Lancashire Social Circle
The Circle only hold one young bird race each season and this is held mid week in early September. The race is in three parts, first members are able to enter 4 youngsters for their team to compete for some of the finest silver trophies in the sport of pigeon racing. The second part is the exchange where the members have been drawn against each other prior to racing. This season with the Covid situation a number of these did not take place with self isolating and the uncertainty of racing when many of these youngsters were ready for weaning. The final part of the race is something relatively new and was only introduced 3 years ago. This came about when for 20 years we exchanged youngsters with the Midland Social Circle that came to an end with fewer members form the Midland in comparison to the Lancashire side. This resulted in several of the Lancashire members not having an exchange partner so these members were excluded. With two splendid trophies awarded to the winners of both the breeders and racers of the pigeons, It was decided to hold a race with pigeons from our guests. This is now known as the Friendship race and makes up the third part of the total entry of the young birds.
Race marking took place at the Alder Root Golf Club near Warrington on a very sunny day when Paul the owner put on lunch for all the members, the cost of which was paid for by the Circle. This is the second time we have done this as it makes the race marking go so much smoother, in the past members have partaken of lunch at our old HQ that closed down in the mid part of last year. The benefit of all eating together means once lunch is complete we can get on with the marking of the birds and in this way we are dun and dusted in a matter of 30 minutes or so. Everyone enjoyed the meal in the very large marquee where social distancing was not a problem. Dianne Bonney provided the transport for the race from West Bay along with a number of other originations. The Circle pigeons were liberated 08 07 hours into a light south east wind. Following what had been a glorious day for marking the pigeons, the race day forecast was for heavy rain coming in from the west around lunch time, so an early lib had to be on the cards for the longer flyers to clock, up into Cumbria. The problem with West Bay as a liberation site is access is not available until 8 00am and should the weather be unfavourable this can and dose cause problems. All the pigeons on the transporter were watered off site and once access was granted a liberation took place soon after. With the wind changing en route members were hoping for them to do around 60mph meaning they would be home before the rain came in.
Keith Iddon Winner of the LSC YB race and the Best Two bird Ave.
This proved to be the case and several members had several birds home in a matter of minutes. The best of these being David Newson who had all his four in the clock in less than two minutes flying 205 miles to his loft in Banks near Southport. But as good at this performance was it was not quite good enough to win the race, this honour went to Keith Iddon who timed in 3hrs 12mins flying 200 with a velocity of 1830, when he recorded a blue cock well fancied carrying his nominations for both the Dickinson and woodhouse trophies. As if this was not good enough he timed a second one 3 minutes later that ensured him of winning the Best Two Bird Average, and the Irish Trophy along with the Battersby Trophy for winning the race, adding to his tally of silverware he also wins the Brian Woodhouse Trophy for the first nominated pigeon in the race. Keith also picks ups The Joe Haworth Trophy for Best Ave last OB race and the YB race along with the Brian Dickinson Trophy presented to the member with the best velocity who times a nom pigeon in from every race, one of the most difficult trophies to win from all the 28 trophies the Circle present every year. The Combined Average Trophy for all races flown also goes to Keith, he also just missed out by one point of winning the Anglo Scottish Friendship Trophy with 109 points. He has two Frank H Parsonage Awards for winning the YB race and the combined averages. Keith's winning pigeon a blue Vanda Brand cock that came on its own and trapped like a good un. This was the first race for this cock as the loft experienced a very bad training toss from 20 miles on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. The pigeons were released early to avoid the heat of the day but were hit by a peregrine attack, around a third of the youngster made it on the day many of which had tails missing and flight feathers out. Several returned the following day and some the day after but the heat had taken its toll on them, and racing was out of the question. The first race entered was the Bamford Gold Ring race from Chale as the loft had a good number of these pigeons carrying the special rings. The race turned out a good one with the pigeons picking up over £700 for their efforts. The next race entered, but not with the Bamford pigeons was the Wigan Two Bird and the Lancashire Social Circle race where 4 pigeons were entered, both these clubs were liberated together in order to avoid the rain that was coming in around lunch time. The second pigeon in the Circle race came with the two pigeons entered in the Wigan Two Bird race, and all three were over the ETS in seconds. I understand these two pigeons ended up 2nd & 3rd in the two bird race. The pigeons are a close family all bred around the Bamford Gold Ring Race winner in 2013, who also won the Lancashire Social Circle young bird race of that season. He has since gone on to produce a good number of winners but better still these direct children have produced dozens of first prizewinner. An example of this is the dam to his winner is a daughter of the Bamford Cock, while the second in the clock is a half sister to the winner coming from the same hen. His 3rd Section L 37th Open old hens National the other week in a direct daughter of the Bamford Cock. The following week the birds were entered in their second race of the season and won the club proving this team of youngsters have got over their bad experience and are on top form. All the youngsters were sitting eggs on a bed of straw on the floor in the dark side of the loft. The loft set-up here is what I can only describe as 'unique'. As the young bird racing season is approaching and the distance races are approaching along with the specialist races, straw is placed all over the floor, which the birds then go to nest in. Then every few days the nests are moved closer and closer together, with the sitting pigeons sitting next to each other, squabbles break out between the sitting birds and one pair can end up sitting a lot more than their own. This motivation is used over the important races at the backend of the YB season with great success.
