yeboah

That's what's needed Gareth ,getting yearling to the coast for experience and all heading in one direction ,the furthest we go on our own now is 200 plus miles because of transport costs and lack of birds HOPELESS .

Lovely summer's day,going to basket all birds then pressure wash loft from top to bottom ready for Yb season ,good luck to all that are racing today

Without complicating things ,stick to your preference BUT MAIN THING IS DON'T CHANGE IT . No protein in morning ,plenty at night ,if all is well health wise they should then be leaving the loft like greyhounds out of a trap you'll need binoculars to follow them the height they will go,GOOD LUCK

Sorry point i was trying to make was wind strength ,held at eastbourne in 2010 because of wind strength,yet liberated at marlborough in strong NE and eastbourne in fresh west ,so where is the consistency ?

Tough all right I started with 32 and have ended up with 6 I was one of the supporters of going east a few years ago ,but never lost near this number of old birds racing west ,so no more east for me far to much traffic going in all directions at least we have the west to ourselves .

Well done on a good performance,I am on holiday down your way at end of September at Hunmanby perhaps could give you a call .

Sent 7 to Marlborough and got best 4 Sent 1 yearling to eastbourne and clocked him next morning ,he flew 14 hours on day from Marlborough Sent my 2 most consistent cocks at the top of there game to messac and still got 0 no more throwing any more away this year STILL GUTTED

Hi Chris ,I was one of the eleven that day at the AGM and have to honestly say that i feel there should be a set programme prior to the agm for the members to vote on as race points proposed from the floor most members were voting blind with not the slightest where the race point was they were voting on ,as we all no we raced from marlborough and messac on a westerly line so why the hell did common sense not prevail and vote on portsmouth which would have put the birds on line for messac and maybe just maybe have gave some of the one's missing a fighting chance does not matter whether it be easterly or westerly routes we must keep them on line ,and a final rant i feel that side winds or the strength of them should be taken into consideration prior to liberation's ,marlbourough strong ne giving east birds no chance ,eastbourne fresh west giving west birds no chance surely this must be brought into play and make it fair for all if it means holding the races a day later so be it ,surely lads the pigeons must come first and not advantage ,Rant Over

Really Really pleased for you Derrick ,gives the rest of us that glimmer of hope to keep looking.

Best of Luck hope they do you proud ,as for that sort of distance i wouldnae fancy driving that far .

Like all of us we no how hard it is nowadays to get any sort of team of good pigeons for the distance and when you think you have something special and send your very best to get 0 return knocks the pegs right from beneath you ,heard one chap from lanarkshire lost one bird going for its gold award and two that were going for there silver ,cant start to imagine how he feels ,all the best to everyone who sends anyway, as for the rest of us it all takes time to rebuild and we ain't getting Any younger

A very well done to all the winners ,if only they could talk

Sending zero to both as i have lost all my best birds ,in fact cannae see me having any doos for the channel for a couple of years now ,way i feel at present no bothered if a see the channel again

WE ARE LIGHT YEARS BEHIND THE UNC AND NIPA REGARDING THE CHANGE OF DATES REGARDING THE BEST WEATHER AND THE WELFARE OF THE PIGEONS SEEMS WE CANNOT CHANGE OUR DATES BECAUSE FACILITIES HAVE BEEN PREBOOKED FOR WHAT IS IN TOTAL ONLY A HANDFULL OF PIGEONS ,YET BOTH THE AFOREMENTIONED ORGANISATIONS DO NOT FIND IT A PROBLEM AND THEY ARE HANDLING IN EXCESS OF 20,000 BIRDS ,I AM A GREAT SUPPORTER OF THE SNFC BUT FEEL WE AS MEMBERS MUST ADDRESS THESE ISSUES AND STOP REFERING BACK TO THE DAYS OF OUR FORFATHERS .WITH ALL THE SATELLITE IMAGES AVAILABLE AND A SMALL FEE EACH YEAR PAYED TO THE MET OFFICE WE WOULD HAVE UP TO THE MINUTE FORCASTING .

LOVELY MORNING HERE IN MOFFAT

They race saturdays that's why we go friday and get the sky's to ourselves (well pigeon wise )

Good Post Scott ,and true about race points it was not the position that beat our birds on Friday but the weather on route that was not mentioned in the national forecast ,having spoken to a friend in south wales they did not have a good day there Friday ,the cricket was delayed in Nottingham because of rain and my father in laws sister told him it was raining in york on Friday ,and strongly believe the channel closed in after liberation and before the birds arrived there ,Well Done to All who got birds home and those of us who havent can only wait and hope .

Today's Weather is terrible with low cloud mist and rain ,we have a vintage car rally taking place in the town this weekend with hundreds of cars etc from all over the uk gathering and it is such a shame they end up with this crap

From my point of view I have to honestly say it is virtually impossible to build any sort of team,in days of old used to always purchase 30 rings and race the yb programme to be left with approx in the region of 22-24 but that was many many years ago ,it was very easy then once a certain pair clicked producing 500 milers you were guaranteed clocking the said family year in year out ,fast forward to the present climate where i live here in moffat i first started to experience my first regular peregrine strikes in the late eighties early nineties ,I wrote a letter all those years ago to the pigeon scribe from the south coast who now lives in Australia stating that what was at present my problem would multiply out of control if not addressed and would become every-one's problem,i now purchase 100 rings per year and by the time these birds are 3yo if there are 4 left i am very very lucky,now these birds are not bred from any old rubbish with most my distance stock being from direct son's and daughters or grandchildren of gold cup winners etc,what is guaranteed each time they enter a racing basket there odds of survival decreases,and with all falcon nests in this area being reported with two and three healthy young ready to take to the sky's it don't take a mathematician to work things out,It took ten years for the RSPB to push through full European grade list A protection for Falcons and it will take a lot longer to reverse that decision by which time I sadly predict there will be no such sport as Pigeon Racing Sorry to sound the prophet of doom but i am only stating the truth as i see it unfold before my very eyes .

A Very Well Done in what has been a very testing race to say the least

As in any race good or bad the leaders are always on time as they were in this one ,the others given yesterdays weather conditions should then have been clocked at regular intervals which just did not happen ,I think the last pigeon clocked last night was in the airdrie area about eight thirty leaving plenty of time for others to be timed before dark strongly suggesting they never crossed the channel ,if they had they were raced enough to negotiate working there way up through England and given today's disastrous returns with the good weather in England they are well out of striking distance jmo

Hear Derrick Nordon has timed one into Langholm this morning

The Rain has stopped here at present but the hills are sitting full of mist with no wind to clear it away,Doos couldn't have cleared the channel in any great numbers the way things have turned out that's another three years hard work wiped out in a blink ,very frustrating lads but turning out to be more and more the norm nowadays

That's the rain on here now closed up the loft and now watching from kitchen window trying to thaw out as it is bloody freezing outside so much for those high paid scientists and global bloody warming

CROMBIE & MECHAN ANNAN 17--47 WELL DONE JOHN & JIM