TotallyHonestJohn

Andy is a good guy with some great ideas for a fully inclusive motor park so everything from stocks and speedway to lawnmower and Motability scooter racing; training track facilities for kids and adults an external BMX track the works and nothing is off the table at the moment he is really making a go of it.. and hopefully it will be fully self financing Regards THJ

Firstly I have one more picture to load for those who don't have Facebook access and yes Craig Branney did run the old Northside training track for a period when he hung up his steel shoe and Craig encountered similar problems to those that Andy is experiencing now with theft and vandalism at the site which I think ultimately sickened Craig. Andy Bain is developing the site and he is currently negotiating a lease with the local authority who along with the local MP have been fairly supportive in his endeavours. It would have to be a CH-47 Chinook to get this old lump off the floor these days and I couldn't afford the train fare to get you from Chichester to Workington to power a hot air balloon for me gazzac if we could get one big enough that is to get me off the ground and to fit your head in; so one of those little drones with a camera on was used I believe and the quality of the pictures is quite good to be fair Regards THJ

Two of 3 Regards THJ

One of 3 Regards THJ

No they will need a new one... Very expensive.... fancy making a donation? Spend some of that lockdown pension stashed under the bed!!! LOL... Regards THJ

He had his little measuring wheel out for a walk when I was there and I cant remember if he said 298 or 308 metres long but the straights and corners are what you quote width wise... Don't know about any amateur meetings soon as there is still a great deal to do infrastructure wise but when Andy and Steve get going they really crack on so who knows... be great for Workington as a town that is for sure... Regards THJ

Just wait till the top coat goes on (former DP shale)… I have been told it will be like a "babies bottom" (direct quote from Steve Lawson) Regards THJ

Depending on the qualification rules maybe NDL but that will be down to Andy as to which way he jumps... but it is positive news for a change... Regards THJ

Northside starting to take shape... what was it Steve Whitehead used to say #webelieve? Was watching Dan Bewley going round on his dirt track bike 24th October 2021 prior to his first DT meeting at BV and this track and the plans Andy has for it sound and look impressive... Good luck Andy... Regards THJ

It would have come out sooner but I am tied up on a big commission for a client at the minute and I couldn't get a response out as quick as I would have liked to be fair and as you will appreciate there was a fair bit to discuss so the reply wasn't really going to be a one liner reply (not that I am known for my one liner replies) There wasn't much agreed to be fair as the meeting was made moot by "The Promotion" changing its mind and deciding to stay for next year... and possibly longer (if it doesn't lose money) and I do feel that there possibly will be the need for something like the FONDS that isn't to onerous on the regular fans pocket and something the fans will feel they can support and there were some good ideas and some positive support but the 70 or so who were there were the hard core of the supporters... real fans and genuine people... On the CIC I am still keen to push this and I will be exploring the possibilities further in the next few months; however it will be a CIC that pays out a dividend on profits and potentially with a site that will be a viable venture to give returns to the investors and I will be looking for around 10 to 12 like minded people (or businesses) if the business plan stacks up... we have seven interested parties at present and there will possibly be more on this later hopefully and who knows Steve this time next year we could all be millionaires... Keep living the dream Regards THJ

