JOHN DAVID'S
RAMBLINGS
“20” first Nationals & reminiscences of the past
Well the weather looks good for yet another glorious weekend leading up to Easter bank holiday Monday with easterly winds returning and boiling hot temperatures prevailing. This will inevitably lead to fast races and should suit the widowhood fliers as quick trapping is vital in today’s very competitive racing scene. Make no mistake about it though it really takes a good pigeon to win whether it is a fast or slow race. I remember Eric Ruffell a fishmonger from Chadwell Heath, Romford Essex telling me this in the 60s when I starting winning with his Edmondson Barker and Logan family.
I first had pigeons off Eric in 1965 and one of them was a rather large blue pied cock. I remember showing him at that time to the top flier in the club William Tossell who told me he had a humped back and he would not fly 100 miles. I did not pass comment at the time as I was a mere novice but secretly decided I would pull out all the stops to prove him wrong. He was often trained up to ten miles on my bicycle and then went to Pontypool, Abergavenny, Hereford, Leominster and Ludlow by train from Pontyclun or Pontypridd Station. I recall those times with very fond memories and it seemed much more exhilarating waiting for the birds to arrive home not knowing when they would arrive or the weather conditions they were liberated in and it was even exciting collecting the basket on its return to the station to see the liberation time and the weather conditions on release which most rail staff would be only too pleased to provide. The blue pied cock soon passed the 100 mile stage and that year went as far as Ripon 196 miles without excelling himself but at least I had proved Mr Tossell wrong so even the very best champions get it wrong some times! However as a yearling things changed rapidly when he won Berwick by 20 minutes, then was 2nd Elgin a few weeks later in a very fast race. In fact when he returned on the Sunday in 8 hours he looked so fit I entered him for Lerwick 600 miles for which basketing was the very next day. It was my very first attempt at Lerwick and when I took him to the Pontypridd marking station in a shoe box a number of top fanciers said to me “have a good look at him son as it will be the last you see of him, it takes years to master the art of flying Lerwick into Wales!
On race day I also had entered birds for Perth which was only just over half the distance of Lerwick. The Perth birds were up at 5am and the Lerwick birds 6am(they stopped liberating early at Lerwick because of the Aurora Borealis-Northern Lights). So when no birds were home from Perth at 5.30pm I gave the Lerwick birds little chance of making it on the day! I remember well popping to the village call box to ring Sam Williams the secretary from Cross Inn who confirmed there were none home at 5.30pm from Perth (336 miles to my loft). I returned to my 24 foot loft which was built by myself when I was 15 years old on telegraph poles which were sunk into the ground, the loft was 4 foot off the ground and would sway in the wind but never fell down. I was looking out of the loft in a northerly direction wondering whether the Blue Pied cock had managed to get through Scotland into England when suddenly he swooped over the loft from behind the wood from a southerly direction. I was shaking like a leaf but clocked in dead on 6pm. Twelve hours from Lerwick I just could not believe it. My excitement however was short lived and was changed to utter dismay. I had clocked into the wrong clock and to make matters worse I had put the two rubbers in the same thimble. My mind and my heart were both working overtime so I tried to work out what I could now do to put things right or was all lost. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me the 50 yards down the field to my house to get a screwdriver to open the ten bird Toulet clock which was lock in the box. I never gave a thought of taking the clock with me to save time but returned to the loft where I stripped the clock, took out the rubbers and clocked this time in the right clock!
It was now ten past six and yet I was still second club, 46th Open Welsh Grand National and had the first £5 pool bird into Wales. My first Perth bird arrived at 6.30pm which would also have been 2nd club but of my clock had been opened and rendered useless and of course I was given a lecture by officials in the club as to my future behaviour as the clock should be returned intact. However all I could think of was the great achievement put up by my blue pied cock. Believe it or not he went to Thurso 500 miles two weeks later and again was second club in a very hard race. So Eric’s comment that it takes a good bird to win in a fast race was proved beyond all doubt from Thurso! I took great pride in reminding Mr Tossell of what the blue pied had achieved that year and suggested very discreetly that it seems the cock had a very strong arched back and not a humped back after all.
The first pair of birds off Eric Ruffell in 1965 cost £10 and after that we became good pen friends for many years and I had a number of birds off him. Eric used to say “we will argue about the price when Wales gets home rule thinking of course Wales will never get home rule. Well it seems over 40 years later Wales almost has home rule but not quite!
It was some years later that Eric invited me to Chadwell Heath/the London area it was all the same to me. He had decided to part with his prized possessions who incidentally all had names “Chadwell Express” Chadwell Endurance etc. He always told me that if a bird had a name it would make a lot more money when it was sold. He did not want to be at the sale as it would make him very sad so had asked me to take his estate car with his birds to the sale and mark down on the sale list the amount they sold for. Eric used to buy his fish from Billingsgate market and wanted me to meet him there at 6am in the morning. He gave me a trade stand number and said he would meet me there but if I was any later he would be gone! This was no problem for me as I had a great Aunt Esther living in London in Queens Park who incidentally was Gilbert Harding’s (of what’s my line fame) house-keeper. My parents loved going to Queens Park on holiday and Aunt Esther booked them in to all the big shows like the London Palladium.
