LES J. PARKINSON'S

NEWS-REPORTS-ARTICLES

Another year over and just the tallying up on who wins what for the secretaries begins, in fact my first set of averages has already arrived from the Rudheath club where secretary Malcolm Hewitt was on the ball. I was talking to Frank from over in Yorkshire about averages and I got a bit of an earful so I started to think about such trophies. For many years fanciers always talked about “Chasing averages and ruining your loft of pigeons”. I said this to Frank and he was not impressed with that view. I am very often on an open phone here in the office and Liz can hear the conversations and she turned her head when Frank had his say. To cut it short his view is: “Winning the averages is about how good you can manage your loft of pigeons over a full season.” As most fanciers will know, I have raced the Nationals since 2001 and not competed much in the club. Prior to this year the last time we raced a full season in the club I think was 2000 when we won the averages and as I recall on the average front we did well in the fed. This is the first year that I have completed the full club programme since then and am told we win the overall averages this year. Anyway that’s another story, I only flew the club because I wanted to compete in this my last season racing for the time being; we never know what the future has in store for any of us. The problem in pigeon racing today is the club scene is not what it used to be because there are far too many small clubs that have been formed because someone somewhere cannot win. This then allows fanciers to move to clubs where they see they have the best advantage and that is not what pigeon racing should be about. I have stuck to the Middlewich FC because that was the main club when I joined the sport to race pigeons at the end of the 60s. I did have pigeons long before that but that was my first step into racing them. There are too many what I call “Two bit clubs” about and they are what take a lot of competition out of the sport. There are also a lot of nationals and classic races available for fanciers to compete in and they also take away from the clubs but for a different reason. I think there are some good ideas that clubs have come up with over the years to help the sport and instead of forming new clubs so that someone can win why not go into league tables for prizes. I don’t know if they still do it but I am sure that they have done this in the Preston area and probably other areas as well. I think there are too many small clubs about to do it now but it could be the way forward for the federations. Anyway I think enough said on that subject that could lead to a minefield.

