Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past and present

Double Congratulations to Brian & Thelma Denney!

It’s a double congratulation this week to my good friends, Brian and Thelma Denney of Strensall! Firstly, Brian put up another fantastic performance in the 2008 NFC Tarbes Grand National and clocked his blue widowhood cock, ‘Brian’s Blue’, on the day of liberation, flying 748 miles, and recording 1st sect. K, 61st open (4045 birds). This champion pigeon was clocked just after 20.00 hrs on the day and I believe, is the furthest flying pigeon clocked on the day ever in a NFC race. A wonderful performance! To follow his brilliant 2007 NFC Tarbes performance when he recorded several premier positions in the open result, including 1st sect. K, 5th open, Brian has won 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th sect K. (240 birds) in the 2008 race. Well done to you both! I will be visiting the Denney loft in November to get an update on my video, photographs and a new article. Brian has written his own account of the 2008 NFC Tarbes Grand National for the 2009 BHW Stud Book, so make sure you get your copy this winter.

Secondly, congratulation to Brian and Thelma Denney who celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary on 26th July. ‘Mr. Long Distance’ and Thelma were at school together at Yeddington in Yorkshire and started going out together in 1954. Brian went into the forces and he was posted to Malaya for three years, but the couple wrote to each other regularly. After the long period of just writing the young Brian returned and found his love for Thelma was stronger than ever. Six months later he was posted to Germany and after their marriage at Yeddington Village Church on 26th July 1958, Thelma move out to Germany to start her married life with Brian. They stayed at Osnabruck until Brian’s demob from the services in 1961. The couple moved into Strensall in 1962 and they have two daughters, Susan and Lynn, and beautiful grand children, Matthew and Amelia. Our Thelma is a very special lady, with her taking a big interested in Brian’s hobby and being an inspiration to him over the years. What can I say about my ol’ mate, Brian, that I haven’t said before? A great friend and one of our greatest long distance champions of all time, putting up brilliant performance in the major National races every year! Brian and Thelma are two of the nicest people we’ve ever met in our time in pigeon racing and Betty and I would like to congratulate them at this very special time!

London & South East Classic Club “Forum”

2008 Bergerac Classic 

I can remember being at the Pau liberation site with the CSCFC convoyer, Tony Kane, in the early 1990’s and both of us had big transporters there in the South of France, with only about 800 birds on each lorry. I said to him at that time, ‘this is pure madness, we both are only a fraction full and both the classic are running at a loss on the two longest races’. I suggested to Tony that in these days of spiralling costs pigeon organizations be should form a transport amalgamation on the longer events to cut costs. Soon after that the L&SECC and CSCFC formed their present transport arrangement and both have never looked back! The two Classics amalgamate for transportation on the two longest races from Tarbes and Bergerac every season and the financial saving to both organizations is very great. I took the L&SECC, CSCFC and Welsh National birds to Tarbes this year on our lorry and my ol’ mucker, Tony Kane, took no less than nine organizations (4,500 birds) to Bergerac in July, on the CSCFC vehicle. Bergerac is about a 450 miles fly for the fanciers in the London area and because of thunder storms in south west France Tony had to hold over for one day, finally liberating at 05.30 hrs on the Saturday morning. The ‘little Irishman’ did us all proud, with all organizations enjoying a good race and plenty of day birds.        

Brian Goodwin and I dropped off empty baskets at the marking stations the day before marking and I had the great pleasure of meeting up with my long standing friends, Mike and Edna Shepherd, at the Stevenage marking station. Mike is one of my oldest friends in the sport and is my ‘mentor’, being the man who pushed me on with my pigeon articles in the early 1970’s. It’s been a few years since we have met up and it was really nice to see them both! On the Tuesday marking day we left my home in Claygate and we picked up pigeons at South Ockendon, Gravesend and Maidstone, arriving at Leatherhead at 12.10hrs for the final pick up. All the birds were watered at the marking stations. We set off for Salisbury to load our birds on the C.S.C.F.C. transporter at 13.10hrs and arrived at the Livestock Market marking station at 15.55hrs. When we arrived at the Salisbury marking station the place was buzzing and the atmosphere was brilliant! The CSCFC were convoying nine organizations to Bergerac and the place was very busy with fanciers ether marking or transferring pigeons to the Classic’s aluminium race crates. Brian and I unloaded the 1,100 L&SECC birds and the crew at the Salisbury marking station did a brilliant job of re-basketing them, which was very hard work. I must say a ‘well done’ to Martin Norman and his band of workers, who transferred all our birds into the CSCFC baskets. We finished our work and left the Livestock market at 19.25hrs. After parking the transporter in Clive Turner’s yard at Capel, this ol’ boy fell in his front door knacked at 22.30hrs, but had enjoyed a brilliant pigeon day!

