Premier League Season Preview
February 26, 2009 at 4:08 pm | Posted in Speedway | Leave a commentTags: Berwick Bandits, Birmingham Brummies, Edinburgh Monarchs, Glasgow Tigers, King's Lynn Stars, Newcastle Diamonds, Newport Wasps, Premier League, Preview, Redcar Bears, Rye House Rockets, Scunthorpe Scorpions, Sheffield Tigers, Somerset Rebels, Speedway, Sport, Stoke Potters, Workington Comets
Well it’s that time of year again. The new premier league speedway season is just around the corner, bringing with it another 7 months of shale action and a good reason to go down to the coldest place on earth (Berwick-Upon-Tweed) and (usually!) freeze most Saturday nights of the summer, alongside occasional away trips to such exotic places as Redcar and Workington (another unique trip across land and sea to the Isle of Wight not being possible this year with them having unfortunately dropped down to the new National League this season).
This season promises to be one of the most open and competitive in recent years with no one team particularly standing out as clear favourites. With this in mind, I thought it was about time I opened myself up to either praise, or ridicule, by offering my pre-season predictions on the Premier League season to come. Before I begin though, I’d just like to raise two quick points.
1. While I do follow Berwick, this preview is intended to be unbiased and hopefully it comes across as being so.
2. Obviously, all my predictions are purely based on each team’s starting line-up at the beginning of the season and therefore, (as I haven’t developed my skills of predicting the future yet!) this won’t be able to take into account if any teams strengthen up and suddenly become challengers (aka like the Berwick team which almost, and perhaps arguably should have, won the league).
Anyway, before I take a stab at what I think the final table may look like, let’s take an individual look at each of the fourteen competing teams.
Berwick Bandits: 1. William Lawson; 2. Michal Makovsky; 3. Josef Franc; 4. Tero Aarnio; 5. Paul Clews; 6. Guglielmo Franchetti; 7. Danny Warwick.
After an initially uncertain winter, where the future of the club was in serious doubt until an eleventh hour rescue, things now look more positive in the Borders. New owners, stadium and track improvements and a team filled with familiar faces, including four of last season’s side (promising Finn Tero Aarnio, new captain Paul Clews, the spectacular Guglielmo Franchetti and the ever dependable Michal Makovsky) that finished fifth and reached the final of the Young Shield. Throw in the return of former Bandits Josef Franc and Danny Warwick, alongside new signing William Lawson from champions Edinburgh, and this is a team which should do well at home, with potential to also be competitive at times away from home. Many people have argued that the key to Berwick’s season will be if Lawson can adapt and score successfully around the big, banked track at Shielfield, having spent his entire career so far on much smaller circuits. However, while this is true, another key rider will be Franc, who after a couple of slightly disappointing seasons at Newcastle, will be looking to try and finally fulfil the potential many people believe he has back at his original home.
Key Rider: Josef Franc
Birmingham Brummies: 1. Jason Lyons; 2. Tomasz Piszcz; 3. Ludvig Lindgren; 4. Robert Ksiezak; 5. Richard Sweetman; 6. Marek Mroz; 7. Ben Taylor & Jack Roberts sharing.
If any team deserves some luck this season, it has to be the Brummies after their team suffered possibly the most injury jinxed season last year in the history of the sport. Certainly this season’s team on paper looks like it will be competitive and should be up again towards the right end of the table, led once more by the evergreen Jason Lyons. Exciting Pole, Tomasz Piszcz should provide plenty of back-up to him, while there appears to be plenty of exciting, young potential in middle of the team from Aussies Ksiezak and Sweetman, and Swede Lindgren (younger brother of course to Grand Prix star Freddie Lindgren). Of these three, it’s Ksiezak who could prove to be the key to Birmingham’s season if he can step-up consistently to the next level after a somewhat stagnant season last year at Glasgow. One potential downfall for the Brummies though could be at reserve, where they look a little weak, (with question marks particularly over the signing of Pole Marek Mroz) although again there’s certainly some potential in both youngsters Taylor and Roberts who share the number seven berth this season.
