AROUND THE UP NORTH COMBINE
by Keith Simpson
Castletown Payout Night
I received a phone call from my good friend Jeff Leighton asking if I would present the silverware for his Club, Castletown Homing Society; of course Jeff also invited Hayden along to the Club’s big night. Castletown is one of seven Clubs that make up the Sunderland Premier Federation that is part of Section 4 of the Up North Combine. The other six Clubs that compete in the Sunderland Premier Federation are Deptford H/S, Ford Two Bird Club, Oddfellows H/S, Plains Farm H/S, Sportsmans & Comrades H/S and West Side 6 Bird Club.
While entering the Mickey Mouse Club in Castletown, Sunderland car park a Group 4 Security van was driving out, at first I thought it was Anne Evans the wife of Ronnie the secretary of the Sunderland and District Federation. On entering the room we were welcomed by Jeff, a must member for any Club as the very popular Jeff is a great worker and is always looking for ideas to raise extra money to fly for. It was nice to see a good turnout, with a number of top fanciers who would hold their own flying against anyone in any part of the Country. After chatting to some of the lads for a while Jeff took to the floor to welcome everyone to the Clubs 2013 presentation evening and then asked Hayden and me up to present the silverware, prize money and prize cards to the very worthy Castletown members. Gordon Braban of Braban & Son and Paul Shergold of the Kevin Armstrong & Shergold partnership then went up to present the Section 2, 3 and 4 breeder/buyer prize money. Gordon the son of the late Gordon Braban is both secretary of the Washington Celtic Club and the Houghton Federation won 1st UNC Liege in 2001 from a convoy of 9,062 birds. After Gordon senior’s death Gordon junior kept the name of Braban & Son on with the lad winning 1st UNC Clermont in 2005 when there were 11,444 birds competing. Paul the secretary of Plains Farm and the Federation chairman and partner Kevin are a top partnership who are always a tough nut to crack. Once the money was presented to the winners the Disco followed, then it was time for the first class buffet and the raffle which had some great prizes up for grabs, Hayden did a good job on the raffle number machine despite not drawing his own numbers. The DJ was back in action playing some very good numbers for the rest of the night, with everyone enjoying a great evening.
Ruth & George Chipp of Chipp & Kibble, top prize winners in Castletown H/S.
George “Geordie” Chipp & Davey Kibble enjoyed a fantastic 2013 racing season were the winners of the Channel Average, the Young Bird Average and the Overall Average. George & Davey were in the frame from the old bird Eastbourne (1) National where they chalked up a notable 2nd Club, 11th Fed and 54th UNC. The two lads hit the winners’ enclosure at Lillers (1) when their red card winner went onto score a well-earned 8th Fed and 108th UNC from a distance of 342 miles when there were 10,601 birds competing. George & Davey had another good one from Bourges the longest race of the season after winning an impressive 1st Club, 2nd Fed, 61st UNC out of 1,640 birds and 94th North Of England Homing Union Classic from a convoy of 2,355 birds from a distance of 569 miles. George & Davey who have flown a very good Pigeon for a number of years now topped the charts again from the Eastbourne (2) National when they won a most impressive 1st Club, 1st Fed, 2nd Section and 12th UNC when there were 11,572 birds away. Moving onto Lillers (2) the fifth and final water race of the 2013 racing season, where George & Davey who had enjoyed an outstanding old bird season timed a couple of birds to chalk up 2nd and 6th Club, 7th and 16th Fed, 75th and 247th Combine. The duo timed no less than four babies from the young bird Maidstone National to chalk up a notable 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Club with the blue and green card scorers that were timed in the space of 2 seconds going onto lift a top notch 3rd and 4th Fed, 174th and 176th Combine. George & Davey’s next two timers that were clocked 1 second apart to pocketed a useful 5th and 6th Fed, 198th and 199th UNC flying into a West wind to round off a fantastic loft performance. As already said, George & Davey have flown a good Pigeon for a number of years now, with their birds achieving some top performances in that time including an outstanding 2nd UNC Beauvais in 1999 from a convoy of 12,388 birds and a brilliant 3rd UNC young bird Maidstone National in 2012 when there were 14,153 birds competing.
Summers Bros & Rose achieved an outstanding old bird season winning the Old Bird Inland Average and the Overall Old Bird Average. The partnership had a couple of birds on the clock at the old bird Eastbourne (1) National to win a top notch 1st and 3rd Club with their pole position winner going onto win an outstanding 2nd Fed, 6th Section 4, 8th UNC from an entry of 16,894 birds and 8th North Of England Homing Union Classic from a convoy of 23,772 birds. The lads green card potter ended up taking 175th Combine from a distance of 297 miles to round of a great days racing. The partnership were in the points again at the Eastbourne (2) National where their blue card scorer went onto pocket a useful 10th Fed and 104th Combine. The boys timed a very good one out of Fontenay flying the distance of 466 miles into a North East wind, with their very game chart-topper going onto score a very impressive 2nd Fed and 33rd UNC out of an entry of 3,190 birds. The lads rounded of their fantastic old bird season by timing no fewer than three of their 13 entries at Lillers (2) to win a top notch 1st, 4th and 5th Club with their red card winner scoring an awesome 1st Fed, 2nd Section and 13th UNC flying into a North West wind from a convoy of 9,295 birds. The yellow card potter netted a notable 12th Fed and 150th UNC while the third timer went onto lift a useful 14th Fed and 170th Combine to round off a great days racing. The Rose brothers David the former Club secretary and Alan when flying as Coulson & Rose Bros won an outstanding 1st UNC Clermont in 1990 from a convoy of 10,533 birds, with their Gold Medal winner going onto win an earth-shattering 1st Queens Cup.
