CARL ELLWOOD
CHAIRMAN OF HOUGHTON REGIS
by Jo Cuthbert
I have finally got around to writing about the members in my club and have decided to start with the one I see the most of (because it is just easier that way) and that is our club Chairman, ‘Geordie’ Carl Ellwood. It always makes me laugh when I hear him referred to as ‘Geordie’ as he doesn’t speak with an accent and has actually lived in Luton for the majority of his life! Here is what I can tell you about the man himself, without giving too much away.
Some of Carl's smart team
I think a lot of people assume wrongly that Carl suddenly decided a few years ago to start racing pigeons, when actually he comes from a very bird orientated background. Before he moved with his family to Luton as a young boy, he used to watch and be fascinated by his Uncle’s birds racing home to the allotments on a Saturday. When the family moved down this way, Carl would still travel to County Durham every now and again to visit his Uncle, Bobby Gravesson, who still enjoys success racing pigeons in the UNC. Whilst at school, Carl became friends with a lad named Jeff Hull who raced pigeons with his Dad, Nobby. I don’t think there are many flyers from this area who do not know of the name as Jeff is still winning in the South Road Leagrave Club. It was Jeff and his Dad who gave Carl his first young birds, at age 14 and he kept them in a converted dog kennel but he never raced them, just kept them as pets. At this time Carl also kept canaries and roller tipplers and in fact was very successful breeding and showing the fife canaries. He was one of the first people to breed a white canary and won prizes at the NEC in Birmingham.
He continued keeping this menagerie of birds until 2000, when he became very ill with kidney failure and as a result of having to be on dialysis whilst he waited for a transplant and being a single parent to his children Kirsty and Matthew, he had to give them up. Carl had to wait until 2005 to have his transplant and was then able to start getting his life back on track. In 2008, during a visit to his Uncle up north, Bobby told Carl to join a club, get himself some rings and start racing some pigeons. So this is what he did and he applied to and joined Houghton Regis in 2009, ready to race the twenty late breds Bobby had given him in the following year. The birds Bobby gave him were mainly of the Van de Merwe strain. Carl had kept the buildings he used to house the canaries in and converted this himself into his first loft. This has since been altered a further three or four times and is currently five sections split between an 10x8 and 18x8 L shaped loft. I remember Carl joined the year after me and even when he wasn’t racing was always up the club, helping out before he would go to his evening job. Carl gave this job up ready to do some serious racing in 2010.
Carl Ellwood
Carl won his first race, the first race of the season from Newark in 2010, securing the ‘Thunderbird’ trophy, I don’t have any other results from that year but I do know that we quickly learned that he was going to be someone who figured in the top six positions week on week. This was to be our last year racing at Creasey Park before our premises got knocked down and we had to take up temporary residence in the hut next to the allotments in Dunstable. It was a case of ‘de ja vu’ in 2011 when he again took first and second in the opening race of the year, making sure he kept his name on that trophy. Carl won another race that year and had numerous seconds, meaning that at the end of the season, in only his second year of racing, he was second highest prize winner behind Bill Smullen. It was in 2011 that Carl and Bill swapped a young bird each and ‘Little Carl’ went on to be a consistent bird for Bill, winning first and minor positions and a fair bit of pool money over the years.
The following year saw Houghton Regis take up residence at ‘The gate’ in Dunstable, a club run by Mandy and Paul Orchard who had previously been the managers at the bar in Creasey Park. They offered us a home there whilst we fought to get a permanent place back at the football club and Carl was involved in most of this, moving our equipment from the allotment and behind the scenes, along with Dereck Hyde arguing the case for the pigeon club to have the right to be back where we belonged once the new club house/community centre had been built. Carl had a good year in 2012, winning five firsts, three of these being on the trot. He also enjoyed his first success at the longer races, winning Alnwick and Stonehaven by some 60 odd yards. Despite these wins he was still nipping at the heels of Bill and again ended up second highest prize winner.
Carl's lofts
Last year, 2013, saw us back at the football club, in a nice container unit we lovingly refer to as the ‘tin hut’. Our tin hut has a tv, beer fridge and lean too shelter ( built by Carl ) so we do not get wet whilst basketing. Carl finally toppled the mighty Mr Smullen this year and ended up as top prize winner (something I am still aiming for) winning four firsts and multiple second prizes. During this year, Carl and Bill had the only birds home in race time in the club from Arbroath and also took the first seven positions from Thurso between them. I am sure Carl would have won more this year had he not lost over half of his young bird team from a bad training toss at Junction 13 on the M1. Well, I say he lost them but it was actually me that took them training that day and I have never been back to junction 13 again! I remember dropping his baskets back and thinking he was ‘pulling my leg’ when he said he didn’t have any home. I also remember the feeling of dread I had as I sat in his garden and after a couple of hours, one solitary bird came flying over the loft. I remember the guilt I felt at losing most of his birds for him, but now when he ‘reminds’ me of it I just think that I did him a favour and sorted the quality from the quantity.
So now we are onto 2014 and Carl started well having two wins but after feeling poorly for months was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, because of his previous transplant this made him very ill and he was hospitalised for a week. During that time Kirsty and I looked after his birds the best we could but they obviously didn’t receive the care and attention they had whilst Carl was there. The members actually missed a weeks racing at this time. I think it was at this point that I realised just how much Carl did on a weekly basis at the club, not just the clock but the opening up and locking up, waiting for the transporter, taking the clubs birds to the combine lorry etc. He was back up the club the week after he was out of hospital, still doing his jobs, even though it would be months before he was deemed fit enough to return to work. Despite all this he ended up third highest prize winner behind Bill and myself. I am sure he will be looking to rectify this again in 2015. I know we have had a laugh about the number of times my late bred blue pied cock he gave me has beaten him in the club this year!
Future fanciers Kurtis and Oscar
Carl is looking to cut down on the different strains he keeps and is now focussing on Van Lints which he got from the Doncaster show from Dean Pallatt and Louella a couple of years ago. He also has Jan Aardens, his best bird being ‘Son of Satan’ bred from birds which he also paid a fair bit for at the show. He also bought a pair from Les Papp before he moved away. When we went to Epsom earlier this month he purchased some new str and is going to give them a try. He mostly races the natural system and says this is because it suits him better with his current work commitments. I know a few of his other methods but have been sworn to secrecy. His daughter’s sons, Kurtis and Oscar, who are seven and coming up two years old love the pigeons so it would be great if they could help Granddad with the birds in his old age, seeing as he is nearing his half a century in December. I know Carl has been contemplating joining the NRCC, seeing as he has spent money on birds that can fly the distance. I also know he is planning on adding a conservatory to our tin hut, I am thinking a nice little patio area for when we are waiting for the lorry to pick up the birds on a Friday night!
So, that is a bit about Houghton Regis Chairman Mr Ellwood. I am thinking youngest member Aaron Coomber and Mr Smullen should follow soon. Roll on New Year when we have Blackpool and breeding to look forward too!
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Elimar - Novmember 2014
