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As weekends go, this must have been one of the best. Just look at
this,............Friday morning and afternoon, The "Rider" Cup
Speedway Golf Tournament at John Harrhy's new West Midlands Golf Club.
Friday evening, the Barry Briggs' Birthday Celebration Dinner and
Cabaret in the restaurant of John Harrhy's new West Midlands Golf Club,
then on Saturday, the 48th Annual World Speedway Riders' Association
AGM and Dinner Dance at the Hilton Hotel in Coventry. A pure feast
of meeting up with old Speedway friends from the past and looking
forward to the future.
Briggo's
70th Birthday party was organised by his sons, Tony & Gary and a
terrific job they made of it. Barry's friends came from as far as Japan
and Australia to join the celebrations for a rider who really is a true
Speedway legend. Speedway Rider, Driving School Instructor, Record Shop
owner, Dirt Deflector Inventor, Gold Prospector, "This Is Your
Life" TV personality, you name it and Barry has done it and always
with that "Go-For-It" Kiwi enthusiasm which hasn't diminished
over the years.
The Briggo Boys were helped in their organisation by our WSRA Secretary,
Vic White, who took care of much of the paperwork concerning
invitations, hotel reservations, etc., so it all went off without a
hitch. (not even a "Clive" Hitch) and this left Tony &
Gary to put the rest of the show together.
It was a real honour to be amongst the "Chosen Few" to be
invited to this birthday dinner, and Joe Owen summed it up very well
when he said that Briggo had telephoned him with an invitation and, to
quote the former Newcastle star,...."How could I turn this
invitation down? Briggo was my boyhood hero and I used to follow him in
the pages of Speedway Star each week". I think that Joe was
speaking for most of us there, as Barry was (and still is) a true hero
to many ex-riders around the world.
It doesn't seem possible that this "Boy Wonder" of Wimbledon
who used to bounce off the senior riders to help him make the turns at
Plough Lane, is now 70 years old., that saying MUST be
true,...."Time flies when you are having fun!"
And fun is what we had at Barry's birthday party and also at the WSRA
Dinner Dance the following evening. Even this famous occasion has now
reached its 48th staging but I must quickly add that neither Vic White
nor the current WSRA Committee have been at every one!
Briggo, who is a past President of the WSRA, also attended our Dinner
Dance and was one of FIVE World Champions in attendance, the others
being Freddie Williams, Ivan Mauger, Ove Fundin and this year's Guest of
Honour, America's Sam Ermolenko. Ove, who is a very keen golfer, had
just added another title to his vast collection when he won the famous
Rider Cup trophy for 2005. That man still retains his competitive edge.
Ivan had come over from Australia's Gold Coast to run his training
academies alongside his visit to Briggo's party and the WSRA D/D, and we
were also pleased to welcome the former secretary of the Australian WSRA,
Jim Courtney, who has just retired after 15 years sterling service to
our sister association. Jim really enjoyed his trip and the opportunity
of meeting up with old friends around the UK. You could trace his
whereabouts by following the trail of empty whisky bottles around the
country!
Once again, Terry Stone put on a good show of memorabilia including Eric
Langton's gold and silver helmets, and Jim Gregory had his pristine 1928
Douglas on show in the hotel foyer. Terry had also organized the table
place mats, which were copies of the World Final programmes throughout
the years
and are real collector's items.
Almost 300 people attended the dinner and it was great to see the former
secretary of the Australian WSRA, Jim Courtney, making the trip over to
join us. With Aussies, Kiwis, Swedes, Norwegians, Welsh (Freddie
Williams), and even some Scots, it shows the popularity of this major
WSRA event, and, as
they say,...A grand time was had by all.
Also good to see Darryl Mason dancing the night away. Darryl, who always
helps with our raffle by
giving a free holiday in Teneriffe, had suffered a stroke whilst
visiting Ronnie Moore in New Zealand before Christmas. Fortunately,
after a long stay in hospital, he and Sue were able to fly home to
Teneriffe and still attend our annual WSRA dinner.
Our new President, Danny Dunton made a terrific effort to walk into the
dinner on his "new leg" following that serious motorcycle
accident last year, and had a great ovation from the gathered guests.
And so another excellent WSRA Dinner/Dance passed into the history
books, with everyone vowing to meet up again next year, but in the
meantime, there are plenty of WSRA regional lunches planned for this
season, so put the dates from Opposite Lock in your diary and we will
see you there."
Bert.
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