Billy Rush & Partners Jeff Leighton, Matty Kilty & Ronnie Davison the previous winners of 2nd UNC old bird Maidstone National in 2005 out of an entry of 14,701 birds, were the winners of the Quentin Peters Memorial Trophy, the Maurice Leighton Memorial Trophy and the John Chipp Memorial Trophy. The boys were in the frame from Bourges where they chalked up a useful 2nd Club, 10th Fed and 141st UNC. The partnership hit the winner’s enclosure at the Eastbourne Yearling National when their pole position winner went onto score 18th Fed and 241st UNC in a North West wind from the distance of 297 miles. Next stop is Lillers (3) where a single bird was timed to notch up 3rd Club, 10th Fed and 140th Combine. Billy, Jeff, Matty & Ronnie timed a good one in at the young bird Maidstone National from a distance of 263 miles, when their red card winning youngster went onto score an impressive 2nd Fed and 159th UNC. Watson Bros & Son had a single bird in the clock at the old bird Eastbourne (1) National to pocket a useful 4th Club and 186th UNC. While P Morse & Son were in the points at Lillers (1) the first of five channel races when their blue card potter netted a useful 11th Fed and 127th UNC.
Matty Kilty & Jeff Leighton of Rush & Partners.
The top partnership of Ronnie & Anne Evans, Dixon & Gibbon of the High Southwick Club, Sunderland & District Federation were the winners of the Castletown H/S £50.00 Ring Scheme; Ronnie and Co were also the winners of the Section 4 breeder/buyer where they won with their own youngster. The penny then dropped, it was Anne driving the Group 4 Security van. The lass was on her way to the security vault to bank the partnerships prize money. Ronnie has flown an outstanding Pigeon for a number of years at Club, Fed, Section and UNC level. Ronnie has come very close to topping the UNC a few times no matter the partnership; he has flown with his late father Ronnie flying as R. Evans & Son, then flew as R. Evans, Son, Ptnr & Dixon and now Ronnie & Anne Evans, Dixon & Gibbon. Ronnie is the previous winner of 3rd UNC Clermont 9,684 birds; 3rd UNC Lillers (1) 20,591 birds; 3rd UNC old bird Folkestone (1) National 29,471 birds, 3rd UNC Beauvais 10,906 birds etc. The partnership flew a earth-shattering Pigeon from the 2013 old bird Eastbourne (1) National winning an outstanding 2nd, 20th, 21st, 41st and 127th UNC when there were 16,894 birds competing, they went onto chalk up 2nd, 21st, 22nd and 44th North Of England Homing Union Classic from a convoy of 23,772 birds. They won a top notch 1st Club, 1st Fed, 1st Section and 4th UNC out of Clermont when there were 5,434 birds away, and followed that up by winning 1st Club, 1st Fed and 19th UNC Bourges out of an entry of 1,640 birds and 30th NEHU Classic from a convoy of 2,355 birds. Moving onto Fontenay where their Fed winner went onto score 32nd UNC from 3,190 birds; the partnership were at it again from Lillers (2) when they won a fantastic 1st Club, 1st Fed, 1st Section and 3rd UNC when there were 9,295 birds competing. The partnership had their young birds on song at the Maidstone National after timing four of their entries to win a brilliant 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Club, 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th Fed, 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th Section, 22nd, 23rd, 25th and 44th UNC from a convoy of 10,841 birds. This is an outstanding partnership that churns out top class performances at all levels, and a credit to the sport. Taylor & Tony Ali of South Shields fame were 2nd in the Castletown £50.00 Ring Scheme; Tony and his helper Shaun had travelled down for the night to receive the prize money and enjoyed a great evening. The Taylor & Ali partnership are the previous winners of 1st UNC Lillers (1) in 2007 from a convoy of 19,069 birds. A fantastic loft performance was achieved from the 2012 young Maidstone National when no fewer than three youngsters were timed to win a top notch 1st, 2nd and 4th Club, 1st, 2nd and 4th Fed, 1st, 3rd, and 5th Section, 2nd, 4th and 7th UNC when there were 14,153 birds away. Miller Bros & Kyle were the winners of the Section 2, 3, & 4 breeder/buyer, with the lads winning both the breeder & buyer prize money. These lads fly in the very strong Boldon Club which is part of the Mid Tyne Federation, so they have their work cut out getting to the prize table but they did just that from the 2013 young bird Maidstone National when they won a mouth-watering 1st Club, 1st Fed, 1st Section 3 and 64th UNC. The smash and grab trio who brought their good ladies with them seemed to have a very enjoyable night, which is always good to see.
Ace flyers R & A Evans, Dixon & Gibbon of Sunderland.
Jonathan Crawford of the Crawford & Son Partnership of Wrekenton, Gateshead was at the presentation; the lads had an outstanding 2013 racing season which included winning 1st Club, 1st Fed, 1st Section 2 and 1st UNC Fontenay from a convoy of 3,190 birds. Their Eastbourne Yearling National red card winner went onto chalk up a notable 14th UNC when there were 7,312 birds way. They also won 1st Club, 1st Fed, 1st Section and 68th UNC out of the young bird Maidstone National to round off a very successful 2013 racing season.
We had a very enjoyable night and would like to thank the Castletown H/S members for inviting Hayden and me along. I did take a few photos but unfortunately I lost them along with the first written report and all my previous documents when my computer crashed out, which has resulted in me rewriting the report on the laptop. I have managed to add three old photos from previous reports. With that I’ll sign off until next time, any news to Good Corn 6 Boulby Drive Loftus Saltburn Cleveland TS13 4JN. Tel; 01287 643624 or Email:
---
