Grand Central

.Thank you for rightly making it clear that the meeting that made so many of decisions that are usually taken at an AGM was not actually an AGM at all. Fair enough. But I am still a little unsure though whether you think this was a good way of doing it or not. Am I totally amiss to think it daft? .

I have a very faint memory of my first trip abroad in 1968 - as late as that - when I was taken to a couple of Victor Boston meetings. I can just about summon up a recollection of the old man, his wife Lola and their son Claud. Most is lost in the mists of time .... but I remember an old tattered poster that adorned my childhood bedroom wall emblazoned with "BOSTONS DIRT TRACK RODEO MOTOCYCLISTE".

The end of the official season in British Speedway is October 31st. Always has been. The term of office of the officers of the BSPA has never ended before that date. All members of the Association, including Chapman were aware of that fact, or should be if they understand their own Articles of Association. Having an AGM prior to that date was idiotic. If you were the outgoing Chairman, or even the aspiring incoming one. Idiots the lot of 'em.

In which case ... Come on you Mighty Belgians!

Yes I'd have thought he would be favourite but Ennis-Hill is odds on for some reason. To me the 11-2 odds for Lewis were good enough value to stick £20 on him straight off. Can't see him being beat myself.

Do you have a particular reason for being the only person pushing this daft point. You are making yourself look foolish. Is that your wish?

Don't be daft.

The polish equivalent of Baldrick at the PZM must have exclaimed ' I have a cunning plan '. One which Mr Blackadder at BSI should have heard with great scepticism. Of course, it could be quite a 'cute' solution to offer a freebie to an extra, totally irrelevant, meeting Last year they could not get the track right enough for the riders to complete a dozen races. The practice session itself being judged by some to be a contributor to the problems. The Sunday restaging date being pointless then. Next year they plan to run forty races or more. So good luck with that. I'm off to to book my flights ... This deal sounds so totally foolproof, it would be daft to miss it. .

A scan of my young schoolboy-filled-in programme https://www.dropbox.com/s/13ei3rnbgy66lcs/Halifax%201978-10-22_page1_image1.jpg?dl=0

Again just terminology and semantics.'Deemed' to be based in Australia. He is travelling from the Uk just like Holder, Bachelor and Doyle. Just a poor show not to take his gear the same way as them, gratis. Penny pinching, tight and just a bit nasty on the part of BSI. Whatever the excuse. .

I don't get the 'obviously' point here. It seems ''obvious' to me that he should be given the same terms on transport as the permanent guys. Other words I could use would be 'decent', 'right' and 'proper'.

It is certainly neither edifying, or just, either for the wild card for the Australian GP to have to resort to public begging just to fund his costs of getting to the GP. Even the most incompetent media-conscious organisation could have dealt with that better. Surely there is a 'spare' member of the Olsen family who could see that is sorted out. PDQ.

"The kid the with the gammy leg ...he's carving them to pieces." Classic.

It is certainly a shame, for us spectators, that Emil is choosing to miss the SGP. No doubt. But no more than that. This is his choice. Or at least it is his choice to take the advice of others who tell him that this is right choice. So why are we fussng so much. We all make choices, some of them better than others. But we must each live with the outcome. In later life he will probably regret it greatly. And hopefully he will take it out on an elderly Suzzi.

.Personally, I find the background to all these things quite fascinating; it could make a good winter feature in the Star to go behind the scenes on some of them. Especially, now that a good number of years have passed. On Norden, though, what with the new seating and still massive capacity .... It actually looks reasonably impressive now! It does look much more like a decent GP venue than Teterow. . Pity, standards really have slipped.

.Ok ... Fair enough, my (mock) sympathy for Ole will not be requited. But the original point made by another poster was to equate a GP at Teterow, on a par with a World final in Norden. That does seems about right. A 'mix' of venues for 2016 that has high points of Cardiff, Melbourne and Stockhom will 'surprise' us with an off the beaten-track 'gem' such as Teterow. Rather similar to that 'mix' of venues for the early 80s World finals... Wembley and LA Coleseum followed by the 'surprise' of Norden. Not quite how we viewed it, was it? Perhaps, as you say, a 'mix' ... not at all a backward step. Possibly. .

It certainly makes you think doesn't it? It makes me feel a little sympathy for Ole Olsen! Imagine striving to get the temporary tracks right ... in Melbourne, Warsaw(?), Cardiff, Stockholm and Horsens. Just so that they can put GPs on at great Stadiums. And BSI simultaneously give them out to god-forsaken places like Teterow. When they are leaving Bydgoszcz, Vojens and Gorzow (?) to lie fallow. Call me cynical but could it be about money? And NOT Speedway.

I would go with Peter Collins to win. Also Michael Lee to be in the top four, probably top three. But I am a little young to know and decide about the relative merits of Knutson and Wilkinson. I wonder if those who have given their top three and have made a decision on these two chaps could give some guidance on their thinking?

I tried a clear and helpful explanation. You don't get it. Fair enough. I hope the guys in Ryde do.

Totally irrelevant. This one is embarrassingly amateurish. It does give a dreadful impression, and I am sure that was not the intention. Offering poor advice wrapped up with good wishes is terribly unhelpful. They need to know just what a mistake they are making before they blight their own position You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

I find it quite comforting that the girls have "Nice" emblazoned on their left bosom. Of course agree. But it is a great excuse to keep repeating it every time they are shown.

I assume that was four straight wins and engine failure while leading in the other.

Is this meant to be ironic? It is being so positive, surely, about the Grand Prix that has been your hallmark, after all.

On my first reading of the Harkess interview I all too easily fell into my default position of being uber-critical of all those at the top of British Speedway admin. I was about to call him 'hapless' and other derogatory terms. But after a little more thought, I have reconsidered. The truth is. He actually is in the same position as me. Exactly. He can identify all the problems. He knows that an awful lot of them are self inflicted by those within the sport on each other; but he also knows full well that NO ONE is capable of changing that. He knows many of the problems are from the international nature of the sport; and he also recognises that SGB is such a small part of that, it will not be changed from here. And knows that pretty much all the other problems come from a changing outside world and society in which Speedway is a very ill-fitting part. That has no real solution at all. No after all these years in charge, thinking once that he could do something to halt the decline, he has come to the same conclusion as some of us here. Survival, and managing to eek out as long as we can, that is our only option. Lets make the best of what we have whilst it's here, but be wary of all those saying that THEY know what will work to change things for the better. They think they do, but they are probably going to be wrong. To change my tack completely from where I was before reading his interview. I would say: 'Step down Alex - not because you have failed, but because you deserve the retirement'.