00:00:00:05 - 00:00:13:06 Speaker 1 This is Giuseppe Barresi conducting an interview for the Speedway at Wimbledon Stadium oral History Project on the 21st of April 2026. To start with a few biographical questions. What is your name? 00:00:13:07 - 00:00:14:17 Speaker 2 Kim Thompson. 00:00:14:19 - 00:00:16:10 Speaker 1 Where were you born? 00:00:16:12 - 00:00:17:19 Speaker 2 In London. 00:00:17:21 - 00:00:18:22 Speaker 1 What year were you born? 00:00:18:23 - 00:00:20:15 Speaker 2 1966. 00:00:20:17 - 00:00:22:23 Speaker 1 What did your parents do for a living? 00:00:23:00 - 00:00:29:09 Speaker 2 My dad was a tire fitter. And my mum done loads of jobs. She did? Yeah. Her last one was working in the long drought. Yeah. 00:00:35:09 - 00:00:38:21 Speaker 1 Okay, we're going to start with some sort of questions around the early days. 00:00:38:22 - 00:00:39:23 Speaker 2 Right. 00:00:40:00 - 00:00:42:20 Speaker 1 What years did you go to speedway at Wimbledon Stadium? 00:00:42:21 - 00:00:54:00 Speaker 2 I started in 1973 and I finished in 91 when it closed. Then it reopened up in 2002 to 2005. 00:00:54:02 - 00:00:57:23 Speaker 1 Tell us about your first visit to Wimbledon Speedway. Who did you go with? 00:00:57:24 - 00:01:15:16 Speaker 2 My dad. Can remember it a little bit because I was only six coming up to seven, and I'd see the bikes and my dad be too noisy for me. So we sat in the grandstand and the rest is history because I just was going every week after that. 00:01:15:18 - 00:01:20:03 Speaker 1 What were your early impressions of the stadium? 00:01:20:05 - 00:01:31:24 Speaker 2 Fabulous stadium, because I've been to other tracks since when I got a bit older and traveling to other tracks. You made you a sport as a Wimbledon plan? Yeah. 00:01:32:01 - 00:01:40:21 Speaker 1 Can you tell us a bit about the kind of the sights and the sounds and the smells from the stadium and the experience? 00:01:40:23 - 00:02:00:01 Speaker 2 Smell? I used to love spending from the bikes and standing in the pits with my dad, because my dad worked surplus tires, but he used to do the riders back wheels. So we get there to stand in the pits. But when the bikes were really warming up, I had to come out. My dad could stay there, but I had to come out because be my age. 00:02:00:03 - 00:02:06:00 Speaker 2 Yeah, but it was just experience you're never going to forget. 00:02:06:02 - 00:02:13:00 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about any family history around the speedway in Wimbledon? 00:02:13:02 - 00:02:14:04 Speaker 2 What are the actual. 00:02:14:06 - 00:02:20:19 Speaker 1 Yeah. If you have any kind of further family history further back or other family history that's connected to Speedway? 00:02:20:21 - 00:02:44:14 Speaker 2 No, the only one that was connected with me, my sister and my dad. My mum went to Speedway until 64 because she couldn't get rid of turnstiles no more. She was pregnant with my sister, but none of my rest of my family went. But you get to know lots of people in the speedway and you find out that they are all come from family being introduced to speedway. 00:02:44:16 - 00:02:45:20 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00:02:45:22 - 00:02:47:05 Speaker 1 Because it went back a long time. 00:02:47:06 - 00:03:12:20 Speaker 2 Yeah. And it's like Roger John wrote Wimbledon. He had two brothers. They rode speedway as well. And Alan, he rode second Division where Peter and Roger, they were actually in Wimbledon. Then Peter give up the speedway. But Roger carried on doing speedway. He was the longest Wimbledon rider in woman and ever had. And then when he left, he went to Rye House. 00:03:12:22 - 00:03:17:15 Speaker 2 And then he ended his career. Yeah. 00:03:17:17 - 00:03:25:15 Speaker 1 Talk a bit about the experience of going to the speedway. Can you give me a description of the stadium? 00:03:25:17 - 00:03:51:01 Speaker 2 What one would have say the main, the front of it was the grandstand. You had the turnstiles there. Then your stairs went upstairs to the grandstand. We sat there. Right on the left hand was the restaurant and behind was two bars. And right up in the corner was the burger bar. Then you had the first and second bend, which was called the Popular Enclosure. 00:03:51:05 - 00:04:06:08 Speaker 2 Then you had the back straight, which not many people sat there and in the third and fourth turns. But then the bars were different on that side because they would open up for the stock car, but not for the speedway. Yeah. 00:04:06:10 - 00:04:09:07 Speaker 1 Was there a particular place that you like to watch from? 00:04:09:08 - 00:04:30:06 Speaker 2 Yes. In box number nine, in the grandstand. You were right on the starting gate. Yeah, yeah, you look right down there. Then later on, I went to stood on the pit bend where the riders were. Yeah. Yeah, I never went. I never went on to the first bend, which was the pit Ben loonies. No, I stand with them when we go to speedway away meetings. 