Show of passion 17th February

i am spartacus

It is astonishing the support which has mustered in Ireland.  Can't be there personally but congratulate all who are attending - great effort.

By the apathetic response I assume all you keyboard warriors will not be attending and supporting the cause, such a shame . Still at least you are supporting  the company who does not even give a penny to the sport  via the levy. Good luck to you all hope you are happy to do nothing. I do appreciate this is a free society  so good luck to you all .

see you there snazzy

Thanks hunglikeadinkey ,trying to create a response and get people going . I will be the with the cahill camp.

Its my Birthday that day and i will be going to give my support

BUT....

Whoever is running this show of passion has got it all wrong and jumping the gun.

Bojo Boris at this stage if at all depending on an objection if one is put forward(AFC Wimbledon and Galliard Homes)over Greyhounds hitting the winning line. City hall and Boris at the stage has nothing to do with it.

(1)You target the Local Council for the reason why Greyhounds should be the choice which has yet to be decided.

(2) Then you target the man who will Rubber stamp the go-ahead unless an objection is lodged. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is the man who rubber-stamps the council decision.

(3) Once those 2 are put through the process, it would then take an objection for it to be passed from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles who would then pass it onto The Mayor and city hall to look into the proposed plans further. ( Boris and half of them at City Hall wont even be around by the time if at all its gets to that stage).

Perhaps someone close to this venture can post as to the reasons why Boris and City hall are being targeted when they only are involved as a last resort on an objection being put forward.

Surely The council decision is the first target and Eric Pickles being made aware of the support as he rubber stamps the council decision.

Sorry..It gets my full support for the Greyhound stadium on the 17th but in the back of my mind see it as a pointless exercise. You would have been better of having not say 1000 people at City hall but say 100 people at Eland House,Bressenden Place and a signed petition of support for the stadium put across to Eric Pickles with the other 900 turning up at  Merton Council.

Great reply west four 4 think you should make yourself known to pascal and Dianne on the day and make your point..at least all the important people in the sport will be there  and you can make your extremely valid point to them and I am sure they will act on your points. The more people there and the more input and discussions on the day the better , we can all move foreward .

the organisers missed a trick here , the Monday of Cheltenham week would have seen half of Ireland there

Cheers snazzy, and i will try and speak to the relevant people on the day. I know it sounds like i have all the obvious reasons as to what one should be doing,and i am sure certain people will be more aware of what is happening behind the scenes and what decisions are being taken in the campaign which are the correct way forward. But i cant help thinking that the normal process starts with the local council and ends with Eric Pickles. Unless ? which we have not even got anywhere near and would be years away if it got to that stage. Maybe we should be targeting Tessa Jowel or Sadiq Khan at their homes in advance rather than Boris now (Tongue and cheek )but may me more relevant come the time.

We need to get this through as being a regular person down the Don in the 80's 90's i stopped going due to management and the running of the place. Unfortunately over recent years the contempt for its patrons has got even worse without me being around to witness at first hand but being made aware from others. Many who have also stopped going. Get it running with all people from trainers,handlers,workers and patrons being looked after and it can return to something we all can admire and look forward to in the future. I am sure those involved in the new project will indeed have all these people as the number one point to success and a bright future it should indeed have under the right owners and management it sadly lacks these days.

Of all the tracks we should have save  wombledon would have been 2nd from last ( catford) last to save
Don't understand why we have to save sh1thole
Build a state of art track at great Leigh's  race track 
The  loss of white city  was the start of  end  for us
We must build  something  huge mayb have 6-8 trainers base there with kennels
Think out of the boxs could go just tote betting putting it back in prize money
But to just have a dog track can't see it

If we don't save it what do we have , nothing . No point I in lookink backwards we need to save it full stop or the game is finished in the south. I was at catford from 1974 . I did get disillusioned  with the place  but how I miss catford now. I was only at wimbledon when Seamus was there and have been an owner with him so have been to the Stowe and am now at hove and on open race circuit , but wimbledon just has to be saved. So forget about all the insults about the place ,albeit, correct insults ,and let's all pull together . Great points made on here and with discussions we can get the job done

Noflapbet, the project is not just a dog track

Does anyone else think that we should have a range of tactics ? Surely this would be an effective  approach?  Would a protest or a demonstration be more effective ? A demonstration outside Galliard Homes or Merton Council or the GBGB would put pressure on the people with the power, even if there were 50 at a protest, it's still worth doing because it shows people care  enough about this to take time out of their day to carry signs and chant slogans.  How about some more extreme actions ? Occupying the GBGB or the council offices  for example , and people with ski masks and helmets with padding to avoid being identified.  As long as it doesn’t create a backlash ? Its important the protest doesn’t outweigh the message . Students are best at this , have all the Colleges in Wimbledon been contacted ? There are always large groups of students turning up at Wimbledon. Get them on board . We have to organise ourselves collectively and discuss this range of tactics. For me demonstrations are essential to send the message “WE AINT HAVING IT”  .

