2ndBender

I used to love it at Carmarthen and got down there as often as I could. One year my partner and I enquired about the possibility of travelling down to Wimbledon for an away match. We didn't want to drive all the way to Carmarthen only to board a coach, (well, minibus actually), and head off back in the direction we'd just come from. Amanda Meakins very kindly agreed to pick us up on one of the motorway interchanges in Newport, on a grey, dismal, rainy afternoon. Nigel was on the bus and we got as far as the Severn Bridge when he received a call advising that the match was off. Huge disappointment all round, but guess what? Nigel insisted that we should all get our bus fare back! We protested that rain-offs are part and parcel of the sport, and that no-one expects their travel money back if they are unlucky enough to suffer one, but Nigel insisted on us taking the money! So we bought a pile of tickets for the Carmarthen Winter fund raising lottery. A lovely club, a wonderfully well prepared racetrack and a true gentleman in Nigel Meakins. I'd happily buy him a pint tomorrow!

You can fly direct to Gdansk from a couple of UK airports - we did it from Luton. The city centre is easy to get to from the airport and the stadium is easy from the city centre. Gdansk is lovely - for me it rates alongside Torun and Krakow as one of the most attractive Polish cities. Although the club is only in Division One, the stadium has terrific viewing and a good racetrack.

I know Phil Morris competed in this meeting in 2006, and he looks in on this forum from time to time. Maybe he'd be prepared to give you his opinion?

Many thanks Mama! I seached the web and couldn't find it anywhere!

Does anyone have the result and scorers of the challenge match between Daugavpils and Grudziadz on 30.09.2007 ?

I have no connection with Southampton but I went to the reunion bash in '98 and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially meeting a still youthful looking Bjorn Knutsson. I remember George Bason being there too, and I think, one of my boyhood heroes, Alby Golden. That event was easy to get to by train, but I don't suppose this venue will be, though I don't know the area and haven't looked at a map yet. I'd like to be there this year too, even if it means driving.

I go with TP Tours because they deal with all the hassle for me, and I'm happy to pay them to do that. When I was younger, I happily organised things for myself, on the cheap, and had good and bad experiences. And that was long before the Internet made it as easy as it is today. Nowadays, I want to be looked after - I want my flights, hotels, transfers, stadium tickets and local excursions all sorted, and I want them to be good quality. TP Tours are the best in the business, and that's what I pay them for.

Many thanks! Is there any chance that Pila might become a top level club again?

In the 90s, Pila raced at the top level in Poland, staged major FIM meetings and employed the likes of Hans Nielsen. Can any of our Polish friends explain what happened to cause their decline into obscurity? In 2006, I saw the team at a league match in Miskolc, Hungary, and they were pitiful.

1. It's generally the best race track, entertainment wise. 2. I've never been to Poland before. Forget the one-off tracks - Bydgoszcz is where it's at. And you won't be disappointed by Poland.

I would fly to Poznan. Nice city, plenty to see and do, lots of bars, restaurants and only about 90 mins from Leszno. The Sheraton is probably the best hotel in town.

You could try the Kings Hotel which is literally about 45 seconds walk from the railway station...I'm serious! The train from Newport is dead easy, and costs about £2.90 return. We do it every year, and it beats trying to park in Cardiff.

I've been on several tours with Travel Plus over the last five years or so and I've always found them to be excellently organised, and worth every penny. Sure there can be glitches, but that happens with foreign travel, airlines, hotels and our rapidly deteriorating postal service. James and all his staff, (special mention to Brian and Claire), always do their best to sort out the glitches fast, and with the minimum of fuss and bother. Make no mistake, TP are not the cheapest, but they ARE the best, (...wish I was going to Bydgoszcz.....!)

Very sad to hear this not unexpected news - I gather he hadn't been well for a while. As a boy I remember watching Igor at Newport in 1965 and being totally enthralled by him and the rest of his team. He and Gennady Kurilenko broke, or equalled the track record about five times, I think - I can check the programme. And that on a track which they'd never seen before, and which many western riders considered 'difficult'. RIP Igor - a true racer and a humble, modest hero.

Can anyone, (a Swedish Forum member, maybe?), tell me where Taxarna rode in 1967? Was it Hammarby?

Sorry for the confusion KevH. I got my information from the last ever Barrow programme from '85. I wasn't aware that the track was a different length in '78, but on checking a programme, that is indeed the case.

What I meant was that by the time they closed, they had lost their league status and were staging open licence racing, mostly at almost junior level. Workington were doing the same in '85. When you consider that Sparshott's time was set 22 years ago, it compares very favourably with today's times. I always understood that the Park Road track, although small, was a great shape which lent itself to fast racing. Shame it didn't last.

The record at Park Road when they closed in '85 was 59.73, set by Nigel Sparshott on 23.04.85. Pretty good going on a 280 metre track which only staged open licence racing.

Gdansk is well worth a visit, and for me ranks alongside Krakow and Torun as one of the most picturesque of Polish cities. You can fly direct from Luton, and there is a good rail link south to Bydgoszcz.

Try Bydgoszcz v Torun, or vice versa.

I know both of those sites, but I can never figure out how to navigate backwards on Sportowefakty to find the report of a meeting which took place a while ago! Maybe I'll see you in Bydgoszcz - I love the place!

Thanks very much TMW. I know this fixture took place the night before the Bydgoszcz GP, and some British fans were staying in Gdansk. Maybe you were one of them?

Can any of the Polish Forum members help me out with the result and scorers from a Best Pairs tournament held at Gdansk on 22 September 2006? I've checked the Gdansk website and there's no indication that the meeting took place. Was it rained off, or cancelled? Thanks.

67.4, set by Ole Olsen on 15.05.72

The record was 63.2, set by John Hart on 23.08.74.