National Flying Club

The Premier Pigeon Racing & Breeding Stud Guernsey National

  By Les J. Parkinson & Cameron Stansfield of www.elimarpigeons.com

It was certainly nice to see the National FC across the channel for their annual young bird and old hens race after being restricted earlier in the season. The entries were good with approximately 5339 young birds and 1233 old hens.

Sponsors for the combined races are The Premier Pigeon Racing & Breeding Stud, Twyford Farm Supplies sponsor section D and Polstead Lofts sponsor section H.

1st section E 1st open in the young bird Guernsey National is Roger Lowe who has the best record in the young bird National from 2002 to 2006. On this occasion the winner is a light blue chequer hen having her first race now being called "Little Diamond" and yes you did read it correct this is the first race of the season for this youngster. The breeding is pure De Klak bred by Neville Spracklen of the successful Spracklen & Thomas Partnership from Dorchester. The dam was bred by Roger himself from two direct De Klak's i.e. Adam + Eve. The sire was bred at the magnificent Green Field Stud Holland of the Eijerkamp Family of the Ponderosa the lines being those of the very good Bartole. Roger sent 30 hens having a very creditable 25 on the day and all were darkened having their first race of the season. There is nothing fancy about the feeding methods as they are simply fed on Versele-Laga. It has been a lifetime ambition to win the NFC, which now means that Roger has achieved his goal of winning three National clubs. Main strains of birds kept are Hartogs; DeKlak; Conimix Zoontjens and Lou Wouter. Thanks to Ron Crook for going along to see Roger and collecting the information and photos.

Roger Lowe

1st sec A Crammond & Langstaff are a well known and established partnership on the National scene and are adding another top performance to their excellent list. The winner of section A is a blue Kees Boshua x Peter Van Osch cock sent driving his hen and is bred out of the race team. The sire is probably the best racing cock at these lofts and is bred fro two direct Boshua pigeons being from a son of Kleine Figo x Witkopje, this pair being responsible for 1st open 120,000 birds and a daughter of Chico x daughter of Figo. This pair are breeding winner after winner at these lofts with one uncle to the section winner being 1st section G in the BBC this year from Poitiers. Another was 1st Solent fed from Yelverton 2445 birds. This very good result follows on from the previous week when they were 7 th open in the RPRA one-loft race collecting £2,000. This is the second consecutive year of winning the section in the young bird National but that was nearly not the case this year because this pigeon sat on the trap for 6mins before entering the loft, we all have bad traps at some time or another.

Ian Crammond & Nigel Langstaff

1st sec B goes to the popular Wearn Bros with their section winner being a Vandenabeele from their direct M&D Evans pigeons. This was a good race because they came very well and the first 5 pigeons were Vandenabeele's from that source. Jimmy clocked 9 pigeons and all should feature in the 1st 20 of the section, which is a good achievement in itself. The youngsters are raced to the perch and are not darkness young birds. There are no cutting corners because all young birds are fed as much as the want with the future in mind.

Jimmy Wearn

1st sec C goes to Mike Staddon of Perrott Lofts with a Blue Bar Cock and is in front by 193ypm. They are raced on the darkness system being darkened from the spring equinox until the 1st of June 9/10 weeks. The sire blue bred by Sheldon Leonard of Eire Hofkens while the dam is a dark check bred by Mike from his National family. This was a good race with mike also probable 2nd Sect C with a blue pied hen again raced on darkness system as above. The sire was bred by Andre Roodhooft being a son of 1st National for Andre with the dam being bred by Sheldon Leonard selected by Sheldon to pair to above cock a pairing that ahs proven a good choice because they have produced many winners. This win is the 24th time of winning 1st Sect C NFC a record Mike is very proud of and possibly a record in the NFC thanks to his great friend Sheldon Leonard without his help this win wouldn't have been possible.

Mike Staddon and the number one worker

Andrew & Denise Hodge of Collompton are probable 1st 2nd & 3rd Section D flying the 102 miles from Guernsey first into the loft at 10.34 was a chequer Van Loon cock who is the full brother to the partners 2nd open NFC St Nazaire 21st Open St Malo and 1st section Saintes winners last year. Second in the clock at 10.35 was a blue Van Loon cock followed at 10.40 by a chequer pied Van Loon hen.   Both the 2nd & 3rd pigeons were closely related to a chequer pied cock purchased from local fancier John Packer of Tiverton and this pigeon is the sire and grand-sire of many club winning pigeons. The section winner is affectionately known at home as Mr Homebase the reason being that he and his hen nest in the garage in a homebase shopping basket and only return to the loft as and when it suits them.   The sire & dam of the latest section D winner have now bred 3 individual section winners and 2nd open St Nazaire NFC in the last two years what a good pairing. The young birds are fed on 50% breed & wean and 50% versele-laga super widowhood with homoform and matrix added and cider vinegar added to the water 4 times a week. Andrew & Denise would like to make special mention and thanks to Nobby & Mike Henley for the training given to the birds from the Isle of Wight with the Devon & Cornwall CFC and they feel this makes all the difference to their successes.

