THAMES VALLEY FEDERATION NEWS
Jo Cuthbert
April 1st 2014
The 13th of March saw the Thames valley fed delegates meet at Mill End for the last federation meeting before racing starts. The meeting was a little late starting as we were all waiting for chairman Roy Barnes to arrive, speculation gathered as to where he was and all sorts of theories were discussed, the most comical being that he had got ready for bed and was struggling to get out of his onesie! When Roy did arrive he informed us he had forgotten there was a meeting but I personally feel he just wanted to make a big entrance!
Once we got started a productive meeting followed with transport manager Richard Llewellyn letting us all know the lorry had passed its MOT and was road ready for racing. Final arrangements were made for the two breeder/buyers which are to be held on the 6th and 27th of April. Dave Craft of Mill End club told the meeting that there will be refreshments available to buy on the Sundays in the form of tea, coffee and bacon rolls for those who fancy an alternative to bar snacks and a beer. The fed decided again to run the pigeon raffle that proved so successful last year. Members are invited to put forward a young bird for the day of the second sale on the 27th of April. Tickets will be sold at £5 each and it is hoped every member of the fed will buy at least one ticket. Where else could you have the chance of owning a top bred bird for a fiver??? Any raffle birds won can be entered in to the breeder buyer race from Ripon on the 6th of September for a charge of £15. Fred Taylor of Stonebridge club did just this last year, he won a raffle bird and picked his own, entering it into the breeder buyer and ended up winning £575, not bad for an initial outlay of 20 quid!!! I remember this well as I had my eye on his little red young bird and was gutted when I did not win it myself. Fred being the lovely guy he is though is breeding me a red this year. Thank you Fred! As well as the bird raffle it was also decided every club would contribute other raffle prizes to help raise money for our fed. We are also grateful to Titmuss Grains of Wheathampstead who again are sponsoring our advert for the BHW.
Fred Taylor of Stonebridge
Next on the agenda was the question of whether to hold a fed presentation night this year, the most popular suggestions seemed to be either to hold one at Mill End or at Abbots Langley, where Watford club have their prize giving each year. Roy explained to us what a top night this always turned out to be and that for £25 a head you get a 3 course meal and entertainment. We need feedback from clubs and members as to how many would be interested in attending this. I think it would be great if an event like this could be arranged and supported so that those who have raced well and worked hard during the year can be applauded for their efforts. If we can agree on this venue maybe members could pay towards their tickets weekly when they send their birds rather than having to pay out in one go? This was just a thought that was aired at the meeting .Just as we went on to any other business, John Randall of Borehamwood ,made the suggestion of trying to raise some money for the fed and enquired whether anyone knew of any business people who might be willing to sponsor or put forward any prizes for racing. Richard Llewellyn then had the cracking idea of saying he would put his own hand in his pocket and give £20 towards this and asked if any of the other guys in the room would be willing to do the same?? Richard is a crafty beggar as he knew full well that no one else would leave him to make the only donation and before long 20 pound notes were being handed over from our chairman Roy Barnes, auditor Johnny Randall, secretary Carol Byfield ( well actually she nominated hubby Tony whilst he was out of the room!) and my very own club Chairman, Carl Ellwood of Houghton Regis. We now have a prize of £100 which will be raced for on the 10th of May from Wetherby. It was proposed by Watford and seconded by Mill End that this money be raced for on the week of the first East wind but sense prevailed and now it will be winner takes all from Wetherby. Nom birds to be a pound each (on top of fed birdage) and no limit to how many birds you can enter. A massive thank you to all those who gave towards this prize, I am already planning how I can spend it if the birds do it for me on the day!
Vic Rhodes of Stonebridge also offered to do some training in our transporter if any members were interested, so watch this space!
That ended the formal bit and then it was off to the bar for pigeon chat before we all made our way home. It will never cease to amaze me how pigeon people can chat about pigeons for hours on end and never get tired of it. This got me thinking that we must have so many characters in our fed with interesting pigeon tales to tell. I personally would love to find out and get the chance to hear stories and see people’s lofts, their birds and find out a bit more about them. So don’t be shy, send me pics or invite me round with my camera, otherwise you will have to put up with seeing pics of me or my birds!I could become the female version of the legendary Keith Mott J The members of the Thames Valley are lucky to have committed fed delegates who make the effort to travel to all the meetings and I don’t think I ever recall a club not being represented at a Fed meeting. It can sometimes be a late night when you have to travel back a fair distance to Feltham, Stonebridge, Apsley etc so fair-play to those who offer to be fed delegates for their clubs! It was nice to see conveyer David Petitt bring his wife to the meeting but I hope in the future he can find somewhere more exciting to take her for a night out!
My surrogate Dad Ny Williams of Shepperton outside his loft
Other news from the Thames valley is that Watford club have their breeder/buyer on the 13th of April, anyone can put a bird in but any birds bought have to be raced in the Watford Club. I hope the Watford guys get good support for this.
We had sad news at Houghton Regis when we learned that former club member Phil Shepherd had passed away. Phil had not been a well man in the few years I had known him but always managed to have a flirt and a laugh with me, whether it be at the club or on the phone. You will be missed Phil.
On a personal note I have to thank some lovely people who are breeding me young birds this year. Having started again last year I only have yearlings to race and being so scatty some have laid and sat like gooduns but others have messed about. I have had birds promised to me from Fred Taylor, Johnny Randall, Aaron Coomber and my old friends from down south Bob Oakey and Ny Williams. It was lovely to get a call from my mate Bob Oakey of Bedfont and I am looking forward to seeing him at our own fed breeder buyer sales, I hope your wife is a bit better Bob. I also have to mention and congratulate my Scottish face book pigeon pal Brian Massey who is breeding me six young birds and who won a first in show at Blackpool this year winning the following classes: flown 100 mile cock, best opposoite sex and reserve 100 miler, taking his tally of rosettes from showing over the past few years to over 100!! If it wasn’t for these guys and Carl letting me have some old birds to breed from I really would struggle to build a team up again so I am eternally thankful to everyone who has helped me these past couple of years. I have also had a lovely couple of emails from our very own Janina who had just got back from visiting family with Alan. Glad to hear you are both doing well.
My first batch of young birds
I have had a few suggestions for a pen name, these being ‘Lady Jo’ from Fred Taylor as he didn’t think people would realise I was a girl and ‘round about Jo’ from Linda Reagan??? I will be asking you what this means when I next see you Linda and the last one is from my old Shepperton member Ny who suggested ‘Flirty Bird’ and I have no idea what he is implying by that!!! I am sure there are those that have other suggestions, whether they are printable is another matter! I hope this sunny spell lasts so we can all get some decent training in and be ready for racing. Also nice for the young birds to feel the sun on their backs.
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