Ian Crammond and Nigel Langstaff of Fontwell won the London & South East Classic Club in great style, clocking their three year old Vandenabeele widowhood cock on the day, and recording a 1219 ypm velocity. Ian Crammond is a fancier I have admired since the early days when we both worked on the L&SECC committee together. He is one of the sports gentlemen and has been a wonderful worker for pigeon racing for many years. A great fancier! I visited Ian and Nigel at the Fontwell farm this week and I will be writing a full report on their winning pigeons and lofts in the next week or so. Congratulations to the Crammond & Langstaff partnership on the brilliant Bergerac Classic win!

My assistant for the last old bird race from Bergerac was my good mate, Brian Goodwin, and I must say he has worked out of his skin for the three Classic races he has covered with me this season. The life of a pigeon convoyer is a very hard one and Brian has done a brilliant job as my assistant, in spite of his recent health problems. This was his last race, but says he really enjoyed the experience, especially going to Tarbes. Thanks mate!

 Garry Dye’s Champion ‘Lennie’s Boy’

I think it’s common knowledge that my ol’ mate, Garry Dye of Banstead, owns a fantastic blue chequer pied cock named ‘Lennie’s Boy’, which must rate as one of the best racing cocks in the south of England. The Three Borders Federation’s last race from Bergerac was the hardest race of the 2006 season, with the birds having to fly the 450 mile coarse in a strong North East wind. The Dye loft finished the old bird season as it started it, by winning the Federation, but this time Garry recorded the only bird on the day of liberation in the Federation from Bergerac. Garry recorded this fantastic performance with his champion racer, ‘Lennie’s Boy’, and he also chalked up 3rd open S.M.T. Combine from Bergerac. Garry also won the longest old bird race in the Esher club in 2005 from Bergerac, with his good widowhood blue chequer pied cock, “Lennie's Boy”, and he is mainly bred from the Janssen bloodlines, with his grand sire coming from Johnny Keywood of Hersham. This game pigeon has a wonderful racing record winning: five seconds including, 2nd. club, 2nd. Federation Lulworth and then went on to win 1st. club, 20th. Federation, 46th. open Combine (1,795 birds) Bergerac in 2005. This wonderful pigeon is also the sire of many premier racers including, ‘Young Lenny’, winner of 1st. Three Borders Federation Wincanton (1,563 birds) in the 2006 season. After his Bergerac Federation win in 2006 Champion ‘Lennie’s Boy’ was retired to the stock loft, where he has bred many winners. The 2008 season saw Garry bring the ol’ cock out of retirement, when he was given two training races and then entered in to the L&SECC race from Bergerac. The Dye loft entered 12 pigeons in the Bergerac Classic (450 miles) and recorded six on the day of liberation, and guest what! ‘Lennie’s Boy’ was first bird on the clock to win 17th open. A brilliant pigeon!

Garry Dye won the 2008 L&SECC Tours race clocking his outstanding blue Staf Van Reet widowhood cock, ‘Harry’s Dream’, named after his grandson and tells me he was bred by the late Arthur Jones down from Arthur Beardsmore bloodlines. ‘Harry’s Dream’ has been a brilliant racer, winning 2007: 3rd club, 13th Federation Portland, 2006: 1st club, 3rd Federation Exeter, 1st club, 6th Federation Taunton, 2nd club, 5th Federation Wincanton, 2005: 1st club, 10th Federation Portland, 3rd club, 16th Federation Lulworth. A wonderful pigeon! Garry sent ten birds to the Tours Classic and got nine home on the day. They say, ‘when it’s your day, it’s your day’ and the Dye loft won 1st Three Borders Federation Exeter the same Saturday as he won the classic. His loft was on brilliant form and won the Federation with his yearling blue chequer white flight widowhood cock, ‘Fed Topper’. This game pigeon was Garry’s first bird on the clock from the Alencon Classic two weeks previous and will win a prize in the first 60 open. He is a grandson of Garry Dye’s best pigeon, ‘Lennie’s Boy’. Congratulations to Gary on a brilliant double performance! Three weeks after the Tours Classic Garry won the Three Borders Federation again, this time from Kingsdown and added another premier performance to a wonderful 2008 old bird season. This time he won with his good Staf Van Reet cross blue widowhood cock, ‘Mr. Reliable’, and he has previously won a list of top performances in inland races.

What a week! This week’s article is one big success story. Well done to the Denney’s, Crammond & Langstaff and Garry Dye. Brilliant pigeon racing! Any comments to me on telephone: 01372 463480. See yer!