00:04:30:06 - 00:04:41:13 Speaker 2 But at home I used to like the grandstand. And then when I was in my teens, I want to go downstairs and be right by the riders there. Yeah. 00:04:41:15 - 00:04:46:07 Speaker 1 Do you remember the speedway? Was it expensive? Was it easy to get into? Affordable? 00:04:46:08 - 00:05:14:16 Speaker 2 It was affordable. I don't. I'm not saying now I think it's quite dear now, really, because I'm not saying. I mean, when you look at speedway, it all it is, is a minute a race. So for me, from 1 to 15, you only get spread for 15 minutes where I think it's now 25, 30 pounds to get in, where if you go to put ball, I know it's dearer, but you do get 90 minutes of men running up and down playing football, so you get your money's worth there. 00:05:14:17 - 00:05:22:01 Speaker 2 This is why my argument within Speedway I think it's quite DNF speedway, because you still only get the 15 minutes and only a minute of race. Yeah. 00:05:22:03 - 00:05:25:05 Speaker 1 And what do you do in between the races? 00:05:25:06 - 00:05:44:06 Speaker 2 Well in between. Well, you fill in your program and you sit there and wait for the next heat. And then generally it used to be because I don't go through now. It used to be heat 13 would be your interval. That would be a 15 to 20 minutes interval where you could go downstairs, go and look at the picture board. 00:05:44:07 - 00:05:59:04 Speaker 2 Right. We'll get your photos. And then if you're lucky enough to get to the pits to get some of the riders to sign your autographs, or if not, you'd have to wait till the meeting finished. And when the riders were putting their bikes in their cars because it didn't work. Not many riders had banned ten years ago. I'm on about in the 70s now. 00:05:59:04 - 00:06:13:01 Speaker 2 It's all banned, but you have a bike rack on their car and put their bikes. Larry Ross head in here in the state car, where he'd take the front wheel off and slide your bikes back in the car. Yeah. 00:06:13:03 - 00:06:17:10 Speaker 1 Can you describe how busy it was on a speedway night. 00:06:17:12 - 00:06:40:15 Speaker 2 In the 70s? It was quite busy, and, I mean, it was quite busy. But then listening to my dad's stories in the 50s and 60s, you'd have to get. There was a program on telly my dad used to tell me called Wagon Train. I ain't got a clue what he is. And if you watched that you knew used in a long queue queuing up to get into Wimbledon, well, that wasn't like that in the 80s. 00:06:40:15 - 00:07:02:00 Speaker 2 And in the 90s the fans. But there was quite a few you got. I'm not going to mention you've got a few fans that didn't stick through Wimbledon Speedway. They were hit and miss where I'm not being rude. I felt them from 73 right until 91. I think I mostly missed a few meetings due to holidays or making birth to my daughter. 00:07:02:00 - 00:07:07:09 Speaker 2 But then after give birth my daughter two days later I was back here at Speedway. There. 00:07:07:11 - 00:07:08:02 Speaker 1 Dedicated? 00:07:08:03 - 00:07:11:13 Speaker 2 Yeah. Yeah yeah. 00:07:11:15 - 00:07:17:10 Speaker 1 During a speedway night. Can you tell us about kind of merchandise that was available? And the other hand. 00:07:17:12 - 00:07:38:21 Speaker 2 I brought you to show you could get used to come round Eddie. Name was he? Tell a speedway star. Then you had a man come round selling the speedway. Male. But earlier days, it used to be the Speedway Express. I used to get the Speedway Star every week. And then you had to say you could buy your photos. 00:07:38:23 - 00:07:58:18 Speaker 2 They used to do all the Wimbledon riders and the group photos, and then they used to get a few teams and the others, the other riders from the other team, if Hackney were there, they'd put Hackney photos in, but the man only generally sold the Wimbledon photos. Yeah. And then rosettes used to be the so on badges you can get up with you to show you. 00:07:58:19 - 00:08:01:05 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00:08:01:07 - 00:08:04:12 Speaker 1 What kind of food and drink was available as well. At speed. 00:08:04:14 - 00:08:13:23 Speaker 2 To top bars. Only that one bar open or to food bar? You got burger and chips there. Or you say sweaty sandwiches. 00:08:14:00 - 00:08:18:23 Speaker 2 And that was it. And then you had to. Two bars. Yeah. 00:08:19:00 - 00:08:29:07 Speaker 1 And you've told me about things that you can buy at the speedway, but could you give us a description of a typical race night in your eyes? 00:08:29:09 - 00:08:43:09 Speaker 2 It was a good meeting. Everyone was just shouting and screaming and I used my dad. You say, no, you can't do it. I lean over the box was in it and I had to bang the box. My dad, you saved me. The riders corner you the kind of you shouting yeah, yeah. 00:08:43:11 - 00:08:48:13 Speaker 1 Any other kind of moments on a on a on a typical race night that stand in your memory? 00:08:48:15 - 00:09:17:02 Speaker 2 No, just everyone going mad. Shouting and screaming for the riders like we always wanted to. Five one or it'd be a for 2 or 3 all. But if it would come time to heat 13 and it used to be 38, 40 or 3741, or a draw was 39 or so. If we let heats 11 and 12 used to be crucial, but her 13 was the last heat decider. 