BULLERS & BUCKLEY

We hear of fanciers going back to basics, for this questions and answers article we have a fancier who sticks to the basics that many say we should go back too. Whether that would work for the sprint men is another matter but I do believe that when it comes to the distance events there are enough fanciers who have proven that it works.

Q. Please introduce yourselves and how you started.
A. My first introduction to racing pigeons began around 1955 when I was about 8yrs old, although serious pigeon racing for me did not commence until the mid sixties. For several years I raced with my father as G. Buckley & Son where we competed in the Radcliffe-on-Trent R.P.C that was affiliated to the Nottingham & District N.R fed, this lasted quite a few years before I left the sport. Then after a considerable time away from the racing pigeons I began to regain my interest when my father formed a partnership with Jack Bullers at the end of the 1982 season. from that time onwards I have been involved both with my father until his death in 1990 and then racing the birds on my own up to the present day.

Q. Give the readers the basic results that you have achieved as a partnership.
A. considering the way that I race my pigeons the results have been promising over the last 10yrs but obviously the highpoint for the 2001 season is winning the Kings Cup with the NRCC. Some of the details are as follows. Thurso 1990 5th sec B 39th Open 3962 birds. Lerwick 1991 2nd sec B 46th Open 4235 birds. 1994 3rd sec B 28th Open 3663 birds. 1997 7th sec B 26th Open 3414 birds. 1998 5th sec B 22nd Open 2665 birds. 2001 1st sec B 1st Open 3343 birds. Saxaford 1997 16th sec B 125th Open. 1998 5th B sec 39th Open. All the above results are flying with the North Road Championship Club which is one of the most famous organisations in the British Isles. The club celebrated 100yrs racing since it's formation in 1901. I fly approx 500mls at Lerwick, 400mls Thurso and 540mls at Saxaford.

Q. Amongst those results what are the real highlights.
A. the highlights of my racing career has to be winning the Kings Cup, also timing a bird in from the Faroe Islands in 1987 winning 69th open from 801 birds. perhaps another highlight would be timing 3 of only 4 birds timed in race time during the 1994 Lerwick North Road National with birds duplicated into the Grantham & District Fed. This particular race had no day birds and only 180 birds in race time from the convoy of 3663 birds entered with the North Road Championship club.

Q. What organisations do you race with.
A. I have flown in several clubs over the years, the Bullers & Buckley partnership started to fly with the Scarrington & District IRPC affiliated to the Grantham & District Fed. Then after the deaths of my father and Jack Bullers I have flown with the Newark RPC affiliated to the Nottingham & District NR Fed. I currently fly the pigeons with the Calverton HS affiliated to the Nottingham & District NR Fed and the North Road Championship Club.

Q. Do you ever think about competing for averages.
A. Because I am only interested in racing from Lerwick I use the club racing for training purposes and competing for averages never enters my mind. It would be nice to think that I may one day take an interest in averages but in all honesty I do not think that this will happen because a lot of changes would have to occur for this to become a serious matter for me.

Q. How do you race your pigeons and how many.
A. Because of the circumstances under which I race my pigeons are raced on the natural system, this is the most suitable and there really is not another option. I am a small team flyer and only keep around 10prs and at 2yrs old all pigeons are considered for Lerwick and my pool of birds for this race usually average around a dozen with any yearlings being sent to Thurso 400mls. because of my circumstances living 7mls from the loft and working 10/12 hr days some 25mls from home I have had to be selective in my choice of races or which method to use, natural, widowhood or otherwise. Having selected the natural system because the birds spend a great deal of time on their own and have their liberty for most of the day I thought that Lerwick would be the race to try for. I also had some success with my father from this race point in earlier years so had some knowledge of what to expect, especially the disappointment's.

Q. What are your lofts made of and how big are they.
A. My loft is now 18ft x 6ft with three sections and has an asbestos roof and the trapping is done either through the open doors or bob wires. Up until October 2000 my loft was 12ft x 6ft with two sections with the same type of roof and both lofts being made of T & G wood.

Q. Do you attach any importance to having a tiled roof on a loft, if so are there any benefits.
A. I would assume that having a tiled roof gives a smarter appearance and allows for a better air pattern flow but I do not see that this would be any more beneficial to me that my present loft.