Sire & Dam of Andrew & Denise Hodge's YB section winner

1st sec F sees Paul Kenny with another section win this year this winner being the same Van Triest Janssen bred from stock birds left to him by his good friend the late Mark Kidby. Most of Paul's birds are based around Mark's Van Triest family and he has appreciated these birds because they have flown well. Paul his wife Esther and children James Aidan and Lauren live in a village 4miles outside Wantage. Esther does all the training while Paul and his silent partner Ven Segesdy who Paul says is not so silent deals with the loft chores so they have a good team who work the system together. The birds are fed on Gerry Plus and Homoform with Ad-herb and Nutravit put on the corn. Paul's best result so far this season is 1st Section open from Cholet with the C.S.C.F.C. and 10th open Falaise (Saran) in the B.I.C.C. The team do concentrates more on Nationals and Classic races, which is where they get more satisfaction, and with the results that are coming they way they are more than pleased. The only training toses that this double section winner had since the last race after the 7days indoors were from the coast. Paul has been a member of Wantage and District PFC since 1985 and would like to thank all members of the marking station at Grove for all their hard work.

Paul Kenny and family

1st sec G is none other than our resident winner Brian Sheppard. Sire is a 1st section Pau/Saintes National and comes from the old family that have done so well for Brian. The dam's mother is Brian's double 1st section winner and is also from the old family. The dam was actually bred by Brian Long while he had the pigeon on loan and was paired to one of Stan Biss's top pigeons a merit diploma winner. This was Brian's third pigeon out of the BICC Guernsey race and has flown all the race points down the leg as it is known. Brian must be one of the top section winner's in the National over many years and is well known for being the first to be 1st International and nearly did it again the following year. Brian had a good race and was pleased with the returns on what for some was a difficult day in fact at the time of talking to Brian he was 90yds in front of the next section pigeon but as we all know things can change.

Brian Sheppard

1st sec H goes to David Beech with another section win at National level for the season it appears that those in form this year are keeping it up. This is with a Jim Magee chequer hen from the Loius Van Rijn stock and was sent paired. David was telling me that this hen has always been consistent and she was purchased Thames North & Eastern Counties fed sale for £12. David will no doubt be looking at the rest of the birds from the sale because there are some good prizes to be won. The feeding is mainly Bamfords super young bird mix plus Gem products with Gemthrapax and Strike. They also get clean grit every day. This is the first season that David has been racing the pigeons south as he has been a long time north road fancier. The first thing that he noticed was that he has lost more pigeons from the south. The reason being that in his opinion the birds have to think more racing from the south because they are flying to a much bigger area. The old bird team consists of 14 cocks with the hens not being raced top date but he does intend to race them next season. Started the season with 20 young birds and still has 14 with two going to this race and returning in good time. David was saying that he works hard with the pigeons and is a very dedicated pigeon fancier who loves the pigeons. He does admit that at times they are hard work but it is all worth it at the end of the day. David would like to thank Jim Magee of Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire for the help and pigeons he was helped with.

David Beech

The Midlands is a hive of activity with pigeon and pigeon fanciers so the competition is always good and this is very often reflected in the National results. In this race 1st sec I goes to the ever-present C Leadbeater & Sons with a double granddaughter of their Saintes winner and comes from the Marc Polen lines in fact the first two are off the same pair. Sire won 3 rd open MNN Saintes, 11 th open MCC Saintes and was well up in the Cholet NFC race this year so is a real good cock while the dam has always been stock. The sire also bred 2 nd open MNFC Gold Ring race plus others so is now going into the stock loft. Brian was saying that he kept him racing because he was in line for the Gold Wing award but they were brought back to this country. This entry went to the Cosworth stud race earlier in the week and then basketed for Guernsey. The returns were a bit slow but are expected to turn up on a day when there were spasmodic returns all round.

