NEWS FROM SCOTLAND

Reports by Joe Murphy

From the last old bird race of the 2019 Scottish national race programme 215 members sent 935 birds to Roye broken down into the following sections Section A 147 birds; Section B 185 birds, Section C 291 birds, Section D 92 birds, Section E 153 birds Section F 8 birds and Section G 59 birds. I watched ‘Landward’ the farming programme on BBC TV on the Sunday night the week prior to the race and phoned my son Kevin he told him he would not get a race the following Friday or Saturday due to the weather forecast as it was to be terrible. Many years ago, Gordon McCaw and Dennis Dall to well-known Fife fanciers told me to watch the Landward programme as the weather prediction as good as it gets; as it is to help farmers plan their workload during the forthcoming week. The farming industry spends millions of pounds regarding on their livelihood for example; planting their crops, cutting their corn or lifting potatoes etc. However, they have advanced a 100-fold since then but the outcome is still the same and the weekly weather forecast is to help them and we as pigeon fanciers should take advantage of this valuable information. Another example of how the weather was predicted was the British Open Golf which was held in Ireland. They told you all week that Sunday would be the worst day weather wise and it could affect the eventual winner of the contest. For the love of me I cannot understand why the national took fanciers pigeons away on a Tuesday when there was not a hope in hell of getting a race until Sunday or Monday the following week, and this is exactly what happened. Surely the race controllers would have obtained a weather forecast for the forthcoming weekend of the race and they could have decided to bring the race forward to a Thursday or not basket the birds to later in the week and have a race on the Monday. BUT NO: this did not happen, and the birds were basketed on the Tuesday and did not get liberated till the following MONDAY of the next week, thus the birds were kept 6 days in a race basket which is a disgrace! We go on about the improvements we have made in our sport well this proves that the SNFC has not moved on. The race controllers need to hang their heads in shame and have a good look at their actions regarding this race. They obvious did not check the long-range weather forecast for the weekend of the race or if they did why basket the birds. The most important item in all of this is the welfare of the pigeons and we wonder why our sport gets bad exposure when we have a disaster’s. (Not that this Roye race was one as all the prizes were won in race time) The other point to consider is the extra cost incurred by keeping a convoyer cooped up in a transporter for these extra days and paying him for every day he is away with the birds (which amounts to a lot of money). The national needs to move into the 21st century and use every aspect of information it can. The welfare of our birds MUST COME FIRST the less time in a race basket the better for the birds and the members. We are a small nation and have 2 national clubs which is down to politics but if we carry on the way we are going the membership will drop in the ‘big national’ because of decisions like the above. Now back to the race; the convoy was liberated at 06-00 hours into a light south west wind and we are informed they cleared the site in one batch heading in a northerly direction. We had sent 5 birds and I said to Kevin we would go up prior to teatime as we had a hell of a day as our oldest son’s father in law had just died. We heard of the first arrivals into the Edinburgh area just after the 12 hour mark and then Kevin received a text from our good friends and near neighbour Charlie Cameron saying he and son Glen had timed in at 18-38 flying 523 miles, as it so happened this turned out to be the winner of 1st section C 1st open SNFC Roye. The bird is named as ‘Branch’ you can read more about him in my report on Arbroath partnership win the SNFC. We waited until about 9pm and as we did not have a bird home so decided to head for home as it takes us an hour to drive back to Thornton. After watching the 10 o’clock news we went to bed. The next morning I checked my phone and low and behold there was a text on it from Kevin saying ‘I’ve timed in’ on looking at the time of the text it was 23-20 and I could not believe he timed at that time so I phoned him and he said he was timed at 22-45pm which must be the last day bird timed on the result and he was as the race closed at 22-30 so he gained 15 minutes to win 27th section C 76th open. I asked if he saw the bird arrive and he told me that he sat out in the garden till 22-30 but by this time it was dark so he moved into the house and having a cup of tea sitting in the dark keep a watch on the loft. By the timed it came to 22-40 he went and watched a programme they had taped on TV. When it finished at 23-15 he went out to lock up the loft and on entering the loft noticed his ETS that a bird had been timed in. He put the light on in his mobile phone on and looked into the trap but no bird - then turning around looked into the section and there was the blue cock sitting on the perch. So, he lifted him up and placed him in his nest box. Needless to say, he was over the moon at timing on the day and being the last day bird on the result flying 523 miles. This blue cock is bred from a son of Gilmour Brothers of Leven’s famous 1st open SNFC Falaise winner ‘Robbie’s Boy’ and the dam of the blue cock is a full sister to Brian & George Hunter of Dunfermline’s famous ‘Kingdom Spirit’ winner of double Gold Award being a winner 10 times in the SNFC. Kevin got another 2 birds’ home on the Tuesday which pleased him as they are related to his day birds as they are both bred from sons of ‘Robbie’s Boy’. A few fanciers have commented to me on the condition the birds have returned in and I have included a couple of photographs to prove the point so well done to the convoyer. However, there are still a few birds missing and the time in the basket could have been a major factor let us hope these birds return home soon.

