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

Parky1112

 

 

LES J. PARKINSON'S

NEWS-REPORTS-ARTICLES

I have had another letter from JB of Liverpool about how he is going on and I think he is prepared to listen and adjust his system on good advice. As with many fanciers space is the problem but you can still have different families in the same stock loft and to make sure they are bred from what you want the best thing is to let them out of their boxes on their own for a short time each day and then when the hen has laid her first egg they can all be let out in stages. JB is also looking towards the breeding system of a gene pool off top winners and is looking at the Peter Fox stock line of Drum, Gerrie, Hannibal etc so cannot go far wrong with those. I also agree with his idea of 6 to 8 from each stock pair because you need those to find out if they are any good in the stock loft. There was a piece in the letter about clubs either side getting on the fed list more than his proposed club but you may find in time that is down to position. So it will be interesting to see how JB goes on in his first season back racing pigeons and I am sure he will not find it the same as it used to be. He has a line of training the birds into his area and he goes on to say the pigeons will not cross the Mersey. I am sure that could be overcome and what I would do if I wanted them to cross the water is go to the most westerly side of the River Mersey on the other side and keep tossing them there until they decided it was easier to go straight across rather than around it. I would think that the training route JB is looking at is about right but the problem with pigeon fanciers is there are far too many who start right but get fed up and get it into their mind that they have had enough training for the season.

 

Drugs

A bit of Epsom Salts in the water and maybe a few other things such as honey would be all we used for our pigeons 40yrs ago but now everything is so different. There is now a very big issue in pigeon racing with drugs and many years ago you would not have heard about it in the UK. I know in the swinging 60s when I was in my teens many around me were on one thing or another but I can honestly say things like that never bothered me, in fact the most I take now 50yrs later is a tablet for gout. I know that drugs have been a big problem in many sports long before it became known in UK pigeon racing. Many years ago we were on the continent with a small bus trip and when we walked into one back garden Dave looked in the first section and promptly went and sat down. I asked later why he was not interested in looking at more of the pigeons and he pointed out that they were on cortisone so his interest went straight away. I was more interested why he could see that and how he knew about it and he said you can see it in their eyes. No matter what, where there is money there are many who will try to steal the advantage because that is the nature of the beast. I remember a fancier once telling me that he preferred racing the distance races because the influence of drugs was not such an issue as it is with sprint racing. This year there has been a big shout about a few fanciers clocking lots of birds and when tested they were using a product that was not yet banned in pigeon racing on the continent but I am told it is as good as a drug so the Belgian authorities are looking at it very closely to see how they can stop its use. I was once talking to Dr Vandersanden about the use of drugs in pigeon racing and straight away his finger went up and said, "No, no, you should not use drugs on pigeons". I quickly pointed out that I was only asking but not interested in using them on the pigeons. With me it is a case of looking at anything and everything to do with racing pigeons for reference purposes. I know antibiotics are widely used in pigeon racing but fanciers use them in an attempt to make sure their pigeons are healthy, however they must be used correctly because if not they will do more damage than good over a period of years. Drugs are banned in any kind of sport including pigeon racing and I cannot understand how anyone gets satisfaction out of winning by using drugs of any description.

 

Membership

I have always been one for seeing a move towards no discrimination against fellow fanciers of the sport, by this I am referring to applications and the refusal that we see in some clubs. I have always been of the opinion that if someone is in your radius then they should be allowed in the club. This does happen a lot where good fliers are concerned and it's something that the RPRA should clamp down on. If an application goes to any club and providing the applicant has not defaulted in any way then they should be allowed in the club and a refusal should be considered as bringing the sport into disrepute. This happens quite a lot and 9 times out of 10 they are turned down because they are good flyers winning too much; although some do look for an excuse that is the main point. It is also a known fact that some clubs bring the radius in to keep good flyers out and none of this should purposely happen but it does. It is not what the sport needs. On the other hand I have also heard the comment passed about workers in clubs and I do sympathize with them at times because there are far too many who take their birds to the marking station and do not do their fair share of the work to keep the club going in the right direction. If there are more members or birds going then that means the few workers have even more to do and the problem at Middlewich is there are a few clubs who have the same headquarters but reduced facilities and fanciers who come to the club far too often stand around doing nothing. Some of the bigger races are social evenings to many fanciers and there are a lot who have come to Middlewich and had a good night out.      

