Old Saint

I also congratulate the team on a superb display of racing. Especial congratulations to Chris and Simon who showed where the next generation of British speedway will come from. Congratulations also to the referee who, I thought, had an excellent meeting. It made a change to get through a meeting with no contentious refereeing issues.

In my previous post I mentioned my particular hero but may I comment on speedway generally? I am getting ready soon for my first visit to Swindon since my first and only other visit. It was 44 years ago when Southampton won the Knockout Cup. The weather was so bad that we could only see half the track for much of the meeting as the fog became progressively thicker. My father had quite a time trying to see the road across Salisbury Plain on the way home, but what a wonderful feeling we all had Speedway then was so different to today. It was an occasion that all the family looked forward to every week - 7.30 pm on Tuesday evenings. The Stadium looked immaculate, unlike some of today's tracks. Excitement rose as the bikes were warmed up, the smell of Castrol R drifting across the Stadium. Then, at precisely 7.30 the music started up, the "Entry of the Gladiators" I believe it was called. The track staff marched out on to the centre green and took up their positions and racing was just a few moments away. The start of a race was heralded by all the lights in the stands going out a second or two before the tapes rose. At that point, the excitement was almst too much to contain. Everyone's attention was focussed on the four riders at the tapes. The tapes rose and four brave men tore away from the line for four laps of all out racing. The last meeting of the season was always something special. It was usually an invitational meeting but with added extras such as a donkey derby. The riders really entered into the spirit of the occasion and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves Then the Grand Finale of a magnificent firework display. Everyone went home feeling both elated and depressed - elated because of the fun that was had and depressed because the season had ended. I remember the Qualifying rounds of the World Championship. A chance to see the best from all the riders attending, including many who rode exclusively in Europe. A trip to the World Final at Wembley was just amazing. We wore rosettes and badges of our favourite riders and my mother had an enormous wooden rattle to swing around. Even the programme notes were very different. There was that wonderful politeness of the age with Charlie Knott starting his piece with the words, "Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen". There was a charity chosen each season when the profits of one meeting would be donated to a local charity. Speedway then was local and everyone seemed part of an extended family. Of course crowds were so much greater than today. I am so grateful to my parents for getting me involved in speedway. Once the bug had bitten it stayed. Now I have been able to pass this on to my own son who, hopefully, will pass this on to his son. Speedway has lost some of its magic but is still exciting. In fact, I think that may be the difference between speedway then and now - the magic.

AndyM, to be perfectly honest, I cannot see any system being regarded as the best by everyone. Whatever system is devised, (for qualification, points, etc) there will be dissenters and in most cases their arguments will be valid. I am old enough to remember when the one off World Finals were only held at Wembley , nowhere else in the World. The qualification system and the Final itself were exciting and right for those days. Sadly, the world in general has moved on and that system is now outmoded. If that sounds like a "grumpy old man" talking, I plead guilty. At least the system is evolving and is not static. Were it to remain static, it would soon lose its appeal as the world evolves around it.

One small change I would like to see is riders being rewarded for winning races. This could be done by awarding an extra point for each race win at the end of the meeting when calculating the overall GP points awarded.

Contrary to the excellent service provided by BSI, the Millennium Stadium has chosen to largely ignore my comments.

An update to my original post. I wrote to BSI and the Millennium Stadium authorities and I am pleased to say that I got a very swift reply from BSI. Unfortunately, I have still not had even an acknowledgement from the Stadium. From the correspondence I have had with BSI, I am certain that BSI DO listen to fans and take steps to deal with any problems. In my humble opinion, a good test of just how excellent a company is, is the way that they handle complaints. My experience leads me to say that BSI are an excellent company. Before anyone thinks otherwise, I have no connection with BSI whatsoever but I do believe in giving credit where it is due and in my case, this company is certainly due credit.

Wrong, Kylmo! He needs a guide dog!

