Derek & Marjorie Woodward

by Les Parkinson

Derek & Marjorie

A name that has now become prominent to pigeon fanciers around the UK with many wins from club to combine level. The North West is where Derek is based and races his pigeons with the help of wife Marjorie who keeps the young birds at bay. Between 25 & 35 firsts go the way of these lofts on an annual basis and there doesn’t look like it is going to change in the near future. Derek was a late starter to pigeon racing because his first taste of working with them was when he was 56yrs old so was no new starter to the game. That makes it about 13yrs during which time he has made fanciers sit up and take notice that even though a late starter he is the one to beat. So why did he take to pigeons, the family had been in the horse game and son Paul had just won the BSJ National in show jumping and had decided that he was not going to carry on in that particular sport. By this time Paul was 16yrs old and wanted to start work in the family building business so joined Derek and left the horses behind. This left a hole in Derek’s life because he had spent so much time with Paul and his horses. Let’s go back a bit because although Derek never had any interest in pigeons his father did have them. Then when his father became ill Derek and Marjorie started to look after them at his father’s home and that started with a story from the outset. In the early days of looking after them Derek took his jack russell along and not thinking the dog shot straight into the lofts and killed two birds before they could move. Panic stations set in and it was a big hurry to bury them and not let dad know. As it happened that did not matter because his father never made it to the pigeon lofts again. So not knowing what to do with the pigeons Derek and Marjorie decided to take them home and in no time at all there was a loft up and the birds moved. Those first pigeons were mainly Busschaerts plus the odd pigeon from here and there but nothing that was making the results that Derek had now set his mind on.

Derek's loft

I will mention Marjorie throughout this report because this is what Derek had to say on his wife and the pigeons. “I do have a partner who helps with the cleaning of the lofts, also gets them in from training on race days, she is the loft manager the pigeons friend my wife Marjorie. And yes there is a big advantage another pair of hands halves the workload also you tend to discuss things concerning the pigeons making it more interesting. Another advantage is when the young birds land on the roof on race days I become impatient Marjorie remains calm and tells me to go away and she calls them in with great success” Not only has Derek and Marjorie taken to racing the pigeons but they are also good workers on the official side where Derek has been the secretary of Rudheath WMC for 20yrs. To keep his interest in all the clubs he races in he is also the chairman of Lymm FC and President of NWCC and does like to take an active part. This is where Marjorie comes into her own on the official side she does a lot of the paperwork for Derek and keeps everything on that side in order. Derek is a successful fancier and was saying that there are far too many leaving the sport and to encourage fanciers to either join or stay in the sport there are limits on the two clubs that he races with on a weekly bases. At the two clubs he races with there are limits, is the Rudheath WMFC they have a two bird clocking limit while in the Lymm FC it’s a four bird limit and both work well. But for the long distance races Derek does think that a bird which has flown 400mile plus should go in the clock on merit. I have said Derek is a forward thinking fancier and was saying that the days of the whippet and cloth cap brigade have long gone and we are in the 21st century. Derek added we have to move with the times and attract younger people into the sport who are computer minded and Derek did add not like his in his mid 70’s.

Inside the widowhood hens section

This is by no means a professional pigeon fancier and he does not sell my pigeons to make a living both Derek and Marjorie enjoy the sport and the competition it brings. They also like moots where fanciers can go and listen to the experts they do believe the panels are a good thing and anyone new to the sport can learn a lot from a good selected panel. Anyway lets get back to the racing side and to the point where not wanting to be an also ran Derek went looking for pigeons and the saviours were to be the Frank Faulkner Wildersmeerch family that were winning well in the UK at that time and are still doing for many fanciers. These pigeons started steady but improved as Derek started to get used to them and find a system that suited both the birds and himself. This was only a small team of 12 that were only raced inland and they won a handful of open races that made people start to look at this new starter to the sport. Derek’s dad was more of a pigeon lover than a racer and never really won took too much and did not have the competitive streak that is required to win races. Derek was saying that he was more of a pigeon keeper and lover than a racer. I wonder if the locals at the time thought Derek was going to follow the same line if they did they were mistaken. In his first years racing Derek won a couple of races plus a few other cards and as has been the case ever since Marjorie was there helping out with the pigeons.