00:09:17:03 - 00:09:29:24 Speaker 2 Then they extended it to 15 races. Yeah, and I think it's 15 races now. Where before up until the 80s it used to be only 13 heats. Yeah. 00:09:30:01 - 00:09:44:12 Speaker 1 Okay I'm going to focus a bit more on kind of the being a fan. Can you tell us about any particular riders or. I know you support Wimbledon, but any other teams you followed as well? 00:09:44:14 - 00:10:06:04 Speaker 2 I wouldn't have followed them in the later one in the 2002. No, no. Yeah. In the 80s I might have gone over to Rye House, which was in Hoddesdon. I never used to pull a other team, but I used to go there probably in that area, or we'd go for. I'd like the children's dad. You say communist go to be where they are. 00:10:06:05 - 00:10:11:18 Speaker 2 I would follow Wimbledon away, but I didn't go and support another club. No, no. 00:10:11:21 - 00:10:15:10 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about any particular riders that you followed? 00:10:15:11 - 00:10:40:16 Speaker 2 Yeah. Larry Rutland, my hero. He wrote for Wimbledon 75 to 1980. Then he left to write for Bellevue. Then he went to Halifax. Then he ended up at Bradford. And then in 1986 he retired and went back home to New Zealand. But Tommy Jansson was also another one. But he got killed at a young age in 1976. Yeah, but I still go, well, I'm still in contact with his brother. 00:10:40:16 - 00:11:04:18 Speaker 2 I went to Sweden in 2019 to Tommy Brother, which is Bo, and we went to his place and stayed there twice and he took us to racing out there. But, well, it opened your eyes up out there because amount of fans that were turn up and they used to say if they didn't have more than 2,000 pounds, it was a poor meet. 00:11:04:18 - 00:11:25:23 Speaker 2 And I said 2000. I said, of course, speedway in England would love that. They'd get crowds up to 4 to 5000 pounds to 5000 people a week going to their speedway. Yeah, yeah. In Sweden. Yeah. And they're so polite. The people out there all talk during everything. And when me and Paul, we went out there, we had a Tommy Jansson t shirt made up. 00:11:26:03 - 00:11:47:22 Speaker 2 But the man who does this talking on the centre green wanted us, but he never says to the next day. But they'd won the meeting. But it's not like we're doing in England. They went to the House of Commons out there and had dinner there, and we went there and just saw it. It was nothing like I know when the football done it. 00:11:47:24 - 00:11:58:08 Speaker 2 You went to the Wimbledon Town Hall, but it was completely different to what speedway in football, what speedway in Sweden and England. It was completely different entertainment? Yeah, completely. 00:11:58:09 - 00:12:03:08 Speaker 1 Tommy. Your hero? Yeah. Was he a hero in Sweden? 00:12:03:10 - 00:12:30:19 Speaker 2 Yeah, I reckon that year he got killed. In 1976. He'd gone back home. He and I got a photo here on the Tuesday. He went to my dad at Surplus Tires. They had a photo taken and my dad said, oh, nine years ear Tommy. He said Kim wanted a photo. He said, Stan, I'll do it next week. Never come back because on the Thursday night, Friday morning I got up and wished I paper delivered then and I looked at the back page and I just started crying and Martin, Tommy Jansson said. 00:12:31:00 - 00:12:52:17 Speaker 2 He said what? He said, now you've got it in round up. Yeah. He died. He got killed on. He was qualifying for the rounds for the final that year. And as I said in the interview last week, 76, I think he had been world champion. He was only 23. Yeah, yeah. No age. 00:12:52:19 - 00:13:02:15 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about the different teams that raced for Wimbledon? Were there different levels at the club? 00:13:02:17 - 00:13:23:20 Speaker 2 Yeah riders number one, three and five. They were heat leaders six and sevens was your reserves. So a reserve. So if in one hey a rider got injured you could bring your reserve in number six or number seven. Obviously if it was heat two. That was a reserve race. So you couldn't bring nothing because you've got your reserves in there. 00:13:23:22 - 00:13:29:03 Speaker 2 And in two and four they were allowed to ride. 00:13:29:05 - 00:13:42:13 Speaker 2 You had to reserves can do two rides and but your mainstream one pre and five they had to do for heats each. 00:13:42:15 - 00:13:51:04 Speaker 1 You were talking about as a fan sitting next to the start line. But during the Me how accessible were the riders? Were you able to speak to them? 00:13:51:05 - 00:14:14:10 Speaker 2 No, only if you were downstairs on the on the the pit side. They might acknowledge you. Otherwise they kept their cells to themselves. Yeah. I don't know about now. If you can go down there and talk to them now. But I'd say in Wimbledon. No. The riders used to sit there and just focus on their racing. 