Hot Shoe

You obviously haven't been to Scunny for a few years then.

It's simply down to personal choice and our views on zoos and safari parks obviously differ but i would like nothing at all to do with either them and i I certainly wouldn't miss seeing beautiful animals held in captivity.

Yes but the overall cost including what the contacts costs is tiny compared to football and that was my point. Showing minority sports is a cheap way for Sky and BT Sports to sign up subscribers that they normally wouldn't get.

BT Sport spent far too much on their last TV deal and i think that is common knowledge. I'm not worried about either of their finances but simply pointing out that putting on speedway which is a tiny outlay compared to the other sports they show it brings in subscribers they otherwise wouldn't have and that helps pay for their football contract.

Yes because for very little outlay in terms of money they get subscribers that they wouldn't otherwise get. They need all the income they can get to pay for the contract they have with the Premier League to screen football.

I agree with a lot of that but the problem speedway has always had is that rather that what the track sits on it's survival is more to do with who owns the track. Speedway promotions have always run season to season because unlike football and rugby clubs that mainly have traditionally owned there own grounds speedway is at the mercy of the stadium owners. The lack of investment in the sport going back decades has contributed in speedway's demise.

I agree i think £10 is good value.

Yes i totally agree but putting animals behind bars is not the solution. I think also that a lot of the so called 'breeding programmes' are just a way for zoos to try justify their existence because they realise that public opinion is changing on animals being kept in carptivity. Hopefully the day won't be far away when zoos become extinct.

Collections? That says it all for me. Yes zoos have improved massively but they are still places i choose not to visit and certainly wouldn't want to contribute to money wise. If species become extinct then so be it. As someone said once 'a day with the sun on you back is worth more than a lifetime held in captivity' and i won't disagree with that.

Any lessons learned will be judged by how many of the 20,000 over the average attendance this season turn up again when they have to pay.

The only reason i don't go and have never been to the speedway museum is that i would never visit a zoo or a wildlife park.

Staines Greyhound Stadium was in Middlesex then. It was also used for the 1964 film 'Seance On A Wet Afternoon' after the stadium had been closed for many years. Before it was demolished one of the buildings from the stadium was bought by the local model railway club and i understand that it is still used as their clubhouse today. There is an episode of Look at Life called 'Smashing Through' that features Stock Cars at Staines Stadium.

With the wind farm next to the Eddie Wright Raceway i can see Scunny becoming the centre of the universe of Electric Speedway. I can't wait for the start of every race as the bikes line-up at the tapes and all you can hear is the sound of a hundred pairs of teeth munching pies, chips and peas then next lap as the bikes pass by you they are drowned out by the sound of a flock of starlings.

There are numerous brownfield sites within green belts which could be built on. Maybe a lot of the problem is that most people have a romantic idea of what it is. They probably see rolling hills with trees and green pastures when in reality a lot of it couldn't be further than away from that.

I understood that the lease was shortened long before Stadia UK took over.

Why would they invest in a stadium (Smallmead) with such a short lease remaining?

They sound far from ideal to me. The close proximity of housing being only one of them and considering when the farewell meeting was held it hardly inspires confidence.

A brilliant achievement. No doubt about that but more worthy? Really?

It's good to think.

Thanks for elevating me to a position of authority.

That's hilarious to read that on this forum. Sadly though i doubt if you will ever see or understand the irony. Priceless.

No negativity on my part. I think you need to read my post again. It seems that you are the one not 'getting it'.

But surely he's only committing to ride here because it suits him and that's great but so what? I'm afraid i can't elevate him above all others for doing exactly the same thing as them. From when i first started watching speedway in the late 60s i've never got the hero worship thing because i've known too many speedway riders who have the same hang-ups and problems as we all do. To me he's a just another rider. A brilliant one but just another rider in the end.

Surely if you had a point you would want to help explain it to me so from that i can only think you didn't have a point.

Thanks that must have taken a lot of thought.