Widowhood cocks section

The first loft was not too big being 12ft x 4th that was just stock on the end of the garage and was two sections with their entry being through a small window sized trap. All that was a learning period because Derek did not really know much about pigeons and racing but soon learnt how to get them into that first loft. These 12 widowhood cocks were the start and there was never any messing about with hens. Derek had checked out the systems and the widowhood was the racing system of the day. These lofts face South East and they get the maximum amount of sunshine, which is important in maintaining good healthy fit pigeons. The problem for Derek was that he knew absolutely nothing about racing pigeons but soon caught on. The fancier who Derek did learn from at the time was Tony McDonagh of Pelsall West Midlands that was a hot bed of winning Wildersmeerch pigeons at the time. Derek would phone Tony on a Friday and ask him what he needed to do and in those early years he was a great help. Even feeding was a major trauma because no one wanted to tell you anything locally. He went to Jones’s over at Sandbach and there was little real help there so it was a case of going to Pelsall to see Tony and get everything right up to date. Derek spent the next 3yrs or so talking to Tony about how to get the birds right and that advice helped to put Derek into the winner’s enclosure on a regular basis. Derek did show his appreciation to Tony by going to Pelsall and helping Tony to build a new loft. Derek always appreciated Tony’s help and advice in those early days because he like anyone else found out that racing pigeons was not easy and was a big learning curve. Derek also knew Ray Clarke because they did part of their National Service together and prior to that spent their schooldays together. Ray has been racing pigeons for many years and helped to guide Derek in the right direction and has been a regular visitor to Derek’s lofts ever since. There is a good friendship between them with Marjorie & Pauline being good friends, which makes life a little easier in the pigeon world.

By this time Derek was beginning to feel more confident with the pigeons as he was finding his way in his own right and so the lofts were changed completely. The next loft to go up was 40ft made up of four compartments that were used for, section one stock, two young birds, three widowhood cocks while the end section was used for the widowhood hens. By this time the race team had increased to 16 widowhood cocks, 16 stock pairs because Derek has never bred off his racers so the stock rear about 50 youngsters each year. This loft is still the present day loft with the emphasis being on good ventilation that is a major part of keeping pigeons healthy. There is also ventilation in the roof that keeps the airflow going because you want the correct ventilation without the pigeons being in a draft. These lofts are cleaned out twice each day all the year round without fail even on Christmas and New Years day pigeon racing is 365 days of the year not just when it suits. While the lofts are cleaned out daily that does not include the boxes because he uses deep litter wood chips which he finds very good. Derek believes in keeping to a routine that the pigeons get used to and expect you to do it every day. Pigeons also need to be happy in their environment and when they see the scraper they know that the next step is their feeding time. Derek is a believer in the fact that pigeons need to know what is going on and to achieve that goal they have to be happy around the loft. It’s the same when they are sent to a race, they do not always see their hen before they go because they know that their job is to get home and if they are prepared right they do it in double quick time. Derek likens the pigeons to race horses and they have to be prepared in a similar way by this he means that for the short to middle distance races they are treated on the same principle as flat racing. Derek is now finding the best way to get the pigeons from the longer races and to do that he likens them to the horses racing over fences they are the distance equivalent. As anyone who races the distance will tell you they are treated differently than sprinters and that is how Derek sees the pigeons. Pigeon racing is always a learning curve and once you give up on that you are not going to win many races. Anyway we were discussing the loft and the fact that it has to be right for the pigeons and not just for the fancier who doesn’t live in there. There is a raised tray where the pigeons are fed with a small handful of corn to two pigeons twice per day. I looked at Derek when he said a handful so he pointed out that he puts his hand in the corn time facing down and closes it around the corn so that he has a good measure each time. At the beginning of the week they have a light feed in the morning and evening and they have Bayers seed but if he gets stuck for that he uses Red Band in between. Derek does not believe in keeping them hungry because they do not fly around home the same if they are. The cocks are exercised in the morning while the hens go out in the evening with each session varying depending on how long the pigeons want to fly. Derek has told me on most occasions they will spend near enough two hours in the air. What Marjorie does do is give them their seed mix about 30mins before they go out and because of the time they fly they will probably burn most of that early feed off. There is no need to flag the birds here because they are more than willing to range the skies each time they go out. They do not hang around the loft while exercising they do range for a considerable amount of time. There have been times when Derek has had to open the lofts and call them in because they have been flying for far too long. The young birds are exercised about noon when Marjorie comes into her own as she is the young bird specialist around these lofts and everyone knows it. Take note lads while the young birds are out exercising Marjorie evens cleans them out and as most ladies do they do a better job. Marjorie also feeds the young birds in and they know her and what to expect and she does clean out in the afternoon. Derek did say that he could not race pigeons the same without Marjorie because she is such a great help with the pigeons. Addition products used are those from Dr Vandersanden’s Bifs company with the most important product being Vior that is used everyday with the young birds during the season because it keeps them free from disease. During the winter this same product is used twice each week again because Derek believes that it does keep them healthy inside. Derek was saying that he uses the full range of these products and has found that they do help to keep the birds fit and healthy. So that there is no change in anything he uses Derek only ever goes to Roger Sutton at Astbury because as well as collecting his products he is always a good fancier to talk to. Before the season starts Derek also takes a sample of the droppings from each section to Gary Spavin in Lancaster for a thorough test and takes any advice that is given seriously. The pigeons are vaccinated each year mostly in October for paratyphus and pmv they are done then so that they are settled for the following year. Derek pointed out that he vaccinates in October because he believes that by doing this they pass a certain amount of protection on to the young birds. You have to be on your toes all the time with pigeons because disease is transmitted from one to another so when he brings any new stock in they are all done and covered, mind you he does not bring them in very often. The pigeons are treated with ivemectin about every three months as a precaution against any parasites that may enter the lofts. One of the most important things that both Derek and Marjorie do is where a mask and loft coat at all times and Derek also wears a hot in the loft and also wears the mask when he takes his birds training. The dark/light system is also used at these lofts with the young birds being on the darkness and the as summer progresses they go on the light system to the end of the young bird season. The lights then go off and the youngsters break out in a heavy moult and they do get through by the end of the year. The system used sees the pigeons only having the one moult and the minimum amount of stress on them at any time during the year.