Derek Hay's 14th Section winner from Roye

Race Results

Ayrshire Federation’s final old bird race in their calendar was once again another joint convoying venture with the SNFC from Ypres. Another hard race for the 109 Ayrshire pigeons with only 3 game birds making in on the night and 24 recorded in race time. Taking 1st federation this week on 974.6 is the partnership of Andy McKenna & Henry Diamond of Irvine Newtown HS. The partnership also won a fantastic 1st section F, 76th open from an entry of 2,483 birds SNFC birds; this was a great performance from this partnership. Andy & Henry timed a 2-year-old cock now named ‘Big Ian’ who had been flying natural up to Buckingham and then put on widowhood due him losing his mate. He is bred down from stock birds from Tom & Scott McEwan of Elphinstone. His sire being a direct son of ‘Kingdom Anna’ bred by George & Brian Hunter of Dunfermline and the dam is an inbred granddaughter of ‘Petite Rose’ winner of 1st open SNFC Tours. Taking 2nd, 3rd , 4th  ,6th  , 7th , 9th  and 12th federation, 2nd , 3rd , 5th , 8th , 9th , and 11th section F, 171st and 225th open SNFC 2,483 birds is Robert Reid of Beith, This man needs no introduction as he is never far away from the top when it comes to the distance racing into Ayrshire. Robert timed two pigeons recording 915.8 and 875.0 on the night and another five pigeon the next day with the first of them the following morning being recorded at 4:59am. 2nd fed, 2nd section F, 171st open for Robert is a blue bar cock ‘1429’. This same pigeon was Robert’s 1st bird from Buckingham this year winning 1st fed, 2nd section F on 1137.7 and was 9th section H from Ypres last year. His dam is a dark chequer hen which has always been stock. She is sister to 1st region, 12th open Buckingham amongst other prominent positions. Her sire and dam have 4 national diplomas between them. Breeding is almost all Ken Buchannan bloodlines. 3rd fed, 3rd section F, 225th open SNFC was a 2-year-old hen ‘20’, her dam won 1st section 68th open Roye in 2018 and her sire was lost as a yearling at a short race. ‘20’ won 9th section Buckingham as a yearling and also as a yearling bred a young bird to win a 1st federation. This year she was out of Buckingham before going to Ypres feeding two 2-day old youngsters.

As I write these notes up, Robert messaged me to say it has just been confirmed he is 1st section F 5th open Reims flying 580 miles, the longest race in the SNFC calendar. What an outstanding performance from this man who is having another fantastic year. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Robert on his 5th open win in what can only be described as a very difficult race.

Winners from in and around the clubs

North Section 52 birds; 1st Dalry HS is R Reid 915.8, 1st Ardeer HS are Hughes & McIntosh 619.9.

Central Section 34 birds; 1st Irvine HS are McKenna & Diamond 974.6. 1st Darvel HS is R Donegan 654.5.

South Section 23 birds; 1st Whitletts & District are Cree & Cuthbert 748.8.

GRAMPIAN COMBINE

From the Maidstone race flown on the 15th June 45 members sent 488 birds liberated at 07-00 hours into a south west wind. The winners are Macaulay Ferguson & Curran with a yearling doing 1753 velocity for the 402 miles, the partnership are also 13th & 15th open. Billy McEwan is 2nd with Danny Henderson in 3rd place he is also 6th & 10th open. Kris Duncan is 4th followed by Jim Lawrence with Graeme MacKenzie in 7th spot. Bob Baldie is 8th with Forfar club mate Kenny Droog & son in 9th 19th & 20th open positions. The J & L Alexander partnership are 11th & 17th with Kevin J Murphy of Arbroath in 12th position his club mate Less McKay is 14th open Sid MacFarlane is 16th with Wull Dorward of Gourdon in 18th open place. From the Ypres race flown on 6th July 45 members sent 399 birds these were liberated with the national convoy at 06-15 hours with no wind at the race point. Billy McEwan takes the first 2 places with the winner a clear 20 minutes out in front Billy is also 11th open (see photo). Mike MacPherson is 3rd with Bill Souter in 4th & 12th places just ahead of D J Liddle of Forfar in 5th sport. Monifieth fanciers J & L Alexander are 5th & 19th with Kevin J Murphy in 6th spot. Macaulay Ferguson & Curran are 6th with Bruce McKenzie next followed by Dave Nichol in 8th & 20th places. 10th open is Willie MacKnight. Kenny Droog & son are 13th with Sid MacFarlane in 14th spot. Gordon Telfer is 15th with Hansen Brothers No 1 loft next Danny Henderson is 17th with last year’s Reims national winner John Wiseman in 18th spot.    