Thank you all for your posts. You have confirmed that it really was as bad as it seemed and not just my imagination. My son informs me that the Stadium authorities are not best pleased by what went on so perhaps they will take some kind of action. I apologise if I have seemed to go over the top on this but I was really livid about the events.

Mr. Shovlar, you failed to take into account the revenue from merchandising and broadcasting fees. Must have all added up to considerably more than your estimate of £750,000 gross profit.

Star Lady, the stewards in previous years have been excellent. However, the standards of those I encountered this year were appalling. Indeed, the police told us that the usual stewards were not on duty and that they were not very favourably impressed by the stewards this year. Sadly, Andy, the police stated that realistically they could do nothing. As I was not gushing blood everywhere, it was not an arrestable offence. I got the impression that the police were glad to see the back of the Swedes as well. Anyway, have complained to both the Stadium and Benfield. We shall see what, if anything, comes of it. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks for your replies LT, that was bit drastic, but nice LOL I have complained in the strongest terms to the Millennium Stadium and shall be doing the same to BSI. To be fair to the police, they did as much as they could. It annoys me that had I gone to Sweden and done the same, including assaulting one of their nationals, I would probably be waking up today in a cell waiting to go to court. At least the Millennium Stadium and BSI cannot say that none of this happened, it is clearly shown on the Sky broadcast. P.S Just seen the photo Phil. I was under that flag as was my son! That was taken towards the end when the stewards finally got off their backsides and did nothing instead of just sitting and doing nothing.

Sorry to add a sour note to what should have been a great occasion but I feel I must. This year, we had the best seats we have ever had. The view was superb. Well, it was for some of the GP. Some Swedish supporters, who had obviously had far too much to drink, managed to make themselves as objectionable as it is possible to get to all sitting around us. They were blocking everyone's view, standing in the aisle and sitting in the seats that had been cordoned off. It appeared that they had decided that the seats they were supposed to be in, in another part of the Stadium, were not good enough for them so they just moved. The stewards were complete Muppets who left these supporters alone and completely ignored the complaints of other supporters. Apologies to Muppets everywhere for this insult. Even when we were assaulted by these supporters, me by being hit around the head when I complained and my son by being hit several times with their flag, the stewards could not care less. Never, in many years of attending speedway meetings has anything so unpleasant ever happened to me before. I understand people getting excited and wanting to enjoy themselves, but to do so to the exclusion of others around is the height of bad behaviour. It seems the best way to get good seats at Cardiff is to wear a Swedish shirt, have large flags, be falling down drunk, be as objectionable to everyone else as possible and just go and sit/stand wherever you like.

There were so many! Briggo, Bjorn Knutsson who was just an amazing rider, Rune Sormander - all made a great impression on me. Of the "lesser lights", Chum Taylor was a particular favourite. His riding style and attitude were wonderful. Dick Bradley was my mother's particular favourite rider. However, my all time favourite rider was Ernie Rawlins. Ernie Rawlins was an inspirational captain for the Saints and loved by all fans no matter who they supported. He was a rider who never quite made the big time but put in consistently excellent performances for his team. He was a true gentleman who was respected by all. I, like many fans, was devastated when he was sadly involved in a fatal accident at Banister Court. That terrible night, and the subsequent days when was in a coma, will live in my memory for ever. Other heroes? The entire Southampton team!

Must agree with the previous postings. It was halfway through the meeting that I realised what the infuriating noise was and that I did not have to buy a new television.

With the utmost respect to the riders of today, I doubt that there would be many who would be able to win off the old 20 yard handicap. The vast majority of riders would have the same handicap which would nullify the whole system. In the days of handicapping (cetainly when it first appeared), there were indeed the big five. I watched Barry Briggs and Bjorn Knutsson regularly at Southampton and they were virtually unbeatable, despite being heavily handicapped. We had a fair spread of different handicaps throughout the team. Tracks in those days were very different to now and the style of riding was also different. Handicapping did produce passing but I fear that the tracks of today would not allow this to the same extent. Heat results would therefore end up being determined by the handicapper rather than by riding ability. Having said all this, I think that it might worthwhile trying it as an experiment and I would hope that my fears turn out to be unfounded. If I remember correctly, and at my age I could easily be wrong, the reason for introducing handicapping all those years ago was exactly the same as those put forward now - too much processional racing.

