ancient mariner

On that basis HT, I'd take him in an instant. He brought an art to team riding that is sadly only too rarely seen nowadays. Heat 15s were always something to be anticipated and frequently savoured when Ben conjured a 5-1 out of next to nothing; breath taking stuff worth the entrance money on its own. Which makes the way he rode towards the latter stages of last season all the more sad in my view.

Barker is expensive and the Devils promotion has already stated that current spending is not sustainable. He interacts well with the fans and is always up front with charitable works. However (and this is a personal point of view) after the loss of the Brummies his riding deteriorated to the point of desperate. He appeared to completely ignore the needs of his fellow Devils and rode only for himself - and this from a rider who has in the past has provided some of the finest team riding ever likely to be seen at the SBA. As a Devils supporter and given their current situation I would be uncertain that Barker would actually be an advantage, leaving the Devils vulnerable at the lower reaches of the side - I would prefer a team less top heavy and more balanced throughout. That said, there are plenty that might disagree ...

So where did that come from?

Speaking as a supporter of a team that has in the past frequently had to use TRs at home (although hardly at all this season - hooray!) I agree. It unfairly penalises an away side, in my view

Well I've just added my 'like' so that makes 49 in total. Fair play to every last one of those that provide the Update service. Thank you one and all.

Or a glutton for punishment ...............?

When the doctor told me that I was flatulent, it came as a great blow to me

At least the Devils proved a good few predictions wrong. Dizzy heights of 9th - my cup runneth over

Does he have a sister called Carolina South?

So can you remind me how many Nikki Barrett scored on his last visit to the SBA? To save you the trouble 12+1 = top scorer on the night

And to think that the Devils On Tour travelled all the way up to Foxhall ....... to watch that. Embarrassing display by the Devils and their 'guest' - with a single, notable exception

I wish this post was a joke, but sadly ...

It took some top quality riding from several of the Devils (plus Stuart Robson who was an admirable guest) to deny the Comets a return from this meeting. It is probably of little consolation to the comets supporters, but in my view this was an excellent meeting to which all 14 riders contributed in some way or another. Worth every penny of the entrance fee. Given the rotten forecast, for last evening the referee also helped by being very swift with the 2 minute waning, to which all riders responded quickly. Fair play to all involved.

It will be close either way. Thankfully the Devils have established some home form recently and although Ben Barker will not be riding, Stuart Robson is an excellent guest. So long as we have good racing and all 14 riders leave in one piece at the end of the evening, I'll be happy.

There were several instances of Devils riders baulking their team mates and nor is this the first time I've noticed this. Sam Simota was guilty of this on more than one ocasion, though if he continues to score as he has done recently, then I think I might be able to forgive him. Ben Barker recently seems to be focussed entirely on his own riding and hardly at all on his team mate. This seems to have been particularly since the Brummies folded. Such a shame because some of his team riding was right out of the very top drawer. Would be be alright with 'Land of Hope and Glory' or perhaps 'Jerusalem', HT?

My oath HT, you're certainly packing the miles in this season. Agreed about Kurtz. In the latter stages of the meeting with all the dirt out wide he really generated a scary amount of speed. Excellent to watch

Sorry officer, I only murdered him a little bit The words 'hole', 'digging' and 'stop' spring to mind

This has nothing to do with who the rider is. It has everything to do with what the rider did. To register a breath test failure one would presumably need to either have a lot to drink a long period before the test, a small amount to drink shortly before the test or something in between these two extremes. The point is that any of these options is totally unacceptable given what the individual is about to do i.e. ride a speedway bike in competition. There is no luck involved, nor is there an element of ‘just’ failing the test. The fact is that all riders are aware of the rules; the requirement is that a rider has a due regard for the safety and well being of his peers. He achieves this by not consuming alcohol in the period preceding competition. It is up to the rider to take due regard of the rule and either obey it or not. This is irrespective of any alleged mitigating circumstances, no matter what they may be claimed to be. There can be no ‘grey area’ in this matter. To ignore this rule for any reason is at best foolish and at worst utterly reckless. In my view to try and defend a rider who breaches this rule is to attempt to defend the indefensible.

But not on his machinery

As a former member of the Royal Navy I was subjected to compulsory drug testing on a number of occasions ........... and 'Yes'. Agree that alcohol misuse is a significant danger, but it is much easier to test for it than it is to test for drug use. Indeed, some years ago I'm sure I heard whisperings about the Royal Fleet Auxiliary considering the introduction of random breathalyser checks

Just a quick follow up from my last post. Did the Rebels v Tigers meeting last night and got a concession from the promotion. Fair play and thank you to the Rebels promotion.

Sorry to have missed you, HT - always enjoy a few words when you visit. Funny old thing, we had worked out that the Rebels would be using B/W in Ht 7 and everyone in our group agreed that it was a shrewd move on the Devils manager's part to neutralise that with an on-fire Simota

So let's check this out ...... I'm a Plymouth season ticket holder and will be going to the Rebels v Sheffield meeting on Tues 29th. Can anyone please tell me if I'll get a discount from the Rebels promotion on production of my Devil's season ticket?

You're absolutely right, but the promotion can hardly be blamed for attempting to promote, can they? I have no doubt that the promotion is much wiser now. It is as it ever was - people are offered an inch and try to take a yard

Including, I trust, the manner in which the vouchers were allegedly being abused?