Key Rider: Robert Ksiezak
Edinburgh Monarchs: 1 Ryan Fisher; 2. Tomas H. Jonasson; 3. Matthew Wethers; 4. Andrew Tully; 5. Aaron Summers; 6. Michal Rajkowski; 7. Sean Stoddart.
Last season’s league champions have done reasonably well from the annual team reconstruction process to fit under the 42.50 points limit, being able to retain five riders (Ryan Fisher, Tomas H. Jonasson, Aaron Summers, Andrew Tully and Matthew Wethers) for this season. It’s this continuity which should see the Monarchs well placed again, although one does have to wonder how big an impact the loss of inspiration skipper Derek Sneddon to the team will prove to be? Nonetheless, the top four especially should more than be able to hold their own, with exciting youngsters Jonasson and Tully particularly expected to improve further. At reserve, Sean Stoddart, on his return to the tight Armadale circuit, should score well enough at home, but probably the key to whether Edinburgh can retain the title will be how new Pole Michal Rajkowski goes. After an impressive debut season at Newport two years ago, Rajkowski went somewhat off the boil last year and struggled badly at both Belle Vue and Mildenhall and it will be interesting to see if he can recapture some of his 2007 form. If he can, then the Monarchs will have made one very shrewd signing.
Key Rider: Michal Rajkowski
Glasgow Tigers: 1. Shane Parker; 2. James Grieves; 3. Peter Juul Larsen; 4. Josh Grajczonek; 5. Ross Brady; 6. Anders Andersen; 7. Mitchell Davey.
The one positive to come out of an otherwise poor season for Glasgow last year, was that they were at the beginning to build a new young team for the future. In many ways, this years team still has the same feel. While they do have a very potent top two in the charismatic Shane Parker (now fully fit after an injury plagued 2008) and returnee James Grieves, there are question marks over the rest of the side. Can Ross Brady return to his old scoring ways after an injury ravaged few seasons? Will young Aussie, Josh Grajczonek continue to make the exciting progress he did in his debut season? And perhaps most importantly, will young Danes Larsen and Andersen and the Tigers other young Aussie Mitchell Davey start to fulfil the promise they have only shown flashes of up until now? If the answer is yes for all of these riders, then Glasgow could be in for a much improved season. If it’s no however, it could be another long year of struggle for them.
Key Rider: Josh Grajczonek
King’s Lynn Stars: 1. Tomas Topinka; 2. Christian Henry; 3. Chris Schramm; 4. Emiliano Sanchez; 5. Kozza Smith; 6. Darcy Ward; 7. Jan Graversen.
A team that’s always there or there about, this seasons King’s Lynn team should be no different. Tomas Topinka should lead the team admirably from the front and in Christian Henry, Chris Schramm and Emiliano Sanchez, they have three riders who have every chance of improving their starting average – the latter of course being a late replacement for John Oliver who has decided to stay at home in Australia for personal reasons this year. Further down the team, Darcy Ward and Kozza Smith finished first and second in the Australian Under-21 Championship earlier in the year and both look like having the potential to improve further this season – Ward in particular being highly rated down under. With another promising youngster, Dane Jan Graversen, completing the team, there’s every chance this seasons Stars line-up could find themselves top of the pile once again when the business end of the season comes around.
Key Rider: Darcy Ward
Newcastle Diamonds: 1. Steve Boxall; 2. Jason King; 3. Kenni Arendt Larsen; 4. Derek Sneddon; 5. Trent Leverington; 6. Craig Branney; 7. Casper Wortmann.
After a disappointing 2008 campaign, Newcastle have built an almost entirely new team for this season with only the much improved Jason King and the highly rated young Dane Kenni Larsen receiving a recall. Key to the Diamonds season though could well be if new number one Steve Boxall can start to bang in the big scores again after missing most of last season with a troublesome shoulder injury. Derek Sneddon and Trent Leverington should provide reliable, workman like back-up in the middle of team, but it’s at reserve where there’s again a few questions to be answered. Like Boxall, both Craig Branney and Casper Wortmann are returning from serious injuries which kept them out for most of last season and it’s fair to say that how successful a season Newcastle have will probably come down to how good a come-back these three can have.
