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Bubwith - April 2014

 

 

ACROSS THE MIDDLE

by Gordon Braban & John Wilkie

Bubwith - April 2014

Hello and welcome back to the Across The Middle reports. Hopefully I will be doing these reports for the next 27 or 28 weeks with the help from club or fed secretaries, with full club or fed results with colour, sex, and age of birds. Right let’s get down to what this little write up is all about - the Up North Combine. With help from a few people I will hope to keep the members of the NEHU up to date with what’s going on within the pigeon sport be it news, results, gossip, and any other bit of information that people tell me.

So here we are into the second week in April and we have not had a race yet. On the last week in March the combine held its official open race, but unlike the years gone by, it was a rubbish weekend. We have had some good open races over the past few years. The Washington Celtic held its open race with 10 members sending 170+ pigeons. The birds went away on the Friday as normal and the hopes of the members that had sent were dashed when along came Saturday and you could not see the bottom of our street as there was fog everywhere {this was not forecast] so it was like all the other weekends when things go pearshaped {call back, or up-date every hour}, so that was Saturday knackered. Along came Sunday and it was pretty much the same waiting for a phone call {call back on the hour} until 12 o'clock came and then they decided to fetch the birds back home. Another wasted weekend. For those who had sent it was their choice and nobody else’s fault, but at least the birds have had a couple of nights in the basket which might be good training for the coming season.

Well the next week was not much better with fog forecast for much of the week, especially in the morning. Those who had managed to get a training toss in were very lucky. Most of us did, whether it was a short toss or a long toss, and the birds did good times, but there were a few people who had trained on the afternoon and had got it wrong with birds missing on the night, but they made their way back in the morning. Typical April weather [good for a week then rubbish for when the racing season starts]. On the Wednesday the phones were starting to go daft. Do we cancel or do we send the birds away that week? On Wednesday night I got a call asking would we like a race or do we cancel? Houghton Fed decided not to go, and like most other feds, thought that they made the right decision, so the first week’s race was put back.


The next week it was all systems go, get as much training into the birds as we could, 25 milers, 45 milers or wherever we could get to, until the Friday, and let’s hope that we would get a race. After the first week’s race was put back, we would still have to start from the normal race point, Bubwith, about 80 miles to my house. All systems go, the birds went away on the Friday. Most of the fanciers around the North East had set their lofts up for the first race being the week before, but when that backfired on them had to get all their birds away this week. There were some big numbers: over 750+ in the Celtic club and 280 in the Gardeners club and there were 280 birds and 1797 birds away in our fed, so everybody most have been watching the same weather forecasts {the Disney channel I think, where everything is sunny}. On the Saturday morning the weather was not that good first thing, so the phone calls started to come in. Have you heard out or do you think we will get a race? About 7-50 I got a phone call telling me that the Durham Conbine had liberated at Newark at 7-40 so that was that. Will it get warmer and brighter for us to liberate? No chance - they don't call him Sunshine Steve for nothing. It was call back on the hour until 2 then it was held over but then word came through that the West Durham Amal had liberated at 2-20 or something like that. Well these lads were very brave, especially at that time in the afternoon, but all went well for them with good velocities and good returns. A few people had called me asking why if the others could get up we could we not get a race, the differance being about 50,000 pigeons and the amount of cuts that we have. Along came Sunday morning. At about 4-30 in the morning I let the dog out of the house to clean itself and you could see then that the sky was going to be clear. It was still a bit dark and cold but it was going to get brighter and warmer as the morning went on, so when I decided to go home at about 6, I sent a text to Mr Proffitt telling him that it was bright but cold and the sun was starting to come up over the horizon. He sent back that it was about the same down at Selby but it was bitterly cold and he was just going to wait until it started to get warmer before he was going to start to liberate the birds. Word came back that he was going to start with section 1 at 07-40 and the rest would follow at 20 mins intervals, so for all those out there who could not work the times out, it was section 2 at 08-00, section 3 at 08-20, section 4 at 08-40, section 5 at 09-00 and section 6 at 09-20. Well the race was on, so let’s get down to the first official race results from the combine for the 2014 season.

