L&SECC FORUM

with Keith Mott

NORMAN MIDDLETON

OF IVER

The last weekend of May 2001 saw the London & South East Classic Club hold it’s Sennon Cove race, incorporated the annual Yearling Derby, and members entered 1,530 birds for this 250 miles event. More or less from the time we arrived at the grassed car park liberation site, on the cliffs above Sennon Cove, it was fogged out by dense sea mist coming in off the Atlantic and had to hold over until the Tuesday, when I liberated at 08.00hrs in a west wind. I released the convoy into blue sky and sunshine and after forming one big batch, they cleared the site very quickly. I anticipated a brilliant race but, although the velocities were good and constant, the race didn’t really live up to my expectations, with returns being very patchy. A local Sennon pigeon fancier, Peter Lugg, informed me that there are at least 15 pairs of Peregrine Falcons within sight of the Sennon Cove liberation site and, on my return home, several classic fanciers reported getting birds home badly hawked. When I liberated the classic birds on the Tuesday morning, the convoy was in ‘mint’ condition and it was a perfect day for racing pigeons. It makes me wonder if the convoy was attacked and broken up by hungry Peregrine Falcons en rout home.

The weekend after the race I made the 30 miles drive to Iver in Buckinghamshire to visit the winning loft of Norman Middleton Brothers and I must say how impressed I was with the quality of the pigeons in the loft, which were mainly Starview Busschaerts. Norman clocked his winning pigeon, a two year old Busschaert blue chequer hen, to record 1668 ypm and she was raced on Norman’s own roundabout system. He named his champion hen, ‘Miss Camin’, and she is bred from the very best Massarella Starview Busschaert lines, with her sire being Norman’s champion blue chequer cock, ‘Buster’s Pride’. This wonderful champion is now at stock, breeding many winners, after a brilliant racing career, winning 1st. Sect. E. 2nd. open N.F.C. Saintes (beaten by 2ypm) and 1st. open U.B.I. Combine Nantes. Another daughter of ‘Buster’s Pride’, a blue pied sister of ‘Miss Camin’, won 4th. open U.B.I. Combine Liskeard. A brilliant family of pigeons!

Norman’s late brother, ‘Buster’, was an outstanding fancier for over 50 years and started as a lad with a pair of pigeons in a box on the garden shed roof. The young Buster helped and cleaned out the loft of Tubby Bignell of West Drayton and on the starting up racing pigeons, Norman taught Buster how to drive so he could train his birds. Norman has always helped Buster with the pigeons but, in recent years when he became very ill, Norman helped him more and altered the loft to suit Buster’s ill health. When Buster passed away he left a wonderful team of pigeons to Norman in his will, with some money to meet the running costs of the loft, as he wanted it to carry on after he had gone. I must say that Norman has done a brilliant job carrying on with premier positions where Buster left off.

Norman races 40 pairs on the roundabout system but says, it’s not hardcore and calls it his own ‘messabout’ system. The birds are fed twice a day, a seed mixture in the morning and widowhood mixture in the evening, and are given a 50 miles training toss once a week. He races only south road and says at the moment his hens are racing best, although the cocks fly out best on their twice a day exercise sessions around the loft. Norman likes to race middle distance best but says he thinks the Starview Busschaerts can fly Pau (560 miles). Norman’s racers are flown to a self built 40ft. loft with seven sections and drop hole trapping and his 14 pairs of stock birds are housed in two lofts and a wire flight.

Norman’s pride and joy is his champion blue chequer cock, ‘Buster’s Pride’, and he told me that, after a fantastic racing career, he had to retire him to stock because he was damaged by a Sparrowhawk attack. On my visit to the Iver loft, Norman showed me several of his top performers, including his champion four year old chequer pied Busschaert hen, ‘Galazy’, and she had recorded racing on the roundabout: 1st. Sect. D, 1st. open B.B.C. Nantes (2,691 birds) and two weeks later 1st. Sect. E, 5th. open N.F.C. Nantes. A brilliant hen! I should like to say thanks to Norman for making me so welcome on my visit to Iver and also add that his lofts and pigeons were a credit to him and his late brother, ‘Buster’.

MR & MRS RAY PATTON

OF BISHOPS STORTFORD

The first time I went to the Guernsey liberation site, back in the mid 1990’s, Doug Went and I took, what was then a record young bird entry of 1,550 birds. The liberation site is car park next to a large sports field, a five minute drive from the ferry terminal and was one of the best sites I visited. The Guernsey H.S. club house was just up the street from the liberation site and this 100ft. x 40ft. building is owned by the pigeon club. The club, founded in 1898, is the biggest in the Channel Islands, with over 50 members and owns a rose bowl worth over £2,000. The club races North Road with the longest old bird race Fraserburgh (580 miles) and hold an annual Young Bird Combine race from Dorchester with Jersey. The late, great Cyril Lowe, who was a founder member, started up the ownership of the H.Q. for the members, which is now worth a great deal of money. The members race for prize cards and a wonderful array of trophies.

There was several thousands of young birds on Guernsey that Saturday, with the Solent Federation and Central Southern Classic Flying Club being there Guernsey had a blanket of mist over it for nearly three weeks prior to the L.& S.E.C.C. race and pigeon racing off the Island had been near impossible. On our arrival in Guernsey at 06.00hrs on the Saturday, the Island was fogged out. But the forecast said the Saturday would be the best day of the weekend, with the break coming lunch time. Sure enough the mist lifted and the sun came out at mid-day, we cut the strings, liberating at 12,25hrs in a strong south west wind. The convoy cleared the race point really well and within an hour it was a blue sky, sunshine and a crystal clear English Channel. At the home end the youngsters tumbled in and some members had all their birds home on the day

Mr. & Mrs. Ray Patton of Bishops Stortford won the race, flying 208 miles, with a blue Van Loon hen feeding a seven day old youngster. This was the hen’s second race of her life, having her first two weeks previous and recording 1st. club, 1st. West Section Thames N.E. Counties F.C. from Littlehampton. Prior to winning the Guernsey Classic, she was given lots of training tosses from Epping and Redhill. Ray keeps only a few young birds in a small glass fronted young bird loft and says he likes them to pair up as this has produced his best results. In 1996 he won the Golden Ring and this was won with a young cock feeding a youngster.

Ray has been in the sport since 1995 and has won many firsts in sprint / middle distance races. His wife, Denise, is his pigeon partner and he says he would be lost without her help, as she does the training and lots of the work around the loft. The Patton’s race 50 old birds on both Natural and Widowhood, and the whole loft is fed on a quality widowhood mixture. Eight cocks are raced in the inland races on the widowhood system and Ray says several of those birds are Federation toppers. The old birds get three training tosses before the first race and then are flown out around the loft twice a day, with no more training. The main family kept is Janssen, which are outstanding up to 400 miles.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.