NEWS FROM SCOTLAND
Reports by Joe Murphy
This weekend is the Blackpool Show but unfortunately we are not going this time, due to not having the time, to be honest. We have been going up to Kevin’s at Arbroath these past six weekends, helping him with odd jobs and the pigeon loft. Hopefully this weekend will see the majority of the jobs complete and he can get the birds broken to their new location. He has been fortunate in that he has been able to have the birds going in and out of the aviary, so they have had a good look round prior to their being given their freedom. He could have some problems as the birds are now in a wooden loft because the brick loft has stayed at his old house. However it is not far away and they might go back to the old loft a few times before they settle to the new environment.
It has been hard work trying to get everything done prior to the birds’ release, as you do not want to be going about hammering and banging when trying to settle the birds. We have discussed our thoughts on the season ahead and one thing we both agree on is that we might have to pair them up for the racing season and keep them natural for most of the old bird season, but we will have to wait and see how things pan out. We might even have to write this season off, depending on how the birds settle but it is a worrying time in case we cannot settle some of them and the annoying thing is we are just starting to get a really good team of pigeons about us.
The one good thing is we have an excellent team of yearlings about us and hopefully having their first babies of their lives in the new loft will instil the love of home right at the start of their racing careers. I will keep readers updated on our progress throughout the season.
Obituaries
George Brownlie of Carluke: received a phone message from Eddie Callaghan of Fauldhouse informing me of the passing of George who was without doubt one of the best long-distance fanciers in the west of Scotland over the years. George was a great ‘Van Hee’ man and raced this family of pigeons with great success into Scotland especially in the Scottish National Flying Club. In fact, Eddie’s great 1986 Rennes winner ‘Fallowhill Superstar’ contained George’s Van Hee family bloodlines to the extent that Louella Pigeon World purchased him to enhance their colony of this wonderful family.
Graeme Scott of Montrose: I could not believe the story in the Daily Record about the passing of Graeme. He and his wife Marlene who run the Limes Guest House in Montrose were on holiday in Thailand. As the plane came into land at Dubai airport prior to flying onwards to Thailand, Marlene went to awaken Graeme whom she thought was asleep and was shocked to discover that he had passed away during the flight. What a shock this must have been for this mum of their three children and we can only try to grasp how she must have felt. To Marlene and their family we send our heartfelt condolences at the passing of the hardworking Graeme.
SNFC Good Pigeons
This week I highlight three pigeons of George & Elizabeth (Betty) Archibald of Bilston in Edinburgh and Jim Hannah has kindly forwarded pictures of these three. The first is Meadow Alert and like all the Archibald youngsters she was well trained and only had ONE race as a youngster. The following year, as a yearling, she won 46th section 91st open Wanstead Flats with the SNRPC. As a 2-year-old, she was sent to Tours with the Scottish National Flying Club, however, she took a month to return and George informs me that she still had her rubber ring on and was none the worse for spending this time out. The following year, 2011, she was sent to the SNFC Gold Cup race from Messac and it was a cold second day morning when she arrived and in fact George missed her, as he went into the house for a cup of tea. When he looked out of the window, he noticed the red hen on the lander and ran out to time her in to win 4th section B 13th open Scottish National Alencon, flying 559 miles from an entry of 1159 birds. The following year, 2012, she was sent to Alencon, a distance of 532 miles with the SNFC flying and again George missed her return home as he was in the toilet. However, she again proved her worth by winning 4th section B 10th open from an entry of 1486 birds.
In 2014 she was again entered for the Gold Cup race from Alencon and again George missed her arrival. He was out in the garden looking skyward for pigeons when his wife, Betty, said ‘there’s a cat on the loft roof’. So, off he went to chase it away. Then, walking back down the path to the back door of the house, Betty said ‘there’s another cat’ and, turning round, George noticed it was not a cat, but his red cock (a half-brother to Meadow Alert) on the board ready to go into the loft where he was timed in to win 22nd section B 58th open he is now named ‘Meadow Lad’.
After attending to Meadow Lad, George returned to the house a few minutes later to speak to Betty when she said ‘there’s a bird on the loft’ and George, turning round, could not believe his eyes, as this time it was ‘Meadow Alert’, the red hen, who won 23rd section B 61st open Alencon from an entry 1427 birds sent by 421 members. She was timed three minutes after her half-brother and she won a Silver Award in the SNFC for winning a section prize three times from a Continental race point. This was indeed a very creditable performance from this small back garden loft and our congratulations go to Betty and George.
As a matter of interest, ‘Meadow Lad’ took two days to return from the Maidstone race point as a yearling (many birds failed to return from this race), but he went on to win 5th section B 21st open SNFC Ancenis, 594 miles, in his first Channel race the following year, when only 29 pigeons made it home in three days from the race. One thing that struck me when speaking to George was how these pigeons have grasped the knowledge from their mistakes and proved they are indeed both talented racing pigeons.
The third picture is of ‘Meadow Producer’ who is sire of both ‘Meadow Alert’ and ‘Meadow Lad’. His breeding is as follows: his sire was bred by Tommy Gilbertson of Carlisle and the dam contains Fortune Lady bloodlines (she is the only pigeon in the history of the SNFC to win two Gold Awards during her racing career for Mr & Mrs Smith of Elphinstone). So you will see that ‘blood’ tells. Once again, I send my profound congratulations to Betty and George Archibald and many thanks to Jim Hannah for supplying the photographs.
Joe’s Joke
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away". The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet. "How can you be so sure?", she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something." The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, one hundred per-cent certifiably, a dead duck." The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman... The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "£150!", she cried, "£150 just to tell me my duck is dead!" The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been £20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now £150."
Please continue to keep the news flowing to: Joe Murphy, Mystical Rose Cottage, 2 Flutorum Avenue, Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or email
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