AROUND THE UP NORTH COMBINE
by Keith Simpson
BLACKPOOL 2015
It was very sad when my Friend and Clubmate Garry Alderson of Skinningrove passed away peacefully in hospital on December 20th aged 69 years, after a very short illness. We had seen Garry not being himself for over a year or so but unaware what his real health problem was, the Skinningrove H/S members had shown a lot of concern for Garry’s health. Garry had being in hospital around two weeks before his passing; I had visited a number of times, right up to the day he was taken away from us. I had seen his health take a turn for the worse on my second visit, to sit there and see a once very strong and powerful man go downhill was heartbreaking. Garry’s good friend and former workmate Gary Whittaker had spent many hours at the hospital to make sure Garry was being visited and to be there if he ever needed anything. In his younger days Garry loved sea fishing, taking to the sea many times. He had worked all his life and loved his Pigeons whether he won or lost, Garry had being the Club basket man for a number of years, and for the past couple of years he received help in cleaning, spraying, putting fresh shaving in, stringing and sealing the baskets ready for the next race, not a easy task when there was 20 odd baskets to get ready for some of the young bird races. Away from his Pigeons, Garry also loved his horse racing where he would place his bet and sit down to his Saturday afternoon racing where often he would see his selections win the race. The prove that Garry was a very popular man in and outside the sport, showed when so many family and friends attended his Funeral Service on Friday 9th January, it was really fitting to see his Clubmates, fancier friends and former workmates give him a great send off. As Shaun Stone and his brother had volunteered to be pallbearers, the Club were asked for four of Garry’s Clubmates to volunteer to fill the remaining four places. My brother Brian, Stuart White, Lee Prokopowicz and myself took on the task to carry our lifelong mates coffin into the service. R.I. P. Garry, you gave the Skinningrove H/S members some laughable and enjoyable times. Gone but never forgotten.
Friday 16th January saw my two grandsons Hayden, Tyler, my sister Shirley and me set off for the 2015 British Homing World Blackpool Show; it was not a bad drive to The Rhyl Hotel as the weather was kind to us for once. We arrived in time to get settled in before our evening meal, we have booked into The Rhyl Hotel for about 7 years now, when Hayden was one year old. We have enjoyed 7 great weekends with the Proprietors Hazel & Graham Turner who have always provided a very clean, tidy and warm room, along with great food and service. It was the first time in 7 years that my good mate Foxy Winspear of Whitby had missed the Blackpool weekend; he was disappointed in missing the Pigeon weekend and was greatly missed at the yearly meeting. After the evening meal we had a chat with John Douglass of Whitby and his good lady Cassie, who had missed the previous years Show due to John receiving hospital treatment, it was really good to see John doing so well, he still has not got the knack on how to pour the coffee from the pot into his cup, add sugar and give it a stir. It was also good to see John & Joan Chaplin again, the couple have being staying at The Rhyl Hotel a lot longer than we have, and always stay until Monday. It was good to hear that John won 1st Federation in 2014; I wish John even more success in 2015. As timed moved on we had a look at one of the sales in the Winter Gardens, the first one we saw was Clubmate Sack Peirson who had purchased a couple of birds from the previous sale. After sitting through a few lots where some very well bred birds got knocked down for some cheap prices, we made our way to the Amusements, after passing a couple of hours we made our way back to the Hotel where I enjoyed a few relaxing beers before heading up the wooden stairs. After Saturday morning breakfast Shirley took Hayden shopping and I took Tyler with me to the Show, I dropped the Club Unikon base station off for repair and met up with our Club secretary Stuart White. While I was there I got a call from Jimmy Bamling who had some breeder/buyer rings we had purchased for his new Club Dean Bank H/S breeder/buyer, Jimmy and his partner Scotty Attwood went into partnership for the 2013 young bird season, where they flew a very good youngster in Low Spennymoor H/S. Jimmy & Scotty enjoyed an outstanding 2014 racing season with them achieving a number of top loft performances which included winning a fantastic 1st Low Spennymoor H/S, 1st Mid Durham South Federation and 1st Durham Combine Buckingham Yearling Classic with a chequer cock named “Quarry Glen Starsy”. After a quick chat with my Clubmate Brian “Brunks” Laity and Ged Hampson the Redcar secretary I called to pick a few things up from the Bricon stand, before getting everything else I wanted. After dropping everything off at the Hotel we went back into the Winter Gardens and called to see Netty & Helen in the Scribes Room, we had a chat and a drink before Tyler fell asleep on the chair. It’s always nice to call in to see the girls; with cover different topics and always try to put the world to rights. After our evening meal at the Hotel I showered the boys and headed to the Denis Sapin sale, where some of the birds were going for some top prices. On the way to the Amusements we saw a mother and son nipping in for a snack at a nearby takeaway, the young lad in question was Mark Williamson of Liverpool. I don’t know what was in the young ladies food carton as I wasn’t offered a chip, but whatever it was I doubt it would harm her nice figure. After a number of rides the boys wanted a McDonalds, and then it was back to The Rhyl Hotel for a few drinks. After enjoying our Sunday morning breakfast and saying our goodbyes we set off for our drive home, another Pigeon weekend that seemed to go as quickly as it has done previous years.
