Peter Collins Book

[DontMeetYourHero 18]

34 minutes ago, TonyMac said:

<reduced to a normal font size that is good enough for anyone else >

a feud with the Belle Vue management that has been ongoing for the last 35 years

The current Belle Vue management have only been in place for 6 years and have no connection to past management teams! 

And there we have the truth.   Collins' beef was with John Perrin, 35 years ago in 1988.  

Yet he has continued his petty vendetta against every new promotion that Belle Vue have had over the past 35 years.   Everyone is at fault except him.  And he will continue his vendetta against every future promotion.  The Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury could buy Belle Vue tomorrow, but unless he is given Sainthood and 100+ pals can come along, they will be attacked.

A great, great rider, but a sad, sad, little man.

Edited January 31, 2023 by DontMeetYourHero

[iris123 20,986]

Good grief. A 35 year old fued 

There have been Mafia or Albanian blood feuds that haven’t lasted that long !!!

[JC! 142]

Whilst this could be seen as a calculated, cynical PR attempt to restore his battered reputation, I think that you have to try to take his apology at face value. 

Hopefully PC may have learned from this sorry episode that life really is too short to carry this sort of petty baggage.

[Garry1603 353]

For Mia's sake, I am pleased that he has apologised and hopefully a line can be drawn under this sad affair. Whether it changes people's opinion of him I'm not sure, I think that the damage has been done. 

However, I think that bringing up a 35 year feud was a rather petty way to somehow justify his actions, and whether he knew about Steve's cancer or not, the comments were disgraceful.

Thank you to Tony Mac for being an intermediary in this, it can't have been an easy conversation.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Garry1603

[Speedtiger 327]

Ok, you can either view the PC ‘apology’ as a honest genuine apology or more likely a clumsy cynical attempt to try to repair the self inflicted damage.

What still remains very puzzling is PC bizarre claim that he has had an ongoing feud with BV for 35 years, that doesn’t truly explain the main issue, that has upset many, as to why he wrote the hurtful and disgraceful note in Steve Casey book? From all accounts on here Steve was an honest broker trying to get PC back involved at BV!! 

[IanCorcoran 43]

11 hours ago, TonyMac said:

As the publisher of Peter Collins' autobiography, he asked me to post the following apology. A copy of which has also been sent directly to Mia Casey.
-----------------------------------------------------

January 31, 2023

AN APOLOGY

I would like to sincerely apologise to Mia Casey, daughter of the late Steve Casey, who died recently of cancer, for the extra distress I have caused her over the personal message I wrote in my autobiography to her dad at an event held in Glossop on November 3^rd last year.

My words were regrettably written in a moment of impulse amid a feud with the Belle Vue management that has been ongoing for the last 35 years, and I’m sorry to Mia for any upset caused.

I have had no contact with Steve, or any other member of the Belle Vue management set-up, for a number of years and I was totally unaware of his cancer diagnosis before I signed his book.

Sorry, Mia, for your loss and for the extra grief that this has caused you and your family at this sad time.

 

Yours sincerely,
Peter Collins

Heartfelt apology or cynical PR damage limitation exercise? mmm 

Of course there will be opinions as to both. I know what mine is.

It resembles the statements you see when MPs or other such celebrities get their fingers caught in the till or other such indiscretions where they are bang to rights.

Here's where I have a problem with it :

1. Why did it take from the 2nd November until now to get the apology?

2. Would the apology have been forthcoming if the incident had not been published on social media?

3. If the apology was based on the fact that he didn't know of Steve's illness - is he saying he would be justified if Steve had had a clean bill of health?

4. He didn't know Steve was ill. Very, very difficult to believe. Steve was in communication with his wife (again to try and resolve the 'issues') and she was well aware. Plus I know many of his inner circle who also knew. And apparently Peter didn't?

5. A 35 year long feud that exploded on that particular night? really?

6. A 35 year long feud that spanned 4 different promotions? That takes you back to the time when he was part of one such promotion! 

The situation commenced in 2016 at the start of the NSS opening. That I do know. 

Interestingly, some 20+ ex-riders have been in touch to commiserate and ask about arrangements, I asked them the same question. - ''Did you get a free pass when PC was Promoter?'' the answer was unanimous and I will let you guess the answer. It may surprise you. 

The good news is that I am reliably informed that book sales have not been affected. At least that is one consolation to this whole affair

The truth sets you free

 

 

 

 

[steve roberts 9,246]

With all the negative posts/comments regarding PC I think that it's worth mentioning that in an article printed in the last edition of "Backtrack" he got to hear of the plight of King's Lynn fan Keith Burman leaving him a voice mail and forwarded signed memorabilia to Keith who was terminally ill with cancer.

[geoff100 1,426]

Lets just " let it lie" enjoy the book and the good times he gave us .

[DontMeetYourHero 18]

2 minutes ago, geoff100 said:

Lets just " let it lie" enjoy the book and the good times he gave us .

"Lie" seems an appropriate word where Collins is concerned.

[JC! 142]

3 hours ago, geoff100 said:

Lets just " let it lie" enjoy the book and the good times he gave us .