The best races for Derek at the moment are the sprint to middle distance where he is definitely the one to beat with something like 25 x 1sts per year. However he is looking at changing and moving some of the pigeons to the longer races and that will obviously change the whole system used. When you look at the results of the New Lancs fed this loft is nearly always in the top ten. The South Lancs Combine has also felt the force with 5 x 1sts Combine this season. Derek did show me his framed plaque from the Lancashire Social Circle 2008 where he won all three young bird races collecting the Battersby, Irish, Dave Allen Irish Crystal, Frank H Parsinage and John Marsden trophies. When you consider that there are many of the top fanciers in the North West racing in this club he must be doing something right. These pigeons have won in the local clubs, feds and Classic races competing against many top fanciers who have broken records year after year. Wherever Derek has raced he has been the highest prize winner, not ever year but most so I for one am waiting to see how he goes on when he moves up a gear to national level. Some performances always stand out as the following do for Derek, 1St open in the Bamfords Old Bird Gold Ring Picauville 2005, 1st open NWC at Picauville 2002 also finishing 8th in the Europa one loft race when there were only 12 birds on the day and winning  £1600 prize money. Derek does enjoy the weekly races and they have had some very good results in inland racing and have never really bothered too much with distance racing but he is getting in the frame of mind that he would like to achieve good results in the distance events and a first National would be good. These results were mostly achieved after Derek brought the pigeons in from Peter fox at Syndicate lofts over at Bangor. With the success of these pigeons Derek does not very often go looking anywhere else and he does not believe in a family of pigeons. All the birds housed are sons and daughters of National champions crossed with National Champions of different breeds and as far as Derek is concerned winning genes to winning genes and you will not go far wrong.