00:14:14:10 - 00:14:15:22 Speaker 1 How about after the race? 00:14:15:23 - 00:14:43:08 Speaker 2 Oh well, after the race, no, very, very rare you'd get in the interval. They might do. And then after the meeting. But some of them used to be quite ready to pack up, especially if they're not meeting. They'd pack up, pack up their car and off they go when even talk or not. Knowledge. Yeah. So only because I knew the team manager saw a moment and he was, as I say, he take all the riders around to my dad. 00:14:43:09 - 00:14:54:03 Speaker 2 When a rider come over here, there were Swedes, come over Americans, they all went round to tires. This is where you get your speedway tires from? Yeah, yeah. 00:14:54:05 - 00:14:56:05 Speaker 1 So your dad must have known all the riders? 00:14:56:06 - 00:15:18:10 Speaker 2 Yeah. Yeah, I don't think not in the late 80s and then. But in the 70s and not the top riders. The really top one. No they won't go downgraded to go to south. But all the others I could name them all would always go round there because I brought loads and loads of photos to show you where my dad was teaching Tommy Hansen double attire. 00:15:18:12 - 00:15:30:03 Speaker 2 Yeah, got a photo of him up in the up in the the workshop at the top. Yeah, I brought him. I know not going to mean nothing to you, but they do mean to be weapons. Yeah. 00:15:30:05 - 00:15:39:02 Speaker 1 At the stadium. Can you tell us what the general demographic of the fans was? You know, with their women, men, children. 00:15:39:04 - 00:15:59:21 Speaker 2 Mixture of everything? Yeah. You could take Wimbledon Stadium. You could take a newborn baby. Stadium. Yes. Where? Other stadiums? No. Like Swindon. That was all out in the open mud on the first and second bin. Well, not being part of Wimbledon, if you ever went to see one would have seen it got knocked down. You would have seen it was all undercover. 00:15:59:23 - 00:16:08:24 Speaker 2 Yeah. Glass enclosure. Whereas I say you could take a newborn baby. Yeah. 00:16:09:01 - 00:16:14:20 Speaker 1 To what extent did foreign riders race at Wimbledon? 00:16:14:22 - 00:16:48:13 Speaker 2 We said in our team nearly every year. Yeah. Used as a Polish stepping stone. Months of Swede, as I say, Tommy and Bo, they were Swedes. Rudy Mud was Dutch, Patrick Paulsen, Larry Ross, New Zealand Ronnie Moore, New Zealand Barry Briggs, New Zealand, Australian was Todd Wiltshire, yeah, so American was Brad Oxley and Bobby. So we had yeah quite a few foreigners in our teams. 00:16:48:15 - 00:16:52:24 Speaker 1 Did these foreign riders bring their own fans with them as well? 00:16:53:01 - 00:16:57:22 Speaker 2 No no no no. 00:16:57:24 - 00:17:03:04 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about any rivalries that Wimbledon had with other teams? 00:17:03:06 - 00:17:08:20 Speaker 2 Acne. No. East London yeah. 00:17:08:22 - 00:17:13:16 Speaker 1 Tell us a bit more about that rivalry. Well. 00:17:13:18 - 00:17:36:24 Speaker 2 It wasn't it more the fans. It's the riders. No. They used to be all friendly, but it was just the fans used to always start. There was one Hackney family. They would go anywhere and they'd go and start trouble. Well, I went to Eastbourne once and I had that family I put Stay Away from there. They were straight away at Eastbourne causing trouble. 00:17:37:00 - 00:17:46:07 Speaker 2 So it was just the pads. It weren't the riders. I think they all the riders were all friends. Yeah. Oh, you talk to each other, but it's just used to be the fans. Yeah. 00:17:46:14 - 00:17:49:11 Speaker 1 It generally quite a nice atmosphere. 00:17:49:12 - 00:18:10:22 Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because as I say, you could sit next to like safe Halifax come down or less down or any place you could sit with the pants. Not like it is football where, you know, you could all sit together. Yeah. And very, very rare. You had police at the stadium. Very, very rare. Only one incident was years and years ago. 00:18:10:23 - 00:18:30:14 Speaker 2 Was a told you last week Bobby Swartz when he calls trouble there. And in the end the police had come to him at the stadium. Yeah. Because he was he wanted to fight. I think he was American. He just wanted to fight the bands, which you don't do that in Speedway? No. That was the only incident I remember. 00:18:30:16 - 00:18:34:23 Speaker 1 Yeah. 00:18:35:00 - 00:18:39:07 Speaker 1 How important was Wimbledon in your social life? 00:18:39:09 - 00:18:57:19 Speaker 2 Oh, I ate, drank and always speedway. It's very, very man. I won't go nowhere. I say to my mum and dad if I looked at the subway program in the year. Mum, don't book holiday. Then why? I won't do that. I mean, Kim, we can't just go around holidays with Speedway. Yeah, I said no, I won't go on holiday then. 00:18:57:20 - 00:19:12:22 Speaker 2 So we used to do and when I was and my dad was comfortable with a dog and I'd bring up my dad on that first night. Dad, what was the result? Oh hold on. Blah blah blah. How many did he go? How many? And I went in and out. Yeah. And they said yeah, it was always speedway. Speedway, speedway. 