Graham Jones finishes 1st section J with Houban that originated from Graham Calvert of Morpath. These were brought in many years ago and have done well ever since. Graham was saying that they are also crossing well. This blue cock was sent on 4-day eggs and the hen was also sent with thought s that she would be the first to arrive but that was not the case as she came later with 3 out of 5 returns when information was gathered. Graham likes to race the Nationals and was in the top twenty in the open only sending one. This blue cock was bred early and was on his 5 th flight but did have a near full wing. They are fed on Verselel Laga breeding mixed with depurative with Aviform in the water and also treats for the usual things such as canker. They are very often trained from Weston Super Mare because Grahams daughter lives there so when visits are made the pigeons go as well. Graham was saying that he was a bit surprised because he expected them earlier but as he said you can never tell with young birds. The sire was 1st section 4 th open in the yearling race with the MNFC Alencon.

The top spot in section K goers to Stuckey, Whiting & Brears who saw home a Blue hen from the G.Lookx stock. The lines are from the famous "Pantini" a winner of 1st National Bourges. The partnership had a full brother when they brought these pigeons in three years ago and although no longer with them he has left a good winning line. The hen was reared on the darkness and with this win has won her last three races. The pigeons were initially flown in the back garden but due to neighbour trouble were moved onto the allotments. The feeding is basically Gerry Plus but twice each week Versele-Laga Super widowhood is added to the daily feed. The only other thing used is Johnsons Tonic but nothing else. The loft has had a bit of a mixed season that started with two wins but then due to hospitalisation the performances dipped but then came back for the young bird season where they have won all but one race to date.

Brandon & Culshaw are well known for their consistent performances at all levels and it is never a surprise when such fanciers win1st sec L. I had a good talk to Barnie who was telling me that he was always told to just concentrate on the section and eventually when it's your turn the open will come when the conditions suit the area. This winner is a Soontjen whose sire was 2 nd Lancs Nantes with the grand sire being a winner of 14 x 1sts and probably the best they have had and has now been retired the second pigeon was also off this cock. The Soontjens come from Gary Leigh of Hyde who has flown a fantastic pigeon in the staffs & Moorlands. When Gary split in his partnership this partnership bought the stock team that are now producing winners. There is going to be a change shortly because John is joining the team that will then be Brandon, Culshaw, Brandon they had hoped to change it this year but with the paperwork mid season the decided to leave it. Barnie was saying that John is the one who is really buzzing with the pigeons with Barnie going on to say that the excellent young bird team are partly down to his hard work and enthusiasm. The team are very good and have probably won about 50 x 1sts again this season so are no strangers to the winners enclosure. Barnie was also saying that they all work full time and get up early in the morning to make sure that they get the best out of the pigeons. So the youthful enthusiasm of John will make life a bit easier at the lofts.

Brandon & Culshaw with new member John in the middle

National Flying Club Old Hens National

In the Old Hens National C Allwright & Son and this National win is the third for the C Allwright & Son partnership. They won the Young Bird National from Pontorson in 1998 and the Young Bird National from Falaise in 2003. This race is extra special for the partnership Ced lost his wife (Vera Allwright) and the partnership put up a trophy for the first bird into Kent on this race, in remembrance of her. Winning this trophy is a bittersweet moment for the partnership. "Vera" is a blue chequer hen, compact with a standard racing eye. She is a yearling - a 2006 hen, and was flown to Yelverton with the London Classic Club. She was the 1st bird to the loft as a yearling from Tours, BICC. The sire, our best racing cock called "Rumpy", was bred by Gary Rump in Bexleyheath, a De Klak x Scholemer. He has had five x 1st , four x 2 nd and won numerous pools at club level. The dam is a Jim Biss & Waite bloodline, crossed with one of our cock birds, "Bay of Biscay". (That is a story in itself!!) Vera was trained privately - with numerous thirty-mile training tosses, NW of our loft. For Guernsey, she was flown to the loft and had been sitting on eggs due to hatch. All the pigeons are fed on high quality corn (Versele-laga), Best all Round. Very little additives are used in the water, only vitamins once a week. She had two or three club races, and was flown with the BICC up to Tours in 2007. After the old bird racing, she was kept in training for the Old Hen National race. We shall leave the last word to the senior member. "She was like a little dot in the sky, racing to home. She trapped well. She came like a winner" Clive Allwright

