WHAT A BUMMER!

Despondent and dejected, that’s me……

Having so enjoyed the gusher of goodwill flowing through Shielfield during and after the Plymouth match, I had really been looking forward to bouncing on into the big double-header we had planned for tonight (Saturday) against Kent.

No Jason Crump, but an equally-charismatic visitor in Scott Nicholls. No Bjarne Pedersen, but another former GP finalist in Troy Batchelor.

The Kings were bringing their NDL Royals along for the ride, and our young Bullets were locked and loaded, ready to fire.

All systems were set to ‘go’ until we saw the state of the track after a day and night of heavy rain – and no let-up in the forecast, either.

So for only the second time in two years we had to pull the plug, and announce an early-morning rain-off.

What a bummer!

However it took no time at all, it seems, until the club had tidied up future fixturing and confirmed what we’ll have to occupy us for the next three Saturday nights at least……..

The Kent situation was quickly resolved and will be restaged in a fortnight – on September 4th, again as a double-header.

Next week was a further problem, but quickly solved.

In case you hadn’t heard, Eastbourne has suddenly found its speedway mired in trouble.

No town, with the possible exception of Jericho, has suffered such a dramatic collapse. One minute the Eagles seemed to be flying high, the next they’re gasping for air.

An announcement is due in a couple of days, and we have to hope and pray for their survival. The sport’s authorities — SCB and BSPL — have been in deep discussions with all involved, seeking to save the Eagles’ – and Seagulls’ – seasons.

No-one seems to have a good word for the BSPL, but I do see their problems. It isn’t easy to be a colleague and a competitor at the same time – think on that a while.

However while we fervently hope for the best, Eastbourne’s planned double-header visit to Shielfield next Saturday has been postponed to let the situation settle – and again, with no messing about, we were quick to announce a replacement meeting, which will be an in-house affair.

Bandits v Bullets? With a degree of evening-up between the sides and the odd popular guest, this could be a wee cracker of a night. With no league points at stake to pressure us into losing our grip on the reality of why we enjoy speedway so much.

Which is the entertainment factor, the fun and enjoyment of watching talented riders going shoulder-to-shoulder, elbow-to-elbow and handlebar-to-handlebar around one of the biggest, fastest speedways in the land.

With competition for the entertainment dollar reaching the bare-knuckle stage these days, enjoying the personality of our riders is an all-important part of going to speedway.

We’ll be entering into the spirit the night, seeing if a guy such as (f’instance) Greg Blair can — to quote our former skipper — ‘land a blow’ on one of the more-established Bandits.

Without knowing how next week’s teams will be structured, I have to hope Leon and Kyle will be on the Bullets’ side of the pits – again, raising intriguing questions, and offering some tasty treats.

Ooooh, I’m excited already!

Let’s go skidding! .
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Disagree with Dick – as so many do? He is always be happy to hear from interesting people at dick@crystalfm.co.uk