Yb section

Here are a few questions with the answers we have slightly covered them but I think it is always best direct from the winners themselves. Q. What is the farthest distance that you would train your old birds or young birds? A. They go to 20 miles 3 times a week weather permitting. Q. How do you race your pigeons and how many. A. We race 18 cocks and 18 hens on double widowhood. Q. Do you compete in the National events, if not why not? Or are you happy to race in the club. A. We have always enjoyed our club racing but as with everything in life times change and in our case we are moving up a gear to have a go at the National events. A. Do you ever think of competing for averages, if not why not? A. Averages seem to be dying out in the clubs and racing probably because many fanciers now compete in the National and Classic clubs. Q. Do you race your pigeons every week or do you prefer to condition them for a specific race. A. We have raced our pigeons each week but we will be conditioning them for the National races in the future. Q. In your view do you think that a loft needs different pigeons for different distances? A. No up to 500 miles most birds should be able to compete provided they are prepared for it over 500 miles you need birds that have proved that they can do 700 to 800miles to breed off. Q. Is there any specific condition that your pigeons perform best at, or any particular time of the year? A. No my pigeons fly well all year round. Q. When do you allow your racers to take a bath? A. Monday after the weekend race and Thursday before basketing. Q. Do you use any floor dressing or do you clean the pigeons out daily. A. We clean out twice a day and use white floor dressing each morning. Q. Do you like to have plenty of room for the pigeons? A. The more room the better but some fanciers do not have the space and are limited to how much space they allow per pigeon but if they have plenty of room they do appear to race better and are happier around the loft.

"004" 1st club 1st fed Kempsey

Q. How do you feed the cocks and what do you feed them on, a branded mix or do you buy separate corns and mix your own. A. We use Beyers corns all season from Roger Sutton at Astbury Pigeon Supplies. Q. Do you measure the amount that you give to each pigeon, or are they fed according to the individual pigeon. A. One handful of corn to two birds they are not fed individually all corn is placed on a tray. Q. Do you attach any importance to grits and minerals or can the pigeons get what they want they are out of the loft. A. Fresh grit is placed in the loft every day more so in the breeding season. Q. Is there a way that your pigeons let you know when they are in form? A. Yes when they are flying away from the loft and I can see them in the distance leaving vapour trails. Q. Do you have any secrets about what you do with your pigeons and how you get them right? A. My pigeons are in tip top order all year round and soon get them selves in form. Then I have to get them in super form, but it would not be a secret if I told all. Q. Do the pigeons need any special treatment on their return from the race to help them relax? Is any such treatment needed for the short or long distance races or the hard races compared to the easy races? A. My birds get rehydration in the water on a Friday and on there return from the race, and two days rest. Q. How many weeks do you think a pigeon can maintain its form on the widowhood system for both cocks and hens? A. I do not race total W/H, I race double W/H cock and hens that way they keep there form all season, land races only. Q. Does this include channel races or are the specified number of weeks for sprint races and do you think that a pigeon can be prepared at fortnightly intervals for the channel races. A. Channel races will have two weeks rest from inland races. Q. If your race team went off form during the season what action would you take to restore their condition? A. The birds would have two weeks rest there droppings tested by Gary Spavin and treated by him if necessary. Q. What happens when you are racing either widowhood or the roundabout when you have a bad race and lose a few from one sex, how do you continue with those pigeons that have lost their mate? A. I also have a spare hen or two around and a randy cock will soon take to her. Q. Is a favourable loft location the single biggest factor in sprint racing? A. Yes if possible the loft should always face the south east you get the sun all day long very important for keeping them in form. Q. Do you treat pigeons differently with their preparation if they are to go to the bigger races whether National, Classic, Specialist club or open. A. I increase the corn with peanuts and hemp. Q. Do you think a pigeon has the capabilities of racing both short and long distance races? Also what distances can a pigeon actually still “RACE” as opposed to homing from any race point? A. Yes they can race both long distance and short provided they are prepared for the race and distance you want them top do. Q. What proportion of you pigeons get better on subsequent trips to the long distance races and what do you call distance. A. Long distance to me is 500 miles I don’t want to take part in marathon races; I do not see any fun in putting the pigeon under extreme stress. Q. Which is the more difficult, establishing a team of sprinter’s or distance pigeons and why. A. It would be difficult for me because I would need another section in the loft for them and I don’t have the room. Q. Sprinter or distance, there is no difference; it is all in the feeding. A. With distance racing the pigeon needs extra food and fats peanuts & maize. Q. If you could pass on one piece of advice or tip, at this point to fanciers old and young, what would it be? A. Check your birds every day to see that they are fit and healthy. Q. What problems do you think are most detrimental to race condition in modern day racing, both Old Bird and Young Bird? A. Paratyphus is a killer in pigeons and if you do not treat against it your birds will always be struggling to keep up with the rest. Q. How far do you race your yearlings? A. We race our yearlings up to 350 miles. Q. What races do you send your long distance candidates to before their chosen race? I always aim for the 120 miles mark as I think that should be enough. Q. here do you house your widow hens? A. My widow hens are housed adjacent to the w/h cocks as I race double widowhood. Q. Can you tell the readers you’re routine for preparing pigeons for the longer races? Do you look forward to the channel racing? A. I have never been keen on channel racing but I intend to give it a go perhaps someone out there could send me a good system.