Q. How many stock birds do you keep and do you breed off your race team also how many pigeons do you think that you need to breed off any individual stock pair each year to see if they are quality producers.
A.. I do not keep stock birds, I have travelled about to sales and seen what is on offer but to be honest apart from one purchase from the late Phil Hood of Girton Nr Newark I have never bought, simply because I have not seen anything to suit me. My race team provide the continuity for me and I would expect that if I kept expensive stock birds that they should breed their like immediately. I wouldn't want to waste hard earned money waiting for years for stock to produce good pigeons.

Q. When do you pair your pigeons
A. My pigeons are paired on or around the 15th March and are kept together throughout the year until after Christmas when they are parted for a period of about 10 weeks.

Q. Do you move the hens with the young birds.
A. Young birds are now weaned and kept in a separate section, prior to October 2000 all birds, young and old were kept together

Q. What criteria do you set down for the pigeons you winter with your thoughts on the following seasons racing and breeding.
A.. Every year at the end of the season I check my pigeons and I am always sorting and sifting through them, considering which I think are good enough to send to Lerwick those that do not come up to standard are disposed of, usually in their first year. Pairing is no problem to me as my pigeons choose their own partners, the pigeons are inbred with distance in their bloodlines.

Q. Do you have any grills fitted in the floor or in the boxes, are there any advantages to using them.
A. Although I can see the advantage of having grills in the loft I feel this would not be beneficial to me on my management system, I am not a regular visitor to my birds.

Q. What do you think about the vaccination programme for the pigeons and do you think it affects the pigeons long term.
A. Vaccination I feel is a necessary evil, I would not want my birds to contact the dreaded para, however I do feel that we should have available for the British fanciers a one jab for life vaccine. Vaccination has not affected my pigeons since it was introduced, however only time will tell if any real long term affect's are going to be detected, the obvious one being the breakdown of the pigeons natural immunity.

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. I like grit and minerals to be before the pigeons, however because they reside on a farm (smallholding) and have the open hole access they no doubt can pick and choose from what they like from the natural sources available to them.

Q. Do you use any floor dressing or do you clean the pigeons out daily.
A. My pigeons are kept on deep litter, usually the farm straw or whatever is available, I'm not fussy and neither are my pigeons. The straw lies on a depth of 1 to 2ins of sand and cleaning out is usually once a week but only the perches and nest boxes with the deep litter being changed either two of three times each year.

Q. Do you like to have plenty of room for the pigeons.
A. Obviously only keeping a small team of pigeons I have plenty of space available, the only drawback to this can be when a cock bird decides it requires more than one nest box. Sometimes this can be beneficial but usually I control the dominant cocks by restricting the availability of boxes.

Q. How do you feed the pigeons and what do you feed them on.
A.. My feeding system is simple, from the end of March up to the end of the old bird racing the birds are fed at around 19.00hrs, usually hopper fed with Bucktons high protein and widowhood mixtures, winter feeding consists of farm beans, wheat and barley.

Q. Do you measure the amount that you give to each pigeon, or are they fed according to the individual pigeon.
A. I have no set measure as corn is usually in front of them most the time. My visits are normally a topping up and trapping process, they are fed on Bucktons high protein and widowhood mixtures. Preparation for Lerwick is slightly different in that I add rice and peanuts plus garlic cloves in the water.

Q. Easterly or Westerly do you set any stall by the position and if so why.
A. My loft location is on the extreme western side of section "B" so with the westerly winds prevailing it tends to make my section results look better. The bulk of section "B" being in Lincolnshire that is Easterly of my loft location. Although when racing from the distance I feel that generally wind direction has little bearing on the outcome of the race.

Q. Do you consider there to be any advantage having a racing partnership.
A. Although my racing title is a partnership name i.e. Bullers & Buckley I do race on my own, both the original partners have now passed away, my late father and Jack Bullers. I keep the same name because I don't see any reason for change, most fanciers really know that it is the racing title for Roger Buckley. I do get assistance during the winter months and when letting out the birds out during the racing season from Sam Crossland who allowed me to move my birds on to his smallholding during October last. Sam was part of the Crossland Bros partnership that flew with distinction in both the Notts & Grantham feds for around 25yrs. We never disagree on anything, the management being that the birds and finances are my total responsibility, I please and manage my birds as I wish, for this I am most grateful to Sam for allowing this arrangement.

