The Southern Lunch at Bournemouth

"Once again the sun shone for our WSRA members at the annual Southern Lunch held in sunny Bournemouth-by-the-Sea as over 60 hungry diners rolled into town for a slap-up lunch at the Connaught Hotel.

Every year, Merv & Sheila Hannam arrange this Southern lunch on behalf of the WSRA and every year, the sun is splitting the trees when we arrive, and this year was no exception. 

This is one of the Association's most popular lunches although this time we were without four of our southern stalwarts, Southampton stars, Maury Mattingley and Brian Hanham, photographer, Cecil Bailey and journalist, Cyril J Hart, all of whom have gone to that big WSRA gathering in the sky and we paused to remember them.  

Furthest traveled was our former Londoner, now Kiwi, Bob Andrews who takes on the Vic White role for the New Zealand Veteran Speedway Riders' Association. Bobby was on a short visit to the UK and enjoyed catching up with his many friends and former rivals and, judging by the number of photographs he was taking, the NZ version of "Opposite Lock" will have enough photos to add an extra ten pages to their next edition!   Bobby will forever live in our memory for his great quote when he was first introduced to my wife, Edith........ "So you are German?", he  said,.........................."your lot bombed our London Chip Shop!". 

With Bob coming from NZ to the UK, one of our members was preparing to travel in the opposite direction. Alan Clark was making his final appearance at Bournemouth before jetting home to New Zealand. Alan has been a keen member of our WSRA Committee and we would like to thank him for his contributions and attendance at our meetings and pass on the best wishes of all the WSRA members for his future in New Zealand. 

Former Swindon International, George White, whose motorcycle showroom, is one of the biggest in the UK, was there looking fit and well, as was England's former  teenage sensation at Poole and Wembley, Brian Crutcher.  George has sold the motorcycle business but such is his reputation around the Swindon area, that the new owners have kept the name, Georle White Motorcycles.

Apart from Brian Crutcher, Poole Pirates were well represented by ex-skipper, Ken Middleditch, Norman Strachan and Pete Smith and from the promoters side, we had Dave Pavitt, David Croucher and "The Terrible Two" from Oxford, Bernard Crapper and John Payne. 

Double World Champion, Freddie Williams and brother, Ian, always enjoy the Bournemouth lunch and we also had former Veteran Speedway Riders' Association President, Jack Geran in attendance and they all seemed to do well winning prizes in the giant raffle. 

The leisurely lunch dragged on until late afternoon and the restaurant staff were getting anxious to lay out the tables for that evening's dinner, so we thought we had better call it a day. Not that everyone jumped into their cars and headed for home, many of us followed the crocodile of cars to Merv & Sheila's house where we continued our Speedway chatter in their large garden with a glass of wine to help the conversation along. 

Everyone was having a really pleasant time when suddenly, the hub-ub of  Speedway talk was quietened as an elderly lady came into the garden. Dressed in a long coat, carrying a shopping bag and wearing glasses, a headscarf and protruding teeth, she looked a little "odd".

Everyone was looking at her warily but fortunately, Ken Middleditch broke the ice. "Don't worry", he said, "it is only Ruth from the village. She is an old-time Poole Pirates supporter and she heard that there were some ex-Speedway riders here, so she has come along to meet them"

Fortunately, I had met Ruth many years ago when I used to come down from Scotland with the Edinburgh Monarchs and we all used to stay at Ken & Bridgett's Baillie House in Sturminster Marshall, so I didn't get TOO much of  a shock when I saw her. She used to haunt the place there too and many a visiting rider and promoter has had to sign her autograph book whilst she sat on their knee!

She still had that same old moth-eaten autograph book as she went round the garden collecting autographs. Fred Williams, Jack Geran, Brian Crutcher all had to sign the book and, as you can see from the photograph, Ian Williams got a bit of a shock too.  

So if you are "Down South" at Poole Speedway, look out for Ruth in the crowd or if you are staying overnight at Baillie House, keep your bedroom curtains closed as 'Our Ruth' has a habit of sneaking around the gardens at night and peering into the windows. She is harmless but,...................You have been warned!"

BERT HARKINS

For Photos' click here