The bottom line is one way or another we need to get on the front pages.

good points snazzy and west4.   west4 - you may well be right bout steps in the process, but Boris effectively will say yes or no. He has set is stall out on houses for London, so its important he does not want houses there. The project is about big £'s, so you can bet certain Tory's and their buddies are or will be involved in a Yes or No, with the lobbying that will be going on.  Boris has the ability to jump the gun, and circumvent the process as he did with the Royal Mail owned Mount Pleasant site in Clerkenwell London, where he acted prematurely

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jan/29...

http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/boris_bypasses_islington_council_with...

have a good one lads whoever can make it, am abroad but hope its a real positive day

Westfour 4, the demonstration is being staged at city hall because the question being asked of the Mayor relates to the request for his demonstrative support to the future of greyhound racing as a recreational sport in London. The planning issue is a separate debate undergoing due process but the big question must be asked at the highest level.

I would imagine the plan is for letters to be issued to the Mayor appealing for his support in ensuring London retains a Greyhound Stadium. The principal letter should be written by the We Want Wimbledon group followed by the letters being prepared by the Irish Government along with any other letters, all delivered by hand and boosted with a peaceful show of support from a cross representation of the Greyhound industry.

Once the letters are delivered and the level of support has been witnessed and recorded, everyone can make their way home comfortable in the knowledge that a show of strength can only endorse the nature of the appeal for the Mayors support.

snazzy • February 9, 2014 4:55 PM GMT
By the apathetic response I assume all you keyboard warriors will not be attending and supporting the cause, such a shame . Still at least you are supporting  the company who does not even give a penny to the sport  via the levy. Good luck to you all hope you are happy to do nothing. I do appreciate this is a free society  so good luck to you all .

Clever stuff snazzy.  You follow it up with this,….
So forget about all the insults about the place ,albeit, correct insults ,and let's all pull together
So which is your line snazzy – sniping, insulting possible allies and uninformed criticism or backtracking and then proclaiming the benefits of unity?  Care to enlarge upon that question?  I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that you yourself have never traded here on the exchange which presently contributes nothing to the sport, which of course, will be why you are a member of the forum?!  I’ll also reiterate and say that some of us simply CAN’T attend, for personal reasons.  Some of us care for others, you ( fill in with expletive of your choice ) halfwit, and maybe you should think before you open your big mouth.  As for my support for the event I already have a very welcome written acknowledgement of my support, from Paschal – do you?  Well big mouth?
There are many ways to support the campaign, garnering support from others is one of them.  You want to try it.
Finally, I have one question for you – where were you with your support when my track was facing closure ( or all the others for that matter )?  Playing I’m alright Jack was it?
I hope you all have a successful day, I hope WE all have a successful day.

No response from supermouth snazzy - who authors threads to spout off his own brand of drivel, then abandons them.
Good luck with the weather all who attend this afternoon.
A new code has entered the forum lexicon.
snazzy = halfwit.

how did it go ?

i tried to see if there was a city hall webcam but alas no, hope went well

tbh an update on the RP site would be nice, alas

A good turn out by all accounts into the hundreds ,would imagine the RP mob having a few beers somewhere

brilliant, n1 case

Just heard the same col. Bro was there.

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/7409

i was there today, in fact i was one of the early birds but not before jimmy lollie and his owner, who was the first greyhound i stroked the head of but not the last.....there was no counter demonstration which was helpful and the crowd steadily grew to around 400 - 450 with a real cross section.....young and old.....barney curley did turn up and he was standing and chatting to ginger mcGee directly behind the handing over of the letter......terry dartnel was just behind...a fine trilogy they made......there was many trainers and owners present along with people like myself who were able to just add their support to the cause.......it was well organised and went off to plan with many of the supporters happy just to be asked to do no more than be part of the band....there was a generous round of applause when the letters were handed over and the whole ceremony went off splendidly well....if i had one criticism it would have been nice if some sort of microphone could have been used to allow everyone to hear the discussion following the handing over but that is a very minor point....it was great to see around twenty greyhounds there from champions to companions.........they all received a stroke behind the ear from me......i congratulated the organisers and wandered off around 2.15 and felt the effort demonstrated by those who were able to turn up did achieve the objective of displaying the passion for greyhound racing to remain in London and more specifically wimbledon........Come On Boris...Don't let Greyhound Racing die in London.....not on your watch.....             