"77" 1st club 1st fed 1st C.L.Combine Portland and also 1st club 1st Mid Cheshire Fed Frome plus other prizes

Q. Do you attach any real importance to the pigeon’s wing i.e. back wing, end four flights and do you look at the wing to see if they have cast before a race. A. No importance at all I read an article by Edd Schaerlaeckeus he was asked by an English man did the birds come into form when they had cast there third flight he thought it was an English joke. Q. What were the last four things that you put in your drinking water, when and why and did you notice any benefits. A. I use spring water and herbal tea from Gary Spavin. LJP. I have spoken to Derek many times about the spring water and he does not have far to go for it. Q. What percentage do you consider it takes to win with racing pigeons for Management and pigeons and why. A. 60% pigeons the pigeon needs to be as close as you can get to the winning genes. The fancier needs to be dedicated to the sport 365 days a year and a will to compete with the best. Q. What past mistakes have you learned from? A. Too many young birds in the loft young birds should have to fight for a perch. Q. Who or what motivates you to remain successful? A. The will to win to compete against the top men/women at all levels in the sport. Q. What qualities do you think must be present for a fancier to be classed as a top fancier and at what level must he/she have achieved results to be rightfully so-called a “Champion”. A. To be consistent at National level for a number of years and to help and advise to fellow fanciers. Q. Do you think winning fanciers should move on from club racing once they have reached a certain level of consistency? Are club performances paramount for personal satisfaction or sales purposes? A. No the club should be the foundation of the sport move on to the National and Classic races by all means but the grass roots of the sport remain at club level.

"825" 1st club 1st N.L.Fed Kempsey

Now we move on to the young birds and bring you Derek’s thought’s on the way they should be treated. Q. Young bird sickness is a problem; have you had this in your loft and if so what have you treated them with. A. On the advice of my good friend Peter Fox I inject my stock birds in October with paratyphus. My young birds when they leave the nest and six weeks before the first race and I never have any problems with young bird sickness. Q. Do you race your young birds, if so how many races, if not why, do you think they are better off in the longer events if they are only raced lightly. A. I race my young birds through the race programme. Racing on double w/h hens one week cocks the next and they perform very well. Q. Do you use the darkness system for the young birds, if so for how long and do you think it affects them later in life. A. We use the darkness system for the young birds. March till June, we have had no ill effects. Q. Are there any feeding methods for the young birds i.e. do you break them down, do you keep them hungry for control purposes, do you give them a trapping seed mix. A. The young birds are fed the same as the w/h cocks and hens, they are never kept hungry

