RICK @ the RACES (22 to 28 May 2014 UK Trip)
Sat 24 May Norfolk Arena , Kings Lynn
Sun 25 May Brafield (Primo Int Raceway) Northants
Mon 26 May Belle Vue Stadium, Manchester
Once again I’ve been back to the UK to visit family and friends, with a schedule that kept me very busy.
My original plans were to attend two racing events and make a trip to Aberdeen , Scotland where my father’s ashes were scattered, after he passed away two years ago. This report, like my previous long trips, has been recorded in a day by day style.
Thursday 22 May
I left my home in Cornwall, Ontario around 4-00 pm and my first stop was at a restaurant in Winchester, where I met my friend Lisa , for supper. After this, it was a short ride to Ottawa Airport where I left my HHR at the Park N Ride. Once through the security checks I made for the bar, where I watched the Habs V Islanders Stanley Cup play off game on the TV. My Air Canada flight took off around 10-45 pm , and with the help of the few beers I’d had in the bar, and couple of on-board glasses of wine, it was easy to fall asleep for most of the flight !
Friday 23 May
After a very bumpy and scary landing at London Heathrow I arrived in England at 10-30 am. It was the worst landing I have ever experienced, and can only by compared to the kind of thing you see in the movies ( when a pilot becomes sick, and an inexperienced person gets the plane down after being guided by radio instructions).
Once through customs, I got the shuttle to the ALAMO car rental, where I was shocked to find a long queue and a building full of people waiting for cars. With it being the start of the Whitsun Holiday Long Weekend, it was very busy. After about 30 minutes, I was leaving the rental office in a Hyundai.
By 2-00 pm I’d arrived at mums place in Toddington ( Bedfordshire) and during the early evening we dined out at the ‘Harvester’ in Hockliffe. After eating,we called in on my old friend Mick Black in Dunstable to arrange a ride with him to one of the race meetings on my agenda.
When we returned to Toddington, I went on line, and found Face Book messages with some bad news. Coventry Stadium, my planned destination for the next day, had called the show off, because of wet grounds and more rain in the forecast. This was quite a shock, as cancelling races due to weather issues is quite rare in Europe. This was very disappointing as I’d been looking forward to seeing the BriSCA F2 Heritage cars for the first time, and this now meant, a change of direction for my Saturday nights races !
Saturday 24 May
With the Coventry races postponed, I decided to go to the Norfolk Arena, Kings Lynn, to watch the BriSCA F1’s , Stock Saloons and Mini Stox
Coventry would have been, only an hours drive from Toddington, whereas Kings Lynn is two hours, so an earlier departure was needed. I got there in good time to park on the arenas hard ground and not the muddy field opposite the track, where I’d been on my last visit.
As usual, I bumped into many old friends ( too many to mention them all). I had a good chat with my old friend Nev Woodhull , who’s son Mark races # 335 .
Mark was the car donor when 358 Dirt Modified driver, Dave Heaslip visited the UK to represent Canada in the 2003 BriSCA F1 World Final.
While wandering the pits I also spotted the brand new car of Stuart Smith Jnr # 390 who was making a return to racing.
A few years back, I’d been granted photographer credentials at Kings Lynn, but because this visit was unplanned, I decided not to ask, and to take my position high up in the grandstands to take some pics.
Mick Sworder # 150 in his BriSCA F1 provided everyone with a laugh, when he spun out his young son Charlie prior to his Mini Stox race.
Dan Johnson # 4 was the Final winner, and the racing was over by 10-30 pm. I got out the parking lot pretty quick and was back ‘home’ in Toddington at 1-00am.
Sunday 25 May
Originally, I had nothing planned for Sunday, but since my arrival, we received an invitation for mum and I to have supper at my brother Chris’s place in Dunstable.
During the day, while mum went to church, I took the short drive to Brafield, Northants to spend a couple of hours at the ‘Primo International Raceway’ as they like to call it these days. To the ‘old school’ it will always be Brafield Stadium.
On the card, they’d got National Hot Rods, Legends and Bangers.
Although these divisions aren’t my preferred diet of UK racing , I have two friends that are involved in official positions, Graham Brown in the Hot Rods and Peggyann Lilley with the Legends.