Section 2 / Gateshead fed, 2386 birds, west wind
Birtley hs 205 birds. The winners for the first race were Potts, Walker & Birlison, a partnership which was just formed last year with some success with the young birds. These lads have started the 2014 season with a bang, taking 1st & 2nd club and 1st & 11th fed. Their first pigeon was a 2 year old mealy cock, well out in front of their next pigeon doing 1476-19 taking 1hr 34mins 32secs to cover the 79+ miles {30 secs on a fast day is a long time}. The mealy was a fancied bird as it wins the fed 2 bird club. Their next pigeon was a yearling check cock doing 1468-43.

Wrekenton hs 507 birds. Crawford & son. Things just get better for this loft. These lads got 10 birds coming over the fields together, with 3 of them dropping first and only 3 secs splitting them to take the top 3 spots in the club then the other 7 dropped with only 5 secs splitting them. Out of the 10, 4 of them were birds bred by Walker & Greenlay from Boldon {M T fed}. The first hen was a 2 year old check hen {M T} doing 1471-93, the next bird was a home grown blue cock just 1 sec behind doing 1471-68, and the 3rd bird was also 2 year old pied {M T} hen doing 1471-43. The other 7 birds all dropped 34 secs later to make the top 30 in the fed {cracking start}. Terry Elliott & John Watson dropped 3 birds within 15 secs to take 4th, 7th & 8th club, 7th, 16th & 19th fed. Their first bird was a 2 year old check Zring cock doing 1469-75 and the other 2 were yearlings {cock & hen}. Brian Robinson took 5th club 9th fed with a yearling pied hen that won last year she was doing 1468-94. Bowman, Scott & Kelly were 6th club 13th fed with a yearling blue hen, the first bird to hit the Wrekenton gardens {I bet you thought you would win?} doing 1467-66.

Saltwell hs 219 birds. J Turnbull, Turnbull & Steele were the winners with a 2 year old pied hen which took 1hr 40mins 53secs to cover the 84+miles and was doing 1471- 34 and finished up 5th fed. D Pearson & Bell took the next 3 turns in the club with 3 checkers, 2 yearlings and a 3 year old for 14th, 17th & 28th fed.

Mount Pleasant hs, 159 birds. Howourth, Johnson & Steele took the top 6 positions in the club, starting the season as they finished last year’s. Four of these bird made the fed sheet. The first bird was a 2 year old blue cock doing 1470-22 and was 6th fed, the next 3 birds were only split by 2 secs to take 18th, 20th & 21st fed.

Dunston hs 382 birds. Tommy Mollett was 1st & 2nd club 8th & 10th fed with 2 yearling hens with only 2 secs splitting these birds to do vels of 1469 & 1468. Phillip Steele & Alan Hubbuck got 2 birds just seconds after to take 3rd & 4th club 12th & 15th fed. Their first bird was a 2 year old blue cock that takes 2nd in the fed 2 bird club and the other bird was a yearling blue hen. Niel {the salad dodger} Peart was 5th club 23rd fed with a yearling check hen.

Bensham hs 373 birds. Quinn, son Smith & Noble were the winners with a yearling check cock that took 1hr 40mins 28secs and ended up 22nd fed.

Somebody told me that the Italian Stallion {Manny Mannaffi} was the winner at the Springwell club which had 241 birds away.
Well that's it for the first race from the Gateshead area and what a race it has been with 30 birds clocked in within mins and only 14 yards splitting the top pigeons, with good returns.