Ced Allwright & Son Clive

The 1st Section A winner is Dave Bridger of East Preston with a yearling blue chequer hen now named 'Lucky Lady'. She arrived at the same time as the young birds returning from the club race and was only spotted by chance at the drinker in the old bird section before immediately returning to her nest box. This hen is bred out of a Janssen x Luc Van Coppenolle pairing something Dave has been doing over the last couple of years with some great success. The sire of the hen is a son of a cock purchased from the very first RPRA One Loft Race Auction and has been paired with Janssen's primarily of the James Bond & Marilyn lines obtained from Tony & Mary at the Ponderosa Stud.  The Dam is a Coppennolle obtained direct from Dave Hazel before he emigrated to France. 'Lucky Lady' was only lightly raced prior to the National, as she had been a widowhood hen early in the season before being re-paired and got ready for Bergerac, which of course was cancelled. As a result she went to Truro and then prior to the Guernsey National was trained regularly from 25 miles and sent with her eggs chipping. Dave has recently retired and therefore has more time for the birds, this is the first NFC race entered for some years, not a bad start.

1 st sec B the ever-present partnership of Moody & Mitchell continues to be one of the dominant teams in National racing. Their first pigeon clocked is a Janssen, which was given to them as a youngster from my brother, Ian Mitchell. This hen has been very consistent for us in Nationals, Classics and BICC taking cards from all three clubs at different distances. This hen has also won at club level, winning first club and other positions in the Solent fed. The team clocked four pigeons in and they had 11out of the 12 on the day and according to times they will possibly be second section as well. There is a good help here because thanks must go to daughter Osha for calling the birds in whilst they are returning from training tosses.

Moody & Mitchell are very lucky to have young Osha to help out

1 st Section C Old hens is John & Dave Staddon of Merriott, Somerset, to collect their 3 rd 1st section win of the season. As stated in previous reports John has one the section many many times in his previous partnership Staddon Bros, whilst also topping the open twice. However this is the partners second NFC section win this old bird season after having previously been 1st section Cholet. This latest triumph caps a fantastic old bird season for John and Dave. They've been 2 nd Section 2 nd Open BICC Falaise National with a further 8 pigeons in the first 100 open, then 1st Section 17 th Open NFC Cholet, Then 1st & 3 rd Section 2 nd & 18 th Pau BICC National, 2 nd Section 125 th Open Tarbes NFC (with a yearling) and now 1st section provisional 46 th Open Guernsey NFC. This winner is a nest mate of the 2 nd section Tarbes hen "Dream Girl". She has now been named "Dream Machine". The sire is "Gladiator" who was bred by Jos Thone, he is a son of Maximus 1st National Limoges 16,945 birds. Maximus is also known as The Cerafin. On the dam side is from the De Narbonne 1st National Narbonne when paired to a daughter of 1st National Limoges 23,550 birds. The dam of Dream Machine is "Joes Dream" a hen bred by Joe Raeburn of Melksham. She is one of four latebreds bought from Joe in 2004, after the racing season. She comes from Joes NFC Grand National winning family and down from his champion national winning hen "Gwen". Dream Machine was sent sitting a 5 day old baby. The partners also managed to clock provisional 4 th section C young birds with a pure Jos Thone hen.

David & John Staddon

1 st sec D saw Andrew & Denise Hodge complete a memorable weekend by not only taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd Section young birds but have also taken 1st Section Old Hens with another Van Loon. It was decided to send this old hen after she had been in the young bird loft and was used on training sessions with them. As she had done the mileage she was sent to Chale with the Devon & Cornwall CFC and duly took 1st place, which shows that this is the premier local club to prepare your birds for the National races. Winning the Old Hen Section has taken the National tally of this loft to 5 x 1st sections as well as 2nd section 2nd Open NFC St Nazaire over the last two seasons. All the birds came back in excellent condition, which is a great testament to the new transporter and convoyers. They would also like to thank our fellow club members at Tiverton for making their club racing so enjoyable and also to those at the Honiton Clock Station for making everything run smoothly.

Andrew & Denise Hodge's old hens section winner

1st sec F goes to Peter Campbell from Basingstoke after moving down from Carlisle in 2001 specially to fly in the National and Classic races because having tried to race in this type of competition from Carlisle. Peter found it too difficult geographically to compete on a level playing field (Nantes being 531 miles). He purchased Silvere Toyes from Louella in 2002 that were kits of 10 and from the start these birds began to win positions at club and fed level and have scored regularly since. The no1 stock pair came from this first batch of pigeons and have bred prize-winners in every nest since. The probable 1st and 2nd section winners are both yearling hens and are sisters both being off the no1 stock pair and are Silvere Toyes. They were both sent sitting 14 day eggs and for the last three days prior to basketing another egg was slipped under them making a total of 5 eggs on the morning of basketing. The winner has won 2nd club 44th Solent fed Messac this season and minor club cards as a yb. The second bird won 1st club 27 th Solent fed Cholet this season and has also gained many minor club tickets both as a yb and again this season. The first bird is dam to 82nd open BICC Guernsey yb and the second bird is a dam to a yb that will gain a decent position in the CSCFC Guernsey race the week previous.