Now for a change of direction with a look at the breeding of a particular hen that is the strength behind the Golden Breeding pair that Derek has. That is a daughter of “Favorite Son” is “Little star” a very good breeding hen for Derek, she is direct dam to 16 first prize club winners with no duplications plus 1st Mid Cheshire Federation Portland 933b,1st Mid Cheshire Federation Frome 1184b,1st section Central Lancs Combine Portland 1239b,1st South Lancs 2 Bird Championship,1st South Lancs Combine Kempsey 1014b. “Favorite Son” was bred by Joop Koch from “Blauwe Favorite” winner of 1st Dutch National Ace Pigeon Sprint and 3rd Dutch National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance NPO in the same year 1999. He was also the 1st Ace Young Bird of East Brabant 1998 against 4000 members. Some of his wins 1st Peronne 1475b, 2nd Chantilly 4248b, 3rd Hasserode 606b, 3rd Bohain 2289b, 5th Hasserode 2903b, 6th Peronne 2498b, 7th Creil 6482b, 13th Etampes 2589b, 14th Houdeng 897b,22nd Chantilly 4641b. He is bred from Joop Koch’s Super Breeding pair “Lichte Orleans” x "04" Daughter of “Ankie” a full sister to “President”. Dam of “Favorite Son” is “Zuster President” a full sister to the famous “President”. “Favorite Son” is sire of GB2005T29618 “Wizard” 1st National NPO Etampes 17487birds. He also won 2nd Strombeek 2807b, 13th Strombeek 10,214b, 21st Creil 1997b, 22nd Harchies 2582b. A daughter of “Wizard” is NL2007-1955823 won 1st Ace Young Bird Sprint in the Union de Baronie 2007 against 1000 members. She also won 6th National NPO Orleans 14041b.GB2006L27617 a daughter of “Favorite Son” won as a young bird 1st Pommeroeul 564b, 5th 7694b, 1st Morlincourt 544b, 9th 5767b, 6th Pommerouel 1796b, 14th St. Quentin 1623b, 16th Chantilly 1497b, 19th St. Quentin 2667b and 34th Creil 1252b. This to me is a real good line and one that has set the results for Derek alight.

"001" 1st club 1st fed 2nd Combine Cheltenham plus other prizes

Let’s move on to other aspects of the sport for a few more of the views that Derek has. Q. What do you think the sport should do to change things for the better, in relation to your points made a couple of questions ago? The RPRA should take control of the liberation sites the birds should be liberated every 30mins not 15 as they do at present. Q. Do you use any preventative medication? If a pigeon goes ill do you try to put it right or does the bird have to go. A. Yes birds are injected for paratyphus treated every 4 weeks for canker and coccidian if I did have a sick bird it would have to go. I check my birds every week. Q. Earlier in the article we discussed the wind direction, do you consider that good pigeons will win in any position. A. Good pigeons will always come through, if your loft is facing east and it’s a west wind you do have the advantage over your rivals. Q. Some fanciers go out and purchase good quality winning pigeons but never appear to make the grade, why do you consider that this happens. A. It’s a combination of three things good pigeon’s good management and a good loft and also patience is the name of the game. I had to learn that without it you will not succeed. Q. Do you give any special treatments when the pigeons return from the race as a precaution against anything that they may have picked up in the basket? A. We give our pigeons rehydration on Saturday and depurative tea on Sunday all supplied by Garry Spavin.

"115" 1st club 1st fed 1st combine Kempsey, 1st club 1st fed 1st combine Cheltenham

