LES J. PARKINSON'S
Thoughts by Les. J Parkinson
My thoughts this week are to point out something that we already know. You don’t have to have a College or University degree’s to be successful in life, you just need common sense and belief in what you are doing.
When you get to that certain age, in my case 70yrs, you start thinking about all sorts of things that have happened in your life. As we all know we can never go back and change how our life has gone, otherwise there would be a lot of changes made, for everyone. Most, or in fact I bet everyone has had such thoughts at some point in their lives, that’s the way life is. I suppose there are readers out there who are going to laugh and think to themselves, “I know what you mean, I have had exactly the same thoughts” most people have an active mind and no doubt more overactive at times, than others. We all learn from those mistakes, or we should do and if we don’t then we are fools, and, in more trouble than we want to be. Making mistakes is all part of growing up and I have made my fair share of those over the years. When we are at school, we make childish mistakes because we were not as knowledgeable, especially in those days, children are far more informed today, than we were in our teens (1950/60’s). Many did not have the back up to put us on the straight and narrow, or you could look it as Elizabeth says, “People don’t listen to good sound advice” do we ever when we are young. We leave school and get a job, live with our parents for the next few years while we get sorted, or at least most do. In my case, I foolishly left home before I had chance to learn enough and then it became hard work gathering the information that I needed to move forward in life. However, learn I did, “The hard way” but I still wish I had stayed at home longer than I did.
All done about growing up I will get onto the point that I started to think about when I switched the PC on this morning. What I started thinking about was my time in pigeons and where I had learnt most of my ways of doing things within the sport. Who are the people who have influenced me in the way I have built my life in pigeon racing, especially the administration side?
I didn’t join a club until 1969 when I started racing in the Middlewich FC. At the time Alan Groom and Roy Smith were joint secretaries of the club and at the time I knew nothing about that side of the sport. When I was at school, I wasn’t one for learning, the only thing I was good at was mathematics, as they were called in those days, put me against the modern ways of doing things and I would be lost. I just kept my head afloat, going to school wasn’t a priority to me, big mistake. So, what I did was to take notice of what Alan & Roy did, and had to learn about what it takes to run a club and keep the sport moving forward. I took an interest from the start because pigeon racing was what I wanted to do, I had found my niche in life, be part of an excellent hobby other than going to work, coming home and doing little else. And I would never stand by and watch others do all the work.
The position as secretary became available a couple of years later so I took the position on, while still learning about results and accounts, I did get good advice and help, from Alan and Roy. In those days working out results was not as easy as it is today, everything was long hand and time consuming, plus there were around 30 or so members, so more extensive results had to be compiled. I took the job on with the late Bob Machin who I was very friendly with at the time. Bob didn’t last long in the job because he had a lot of pressure with work and little time for additional jobs, what time he did have he spent relaxing with the pigeons. I managed another year before Rhoda Groom took up the position with the help of husband Alan. I moved on to the Mid Cheshire Fed secretaries’ position in 1979 which saw me through the 80’s. Still talking too and asking advice from Alan and Roy about the way forward and making sure that the job was done right.
At that time, I also had another good person to learn from and he was President of the Mid Cheshire Fed, George Mainmaring. George was very knowledgeable on life and the next person who gave me a lot of good advice on the official side of the sport, we worked well together, mind you we had a good all-round team on the fed, so it made life easier. The fed moved on from having their birds transported by Catterall’s to their own transporter and a reduction in the cost to the members who were sending their birds. Even though for 11 years there was no increase in any fees the fed still made in excess of £10,000. I did step away from the fed for 2yrs but on request went back for a further 2yrs and made another good profit. As long as you think “Pigeon’s and pigeon fancier’s” you can do these jobs. I have also had a great deal of help and support from Elizabeth with what I have done over the last 40yrs, and that makes life much easier.
I did have a spell as secretary of the Three Counties Combine and they really did well during that period, but things didn’t go as planned with the then President not understanding what was being done for the organisation. Anyway, that’s another story, the point being that you don’t have to stand back from such positions because you may not have had a College or University education, a bit of work and the positions are all achievable, something I leant very quickly. I must add that the people mentioned were a great help to me and there are always people around for advice. Pigeon racing is short of workers and declining in numbers, so they need all the workers they can get. The more workers the less stress put on the few, I know through my own experience of going to marking stations, there are people, who week after week sit on the side-lines and do not pull their weight, if it was left to such people there would be no pigeon racing at all.
Even my writing was through determination and the love of pigeons, yes pigeons have motivated me to do a lot more than I would have expected myself to be doing when I came into the sport. Along the way I have met some very nice people and top pigeon fanciers, plus we have travelled a few miles as well, during which time made some good friends. Been to many excellent functions and had more than my share of a pint or two.
What would I say about what I have done regarding my time with pigeons, which is not over yet, that’s easy?
“I eat, dink & sleep pigeons” (not literally) and have loved the sport from the very start.
Could I have chosen anything better to do other than being an official and racing pigeons as a hobby, definitely not.
Would I go back and change anything I have done in life, “NO” - “WHY” because if I did, I like everyone else would still make other mistakes, no one’s perfect and I have learnt a great deal, through mistakes. As a scribe I have visited many fanciers and in my early years I would discuss system’s and think to myself, “That’s worth trying” This, in itself raises problems, because you change your system to suit and the changes can set the loft back weeks. After that I stuck to my way of doing things, because I learnt from those mistakes.
So, one thing I have learnt and that is;
“If you don’t try you will never know, but there can be consequences in whatever you do”
On the other hand, do I have regrets about something that I could have done in the sport, that I did not, I certainly do. I had a chance to move up a step, but things were not right at the time, more’s the pity because there are people holding positions in the sport who are falling short of what is required to hold such positions and take the sport forward.
I was 70yrs the other week and am thinking to myself, “Let the younger members of the sport take positions on and bring in more modern-day ideas” Technology is great once you get into it, I have Kim here in the office to show me what to do with the PC and my phone, the things you can do with the later, is unbelievable, or at least they are to me at my age. I have now learnt that I only need to carry my phone with me, mind you I prefer to leave it at home and take Elizabeth’s, so at times I do leave that technology out of my life.
I am stepping back from a lot that I have done over the years and we are going to visit a few places we have talked about, let’s see what happens next.
Pigeon racing is a great hobby, enjoy it, while you can, you never know when your number is up.