Peter Campbell's section winner

Ex president Bill Harris had a good race when he clocked at 11:50 recording a velocity of 1162 ypm winning probable 1st Section "G". The Blue Bar yearling hen was bred by Matt Rakes of Bristol and is named "Ruby" after Matt's eldest daughter. The hen had been paired in January rearing a pair of youngsters then separated and raced on the roundabout method. Bill was getting her ready for the NFC Saintes race but due to the DEFRA restrictions this had to be put on hold. All Bill's yearlings were being geared up for the Saintes race and the older hen's were going to The Tarbes International with The Forest of Dean Social Circle of which Bill is Chairman. This was the first time this club were sending to the International and all of the Social Circle members were absolutely distraught when DEFRA's restrictions were imposed. Bill sent 13 to this old hen's race and got 12 home on the day. The early birds were all in good condition and several later ones knew they had flown. This will have given them good experience for the future. The Blakeney Club had a young bird race on the same day as The NFC Guernsey National, transported by The Hereford and South Shropshire Fed. This race was from Frome and Bill won first and second club. The winner a Blue Bar cock was a son of the NFC Section winner. Bill would like to congratulate fellow Blakeney club mate Graham James on winning 3rd Section "G" also the hardworking John Rake (of the J & A Rake partnership) of the Caerwent club who sets the NFC clocks and won 5th Section "G".

It's a good life for Bill Harris

1 st sec H is won by Clayton Oxborough who has been racing pigeons at his present address for six years, before this he raced in partnership with his father and brother. The hen (which is now called Ruby) clocked first was sitting on a five day old young bird. The bloodlines were Romain Legeist of Alan Nortons stock. In preparation for the race the hens had been flown on widowhood with a few inland races and two East of England races. Then they were paired five weeks before the National and given three Eastbourne's a distance of 140 miles with the Norfolk and Suffolk via Dick Utting, thanks, then trained three times a week to 45 miles. Clayton had a superb race having twelve pigeons in the first hour. The pigeons were fed on Gerryplus and Energyplus with Naturline three times a week. Clayton has been racing with the Nationals for five years and this is his first section win with which he is extremely delighted. Before the race his good friend Keith Harris who helps with the birds said this was the best condition the birds had been in, and he turned out to be right. Clayton would like to thank all the members of Browston Hall Flying Club and Gorleston Station Flying Club especially Bobby Hodgers, Ronnie O`Malley and Richard Beaumont for all their help.

Clayton Oxborough

Another regular in these results are Mr & Mrs Jeremy Wright are once again 1st section I. The hen that won section I in the 2007 Guensey Old hens race is a yearling grizzle hen. She is of 100% Frank Tasker original being a grand daughter of his famous 'Filmstar'. She flew Tours with the Midland National and was prepared for the Guensey race on a four-day-old youngster. I think I am right in saying that this partnership won the old hens race in 2002 and have won the section in the old hens race since then.

There are a few fanciers who are consistently at the top of the result and the partnership of Mr & Mrs Geoff Kirkland are without doubt as good as they get. I asked Geoff how many section winners he has had in the Nationals and he said he had given up when he got to 20 but thinks that the total is nearer 30 and there are 10 x 1sts National so a record that would be hard to beat. This latest winner is a blue yearling hen who was the second bird back from Chale last year but this hen was in the top handful of the section winners in that race. She is from the Engles cross with the dam being a daughter of 1st National Falaise with the BICC. The sire is the cock that bred the Bass Yearling Classic winner so this is a very well bred hen. This is the first time that Geoff has ever sent to the old hens National but he was saying that this was a fairly difficult race at this distance. Geoff was also pleased with his young bird team on the day because for a change the cocks were the better team so a good sign for the future widowhood team. Its always a pleasure to speak to Geoff because he is so down to earth and doesn't really let too much bother him, he takes everything in his stride and that will no doubt reflect on the pigeons when he is in the loft.