Q, To term a phrase are you a professional team of pigeon fanciers and do your circumstances make a big difference.
A. I have always raced pigeons as a hobby, I am not a professional pigeon fancier. Racing pigeons in my family has been "passed down" from my father but my son and wife are not involved with the pigeons, in fact they are not at all interested but understand my involvement and are supportive when needs be.

Q. Whenever I have visited a loft fanciers always look at the pigeons eye. Do you consider that the eye has any importance in (a) the breeding, (b) distance races (c) sprint races. (d) the pigeons health. Or do you steer clear of the subject and if so why.
A. I have no views on eye sign or wing theory other than to say in my opinion these theories are only a part of the needs towards producing a Champion racing pigeon.

Q. Do you use any preventative medication.
A. I use no potions or medicines preferring to keep my pigeons as near to nature as possible, if they cannot survive any illness so be it. In all my years connected with the countryside I have yet to see a poorly wild wood pigeon (apart from those killed by passing cars etc) and they do not have access to potions and medicines, I like to think my pigeons can look after themselves.

Q. How many weeks do you think a pigeon can maintain it's form on the widowhood system for both cocks and hens.
A. I have never attempted to fly the widowhood system but have visited several lofts who have been successful with this method notably Alwyn Hill. When Alwyn raced pigeons he was without doubt one of the top sprint specialists in his area. His birds did maintain form and listening to what Alwyn said I have no doubt that widowhood pigeons can maintain form longer than natural pigeons. However my beliefs are that when I prepare my birds for Lerwick that are at their height of motivation when basketed, this is all I ask for. With my present management system I could not maintain this form throughout the season, therefore to achieve maximum effort I only concentrate on the one race from Lerwick.

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. I believe that pigeons can be prepared to race longer distances over shorter periods of time, our pigeon 80F23798 "Old Whiskey Hen" flew 300, 400 and 500ml races in a four week period. She also flew two consecutive 400ml races, proving that good pigeons will perform if fit.

Q. Do you think a pigeon has the capabilities of racing both short and long distance races. Also what distance can a pigeon actually still "RACE" as opposed to homing from any race point.
A. In my opinion you are fortunate if you own a pigeon that can both sprint and perform at the distance. These are pigeons that can perform at the two levels and to the pigeon fancier who owns such a pigeon, treasure them, they do not come around too often. I think that racing as opposed to "homing" depends on several factors, type of race, distance, weather conditions being the main areas. When racing from Lerwick on difficult days (remember that we have a minimum 100mls sea to cross) I am just pleased to have a pigeon home, whether it has raced home or just homed doesn't concern me as long as I have one in the clock.

Q. What proportion of your pigeons get better on subsequent trips to the long distance races and what do you call distance.
A. Each year my aim is to get a good pigeon from Lerwick, in doing so I know that my pigeons are the right birds for the job. However, because of my management system the pigeons tend to perform on more difficult days, or two day races, on the odd occasion my velocity has topped the 1400 mark therefore I consider that pigeons having been to Lerwick several times have improved. This is no necessarily in performance but in experience to cope with the difficulties this race point can provide. I used to think that pigeon racing was spilt into three categories, Sprint, middle and long distance, how you define the distances is a matter of opinion. My own views are that up to 250mls would be sprint races, 250 to 400mls middle distance and over 400mls long distance with the extreme distance around 650mls and over. Does it matter though? On difficult days 250 mls can be a real tester and 400mls given tough conditions you will be lucky to see one.

Q. Which is the more difficult, establishing a team of sprinter's or distance pigeons and why.
A. As my interest is in distance flying I would have to say that it is more difficult to establish a team of long distance pigeons than a team of sprinters simply because long distance races only occur perhaps once or twice during the arcing calendar. You therefore have to be more patient and it takes longer to find out how many birds will perform.

Q. Sprinter or distance, there is no difference, it is all in the feeding.
A. Obviously as I concentrate on a given distance from which I have had some success then my feeding methods must be suitable to my birds, however I doubt if my method of feeding would suit some of the top sprint specialists. Part of the pigeon management system is in the art of feeding, it is up to the individual to decide which method of racing suits you best.

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. Racing from Lerwick I feel provides a stern test of the racing pigeons capabilities, the journey is fraught with danger in both the seas crossing and the natural terrain when hitting the Scottish mainland. Plus the unpredictable weather conditions that occur around the Shetland Isles, I would say that the route provides the greater degree of difficulty.

