Today’s news is obviously going to be awash with stories about financial misreporting or cheating as it’s more commonly known so I realise that we will have to pull out all the stops with a blockbuster edition of #FloodlightFriday this week. Never fear, as we journey North to Ashington and return to the absolute world of wonder that was The Pit Pony Express!

Issue 20 appeared sometime in 2008. We know this because they mark the end of Portland Park on the cover and they include a picture of Miss Bedlington 2008 inside. Now I know this will have you staring at your computer screens in anticipation but 1) All is not as it seems with Miss Bedlington and 2) I’m saving the rest of this fanzine for a future Fanzine of the Day feature (it also includes an article by Mike Amos (@MikeAmosBlog) so you know it’s great).

Ashington had to vacate Portland Park in 2008 as the land was sold so an Asda superstore could be built…for the love of god…Anyway the cover of the fanzine has some “floodlights” on it but they are probably only weak ones as they are from a photo including the dog track which might date from the 40s? (greyhound racing was resident at Portland Park from 1936 through to 1964) Keep an eye on that magnificent grandstand.

Inside is further floodlight news in this potted history of Portland Park. I implore you to read the whole thing, it is a quite amazing tale, kicked out of their old ground because the Co-op were rapacious landlords, a ground named after the Duke of Portland, 10,000+ crowds vs Grimsby, greyhound racing, an oval shaped playing area, record receipts of £656….and this is all before the speedway arrives…for 2 meets only.

It’s the line after this that will surely mean the Man City news is beaten into second place on the news tonight. “Stock car racing came to Portland Park and was the cause of the grandstand burning down after a crash”. Wembley, the Maracana, Parc des Princes, PSHAW, have you ever had a grandstand burnt down because of a stock car crash? No, wind your necks in.

The floodlights? Well it says they came in 1980 so there you have it. The only floodlights EVER installed because of a stock car crash! There isn’t actually a photo of the floodlights anywhere in the fanzine but I found this online.

As if this isn’t enough the author claims Portland Park is “still the most impressive ‘Football Ground’ In the North East today with a large covered terrace and superb clubhouse” I’ll leave you with that thought.