What a strange comment. I agree that it is probably best to take the apology at face value, even if it appears carefully crafted following criticism.

The second part, however, implies that he is above reproach because he was a fine rider. If people are, however, disappointed with his behaviour surely this is a mature enough environment to at least discuss it - whether that is palatable to you as a fan or not.

[KevtheRev 122]

On 2/1/2023 at 9:38 AM, IanCorcoran said:

Heartfelt apology or cynical PR damage limitation exercise? mmm 

Of course there will be opinions as to both. I know what mine is.

It resembles the statements you see when MPs or other such celebrities get their fingers caught in the till or other such indiscretions where they are bang to rights.

Here's where I have a problem with it :

1. Why did it take from the 2nd November until now to get the apology?

2. Would the apology have been forthcoming if the incident had not been published on social media?

3. If the apology was based on the fact that he didn't know of Steve's illness - is he saying he would be justified if Steve had had a clean bill of health?

4. He didn't know Steve was ill. Very, very difficult to believe. Steve was in communication with his wife (again to try and resolve the 'issues') and she was well aware. Plus I know many of his inner circle who also knew. And apparently Peter didn't?

5. A 35 year long feud that exploded on that particular night? really?

6. A 35 year long feud that spanned 4 different promotions? That takes you back to the time when he was part of one such promotion! 

The situation commenced in 2016 at the start of the NSS opening. That I do know. 

Interestingly, some 20+ ex-riders have been in touch to commiserate and ask about arrangements, I asked them the same question. - ''Did you get a free pass when PC was Promoter?'' the answer was unanimous and I will let you guess the answer. It may surprise you. 

The good news is that I am reliably informed that book sales have not been affected. At least that is one consolation to this whole affair

The truth sets you free

 

 

 

 

Completely agree.

Nothing more than damage limitation.

[proud panther 1,505]

Personally, I wouldn't give PC any money after his shocking behaviour. The apology made it worse in my opinion, as it's clearly only an attempt to protect book sales. 

[PotteringAround 633]

At least the Casey family have got an apology, which is something.   However it does seem to be a begrudging apology forced by his book publisher, perhaps out of fear of being left with a shed full of unsold books.

And as others have said, the apology does beg more questions.

1. Collins claims not to know that Steve Casey was ill, yet he has been fighting the disease for several years.  Collins' wife knew he was ill.  Members of Collins' inner circle of friends knew.  Steve Casey was a well-known figure.  It's hard to believe Collins didn't know.    Maybe it just slipped his mind in that moment of incandescent rage?

2.  Collins says his feud with the promotion has gone on 35 years.  That takes us back to 1988 when he himself was the BV promoter.  Did he have a feud with himself?   It's well-documented that Collins had a falling-out with John Perrin not long after they took over BV.  And Perrin was a rough type who could fall out with anyone (despite also having his good side), so I wouldn't totally blame Collins for having a feud with him.  But surely that would only last until the end of the Perrin era?  The BV promotion has changed hands at least three times since then, and there have also been changes of personnel within the promotion during those times.   So how has the feud managed to continue against people who had no connection with the actual feud?    The only common connection is Collins - and in particular his list of 100+ people who he thinks should have a free pass to every Belle Vue match.  (This list contains some former Aces riders, some former Aces juniors, some former non-Aces riders, some ex-Collins sponsors and friends from 50 years back, and some people with no connection to the sport at all).  This list has been presented to every new promoter since Perrin, and unsurprisingly rejected by every new promoter.  I suspect that Collins knows that no one could ever accept such a nonsensical list, and he uses it on purpose to cause trouble. 

Of course a few of the people on the list are genuine ex-Aces, but those are admitted to BV anyway.  Eric Broadbelt, Ken Eyre, Bill Powell are all regulars, as were Peter Williams and Taffy Owen until their deaths.  Chris Morton pops along every so often (which must be difficult considering how his involvement ended).  Joe Screen has been.  Andy and Paul Smith are obviously there with their son/nephew Jack, and Carl Stonehewer came when his son was second-half riding.  Geoff Pusey came along last year with an old upright and was welcomed and allowed to do a few laps in the interval.  Peter Ravn came with his clutch business and was welcomed and interviewed on the centre green.  Basically any ex-Aces riders are welcomed and so would Collins have been if he'd wanted to come along....

...And that's where Steve Casey came in.  An ex-rider, but even more so a passionate Belle Vue supporter, he felt it was wrong that Collins was denying himself a chance to watch the sport he had graced for over a decade.  Like many, he felt that people like Collins should still be part of Belle Vue.  He tried, off his own bat, to work a solution so that Collins could end his petty vendetta and come along to BV without losing face.  But despite Steve Casey's best efforts, Collins proved too stubborn and threw it all back at him.

What Collins did to a dying gentleman who tried to help him is unforgiveable, and the apology is still very weak.

 

[Fromafar 10,363]

While he has issued an Apology,it is very hard to believe that he did not know that Steve Casey was ill  given his contacts in the Sport.Perhaps his apology should have been worded differently.

[Goldhawk 76]

This thread needs to be closed and matter now sorted out in private which would be best all round for everyone.

P.C. has apologised,  that surely needs to be end of it as far as social media is concerned.