Rooster J. Cogburn

A nice thing to read on Gold Cup week

I'd say neither.It's slightly east of north but there isn't much in it-but Wallacestone is the further west.

Wallacestone, as shown on this map .

Not a member but had club pigeons at the race, first one at 1601,returns absolutely brutal.

The cock I was talking about will be sitting 8 day eggs come basketting next week and is back with his favourite hen,he's been with a yearling hen all season so this is first nest of the year with the old hen-hopefully encourage a bit of keenness in him. Ye can only try. Got a few others sitting various like Yeboah's

The one I think that's looking the best for it at the moment in my loft has had 8 races so far this season, it would have been 9 if our racing wasn't cancelled at the weekend due to the bad weather. I didn't bother going to the race last season, but hoping for a good one this year. Good luck to all having a bash at it.

Shows the skill of the fancier if he can win with even those birds Well done Pete,ye won't go far wrong with the wileys

728 club birds 1. J. Barrons 1754 2. S. Graham 1741 3. S. Graham 1733 4. A. Ritchie 1665 5. S. Fleming 1657 6. S. Fleming 1652 7. A. McCalley & Son 1638 8. J. Hendry 1637 9. J. Hendry 1637 10. D. McBeath 1621 Well done Jim Barrons

There were quite a few missing at clocks William. Some still have a few to come, is it a list of ring numbers?

Mines is in the bucket, stained with my tears

PM'd ye. I don't have Vic's number lol

Cheers all

It's tomorrow now peter,this morning's decision no longer applies. At least it'll keep Tyson happy lol

I'll tell you that the morra lol Good luck with yer race either way.

yees elect yer race controller at the meeting. AV are no different and our controller has decided to basket. As you say yersel,you're your own race controller after that.

We'll no go hanging the controller just yet .One thing's for certain, we've a better chance of getting a good race on Saturday than you do

Almond Valley race marking tonight for Thirsk race tomorrow. Good luck all.