00:19:12:23 - 00:19:32:13 Speaker 2 My dad would say, I'll be glad when that buddy shuts down. Even though he was a Speedway fan from 1948 until the 80s. Yeah, but it was alright for him. But as he said in these little stories used to have, you could go to speedway every night of the week in London, around London. Yeah. Every night. Yeah. 00:19:32:15 - 00:19:34:08 Speaker 1 It was definitely in the blood. In the family. 00:19:34:09 - 00:19:38:02 Speaker 2 Yeah. With my dad. Yeah. 00:19:38:04 - 00:19:52:22 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about any relationships that you might have had with other people in the Speedway community? 00:19:52:24 - 00:20:15:20 Speaker 2 Like talking to the people. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm still. I'm sort of friends with a few of them now. Colin and he wrote Wimbledon. I still talked to his ex-wife. And his son got killed in speedway in 2013. Lee Richardson yeah, and I used to look after him as. And when he's when his mum and dad used to call him. 00:20:15:22 - 00:20:24:20 Speaker 2 And I sort of pushed him up and down in the prime. Yeah. So I'm still in contact with his mum Julie. 00:20:24:22 - 00:20:46:13 Speaker 2 And as I say, Bo understood in contact with him. But Rudy last years. But I seen him since the 70s. Yeah. And in John Stevens he's always on the phone. He messaged me at the moment. Yeah, yeah, but I only met him in 2002. I never knew him in 91. I think he was too small. I think because I think he's only 43. 00:20:46:13 - 00:21:02:21 Speaker 2 I think he is. So in the 80s he would have been only a little and in arms. I wouldn't have known him. No. I met him in 2002 and I've been printed him since. 00:21:02:23 - 00:21:06:14 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about any fan clubs? Were there any fan clubs? 00:21:06:17 - 00:21:32:13 Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, when we had a supporters club and in individual riders had fan clubs. I was in Anders Eriksson's fan club, Braddock's Lee's Larry Ross's for a year that. Then he left. And then I don't know if anyone up north, Donny's fan club and Rudi, Max's fan club I was in. Oh, definitely. Munson. Yeah, yeah. 00:21:32:14 - 00:21:35:22 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about what did it mean to be in a fan club? 00:21:35:24 - 00:21:52:15 Speaker 2 Well, they give you a little card, and then the rider would sign it when you got a birthday card, warn you was a game that was. Well, that was like my birthday. My birthday parties, birthday cards. And then you got. 00:21:52:17 - 00:22:13:03 Speaker 2 The a number of whatever number fan club you was. Well, did you get a newsletter used to get a newsletter in the winter? They'd be telling you what the writers are doing at home. Like they'd all go back home, obviously, and then you'd get the whatever meeting there at. You get all the points. What they scored. Yeah. And then you get a bonus point. 00:22:13:03 - 00:22:22:15 Speaker 2 If you followed your ride at home, you'd get a bonus point. So up until a few years ago, I still kept up. Yeah. 00:22:22:17 - 00:22:28:05 Speaker 1 You touched on Tommy Jansson. Did you have any other heroes within the speedway? 00:22:28:06 - 00:22:40:06 Speaker 2 Larry Ross he was my top one. Yeah, but I used to talk to all the riders. But my photo album is near enough full of Larry Ross. Yeah. 00:22:40:11 - 00:22:42:16 Speaker 1 What was it about Larry Ross. 00:22:42:18 - 00:23:00:05 Speaker 2 Danny I think because he took me to a speedway meeting. He took me to Hackney in 1979. That's a big card. He got killed? Yeah, it was a fours. It was Wimbledon. Hackney, Eastbourne. 00:23:00:07 - 00:23:24:15 Speaker 2 No, I can't think of what he was the other, White City. Yeah. And it was. Oh, I know what bend happened on our way through. But then I had to cancel the meeting and it was just Larry, as I said, because he had a garage in our road to keep his bikes, watch his bikes, keep his car there. And I think he was just so friendly because I wouldn't have known his riders if it weren't for my dad. 00:23:24:16 - 00:23:42:10 Speaker 2 No, no, my dad was with the tires and they'd go round to him. As I said, I used to take them all round there. Yeah. And that's what they've got. Different photos. What other people I'm never going to say. 00:23:42:12 - 00:23:50:14 Speaker 1 Was there any entertainment at the speedway on a on a on a race night? 00:23:50:16 - 00:23:57:06 Speaker 2 I know. Well, what was the other grandstand. 00:23:57:08 - 00:23:58:13 Speaker 1 Was there music. 00:23:58:15 - 00:24:23:24 Speaker 2 Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. Music. Every race. Yeah. And then like I don't remember that. And then later on in the 2002 to 2005, the Music Man was Martin Richard. And if we, one of the riders got injured or not injured but knocked off, they'd played a song, I got knocked off and I get up again and then that was that. 00:24:24:01 - 00:24:40:16 Speaker 2 And then when Hackney were over there in the 80s, they would play all the Cockney songs because of Hackney. Yeah. So there was musical way through. Yeah, yeah. 00:24:40:18 - 00:24:46:08 Speaker 1 Did you travel to any overseas meets? 