Parkinson. L J 

The week leading up to the Blackpool Show it was all go with Kim making posters and sorting out what we needed to take with us. This is the first time we have had a stand for many years and even I was getting a bit excited and why I will never know. I say that because we have been there so many times you would think I had gone past that stage. Anyway, it is surprising how a younger head does more to emphasise what we are doing, and Kim did a lot of things I would not have done. It was Kim & Lizzie who were pushing to have a stand this year, so I did leave a lot of the organising to them. It is their enthusiasm that got me going in the end and as we were packing the boxes I was as bad as them.

I was thinking of just the North West Classic but the girls were saying we should cover what we are doing through Elimar which is quite right, after all that is the job we are doing. By the end of Wednesday everything was packed away because Mark Smith was putting everything in his van, mostly because he had more room but also because where he parks up for the weekend is only a short walk from the entrance to the Winter Gardens. We also had Reece joining in with the camera, he is always keen to be taking videos for Elimar which is handy because he does quite a bit with the Internet. No doubt he will be spending some time on his project when he gets home and we can show everyone what he has been up to. Over the years there has been talk amongst fanciers that the Blackpool Show is too late now with the change in methods of breeding that we have. Although I have looked at it in the same way the show is still well supported. There are a reduced number of stands at the Winter Gardens but there is still a good attendance, so it is still a worthwhile show. Also, it’s a nice break after everything has calmed down after the Christmas and New year period.

Once again there were a lot of pigeons both old and young advertised, some will have good sales, but I doubt if they all have. There is no doubt about it the show is still the best meeting place over the winter months. Our journey up there was not brilliant because the weather in places was awful to say the least. There were places along the journey where the sky turned black and we had just about every bit of bad weather we could have had. Then suddenly everything cleared up and we had a good run into Blackpool and into the Hilton car par. After booking in and taking the bags to the room we were off to the Winter Gardens where we met Mark Smith who had taken all the stuff up that we needed for the stand.

It was nice to once again be taking part in the show itself via Elimar and the North West Classic club. There were so many people who called to see us on the stand we were kept going but we did have quiet spells. There were always people to talk too as I walked around the show while having a break from the stand. I was looking at options for the future because the girls do have ideas but it’s always a case of how far do we go without going over the top. They do know the sport because they have been involved in one way or another all their lives. However, having ideas and working them in a sport that has so many people who are intent on following fashion and not necessarily the best pigeons available is always going to be difficult. I was talking to Mark Walker about working together at the shows and increasing the stand size and do other things. Mark has only gone to the shows for the courier business and has still been kept busy, but he does have a great team of stock birds that have cost a few quid. With that in mind Mark is considering taking pigeons to the shows as an added interest. There is also the option of having them on the web site a few weeks in advance so that fanciers are aware of what is going to be on offer. There is a good trade at the show for good pigeons and there are always a lot at Blackpool.

The Elimar stand busy at the show.

Les J P with two widowhood hens - Emma & Hayley

Word was that there were some real good sales but as is always the case we hear about the good ones but not the failures and they cannot all be top class sales. Our current interests on the stand are the Elimar site and the North West Classic Club with the later being a big interest. The best part about the Blackpool Show for the club is that it is for fanciers in the North West so with them being there they do visit the stand and a percentage do join the club at the show. This year the interested fanciers took the membership up to 124 but, there were over 40 application forms taken off the stand by fanciers in the North West. The Gold Rings have also gone well for the club with twice as many as last year already gone and I expect that number to increase in the coming weeks. At the moment we are looking at a full-page advert in the BHW at the end of February as an application form and informing fanciers what we have to offer.

Some clubs are talking about using the NWCC for their channel programme which has to be good for both club and fanciers. I say that because there is little or no competition in many clubs when it comes to channel racing in the modern day of middle to long distance racing. There are so many options available to win something in specialist races the clubs are always going to miss out. When I get in places such as the show I get approached by a number of people about one thing or another. In this case I had several asking about what it is about Vior that I mention it so often. I tested and used it for 10yrs and had little or no trouble with the pigeons and whether it was that or other things that I did or a combination of them all I have no idea. What I am certain about is while I was using this product I had no problems with young bird sickness or all the other problems that were going about with young birds. Don’t think I am saying that the pigeons were protected against young bird sickness because I cannot say that but while using it I didn’t get it when all around were, coincidence that is something we don’t know.

Right what are my thoughts on the weekend, well I was getting excited about going to the show for the fist time in many years. Was that excitement justified, yes it was because I really did enjoy the weekend, the only downfall was Elizabeth is having a problem with her hip so was not as agile as she usually is. What about the venue itself, I did speak to quite a few fanciers about the Winter Gardens and to a man, they all said more or less the same thing and that is the venue is not good enough for what is the best pigeon weekend of the year. What makes it a good weekend is Blackpool itself so is there a better venue in the resort??? When I asked for stand space it had to be on a level where Elizabeth & daughter could keep on the flat, stairs were not an option at the moment. What I do know is the girls have already started looking at what we can do next year. Oh yes I nearly forgot to mention Reece did put together a few short clips on people with stands who we have dealt with during the year which meant a bit of free publicity as part of his experience in filming as a hooby.

Les J Parkinson.

11 Rushton Drive,

Middlewich,

Cheshire,

CW10 0NJ.

Tel: 01606836036    Mobile 07871701585.

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