Q. What families of pigeons do you keep.
A. When my father and I flew pigeons in the sixties we kept several strains with the main one's being Fuller Isaacson's originally from a Mr Differely at Stapleford Tawny in Essex and some of the Masseralla bloodlines. Our aim in those days was pure enjoyment, we got that in abundance and raced through the programme to Thurso 400mls.

Q. How do you go about bringing in a new family and what do you look for.
A., When re-staring in the early eighties we were fortunate enough to have birds given to us by Crossland Bros of East Bridgeford. These were mainly Vanderveldes with origins going back to Bill Heatley of Radcliffe on Trent (2nd open Lerwick NRCC 1963) added to these have been Vanderveldes from the loft of George Gorley, Higham Ferrirs, Northants. Also introductions from Ollie Loneck Nottingham, Alan Fisher. ex Fisher Bros of Hucknall, dominant fanciers, sadly these fanciers have now passed away. Blended with the earlier introductions have been pigeons from Stan Graves of Grantham, in the early nineties Stan gifted me two Silver Ameels which originated from Naylors of Sleaford. Then in 1999 he gave me 9 youngsters including "Centenary Queen" plus a further five in 2000, these are all bred from the John Lovell dynasty of racing pigeons. So when introducing new pigeons into my family I look for performance, particularly from the race point I want to succeed from and in my opinion John Lovell was the finest exponent of Lerwick flying in the modern era..

Q. Early in the article we discussed the wind direction, do you consider that good pigeons will win in any position.
A. In the perfect world we would all want our lofts to be in the most favourable position, this cannot be, so you have to accept the position you are in, many outstanding performances have been achieved by lofts when the wind is not in a favourable direction. One such performance was the Lerwick 1992 Kings Cup win by George Dodd of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts, an inland loft won in a West Wind, the pigeon won the race that day and not the wind. To answer your question, I think that good pigeons well motivated will win in most wind directions.

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. My father used to say a good pigeon in an average fanciers hands will still be a good pigeon, but a good pigeon in a top class fanciers hands will e a top quality pigeon. It's like the premier league in football terms, every year certain teams are either at or near the top, so the same applies to racing pigeons, there are good bad and indifferent fanciers. Dedication and the will to win are important factors coupled with having the right tools for the job, i.e. good pigeons.

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. The only pick me up my pigeons receive when returning from a race are small grains, canary seed etc. I try to keep my pigeons as near to nature as possible, apart from canary seed I give them a good rest.

Q. Which of the two sexes do you consider is the most important when it comes to breeding.
A. In my opinion hens are the most valued when breeding from, however that is perhaps a decision influenced by the fact that most of Bullers & Buckley's success has been with hens.

Q. Some fanciers like big hens for breeding does the size of the hen make any difference to the quality of youngsters that she breeds in your past experience.
A. Size of hen does not matter in my opinion, our pigeon "The Old Whiskey Hen" was often mistaken for a cock, she was a big handling hen. My base line of Vanderveldes are in the main through this hen 5 times Lerwick 500mls, 8 times Thurso 400mls and once to the Faroes 666mls. The youngsters bred have proved to be excellent racing pigeons. However it is the grand and great grand children that have produced the better performance for me, her lineage continues through my present generation of pigeons.

Q. Is there anything that you have not won in the sport that you would like to achieve.
A. my only aim in pigeon racing and that of my late father was to try and perform well from Lerwick. When my father passed away 11yrs ago and because of my circumstances, living 7mls from the loft and working long hours, I decided that this would be the only race for me to be able to concentrate on, I have now achieved my ambition in winning the Kings Cup from Lerwick. I do not fly on the South route but Pau NFC would be the sort of race which would be of interest to me. Only two race points on the North Road offer me greater distance than Lerwick, they are Saxa Ford 542mls and the Faroes 666mls. If it were possible I would like to attempt the Faroes again but I do feel that this will not happen again in the foreseeable future.

