend sorted out (I'm talking old Mildenhall) but I wasn't a millionaire who could buy the stadium and change it! If I win big money on the lottery I probably would do so, let local kids in for free and put on free buses to get them there. I learnt from enjoyable away jaunts that the most spectacular racing was on 400yd type tracks usually on old athletics tracks (Scunthorpe- Quibell Pk anyone?) and I most envied those who had GRA stadiums with flower beds for the riders to run over in the middle for the facilities and "ambience".

Er, I did. And yes I've been almost everywhere except Workington and Teeside (which I saw from the flyover a few times but never visited) And the Intercontinental Final of 1977 was one of Peter Collins' finest hours, coming from the back in almost every race as I remember. A magic meeting which is sentimental for me as it was the last event my dad took me to before he died. I think Penhall debuted and got 2pts?? I went to both White City and the old Wimbledon but always thought Plough Lane was a special place but good for gaters- ie Ian Gledhill's NLRC win in 1979. I think the same of Coventry too so what do I know?? Hackney was miles better and my dad really rated Custom House as he called it. The only people I saw regularly come from the back at Plough Lane were Dave Pierce, Barry Lee and George Polley. That WAS racing but you might not know what I'm talking about..... Honorable mentions also to Peterborough, Canterbury, the old Weymouth and Berrington Lough to add to my earlier post......

The old Boston track always used to smell really bad. Did they water it with the water they boiled the hamburgers in? Spoilt a decent arena.

For the racing, White City (miles better than Wimbledon's gaters paradise- pause fors howls of abuse) and for ambience,setting,facilities, the flowers and the racing- Powderhall, Edinburgh. Why did it seem to me that the best tracks,inc. Plough Lane, had floral displays??

Wasn't there a rider (maybe at Wimbledon) who also played a good non-league standard for Sutton in the Diadora league??