I travelled down to London by train the previous day on my big adventure after all I was little more than a teenager at the time! I spent a few hours with my aunt before retiring to my feather bed by 10pm and then getting the first underground train to Billingsgate market before 5am in the morning. I remember arriving in Billingsgate market about 5.30am and was absolutely fascinated by what I saw. There were all these people carrying fish on their head I just could not believe it! I got to the stand about 5.45am and saw a man standing there who I thought was Eric as I had formed a picture in my mind of what he looked like as of course I had never met him. So I thought I would not approach him then but have a look around this fascinating market the likes of which I had never seen before. When I returned I walked up to the man and said “Eric I am John” He replied by saying “I am not Eric you have just missed him he has just gone to the car park he thought you were not coming”. I ran as fast as I could to the Car Park scanning quickly all the cars for the right estate car and just caught Eric as he was starting to drive away!
Back to the present; I have had the pleasure this week to be in the company of three champion fanciers who between them have won more than 20x 1st Nationals in recent years. First of all Dennis Ford of Blaenavon called at my home on Monday with a youngster which was to go off to George Davison of West Bolden, Tyne & Wear. George was the lucky bidder for Dennis’s pigeon which he kindly donated to the WSRNFC sale in 2011.
Dennis Ford with John David & G/son Iwan aged 5 outside John`s racing loft. Iwan masked up ready to clean out.
While I was secretary of the WSRNFC Dennis won no fewer than 7 x 1st Nationals. In 2006 he was 1st Chale YB, then 1st Picauville and 1st Lessay in 2007. In 2008 he was 1st Messac and 1st Saintes and in 2009 he was 1st Tours and 1st Bergerac. He did not win a National in 2010 but was 2nd National Bergerac and in fact this made Dennis National champion 5 years running which meant he clocked in every National over that period of time. Dennis was telling me he took the 1st four positions in the club the previous week with one of these being a north road pigeon turned south this year!
Then on Wednesday George Westbury together with his friend travelled down to my home from Aylesham, Nr Canterbury as I had promised to accompany him on a visit to collect two youngsters he purchased for £100 in the WSRNFC sale. Although it was a four hour plus trip they still made it in time for breakfast at 9am. George was particularly keen to see the birds of Roger Vereecke origin and after two hours mostly spent among the birds we were off to Pontypool to meet Derek Flowers who made history in 2010 by winning no fewer than 4 x 1st Nationals flying the south east route into Wales. When we arrived we were met by Derek at his home and also present was another champion flier Ronnie Scammell of the Scammell & Peoploe National winning partnership. Derek really had a wonderful set-up which can only be described as a pigeon paradise with breathtaking views and his grounds were landscaped to a very high standard. Derek only joined the WSRNFC in 2010 but suffice to say despite his great wins he leaves things very much to nature. There were no special coats to wear in the lofts as is the case in some top establishments within the sport. Furthermore Derek was quite happy for us to handle his widowhood cocks even though the racing season is in full swing and there is no set time to exercise his pigeons. But to say the pigeons fly out of their skin to win in big competition is no exaggeration. In fact Derek won not only 4 x 1st Nationals including Folkestone 180 miles and the two longest from 530 & 560 miles but was also 3 x 2nd, 1x3rd, 1 x 5th. So it is fair to say he was close to winning 9 Nationals in 2010.
Derek`s OB Racing loft (Note the 4-chimney system on the roof top) or can you spot the error?
The inmates obviously have a great affinity with their owner who is a very modest, unassuming fancier. The hour we spent at Derek’s went much too quickly and George was indeed lucky to be presented with a Vandenabeele youngster which came through Scammell & Peploe and was of the Shadow lines. This was a youngster kindly presented by Derek to the 2011 WSRNFC and to say George was over the moon with his acquisition would be an understatement.
Derek`s YBs enjoy a bath but remain inside until the sparrow hawk threat declines in May
The loft approach road. The chimneys are actually from the street behind!
However one more visit was still to be made and this was one not to be missed as it was to the lofts John & Pat Webber of Six Bells. Once again one could not have wished for a better welcome from this husband and wife partnership who are very down to earth people. Every question was answered in a forthright and explanatory manner and this time the youngster from “The Webbers” purchased by George from the WSRNFC sale was presented from their direct Louis Van Loon imports which cost a small fortune to acquire. John & Pat have won no fewer than 8 x 1st Nationals in recent years, which is once again a fantastic achievement and speaks volumes for their ability to get the very best out of their pigeons.
The OB Racing lofts for J & P Webber (Note birds trap through Top Left hand corner)
A warm welcome from "The Webbers" to the boys from Kent
To reach their loft complex one first had to negotiate a timber stairway which led to one of the most fantastic views one can imagine in this area of Six Bells. Once again we were in a pigeon paradise and I don’t think George could quite believe such a magnificent set up could exist in such a hidden mountainous location of South Wales. Every loft however has its problems and this loft is no exception as the area is frequented by hawks and a number of top birds are lost every year. Interestingly sand is used on the floor of the YB loft which as John pointed out was free to him when he was a collier in days gone by. This is sieved regularly and behind the sand are open boxes running the full length of the section which has a thick layer of straw on the floor. John was quick to point out that the young birds don’t bother with this area until they start getting flirtatious and then frequent these areas. This may explain why the Webbers often get four or five close birds from big races when other lofts only get one or two arrivals together. There is so much more that could be said about this loft but this will have to wait for another day. Thanks to Derek, John & Pat for a wonderful afternoon out.
Derek centre, George Westbury right holding 3 National winners
John David Havachat Bungalow, Mwyndy, Pontyclun RCT CF72 8PN Phone 01443-26809
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