Club/fed news

Always something to say in this area and we start with Worcester for the Moulton club where Peter & Mike Child ended the season on a high with the top three positions. They clocked a chequer then two chequer pied’s to record vels of 1393/1387/1360ypm.  Mr & Mrs Roy Croxton take the next four places with their first being a blue cock on 1324ypm. In the Crewe West End club 206 birds were competing when the top three all went to the lofts of Colin Lindop who is generally the sprint man to beat and they recorded vels of 1348/1347/1345ypm. Mr & Mrs Keith Lovatt make up the top four with a vel of 1344ypm. In the clubs breeder/buyer was won by Colin Lindop collects £26 plus £100 and also £100 goes to WT Wilson. Winner of the 5B nom is also Colin Lindop with 3110 making it a good day. The runners up are Mr & Mrs Keith Lovatt collecting £70. Secretary Richard Young would like to thank everyone for their help during the season. In the Rudheath club Derek & Marjorie Woodward finished on a high in the Worcester race taking the top two positions on 1383/1382ypm with a blue w/f & chequer both cocks the second winning the nom. Derek’s first is a blue w/f cock racing to the perch and is a grandson of Hannibal a son off Kannibaal crossed with Maritaa daughter of Aske and bred by Peter Fox. Next in the clock is a chequer cock off a Van Loon pair off Martin Joy a friend from the Lymm club. Alan Dimelow is 2nd on 1364ypm after seeing home a slatey chequer cock. B&G Mainwaring are 4th with one of their breeder/buyer entries, this blue cock was bred by Mr & Mrs Geoff Matthews and records a vel of 1362ypm. Still with the Rudheath club here are the averages, YB ave is won by Keith Herbert who has had another good season and has an average velocity of 1329ypm with the r/u position going to B&G Mainwaring. George was telling me that after racing the young birds right through he still has a good team of 43 for next season. Ian cooper wins the old bird ave on 1584ypm this vel being the highest after a series of inland races that saw vels of around the 2000ypm mark. Derek Woodward is the r/u on 1577ypm. The Combined average all races goes to Malcolm Hewitt on 1194ypm. After the old bird inland races the season took a turn and there were some real hard races for the pigeons to contend with and I guess there were not many fanciers in the fed who completed the programme never mind the club. In the Middlewich FC we came back to Worcester to finish the season the distance being just short of 70mls. It was a tight finish for the red card that went to Mark & Heather Smith on 1368.8ypm with a blue hen that Mark was saying has been very consistent and comes from the O’Hare & Woodward lines. Parkinson & Wilkinson who were away for this race are 2nd on 1368.5ypm with a blue w/f cock who has also won 3rd Portland, 3rd club beaten by loft mate 19th fed Cheltenham and his nest mate was 1st club 7th fed Worcester. This is one of a batch of 6 young birds from Jack Laidler that were bought on line but not paid for so they went to this loft and how well they have dome. 3rd & 4th go to Mike O’Hare & Ron Woodward on 1360/1358ypm but due to holidays I have no further details. In the Sandbach FC race from Worcester the red card went to John Allbutt and he was also 3rd on 1402/1373ypm. The winner is a blue hen bred by Eric Taylor and is a Verheye that is showing good form having been 1st club 1st Mid Cheshire Fed Portland and also winning the fed breeder/buyer. Also been 2nd Greenbank 3rd South West Cheshire fed Mangotsfield. For this race she was sent sitting a youngster. John’s other is a Staf Van Reet blue pied cock. 2nd goes to Mick Stockton with a chequer Van De Merwe hen on 1379ypm with 4th going the way of Tommy Hulme & Son who clocked a chequer hen on 1341ypm. The Lostock FC race from Portland saw 8 send 72 birds with the red card going to Derek “Lucky” Woodward who always seems to drop o a good pair of breeders and he has done it again. For years he had one of the best breeding pairs I have come across, they bred something like 60 different first prize winners and Derek has them all recorded but they have just about finished and guess what, it looks as though he has dropped on another pair. This winner is a grizzle cock off “Lady Luck” off “Lucky Luke” crossed with Maya Leekens-Heremans cross “Junior” off Peter Fox’s “Young Couple”. A grizzle hen won 1st National Chateauroux 5,884 birds for the Bosmans-Leekens partnership who I included last week in these notes. This pair of Derek’s from these lines off Peter have already bred 4 different winners this young bird season. Derek was also 4th with a Curtis, Wall & Lunt pigeon but I don’t have any details on that one. The winning vels are 1329/1316ypm. 2nd goes to Kenny Burke who clocked a chequer hen on 1324ypm while Keith Herbert saw home a blue pied hen on 1318ypm, if they follow on Keith’s will be one of those Staf van Reets that have flown so well for him in recent years. The breeder exchange from Portland saw breeder Derek Woodward come out on top with one from Ian Cooper 1316ypm. 2nd is breeder Malcolm Hewitt and racers B&G Mainwaring 1168ypm. While 3rd goes to K Riley & Son breeder and Tommy Howarth the racer on 943ypm. Now over to Winsford PO Mel Bratt who sends the following. For the final race of the season 7 members sent 141 birds to Portland with the South West Federation. It turned out a stiff race but the result as very close. Dave Dickenson & Son winning the red card with a velocity of 1332.7ypm with a blue hen from the team off A.L. Painter and Frans Zwols stock. These have been an excellent introduction for David and a credit to the breeders. Albert & Marguerite Austin took second with a vel of 1332.08ypm with a red hen which is a Lambrecht. This young hen has already won at Midland 5 Bird and I'm told she handles like a class pigeon. The sire is a Mealy cock already a winner of the Carenten race with the Middlewich 2 Bird last year. I would like to congratulate Albert and Marguerite on a very good season. Mel. Taking the next five positions the Jones Bros and Karen the team are just coming into their form. Velocities 1329/1328/1326/1326/1325ypm. I believe the team are going onto the ETS system next year and in this race they had eight drop together. The pigeon gaining third place is a chequer cock sitting 14days. The pigeon gaining fourth is a blue Pied hen sent feeding a 14 day youngster. Both are flown on darkness system and both off their very good Andre Clemens family. Just to finish the details of C&G&K.Hitchen's pigeon from last week they clocked a blue w/f hen out of the Winsford cock raced by Mike Hitchen and it is a Sanger Janssen/Jos Thorne hen. The Winsford lads should be proud of themselves putting up outstanding performances at all levels of competition. 47 members of the Mid Cheshire Fed sent 490 birds to Worcester to be liberated at 11.45am in an East wind. Sandbach member John Allbutt has had his team in good form during recent weeks and in this race takes 1st & 7th while on the other side of the fed  2nd 3rd & 15th go to Pete & Mike Child racing with the Moulton club. 4th & 5th go to Derek Woodward from Rudheath with Mick Stockton being 6th. Crewe Premier saw Mr & Mrs Geoff Matthews finish 8th followed by Mark & Heather Smith who topped the list at Middlewich. Kingsway winners Mr & Mrs J Burnett are 10th ahead of Parkinson & Wilkinson 11th and Bill Mather from the Cheshire FC 12th the last four mentioned with less than a yard between them and they are well apart in the fed position wise. 13th goes to Alan Dimelow, 14th Andy Noon & Geoff Callan with Mike O’Hare & Ron Woodward being 16th 17th & 19th fed. The other two top twenty positions go to Don Risley 18th and John Kirk 20th. Just the Wrinehill club missing the top twenty where Roy Jolley topped the list.

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

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