David Newson with Jim Kenny holding David's first two bird in the LSC Race
In side David Newson's YB loft
David Newson was second with a lovely blue hen doing 1797, David would like to thank one of his fellow club-mates Jim Kenny who kindly took his race entries to the race marking for him as he was working, (this being a mid week race) Jim was also on hand on the race day to time the arrivals. When the first two pigeons arrived and were over the ETS pad Jim gave David a quick call to let him know he had clocked, while on the phone the second two of his entries arrived and with the phone still switched on David got to hear a running commentary of his next arrivals. With all four of his entries safely in the clock in two minutes it was job done and Jim was on his way home. David's pigeons are a mixture of prizewinning families but these four birds have a strong element of Lambrechts from myself that David first brought in 2012.
John Winstanley holding the breeders exchange winner and Geff holding 3rd prize winner in the LSC race.
Alan Jones 4th LSC YB Race
John Winstanley picks up the third prize with a blue pied entered as a cock but could well be a hen on 1781. John first got involved with pigeons as a young boy around the age of 8 or 9 when his father who kept the pigeons was always working and needed help to look after them. At first this seemed a bit of a chore but John's interest grew and when he got married he started up in his own right. For many years John ran a very successful plumbing business that took up a great deal of his time, another of John interests was Wigan football club and he could always be found there on match days being a keen supporter. For many years he helped around the club washing the kit and keeping the place tidy and would travel to away matches on the coach and has been known to have driven it when the need arose. One job, that was a regular one, was the players showers, that from time to time needed constant attention. With John running a plumbing company this was a small task he made look easy. When local entrepreneur Dave Whelan the owner of JJB Sports purchased the club he surrounded himself with people who could make the club tick, in John's words Dave was a great motivator of people. One of the first things he did was to ask John to become a director of Wigan football club, John asked what it would cost him and Dave replied nothing. But you won't be able to travel with the players on the coach to the matches, but would have to go in the helicopter with him. John took up the offer and held the position for 22 years and saw the club move into the premier league play in Europe and win the FA Cup. For the last few years John has been the owner of an animal feed shop supplying pigeon feeds alongside many other sporting items for fishing and horses etc. Now 68 John has taken a small step back and the feed shop in now run by Karen his wife although John is still around as and when needed.
Having no interest in selling pigeons pedigrees are the last thing on his mind and the race team are a mixture of birds from Syndicate Lofts, Curtis Wall & Lunt and Albert Tarlton pigeons blended together that have formed a winning team over the last few years. The Curtis Wall & Lunt birds originate from two cocks Hercules and Playful while the Tarlton pigeons are Janssen based. It was Albert Tarlton that first took John to meet Peter Fox at Syndicate lofts and on that visit John bought three cock birds that all bred winners for him. The interest in channel racing has meant joining the NFC and these last two years has seen some fine performances achieved at the lofts based in Orrell. This last year Jonathan Turner from Ashton in Makerfield was giving up the game and a number of his pigeons that he had purchased from Foxwood Lofts came to John's place. Pigeons from R & B Smith have been exchanged and these will in time be incorporated into the family of winners. With Covid the loft got off to a slow start with his club so he entered pigeons with the Cheshire Fed and won the first three races plus being first with the Mersey Fed. The loft houses 27 pair of racers on roundabout and a separate stock loft has 12 pairs all of which look the part and one particular cheq hen bred by Albert Tarlton took my eye that I would have gladly taken home with me. I can't close this report on John without mentioning his right hand man Geoff Sandland who is a keen part of the racing set-up. Geoff spends most of the day in and around the loft and garden and John was first to admit without his help the racing performances would not be the same. This last year John underwent some health problems and Geoff was the backbone of some great racing performances.