Key Rider: Steve Boxall
Newport Wasps: 1. Mark Lemon; 2. Craig Watson; 3. Chris Kerr; 4. Jordan Frampton; 5. Brent Werner; 6. James Holder; 7. Nick Simmons.
Newport make a welcome return to the Premier League this season under new ownership, after the tragic death of the late Tim Stone last season looked like it might have brought speedway to an end at the South Wales circuit. The Wasps return with a team mixed with youth and experience and one which could well prove to be dark horses this season. Leading the line-up, experienced Australia’s Mark Lemon and Craig Watson may not be quite as dominant now as they use to be, but nonetheless still remain very useful premier league heat leaders. Behind them, Chris Kerr and Jordan Frampton are expected to improve further this season, the former especially now he has fully recovered from a broken leg that hampered his progress last term, giving the Wasps potentially four heat leaders. At the lower end of the team, Brent Werner is another rider who, on his day, is capable of scoring well at this level, while both James Holder and Nick Simmons should generally hold their own at reserve, particularly at home.
Key Rider: Chris Kerr
Redcar Bears: 1. Gary Havelock; 2. Ty Proctor; 3. Carl Stonehewer; 4. Ben Wilson; 5. Robbie Kessler; 6. Arlo Bugeja; 7. Benji Compton.
Another team under new ownership after an initially uncertain winter, Redcar have also opted for a mixture of youth and experience this season. 1992 World Champion Gary Havelock leads the side once again and should remain a solid scorer, while underneath him, much is expected of the exciting Ty Proctor after his sensational debut season for the Bears last year. In the middle of the team, it will be interesting to see how former British Under-21 Champion Ben Wilson fares after a stale couple of seasons at Sheffield. With their reserves looking weak though – unless Benji Compton can transfer his Conference League Riders Champion title into more consistent scoring at Premier League level – much of Redcar’s season will depend on how the experienced duo of Carl Stonehewer and Robbie Kessler perform. Stoney (one of the most dominant Premier League riders in the past) in particular appeared to be on the downward spiral at Workington for most of last season, but if he can recapture some of his old form in new surroundings, the Bears could well be in for a good season.
Key Rider: Carl Stonehewer
Rye House Rockets: 1. Chris Neath; 2. Linus Sundstrom; 3. Tommy Allen; 4. Robert Mear; 5. Joe Haines; 6. Luke Bowen; 7. Andrew Silver.
It’s hard to know what to make of this season’s Rye House team. They should remain as dominant as ever at home, with riders like Chris Neath and Tommy Allen always good for big scores, but look like they could be weak away from home, and in a season where away success will be crucial for teams looking to challenge at the top, this may prove to be their downfall. Much is expected of the highly rated young Swede Linus Sundstrom, although whether he can fill the boots of the sensational Tai Woffinden (now riding in the Elite League with Wolverhampton) remains to be seen. Lower down the team, Robert Mear and Joe Haines begin this season on the back of fairly successful debut seasons and have every chance of improving further this year – Haines in particular now he’s opted to swap from the big banked track at Workington to the much smaller surroundings of Rye House. At reserve, Luke Bowen should at least be able to hold his own at home, but it’s the return to the saddle of veteran Andrew Silver which is the most intriguing aspect of this team. Now 42, Silver was quite the sensation (or so my dad tells me!) when he first rode, until suddenly retiring in the early 90s. If he can make a success though of his comeback though after so long out of the sport, the Rockets may yet be in for another good season.
Key Rider: Andrew Silver
Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. David Howe; 2. Magnus Karlsson; 3. Carl Wilkinson; 4. Simon Lambert; 5. Viktor Bergstrom; 6. Byron Bekker; 7. Jerran Hart.
