JIM EMERTON INTERVIEWS
THE ROYAL LOFT MANAGER
PETER FARROW
Peter with his grandchildren
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I was born and had lived all of my life in the village of Terrington St Clement, Norfolk. For the last 15 years I have worked for myself as a landscape gardener. I have been married to Sherral for nearly 29 years and we have 3 grown up children - Alison, Andrew, & Anna. We also have two adorable grandchildren - Ludella & Logan.
My interest in pigeons started about 35 years ago when I was 14 years of age. Carlo Napolitano lived next door to my uncle and that's where it all began. Carlo started me off in the sport. At first I watched and learned then after a while I started building a team of birds. In the beginning I raced in partnership with my late Dad Ray Farrow under the name of P & R Farrow. The first pigeon race I entered I won, beating most of the other fanciers in the Clenchwarton Victory Flying Club by about 20 minutes. From then on I was hooked. After my Dad died suddenly in September 1992, I continued with the flying name of P & R Farrow and other partnerships. First with Mark Dye (P & R Farrow & M Dye) and together we had a few good wins. It was when in the last partnership with John Campbell (P & R Farrow & Campbell) that we had 3 consecutive successful seasons being top flyers both on the North Road and the South Road.
I was the Peterborough & District Federation Chairman for approx 8 years and have been secretary and treasurer of Clenchwarton Victory Flying Club.
I along with others in the pigeon world was very shocked when Carlo passed away suddenly. I applied for the position of the Royal Loft Manager and was successful in being appointed.
I am also a keen fisherman, both fresh water and sea fishing.
Stone-on-Trent and Mersey Canal in October 2010
Loft Manager to Her Majesty the Queen is a huge responsibility. Are you enjoying this unique task?
Yes I am enjoying the responsibility. It is an honour to have been appointed the Royal Loft Manager, as I regard this role the most challenging anyone can do in our sport.
Will you develop birds for national/international racing?
I am hoping to develop the birds for all races both nationally and internationally. This, as most fanciers will know, will take a few racing seasons, approximately 3-4 years. I have to get to know the birds’ capabilities and they, as most of the birds are old birds, will have to get used to my way of feeding, training and racing systems etc.
Please can you detail your breeding and racing systems?
I normally pair up the stock birds in January. A small number of the racing team are paired up in February. I prefer to race the roundabout system so both hen birds and cock birds get an equal amount of races. I will also be racing both north road and south road.
Can you envisage the continuous formation of a Royal Strain?
Yes I can and hopefully this will be strengthened in the coming years.
Trophies won in the 2010 season
The Royal Lofts are of great historical significance. Can we cement their place in the Barcelona International race?
In the near future I hope to race from Barcelona. This has for a long while been one of my goals on the south road. And we have Lerwick on the north road. There is no better feeling than seeing a bird arriving home and folding its wings as it lands in the loft after 12-20 hours on the wing.
What organisations are the Royal Lofts flying in?
The Royal Lofts fly in the National Flying Club, the Midland National Flying Club, the North Road Championship Club and the British International Championship Club as well as 4 local clubs.
How can we encourage more participation in racing?
By keeping the birdage price as low as possible. This will make it more affordable for all to enjoy the sport.
How can we best promote/develop racing for all?
I think we can promote the sport to the younger generation by taking the sport to them, seeing if schools would be interested in fanciers taking their birds to the schools and giving them talks and showing them how the sport works. Maybe the school could adopt a loft where the children could go and get first hand experience by watching how things work. I think it could be promoted more in the media.
Will you consider writing reports for the media?
No. This is due to other commitments. I run my own business but most importantly I will be too busy with Her Majesty the Queen's pigeons to write regular reports for the media.
Have you any tips for the pigeon world at large?
My tip would be always to look at the top fanciers in your club as they are the ones to beat first. Then once you have achieved that, set your sights on the National top fliers. In other words, do not run before you can walk. It can take 3 - 4 years to get your racing team in tip top condition and your system for feeding and racing right.