It was over to Liverpool where we find the winner of the fourth diploma Alan Jones who timed a cheq cock on 1769. Alan started with pigeons age 14 in 1953, it was the previous year his uncle died who had kept pigeons for many years and young Alan helped race the pigeons. His present lofts at his home in Garston Liverpool consist of a 12ft x 6ft, a small 6ft x 5ft young bird loft and 18ft x 6ft loft that has a small section for about 12 stock pigeons. These all fly out and are retired racers that have performed well while in the race team. The OB are all raced on a totally natural system. Alan breeds around 40 youngsters that are put on the darkness from around the 21st April to 21st June and would hope to have 30 come the start of the YB racing season. They are fed a good mixture of what takes his fancy at the corn shop, with a titbit following the morning exercise period. Youngsters are trained from 2 miles then onto 5 miles, then over the Runcorn bridge to Frodsham around 10 miles a few times before moving on to Whitchurch a 30 mile toss for them. Once fit they go on the local training wagon every week.
Bobby Brandon 6th LSC YB Race.
The first four places are all on the west side of the country, and its over to the east side where we find the first of our members to break the monopoly. Bobby Brandon who took the fifth spot on the result when he timed a blue hen flying 202 miles doing 1711. Bobby clocked another two that made the result sheet but just out of the prizes. All in all he has had a great season with the Circle picking up a string of trophies that include the Evans Trophy, the Mary Hammond Rose Bowl, the Todd Trophy, Lady Proctor Smith Trophy, the Anglo Scottish Trophy with 110 points, the Reliance Trophy and the Holland/Meyer Trophy for Bird of the Year. He collects 3 awards, a Frank H Parsonage Award, the J O Shone Award and the Tom Holland Award. Bob Smith picks up the final diploma in sixth place, Bob has had a great racing season this year when only last week he was 1st & 2nd in the Bamford Gold Ring Race picking up around £3000. Along with some fine racing performances in the Nationals and Specialist clubs.
The Breeders Exchange Race
The winning trophy from this race went to John Winstanley with a dark cheq pied cock from Stephen Beardmore flying 106 miles to Orrell near Wigan doing a velocity of 1767. This cracking young pigeon is full of long distance winning genes with his sire coming from Mark Gilbert and his dam being a granddaughter of True Grit owned by Massarella. John wins the Barrett Trophy and a John Marsden Award being the racer while Stephen picks up the Braithwaite Trophy and a John Marsden Award for breeding the winning pigeon. In all LSC races with the exception of the exchange and friendship races we only allocate one prize per member, and taking full advantage of this John, timed his second of his two birds from Stephen that picked up fifth prize this one being a blue cock on 1611.
John Winstanley's Racing Loft.
Stephen Beardmore breeder of the winning pigeon in the Exchange Race. Peter Morris 2nd & 4th in the LSC Exchange Race.
A new member to our ranks this season is Peter Morris who for many years has been coming as a guest of Alan Jones, the two of them go back a long way and no one was more pleased to see Peter picking up top places than Alan. Peter timed both his entries that were bred by another of our new members for this season David Pritchard, who by the way won the Dr Anderson Trophy for runner-up OB average. Peter's first over the pad a chequer pied cock on 1676 that was sent sitting that was second, quickly followed by his second 4 minutes later a cheq cock on 1639 that was fourth on the result racing to the perch. Peter tends to pair up following the Blackpool Show and breeds around 40 youngsters to race which he has on the darkness. This season with his club he has won 6 out of the 7 races and has taken the first four on a number of occasions. the young birds are encouraged to pair should they wish and in an effort to encouraged this Peter places nest-pots in the loft and clean straw on the floor. He tells me he will be glad to see the end of this season as he has been having trouble with a cat that has put the youngsters of going into the loft. This has come about when these last few weeks when he has gone training and there is no one there at home, and the cat has been waiting.
Bob Smith timed both his entries with the first of these coming third a blue cock on 1671 bred by Mark Cliffe. A total of 15 birds made the result from the 20 pigeons entered in the exchange race, and it never cesses to amaze me how every season no matter who Bob has in the exchange he always manages to have both entered in the race.
Bob Smith 3rd in the Exchange Race and 2nd in the Friendship Race.
John Dearden 6th In the LSC Exchange Race.
The final place went to John Dearden with one from Stuart Gabriel a blue cock on 1610. All top six places went to cock birds which is something I find a little unusual as normally in young bird racing it's the female of the speeches that figure, but out of all the 15 pigeons clocked by 11 members only two of these were hens.