Around Almond Valley With FLJ The third race of the Almond Valley Federation’s season tookthe birds down into Yorkshire; land of the Dales, whippets and Harry Ramsden.Like the master fryer and restauranteur’s largest fish supper, our Catterickrace was somewhat of a challenge. The winners made good time, but some of the gaps betweenarrivals left many a bit disappointed considering the fashion in which theywere dropping in from our opening couple of races. I’ve yet to speak to afancier reporting 100% returns from the race. It was looking grim for many atclock checking, although a lot more worked back later in the day-leaving itnowhere near as bad as it first seemed. It’s hard to come up with an explanation for the erraticracing on Saturday, given that Catterick is usually a very successful racepoint. I’ve heard people mention the sort of thing about the sun and moon you’dexpect to come from a few witches sitting round a cauldron, and who knows?There may be something in it? Strange race or not, this week’s worthy winner is from theform loft of Andy Ritchie of the Armadale & District club. Andy is off to agreat start with this being his second fed topper from the three races so farand as a matter of interest he was also 3rd Federation from hisother race on the same day with the North West federation at Appleby. Greatflying. This Week’s Top 20 1. A. Ritchie, ARM 1242 2. S. Fleming, ARM 1238 3. A. McCalley & Son, ARM 1234 4. A. McCalley & Son, ARM 1233 5. I. Jamieson, BAL 1233 6. A. McCalley & Son, ARM 1232 7. D. McBeath, ARM 1228 8. S. Fleming, ARM 1227 9. D. McBeath ARM 1227 10. J. Bird W/C 1225 11. A. Ritchie, ARM 1225 12. J. Bird, W/C 1225 13. J. Hendry, ARM 1224 14. F. Jamieson & Son, E/C 1216 15. J. Hadfield, ARM 1214 16. J. Bird,W/C 1213 17. J. Bird, W/C 1213 18. J. Bird, W/C 1211 19. A. Ritchie. ARM 1188 20. S. Fleming ARM 1188 Armadale &District There were 664 birds entered by the Armadale members andthey included Andy Ritchie’s fed topper, which has been a phenomenal pigeon sofar this season-from three races he has now been 7th,9thand 1st Federation. This is much to Andy’s surprise and delight asthe cock is a four year old that was unraced up until three weeks ago. Andy’sapproach to pigeon racing is unique and perhaps a little unusual, but he is tobe admired as a fancier that does his own thing. An observant and thinkingfancier that tries things few would even consider, what’s more is- they oftenwork. Andy’s winner is off a pair of his Eijerkamp pigeons, with the sire beingthrough Veenstra’s ‘Mr Blue’ and the dam being a direct daughter of Eijerkamp’sfamous Van Loon cock, ‘Don Leo’. He was sent to the race chasing his hen and isactually driving her to nest in a closed in pipo perch more commonly used foryoungsters. Congratulations Andy on your second fed win of the season. Second club and fed is one of the fed’s finest fanciers, SamFleming. Sam had a good race with six on the federation result. His secondplaced pigeon is a yearling chequer cock raced on the widowhood system, whichSam is rather good at. The bird’s sire is one of Sam’s best pigeons in recenttimes, the old chequer cock-who along with his red and blue pied cocks of thesame age ran riot in the club and fed. They were all retired at the same timeand this yearling and his nest mate are the first of the good chequer’soffspring when paired to Alan Bridges old No.1 Stock hen- the nest mate of the2nd fed was Sam’s second bird in the clock being 8th fed.A promising pair. Well done to the basket convenor extraordinaire, SamFleming. 3rd,4th and 5th this weekare A. McCalley & Son. The 3rd placed bird was 12thin the fed from the opening race and her nest mate was 1st Club,4thFed from the second race. These birds are off a Walter Masson cock and the 19thOpen SNFC Alencon hen. The 4th and 5th placed birds areyearling blue hens that both scored from the 2015 SNFC young bird national. Thefirst of which is off a Brian Donnelly cock and a T & M Paterson hen, thesecond was bred by the Woodroffe Brothers of Cornhill, Sunderland and as wellas being the first fed bird in the YB national, won numerous prizes as ayoungster including 1st Fed Otterburn. Balerno Taking 1st,2nd and 5th inBalerno this week is the fancier I said to watch out for last week, IanJamieson-who is helped greatly by his loft manageress (and mother), Ann. WithIan working long hours all over the country, he tells me it wouldn’t bepossible for him to keep pigeons without Ann’s help. It must be said she isdoing a smashing job, working the pigeons on roundabout their 1stclub,5th Fed has been a cracker to date as this is now her fifthfederation prize. The sire of this hen is a Leo Heremans pigeon through ‘Jackpot’, with the dam being of Ian’s late father’s old line of pigeons, basedaround the old Bricoux and Kirkpatrick pigeons. Ian’s father swapped pigeonsfrequently with Alex Geddes and these birds also played a part. It’s nice tosee bloodlines like this are still around and more importantly still winningtoday. Ian’s 2nd and 5th placed birds areboth again through his father’s pigeons. The 2nd placed bird is astriking resemblance to the old 4th Open Rennes hen that gave hisfather a lot of pleasure, let’s hope this wee red hen can do the same for Ian. Well done to Ian and Anne, keep up the good work. Dougie Bald takes 3rd and 4th Balernothis week with a cracking pair of yearling nest mates off a Porter &Richardson cock when paired to his daughter. These are of Wildermeersch originand the cock was a smashing racer in