There was only one "Governor" - Charlie Knott the Saints promoter. I can remember his rivalry with Johnny Hoskins to this day

BilaHora, Sir, I agree with your comments. At the risk of repeating myself, I believe the fault lies with promotion. Promotion of a sport or any product, does not mean relying on word of mouth, as seems to be the case with speedway, but actively (and aggressively) marketing the product. It would be easy to blame local promotions but perhaps the root of the problem is at National level. I suggest that a clearly defined plan be drawn up by the BSPA to improve the marketing of speedway backed up by local initiatives. At this point I cop out on the grounds that I am not, nor ever will be, an expert at marketing. However, a "supremo" well versed in such techniques would be able to set something up. It will cost money to employ such a person or persons, but the outlay could be quickly recouped.

Hi David, Unfortunately many of the signatures would not be good enough to photocopy. I suspect that the signatures would be towards the end of the period you suggest. It is quite possible that the signature does not belong to a rider as it was around the time when I first discovered autographs and there are the signatures of some old school friends in there as well. There was another book as well, but that has gone missing sometime during the years However, I shall treasure the signatures I have and pass them on to my son in the hope that he will then pass them on to his soon to be born son

Just a thought on this point. Cricket has an Inspector of Pitches so why not a "supremo" for track preparation in speedway?

I found an old, very old, autograph book of mine. Some of the names in there: Bill Holden Bert # Name Removed # Alby Golden Ernie Rawlins Dick Bradley Ron Sharp Johnny Hole Brian Hanham There is one I cannot make out, perhaps someone can help me - Ian ?

Brian Crutcher was indeed an excellent rider Watched him many times riding for the equally excellent Southampton side.

I watched Jimmy every Tuesday at Banister Court from 1950 until the sad closure of Southampton. Middlo says he was "a tough rider" and I cannot disagree with that comment . He gave the supporters value for money and was a stalwart of a great and much loved team. My condolences to his family.

This is getting(?) ridiculous! I am not a Poole fan, but do attend Arena and totally disagree with the suggestion put forward in the first post. Perhaps there is an illness circulating that has the effect of immediately looking for scapegoats when something does not quite work out as hoped? At the risk of repeating myself, I believe that ALL the members of the GB team, including Neil Middleditch, deserve congratulations and thanks for the enormous efforts they made.

If the intention had been to wind up the British, then he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams judging by the amount of vitriol on this and other forums! What was done is not rare. Similar things have often happened in speedway and in many other sports. Sometimes it goes for you and sometimes against. Regardless of who may benefit, such happenings always leave a nasty taste, made worse on this occasion by the blatant lying in the interview. I don't think that the final result would have been any different, but if I were Swedish, I would feel a little embarassed by what had happened. The incident has tainted the efforts of the Swedish riders and ensured that, in some parts of the world anyway, what was otherwise a superb meeting will be remembered, not as it should be for the riding skills and courage of 24 men, but for the actions of one man. I believe that if such thing had been seen to happen in football a charge of "bringing the game into disrepute" would be laid at the feet of the culprit.

Mr.Vega, you are quite correct in suggesting that you have a right to your opinion and the right to state that opinion and I support you fully in that. However, your timing is awful. This is not a time to be looking for scapegoats but a time for celebration of the superb efforts by all of the GB team and the support of the fans. I suggest that the expression "wearing one's heart on one's sleeve" applies to every single member of the GB team - including Neil Middleditch - tonight. It was obvious that every single one of them was immensely proud to be riding for their country and was so desperate not to let anyone down. As far as I am concerned, they did themselves and all of us very proud.