Rooster J. Cogburn

Ryan Giggs could've went a stray at one point if I remember correctly.Think there was a Fergie intervention there Some folk percieve Wayne Rooney and John Terry as A***holes.There are most probably people you work with or live beside that you call something similar.The difference is they aren't under public scrutiny by a group that contain some of the biggest losers of all-the English press. The thing that gets me is why people care so much about people like Wayne Rooney and Tiger Woods They are great sportsmen who entertain people with what they do.What they get up to in there own time is their business.People slander these guys with no real knowledge of there circumstances or upbringing-maybe they aren't actually as happy as we'd think £250K a week would make them.

I understand that a lot of these top players are in a farily privelaged position-they are getting paid thousands upon thousands for which most consider a hobby. I feel the press and public 1)care far too much and 2)are too hard on them. Got to understand a lot of these guys have came from nowhere and are now on millions a year.Many of them have a lot of free time.Its understandable why many of them turn alcohol,drugs and sex Folk in all walks of life and wage brackets do so,difference being they are not under public scrutiny-but likliehood is these are the ones who play a bigger role in the children of our countries behaviour than Wayne Rooney. There are people who misbehave in all professions just as there a re people who don't. Not all,in fact a very small percentage of football fans are thugs. As for the misadventure of these pros off the field.You'll find as bad in any town in the country from yer ordinary Joes. Its alright people frowning upon it but give them a few million in the bank access to VIP areas,drink,drugs,women throwing themselves at them,guns etc and see if they're still the same person after it.

Anybody see the old article in this weeks Racing Pigeon?? Interesting approach to flying his doos Cannae question the guys results

Have you been visiting your Godfather again John Much the same here.They aren't late latebreds but they were bred in June and July and only tossed.Won't be giving them any particularly special treatment on the tossing front.If I can get them out of say Leicester or Huntingdon I'll be happy enough

Nice babies

This is very true although not always possible.Have heard of good fliers in my area begging clubmates for a chipper on the day before basketting

Do a lot of the continental fanciers not call it the nest system??maybe we had better use this term in future Maybe in the past some fanciers could call themselves out and out natural fanciers at some stages of the year but don't really think such a think exists nowadays.Theres still a lot of good fliers around though who manipulate the nest cycle of their birds to win races

Cuprinol is decent stuff. Not sure the cheapest place to get it though

Cock that was my timer from Maidstone(380miles) last years motivation came about by chance. He went to the race on a six day old baby with a catch-he'd looked after it by himself for 5 days til the night before basketting. His hen(who was one of the main fancies for the race) was lost from a 40mile training flight the weekend before the race He sat the baby by himself til the day before basketting.I swapped his baby with another pairs often so they were doing the feeding and not him.Eve before basketting I took him from the loft and put the baby under another pair.I basketted my other doos for marking leaving him til last.Let him go 40 ft away from the hut-he went straight for the lander then up to his nest box where his baby was waiting on him.He was then basketted for the race. An ex-fancier who watches our doos with us on a Saturday took a wee shine to the cock over the course of the season-he was a consistent doo and had a 1 or 2 tickets(beaten to 1sts by loftmates)in the minor races.When I told him the night before what was happening he gave me a couple a' bob to put on him. The cock put in a right good shift and was the first yearling into Central Scotland.I didn't duplicate into the SCC Yearling Derby but was told he would have won it

this Eurotunnel is certainly faster than the ferry

Hen we timed on the night from Falaise one year was given a dummy egg on day of basketting but we didn't use an electric motor a big worm does the same job The motor seems like a handy tool to have though

Goin for doo food the morra morning.Will go fer a wee fish tea in the afternoon and I'm goin to an engagement party in the evening. Aside from that just messin aboot down the doos-not long now

Happy Birthday Big Davie Birthday wishes to yous all.Have a nice night Ye surely cannae be 50 Muttley ?

In future when you see the cock starting to look at the hen again put a second bowl in the other corner of the box.This usually stops them going somewhere else.Not always though

Out of curiosity when were the mentioned yearlings hatched last year??

I've been told from a guy thats rather good at it.That thats where most folk go wrong. When they are feeding light at the start of the week they train too hard.Hes of the opinion that everything should increase as the week goes on-food and excercise. can see his point

Think with widowers or roundabout pigeons how well they fly round home depends on the feeding as well

Very true words I still feel with more doos the West and the South would find it hard to live with pigeons that have been potentially 100+ miles further than Leicester,Coming big distances in wee groups and likliehood on the day of the race the wind would be coming from the West. You'd be silly to think drag doesn't influence it though.You just have to look back at some of the old National results when the West and South accounted for more than three quarters of the convoy.The fact everybody raced down the centre of the country at the time played no small part either.

More a East and West Split in the YB National than a North and South. I'd send wi yees Stevie

Aye theres always good performances put up in every national,not just the winners even in those sections you've mentioned there'd always be somebody in a better position than somebody else

I personally would rather not have any inland Nationals and have Amal races covering similar areas to the sections you've mentioned

I meant to get the distance the Eyemouth,St Abbs etc get out their babies-Leicester is a come back race to them.Think another reason(aside from sitting in a "good" bit and being good fliers)those lads tidy up in that race is the fact they go with the North of England guys.Which means their doos are used to flying in wee groups over the last 40,50,60 mile

Good call With our furthest fed race being about as far as the YB national winners first we're kinna kidding ourselves on from Leicester anyway-would be nice to win the section though Could always send our doos every week down to Stevie Dalgleish as trainers mind you

20 just messing about on the hut roof and lander at the moment,30 in the nest and the stock doos are back on eggs due to hatch fairly soon so that'll be another 22 all goin to plan. may take the odd summer or latebred youngster if something does well-fingers crossed

Another thing I found with pigeons I had on roundabout for the first few races last season was that they flew better round the hut when they were only getting out once a day.Each to their own though