The Joe Murphy Column

I managed to pair my birds up last Monday 19th February after spending the weekend cleaning out the nest boxes and washing galley pots; nest pans all the normal chores that you have to do at this time of the year. Kevin and I had gone over the pairings and these seemed to have jelled quite well and the majority are going in and out of their boxes no problem. I bred some very special late breds last year and do not intend to breed from them this year but was going to let them develop till next year but low and behold some of them want to pair up just now. We had to take our 6 year old grandson Conner to the Victoria Hospital Accident and Emergency department on Tuesday as when his mum woke him for school she noticed blood on his pillow case. This was coming from his ear and as he has ‘perforated eardrums’ we were all very concerned. The doctor at the hospital examined him and said the infection had burst and he gave him antibiotics. He has not been back at school so we have had him all day for the past few days. To be honest he is no problem but it is very time consuming as he wants you to be with him all the time. He did come out to the loft for a short time and ‘helped’ me clean the floor. It was just as well the birds were locked up in their nest boxes at the time as he has not been in the loft for months but the birds just kept their eyes on him. One good thing about him being brought up with the pigeons he is never in a hurry and he never stops talking which alerts the birds that he is in the loft.  

Thank You

I would just like to thank the fanciers who phoned me offering the Pictorial that I was missing this was very kind of them however I did receive one from Steve at the RP so this now completes my collection.

SNFC / SNRPC

The interviews for a new secretary have taken place but up to now no one has heard the outcome. I have had a few people asking me what they should do regarding paying their membership fees for 2018 and I have told them to contact one of the committee or send it to Mary Pryde who would deal with the situation. I have also heard that the SNRPC membership has risen since the end of last season. I think many fanciers are keeping their options open by being in both nationals. I’m not going over old ground but I said this would happen after the season the SNFC had in 2017 with the amount of birds that failed to return home. Quite a lot of fanciers do not have a lot of pigeons left so they will be watching the weather forecasts and also the race point and depending on which is the best suited for their birds they will go with that club regardless of their political beliefs.  

This week’s photographs

The first was sent to me by a friend of the family and was indeed a ‘Blast from the Past’. This was taken at Kennoway Club prize presentation in 1978 and the reason I can remember it so vividly was my young sister and brother came to collect my dad’s prizes. He and my brother Paul both died within months of each other that year and you can see from the picture that my sister and wee brother were still in a state of shock. From the back left to right the names are as follows; Tam Cook (still a member to this day) Joe Murphy; Ron Henderson; Davie Hamilton; Bob Galloway; Jock Harrow and Jock Traill from Thornton (main guest). Front row left to right; Tommy Corrigan (councillor) Jimmy Hamilton; Jean Hamilton (Davie’s wife) Nancy Traill; Norrie Smith; Ian Allan; Bernadette Murphy; Brian Murphy; Mrs Corrigan and Margaret Murphy club secretary. The majority of these people have now passed but it was nice to see their faces once again. This week’s 2 bird’s pictures from Jim Hannah are of Our Willie bred and raced by John Duthie of Dundee as you will see he won a Meritorious Bronze Award with the SNFC. The next picture is of ‘Santa Claus’ raced by Willie Pratt of Rosyth and bred by Keith Cochrane of Crossgates.    

Good SNFC Birds

This week I start with a blue cock SU14P 6230 raced by Newcombe and Black of Macmerry this cock won 44th section B 146th open Buckingham a distance of 283 miles he then won 21st section B 39th open from the Ypres race point flying 426 miles both achieved in 2016. In 2017 he won from Bedhampton a distance of 360 miles being 70th section B and 246th open. Our next pigeon is flown by Dave Jamieson of East Calder this Welsh rung 2015 chequer cock won twice as a yearling in the national being 11th section D 293rd open from Buckingham a distance of 287 miles. Then he was sent to Littlehampton a distance of 372 miles and he won 4th section D 35th open; then in 2017 he was back to Buckingham and won 43rd section D 373rd open. We not come to a yearling blue bar cock GB16S 40388 raced by McCormick & Hughes of Uddingston. In 2017 he won 62nd section E (no open prize) from Buckingham a distance of 292 miles; he then went to Bedhampton a distance of 367 miles and won 22nd section  E 227th open. Moving into the centre belt of Scotland we find another yearling who won twice in 2017. This blue bar hen SU16AF 3020 was raced by J Hendry of Bathgate West Lothian  she won 35th section D 306th open from Buckingham a distance of 289 miles; then she went to Bedhampton and won 33rd section D 326th open flying 365 miles.  Another class yearling was a black hen SU16S 2465 raced by J Gilmour of Ecclefechan from the Bedhampton race she won 44th section A 223rd open flying 306 miles she then went to the Falaise race point and won 5th section A 6th open flying 451 miles. I know there will be other yearlings that have achieved very good results during 2107 but I am working through the results trying to find them out and will continue to cover as many as I can before the racing season starts. My last pigeon this week is a mealy cock SU15DF 106 raced by Bruce McKenzie of Dundee. In  2016 he won 40th section C 132nd open from Littlehampton a distance of 406 miles then in 2017 he won 375th open from Buckingham a distance of 321 miles.

Joe’s Joke

While Bob was sunbathing naked at the beach at Green Valley, for the sake of civility, and to keep it from getting sunburned, he had a hat over his private parts. A woman walks past and says, snickering, "If you were a gentleman, you'd lift your hat." He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Madam, if you were better looking, it would lift itself."     IF THIS IS NOT SUITABLE THEN YOU CAN USE

A Message to Women

Old age is when you have stopped growing at both ends, and have begun to grow in the middle. Old age is having a choice of two temptations and choosing the one that will get you home earlier. A man has reached old age when he is cautioned to slow down by his Doctor instead of by the police. Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you. You know you are getting old when you don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.

 Please continue to keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum Avenue Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or log onto www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk www.pigeon-chat.co.uk and www.Pigeonbasics.com - Pigeon Racing the Basics! Who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland

© Compiled by Joe Murphy