L.J Parkinson.

These long hot days are still taking their toll on the pigeons and there are even people who are saying they have had enough of the heat including Elizabeth and myself. The pigeons are not coping with it at all and even our dog is walking about not knowing the best place to hide from the heat. Come winter we will all be wanting summer to get some warmth into our body, cannot win no matter what.

Anyway, what about the races we have had starting with the Middlewich FC race from Cheltenham when the red card went to Anthony Evans recoding a vel of 949ypm that’s how tough the racing is at the moment and this is only from just short of 90mls. Anthony slowly coming back into racing after a good few years away. 2nd & 3rd with vels of 844/796ypm go to DJ&CJ Wilkinson after David saw home a chequer w/f hen from the Taveirne-Rigole x Curtis-Wall-Lunt lines, both sire and dam have both won on the road. Next in the clock is a dark cock a previous winner, which is a Jan Aarden x Taveirne-Rigole which have been producing prize winners for a very long time.  The club then went to Messac when Peter & Dawn Latham topped the list. Peter was telling me that he was late home from work and when he went to the club the NWCC birds had been collected so he sent them to the club race instead, wonder what they would have done from Saintes. 2nd are DJ&CJ Wilkinson with a 3yo dark pied cock known as "Lucky" whose sire is a Jan Aarden who has bred prize winners and his dam was a Harrison and Hull bred Janssen that also won. 3rd are Dickens & Wilkinson with a dark yearling cock called "Ant" which is a Jan Polder bred by Anthony Evans, this one also prized from Carentan this year. 4th DJ&CJ Wilkinson with a dark pied hen yearling Aarden x Sticklebaut from stock selected by Jim Emerton.

Over at Acton Bridge who were also at Cheltenham when the top two positions went to John Bell whose first is a Houben Janssen 3yo bred out of gift birds from the late Bernie Coulter of Liverpool. He then clocked a 4yo Kirkpatrick out of Irvin Buchan of Peterhead pigeons, they recorded vels of 915/875ypm. The next two positions go to Mr & Mrs Geoff Bebbington on 862/847ypm. First in the clock is a 2yo bred from a gift pair off John Highley coming from the Pennine Heights lines. The other is out of the same distance family and is a 3yo. The club were then at Messac when Geoff Bebbington clocked three yearlings that ended up 8th 11th 15th fed in what was another tough race.  The first two are bred from the race team and they are a mixed bunch based on the Van Wanroy lines. The other is bred from a g-s of Drogba crossed with one from the Red Star lines from Eijerkamps.

The Mid Cheshire Fed race from Cheltenham saw 54 members enter 636 birds that were liberated at 7am in a north east wind. Top spot this week goes to Andy Noon racing with the Kingsway club. Other club winners this week are Dave Pritchard at Rudheath who is having a real good season. Mr & Mrs Carl Rowledge win the Crewe Premier. W&P Brown collect the red card at Earlstown while John Bell does the same at Acton Bridge. In the Middlewich FC Anthony Evans came out on tap as did J Chadwick in the Leigh club. R&D Gaskell won at Tyldesley while J Marshall took the red card at Hodnet. The fed then went to Messac where the numbers were reduced due to the hard races that the members have encountered. 26 members sent 137 birds that were liberated at 10am into a north east wind and considering the day this was a good race for those who entered. Top spot goes to Dave & Baz Mellor who were 2nd Combine at the other Messac race. The remaining club winner sare Andy Noon at Kingsway. W&P Brown in the Earlstown club. Long time winner Joe Glover in the Wrinehill club. Geoff Bebbington at Acton Bridge and Peter & Dawn Latham in the Middlewich FC.  

The Middlewich 5B raced from Bath when the red card went to Dudley & Irene Niblett whose winner clocked up 1387ypm, they had a good one in the hard NWCC Saintes race coming home in 2nd spot, well done. Alan Woodcock takes the next two positions on 1346/1311ypm leaving 4th to Peter & Dawn Latham recording a vel of 1305ypm.

The South West Cheshire Fed race saw 40 members send 397 birds to Bath to be liberated at 10.45am in a light north east wind. Dave Pritchard is really making a name for himself taking the first three positions with his entries from the Moulton club. Mick & Wendy Mellor won the Crewe West End with Charlie Peel winning the Greenbank club, kept that one quiet Charlie I didn’t know you were racing again. The Hankelow club saw Joe Glover pick up another red card while Mr & Mrs Dudley Niblett were in the same position in the Middlewich 5B. That leaves the Winsford club where Mel Bratt is back at the top of the leader’s board. The fed then had a double header with races on the same weekend from Messac and another Bath race. Firstly, we will look at the race from Messac when 10 members sent 46 birds, tough racing. J Thornley over at Moulton topped the list while Mr & Mrs Terry Smith on the Crewe West End. In the Greenbank club Tommy Hulme & Son collected the red card while G&A Jones did the same at Winsford. The fed were also at Bath when 33 sent 407 birds that were liberated at 9.30am in a light north west wind. Mr & Mrs Nigel Shaw from the Hankelow club topped the list. Crewe West end members Mick & Wendy Mellor won their club with Mick Stockton doing the same over at the Greenbank club. Dave Pritchard continues his winning ways with another red card in the Moulton club while Hitchin & Horsfield won at Winsford.

On many occasion’s I have heard fancier’s having a dig at Curtis-Wall-Lunt for not competing in the channel races. Well in the Messac race on the 23rd June they were 1st 4th 5th 6th Cheshire Combine when 126 members sent 657 birds, I am told they had others following very close behind. They have some good channel performances to their credit.