Lancashire Social Circle
What is the world coming to we hold a race and over week later I have still not received the members clock times from the member who are not on the internet and have posted their paper work. The same thing goes for the BHW I receive mine by post on a Thursday, or should I say I used to do the last two weeks mine has come on the following Wednesday. It's as a result of this my report on the final OB race the Circle held from Littlehampton is a rather late. The race was a good one but it was not without a few hick-ups, with a very early liberation trying to miss the heavy thunderstorms coming in as the day progressed. I am right in saying a handful of members missed their arrivals, this in all fairness was in the main down to lack of information getting through to several members. This has now been resolved with the President taking on the role of texting all members the lib time. The race marking took place prior to lunch at our marking station at what must be one of the best facilities in the sport. I have attached a couple of photos showing the surroundings of the 9 hole Golf Club the Circle now call home.
Marquee used by the Circle for race marking at the Golf Club The view from the Marquee over the Greens at the Golf Club.
The race was sponsored by R & B Smith who covered the cost of transport to this south coast liberation site. Malcolm Parry-Jones had a long day collecting the crates and delivering them back to meet up with Barry Maidment and Brian Jones who helped unload them and place drinkers on the crates until the transporter arrived. My personal thanks go out to these two fanciers as they are not members of the Circle but guests, Brian Jones also did the race controlling and apart from the hick-up of lib time the race proved a great success bringing an end to the old bird season.
Brian & Bob Smith who sponsored the Littlehamptonrace 2
Bringing a tremendous end to his OB season by winning the Littlehampton 2 race was John Winstanley who timed a 2y blue cock 21 yards clear of the next member doing 1680. John wins the J S Kearns trophy as the winner of the last race along with Arthur H Todd trophy as winner of the OB Ave with a velocity of 1447. John also wins the Cotswold trophy presented to the winner of the Best Ave from the second and third OB races along with a Frank H Parsonage award. This season John's team of roundabout pigeons have been remarkable with the hens picking up most of the prizes, but in recent week he has found it a hard task to stop them from pairing up and laying. With this decline with the hens performance the team of cock birds have stepped up to the mark keeping the winning loft performances at the top of the results. John's timer comes from the line of Fretwell x Foxwood pigeons that are more for the distance races and with little channel racing these last few seasons this cock has not had the chance to perform to his best, although he did top the Mersey Fed from Yeovil the other week before going on to win the Circle race from Littlehampton.
John Winstanley Winner of the Littlehampton 2 race and OB Ave Winner
Bob Smith picks up the second prize with yearling blue widowhood cock on1659 and is runner-up to three trophies the Arthur H Todd, Cotswold and the Reliance, but picks up the Dr William Anderson trophy for the runner-up OB Ave on 1431.This cock has a great future in front of him he is bred from a pair in the racing team from two excellent racer, both of which have won out of turn for Bob. The sire has been three time first pigeon from the National, a winner from Weymouth and was 1st Sec NWGN from Guernsey. While his dam is a Mersey Fed topper and a past winner on the land and three time over the Channel. Her nest sister has been twice 2nd Sec L with the NFC, with the breeding coming from Bobs own family line that has been produced over 50 years of blending the best to the best of winners.
Maurice McCartney one of the longest flyers in the Circle flying 248 miles timed a 2y cheq widowhood cock that won third place on 1632. This cock has scored before for Maurice and is only one of nine cocks he has left following a disaster of a race a few weeks ago from Yeovil. Maurice started the season with 21 cocks and like the rest of his Combine members suffered heavily from this race. To show how difficult the race was he won 3rd Club but was 2 hours behind the winner. I am pleased to report at the time of writing the best of his team are safely back home.
Maurice McCartney Third Littlehampton 2
One of our newer members Jim Kenny from Banks near Southport was fourth with a 5y blue hen 1632 that has been raced celibate all season before being paired for the first time a couple of weeks ago. When Jim came back into the sport following a career as a jockey for around 20 years. His son Paul who by the way is a past national winner presented him with six youngsters from his Vandenabeele family and this great hen is a youngster from those original pigeons. Jim's set up is only small so only keeps a small team that have to work for their place in the race team. So far this season this hen has flown Messac where she was his second pigeon home, then Carentan and Sigogne along with a number of inland races, so as you can see they have to work. Jim was telling me in his racing days when he rode a winner past the winning post and the cheer of thousands of punters was a great buss, but not as good as the buss you get from clocking a pigeon from a 500 mile race.
Jim Kenny Fourth Littlehampton 2
Dennis Little timed a 3y roundabout cheq hen 1624 to take fifth place flying 215 miles to her home loft in Chorley, followed by David Newson who also clock a 3y cheq hen doing1601 picking up the final card. David had a surprise when informed he had won the Reliance trophy that is presented to the winner of the Best Ave from the first and third OB races.
Dennis Little Fifth Littlehampton 2 David Newson Sixth Littlehampton 2
I had the pleasure of a pleasant conversation with Dawn the daughter of one of our past Honorary Members, Hugh Higgins from Edinburgh the other day. Dawn along with her father Hugh always attended the Circles Ladies Weekends. Following her dads passing her and her husband Curtis moved into her father's house and still keep his pigeons, she did race them for the first couple of seasons but found it imposable at the end of the racing season to dispose of the birds that had not made the grade. So now has them out every day but is not letting them breed as she does not want to add to the family. Many years ago Hugh provided a pigeon to Bob Smith to race which won the race destined for it that season, later put to stock has now produced scores of winner, and almost all of the Smith family of pigeons have the "Hughie" blood in them. Dawn was telling me the Sire and Dam of Bob's pigeon "Hughie" are still going strong at the age of 20 years old.
The Late Hugh Higgins with daughter Dawn
Ladies Weekend 2023 David Newson who is our new ladies event's organiser and I met up with the hotel management to finalise the weekend that is to be held on the 20th 21st October at the Clifton Arms Hotel at Lytham. This is the second time we have held the event in this splendid sea-front hotel that over-looks the Green and is only a short walk from the town centre. Members and guests who have booked with David will be getting a list of the itinerary and a menu choices along with the final balance in the next few days as the hotel need to know rooming requirements as time is pressing on and rooms we have not filled will be offered to other guests. David hopes members and guests will get the request forms back to him along with the balance so a further meeting with the hotel can be arranged.
John Dearden and Chris Knowles with the Reliance Plate Clifton Arms Hotel
Brian Dearn Tel. 01254 772515.