What happens when the racing season has finished, I do know that Derek does not let the birds out because of the peregrines that are in his area. But what else happens during this quieter part of the season. Q. What criteria do you set down for the pigeons you winter with your thoughts on the following seasons racing and breeding? A. My race teams are selected for the next season and put on a moulting mix and sedochol on the corn and vitamins in the drinkers. Q. Are there any special treatments that you give your birds once the season has finished what do you recommend the readers to do with the birds. A. Our birds are kept until they have completed the moult. They are fed with a good moulting mix and seed in the morning a bath every Sunday in the loft. They are given a jab of colombovac pmv and paratyphus sedcot is mixed to the corn. This is where the next year’s races are won. Q. Irrespective of how your pigeons have flown, what are your views on the past season whether good or bad or the management of the sport in general. A. Our birds have flown well all season and maintained there form well topping New Lancs Fed 5 times this season. The management of the sport needs to be improved particularly at the liberation sites. Q. Taking into account distance, which is more difficult racing to your area, is it; a case of a 600ml race is a 600ml race regardless of competition or route. A. Pass on this one. LJP. Although Derek passed on this one we have discussed distance racing and at the moment he is in the process of looking at a few of his team to test in future season. Derek is also aware that putting a distance team together is not that easy and does take a few years. Q. Which fancier has influenced you most, in the way in which you fly your pigeons? A. Peter Fox of Syndicate Lofts I first meet Peter in 2001 when I was looking for some Gaby Vaudenabeeles. His know how on the breeding side and advice on racing my birds has been invaluable to me he is a gentleman and a true ambassador to the sport. Q. Which Champion pigeons over the years have left an impression on you and perhaps influenced your direction in the sport. A. The pigeons I have are those of Gaby Vandenabeele and they have won for many fanciers at all distances. Q. Whenever I have visited a loft fanciers always look at the pigeon’s eye. Do you consider that the eye has any importance in (a) the breeding, (b) distance races (c) sprint races? (d) The pigeon’s health. Or do you steer clear of the subject and if so why. A. The only think in a pigeon’s eye is its health clear sparkling bright eyes if it’s dull and watery I have a problem. But every one is entitled to there opinion. Q. Who do you consider being the best fanciers in the Country and for what reasons? A. Geoff Kirkland and Roger Sutton they have been consistent for a number of years at top level. A. What do you think can be done to take the sport forward? A. The RPRA should set up a think tank with members from the region Transport and liberation sites need to be at the top of the agenda. Q. How do you consider that the British sport is going compared to the continentals and do they have any ideas that you think would benefit the sport in the UK?  A. The British sport is going one way only down hill, we are 10 years behind the continentals. The RPRA needs to be restructured and urgently because if not in ten to fifteen years time it will have gone out of business. The ball is in their court. Q. What is your view on pigeon "moots" or "panels", are they over played and outdated and what do you think may bring as much or more interest to the quiet season when racing is not taking place? A. I believe the panel are a good thing any one new to the sport can learn a lot from a good panel. Q. What do you think of veterinarians in the UK and have you had any dealings with them. A. Vets in the UK that deal with pigeons are very hard to find they don’t seem to specialize in bird diseases if you do find one stick with them. Q. What is your view on pigeon shows and showing? A. I am personally not keen of pigeon shows but there are many that do enjoy this side of the sport. In winter months helps to keep you in touch with other fanciers. Q. Do you read many magazines/Articles, if so which type of article do you find interesting and why. A. I find all kinds of book and magazines regarding the sport interesting especially when it gives me an insight to competitive racing. Q. What aspect of the sport interests you the most? A. The breeding to try and produce winning birds and with a bit of luck a champion. Q. Is there anything that you do not like about the sport, something that you feel needs changing for the good of the sport? A. I do not like the way the sport is run by the RPRA it is running it at  loss but gives thousands of pounds away, its time that some of this money which is raised by the fancier is put back into the sport charity begins at home. Q. If you went into another fanciers loft and were given the opportunity to leave with a pair of pigeons, how confident would you be that you had selected the best pair, or in other words do you consider that you are a good judge of a pigeon. A. Yes I am confident that I could pick a pair of winners No problem. Q. Is your loft of pigeons as strong as it was 5yrs ago? A. Yes if not stronger all my birds have won or prized both hens and cocks. Q. Do you have any further comments about anything that we may have missed in any area of the sport? A. If the sport is to progress into the 21st century it needs an urgent review, I would like to see the region take control of the liberation sites. The regions should liaise with each other and prepare race programme to prevent clashing the race programme be mandate to federations. Far too many birds are being lost due to clashing the birds are going north east west and south every 15 min it’s a recipe for disaster. Many pigeon fanciers are afraid to move forward and are reluctant to make changes. I was asked a question by  a club member, he was about 26 years old “what will happen in 15 years” there will only be me left may be one of the top brass can answer the question for him. A feminine hand in the loft is very important I really mean that. A women who is interested in the sport is much more precise and particular than me, she will clean the drinkers better than me clean the lofts out better get the birds in better and quicker than me, this is not a fairy tale I would like to thank loft manager Marjorie for all her hard work and always look to the future.                                                                                                                                          

Summary. I have known Derek for a good many years and he is as enthusiastic as ever and always looking for a new challenge. Yes he does wind a few people up but his heart is in pigeon racing and that is what we need in the sport. And yes he does have views on the sport that could be termed as controversial but he does have them and I think he is more or less on the mark.