NEWS FROM SCOTLAND
Reports by Joe Murphy
Blackpool 2014
Margaret and I travelled down on Thursday to Blackpool for the Show of the Year staying in the Imperial Hotel which was first class and we could not fault it. Friday was a relaxing day as we had a wander round the shops and we had to go and purchase NEW tickets for the show as I had left ours sitting on the unit in the house (getting old and forgetful). We met up with Scottish lads Frankie Murray and his pals from Dundee, as well as Margaret and Larry Campbell from Aberdeen and George Thomson from Peterhead. Larry has been in the wars and has had to have one of his kidneys removed and this will take strain on his body but it was so good to meet up with him and I know his many friends will wish him all the very best of health for the future. We also met up with Tom Corrie who is the scribe for Lanarkshire federation and his uncle. We met many people who I do not know but who stopped us and shook my saying how much they enjoyed the column and loved ‘Joe’s Joke’ ,which was good to hear, in fact Margaret said to me ‘You should be so proud of yourself that these people enjoy your column’, which I am and I thank everyone of them for their good wishes.
We attended the Geoff & Catherine Cooper sale on the Friday night and these 10 pigeons made good money with 3 of them being purchased by a Scottish fancier. I was introduced to Daren McFadden who won 2nd international Pau to Geoff and Catherine Cooper. I met up with the 3rd International Pau winner Mark Gilbert when I attended his sale on the Saturday afternoon and found Mark to be as sound as a pound and we spoke about the pigeons as if we had known each other for years. No airs and graces about him, a down to earth pigeon man and it was good to spend some quality time with him. I also spoke to Brian Denney the famous long distance fanciers who has set records that will be hard to beat, and we also met up with our old friend Nigel Langstaff of the famous Crammond & Langstaff partnership who took the 1st x 4 places in the national a couple of years ago. Unfortunately Ian Crammond was not at the show but Nigel informs me that he is keeping well and is settled into his new home (good luck Ian, we are thinking of you). We attended the Continental sale in the evening (all these sales were held in our hotel the Imperial so it was no problem attending) and this last sale was something ‘extra’ as the pigeons were going for (in my mind) exaggerated prices; when you are paying thousands of pounds for pigeons then it is not a hobby. You could have bought a CAR for the prices some of them cost and who is to say that they are any better than birds that cost less than £100? When I organised the Sporting Challenge I sold late breds from these National winners for £60 each and I defy anyone to say they were not as good as the pigeons sold at Blackpool. I spoke to Mark Sparey who has won the Welsh national and he was telling me that he purchased a pigeon from an entire clearance sale (the fancier had died) and had ‘NO Pedigree’ but Mark liked the feel of him in the hand and purchased him for £30 and he is the sire of 2 of his national winners, so there you are. Pigeons make their own pedigree and spending £1000s on them does not guarantee success. If fact if you have a look at the advert for the Barcelona Challenge (17th January Issue BHW) you will not find any better bred babies for sale anywhere. While on about this sale I noticed that my blue cock 363 won 5691st open from the Barcelona international race (625 miles) from an entry of 25294 birds he was also 9th back from Narbonne (503 miles) as a 2 year old so I’m looking for him to do well in 2014. My hen 361 also flew Narbonne as a 2 year old being 12th back to the loft winning 288th French national Hens from an entry of 1162 birds and she was also 51st back to the loft from Barcelona. So I’m well pleased to see birds bred in my loft doing so well in the Barcelona Challenge loft.
At the hotel we spent some time with Dougie Bald from Balerno and Liam & Monica Millar from Dungiven in Co Derry, a lovely couple over for the show. We also managed to catch up with Angela and Pat O’Sullivan of Enfield winners of 5 x 1st London North Road Combines and winner of the famous Tommy Long trophy. It was also good to see that Scotland did so well at the show with Alice and John Bell winning ‘Supreme Champion’. This is as good as winning an International race for these show fanciers so well done to the Bells. I believe this was the same pigeon that won the best in show at the Scottish Homing Union show in December. Alice informed me that it has won quite a few times during the winter months and is indeed a ‘Champion’ so well done once again. I was also happy to meet up with some of the lads who attended the Barcelona Challenge loft a few years back. We had a great time then and so many laughs and it was good to catch up with them once again.
Mark Sparey with Joe Murphy
Darren McFadden with Joe
Joe with Catherine & Geoff Cooper
Joe with Mark Gilbert
Joe with Nigel Langstaff
Joe with Brian Denney
Liam Millar with Joe
Joe with Pat O'Sullivan
East of Scotland Federation
The above federation are holding a pigeon ‘moot’ on Sunday 9th February in the Castlepark Bowling Club West Loan Prestonpans EH32 9JY starting at 1pm. The panel are all from the south section of the national being W J Smith, Raymond Whyte, Mike Currie and Billy Wortley. Tickets are £5.00 and are limited plus you get a hot pie and beans into the bargain. There will be a short draft of 10 youngsters from the very best top distance national men in the central region for more information or to book tickets contact John Bird on 01875 812263.
Catch Up
Received an email from Des Owen who wrote: ‘Hi Joe, I was sad to see recently that Dennis Dall had passed away, he was surely one of the very best long distance fliers into Scotland and when I flew in partnership with John Clark of Airdrie we visited him in Ladybank several times. When I moved to England I had pigeons from Dennis during the 1990s and scored well with them from the Pau NFC which pleased him no end. I used to meet him every year at Blackpool but I had not seen him for some time and I heard he had been ill for a while. I recently lost my brother Joe who lived in Kilmarnock to prostate cancer, and in fact Father Eddie McGhee said the funeral mass and service. The pigeon game is not the same as it was in the 70s and 80s and it is fast disappearing down in this area. Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom Joe, I enjoy your articles and the wife loves your jokes, best regards Des’.
Information on Dutch partnership
Received an email from Jeroen Meeder who wrote: ‘Dear Friend, I would like to inform you that Leo and I will stop racing in the partnership as Comb. Van Rijn & Meeder as we have done for the last 17 years. The happy and memorable fact is that at the end of June my wife is expecting our 2nd baby so I have decided to divide my time in a different way. In my current situation, I could not find a good balance between my private life and the pigeon sport the way I would like to do. I won’t say the pigeon sport farewell, however the focus will be more on breeding and assisting my father in racing where necessary. Leo and I have split the breeders, all the racers will stay at Leo’s and he will race in 2014 under his name “Leo van Rijn”. The breeding loft of my father has been elaborated now; furthermore a few summer youngsters and late breds have come to my father’s loft where he will race them. The website www.duivensite.nl will remain, only it will be adjusted and renewed to the current new situation. You can still reach me on this email address,
Joe’s Joke
SCOUSERS JOIN FERRARI
"The Ferrari F1 team fired their entire pit crew yesterday." This announcement followed Ferrari's decision to take advantage of the British government's 'Work for your Dole' scheme and employ some Liverpudlian youngsters. The decision to hire them was brought about by a recent documentary on how unemployed youths from Toxteth were able to remove a set of wheels in less than 6 seconds without proper equipment, whereas Ferrari's existing crew could only do it in 8 seconds with millions of pounds worth of high tech equipment. It was thought to be an excellent, bold move by the Ferrari management team as most races are won and lost in the pits, giving Ferrari an advantage over every other team. However, Ferrari got more than they bargained for. At the crew's first practice session, not only was the scouse pit crew able to change all four wheels in under 6 seconds but, within 12 seconds, they had re-sprayed, re-badged and sold the car to the McLaren team for 8 cases of Stella, a bag of weed and some photos of Lewis Hamilton's bird in the shower.
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 to my NEW EMAIL ADDRESS at;
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