I was there with my two retireds. Impressive turn out, imo. Nice to bump into Gail May and her mum with Spiridon Louis, haven't seen them for a couple of years. Graham Box took all his dogs! Tony Taylor took a couple. I would say there were about 30 dogs there all together.
As well as a good Irish contingent, including Ted Hegarty, there were people from all over the country, which was good to see.
I don't know how much, or if any, difference it will make, but personally I was heartened to see the sport united for once.
Well done all concerned.
CT

well done lads and all who attended

yeah good effort everyone, shame that decisions are made based on cash and not passion but that's life

GREAT TURN OUT BOYS


GREAT CRAIC WITH IRISH BOYS


LETS HOPE IT WAS NOT IN VAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!

my only worry is the people who want to buy wimbledon dog stadium for greyhound racing are prepared to pay the market price for the stadium and do not go down the road of offering say 10millon for something thats worth 22million re walthamstow dog stadium

Don't try and appeal to Bumbling Boris better side because the tw at ain't got one remember  his swivel over the Stow anyway
Good luck and respect .

Winja, I thought same as you re the microphone as many people did not know what was going on/what was happening/where to stand etc..But I did see something a couple days ago saying leafletting was not allowed so I wonder whether one of the 'conditions' was no loud PA system etc?  I was a little disappointed with the number of people there, but it was on whole well organized and did show support.

agree Dr. lets hope they focus on value of flats built around the (hopefully) new stadium and offer a sensible price

Heard 500 attended, that's a decent turn out? Would have gone mi sen but was away. I know its mainly a London issue but would deffo attend any rallies closer to Manchester. Worth going national?

Woody you regularly use mi sen instead of myself 

You have referred to your Irish roots before , but clearly you know nothing of the Irish language , the actual translation for myself is  "mo chuid féin" ....

ho hum

if say 3 coaches from Ireland came Woody, say 150 and youve got some people from the North down e.g Drapers and connections came down...do you think 500 is decent turnout?, should more at least from the South turned out? I certainly think so.   Not sure it's a London issue...yes it's about Wdon but all those that came from Ireland, and partic the breeders Dunphys, Bourke, Dowlings etc - they came for the industry rather than Wdon alone, thinking what effect it will have on UK industry if Wdon closes, and how wouldy  detrimentally affect their businesses supplying dogs to UK?

Irish, I thought Polish was the national language down your way now?

No.... we have managed to keep them out    or maybe (and more likely) they came and had a look and didn't like what they saw ! 

Was it on the news over there ? Is it in the papers ?

If so where ? ain't seen anything yet ... was it on sky news .... was rpgtv filming there ?

Ive been home all day with SKY NEWS on and seen nothing, Ive looked a couple of times online today on google but seen nothing except a local rag entry

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/7409

all the RP "journos" were there so I assume they did some filming.

irish, I hear poverty stricken Vietnamese and Papua New Guinea boat people came ...and said the same. and left...but didnt like it here either

Swayne, I know people attended from all over but just saying if local rallies were formed at outposts in various places, going national, I would attend.

Cheers!

We spoke to Paschal Taggart at Clonmel and put forward the idea that we could have a local gathering at Belle Vue and send the video footage to the relevant parties but we just couldn't get anything organised in time, although we haven't completely ruled it out yet.

A couple of people from our syndicate were there and we were getting updates throughout the day on the Belle Vue Owners Forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSfB8_YsETg

10 min interview with Diane Mcclean the WWW leader today on radio talksport/talkradio

Liked your comment in the local rag Swayne.

With a decision on the future of Wimbledon to be made sometime in April I have noticed the poor form of AFC Wimbledon in the last few weeks. With only one win in their last seven games they now are only two points above relegation. They could effectively be a non league club by April. Would building a 20,000 stadium for such a club be economically viable?

Hope the slags get relegated.

whats next ?