MURIEL Hutchings is a grandmother, approaching the age of 84.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Monday nights would see her tucked up warm and comfy in front of Coronation Street.

But just how wrong would you be?

The remarkable lady from Reddish Vale will be just down the road watching her beloved Belle Vue Aces when the new season starts in March. Not that there's anything new in that.

Britain's oldest and most famous speedway club celebrates its 80th anniversary this year and Muriel has been there every lap of the way since 1928.

She saw the first fixture at the greyhound stadium on July 28 after being at an unofficial meeting at the Snipe Inn, Audenshaw the year before.

She was also present on March 23, 1929 when the Aces moved to Hyde Road, their home until 1987 when they returned to Kirkmanshulme Lane.

Muriel inherited her love of bikes from her father, Walter Bland, who took her to those historic meetings.

Atmosphere

She recalled: "He wanted to see what speedway was like and took me along. I was only three and a half when we went to the meeting at the Snipe and don't remember it. But I do recall the first Belle Vue meeting at the greyhound stadium.

"It was all so very exciting because of the noise, the bikes and all the people who were there. In those days you were allowed in the pits whenever you liked and I used to go in with dad while he talked to the riders.

"There were no seats. Everyone just stood around and watched. It was all so new and there was such an atmosphere. When Belle Vue moved to Hyde Road in 1929 the excitement of the speedway wasn't all I remember because we used to go into the Zoo Gardens afterwards.

"There was boxing and wrestling, and we'd watch that with the riders before going home. It was great because there were so many people there enjoying a Saturday night out.

"Like many people we used to go to speedway on the bus but dad, who worked at Massey's in Audenshaw, bought a motor bike and put a sidecar on it. Then we went with mum in the sidecar and me sitting behind him on the bike."

Muriel added: "My favourite rider in those early days was Australian Ron Johnson and then came Eric Chitty, a Canadian who rode at Belle Vue during the war. He used to sing to the crowd as well.

"Like my dad, I loved bikes. We used to have camping holidays and I can remember riding his round the site when I was about 12."

Hostilities

Belle Vue ran 176 meetings during the Second World War, the only track to keep going throughout the hostilities.

The club are justifiably proud of the fact they were the track Hitler didn't close and nearly three million people watched those wartime meetings when on-leave servicemen and men with jobs allied to the war effort virtually turned up on the night to race.

The meetings provided welcome nights of excitement for Mancunians in dark days as long as they remembered their gas masks. No gas mask, no entry, was the rule. Muriel was a regular with fiancee Fred, a miller at GEC in Openshaw and member of the Home Guard.

She added: "There wasn't a meeting every week during the war. It wasn't very expensive to get in and sometimes you could get food, a treat in those days. And if you had paid to get into the speedway you could go into the Zoo Park free afterwards.

"I worked throughout the war," she says. "I had a job in a chocolate factory and then went to Metal Box in Clayton as a telephonist, shorthand typist and wages clerk.

"I tried to join the Land Army but they turned me down because I was anaemic. But I've always gone to Belle Vue, except for when I was either ill or on holiday. I used to run Brownies and Girl Guides and sometimes I'd miss the start but I always got down there as soon as possible, still in my uniform.

"One thing I've enjoyed about speedway ever since those early days is that you can meet the riders. I remember talking to Peter Craven and Ove Fundin,who won world titles riding for Belle Vue. We used to go to most of the finals at Wembley. It was terrible when Peter died after a crash."

Muriel and husband Fred, now a sprightly 85, now head a family dynasty of Belle Vue supporters including daughters Laraine and Sharon.

Muriel and Fred are hoping the 80th season will be kinder to the club than last year when they sit down at their reserved table at Kirkmanshulme Lane when the new campaign starts on Good Friday, March 21.