Parkinson. L.J
I am sitting here in early March and am seeing batches of pigeons going over already, they are obviously training. There are no doubt some getting ready to win those early races and I must say if that is what these pigeons are meant for they are looking good because it was a cold north wind which didn’t appear to be bothering them as they were going well. Pigeons trained at this time of the year are unlikely to make the longer races in late June and July. However these pigeons probably belong to the sprint minded fanciers so are not looking any further than the coast to the North West. They may also be that keen that they are only training a few for the races up to mid May and then leave them on one side for the following year. I always said that if I had the room I would have had a small loft with 9 widowhood cocks that would be prepared and sent to the shorter races so that the season was extended from the longer races that I always preferred to compete in. There are a lot of fanciers about who get a lot of satisfaction out of competing in the races up to 250mls. Then while the longer races are in progress they spend their time preparing the young birds for their season. Competitively competing in those races is more than a handful in itself because going up the road to prepare them is time consuming enough. To compete in all the races from start to finish is not an easy task because of the time required to get them fit to head the field on their way home. Obviously where there are team of fanciers who work together they can compete and be in the prizes from start to finish but when you are on your own it is hard work.
Guy van der Auwera from the company Vanrobaeys, Patrick De Mulder Company Beyers and top fancier Andre Moonens.
I remember the late Brian Beardmore who worked hard on his pigeons from the first to the last race but he did lose quite a bit of weight during the racing season. His work paid off because he could clock from the first to the last race, when I say clock I mean clock to win. The season is not far away which takes me on to the next part of pigeon racing. “Hi Les, I wrote to you when you changed the format of your Elimar website, complaining that it was a change for the worse and I didn't enjoy using it anymore. You told me to give it time, as it was still evolving and I have to say you were 100% right. Your website is much improved and all the better for the changes, so I just thought I'd let you know. I'm an ex-fancier, still pondering on whether to have another go with a small team of birds at some point but I fear the sport as I knew it will not last much longer. I read the press and see clubs with single figure memberships, what's the point of club racing in a situation like that?, they are not true club races , more birds are sent on some training flights as these tiny clubs send in birdage. As these smaller clubs fold the only way to continue is to 'merge' which will then make racing more expensive, a viscous circle? One loft racing seems to be the only way individuals may continue, speaking of which, I read your articles on Elimar with great interest, you should give in and get involved in pigeons again. As you say, once it's in the blood the urge to enjoy the birds again is always there, I see it in the text in your writing, that itch is still there calling you back for another go? Not sure if I ever will, though I do hope I do.
Mr & Mrs Jakob Van Aphen
Some nice birds pass through on the Elimar auctions now and again. Anyway, just wanted to pass on my praise for the website. All the best, Keith” Yes you are right about numbers in clubs there are not many of the bigger weekly clubs about like there used to be. Even so the numbers in the club are not all that important if you have a good fed to race in where the competition is generally much better. There are more challenges with the federation racing because it covers a much bigger area. This is when the conditions on the day can make a lot of difference to where the winners are. Even so the further you get down the road in the local federation races the better the chance for everyone. We are sending to one loft races and plan to expand that to even more of them in the future. What I will say Keith is that the sport will still be here long after I have gone but in a different format. The way forward is to race more in specialist races and to achieve growth they need to have more marking stations, more accessible to the vast majority of fanciers. It is a proven fact that many fanciers do not want to be travelling too far to enter their birds so the easier it is made for them the more are likely to send. This may not have applied a few years ago because the clubs and federations were bigger but with the decline in numbers there are fewer competitive local places for them to send. We used to have access to good races here in Middlewich like the Middlewich 2B where you would get upwards on 100 members sending to some races held by the club but now they are down to not much more than a couple of handfuls. It is a shame to see such good clubs go down but with the decline in numbers there is nothing we can do about it. There were the days when Middlewich used to have a great channel open race with members from all over Cheshire but no more, that one went many years ago.
Frans Rigole/Jonah and Noah Allaerts, Guillaume Vanneste and Philippe Hornain of France NPC winner.
When you look back there were some real good clubs about but no more, even the NWCC which was a real good club are struggling at times. However on a brighter side there are still the Nationals where there is good competition and races that I always preferred to compete in. I am still more than confident that a lot more could be done in the sport to help fanciers and that does include the big clubs. The year before the current secretary took over at the National I wrote a full page article on the way forward for the club, when the changes were made that was more or less what they did. I keep thinking about writing another article on the way forward now but I have too much on as it is. On the subject of the web site the IT Man tells me that there is an update due shortly when he is hoping a few more parts of the system might be addressed. I don’t care what anyone has to say about pigeon racing it is still way better than any other hobby or sport that I have been involved with. I also believe that if more parents were not so high and mighty over pigeons in the back garden a less children would be walking the streets or worse still sitting on computers, IPad’s or anything else in that area, in years to come they will be wondering why their children have eyesight problems and rheumatics in their hands before their time. I spend a lot of time pressing on the keyboard but nothing like some of the children of today are doing. Yes we know times have changed but a lot is still down to parents and their attitude towards what they think their children should be doing. Technology is moving forward all the time and I think the pigeon world is accepting it more than ever.
Photos
A couple more photos this week, one being of Mr & Mrs Jakob Van Aphen who are regular supporters of the shows around Europe. Plus one of Frans Rigole/Jonah and Noah Allaerts, Guillaume Vanneste and Philippe Hornain of France NPC winner. The other being taken at the Fugare show and is of Guy van der Auwera from the company Vanrobaeys, Patrick De Mulder Company Beyers and top fancier Andre Moonens.
Les J Parkinson. 11 Rushton Drive, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0NJ.
Tel 01606836036 Mobile 07871701585.
Email;
Web site www.elimarpigeons.com