 

Adverts

The Christmas adverts are getting more and more adventurous and they are what tell us what we are going to have and what we are going to do; that is in the majority of cases. This year’s adverts are better than many of the programmes that are on the TV. Come to think of it they have been for many years. In reality there are many very poor programmes on TV, in fact I think many are an insult to the average human intelligence. There is a very good avenue that the sport could go down to create interest in racing pigeons but as with everything it is a case of having the money to do it and the right people to take the task on in the first place. The latter is quite easy but the money is a different matter because what I am referring to would need backing and in a big way. However I believe if done right with the right people in charge the cost would be very little but for the sport it would be a great chance to take the sport forward. If ever the occasion arises and I am in the right position I will take the idea up. One never knows what lies in store for any of us in the future. One day a group of investors might become available.    

 

Club News

The latest show for the Moulton lads saw a fantastic old cock’s class of 72 that was judged by Kenny Burke a hard working official for the sport. A good show for A Jones & Son came to the for with 1st, 2nd & 4th. Carol & Robert Carson were 3rd. Ken & Mike Lamb reserve and commended. Reg Sant very highly commended with the remaining card of Highly Commended going to Carl Rowledge. The previous weeks judge Roy Sandland very kindly donated two latebred’s for us to raffle, one was raffled last week and the other this week. These were two first class pigeons and raised £170 for Moulton flying club. Club members would like to thank Roy for his generous support. Got a few photos from John Peever taken at the Crewe Premier club's recent prize presentation. We were supposed to be attending this function but due to circumstances missed out and the man who stepped in was Gordon Goodwin who is a long standing member of the club.  Mr & Mrs Geoff Mathews prizes and pools £153. Chl, Comb, OB Comb, YB aves, 1st Messac, F Howard Trophy, Points Trophy, K Parton Cup, 2 Longest YB races, Best ave OB &  YB longest land races, Best Individ Pigeon, G Goodwin trophy, Mr & Mrs Gollings Trophy, Bass Charrington Trophy. Steve Parkinson £246. OB land ave, 1st Chl race trophy, F Evans Cup, Frank Chesters Mem Trophy, Longest YB race 2B ave, 1st Ylg Messac. Mellor Bros £170 club secretary was saying that this is the first time he can remember the partnership not winning a trophy. Manley & Lloyd £100, YB longest race 2B nom. Dave Jenks £95, Lowest Vel all land races. John Peever £33 Tommy Shaw Cup. Mr & Mrs Jimmy Bennett £60. Martin Williams £37. Alan Williams £70. Powell & Williams £30. Charlie Peel £18 R/U Timpson Shield. Eddie Platt £13. Pat Dargan £6. Geoff Jones £6. Here is another run down on the Moulton Shows and this one was well attended with 71 Any Age Hens on display. Mel Bratt left four certain prize winners at home in order to judge for us at very short notice, thanks Mel. 1st Ken & Mike Lamb with a chequer hen purchased from Robert Kent and were also 3rd & 4th. 2nd C & R Carson. 5th Tracey Molyneux with a chequer Dordin gift from Mr & Mrs C Herbert. 6th Mr & Mrs P Buckton. 7th Reg Sant. 8th Mr & Mrs C Herbert with a chequer Dordin.

Crewe Premier trophies

Mr & Mrs Mathews & Son

Dave Jenks

Dave Mellor

Steve Parkinson

Terry Lloyd

Powell and Williams with Gordon Goodwin

Martin Williams and Gordon Goodwin

Tommy Wright and Gordon Goodwin

Jed Talbott and Gordon Goodwin

Les J 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 www.elimarpigeons.com