HULLBRIDGE PIGEON CLUB
Once again, my opening subject is the weather. Now us Southern fanciers have been very spoilt as of late. The weather has been absolutely fantastic. Day after day of brilliant sunshine with temperatures well into the mid-twenties. Who on earth would want to go halfway round the world to do a bit of sunbathing, when all you have to do is put the old cossie on, get the deck chair out and sit in the back yard. Me for starters, can't wait to get back on the cruise ship and see a few sites. Mind you, I can't book until the season is over. Until then just keep dreaming. Once again I digress. The weather was my prime subject so I will carry on with my ramblings. Wednesday 16th June saw the long awaited rain during late evening and did it pour. It continued well into Thursday 17th but at least it is looking good for the weekends racing. At the end of the day , the gardens needed a good watering so it should keep them going for a few days.
This weeks race is from Yeovil which ranges from around 240 miles to 260 plus miles depending on your location within the radius. At this moment in time, I am unaware of any other races going on this weekend which the Thames can take part in.
Marking night is here and the station was opened early because of the footie match tonight. All talk is not of the coming battle in the skies, oh no, it's the battle on the football pitch. The great battle between the Scots and England. The club house is all ready for the evening with rows of chairs lined up in front of the telly. Excitement is mounting because all of our members are rooting for England, so come on England and do the business!
Race day has arrived, we had the disappointment of the England football team not achieving the expected result but also the weather is not looking so good. Somebody sent a photo through of the liberation site and it was not looking good. It looked as if there was unbroken cloud across the whole sky. The sky at the home end didn't look any better. Would we get a lib today? I'm so glad that I don't have the job of making the decision on a day like this. There were a few other feds on the site and they seemed to be content to liberate their birds and so they did. This maybe gave our controller and convoyer the confidence to do the same. Eventually the birds went up at 10:30 in a light east wind. Race on.
Time went on and there were no reported mass drop ins from returning birds. As the afternoon wore on, it became apparent that we had a disaster on our hands. The Hullbridge chat line was buzzing with members wondering where there birds were. Both North and South senders were reporting very poor returns by 17:00. What on earth had happened, where were the birds on what should have been nothing more than a sprint race? Before we start to lay the blame on anybody, remember that somebody has the unenviable job of making the final decision. If other feds had seen fit to liberate prior to us then why not release our birds.
Now this is just food for thought. But somebody mentioned to me that the last time a massive disaster like this happened back in 2012. That was the year when we held the Olympics. At that time there was a red alert because of expected terrorist attacks. Was there something in the atmosphere i.e. some sort of electronic signal that sent the birds haywire? We will never know the answer but it is something to think about. Has some sort of radio wave sent the birds off course? I don't know the answer, maybe you do.
Missing birds have been reported by many of the members with absolutely abysmal results. Let's all hope they start showing up today,
Anyway a few gallant birds did make it home albeit very slowly in the main. Taking the red card this week is John Cowlin with a three year old blue Zwoll cock. Flying 149m 884yds in 4h 48m 22s with a velocity of 912:463. Racing on widowhood and fed once a day on V.S.L.. 
John Cowlin 1st club.
In second place is Tony Buckfield with one of his team of Soontjens. This 2yo blue hen battled home covering the 150m 427yds in 5h 26m 50s recording 809:058. 
Tony Buckfield 2cnd club.
In third spot is Gladwin Jarvis & Family with a seven year old Zwoll chequer hen. This old girl flew the 149m 471yds 5h 39m 19s with a velocity of 774:235. I think those velocities over a sprint race tell a story about what sort of race it was. 
John Gladwin 1st Super 6, 3rd Club.
Well done to the winners and their gallant heroes of the sky for making it home on such a day. Super 6 winners are 1st Gladwin Jarvis & Family, 2cnd Rachael Bacon. Friday scratch card winner of £20 Michael Will Win.
That's it for another week. Let's hope that next week’s write up will bring some better news. Take good care everybody.
