The Blunsdon Blog             ...           or up to your knees in mud!!

4rth February	Rob Woffinden. The Blog and the track staff at Swindon Speedway would like to offer their condolences to the family of Rob Woffinden, a fine, upstanding man, who died on Saturday. We have been advised of the following : The Funeral will take place on 11th February at 1pm. Woodlands Crematorium, Brumby Wood Lane, Scunthorpe DN17 1SP. By request no flowers. If you wish to make a donation please make cheques payable to; Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund. Mark on the back of cheque; Rob Woffinden. Address; ACU, Wood House Street, Rugby, Warwickshire CV21 2YX
3rd February	Where the snow lay, deep and white. Just as we were congratulating ourselves on being ahread of schedule, the start of January was wiped out with heavy snow.
25th January	Printable list Swindon fixtures for 2010 available here. Correct as of 25th January. Click here.
23rd January	The first edition of the 2010 Swindon Robins fixtures are published. Click here or use the Fixtures button on the left.
23rd January	It is perverse but I have to say that I actually enjoy the winter work more than the actual speedway season. Why? In "Glad tidings of comfort and joy" I try to explain why as we complete our 2009 work on the Swindon track.
20th January	The Blog is pleased to report that Track Curator Ronnie Russell has been installed as Team Manager of the Robins. Click here for the full press release.
17th January	The Bistro at Number 96. It's the middle of November and the clouds are high - it will be a good day at the track. And so it transpired.
15th January		The Blog is pleased to offer this link to allspeedway.tv, one of the quickest and most visited speedway sites on the net.
13th January	In the next of the "catch up" blogs it's time to start the tidy up of one season and then begin the planning for the next. Way back in the depths of time I started up the Blunsdon Blog in order to show that the work at a speedway track goes on throughout the entire year.
8th January	The desperately cold weather and the snow have given me a chance to update the links down the left hand margin and tidy up the site. Coming soon : The Bistro at Number 96 and the latest attempts to rid the Blunsdon track of the dreaded sand.
6th January 2010	31st November 2009 - Hilton Hotel, Swindon - the annual dinner and dance.
31st December	The Blog would like to wish all of its readers a very Happy New Year for 2010. As the year ends it's nice to hear that the Swindon Track has been identified as the third best track in the country, as voted by referees during the course of the 2009 season. Well done to all the track staff!
28th December	The end of an era. The last day's racing of the decade at Blunsdon is wiped out by rain and drizzle. A video blog is attached!
26th December	40 years of woe. A look back at the end of the season final against Wolves.
23rd December	Many thanks for those people who have contacted me over the past difficult couple of months. The bad news is that the blog will be back immediately after Christmas when I weill be covering the tumultuous end of season at Blundson, the Swindon Annual Dinner and Dance, the new Michelin starred Bistro at number 96 and the massive winter work schedule that we've set ourselves. A very Merry Christmas from the blog to all the readers, correspondents, track staff and others who have helped out this year!
24th October	Apologies for not posting anything at the moment. A sudden close family bereavement means that the blogs for the lead in to the final, the final itself and a couple of Ian's Edinblogs are only partially prepared. They will be published - just give me a little time. Thanks.
17th October	Bydgoszcz Grand Prix programme sheets available in Excel and PDF formats - click here. The Blog wishes Rune Holta best wishes for tonight. Go Rune!
15th October	On the horns of a dilemma. For the second Thursday running a "Behind Closed Doors" session has been organised for the boys. This rather throws our plans for getting the place looking spick and span in readiness for ths season's Grand Finale, the second leg of the Elite League Final against the Wolverhampton Wolves.
14th October	The Strange Case of the missing fence panel ... In a mystery worthy of Holmes and Watson, Ian and his colleagues are fsaced with a mystery of epic prorportions whilst the riders of Edinburgh and Newcastle battle each other, the rule book and, by all accounts, the referee. Warning: this blog contains the word "quixotic"!
10th October	Congratulations to the Edinburgh Monarchs on their dramatic victory in the Premier League Play Off Semi Final last night. After 30 heats, 15 at Newcastle and 15 at Armadale, the two teams were locked on 94 points each. Cue a run off featuring 4 riders. Result still tied so another run off with 4 more required and the Monarchs came through with a 4 - 2. Now all they have to do is beat Kings Lynn. Come on you Monarchs!
9th October	Mirth and Misery at Monmore. There was no doubt about it - there was an air of eager anticipation when I picked up my son, Dave, from school and then keyed the Monmore Green details into the Sat Nav.
8th October	Back to normal last week - - overnight rain on Tuesday plus some probable earlier frost had made the track surface very sludgey and horrible. Ian Hawkins brings us up to date with work at Armadale as the season hastens to an end.
7th October	Congratulations to Rune Holta on winning the Czech Golden Helmet meeting in Pardubice at the weekend. Details here.
6th October	Practice makes .... This blog is written in the numbness of Tuesday morning after the bitter disappointments of Monday night at Monmore and covers last Thursday's "Behind Closed Doors" practice session at The Abbey."
4th October	Tales from Terranzano. Blunsdon Blogger, Phil Rice, brings us his account of the latest Bloggers' Tour, this one to see the 2009 Italian GP in Terranzano.
2nd October	More musings from a dry north as Ian and the lads prepare for the first leg of the Premier League Trophy against the favourites for the cup, Kings Lynn Stars, a team looking to add more silverware to the Premier League Championship.
30th September	"Way out (Points) West". Another Monday and another Sky meeting and two very welcome visitors to Blunsdon as BBC Points West come along to give us some valuable air time as we prepare for the second leg of the Play Off Semi Final against Coventry.
25th September	Draw sheets for the Italian Grand Prix on 26th September are available as Excel Spreadsheets or PDF formats. Click here.
24th September	Under Blue Skies. "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness," wrote John Keats in his magnificent "Ode to Autumn" of 1819 and so it was on Thursday.
23rd September	A thing of rare beauty. Another double header at Armadale for Ian and the team to deal with ... and it wasn't raining!

Started in 2006 as a way on keeping Swindon fans up to date with track work over the closed season, the Blunsdon Blog is up and running again after a 5 month break.

From those first few blogs, with readerships counted in terms of 10's, it has increased its readership to a level of 250,000 visitors in 2009.

It has tried to retain its aims: to reflect work done behind the scenes at a speedway track; to avoid reporting actual racing (that's done far better elsewhere), and to entertain.

The Blunsdon Blog ...

will provide you with an insight into the all year round work that goes on behind the scenes at a speedway track near you.

Each week, we'll be updating these pages with the latest developments at the track.

The Blunsdon Blog ...

would like to thank Tattinger Marsh Limited of Cirencester and Marlborough for continuing to allow us to use a small amount of their web space for the Blog.

We would also respectfully point out that the views of contributors to this site and, or the Blog, are definitely not those of the promoters or management of Swindon Speedway.