Keith Mott

L.& S.E.C.C. Alencon Race

Well, a couple of weekends ago I had my first race back in my old job as Chief Convoyer of the London & South East Classic Club, when Spencer and I, took 1783 birds to Alencon in France. The Classic is famous locally for it’s shortest race, as it is one of very few organizations, who race marks on a Friday for a Saturday race out of France. It’s great that the birds only have one night in the basket, but it is very hard work achieving it! Too get the birds to the race point on time we have to take the shortest Channel crossing, Dover to Calais, and this means a hell of a lot of driving. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not moaning! If I didn’t enjoy the pressure, I wouldn’t do the job. The Classic’s great transport was purchased of Catterells of Blackpool when they went out of the pigeon transport business a couple of seasons ago and it is the 7.5 ton DAF we used for most my previous time as Convoyer of the club. In fact I spent so many hours sitting in the passenger seat, if you look closely, you can see the imprint of  my bum on it! Ha! Ha! It was a bit sad the first time I got in it to drive out of Clive Turner’s yard, as I remembered the great times I had convoying in the early 2000’s, with my good friend and Catterells driver, Gary Haslem.

The Ferry sailed from Dover at 19.35hrs. on the Friday and we arrived in Calais at 21.05hrs. We had a good 240 miles run through France and arrived at the Alencon car park liberation site at 03.40hrs. We managed to get about an hours sleep and watered the convoy at first light. We awoke to 100% high, thin cloud cover, but this cleared very quickly to revile a blue sky and sunshine. I telephoned my race advisor, Steve Appleby, at 07.00hrs. and he gave me a first class weather report for the English Channel and mainland England, with the main factors being sunshine and Westerly winds. Weather conditions were perfect at Alencon so I liberated the 1,783 birds at 07.45hrs. in a very light North West wind and the convoy cleared the site instantly. With excellent conditions on the day, I anticipated a very good race. On our return home from Alencon I had several phone calls telling me the race was a great success, with good returns and the winning pigeons making mid 1500’s.  I would like to say a special ‘thanks’ to my assistant convoyer, Spencer Noble, who went to France for the first time with the pigeons. His driving was excellent and I must congratulate him on his general good attitude with the pigeons and the club’s transporter. You might ask, ‘why do I subject my self to this sort of physical battering?’ Well, I think the answer to that is, I love France and I get a real sense of satisfaction from producing good races for the Classic members.

I would like to dedicate the Alencon race to a 19 year old lad, named Daniel Breeds of Claygate, who died the weekend of the Classic race. This tragic bad news will shock a lot of fanciers in the sport, as Danny was my shadow when he was a bit younger and came with me to many pigeon occasions, including the B.H.W. Blackpool Show. He was a great lad and loved his Carp fishing and pigeon racing. He will be greatly missed!  

Norman Middleton of Iver

This week I would like to do a tribute to the premier fancier and past winner of the London & South East Classic Club who passedaway a few months ago. The great 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 was 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 was 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 had done a brilliant job carrying on with premier positions where Buster left off.

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

Norman’s pride and joy was 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! Norman’s lofts and pigeons were a credit to him and his late brother, ‘Buster’.

Well that it for this week! When you are reading this article, I will be on my way to Tours in France with L.& S.E.C.C. birds for our second race of the 2007 season. All the very best to our members this weekend and I hope you get a good un’! I can be contacted on Telephone number: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.

12/6/07