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IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
Given the elixir of life and a fresh start there are things I would do. For birds I would obtain 5 pairs of grandchildren of The Barcelona birds of Louella with pedigrees. I would learn direct from the marathon men and send all the 3 year olds bred to International races into the North of England up to 800 plus miles. With much work and dedication I would take on the services of a keen loft manager, who would be given much credit for his results. A strain would evolve to breed some young for sale. The objective would be to race in an unorthodox way and stretch the boundaries of race possibility. Little has changed then, and we do need some ambitious International fanciers in the North of England. Ideally the loft would be a large establishment in the countryside, as losses would be acute. It is extreme, and probably will not be adopted as a working plan-a man can but dream!
Jim Emerton.
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FEEDING FOR THE MOULT
A natural, yet stressful process, we supply all the needs of the young growing pigeon. The young birds have been on our unique marathon food, where they will continue in August with some training and being out in the sun/wind and rain each day. They are never kept hungry and are fed no extra barley other than is in the pellets. In years go by mine would scanege the fields for barley and wheat which were germinating and attain great condition for growing on and racing. I like young birds on open loft where possible. We feed well throughout the year as the birds are constantly producing body growth or feathers. Birds kept hungry will not race 7 to 900 miles will they?? The top flyer has mastered the art/science of nutrition and the rationale behind it.
Jim Emerton.
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CHARISMATIC MEN
Great men of charm, outstanding talent in their chosen field, radiate charisma when they reach the public eye. The media creates the image in the consciousness of the day. We project our admiration, love and affection on these people, so that with time they morph into myths and icons. They may become cultural icons, revered figures in history. I do like to read about them, and have mixed with one or two of them. The key is one of eccentricity and transcendence, and we create human Gods out of them. Behind the mask they are all perfectionists with a serious will to win and prevail, with admirable persistence, perseverance and patience. Some popular examples are Einstein, Bolt and Senna. I love them all for showing us the light and the way to self realisation.
Jim Emerton.
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THE MARK GILBERT PHENOMENON
The man with the help of Dad is the greatest UK racing man up to 700 miles. His triumphs at International level, and with The English Channel to navigate making him a leading, global fancier on pure results, which are what line the archives and history books. He has experimented with many diverse continental sources of pigeons. I would like to see him concentrate on Gilbert family lines, as some UK birds are as good as or better than some foreign ones. The reality is that they are all a mixture of genes. Due to his racing prowess and dominance, much unnecessary emotional jealousy and criticism is aimed at the popular image of this man, when I perceive his results to be great sending 1 or 100 birds. In race reality we all need to be more competitive, as the little man can have his day at the top of the pile. As he ages, it would be great to see more articles of truth about the man and his system and perhaps a book, which may be read in 50 years time as a lasting legacy of this great fancier. With age on his side, we are going to see and hear a lot more from this man who can transcend the sport into the heady realms of myth, icon, legend, genius and all the superlative cultural cliche of contemporary consciousness.
Jim Emerton/Mensa.
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FLYING NATURAL YBS 200 MILES.
At the cottage all my natural ybs would go to the coast up to Eastbourne approx 230 miles. In the day we kept racing from April to September and ybs went through the organised yb prog. There were holdovers and variable weather conditions for the naturals on open loft conditions and given all they wanted to eat. I recall first 6, 8, 9 from Ashford 210 miles. The following year all the yearlings would go 4 to 500 miles, and thats how we went on. Us old club lads enjoyed yb racing, before darkness systems came in from the continent. I now advise all my mentees to fly ybs on the open loft natural system if they can, and with a view to marathons as later old birds. The older fanciers need train ybs to say 100 miles only to orientate them and muscle them up. Overwintering 20 to 30 ybs is plenty for my aspirations with old birds, and my team used to be 20 to 25 old birds of the same family. You do not need a big team to pull out a champion or two do you?
Jim Emerton.
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KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT AND MAKING DECISIONS.
It is simple, wise to make long term plans around objectives and targets and stick to them. You will need a thinking cap for this process,which takes visualisation and dedication. A narrow focus and single-minded approach will help you on the way. For great feats I like lone individualists who go their own way, and are not afraid to be unconventional with birds and systems of management. There is a balance to attain here, as you must abide by the known rules of The RPRA etc. From sprint to marathon aim high, and see what can be achieved. If you become a Barcelona specialist you will be in an eccentric minority, as most people prefer competitive sprint to distance racing. In reality, turn head dreams into race reality and go for it big style.
Jim Emerton.
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