Scunthorpe begin their second campaign back in the Premier League looking to build on the progress they made last season. Many eyes will be on David Howe to see how he performs this season after losing almost all of his confidence in the Elite League last season. If dropping down to the Premier League can help him return to something like the sort of form that saw him finish runner-up in the British Championship just a couple of seasons ago, then the Scorpions will have an excellent number one who can win races consistently both home and away – something which they lacked last season. Underneath him, Magnus Karlsson and Carl Wilkinson should provide a solid back up, especially at home, while young Swede Viktor Bergstrom is expected to improve further in his second season with Scunthorpe. However, the sting in the Scorpions tail does look like it could be weak, unless Simon Lambert can transfer his King’s Lynn form consistently onto a new track and youngsters Byron Bekker and Jerren Hart can turn potential into regular points.
Key Rider: David Howe
Sheffield Tigers: 1. Ricky Ashworth; 2. Richard Hall; 3. Joel Parsons; 4. Ritchie Hawkins; 5. Paul Cooper; 6. Chris Mills; 7. Josh Auty.
Statistically the weakest team on paper pre-season, it’s unlikely that this solid Sheffield line-up will be “winning” the wooden spoon come the autumn, but they don’t particularly look like championship material either. Ricky Ashworth and Richard Hall should provide plenty of points and entertainment at home most weeks, but need to score more consistently away from home if the Tigers are to challenge. The same can also be said of Joel Parsons and Paul Cooper who both showed flashes of brilliance at times last season – the former in particular starting with some impressive high scoring before falling away as the season progressed – while it will be interesting to see how well former British Under-21 Champion Ritchie Hawkins fairs on his return from serious injury. One thing that could be in Sheffield’s favour though is that they do have potentially one of the strongest reserve pairings in the league in Chris Mills and Josh Auty. Both rode regularly as second strings for their clubs last season and are expected to rack up the points early season while at reserve. Of course, should they then move-up in the team averages, the Tigers strength in depth should see them be replaced by two equally capable riders.
Key Rider: Joel Parsons
Somerset Rebels: 1. Steve Johnston; 2. Emil Kramer; 3. Cory Gathercole; 4. Simon Walker; 5. Justin Sedgmen; 6. Tom Brown; 7. Brendan Johnston & Jay Herne sharing.
Despite enjoying their best ever season last year (KO Cup winners and league runners up) Somerset, are another team that initially had an uncertain winter until new promoters came in. Despite making a late start on teambuilding though, the Rebels have put together a line-up which should still be more than competitive at home, but how well they do away from the West Country remains to be seen. Charismatic Aussie Steve Johnston drops down from the Elite League to lead the team and should be handy rider to have at this level – although it’s debatable whether he’ll quite be able to live up to his very high starting average. Underneath him, Swede Emil Kramer should provide plenty of back-up, but perhaps key to how well the Rebels do this season will be whether Cory Gathercole can begin to consistently rack-up the big scores that he only threatened to do so on occasions for the Isle of Wight last season. Lower down the team, Justin Sedgmen is one of latest batch of exciting young Australians to come over to race in Britain and should provide plenty of entertainment, while a hopefully fully fit Simon Walker should score plenty of points at home, even if his away form can often be poor. Question marks remain over the reserves though who do look weak on paper, although both Tom Brown and Jay Herne have shown flashes of potential at this level in the past.
Key Rider: Cory Gathercole
Stoke Potters: 1. Lee Complin; 2. Jason Bunyan; 3. Glen Phillips; 4. Tom P. Madsen; 5. Phil Morris; 6. Klaus Jakobsen; 7. Jesper Kristiansen.
