Grachan

Good point Falcace, and all the better for it. Whatever became of Martin Scarisbrick though. There was a real buzz about him on our 1983 World Final coach.

I'll go for Eric Broadbelt.

Who can forget the 1983 NL Fours at Peterborough. The final featured Newcastle v Milton Keynes v Mildenhall v Long Eaton.

I remember it well. Sliding a trial bike over rough terrain to deliver said chocolates. Didn't look much like Arthur once he took the helmet off though.

And all because the lady loves........... Milk Tray.

Bart Bast's career over here turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. He was signed by Swindon, but was released before the end of his first season. I think he was only averaging around 3 points a meeting at the time, although he was very popular with the supporters and I remember there being a campaign by some fans to keep him on. I noticed recently that he's still riding in the States, though, and doing well, which is good to see. I also noticed that his father rides too!

Did Dag Lovaas ever reach a World Final? I don't think he did, which would make him a top contender. He was real quality at Oxford.

Not sure, but I have a feeling John Cook rode in a WF at Bradford.

Bobby Schwartz?

It's that 1974 World Team Cup final again. Heat 15, and Dave Jessup clinches the title for England without even the merest hint of an engine failure.

Are you sure? Didn't his non-riding brother Gary appear in a TV ad?

Oh yeah!! So I do! Tim Bungay.

Couldn't tell you the exact team on that occasion, but the Cradley Heath History Site shows the 1965 team as: Eric Hockaday, Tom Bungay, John Hart, Ron Cooper, Leo McAuliffe, Matt Mattocks, Chris Julian and Ivor Brown.

I remember when Michanek rode for Cradley, if that's what you mean. He was in the team on one of the few occasions I went to Dudley Wood. I think it was 1977, around the time when they changed from 'United' to 'The Heathens'. It was also the start of their transformation from regular also-rans to one of Speedway's glamour clubs. When I think of Cradley there are two matches that always come to mind. One was when the amazing 1983 team came to Swindon and Phil Crump scored a maximum against them despite Cradley winning 29-49 (or was it 28-50?). Ah! REAL Speedway scores! The other match I remember was at Oxford in 1975, when it snowed and the Cradley team quit about half way through and went home. Oxford went on to ride the match on their own and win 58-14.

Giving up?? Bernd Odermatt! Great clue, but I have to confess to not having heard of said gentleman. Surprising, therefore, that Swindon never signed him in 1983!

A name would be useful!

That's him - Ol' Fluffass. (My dad always used to call him that).

Looks like nobody's going to give a proper answer to Frigbo, so how about a clue? In similar vein again: which Norwiegen former Cradley & Oxford rider sounded like he was getting on a bit, and had soft, light feathery material up his jacksie?

That would be former World Finalist Scorch Pongcarpet then.

Burned Person

Rayleigh?

OH...NO...IT...ISN'T!!

I didn't see that much in the run-off, except they possibly looked for each other on the first turn. After that it seemed a fairly legitimate race. There was also the Inter Continetal final the same year, where Ole Olsen waved a couple of Danes through on the last lap.

Yes, it's Christmas time, and what would Christmas be without a Panto? Remember when Panto Villain cum Fairy Godmother Bruce Penhall cast a magic spell so that Cinders (Dennis Sigalos) shall go to the ball. Also starring Shawn and Kelly Moran as The Ugly Sisters. 'It's Brucie!' 'Where?' 'Behi-i-i-ind you!!!'

I used to quite enjoy second halves, but to be honest thay carried little weight for supporters. The main advantage was you could leave at some time during the second half and avoid queuing to get out of the car park. Nowadays there aren't normally enough spectators to have to worry about that much anyway. I still look at the score after 13 heats to get an idea of how the match has gone, although 15 heats is quite a good number as it gives everyone 4 rides plus the extra heat at the end. The formula now is better than when they just stuck an extra reserve race in heat 14.