Tigerblade

My pal tells me they have been told June 23rd, but don't shoot the messenger

My Edinburgh pal claims their usual hotel has contacted the trip organiser with a date for next year, and it isn't the 9th!! I don't know if the "usual hotel" is the Holiday Inn though.

Excellent stuff Steve - I guess in a way that it all turned out right in the end for the two Czechs. Again, if memory serves me correctly, Gerd Riss suffered a serious head injury and they were worried about him for quite a while?

I was never a big fan of his, as when I first got into it he seemed to have a bad attitude to not turning up at testimonials and guest appearances, or it seemed that way at the meetings I went to back then! The very fact that it was him that dropped out of the 1984 British Final made most people suspect straight away that some funny business had gone on. No doubt, people will (and have) condemn him, but if the sport had been totally squeaky clean, he wouldn't have had an awful lot to write about, would he?

Yes, I suspected even before I got my copy that you were getting at the fact there isn't much difference Wonderful stuff as always, obviously from my perspective, the Dave Morton and Bernie Persson features were interesting. I've no idea which part of Sheffield Bernie is referring to, but he may find some places even worse now!! I don't actually remember him being as bad as he says, although at the time it didn't seem to matter that much, with Doug and Reg there. I also remember that we wanted Dave Morton when he asked for a transfer from Hackney, but like he says, they wanted an exchange, and we wanted him as well as, if you know what I mean! I remember that he really struggled with coming to terms with the tape touching rule in 1984, when it was brought in.

Don't know where Mr. Simota's "Sam" came from, but I believe that Tesar's was due to Sam Ermolenko being his hero. Then it starts getting even sillier, bearing in mind Sam is not one of the names that Mr. Ermolenko was christened with, either!! Confused.... you will be

Yes, it was the Overseas Final. If he was to be punished, fair enough. But don't do it two rounds later - mind you this is speedway authorities we are talking about.... I stand to be corrected, but wasn't that meeting Tesar's first time in England? He was known by his real name of Zdenek back in those days as well!

Excellent pictures folks, looks like fun was had by all

Don't get me wrong, I love the place, but when was London ever a "proper speedway city" ??

You people mentioning Odsal's and Cradley's loos were obviously never caught short at The Shay!! As you can probably imagine, Bradford World Finals weren't that much of a "big day out" for me. I remember cheering myself hoarse for Shawn Moran in 1990 - one wonders if they would have stripped him of a title/medal had he won...

Not half - one pleasing thing to note is that he has acknowledged that he played his own part in some of the things that happened, too many people blame everyone but themselves for some things that have gone wrong but it does not look like the case here.

Dan McCormick would be an interesting one I think - didn't like him at the time, but he was certainly a personality of the era.

Mark's younger brother Greg also rode a handful of matches for Newcastle in the NL in 1983

I'm glad I looked at SS' link to that Aussie slang - I could well have saved myself from making an idiot of myself (well, less of one anyway) in the Home Counties... I saw them at Sheffield City Hall I was 13 at the time mind you (not much of an excuse really, I know)

I liked him as well, although at the time I didn't realise how big a legend he was with Cradley etc. as I got interested just as they sacked him. Spin has a better memory than me, I can't remember him team riding (or not LOL ) with Craig Pendlebury. Mind you CP was the Scott Smith of the day ie. not that able to team ride well with anyone! He was also at Gosford the day after the Oz GP, they brought him out onto the centre green and gave him a big build up.

and briefly Sheffield (unfortunately LOL) When Sheffield signed him, they announced in the Sheffield Star that we'd signed a Finnish internation called.......Laurie McKinnen He went back to a meeting in Finland after a few weeks, we're still waiting for him to come back

Received mine the other day, I have to read it in instalments otherwise I'll be there for hours Wonderful stuff Tony, brings back so many memories. I well remember going to that 1979 benefit meeting for Alan Wilkinson.

I'm sure you'd be able to Sue....leaves more coffee for other folk There's KFC and Pizza Hut not far off as well

I remember him! Test match at Belle Vue the day after the 1985 World Final if I remember rightly?? I know it was piddling down that's for sure Spin and Shoddy beat me to Tommy Morley and Bobby Hedden. Mind you our promotion of Tommy's time (late 70's) took a look at Bruce Penhall and decided he wasn't good enough....

I don't drink beer at football Kev (although believe me I have seen plenty of games where being inebriated would help). I may yet manage Prague, but it will depend on other things.

This one could be a goer for me. I will have to ask my good friends who have been before for advice etc

Bugger Football will have started again by then and you'll guarantee it will be an away game somewhere I really want to go.

We had a bright idea a bit too late that night, to beat the queue afterwards (mind you we did get on the second number 22 that came along) - go two stops up the opposite way, to the terminus at Bila Hora, and then we would have already been on the return when it got back to Vypich. There were some other fans around Pavlova, a load of Poles got off the tram there as well as me.

You mean the Hotel Alton Tsunami I was in the Alton, we may have seen each other but not realised if you see what I mean. My parents stayed in your hotel just before Christmas. Good for the stadium though as such, as the no. 22 goes direct to and from Vypich. Well back to the general trip, it was my first visit to Prague, and I loved it although everyone back here is amazed when I say the weather was crap. We were really lucky with the weather on Saturday, I enjoyed the GP, more passing etc. than usual it seemed to me. I didn't get to do everything I intended - boat trip, and I didn't spend as much time in the Old Square as I would have liked - I'll just have to go back again next year won't I? It was nice to have the two nights out in Legends as well with the forumers (ask Phil about his Brain Haemorrhage ) Tsunami mentioned stag parties, I saw a group of fellas (I think ) dressed up in Rocky Horror show gear - Frank N. Furter etc.!!! in Wenceslas Square one day. Joanne - your two soakings combined couldn't have been wetter than the one I got on Monday afternoon, I had to squelch back to the hotel PDQ, thankfully everything managed to dry out sufficiently by yesterday morning to go in the case.

It's been dry so far today everyone, the odd grey cloud about but nothing to worry about..........so far