WEEK 5 OF INCARCERATION

Week 5 of incarceration – or is it Week 6?

Time is now going by so slowly it’s really hard to tell what day of the week it is, let alone how long this has been going on……

Saturdays are still a standout though, as we get speedway at seven o’clock – that last one was a cracker, with Sheffield at Shielfield – full marks to Spud, Buskie and the Banditos for hanging in, and hanging on…

I was quite excited towards the end!

Something else I liked on my small screen was “In The Red” — the documentary about Glasgow’s Tigs, filmed and edited by young Patrick Rooney. I know both Mythman and Doddering George have had their tuppenceworth about this too, but in times like these (meaning, when I can’t think of anything else to write about) I’ll add a comment or two, if I may……

I bumped into Patrick and his camera a few times over the past season at some of the tracks – and we were co-incidentally seated beside each other on a flight down to Bristol, when he explained to me his hopes and aims.

The Facennas are to be congratulated for not only granting him “access all areas” last year, but allowing the finished production to be a “warts’n’all” story of the Tigers’ so-near-but-yet-so-far season.

Patrick’s editing of their Eastbourne adventures was brilliant.

He set out all the early shenanigans, with Glasgow riders kicking holes in the track, carefully detailed Jon Cook’s diatribe (which was sub-titled!) about why the match was late starting and – just as it seemed we weren’t going to see any real hand-bagging – a brief blackout was followed by a magnificent donnybrook outside the pits!

I also spotted myself in a minor role during the late-season Shielfield set-to. I was hauling Heppy away from Cami Brown while the Tigs’ manager was having his infield paddy with Mr McGregor after the Jye/Cookie clash (which is in there too) although my later altercation with Roary the Tiger seems to have landed on the cutting-room floor. Oh well, so much for stardom…….

My only criticism – if you can call it that — is, like George I wouldn’t have objected to sharper, shorter sidebar stories. They’re all valid, but……

Perhaps, if it were re-cut to an hour it might also help it getting picked up by a TV or cable outlet.

But otherwise, I liked it fine. The whole documentary’s there on YouTube – take a look.

Take a look too, at the current edition of “Speedway Star” magazine if you can. Peter Oakes has started a “Salute The Heroes” feature, highlighting NHS workers who have speedway connections –- and the very first hero, or indeed heroine, he chose to honour was our fellow-blogger, Scintillating Sarah!

You go, girl!

Now then, over the past few weeks we’ve been considering who might be the best Bandit of all time, and who would form our best-ever 1-7………

Having had sixteen suggestions in reply to my original blog offering a couple of weeks back, I would say that there is a virtually unanimous demand for (in no particular order) Mark Courtney, Graham Jones, Wayne Brown, Steve McDermott, Michal Makovsky and Rob Grant to be the first six names on our team-sheet.

The seventh man would have to be one of the following, each of whom picked up four or five votes: Adrian Rymel, Jimmy Nilsen, Seb Alden or David Blackburn. You choose!

Thanks to all correspondents, and just one observation. Despite his reputation, prowess and continuing high visibility on TV, not one person nominated Kelvin Tatum to be in their chosen Berwick dream team.

Discuss?
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Want to disagree with Dick (as so many do?). He is always happy to hear from interesting people on dick@crystalfm.co.uk