The Friendship Race
Moving on to the final part, the Friendship Race where members had a pair of youngsters from one of their guests. Since introducing this element to our race programme the enjoyment and enthusiasm from the guests has been tremendous. The winner of this race was the pigeon who had the highest velocity on 1838 of all the pigeons on the day and was raced by the Lancashire Social Circle President Chris Knowles with a pigeon bred by one of his long time guest Ian Burnett.
Chris Knowles with his Friendship Race Winner. The wing of Chris Knowles winning pigeon fastest pigeon from all 3 races.
One could say this winner got off to a shaky start, in her first race on the 8th Aug from 100 mile she was one of only two birds entered from 38 not to make it home on the day of liberation, showing up around 10:30am the following morning. In her second race also from 100 miles she was 4th bird across the ETS from the 36 pigeons entered and making a show on the club result. The following week all racing organisations faced a very stiff north wind "the wind of Truth" racing from 155 miles she was the loft's 3rd pigeon on the arrivals sheet arriving with a loft mate and being beaten by another loft mate that was the winner of the club by a clear margin on a very testing day. The week leading up to the Friendship race was significant for her as it was this time she found herself a mate and was showing a keen interest in him. She finished 9th on the club result with her new found motivation and was looking a good candidate for her target race for the season the Friendship race with the Circle. As one of a team of youngsters that were being flown on a natural system (no darkness) her wing condition was as good as could be hoped for where she was half way up on her 4th flight. On the day of the race, having been liberated into a south east wind, she covered the 189 mile journey in 181 minutes. She did it in style of a true sprinter, arriving smack on line of flight, very high up and folded and trapped instantly to the sound of the whistle.
The friendship race is a race born exactly as its name suggests, of friendship. A guest of an LSC member is invited to participate by gifting two youngsters to his friend who come the day, with a bit of luck will have kept, trained and prepared them for this race, where friends compete as a team. As you can see, in this day and age, to only have two possible entries, get them to the race safely, compete and win, takes some doing. A real challenge for fancier and pigeon alike! This small to medium chequer hen is certainly bred with speed in mind. Ian bred her from a cheq cock gifted to him by W Bird son & Green from the north east which is bred from a grandson of Olympiade 003 when paired to a granddaughter of Van Den Bulck's Rosita. This cock being the same way bred as multiple winners for them. This cock was paired to a mealy hen purchased from Steve Foster. The sire Steve calls "Scouser" and is bred by Steve Maylett from a brother to "Liam" when paired to "Lily the Red". The dam of the mealy hen is the well know breeder "Moorke". Chris has had a good racing season with the Circle winning a string of silver trophies that include the Briggs Trophy, the Webster Bros Trophy, The Three Musketeers Trophy for the highest winning velocity, the Bill Ishmael Trophy for the lowest winning velocity and the Dave Allen Crystal Glass Trophy for the racer in the Friendship race. Ian Burnett wins the Colin Brough Memorial Plate as the breeder of the winning pigeon in the Friendship race.
Bob Smith was second with a blue cock bred by George Pendleton who has been coming to the Circle gatherings as a guest of Bob's for a couple of seasons and has supported the Ladies Weekends organised by the Circle which this year will sadly not be taking place with limitations on social functions. We lost one of our Honorary Members a couple of years ago Bob McLaughlin from Scotland and his nephew on his visit presented the Circle with a trophy to be presented to the runner-up breeder in the Friendship race and this season this goes to George Pendleton.
Brian Walsh 3rd & 4th in the Friendship Race with two pigeons from Billy Holt
Mark Cliffe 5th in the LSC Friendship Race
LSC Vice President Brian Walsh timed both his entries in 7 minutes taking the third and fourth places on the result with two cracking pigeons from one of his long term guests Billy Holt. The first of these a grizzle hen on 1636 was sent sitting eggs 10 days, She has been a consistant all season and was Brian's 1st bird a week or so before this race when she was 12th Fed only beaten by one fancier who timed in 11 pigeons. His second over the ETS was a blue hen doing 1575 that might turn out to be a cock that was flying to the perch and has been steady away in all the races it has been entered it. Mark Cliffe was the final member to time in with one from Les Adams of Adams Bros with a cheq pied hen 1210.
Autumn Gathering
As with all organisations social functions are not going to be possible this year and it is the wish of the President and Management Committee that this year's Autumn Gathering will not be held. With the new rules of only 6 people being aloud in any one group this makes the decision the right one. We hope that once Christmas in behind us and social distancing has been relaxed we would hope to hold our Spring Gathering in March but with a slight difference in that we intend to have a Friday Forum like we do in November. It would be at this point we could hold a prize presentation albeit a little later than we would normally do, but better late than never.
Brian Dearn. Tel. 01254 772515.
