Steve Shovlar

Get the train from Pokesdown to Poole.

Lovely sunny day here in Poole. But will be a bit chilly tonight so wrap up warm. Are the gates opening at 6pm or the usual 6.30?

Why would Poole crumble? How many times have we crumbled at home this year? Zilch. We have been rock solid at home all season, and tomorrow we will be rock solid as well. Ten points makes it very interesting but Glasgow can’t throw in Cook for an extra ride, like Poole couldn’t use a t/r last night to close it up. The Poole crowd will be number 8 and raise the roof for the team. Expect fireworks on and off the track. Fingers crossed by heat 14, Sweet Caroline will be ringing out from the grandstand.

Just got home from a very hectic 32 hours. But overall it went very well. Both flights were on time and but for COP26 would have been a very nice trip to Glasgow. City is nice but was ruined by a helicopter hovering a thousand feet above the city, for the whole time we were there, so very noisy. The huge police presence was also out but if some nutters had started something we would have been glad they were there. And how many police security services were there in plain clothes we didn’t notice? I Thought the stadium tidy. Decent crowd though TBH I expected the crowd to be bigger. Racing wise not bad. A few incidents to mention. Cook in heat one moved big time but no warning from the ref. Worrall moving cannot be blamed on Cook as he was looking the other way. Nowak exc in heat 2 came as a surprise. I was actually looking at him when the tapes went up and didn’t think he touched the tapes. But it was messy and the ref called it as he saw it. I spoke to both Ben Basso and Danny Hume after the meeting and bith said the back wheel lifted at a crucial moment sending them off. Jensen also fell there. Cost Poole 2 5-1s which would have put the title beyond doubt. In heat 14 Brennan’s tried a big swoop but Basso was already there. Brennan ran out of room. Clear easy call for the ref but the crowd were baying. Ref watched replay but result always Brennan exc. crowd very unhappy but if the ref had buckled he would not be a ref any longer. Thanks to Andy for giving three of us a lift to airport. Got there but everything shut, no benches and a long, long night with little to no sleep. Breakfast at 4.30 am but amazed that nearly everyone in the airport was drinking beer or wine! At 5 am with breakfast. A Scottish thing? Was a pleasant flight back to Gatwick and less than 2 hours later back in Poole before 11 am.

Back now at Gatwick. Very easy and good way to go. Just a shame COP26 was on to mess up hotels. Happy with the ten point gap. Think we will do it.

Well trying to get any sleep at the airport is proving virtually impossible. They make it so the seats are so uncomfortable that you can forget it. Kip when I get home around lunchtime meaning about 32 hours awake!

THERE IS NO LIVE STREAM ON THURSDAY. Be there or miss out. Huge crowd expected. Lots coming down from Glasgow. Well a meeting that was very hard for both sets of riders. No quarter given all night. Every heat battled hard. I think we were unlucky when gating on two 5-1s only for one of our guys to fall on the third/forth bend. I spoke to both Danny and Ben Basso after the meeting and they both hit a small bump which was enough to lose balance. As for the brennan incident in heat 14, Tom gave it his all with an attempted massive blast around the outside. But he ran out of room and found Ben Basso was already there and down he went. A no brainer of a decision but the ref watched the replay and gave the only call he could make, much to the crowds displeasure. If he had excluded Basso he would be out of a job. Would I have taken ten point defeat before the meeting? Yes. At one stage it was looking much worse so we Poole fans have come away happy. Will we be able to claw it back? Yes! In fact it will take a monumental effort from glasgow to keep Poole from scoring 51. Possible? Yes. Likely? No. All nicely balanced. But advantage Pirates..

Clear decision Brennan but crowd going mad. Tried go go where a rider already was.

Throwing away points for the second time. This is going to bite us.

Andy you can call me on my mobile. I left a personal message.

Glasgow is impressive with lots of quality shops and restaurants. First time here but will certainly revisit next year when I have more time.

City is packed with cops from all over uk. Just spoke to two from Norfolk.

On the bus into Glasgow. All quick. Some interesting planes in the airport inc the million pound paint job on the uk plane. Plus india, Japan etc. weather is good no issues.

On our way! Talk about an early start!

There’s at least a dozen Poole fans that I know of making the trip, and probably quite a few more coming up. Nothing like the large amounts we would normally bring to a playoff final closer to hone on a weekend though. Hopefully we can make enough noise to be heard.

Gotcha Andy! Thought it was you but know 2 other Andy’s at Poole. You going on your own for this? No “never in doubt” brigade?

Tried that. Just diverts to my Facebook page.

Hi Andy, that link doesn’t work. Well I can’t get it to work. We are going into the city for a look about before heading to the stadium for 6.pm.

Surprised someone hasn’t lost their bottle and run one over to be honest. Just a matter of time before there’s a flattened leg.

Gatwick. Only worry is insulate Britain blocking the M25! Do I know you? Andy ?

Flight was £75 return. Train in comparison was over £200. We are dossing at airport but not likely to get any sleep. We are in the grandstand. Come and join us so we can make some noise.

Yes, there will be a few of us making the trip. Most are driving up tomorrow, me and Rob are being lazy and flying up.

What an absolute utter pain that this meeting coincides with COP26. Half the cities tourist sites are shut. A large area is cordoned off from the general public, and everywhere will be packed out making for a not very pleasurable experience. Might get to film a protest riot or something though. I suppose the best way to get to the stadium is by train to Ashfield, which is quite regular. Return gets us in at 10.25 meaning a rush to the bus station or a curry if one is still open for customers at 10.30. Mr Singhs closes at 10.30pm. Chaakoo Indian cafe is open until midnight and is central. We can take a taxi from there to the airport for allegedly £17. Will the taxis be allowed to hike their prices? Not officially but Sods law they will. All we need now is a cracking meeting.