Steve there are no secrets as far as I am concerned and never will be; furthermore if it was to be a secret there would not have been an open invite on here and on other media channels such as Facebook and Twitter; then if you consider how fast Rob Grant put his statement out on Facebook you can see there was nothing secret about the meeting or its content as Steve Pate (Team Manager) was in attendance I guess as Rob's (eyes and ears) representative although he did not contribute to the meeting whatsoever. The meeting was pulled together by Steve Brock and the venue booked when we were under the impression that the club had gone and was closing following comments made by "The Promotion" (I will use this phrase rather than put names down). I was told by "The Promotion" that if I didn't buy the club (with an associate) that the club was gone as the "Stadium Owners" would not accept just any person coming in to promote the club and there would need to be many hurdles to get over before we could run and both "myself and my colleague" were in the opinion of "The Promotion" the "only people" who could take the club forward and who would be an acceptable alternative. Therefore we were in the process of pulling a package together to rescue the club which would have included input from the fans... Now these things do not come together overnight however we were systematically working through the process when low and behold "The Promotion" had a change of heart and decided to run. Great... As I have stated as an ardent supporter of Rob Grant the Rob Grant is the best person to promote Newcastle Speedway (for many reasons previously outlined) So we were then asked by "The Promotion" if a Trust could be pulled together to support the club following the season "The Promotion" had just endured... because as everyone was aware the club was on the brink of collapse right from the start due to the VAT fiasco and "The Promotion" were telling us continually right throughout the season how bad a state the club were in financially and I for one took it upon myself to religiously and sometimes vehemently support "The Promotion" and give relevant information on here on how precarious the financial situation was... Which brings me onto a conversation I had with "The Promotion" on the Friday prior to this meeting where I was basically told by "The Promotion" all they wanted was a Trust like Edinburgh to do similar things like "they do" "up there" and I pointed out to "The Promotion" that this would be fans money and in effect "The Promotion" could not been seen to have anything to do with the Trust and it would be the Trust (Fans) and their committee who would decide what and where any monies would be spent but it would always be spent to the benefit of the club. However "The Promotion" was not happy with this and stated there was new money coming into the club and when I pressed "The Promotion" as to how much they were expecting from this new money the figure I was quoted was "in excess of £50K" and then I stated to "The Promotion" that did they think it fair to ask fans to put cash in if the Business as a whole was making profit... I didn't get a response and I added if there was profit in the pot at the end of the year did "The Promotion" expect another 10 or 20 grand hand out from the fans which in essence would just be a gift to "The Promotion" for running a business and I did not get a response... I was told it had nothing to do with the fans if "The Promotion" were making a profit and "The Promotion" stated that they would not divulge what the financial status of the company was like... then when I pointed out that "The Promotion" were happy to divulge figures that showed the company were making a loss and it was imperative that fans put into a "Go Fund Me" or that it was critical to the clubs finances that Fans had to attend a double header or the club would fold that this was acceptable in those instances but not if the business was being successful... "The Promotion" reiterated that this had nothing to do with the fans however it was pointed out that the company would be posting financial information on to the Companies House web site and the information would ultimately be available "The Promotion" made no comment... This brings me on to the meeting itself... We looked at three options to support the Club and "The Promotion" and these were 1. A supporters Trust... and in running a trust it was envisaged that this would give the Fans a vehicle to support the club financially which came with certain tax breaks and benefits because if you are a charitable trust and donating through Gift Aid it means means charities and community amateur sports clubs ( CASCs ) etc.. can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give. However prior to this meeting we found out that you can not support Motor Sports through a "charitable trust" as it is not allowed legally under current laws and regulations in England and Wales governing trusts and we were asked how do Edinburgh do it and the very short answer to this is; they are covered by Scottish Law and it is different. So whatever they do up there is totally irrelevant to what we can do down here so a Trust was a non starter unfortunately following on from the legal advice we received. 2. A Community interest company... A community interest company is a type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies Act 2004, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good; now again this cannot be used to run a motor sport business however it could be used to support that business by other means which we were told we could legally do... Such as purchase a venue and rent it back to the club at a potentially peppercorn rent on say £1:00 per meeting. This was discussed due to the fact that "The Promotion" had expressed at the start of the season that it was imperative that we got out of Brough Park to assist "The Promotion" and their business plan to run training meetings and get free access to the track to allow for pre meeting track prep which was creating problems at Brough... I will add to this regarding the track below. For the CIC to operate we were looking at a larger investment of say £1000 per year per person for 3 years and investing this cash which would have raised interest on the investment which could have been given back to the club for capital investments such as Air Fence; Tractors; Bowsers; Plant and Equipment. Furthermore this capital would have been used as collateral to open up further funding streams to get the new venue off the ground with the guarantee that all monies paid by each person would be handed back to investors in full as a minimum at the end of the loan period of say 3 to 5 years. Legal documentation would have been drawn up to underwrite these investments and due to the complexities involved this would form part of a three to five year plan to support the club and "The Promotion". More on this later... 