Geoff Kirkland

1 st sec K sees a win for the partnership of Mr & Mrs Steve Sutton with a pencil blue John Palmer Busschaert hen that won twice as a young bird and as a yearling was 3 rd beaten by loft mate at 400mls. The sire is also a good pigeon having won from Saintes twice and Rennes while the dam is from the best old distance lines at the lofts. The feed is a light mix of Diet 2000 and Gerry Plus with Super widowhood Plus, nothing else special at this loft. The partnership started the season to race 10 hens and 22 cocks with 18 still at home, it is always hoped to get the yearlings to 500mls. This is the first time that they have joined the National and it was specifically to have a go at the old hens race so the agenda was set with the result achieved. They were well pleased with the result but disappointed that 2 good hens failed on the day.

Steve Sutton

The section L winner and on vels probably the first three in the section is Roger Sutton who on information received looks like taking the first three positions. Roger was telling me that these are all last years' young birds that were left in the same section with this race in mind. They were raced flying odd and paired to rear young birds during the early part of the young bird-racing season and then they were back down on eggs for this race. Roger is probably as consistent as anyone in section L with the National having had a long list of top ten positions to his credit. The section winner is out of a Van de Weyer/Kellons chequer cock winner of many prizes including 1st Wincanton, 1st Mangotsfield plus seconds and thirds. The dam is from the distance family being a winner of prizes and a sister to the dam of the double section winner. She is out of "Bluestar" a top racer when paired to "The Robertson Hen". Roger then clocked a chequer hen again from the distance family crossed with the Van de Weyer lines and as with most of the pigeons housed a line of performance pigeons. 3 rd sect will be a Taveirne-Rigole Blue hen out of the Miss La Souterraine line.

Roger Sutton with visitors at his lofts

Les J.Parkinson. Elimar, 11 Rushton Drive, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 ONJ. Tel/Fax; 01606 836036. Mobile 07871 701585 les.Parkinson@btinternet.com Elimar.pigeons@btinternet.com web-site www.elimarpigeons.com

CONVOYER'S REPORT GUERNSEY RACE 01/09/07

All birds fed and watered at marking stations. There were a few hiccups on Thursday 30/08/07 and a long delay on the M25 which meant we arrived at Portsmouth docks very late. When we got there the birds were watered immediately.

We loaded on the ferry at 0915hours on Friday 31/08/07, arriving in Guernsey at 1600hours where we picked up our police escort that took us to the lib site, arriving at 1620hours and the birds were fed and watered immediately and left to settle for the night.

Saturday 01/09/07

Up and about at 0600hours and the birds were checked and water topped up. The weather at that time was full cloud cover. I spoke to the race adviser at 0625hours and told him of the situation onsite and told him to call back in one hour.

At the lib site I spoke with Albert Harley and he said we had a clear channel for twenty miles plus and the weather might break giving us a clear window for a liberation at 0655hours. The cloud cover was lifting and brighter weather moving in from the west.

The race adviser called at 0720hours and told me weather was okay at the home end and I said I would call him back later.

At 0725hours the weather was bright with a few broken clouds and sun breaking through so I then decided to liberate and at 0745hours the birds were away into a northwest wind. The birds broke into three batches, one clearing immediately then the other two followed shortly after. A short while later a small batch did return and hung around for a while before clearing.

I would like to say thank you to my assistants Paul and Ian and not forgetting international Ken, who was also with us on this trip, for all the hard work and cooperation. Well done, lads.

CONVOYER'S  COMMENTS

Well that’s another national season over; my first as chief convoyer. I’ve been working with a great team in Paul Bakewell, Ian Anderson and the rest of the PJ Haulage staff. Nothing has been too much trouble for these guys; they just cooperate fully and get on with the job, which makes my job so much easier.

Also thanks to Brian Long for his line of flight forecasting which has been brilliant, leaving me to decide when to liberate. Not forgetting all the other people that I phoned in England which I regularly do for weather situations in their area. And I owe a big thank you to the marking station I/Cs for getting the transporters away so promptly.

The transporters in my opinion are the best I have worked on, with all the teething troubles sorted out and with the new bottoms in the crates the birds are comfortable and arrive home in first class condition. At least this is what I am told so I can only go on hearsay.  

When in France we always get a lot of French fanciers coming to look at the transporters and while we were at Tarbes one guy was there for about six hours just walking around the transporter and watching us feed and water the birds. He asked if he could go inside so I took him in and he was amazed at how cool it was. He also remarked that there was no smell and commented on the mesh bottoms in the crates. He said it was the best he’d ever seen.

All that remains for me now is to say a very sincere thank you to all the people concerned for a brilliant season.

Yours in sport                                                

Geoff Allen,  Chief convoyer NFC