From The Chair “The Season with ST Leonards and ST IVES RPC”
By Chris Williams
Since my last article published in the British Homing World dated 30th April, I made contact with the organisation Songbird survival, for the sake of sanity of both this author and you my dear reader, I think it best if I say that I was more than underwhelmed by the response and leave it at that!
Having received the latest “pigeon post” e-mail on the 6th of May it appears the CEO and the team at the RPRA have, at the time of writing greatly advanced the cause for channel racing in 2021 and let’s hope that this is a sign of the return of a greater degree of normality for our pigeons, in what has been arguably one of the most challenging and turbulent times in our sports history. With these efforts it strikes me that Ian Evans is the most effective CEO our sport has had in years, his love of the sport combined with Churchillian like determination to get the job done is exactly what we need if the sport is going to progress. Following this development at our own loft we have decided to wait for further news on racing from the continent. But have no fear I have the latest race results from our great club let’s head off now for “the season with St Leonards and St Ives RPC”.
Due to the poor weather forecast Saturday 8th of May saw 7 members of St Leonards St Ives RPC basket 177 birds for the first old bird race of the 2021 Dorset fed program from the market town of Newbury in Berkshire. The birds were liberated at 11:30 am on Sunday 9th of May into a strong south-southwest wind situation with broken cloud. Taking the red card in the St Leonards and St Ives RPC, scoring 4th Dorset federation against 1227 birds with a 2 yr. old Cheq cock on a velocity of 1041.504 is Jimmy Fisher, unfortunately I don’t have any further information on the winning bird. “Dorset’s Leading Lady”, club secretary Mrs Jenny Mills had to settle for 2nd club & 22nd Dorset federation this week attaining the velocity 997.097 thanks to her 3yr old blue Staff Van Reet hen bred by David Young from Ryton, here is what Jenny had to say of her pigeon: She has always been consistent and has cards from the West, over the Channel and now North. She is a bit on the big side but still feels nice when handled.
If lockdown hasn’t confused my little grey cells too much, Christchurch fancier Jim White broke his novice status in 2020 returning to the sport after a long absence. Well, if the excellent team performance Jim put up in this first race is anything to go by then who knows what he will achieve, for like the legendry snooker player of the same name our very own Jim White is also showing signs of becoming a “Whirlwind" after taking 3rd, 4th 5th 6th club with a blue yearling cock on the going 946.611, a checked yearling cock on 923.725 followed by another yearling blue cock this time doing 895.958, this was followed by yet another blue yearling cock on the going 849.943
Well done to all the prize winners.
That’s all the news from St Leonards and St Ives RPC for this week.