00:24:46:10 - 00:24:53:17 Speaker 2 When I was actually going to Speedway. No. The only time I went to Overseas Speedway was I say was 2019. 00:24:53:19 - 00:24:57:00 Speaker 1 And did you travel to lots of other tracks in the UK? 00:24:57:01 - 00:25:15:18 Speaker 2 Yes. Yes, wherever. In the 80s we'd, we'd get in the late 70s as well. There'd be a coach come here and coaches and we'd get on them. You'd book up the coach. I went to Redding on the coach Bellevue twice on the coach. 00:25:15:20 - 00:25:30:15 Speaker 2 No. Cradley. We drove there. Coventry. Swindon. Yeah. Quite a few clubs. Newcastle, Glasgow. That's the first I've been Speedway was Glasgow's I suppose. Yeah. 00:25:30:17 - 00:25:37:06 Speaker 1 When you think of speedway how did it sit alongside the other sports they were offered in London at the time. 00:25:37:08 - 00:25:51:15 Speaker 2 The other sport, and you had the dogs and then the stock car and then the front of the stadium used to be the, yeah. What was it called? Squash. Squash club. Yeah. 00:25:51:17 - 00:26:01:20 Speaker 1 And did did they all sit alongside each other and did people go to watch all of them at the same time? Would everyone have their favourite sport. 00:26:01:22 - 00:26:21:13 Speaker 2 Or just. Babe, I know I used to be. I done the Bangalore stock cars once or twice. They used to do a celebrity meeting over there and the manager of down the bottom road eastern skirt guard. And I say to him, oh, there's a big meeting on and you get the celebrities to come there. And he said, it's all right. 00:26:21:14 - 00:26:37:18 Speaker 2 He said, oh, come and see me. I said, they let you in and I should go there. But it's only that. But I wasn't into the stock car. No, that won't me and dogs. I had to do it once because I thought right before the stadium goes down and me and Paul, we went down there for the dogs and that was it. 00:26:37:19 - 00:26:42:24 Speaker 2 No, it won't weren't for me. The dogs? No. 00:26:43:01 - 00:26:45:21 Speaker 1 Did you work for a woman in Speedway at any point? 00:26:45:22 - 00:27:05:17 Speaker 2 Yeah. From 2003 to 2005, I worked on the pit gate because there was a person there before and I think, oh, come, you don't see them coming through the turnstiles. And he was getting a backhand and letting him through. So I went up to Ian Perkin. At the time I said, you got a job here. And he said, yeah, he said, Kim. 00:27:05:17 - 00:27:29:11 Speaker 2 He said, we two people from Saint John's couldn't do the reporting that night. And they said, would you sell the wrapper tickets? Well, I wish I'd never done it because I knew quite a lot of people in way and I won't let them get through me. I'll say, come on, good cold. And they race. Raising money for some Wimbledon had a a spare bike just in case any of the riders smashed their bikes up. 00:27:29:13 - 00:27:34:21 Speaker 2 They got a spare bike and they. 00:27:34:23 - 00:27:49:02 Speaker 2 Wanted me to do it and I did. And in one night there was a big accident there, and I went around the whole stadium and suddenly wrapped tickets. Well, when I went back to them, they went, well, where's the tickets? I said, I've sold them all. And I think it was about 2 or 300 pounds in his box. 00:27:49:03 - 00:28:00:22 Speaker 2 I said, well, dunk him. Then they wanted me to carry on doing the wrap or the wrap on rabble. And I said, no. I said, I want my dream job. And they said, what's that? I said, I want to be on that pit gate. And they said, well, I said, I want to be here. What's the riders come in and coming out? 00:28:00:23 - 00:28:19:01 Speaker 2 I said, no, I want to get to know, because these riders, I didn't know him. I said, to get to know these riders and that's what I've done. So from 3 to 5 I was on the pit gate. Yeah. And if you didn't have a part and you don't know if you are, I say no. And I say and then manager at the time was Dingo Brown. 00:28:19:02 - 00:28:34:13 Speaker 2 He said, Kim. How come these people come in here. Pay. And my wife was on the turnstile and said they were here every week, but they don't pay. I said, because Kim's out there, I want them pro. I didn't care who you was. No, even Gary Sweet, you had him even bring it. I'll say no. Go to the turnstiles. 00:28:34:14 - 00:28:53:04 Speaker 2 Go and pay. Yeah, I just made and they said you should have had you. But in 2006 season, Dingle Brown wanted to take it up. The next level is and take that big risk in Speedway to take it up to the next level. His repaired and at the time was 2500. They were going to do it to 3,000 pounds. 00:28:53:04 - 00:28:57:19 Speaker 2 And he said he was prepared to do that to take up next leaf. But then it was awful. 00:28:57:20 - 00:28:59:00 Speaker 1 What do you mean by 2000. 00:28:59:00 - 00:29:00:21 Speaker 2 And five to rent the stadium for the week? 00:29:01:02 - 00:29:01:12 Speaker 1 Okay. 00:29:01:14 - 00:29:15:09 Speaker 2 Yeah. Me too. And 500. Then it was going to go up to 3000 in 2006. But he never took place because there was a bit of arguments between management and, and he just pulled out of it. 00:29:15:11 - 00:29:17:09 Speaker 1 And how many years did you work at the stadium. 