It was great to meet up with both of them.
Clerk of the Course, Paul Gerrard , remembered me from previous visits and allowed me up on to the media tower to take pics.
Joining me up there, were two other photographers (not sure of their names) , Mick Black and Graham. I stayed there until 3-00pm before returning to Toddington to pick up mum , and go to Dunstable. We had a lovely roast beef meal amongst family at Chris’s, as well as watching the highlights of the F1 Grand Prix from Monaco .
Monday 26 May
The holiday Monday was a race day that I’d been looking forward to, with a trip up north to Belle Vue, Manchester.
I visited the famous Belle Vue Speedway on Hyde Road , for the first time in July and September of 1969 when I saw the great Stuart Smith # 391 win his first BriSCA F1 World title. I then revisited the place many times until it was demolished in the 1980’s to make way for a British Car Auctions site.
In the meantime, and since I’ve been in Canada, stock car racing has returned to Belle Vue , using the Dog racing stadium that’s located about half a mile up the road and since then, I’ve been eager to pay a visit.
Mick Black picked me up from Toddington at 9-30 am for the three hour drive up north. The roads have changed a lot since I’ve been away, and Mick’s preferred route is up the M1 and across the moors of the Peak District, north of Sheffield. It’s a route I’d never taken before.
We arrived at the ‘new’ Belle Vue on Kirkmanshulme Road at around 1-00 pm and in good time to get parked safely and chat amongst friends before the 4-00pm start. In the pits , I found my old friend Derek Hinds who’s son Paul # 259 is one of the sports current star drivers.
Top UK racing photographer and long time buddy, Colin Casserley had arranged credentials for me with Clerk of the Course, Stuart Milnes to take pics from the middle with him and another, photographer friend, , David Bastock.
In comparison to the ‘old’ Belle Vue complex, this one is a lot smaller, but the racing was good, and the big race winner was Mal Brown # 34.
Young Charlie Sworder # 150 won most of the Mini Stocks races while F2 winner was Josh Coleman # 615.
Racing was over by 9-00 pm and by 9-30 pm Mick and I were heading back ‘home’.
Tuesday 27 May
Tuesday was a day I’d put aside for taking mum out for a drive, and our destination was our old home town area of Ipswich, and the seaside of Felixstowe. Unfortunately it was a really wet and miserable day, so after having lunch at one of our favourite pubs, The Ferry Boat Inn in Old Felixstowe, we headed back to Toddington.
Wednesday 28 May
Wednesday was the last full day of my trip, and definitely the busiest.
At 4-30 am my sister Anne picked me up at Mums place, and by 5-00am the two of us were at Luton Airport. Our Easyjet flight took off at 7-45 am for the one hour flight to Glasgow, in Scotland.
On arrival, we picked up our Skoda Estate Car from National Rental, and with Anne as my chauffeur we took to the road.
From Glasgow we took the scenic route along Loch Lomand up to Pitlochry. From there we drove over the mountains to Braemar, past Balmoral Castle and along Royal Deeside to Aberdeen.
Once we’d arrived in the ‘Granite City’ the birth place of my father, we made for Dothie Park, the place where he played as a boy, and the place where his ashes were laid.
We spent about an hour there before heading towards Aberdeen Airport .
The rental car was dropped off and we had supper in one of the airport restaurants before our 8-45 pm flight back to Luton. We were back in Luton at 10-00 pm and at Mums house at by 11-00 pm.
Thursday 29 May
I was up at 5-30 am and saying my good bye to mum at 6-15 before driving the Hyundai back to Heathrow. I had plenty of time once I was there for a good breakfast before going through security and waiting for my flight.
The plane took off on time and I killed part of the long time in the air watching the excellent ‘Rush’ movie’ It tells the true story about the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda on the Grand Prix circuits in the 1970’s which was a time I remember well.
I landed in Ottawa at 3-30 pm , and once the HHR had been picked up, my first stop was a local Tim Hortons, before continuing on to Cornwall.
I was home by 6-00 pm and ready for a good nights sleep before my 5-30 am start back at work the next morning. Phew!