Q. Who do you consider to be the best fanciers in the Country and for what reasons.
A. I have been asked who do I consider to be the best fancier in the Country, well there are lots of top class fanciers throughout the British Isles. You must understand that distance racing has always been my interest therefore the fanciers named are known distance specialists at racing pigeons from the distance Classics, they are in no set order of preference. Albert Bennett when racing form Church Stretton, Pau National winner 1982. Robert. O. Jones "Resolven" when racing North. Rod Adams UNC Bourges Specialist. Jim Biss Brundall. Michael Spencer, Gisburn Lancs. Keith Bush of Gossall, Lerwick Specialist for many years. John Lovell of Lincoln 3 x Kings Cup winner Lerwick. All have had the desire and single mindedness to achieve their goals, all have succeeded and have been a credit to the sport. Really though the list is endless because both Scotland and Ireland have some wonderful long distance pigeon fanciers. I have always followed the writings of any of the seven mentioned fanciers and have tried to install a little of something from each in my methods of racing.

Q. What do you think can be done to take the sport forward.
A. I think the sport needs a wider range of publicity, the general public for the most part are unaware of the amount of money we donate to various charities. Also by giving a broader scope, other than just pigeon journals, they would give a better understanding of what pigeon racing is all about and some may be interested enough to want to try.

Q. Are there any special treatments that you give your birds once the season ha finished what do you recommend the readers to do with the birds.
A. At the end of each season my birds are left alone to get on with their moult. I give no special treatments to them other than a good rest and weekend baths. I usually sort my birds out around October/November time but I am always really sifting through them looking and deciding which to keep and which to dispose of. After any natural losses endured in a season I really consider the birds to keep by potential, performance and age. I do not keep many birds so it is important for me to try and make sure what I have will be able to cope with my management style. Pigeons reaching the age of seven, and there's not many, are given away or disposed of. When my father was alive he was always preaching to me "A good young un will always beat a good old un, nine times out of ten". I think that applies throughout the sporting world.

Q. When it comes to breeding do you line-breed or use a first cross or just pair winners to winners.
A. Breeding for me is no work of art, my pigeons choose their own partners and generally stay together most of their flying career. Usually I breed several late bred youngsters, however I must confess that I do not seem to have much luck with them.

Q. Do you breed off the top widowhood cocks after the racing has finished, do you breed late bred youngsters and what do you think of those later bred youngsters.
A. Last year because of my loft location move (about a quarter mile across three fields) I bred 6 late bred's from my Lerwick team purely for breeding from this season. I do not use any other system other than naturally rearing and racing young birds because the birds are on the open hole system. trapping from races can be difficult, however young bird racing is not taken seriously and is viewed as a process of education. it does not concern me too much if the young birds do not trap, getting them back from the race point is considered more important.

Q. If your race team went off form during the season what action would you take to restore their condition.
A. It would be a great disappointment to me if my race team went off form during my preparation for the Lerwick race. I would have to examine my entire management system from feeding to checking each individual pigeon to try and understand the problem. Thankfully this scenario has not occurred over the past years.

Q. Is a favourable loft location the single biggest factor in sprint racing.
A. As I do not try to compete in the sprint racing scene I feel this question is not applicable. However I would say in my opinion loft location is only one factor of importance, the other is who's loft it is!.

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. Most of my youngsters are hatched early April, I do not use the darkness system because it is not in my style of management to bring young birds along this way. Young bird racing is not taken seriously so any benefits from the darkness system would be inappropriate.

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. I like continuity in my feeding system and therefore young birds are fed the same as the old birds. That is hopper fed from Sunday to Thursday evening, they are not fed on Friday during the racing season, this gives me a little control over my birds.

Q. What percentage do you consider it takes to win with racing pigeons for Management and pigeons and why.
A. I think that although management of racing pigeons is an important factor, having the right tools to start with is more important, so I would say the pigeon takes the greater percentage simply because it's the one that has to fly, it is all a matter of opinion though.

Q. What is the farthest distance that you would train your old birds or young birds.
A. Training old birds for me usually consists of two short 10-15ml tosses before the season starts, club racing for me is the cheapest method of training and I usually send up to 10 birds per week. when Lerwick approaches I then change my system and pigeons going to the Shetlands are trained intensively for a week prior to the weekend before basketing on the following Wednesday, usually up to 50mls including one coastal toss of around 70mls and this type of training is normally in the evenings, except the coastal toss. My young bird training methods are not for the feint hearted ! after the birds are ranging from 1 to 2 hrs and have dropped more than three primaries I start their training programme from around 25/30mls, then perhaps again, usually their 3rd or 4th toss is from the coast some 70mls. I have found that pigeons that can cope with this type of training I very rarely lose, having bred around 20 birds per season on average I usually end up with around a dozen which suits me fine. I think sometimes we insult the pigeons intelligence. If birds are ranging 1 to 2 hrs then I would assume they are travelling distances of more than 5/10mls from heir loft and if that's the case I see no point in taking them5mls up the road for a toss. Again though I must emphasise this is my point of view but this method of training suits my style of management.