00:29:17:09 - 00:29:29:13 Speaker 2 For 2003. To 2 to 5 to three. Yeah, yeah. On a Wednesday night. Yeah. 00:29:29:15 - 00:29:37:02 Speaker 1 Can you tell us about your most memorable evening at the speedway at One Button? 00:29:37:04 - 00:29:43:09 Speaker 2 Yeah. In. 00:29:43:11 - 00:30:09:19 Speaker 2 79 or 80. Me going round on the tractor with the riders where my dad's surplus tied to sponsored it. And it was pretty tight as they were doing. And it was first was Ollie Olsen. Second was Colin Richardson. The third ODI Austin got four tires, Colin Richardson got three, Shearer got two and I went on the tractor done two laps around that. 00:30:09:20 - 00:30:14:12 Speaker 2 I always remember that. Yeah yeah. 00:30:14:14 - 00:30:23:12 Speaker 1 That's a happy moment. Can you tell us how you affected and how you felt the day you found out that there wouldn't Speedway was going to close? 00:30:23:13 - 00:30:43:07 Speaker 2 That was in 1991. I looked there and I saw all these fans. I never shed a tear because I thought if I want to go somewhere else, I can. It's not going to be the same. And I looked at the people in that stadium and I thought we were to come in week in, week out. We won't be folding today. 00:30:43:10 - 00:31:06:06 Speaker 2 There was loads of them sitting there crying. I've been going. And even the riders, even the old Wimbledon riders, they turn up as well. Well, they could have come for even though they didn't ride anymore, they could have still supported Speedway and it has still been here. I'm not going to to today, but it could have been on from 91 to longer until it all closed down into that could have still been on Speedway, but they didn't. 00:31:06:07 - 00:31:27:13 Speaker 2 They was as I said they were. They were found in the 70s and 80s. But when we dropped down in 1985, they went National League and that's when the fans started off. Well, I didn't I still carried on saying because at the end of the day it was still speedway. Yeah. 00:31:27:15 - 00:31:38:14 Speaker 1 How did Wimbledon Speedway change over time from when you first started going to when it's closed? 00:31:38:16 - 00:31:44:01 Speaker 2 The track changed quite a lot. 00:31:44:03 - 00:31:49:13 Speaker 2 The fans changed. 00:31:49:15 - 00:32:04:12 Speaker 2 But I never changed. No, I was still there and been. No. As I said, fans come and dwindled in and dwindled out. What? I didn't know I was a true Wimbledon pain. 00:32:04:14 - 00:32:07:17 Speaker 1 You talked about the track changing. 00:32:07:19 - 00:32:08:09 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00:32:08:10 - 00:32:16:05 Speaker 1 Did anything else change like safety for the riders within the stadium? Did that change over time? 00:32:16:07 - 00:32:39:11 Speaker 2 When it was in the 70s, they said the, the, the, the fence. Then in 2002 to 5 they had the board. I think they were more dangerous. The boats where the fence you slide in, you went under it then boards. If you hit them at a speed, you could see quite a few. There was a couple of youngsters, Matthew. 00:32:39:11 - 00:33:01:21 Speaker 2 Right. He'd come a Wimbledon rider later stages. He lost the top of his finger where he went under the board and it was concrete there and he swept the stock car rope. He caught you on there and ripped his finger. That, not being funny. But they had to look. We were taught at the top of his finger to get him to Saint George's to stitch it back on again, so I thought he got dangerous with the boards. 00:33:01:22 - 00:33:05:11 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00:33:05:13 - 00:33:10:10 Speaker 1 How did it feel the last time you went to the speedway? At Wimbledon? 00:33:10:16 - 00:33:34:23 Speaker 2 That was. That was October 2005. Sad. Yeah, I was sad. I knew it was going to go because my father lived local round here and they had letters that they, they had been kind of planning doing something to Wimbledon Stadium because my dad you say, yeah. Can we not have no speedway there because he got letters. Because it from one to council. 00:33:34:24 - 00:33:52:24 Speaker 2 And I said, oh I said it still be there dad in years to come. And I can't remember when it actually got knocked down. This. I don't know how my dad was still alive. He died in 2016. I don't can't remember when he started getting knocked down. I don't know if he was still alive when I when I said to him, dad, it's come true. 00:33:53:00 - 00:33:57:19 Speaker 2 It's coming down. I can't remember now. No. 00:33:57:21 - 00:34:07:15 Speaker 1 So final question for me, but looking back, how what did Wimbledon Speedway mean to you? 00:34:07:17 - 00:34:32:17 Speaker 2 Everything you should look forward to every Thursday and what they always do, kids want you want kids or drink of this, I think. I hope and pray Tuesday and Wednesday. No rain because it rained. There's no speedway. It'd be canceled. Yeah, especially around all day Thursday. And I think, oh, what am I going to do today? At home I sit there and be bored. 