Hazel & Tyler at The Rhyl Hotel
Through the racing season I had mentioned a couple of times about Craig Wedgewood of Marske & New Marske leaving the sport at the end of the 2014 racing season, but on talking to Craig at the Doncaster Show, he informed me that I had being misinformed as he would be racing in 2015. Craig had received phone calls about him packing up and a number of fanciers had also mentioned it to him, I had thought a few times of what Craig would do with himself without his Pigeons as he has raced his Pigeons all his life. Although we had a laugh and joke about Craig packing in with Pigeons, he will be racing in 2015 in the hope of enjoying a successful season. Fire has destroyed the Liverton Mines lofts of Mr & Mrs Harry & Audrey Garbutt, two fire appliances from the Cleveland Police Fire Brigade were called to the allotment just before 5.30am; it took the crews an hour to extinguish the flames of the two Pigeon-free lofts and a shed. Harry a lifelong member of the sport and his wife Audrey had no birds in the lofts as Harry has not being the best of health the past couple of years; I believe the birds were given to friends to look after. Harry first started racing in the 1960s at Loftus and moved to Liverton Mines where he lives in the 1970s; 76 years old Harry has flown a good Pigeon in his time with him winning a number of races with his well know bird “Long Boat”, who achieved some top performances from the channel in the 70s. Audrey was Club secretary for a great number of years where she always did a first class job, always hard working and there to vaccinate the members birds against Paramyxovirus whenever she got the call. I have known Harry & Audrey all my life and really feel for them, for something like this should never happen. I’m not sure if Harry & Audrey would have returned to the sport they left in 2014 to restart in 2016, as their lofts were still there and I’m sure they still had their baskets and things. This has devastated the couple who have spent so many happy hours at the lofts over a great number of years, not only attending their birds but also working their plot to grow a few vegetables. I can’t think what they have being through since getting to know the sad news of their lofts being burnt to the ground, no doubt they will be racking their brains to try and find out who could do such a thing to them. A few years ago another members loft was burnt to the ground killing all the birds inside, the fire spread to the Liverton Mines H/Q which was also destroyed in the fire. With the members losing their timing clocks, race baskets and everything else in the blaze, another loft in the village was also burnt down a couple of years ago where again all the birds in the lofts perished in the fire. Whenever something like this happens, you will always get help from the kind-hearted fanciers of the sport, but I don’t think you ever get over the devastation it has caused.
Harry Garbutt with the remains of his burnt out lofts
The Up North Combine 2015 official race programme starts on Saturday 4th April, we just hope the Combine gets a better start than 2014 when racing was put back a week due to the very poor weather we were having at the time. Despite the setback and a few other very difficult weeks where the weather was very unkind, the UNC came through it all to end the 2014 racing season on time. The 2015 race programme sees changes in some of the race points with Oakham replacing Melton Mowbray and Boves taking the place of Reims (1); the UNC have two old bird Eastbourne Nationals this season instead of the normal three inland Nationals. I had to turn down the chance of sitting on the panel of a couple of moots within the Up North Combine through the close season, due to Carole not being too well. Her scheduled four day stay in hospital to remove her little toe turned out to be a four and a half week stay, and things didn’t go too well after she returned home. But after eight weeks of the District Nurse tending the foot which looked like Carole would lose, the foot is still being treated by the District Nurse but the hospital has said everything is finely coming together and the foot will not need to be removed which is very welcoming news after months and months of treatment. The Pigeon sport has lost another great fancier in the passing of Wyn Cole, the very popular Wyn flew in the Beechwood partnership of Cole, Steve Wheatley & Grandson who were part of the Teesside Federation. The partnership have enjoyed great success in their time together, with their greatest achievement being when they won 1st Up North Combine Andrezel in 2008 with a 2 year old clue hen named “Ivy” when flying as Cole & Wheatley from a convoy of 4,687 birds. Wyn a long time Vice-President of the Up North Combine has helped so many fanciers over the years and gained much respect for his kindness and helpfulness towards fellow Pigeon fanciers. Wyn & Steve were a top partnership and proved that time and time again with numerous top class performances at Club, Fed and Combine level, not only breeding winners for themselves but many, many other fanciers. Wyn’s passing has seen his family and friends in and out of the sport lose a true Gentleman, who is going to be greatly missed. Rest in Peace Wyn.
Mark Williamson of Liverpool
John Chaplin & Cassie at the Blackpool Show weekend
Tyler, Hayden, John Douglass & Graham
The Loftus West Road Championship Club 2015 breeder/buyer sales is a change of venue this year as they will be held in Brotton Workingmens Club, there are 500 rings available at £10 each and a maximum of 5 rings per partnership. All bird ring numbers must be entered in the sales and no birds will be accepted after the last sale. The prize money is to be raced from the Up North Combine young bird Maidstone National, plus £500 for the first young bird that was shown in the pen. Plus £1,000, prize (1) East Cleveland Section (2) All other Sections in UNC (this prize will go to the bird timed in for the winner of the losing Section). The first sale is to be held on Saturday 14th March where the birds will be auctioned by John Wilkie, the second sale auctioned by Bill Heslop will take place on Saturday 21st March and John Wilkie will put the third sale birds under the hammer on Saturday 28th March. The first three sales penning is from 11.00am 1.00pm with the sales starting at 1.00pm, the fourth and final sale is on Saturday 4th April with penning getting under way at 6.00pm - 7.00pm; Bill Heslop will start the auction at 7.00pm. Please note the new venue of the four sales and the evening sale of the fourth and final sale penning is only for 1 hour and not 2 hours unlike the three afternoon sales. All monies to be paid by the first young bird race on 1st August 2015, 10% of the total sales will go to Club funds. Please Note; all birds sold at the sales will be registered into the purchaser’s names by Keith Arkless and letters will be sent to every purchaser only. Please contact Keith Arkless on 01287 643513 to arrange which sale your bird(s) will be entered in. There was £12,200 paid out in 2012, £14,800 paid out in 2013 and another £16,000 paid out in 2014; whatever’s paid out in 2015 is well worth a go.
With that I will sign off for another week, any news to Good Corn 6 Boulby Drive Loftus Saltburn Cleveland TS13 4JN. Tel; 01287 643624 or Email; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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