Section 3 / Houghton fed 1797 birds/lib 08-20
Good trap or Bad trap?
Around 09-37 there was a batch of pigeon racing over the top of my house, so I phoned Steve Bowman at the Wrekenton area of Gateshead to tell him that the birds were on their way of towards him. When he picked the phone up to answer it I could hear shouting and rattling in the background. He told me that the birds had been dropping in for a couple of minutes. So it was on top of the steps and keep a good look-out for any pigeons that just might catch up with the tail enders of a Gateshead batch. So with tab in hand it was radar the sky over towards the fire station at the bottom of our street. I spend at least 10 mins rolling about 10 fags because although I have been doing this timing in thing for a long time I still get the jitters and a tab calms the nerves {I eat them}. Just after 09-55 there was a pigeon clapping down the bottom of the street {and I mean clapping}. 30 seconds is a long time but that's what it flew, then it was joined by another just clapping around until they decided to make a beeline for the loft {wrong loft}, then the rush.
Washington Celtic h s 755 birds. Dyson & Nichols clocked 2 yearling blue cocks in within 20 secs to take 1st & 2nd club and fed, the first young cock was clocked at 09-56 and 34 secs to record a vel of 1449-85, the next cock was doing 1444-86, then about 90 secs later there was a batch of about 8 or 9 dropped within about 10 secs. The first of the batch was 6th club 14th fed. R Herron & son took 3rd club 3rd fed with a dark & whith hen  doing 1434-80. Braban & son dropped 3 birds within 23 secs. The first and 3rd birds were for the Celtic club. The first pigeon was a red Busscheart cock bred from his Crowder lines. He was 4th club & fed doing 1433-87. The next pigeon was also a red Busscheart cock which was 7th club 15th fed doing 1428-27. T Craggs was 5th club 8th fed with a yearling Belgie cock doing 1431-43. The Celtic took 10 positions from 14th to 23rd in the fed with only 4 yards splitting them. Washington Gardeners h s 280 birds. Braban & son clocked a yearling blue hen just 1 second behind his Celtic pigeon to take 1st club 5th fed doing 1433-63. This young hen was bred from a red Lambrect cock and a Busschaert. She was clocked in twice last year to get turns in the club. Davy Lowery clocked a 2 year old blue hen to take 2nd club 6th fed doing 1432-30 {she would not trap either}. Taking 3rd & 4th club 7th & 9th fed was Mr & Mrs Brian Swinburne with 2 yearling hens. Jeff Jobling clocked a few in to take the next couple of turns in the club and to make the fed sheet.

North Biddick h s 336 birds. Mr & Mrs Peter McMann got off to a good start in his new club timing a yearling blue cock to take 1st club 10th fed doing 1430-80. Last year’s top dogs, J & N Robson & Moon were 2nd club 12th fed with a yearling Z ring blue white hen doing 1430-20.

Shiney Row h s 251 birds. Joining Shiney Row from Dubmire was the father and son partnership of Hughie & Colin Jackson, so keeping up his winning ways. They clocked a 2 year old blue cock that was bred by Ronny Evans from Sunderland. This cock had a good few turns last year as a yearling; it took 11th fed doing 1430-38. Laidler & Simpson took the next couple of turns in the club. Their first pigeon was a 3 year old blue hen {25th fed}, the next was a 2 year old blue hen {28th fed}.

Penshaw h s 175 birds. John Collinson was the winner and Steve Wilson, son & dtr were 2nd & 3rd club.

Well that's it for Houghton fed this week. The story of good traps and bad traps that I mentioned at the start of Houghton fed story.Until they are inside the loft, there is nothing you can do about it - fly for minutes, land on the roof, or land on top of the pad -  that's pigeon racing.

Just a couple of things before I go. Gateshead fed will be holding a charity sale on the 5th of May in aid of a very worthy cause. I will give you more details later on about it. Jack Allison will be holding his usual sale in the Crowtrees club in Bowburn on May Day as well. Big Willy & myself called in to see Jack during the week. He has been laid up for a few months, what with having a stroke in September and now he has a busted wheel {a bad leg} so get well soon Jack from us all. These sales always bring in good pigeons from some of the best fanciers from around the area {ain’t that right Johnathan} so get along and get a couple of star buys. The Z rings have been going pretty well again this year, but the breeder / buyer was a bit of a flop {can’t help that} so to make it a bit more interesting, anybody can nominate 1 of their 10 Z rings at £30 to fly for the money {see how it goes} so give Steve Bowman / Jeff Leighton or myself a call with a ring number before the end of April.

If you have any results that you want included from the Across the Middle area get them to me and I will get them into a story within a section if I can, so give me a call on 07526267979, or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so from me this week THAT’S ALL FOLKS.

 

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