Perennial underachievers Stoke line-up with a team this year which probably won’t challenge near the top, but could surprise a few teams along the way. Much of how well the Potters will do will depend on if top man Lee Complin can return to his best form this year after missing a huge chunk of last season after he was involved a life threatening car crash. Alongside him, Jason Bunyan and Tom P. Madsen should provide enough support, while there’s no reason why Phil Morris can’t increase his average if he can have an injury free run in the side. The signing of Glen Phillips is perhaps a bit of a gamble and it will be interesting to see how well he can do away from the big track on the Isle of Wight. This possible weakness could be balanced out though if the two young Danes at reserve (Klaus Jakobsen and Jesper Kristiansen) can start to regularly improve their scoring now that they’re in their second season with the Potters.
Key Rider: Lee Complin
Workington Comets: 1. Kevin Doolan; 2. Adrian Rymel; 3. Adam Roynon; 4. Tom Hedley; 5. Charles Wright; 6. John Branney; 7. Richard Lawson.
Despite enjoying a relatively successful season last year, for one reason or another, only two of last years Workington team (Charles Wright and John Branney) are in this year’s line-up as the Comets have again gone for a top heavy approach. Leading the new look line-up will be Australian Kevin Doolan and after enjoying an excellent season with King’s Lynn last year, there’s no reason why he won’t be one of the top riders in the league this year again. Alongside him will be Czech Adrian Rymel, who enjoyed his best ever season in the sport at Berwick last year, and will no doubt be looking to do just as well this year. If he can keep up such a high level of scoring again (and also miss fewer matches due to other riding commitments in Europe) then this will give the Comets the strongest spearhead in the league who will give anyone a match. Providing back-up, Adam Roynon has the potential to easily increase his average providing he can steer clear of the injuries that have held his career up to date, while both Wright and Branney should prove to be reasonable enough scorers at home. The signing of Tom Hedley may be a bit of a gamble – the promising young Australian having missed last season after suffering from home sickness – but if he can begin to score like he did while riding for Newport in 2007, the Comets will have another useful rider in the middle of their team. Completing the line-up, Richard Lawson is another youngster who also looks promising and it will be interesting to see how well he manages the jump from Conference League to Premier League this season.
Key Rider: Adrian Rymel
So that’s all the teams then – now time for the hard part! As I said before, this season looks to be one of the most open in years, making any predictions very difficult, however having looked at each team, I’m going to go for the following:
Final Positions
1. King’s Lynn
2. Edinburgh
3. Birmingham
4. Redcar
5. Newport
6. Berwick
7. Workington
8. Newcastle
9. Rye House
10. Sheffield
11. Stoke
12. Scunthorpe
13. Somerset
14. Glasgow
All that’s now left to do is wish every team the best of luck and hope that every rider enjoys as safe and injury free season as possible and to begin racing! Oh, and don’t come back to me in October and mock if the final table looks nothing like the one above…
Penicuik Hunter & Lass Day 2008
January 15, 2009 at 9:46 pm | Posted in Audio, Scotland | 1 CommentTags: Craig Walby, Emma Meechan, Festival, Hunter & Lass, May, Penicuik
2008 Penicuik Hunter & Lass Craig Walby & Emma Meechan lead the parade through the town on Saturday 31st May.
The 2008 Penicuik Hunter and Lass week of festivities came to an end on a glorious Saturday 31st of May with the annual parade through the town. This was followed by Penicuik in the Park (once again organised by the Rotary Club) which saw stalls from various groups from around the town, as well as a funfare, the Radio Lollipop roadshow and of course the traditional duck race in the burn. Both events saw an excellent turnout from the local community.
On looking back at the day, Craig Walby (the Hunter) said: “Oh yeah, I’ve had a great day. I’m really impressed with how many people have turned out to the park – it’s so busy. We’ve been really lucky with the weather as well.”
Meanwhile, his lass Emma Meechan added: “Yeah, it’s been really good. We had a good turnout with the riders, a good turn out at the park as well and the parade and the ride went really well so I can’t complain. No faults at all.”
NB Unfortunately, due to technical problems, I’m currently unable to upload the audio clips of the above interviews onto here.
R.E.M.: New Adventures in Hi – Fi: Review
January 14, 2009 at 2:28 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a commentTags: Bill Berry, Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Music, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Peter Buck, R.E.M.