3. The Friends of Newcastle Diamonds Speedway (FONDS)… which in essence is a beefed up supporters club but with a constitution and a set of articles to operate by and to; that would give the Fans the comfort in the knowledge that their cash was being spent wisely and that everyone who contributed to the fund would be able to at least have a say at a group meeting and to put proposals forward to allow a democratic vote on where the monies were going... I now believe with the Facebook "Important Statement from Rob Grant" this if anything is the way the fans should go... There will be the need for a Secretary, Treasurer and Chair Person and a couple of committee members.. and the Chair Person would liaise with "The Promotion" and "The Promotion" could advise where the help is/was required or the FONDS (depending on available funds) could sponsor say the Medical Cover and Ambulance that runs to around £600:00 per meeting or the Referee costs to around £200:00 per meeting depending on how much revenue they were bringing in... We have an offer to set up the rules governing the FONDS; the terms of association and the constitution to give people the confidence that any monies raised are spent wisely... Steve Brock coordinated this meeting and took some names at the end of it with fans prepared to commit to such an entity like the FONDS and he would be an ideal person to chair this group and would get my vote... So there you go Steve no secrets hopefully the brief outline and precis above gives you some ideas as to what was discussed at the meeting and can I also add my thanks to everyone who attended (just under 70 souls) on an absolutely awful night weather wise and for all the PM's I have received offering support over the last few weeks... there should be more coming out on this for further discussion... Also Steve if you wish to take any of this and put it on Facebook I would not have any issue with that... On this statement from "The Promotion" I find this personally very disappointing; no one is disputing whose business it is and as such we can all mind our own businesses to be fair if that makes "The Promotion" happy... however at the start of the season I was asked by "The Promotion" to put feelers out on here to see what the appetite would be for moving to a New Venue and this was the case right up to the final few weeks of the season and my enquiry provoked a great deal of emotion from various fans and I sincerely apologise for this upset to those who are most loyal to Brough Park however I was operating under instruction from "The Promotion" and it was only mentioned at the Gosforth meeting because of the continual insistence that we had to get away from Brough Park... However miraculously the position seems to have changed... Yep... press release and feelers out everywhere with site visits to look at new venues the lot... Durham Northumberland Newcastle North Tyneside Blyth Valley et al... meetings with planners and councillors the whole shooting match; however two meetings with over a thousand in and a big hard on because there would be no need to supplement revenue streams with paid for training and practice session... As I have always said I have supported "The Promotion" with not only unwavering passion and loyalty (sometimes going over the top) and I have backed this up with financial support... "The Promotion" have all the tools to make Newcastle Diamonds successful at Brough Park they have the additional revenue streams with the food franchise and the backing of the stadium owners which is vital; added to which some fantastic and innovative ideas on how to promote the team the sport and the business in the North East... if anyone can make a success out of this club it is the current promotion... When I was being courted and actively encouraged to take over the club I was told by "The Promotion" that ARC would be open to possibly looking at a two year lease if certain criteria could be met and in my subsequent discussions with "The Promotion" following their decision to run for "one more year in the memory of Dave Tattum" in 2022 and not fold the club and that the promotion were potentially looking at 1; 2; 3; 5 more years (not sure why 4 years was missed but there you go) and during this conversation with "The Promotion" it was intermated that there could be 5 more years at Brough Park so roll on we may even see a 100th birthday celebration... However whilst I agree with some of your sentiment the stadium owners have stated on more than one occasion that they will only allow certain compliant promoters who they vet and approve to use the facility at Brough Park so what happens in 1;2;3;or 5 years if "The Promotion" decide to walk away again where does that leave anyone else coming in... shafted I would suggest and its starting to look like a Catch 22 situation in that you cant look for somewhere else for fear of upsetting where you are now but if you do upset them or cant meet their requirements you are out on your neck anyway with nowhere to go. Why laugh because that is basically what was said to "The Promotion" "‘look we don’t really want you here" and it has been said on more than one occasion; however "The Promotion" do currently have a fantastic relationship with ARC that has to be pointed out... Correct... we have been told for many a year now that our time is limited at Brough and what did ARC do with the option given to Bellway for the site and what happens if this is still standing and if Bellway offer ARC a new purpose built dog track somewhere else in the city? would the speedway be accommodated? also can I add that I do not deal in rumour and if it is a rumour I will point that out... however I also agree (Jesus twice in one post... I will be getting talked about) that there is a great deal of rumour and fiction posted onto this site but rest assured everything I quote and everything I have posted in the past have and has been in consultation and in full agreement of "The Promotion" sometimes even dictated word for word... Yes now that the Diamonds are having new money pumped in and from one source alone to a tune of £50k which makes my £3700 contribution last year pale into insignificance... and as I now have next years company sponsorship fund of £20k to consider and not touched yet and a major slice of that (if not all) was earmarked for the Speedway but even that figure does not look very impressive against someone weighing over £50k... So it looks like my cash is no longer required and as I dropped my Season Ticket for St James Park in 2015 when they got promoted to the Premiership which was also the last time I sponsored the Toon (not only the match ball twice that season but the programme as well) which gets you 4 corporate tickets for the full experience and on the premise that I would never go back as long as Ashley was in charge... well now that is looking like it will change very soon I think I will be going to B&M Bargains buying a pack of three of those checked tea towels getting me self some string and fashioning me own Arab ghutra and agal rope for me napper to pay Homage to our new prospective buyers... looks like the sponsorship cash will be going on watching football again next season and at least I will have a list of clients; staff and friends wanting coming to those events unlike me two spare speedway tickets that I cant give away for love nor money... Never mind good luck to "The Promotion" in 2022 and especially Dave Tinning who is a great guy and not only to Dave but his whole family who all will give 100% to the cause that is for sure.... Finally can I add I think much of the good will and genuine support for "The Promotion" that was there from the fans has taken a bit of a bashing over the last few months with the treats of pulling the plug and the haranguing about the financial mess the club found itself in... and to the final track walk where many of these fans shed genuine tears at what they thought was the loss of there club that the "Important Statement from Rob Grant" post was not necessary in the slightest and there needs to be a concerted effort from "The Promotion" to re-engage with the fan base going forward and especially in 2022... Regards John

