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"Just to show that the wide world of Speedway and the WSRA are just one big family, listen to this story;- The name, Arty Fisher (or as I call him, "Arty Fishal"), may not mean much to you unless you rode in Edinburgh in the 60s and 70s. During that time, Arty was team mechanic for the Edinburgh Monarchs, helping youngsters like Brian Collins and Alex Hughson with their engines and taking care of the Track Spare machine and transporting it to the away matches 'Down South'. Arty, who is now 80 years young, has not been in the best of health recently, so the Speedway "Jungle Drums" went into action. From Brian Collins in Scotland to former Monarch, Alex Hughson in California, via former Glasgow Tiger, Joe Hicks in New Zealand and onto Ivan Mauger on the Gold Coast of Australia, the word spread. Ivan remembered Arty from his early days of riding for Newcastle Diamonds at Edinburgh's Old Meadowbank Stadium, so the multi-World Champion thought that he would telephone Arty from his home in Australia to see how he was doing and to cheer him up. Our former WSRA President, Ivan dialled the Edinburgh number, but Arty was sitting out in the garden resting, so his wife, Betty took the call. Now Betty was not a Speedway fan so, when she heard this strange Kiwi voice asking for her husband, she enquired, "Who is calling, please?" "Ivan Mauger", came the reply, so Betty rushed out into the garden and called,..... ........."Arty, there's a Sergeant Major on the phone for you!" , so Ivan now has a new name,...."Sergeant Mauger!" Anyway, it just shows the camaraderie which exists in Speedway, long after the helmet and spanners have been hung up and the esteem in which Arty is held when a multi-World Champion takes the time to put in an International telephone call from Australia to Scotland,......I wonder if Ivan reversed the charges??!! Bert Harkins" |