Established 1979 Company Number: 11693988 VAT Registration Number: 284 0522 13 +44 (0)1606 836036 +44 (0)7871 701585 [email protected]

Les J Parkinson  - What’s on my mind this week - 17-12-24

Elimar Header

Les J Parkinson  - What’s on my mind this week.

I have been so busy entering birds onto the website I have neglected other things such as a few words here and there. However, I would like to thank those who have asked when I will be back in the BHW, it shows someone is reading my notes. When I am writing I m thinking as a pigeon fancier all the time and I am aware it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but they are my thoughts and from the comments there are those out there who enjoy them. There are fanciers out there who I have known for over 50yrs, fanciers who I know I can have a chat with from time to time. Some are no longer racing pigeons, but I do have a chat from time to time. These are the ex-fanciers who still like to keep in touch even though they no longer have a pigeon loft overstocked with racing pigeons in the garden. When I first started writing I asked the late Ernie Harbourne the then Editor of the BHW, about writing and he said, “Keep it straightforward and less complicated, that’s what pigeon fanciers want to read” and that’s what I have tried to do over the last 48yrs come this next BHW Show of the year where my first article appeared. There have been many changes over those long years, I say long years, and now 75yrs old they seem to get shorter every year. Thinking back, I remember having pigeons in the old tea chests or wooden orange boxes that would have made good widowhood boxes. Then I moved to a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft on top of the backyard shed, which was the best of places to have it, having to climb up the wall every time I wanted to be with the pigeons. Dad then helped me to make a better loft using part of the shed, I thought I was moving into the big time then but never got round to racing them. I suppose in the 50’s there were many fanciers like me who started in the same way, there will also be those who followed on in their dads’ footsteps. Now 69yrs from that small loft on top of the backyard shed I have a 42ft loft with the best part of 100 pigeons which will be increasing when we start breeding. I was once asked would I change anything that I have done in the pigeon world, the answer is Yes, I would, come to think of it, No I wouldn’t, why, because I like everyone else would still make mistakes and we will until the day we die, that’s life.  

Return

In my last notes I mentioned the first return of the season, local man Mike O’Hare answered me with his experience. “Just read your note on Elimar about a young hen that turned up and deserved a perch. Our best ever racer had a few months stuffing herself up in the fields as a young bird and went on to win 1st Section L in the NFC from St. Malo and again from Cholet and also won the Bamfords Channel Challenge, among other top races. In the St Malo race, she arrived home with chick weed on her ring.  My thoughts are that her experience struggling her how to pick up water quickly during a race. Hope that you and your family are keeping well. Sorry to hear that Ken Lamb is in a nursing home, he was a very good racer when he put his mind to it as well as a great showman” Yes, he certainly enjoyed the show scene, and his pigeons always looked spot on. I needed a couple of hens so she will come in handy, and I will let you know how she goes on as the season progresses.

Latest Fashion

A subject that crops up so often is the latest fashion in racing pigeons, I don’t get fed up saying that pigeon fanciers go for the latest fashion as compared to a good winning loft of pigeons. I have been asked many times over the years what family of pigeons I have, it's a bit of this and a bit of that all mixed together. One thing I do that most would disagree with is about letting them pair to whichever mate in the loft they fancy. I have paired the odd ones up if I really fancy them but not very often, they have their own choice. At the end of the day the percentage is low with the number of winners that the average loft breeds. I was told many years ago by a top winning fancier that we need to breed at least 6 from a pair to find one winner. I was talking to Ray Lunt about breeding winners and with the number that they have bred and won with we never see them advertising a particular pair are responsible for 100 plus 1sts. The Curtis-Wall-Lunt partnership has been one of the biggest winning lofts of 1st prizes ever since I first met them over 40yrs ago. We can all say that a pair is responsible for X number of winners and that is easy with WORDS that are simple to write down or use in a conversation. Criag sat here one day and said, if you go down to breeding off 8 pairs where one or both go back to one pigeon through several generations, how much of the original pigeon's blood is in them. This would probably be next to none so how can we give credit to one pigeon. Before anyone comments, yes, I know I write about how many pigeons can be followed back to one pigeon. However, that is only because that is the information I am supplied with by fanciers wishing to sell birds. Yes, some of those pigeons will be related in a big way to winners you are never going to get away from that. There is also the point that with some lines of pigeons there appear to be hundreds, and I do mean hundreds about who are given a particular name. In many cases because it's a new name on the scene most fanciers want them, they are the latest fashion. Earlier I mentioned Curtis-Wall-Lunt who bring in a new family and thoroughly test them before

Les Parkinson. 11 Rushton Drive, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0NJ.
Tel: +44 (0)1606 836036. Mob: +44 (0)7871 701585.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web site: http://www.elimarpigeons.com