Rob Grant publicly stated in the Star (and everywhere else for that matter) that he was not running next year and he was walking away from Newcastle... So the morale of that story is don't believe everything you read in the Star... Van Straaten will be there next year six clubs or not... it is pre AGM posturing for me... Could be wrong it has been known but I doubt any of the Super 6 will relinquish what little up front TV monies they get... Regards THJ

Tonight is the night people if you want to help or make a change Looking forward to seeing as many people as posible Regards John

Remember you were told last season that there would be 2 Rising Stars in teams this year going forward so you will get 4 Stars which will allow for maximum combinations of a 3 + 1 Star or a 2 + 2 Star at reserve if you max out your Star ration.. After all it would be daft to stick in two 1 Star Reserves you may as well use up your star ration to the full... That will leave a figure to be chosen for the team building of the top 5 which due to the shortage of riders last season might be to a maximum of 35 but could be as low as 32 or even 30 for the Championship... The NDL will change possibly to clubs 2nd teams only so I am not sure where that will leave Mildenhall and the IOW (If they come back) and anyone else who thinks they could drop down into this league and thinking of Brum and Eastie here who have done this in the past or Oxford and Bradford if they were to come back and that is purely down to rider availability...Just personal thought that one though... Top league will be ok with the Super 6 but I would like to see a couple more added to this for a league of 8 or even 10 but cant see it happening somehow and let them build to 45 points so they can be as strong as possible... So 5 Stars for their reserves and 40 points for the 1 to 5... Finally I have been reading about this new Glasgow proposal that will be put forward by Michael Max amongst others which knowing Michael will be well thought out and lets face it could it be any worse than what we have at the minute with this rising star thing; looking forward to hearing more about this proposal and seeing how far it gets... lets hope its a winner. Regards THJ

No...