Q. If random drugs tests were carried out on your pigeons, would it reveal any substance, illegal or otherwise.
A. Anyone can test my birds for drugs at anytime, they would find the only drug my birds receive is fresh air and plenty of it.

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. Perhaps the continentals are a little more professional in their approach to racing pigeons and are able to reach a far wider audience of non pigeon fanciers through National press and TV coverage. To be honest I have never really made any comparison, it may be that they could learn perhaps one or two things from the British approach to racing pigeons.

Q. Is pigeon racing as a hobby going beyond the average working man. Is it becoming too technical and complicated or can you keep everything simple and still win with the pigeons.
A. It seems more and more partnerships are being formed, perhaps that answer's your question. Problems shared are problems halved. Pigeon racing is more competitive and definitely more money orientated. Various arcing systems are used which I suppose you could call "high tech", I believe though you can still compete at the highest level by keeping things simple and using your own common sense.

Q. You are successful fanciers, there are far too many leaving the sport, to encourage fanciers to either join or stay in the sport what do you think about limiting prizes to two per race per loft. If not Why. If yes Why.
A. Pigeon fanciers leaving the sport is a problem which has to be re-addressed, I think the next few years will be a difficult period and the downward trend will continue unless attitudes towards our sport change both socially and economically. Incentives are a way to try and attract and encourage fanciers to join or stay in the sport, the secret is formulating a system, which suits the majority. Whilst limiting prizes is a suggestion with some credence I don't think it is the answer.

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. Club racing is the root of the sport, there are many Classic and semi National clubs available to fanciers who wish to race pigeons on a higher level whilst still retaining their connection with the local club. I don't see the need for a promotion system, the choice should lie with the fancier, club racing, Classic or both and the same applies to performance at club level. If a fancier feels that his club performances at club level enhances his reputation, so be it, we all have our values in life.

Q. Do you attach any real importance to the pigeons wing i.e back wing, end four flights and do you look at the wing to see if they have cast before a race. Any other comments on the wing.
A. As mentioned previously, I have no views on the wing theory, however when sending pigeons to Lerwick I try to ensure that they have a fuller wing as possible. Because of my pairing up date, usually March 15th, I find that most of my birds carry from eight primaries onwards, when basketed "Centenary Queen" held eight and a half primaries for this years Lerwick race.

Q. Do you use any form of heating system in any of your lofts. Do you think it would be advantages for the birds.
A. My racing pigeons are kept as near to nature as possible, I hove no fancy special treatments on return from the races, as mentioned before just good rest and the only heating system I use is the sun.
I enter my loft I perhaps think I am intruding on the pigeons privacy and therefore show respect to them for I feel it is the love of their home, plus a happy and contented environment that helps make a successful pigeon fancier.

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 pigeons get no special treatment when returning from races, I think the fact that they are back in their loft is incentive enough for my pigeons to recover from stress and strains incurred on any race home.

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. The past season has been very traumatic for many fanciers and organisations due to the re-structuring of race programmes because of the foot and mouth epidemic. Generally speaking I think we have coped well with the changes, although as a North Road flyer we have not had the restrictions of arcing from the longer events. Many of the South Road organisations have pleased many of their fanciers with their re-scheduled races that have been set under difficult circumstances. To have over seas racing at all during this past year was some achievement and credit must go to the people who made this possible. As a fancier with old fashioned views and values I was pleased to see the re-introduction, or beit for one season, of one of the most historical race points in pigeon racing, San Sebastian, some of the performances in the National Flying Club race could only be described as fantastic. The management of the sport in general needs to be alert to the changes occurring. Special issues need consistent monitoring and contact with grass root levels is of paramount importance in keeping the sport moving forward.

Footnote. "I am fortunate enough to be able to keep my pigeons in a rural environment where they can enjoy a lot of freedom, for this I am grateful to both Sam & Brian Crossland".