LES J. PARKINSON'S
NEWS-REPORTS-ARTICLES
Sunday 22nd February saw me have the old birds out for the first time together since racing finished last year. At first only a few were interesting in coming out and when they did the rest just walked out and along the platform. They eventually all went up and were more like young birds going up for the first time than old birds rested up for the winter. As we all know, they are certainly heavy when they first start to get their wings again and there is nothing like an open sky to get them going. A few days out and we will no doubt see a big difference in them and they will be exercising as if they have never been out of the sky. The one thing that does bother me at this time of the year are the BOP that are building up to feed their young and racing pigeons are a prime target nowadays. We are very lucky here in Cheshire because even though there are quite a few around we are not invaded as some fanciers around the country. There is the other way of looking at it and that is even the odd pair will take plenty of racers while they are bringing up a nest of young. We are definitely seeing more of the BOP in the UK and the garden brds are even becoming less and less. I have very often thought about the amount of strays that are around the towns. They don’t appear to be going down in numbers, most probably because they become wise to the BOP and know how to avoid them through being out all the time. I put new nest felts in all the boxes and it was not long before they were nearly destroyed with the cocks settling down and going through their ritual of scratching about in the bowl. What I have noticed is these felts are not the same as the last ones I used. These have a fine gorse running through them and the scratching is pulling it out so they are not much use. The other issue I have with nest felts is the bits that get everywhere after they have been scratching about. It makes scraping out a bit harder and you have to keep cleaning the end of the scraper off or you are wasting your time.
MB Visit
Mick Barlow tells me he is just getting used to this modern technology. I am of course referring to the PC and the email system. He went on to say that he had a trip up to Dumfries to visit Carl Guenther a few weeks ago saying what a smashing guy he is and what a great set up he has. As you know Carl has won the Scottish National twice. I suspect this was a trip for new stock and maybe Mick is aiming to be a big contender in the National races.
Carl Guenther & Mick Barlow
Carl Guenther's lofts
BOP
Well I sat here in the office talking to Geoff Bebbington on the phone and as I looked out the window I could see a BOP taking a batch of pigeons up and they were going higher and higher as I was talking to Geoff so Liz stopped worked and as she looked out the window the BOP on top of them came down into them and they scattered. We could not see if they had taken one but it is not want we want to be watching at this time of the year.
Charity
If you remember, the Highline International Auctions website ran a charity event in aid the Ichthyosis Support Group. This has been a bit long winded getting everything sorted because the people concerned wanted to run this by their Patron Philip Schofield. The reason for this was because Kim's daughter Ebony suffers with this problem. Anyway Kim and Ebony have been invited down to London to the This Morning Studio where they will meet Philip after the show. Whether they will be in a later show we do not know at the moment but all this is happening on the 5th March.
ISG Diploma to Highline International Auctions
This is the letter received from the ISG people this last week. "Dear All at Highline International Auctions. It is with great pleasure that I am writing to you to thank you for the fantastic sum of £6,281 received and donated to the Ichthyosis Support Group. I understand the money was raised by auctioning racing pigeons donated by some very successful pigeon fanciers. You may be aware that Ichthyosis is classed as an orphan disease, and because of its rarity it is often misunderstood. Indeed one of our initiatives is to get information about Ichthyosis into every UK dermatology clinic making the condition more recognisable to the general public and also to the medical profession, which will in turn help with better diagnosis and more appropriate treatments in the future. a major aim of the ISG has always been to provide support to its members and last years event was a Family Day at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. This years event will be held in Newcastle. These events are so important to those affected by the condition as it allows a rare opportunity of meeting others and to share experiences. We are also in the process of establishing a youth focussed group within the ISG and hope to be able to provide annual activity weekends for children affected by the condition. We have recently published a "My Story Book" so people may read about how other people cope with living with this condition, gaining hope and comfort knowing they are alone. Please accept out gratitude for your support and thank you again for supporting our small charity it is so much appreciated. Please also pass on out thanks to all those who supported the event by either taking part in the auction or donating the pigeons. Kindest regards. Liz Dale ISG Administrator."
Show
I included the Fugare show last week but what I did miss was the Saturday evening event put on by Pipa in previous years. It was well organised with good food and entertainment at the end of the night. Word is there has been a disagreement which is a shame that people cannot work things out for the good of the sport. Mind you we did have three good nights, the first in good company with Guillaume & Leen Vanneste who had also arranged to meet Viktoria Feher and Petra Balazs, two young ladies from I believe Hungary, the first lady being part of the team who organise the Olympiade. Then on the Saturday Elizabeth & myself came out of the hotel and a couple of doors away visited a Japanese restaurant. We both like Sushi so thought we would try the real thing instead of being off the supermarket shelf. We were looking at the menu and I doubt if either of us knew what we were looking at but we settled on a mixed dish and really enjoyed it. Then on the Sunday evening we met up with John & Linda Tyerman, Ian Crammond and Douglas Owen previous 1st National winner in fact they are all top fanciers; we also met up with them last year for a meal. We had a good meal and then went back to our hotel because Linda was looking for a place to stay more central to the shops for next year. I think John would have gone further away from the shops not nearer. I was talking to Frans Lebeeuw, who has been racing pigeons for far more years than I can remember. Over the years he has had some real good performances at the distance but has also done similar in the middle distance races. They are based on the old Stichelbauts and what I have seen of them I have been impressed and the pigeons that were exported to Australia were really making up well. Frans was also telling me that there are at least 15 National or International with Lebeeuw pigeons. They are a pigeon that look as if they will keep going for any racing distance. They remind me of 1st National Ace Pigeon Long Distance "Full Try" who is grandsire of 3 x 1st National winners.
Fugare show crowds
Fugare Show
Fugare visitors
Leo Heremans,. Frans Rigole, LJP plus a representative from Taiwan and India.
LJP with long time long distance fancier Frans Lebeeuw
LJP with the workers on the Tauris stand
LJP with Eric Willems
Frans & Leen Rigole presenting a free young bird to young fancier Adrian Feck
Les J Parkinson. 11 Rushton Drive, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0NJ, +44 (0)1606 836036. Mob: +44 (0)7871 701585. E-mail:
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