Written and recorded live during their notorious “Monster” tour of 1995, R.E.M.s tenth album is a much darker, complex affair than any of the bands previous releases. The events of this tour, most infamously drummer Bill Berry’s near fatal brain aneurysm, appear to lie deep in the roots in much of Stipe’s lyrics and perhaps even in many of the song titles themselves. Yet, underneath this initial dark surface, most visible in songs like Stipe’s almost chilling duet with punk hero Patti Smith on ‘E-Bow the Letter’, there‘s much more going on. Perhaps the most unique feature is the raw feeling in the music that comes from recording live on tour. It’s debatable whether such experimental tracks as the epic, seven minute, guitar and synthesizer led ‘Leave’, or the instrumental jam ‘Zither’, would have appeared on a purely studio created album. Alongside these, there’s plenty of other fast, almost glam rock inspired tracks like, ’The Wake-Up Bomb’ and ‘Departure‘ which really give the record a live rock feel. With a bit of classic, poppy R.E.M. (the piano driven ‘Electrolite’) thrown in for good measure, the result is one the bands most interesting, edgy, but underrated, albums in their extensive catalogue.
Richard Hawley: Coles Corner: Review
January 14, 2009 at 2:21 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a commentTags: Coles Corner, Music, Richard Hawley, Sheffield
Mixing a delightful modern blend of country and rock, the third album from the Sheffield’s answer to Sinatra (or is it Orbison?) is easily Hawley‘s best solo work yet. From the beautiful stringed introduction on ’Coles Corner’, to the gentle, easy-listening guitar on tracks like “Just Like the Rain“, there’s something on here to please almost anyone. Hawley combines such delightful music with a deep, powerful, yet tender voice, the likes of which haven‘t been heard since the late Johnny Cash. None more so is this evident than in “The Ocean”, a simple love song which gradually builds up before reaching a mesmerizing conclusion.
My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism: Andrew Marr: Review
January 14, 2009 at 12:39 pm | Posted in Reviews | 1 CommentTags: Andrew Marr, Books, British Journalism, History, My Trade
Andrew Marr is one of the most recognisable faces of British journalism today. As a journalist in various roles since the early eighties, he is probably one of best people qualified to write about the history of British journalism.
Using a superb combination of history, analysis and personal memoirs, with some wit and even the occasional tad of bitterness thrown in, Marr delivers a book which is not only informative, but also easy to read. This style of writing also makes it almost unique amongst books about journalism, in that it should appeal to a much wider audience outside the trade.
Split into six separate sections, Marr tells us almost everything, ranging from the early days of newspapers and early pioneers like Daniel Defoe to the change in newspapers over the years, most notably he points out with the severe decline in “local” British stories in British newspapers and the significant growth in celebrity culture stories.
Marr also dedicates a whole sub chapter to the continuing rise of advertising in newspapers by examining in detail one copy of the Sunday Times, revealing that there were “almost as many main bylines which were essentially about selling something compared with more traditional journalistic stories.”
It’s hard to disagree when Marr argues that this example is all part of broadsheet papers attempts at dabbling “in the tabloid agenda” in the hope to boost sales. He also argues that this policy is only adding to the increasing breakdown of trust between readers and newspapers.
Alongside this blend of history and analysis, is some of his personal tales of experience, most notably from his troubled time as editor of the Independent, and also on his time to date working for the BBC.
In keeping in the style of the book, it is the latter time that provides one of the most amusing anecdotes in the book, as Marr retells the time he was in Moscow following Tony Blair on a summit and ended up lost in The Kremlin and ended up being mistaken for Vladimir Putin by two Russian soldiers.
Perhaps the most interesting chapter in the book is when he poses, then attempts to answer the question – “What is News?” Again Marr proves how much research he’s put into this work as he compares and contrasts today’s newspapers with those dating from as far back as the 1680s. Marr, with the help again of diary extracts, also provides as definitive an answer you will ever see while explaining the difference between hard news and weak news.