00:34:32:19 - 00:34:51:11 Speaker 2 Yeah, sit there and be bored because I look forward to every Thursday we're back for coming to Speedway. Then they changed it to a Wednesday night. Yeah. And then it was on a Wednesday. But now I was a little kid at the age of eight. Nine, ten dad. Only two more days. All right, kill me. All right, kill me. 00:34:51:11 - 00:34:58:12 Speaker 2 And he said to mama, that's the worst thing I ever done. Taking commuters. Peewee G don't stop. 00:34:58:14 - 00:35:04:05 Speaker 1 Were they. Were those moments that you spent with your dad at the speedway? But how special were they? 00:35:04:07 - 00:35:23:14 Speaker 2 They were very special. But as I say, he gave up in, I think, 1980. He'd had enough. And he said, I've seen my days. Then what I used to do think I'd be, oh, be very nice to him. I'd go and get the video meeting and get as he said, oh, that ain't racing. He could have done it. 00:35:23:14 - 00:35:39:23 Speaker 2 And I said, well, dad, why don't you get on the bike? Oh no, I was too old to do as well. I said no because you wouldn't have done it. And he said, yeah, he said, but no. Then I showed him 2002 to 3 and five and how big they'd done the track were the shell wasn't much shout, it was just racing on concrete. 00:35:40:02 - 00:35:58:21 Speaker 2 And my dad said, one of them riders, I sit and watch it on telly because it's still on Sky sports, and you tell the story to Paul Dorsey will come over from Australia. My dad watched him ride and he said, here I end up dead or you end up in a wheelchair. He said, he's too mad and that's true. 00:35:58:22 - 00:36:14:15 Speaker 2 You end up in a wheelchair. Yeah. Dad used to say, but you'd pick out the riders and he'd say, yeah, make a good rider. It makes a good rider. There was one that did make it. 00:36:14:16 - 00:36:29:16 Speaker 2 I can't remember the name of the rider. What? He watched until he. He said. Be a good rider. Yeah, but no, I told my dad disappear. And he said no. He said I had my good days in speedway, 56 to 70s. And I think the elderly people you speak to, they say that it's a good day in Speedway. 00:36:29:17 - 00:36:30:04 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00:36:30:11 - 00:36:31:18 Speaker 1 They're the golden, golden years. 00:36:31:19 - 00:36:41:03 Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I love when I went from 73 to 2. I loved every minute of it. Yeah. 00:36:41:04 - 00:36:47:24 Speaker 1 Is there anything that we haven't asked you that you want to share with us about your experience around the speedway? 00:36:48:00 - 00:36:51:05 Speaker 2 No, just. I want to show you my pictures. 00:36:51:07 - 00:37:09:03 Speaker 1 Look at your pictures in a minute. Just take you back to when he was a teenager. And I wanted you to talk me through leaving your house. How you get here, who you've been with, what you do, service, what you know, how you get your program and stuff like that. Talk us through the entire day, right? 00:37:09:04 - 00:37:32:00 Speaker 2 I'd come at my street door and we used to walk down the bottom of the road, turn left, and I'd be into the Garratt Lane, then turn right into Summerstown. And in the car park by the corner pin pub there used to be a little gate. Sometimes that should be opened. If not, you'd have to walk right the way around summer's town into the main entrance and walk back on yourself to get to the grandstand. 00:37:32:01 - 00:37:51:01 Speaker 2 I'd go to the pit gate. They'd say hello, hello, because we didn't have to pay to get in, and then I'd go to through the pits, turn left, and if sir weren't there. He'd go and get me a program so I didn't have to buy the program. But then later on, from 85 until 91, I had to pay then. 00:37:51:01 - 00:38:10:03 Speaker 2 But when I was a kid and a teenager, I didn't have to pay at all. Then go upstairs, go and get my seat, sit there watching me racing, then obviously walk back downstairs, walk across the car park, then walk back home again. And that was every Thursday without fail. 00:38:10:05 - 00:38:13:16 Speaker 3 That's great. 00:38:13:18 - 00:38:15:23 Speaker 1 Anything from anyone else? 00:38:16:00 - 00:38:22:13 Speaker 4 Do you have you have any lefty or VIP? Better came to Winton Stadium. 00:38:22:15 - 00:38:23:02 Speaker 2 Did I. 00:38:23:02 - 00:38:25:24 Speaker 4 Have met any celebrity or. 00:38:26:01 - 00:38:31:17 Speaker 1 Or VIPs figured out? Just a bit. Yeah. Good luck at me. 00:38:31:19 - 00:38:53:17 Speaker 2 The only one I did meet. But it won't do a speedway. It was, as I say it in meeting at the Bangor, and it was unpatched up. That's the only celebrity. Yeah. Then I had to call the Spirit Rider. I like Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore. They were celebrities to me because you never got to see him all the time because they rode, like, as I say, in the 50s. 00:38:53:17 - 00:39:08:15 Speaker 2 And 60s and Ronnie more than 74. Then he come back over again for a few times when and opened up in 2002. He did make his long journey from New Zealand, so in my eyes he was to me. Yeah.