Billy McEwan of Dundee

Traprain

News from John Baillie who writes; ‘Hi Joe, please find an update from the last SNFC races flown by Traprain members. Winning the club from Ypres is John Bosworth taking 3rd section B 5th open. John also comes next in 2nd place with 7th section B and 20th open. Jimmy Mark is in 3rd place with 9th section B 23rd open. From the longest race for the SNFC flown from Reims John Bosworth wins 1st section B and 10th open. John Baillie is in 2nd spot with a 5th section B and 23rd open (this is the same way bred as my 26th open Alencon and is a nest mate to my Burdinne timer, bred from House of Aarden hen x my old Silver Award winner. George Whitson of the (J & G Whitson partnership) takes 3rd position and 6th section B. I will chase up other details of the other winners Joe when I have time. Returns from both these SNFC races were poor, especially the Reims race with insufficient birds to take all open and section prizes. Last week I have heard that a number of birds have arrived back from Ypres and a few from Reims. At the moment we are still waiting on a release from the Roye national. My own thoughts on this are - with the birdage the SNFC are now sending to all its races. It must be time to look at suitable marking stations, so that if we know there is no chance of a liberation on the proposed race day. We can either put back or bring forward the race marking to save the birds being longer in the basket than necessary. It would also help to keep costs down for the national.(My exact sentiments John the national need to come into the 21st century Joe M)  That’s it for now Joe, will update details when I receive them and hopefully we have a decent race from Roye yours John Baillie’. 

f Scotland Federation

News from George Duthie with the result of the Brechin young birds race flown on 21st July with 31 members sending 930 birds with the East section having 13 members sending 360 birds and the West section 18 members sending 570 birds; the convoy were liberated into a light south west wind. Topping the federation and east section is A W Buchan of Fraserburgh & district with a velocity of 1504; he is also 5th section and open. A B Geddes of the same club is 2nd & 8th section and open with S Glew of Peterhead & District club in 3rd 4th & 6th section and open. Walter Masson of Fraserburgh & district is 7th section and open with Stewart Maskame of Peterhead & district winning 9th & 10th east section and open. The winner of the west section and 14th open is A Mair (John) of Devern Valley club who take the whole 10 places. N Raymond is 2nd 3rd & 4th section 17th 18th & 19th open with J Abel winning 5th 6th & 7th section 20th 21st & 22nd open. Fulton & Ritchie loft 1 are 8th section 23rd open with Loft 2 winning 9th section 24th open and A Milne wins 10th & 11th section 26th & 27th open.

Clubs First Bird

A W Buchan wins Fraserburgh & District; S Glew wins Peterhead & District; A Mair (John) wins Devern Valley; G R Duncan wins Keith; R Bain wins Buckie & District; A Robb wins Inverurie; J Thomson wins Elgin & District. Well done to A W Buchan on topping the federation and to J Mair on winning the west section. That’s the start of the young birds Joe there will be a few fingernails bitten by the end of the season yours George’.  

Joe’s Joke

A lady goes to the doctor and complains that her husband is losing interest in sex. The doctor gives her a pill but warns her that it's still experimental. He tells her to slip it into his mashed potatoes at dinner, so that night, she does just that. About a week later, she’s back at the doctor, where she says, "Doc, the pill worked great! I put it in the potatoes like you said! It wasn't five minutes later that he jumped up, raked all the food and dishes onto the floor, grabbed me, ripped all my clothes off, and ravaged me right there on the table!" The doctor says, "I’m sorry, we didn’t realize the pill was that strong! The foundation will be glad to pay for any damages." "Nah," she says, "that's okay. We're never going back to that restaurant anyway."

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 you can also view online editions on: www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk www.pigeon-chat.co.uk - www.Pigeonbasics.com - Pigeon Racing the Basics! - thecanadianpigeoninternational.com www.internationalracingpigeon.com or

https://sites.google.com/site/internationalracingpigeon/