It should not really come as much of a surprise that Marr devotes plenty of space to political journalism. Again, having spent the majority of his career in this field, there is not many other people better qualified to talk about it and the generally difficult relationship between journalists and politicians. It certainly is interesting to note that he feels journalists have become too powerful over politicians.
If there was any criticism of this book, it would have to be that Marr doesn’t include any proper index. Marr admits this was a deliberate omission and certainly his reasoning that this is in the hope that people will enjoy it “as an extended ‘read’ rather than use as a reference source” is a good argument and further proof of the wider appeal the book may hold.
However, when covering such a wide topic area in such an informative way, it’s inevitable that it will also be used as a reference source and the absence of a proper index is unfortunately one, albeit fairly minor, omission.
I Kissed a Frog and it gave me Herpes: Review
January 14, 2009 at 12:35 pm | Posted in Edinburgh, Reviews, Scotland | Leave a commentTags: Anna Victoria, Comedy, Edinburgh, Free Festival, Linsay's, Rob Smythson, Theatre
Linsay’s 24.08.07: 12.00 – 12.40
Every so often at the free fringe, a show comes along that’s a little gem. Nicely combining theatre, comedy, and a little guitar playing, ‘I kissed a frog and it gave me herpes’ is one of these. The show tells a – perhaps slightly autobiographical? – tale of a young woman’s search for true love. Like all good love tales, there are happy and funny moments, with equally as many sad and reflective moments.
With a quick and snappy structure, the duo of Anna Victoria and Rob Smythson entertain the audience throughout with the girls tales of the Sainsbury’s biscuit aisle, the credit card call centre, the Cardiff kebab boy and perhaps most memorable of all, the Viking battle re-enactment warrior. But as well as being entertaining, it perhaps would also be fair to say that the show also provides a thoughtful look at the lifestyles of young people in Britain today.
But overall, this show was a very enjoyable way to spend forty minutes.
WCML Delays Have to End Now
January 13, 2009 at 2:32 pm | Posted in Travel | Leave a commentTags: Bad Weather, Delays, Glasgow, London, Modernisation, Network Rail, Railways, Virgin Trains, WCML
The completion of the decade long, £9 billion, upgrade of the West Coast Mainline between London and Glasgow on time for the commencement of Virgin Trains new very high frequency timetable on December 14th, was heralded with a triumphant fanfare from Network Rail. But one month down the line, what’s suppose to be one of the best, fastest and most modern express railways in Britain has suffered from problem after problem, leading to many people now claiming it is now the worst.
From the very first day of the new service, things started to go wrong. On the opening morning, a blown fuse at Willesden, just outside London Euston, caused a signal failure which resulted in part of the line having to be closed for a short time. However, this was brushed off by Network Rail as nothing more than a minor embarrassing slip.
But since then, there’s hardly a day gone by where there hasn’t been some sort of problem on what’s suppose to be one of Britain’s flagship line. Obviously some have been totally unavoidable and unfortunate, such as the light aircraft crash in Staffordshire which killed three people. But many of the problems have been much more mundane. Points failing, signals failing, overhead electric wires freezing and being brought down in various locations, particularly on the busy stretch between London and Rugby has lines either closed, or partially blocked.
The result is that trains are being heavily delayed and instead of offering (as promised) a realistic alternative to domestic air travel to and from London, the trains are taking longer than ever. To say Virgin, the main passenger operator on the route, is unimpressed so far is possibly one of the understatements of the year.
But what has caused this seemingly endless set of problems? The British Chamber of Commerce has gone on record blaming Network Rail for all the problems. They argue that Network Rail rushed many of the important jobs through in order to meet the deadline on time and that because of this, mistakes have been made which now need to be fixed, causing serious delays to rail travel. Needless to say, Network Rail has denied this is the case. Instead, what they appear to be blaming a combination of bad luck and unforeseen circumstances, in particular the unusually cold “Arctic” conditions that swept parts of Britain just after Christmas, which caused problems to both the wires and track.