Wow that's a good little link I like that...

As I said earlier nothing is off the table and everything will be open to debate... there is more than one idea floating around out there on how we should move forward and ultimately if this gets off the ground how it will work and where it will go will be decided upon by the majority... you will need to come to your own view on that and see if you support it... we are if nothing else a democratic society... Newcastle has been saved by Rob for the moment however there are issues surrounding the venue that are well known... the sport is in difficulty for various reasons... and Rob has new backing for now but what happens if that position should change... We all got one almighty scare after the Birmingham meeting as the club had technically gone and an awful lot of fans wanted to do something... anything... that might throw the club a lifeline... what happens if we end up in the same position two or three years down the road... So will it just be a beefed up fan club... a trust with firmer guidelines... a charity or charitable trust to save on paying tax on donations or will it be something different again that offers the sport a future for years to come... or do we do nothing and trundle on as we always have done with the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads... Attend the meeting air your views... see what is said and what the proposals are and see if there is anything you feel you could sign up to.... there is no pressure either way... nothing ventured nothing gained... Regards THJ

Is it? Well that's one idea? Hopefully you will be at the meeting and your proposal can be put to the vote... Regards John

Would you like to get your glasses as I believe you could be quoting the wrong person... however sincere apologies if I'm wrong... Regards THJ

It is whatever you want it to be... it will be like minded people who want to retain speedway in the area for the long term putting forward options to achieve this goal... when Rob was going to walk many people were profoundly impacted and were prepared to do something to retain the sport in the area... I believe there is the good will at present to put something into place that will mean we can not only support a team and a track but secure a future for the sport in the area for the foreseeable future... If we can't reach a consensus so be it and if it doesn't happen what have we lost... a wet Tuesday night in October... but the bar will be open which will counter that somewhat... All ideas and proposals will be aired... Regards John

Good luck Jill hope everything goes okay with the op... We will let you know what transpires... Regards John

At that age more like egg bound a would say... two more Senokot please nurse...

86 in November...

See Geoff Brown announced on Look North tonight that "Rob Grant has decided to run for another year"? "Great news he said the Diamonds are back" Here Here Geoff... However I may not have that verbatim and he may have just made a sweeping statement but if we are only looking at one more year we do need to get our thinking caps on and get moving as it could be we aren't out of the woods yet and we are in the same predicament at the end of next season... I am getting lots of PM's pledging money and wanting to be part of a trust or similar to support the club so looking forward to seeing people next Tuesday... Regards THJ

Hi This goes out to everyone who expressed a wish to save the club prior to Rob rising like a phoenix and changing his mind to stay... There will be a meeting next Tuesday @ 19:30 hours (7:30 PM) 5th October at the South Gosforth Sports & Social Club Laburnum Cottage, Percy Terrace, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 1RS. This meeting will look at the appetite to set up a Trust; with supporting funds; to look at sustaining Speedway in Newcastle. There will be a full and frank discussion following on from the offers of support for the club from individual fans and businesses and to debate the merits on proposals that ensure the club does not end up in the same precarious position we have faced over the last few weeks of the season. This will possibly be the only opportunity we have to get together and look at proposals for sustaining the sport and keeping the momentum going on the back of all the goodwill following the near closure of the club... There are no silly ideas and all proposals will be given an airing and hopefully we can bring something positive out of this get together... All are welcome and this includes any representatives of businesses who expressed an interest in the original proposal of a fan based buy out... please come along hear what is said and lets see if we can pull something positive together... There will also be a post notifying people on Facebook and Twitter of this meeting Look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible Regards John