Beirao

Well the BSPL listing shows it! Who gave them the details?

Indeed! Well spotted it's May 12 not that it changes anything. BTW Poole have a 75th Anniversary meeting on Aug 30.

Tigers are at Scunthorpe on Friday May 13 and the two following Fridays are surely blank for KO Cup quarterfinal and (hopefully) BSN semi-final meetings. Problems will arise if/when fellow Friday night tracks are our opponents. Redcar look likely to beat Berwick in the Cup. Less certain but still possible is that Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe and ourselves are the BSN semifinalists. Unless we get Poole then another Friday nighter in the BSN. In contrast Poole only have May 17 and June 28 as free Wednesdays before the end of August. Not enough should they progress to the final in one or both competitions.... and this assumes no rain offs.

Poole now have a number of non competition meetings -Jubilee Trophy, Swindon challenge, Worrall testimonial, 75 th anniversary meeting- in their calendar and little or no space for KO Cup and BSN semi finals, never mind rain offs. Just hope they don't mess things up for everyone else.

Over 80s!

Interesting that they ripped up the gates during the track grade prior to heat eleven when Cook was off gate one. Wonder who asked for that?

Gate 4 at Wimbledon was often a gift but never as much as tonight. What does tonight's result tell us. Are Edinburgh a poor team and should Glasgow have won at Armadale a fortnight ago. Or are Berwick pretty good and Glasgow got a good win there last week? Not sure.

From memory the quiz ran for just three weeks with the example shown being the middle of three and the only one to give answers to the previous weeks quiz. I'm still curious as to who came up with this quiz. Presumably Les Whaley.

Anyone remember the bizarre quiz in our programme in the early weeks at Hampden in 1969? Anyone got the first clue how to solve it. Seems beyond Mensa, Only Connect etc standards. More than 50 years on and it still completely baffles me! classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/april-2023/anyone-remember-no-5

Intrigued to hear about Martin. Did he ride for South London Rangers and if so when.

April's edition is now on line and features Scottish Pirates - the rather fanciful attempts to form a breakaway league in the early 50s Cycle Speedway Graduates - the riders who started their careers on pedals Exeter - My Favourite Away Track - I loved my times at The County Ground Big Birthdays -more cake and candles for landmark celebrations Anyone Remember No 5 - our monthly meander down Memory Lane https://classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/

Completely agree but why not have dirt out wide from the start?

Bill Elliots excellent recollections of the life and times of Paisleys two years in the National League - https://classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/february-2023/memories-of-paisley-lions-part-1 https://classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/march-2023/memories-of-paisley-lions-part-2

Now online.classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/Read aboutMemories of the Paisley Lions Part 2 - the final year at Love Street Rumours of My Death - Charlie Monk hoaxFirst Night First Race Nerves - some dramatic first heats Big Birthdays - candles and cake March Obituaries - Bluey Scott and Jim LightfootAnyone Remember Number 4 - the monthly wander down Memory Lane

Ollie Nygren was one of my favourite riders and certainly my favourite Swede. His white boots and flowing green scarf got my attention on Wimbledon's first visit to Glasgow in 1965, along with him being prepared to sign autographs and talk to supporters, in stark contrast to the brusque treatment we got from Charlie Monk. And he backed it up on the track, with ten points that night in the Dons 41-37 win. He subsequently won the Glasgow Open Championship in 1966, having finished third the previous year and his booking for the last ever meeting at Edinburgh's Old Meadowbank in 1967 shows the high regard in which he was held in Scotland. Other Swedish memories were more of a mixed bag. Neither Tommy Berquist nor Bengt Brannefors, signing targets in early 1966, were allowed to join Glasgow, though Brannefors actually attended a rained off meeting. Nils Ringstrom flattered to deceive. After a promising start with a match winning second place in the last heat at Edinburgh, his form sloped off alarmingly and he eventually lost his team place. Ake Andersson was much the same, although without the good start! Bo Josefsson improved steadily in his first season in 1967 and had an unforgettable night at Poole scoring 14 points and losing out to Gote Nordin in the Silver Sash. He started off 1968 with a maximum at Kings Lynn, the first by an away rider but was the innocent party in the spectacular crash with George Hunter at The White City and was never really the same after that. Gunnar Malmquist gave the Tigers the run around about signing for them - he was to be the replacement for Charlie Monk - and promoter Les Whaley went out and signed Lars Jansson. He started well and looked like being an astute signing but lost his way as the tracks became slicker and was replaced by Ake Andersson ...and that didn't turn out well!

.Bluey Scott obituary ahead of the March issue going on line at the weekend. https://classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/march-2023/march-obituaries

Yes James Wallace was from Gorebridge and was probably the main mover behind the short Newtongrange season in 1973. As I remember it, Les Whaley and Ian and Johnnie Hoskins were in charge at the end of 1971, though Johnnie had little or no involvement. The Hoskins sold out to Jimmy Beaton and Neil Macfarlane before the start of the 1972 season, during which Whaley sold his interest to James Wallace. Not sure how long Wallace stayed involved, nor whether guys like Bill Harold and DL Thompson ever had shares in the promotion.

Are you differentiating between promoters and directors (shareholders). Glasgow directors include Ian and Johnnie Hoskins (1946- 54) Tommy Miller and Junior Bainbridge (1956) Trevor Redmond, Rob Netcott, (Trevor's father in law) and the Hoskins from 1964. Danny Taylor bought out Redmond and Netcott in 1967 and subsequently sold out to Les Whaley in 1968. The Hoskins sold ahead of the 1972 season to Jimmy Beaton and Neil Macfarlane, while James Wallace bought out Whaley during the 1972 season.

Great nights when the Scottish Cup was part of the Edinburgh Festival, or so Ian Hoskins would have told you. Can remember getting a great view of the fireworks on the 44 bus to Slateford going along Princes Street.

Some great performances at Old Meadowbank and great team riding too - with George Hunter while riding for Scotland against England in 1966 and with Tigers partner Graham Coombes, holding out George Hunter for a 5-1 which was crucial in the Scottish Cup win in 1965.

He found the going tough when he moved out the reserve berth to ride at number two, something that Broc Nicol also struggled with. It'll be interesting to see if he copes better this year. From memory he didn't score particularly well at Redcar in our league meeting last season, which we won, possibly our best away performance of the year.

Do teams have much say in deciding which meetings are streamed? With the geographical nature of the BSN Trophy sections, it's inevitable that local meetings will feature. How much do clubs get for having a meeting streamed and is it paid directly to them or is it added to the shared events fund and distributed at the end of the season.

A great guy and fondly remembered in Scotland following his times at Motherwell in the 50s, Glasgow White City in the 60s and at Blantyre in the 70s where he helped with the track. Affable and always seemed to have time to chat to supporters, his autograph was a work of art. I'll include a fuller tribute in next months Classic Speedway Memories on line magazine.

I was aware that Bailey had signed for Workington but feel the main thrust of this thread is looking at riders who have been squeezed out of the Championship by lowering the points limit to 40. If you agree with this then perhaps Dan Thompson should be added as he has no Championship team, though he is with Leicester in the top flight.

Drew Kemp and Connor Bailey?