From time to time I have been known to indulge in creative writing, but even I am a tad impressed with this piece ─ connecting speedway, a future king and the nineteenth century composer Richard Wagner! Stay with me for the full four laps and I will tell all …
I had not seen my mate Frankie Franklin since 2004 when we both policed the mean streets of Slough and district. I wouldn’t describe these beats as tough, but even Grand Prix hardman Nicki Pedersen would have been classified as a sissy on some of them. Frankie and I had nevertheless managed to remain in close contact via social media and Messenger.
Having moved to Dorset a few years back, Frankie had fervently followed my speedway exploits on Facebook, until he finally concluded that he had to check out in person what all the fuss was about. Strictly speaking this wasn’t his first meeting, although his initial taste of shale was in the Dixon of Dock Green era, circa 1974, at the dual home of St Mirren FC in Love Street – the abode of the Paisley Lions. He had a vague memory of this event during a family holiday, although via his vicarious online exposure he was familiar with the rudiments of the sport and still remembered the all-time legend, Ivan Mauger.
As we caught up with the gossip in a couple of local hostelries, I was intrigued by his regaling of royal duties as a firearms officer, and in particular the time he floored Prince William. This was not as a result of first bend bunching but a deliberate act that saw our future king (after his dad’s stint of course) on his backside!
Prince William, thinking it was cool to make a disparaging remark about our diminutive Frankie’s height to his chums during a personal safety class, didn’t bank on his tutor’s swift response. Inviting him to tackle Frankie, the rest of the cohort had a memory they would never forget. A guaranteed highlight that would always reinforce, on this occasion, how to defend against an unprovoked attack. The somewhat rude royal apparently fell down like a bag of King Edwards.
Later at trackside – Wimborne Road – as the Pirates took on top of the table Leicester Lions in an epic Championship clash, the noise, smell, and action brought Frankie’s Love Street moment back to life, culminating in the admission that he should have visited his local track much sooner. As a more seasoned fan I had to admit that on this balmy evening the racing wasn’t as stellar as I had predicted, but Frankie was still buzzing. Curious to discover what made his passion so palpable I pushed him on this point. “The starts and the first bend!” I immediately pictured Prince William. If Frankie had used another stooge during the infamous grounding of our raucous royal the vital safety skill set may well have eroded over time. This got us both thinking; whatever action or lack of it followed during the rest of the meeting one thing would always be guaranteed – the build up to each race and the ensuing fight for the same piece of dirt on the first bend. The obvious question was how could every speedway promotion deliberately take advantage of this assured adrenalin rush on both sides of the fence, thereby making every meeting more of a classic even if the ensuing racing became utterly processional? Our proposed answer took us back to our police public order days.
Having found myself mistakenly in the midst of the miners’ dispute in the mid-1980s as a direct result of my surname losing a concluding ‘e,’ I was a wet behind the ears rookie cop in an uncompromising and confrontational arena. The vastly more experienced namesake (Constable Kirk) was probably at home with his feet up as I was being traumatised at the prospect of being battered by an angry mob. Future public order forays were less fraught but nonetheless often nervy, and the only occasions I ever felt fully focussed and reassured was when a colleague played a piece of music – usually through the internal audio equipment of the police carrier. The policing of an unruly mass, where spontaneous acts of violence required officers to replicate the rigors of their training in often confusing and contradicting conditions, were aided by a burst of music which concentrated the mind on the job in hand. Frankie concurred and cited his favourite tune and Wagner classic – Ride of the Valkyries.
Could speedway do the same? Imprinting the emotional footprint of the assured action at every meeting by selecting a piece of music that would commence prior to tapes up and continue to the conclusion of the frantic first bend fight. If you are unconvinced by our collective pitch then please reflect upon the research conducted by scholars in 2021 at the Centre for Research on Self and Identity at the School of Psychology along the coast at Southampton University, which concluded that since music is a prevalent and influential source of nostalgia, melody-evoked reminiscences encourage several psychological social benefits including community connectedness. In other words, a stirring tune can lead to people wanting more of the same experience. Perhaps Frankie would have been more inclined to come back after his Paisley encounter all those decades ago if the public address system had better hooked his youthful imagination. Music at speedway isn’t something new but generally it is used as a filler between heats. It could be used in a more dynamic and engaging manner.
During the interval Frankie dished the dirt on Prince Harry – but that gossip won’t find itself on any social media forums – just yet! However, this conversation had us thinking some more …
Policing is intelligence led ─ even more so nowadays, harnessing the spontaneity of social media contact. Resourcing to risk is driven by data. Indeed, when Prince Harry decided to slip away from the glare of constant royal protection a potentially embarrassing situation was satisfactorily solved when armed Frankie received a text from worried colleagues. He headed straight to a certain pub over the river Thames in Windsor ─ not too far from Harry’s grandmother’s gaff ─ and located the sixth in line to the throne with his beanie hat pulled down holding a pint. So how could speedway benefit?
As we both updated our Facebook feeds during the meeting it was as clear as the gap between Nick Morris and the pursuing riders in heat one of this El classico. How about clubs encouraging fans to communicate via social media during the meeting – for example: voting for the rider of the night, posing questions for individual riders, and providing ideas on how to better promote the sport. All for free from those who love the sport and have an active interest in its longevity. And follow up contact data could be harvested to keep that important social connection vibrant and enduring.
As the meeting concluded with a pulsating win for the visitors, for all the change we had discussed, some things were as Frankie recalled them as a kid ─ the stadium food offerings ─ as predictable as two ex-cops talking about the good old days and often as appetising as the track surface.
Frankie will be back, and if you should happen to see him sitting with a chap, hat pulled down firmly over his ears but nonetheless with a regal aura, it may just be you know who.
A special thanks to promoter Danny Ford who made us both very welcome and the Pirates and Lions septets who put on a right royal show!
© Ian Kirke 2022 & all uncredited photographs
@ianjkirke