OK, it is true it was very cold, but should a little snow and ice really cause as much travel chaos (note, this isn’t just a dig at the railways, but to all forms of transport) as it does? One wonders how people cope in Scandinavia during the winter, when Britain can’t cope with an hours worth of snow fall. Whatever the reasons, instead of playing the blame game, what needs to happen is for all the problems need to be fixed and quickly before the image of the railways in Britain is damaged further. Already, plenty of passengers have become mystified, and even lost altogether, from rail travel because of all the delays. The West Coast Mainline needs to quickly become the modern, fast and reliable railway it promises to (and should) be if more damaged isn’t to be done.
Lawson signing completes remarkable turnaround for the Bandits
December 30, 2008 at 10:45 pm | Posted in Speedway | Leave a commentTags: Berwick Bandits, Premier League, Speedway, William Lawson
The news on Boxing Day that Berwick Bandits had completed their team building for the 2009 Premier League season with the signing of William Lawson from 2008 champions Edinburgh, has been generally met with approval from the clubs fans. Lawson slots into the team as the new number 1 rider, joining Michal Makovsky, Josef Franc, Tero Aarnio, Paul Clews, Guglielmo Franchetti and Danny Warwick in a solid looking line-up in what is shaping up to be the most even and competitive Premier League speedway season for many years.
But what makes Berwick’s line-up more remarkable is the fact that just a few weeks ago, many of the clubs loyal fans didn’t even think they would even have a team to support during 2009. This was after the announcement by then owner Peter Waite on October 18th that he could no longer afford to run the club and that it was up for sale with immediate effect. And despite the club enjoying a relatively successful season in 2008, including finishing runners up to Workington in the Young Shield Final, the Bandits relatively small support and catchment area appeared to make the prospects of a new buyer being found slim. As the mid- November deadline approached – just before the BSPA AGM where the Bandits would have to declare their intentions to run during 2009 – no buyer had still been fund and the clubs 41 year history in the sport looked to be over.
However, at the eleventh hour, (or Saturday November 15th to be exact) the news came through from the AGM that the Bandits had been saved. The club had been bought by a consortium led by Dunbar based butcher John Anderson and Cornhill shop owner Linda Waite – both of whom had been regular sponsors to the club in the past. Ex Hull promoter Dave Peet was quickly appointed to help as new team manager, while a host of track improvements were quickly promised for the new season.
And now with a full (and on paper) potentially competitive team signed and sealed before the New Year, things are now suddenly looking up for the Berwick Bandits in 2009, and hopefully beyond.
Edinburgh Trams Latest
December 19, 2008 at 4:07 pm | Posted in Audio, Edinburgh, Scotland, Travel | 1 CommentTags: Bad Weather, Edinburgh, Leith Walk, Princes Street, Tram Works, Trams
On Thursday, I attempted to do a short audio piece for Dunedin Napier News seeking public reaction on Princes Street to the proposal to shut Princes Street for most of 2009 for further tram works. Councillors in Edinburgh were discussing the proposal that very morning and agreed that the capitals main shopping street should be closed between the middle of February and the end of November next year, to allow the tram rails to be laid. Given the previous levels of traffic chaos in the city centre caused by similar tram works, most people were concerned that it would lead to further disruption.
Unfortunately, poor weather conditions on this morning (heavy rain and strong winds) meant that the quality of the final recordings were not great. Obviously, the most important thing was to keep the equitment dry, but even recording in bus shelters (between buses) didn’t seem to make much difference in reducing the noise of the wind in recordings. If nothing else, this experience certainly doesn’t make me envy any reporter who has to report live in proper hurricanes in America!
Despite this unfortunate lack of decent sound, I was still able to type a short written intro to piece and also link it with a video story a colleague had done on the continued effect similar tram works on Leith Walk were having on businesses there.
More on these stories can be found at the following link:
http://dunedinnapiernews.com/2008/12/18/edinburgh-trams-latest/
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