his day, winning many prizes including 2ndOpen in the N.R.C.C. the 3rd placed cock flew very well as ayoungster winning 3rd,4th and 13th in the fed,whilst the nestmate managed a 13th prize. This could be a pair wehear more about in the coming weeks as Dougie can certainly get the best out ofhis pigeons. Watch this space. Carnwath Scott McArdle made it three in a row in the Carnwath clubthis week, what a fantastic start to the season he has had. Scott also took 4thposition and the Dave Atkin bloodlines seem to making a big impact in his loftjust now. His winner this week is a yearling chequer white flight cock with aDave Atkin dam when she was paired to one of his Leo Pronk cocks. The 4thplaced pigeon is a blue yearling cock whose sire came from Mr & MrsGeunther of Dumfries, whilst the dam is another Dave Atkin pigeon. She isproving to be a smashing breeder as the cock that won 1st and 3rdfor Scott from the opening two races is another of her sons. Both these pigeonswere raced on roundabout, although Scott was intending on repairing themshortly when I spoke with him last. Congratulations on the treble Scott. Well done. Taking 2nd and 3rd are the ThomsonBros, they were 4th last week, so are edging closer as the races aregoing on. Their first bird is a homebred Soontjens cock, with the bird in 3rd place being the same pigeonthat was 4th for them in last week’s Otterburn race. He was a giftfrom Willie Collins and is the product of the brothers’ first attempt at racingwidowhood, this cock seems to be getting the hang of it now. Well done the Thomson Brothers. East Calder Freddie Jamieson is on top for the second week running inEast Calder taking the first four, with all of them on the fed result. GoodGoing. This week’ 1st Club and 14th fedpigeon is a direct daughter off the pigeon that was 2nd in the clublast week. He has been a real super pigeon for Freddie,winning five firstprizes. He bred this winning pigeon when paired to a hen with 2 x 1st,a 2nd and 3rd in the fed. A perfect example of winnersbreeding winners. Freddie’s 2nd pigeon is a yearling late breddirect off Freddie’s great breeding cock ‘Dante’ In 3rd place is another smashing pigeon thatactually won back to back firsts from the opening two races last season. She isbred from Freddie’s Koopman and Marijke Vink pigeons. The 4th placed pigeon is the hen that was 3rdlast week, another multiple performance bird as she also won 1stclub,1stSection from the fed’s YB open race last year. She is againoff ‘Dante’ and as a matter of interest a pigeon the same way bred topped theTeeside Federation in the Northeast on Saturday. Great stuff. Congratulations Freddie on another fine win. Forth & Clyde Vic Couper is at number one in the Forth & Clyde clubthis week. This comes as no surprise to me, as I’ve been to the last few Forth& Clyde presentation nights and he always has a table full of trophies bythe end of the night. Although Vic races birds on the roundabout system hislatest winner was in fact one of his natural pigeons and went to the racesitting 10 day eggs. She is from a son of his old no.1 pair that areresponsible for dozens of winners including section winners with the SNFC. She isactually the only youngster bred from this son on the No.1 pair. He injured hiswing in 2014 and was stopped for the season, the following year he was lookinggreat, coming well from training tosses and acting like his old self, but whenVic decided to put him back in the race basket he failed to return, a decisionhe still regrets. He sired this week’s winner when he was paired to a hen Vicobtained from the Combe family of Elphinstone through their ‘Midnight Son’ and ‘Layla’bloodlines. Well done on your latest win Vic. In 2nd place is last week’s fed topper, Geordie Harris-with the ‘288 Hen’. This hen has now been 2nd in the club threeweeks in a row as well as being 9th and 3rd fed. All in, shenow has a first and three second prizes, could she be the new black henGeordie? Taking 3rd and 5th this week is IanMcLelland with his Jock Traill Based pigeons. Ian was also 6th andhad a good race. In 4th place is Jimmy Urquhart with one of hiswidowhood cocks. This two year old red pied cock has been a smasher for Jimmyhaving now won 3 x 1st, 4th and 5th. Three ofhis grandparents are through Dr Lynch’s Vixen family with the other being apigeon Jimmy obtained from Brian May’s Hainsworth pigeons. Well done the Forth & Clyde men. West Calder John Bird continues his unbeaten start in West Calder with awin in fine fashion. He had a super race with 5 in the first 18 of the fed,cracking flying on a testing day. John’s winner this week and 10th in the fed isthe Willie Dunsmore yearling cock that he bought at the federation young birdsale last year. His second pigeon and 12th fed is one downthrough his Woodroffe Brothers pigeons that have served him so well over theyears. The 3rd placed pigeon and 16th fed is ayearling cock gifted to John by Dougie Bald through his ChainbridgeVandenabeele pigeons. John’s 4th club,17th Fed was actually5th in the club last week and is off the Royal Loft cock when pairedto a Jan Aarden. 5th club, 18th fed is the cock thatwon the first race for John and is another he bought at the fed sale last year,this time being bred by Tam Henderson. Well done John,great flying. It’s onto Thirsk for the Almond Valley pigeons this week,good luck to all competing.

Aye there will have been a few banjoed flying low into the winds this season. Back out of the Northeast for the weekend too,looking at the forecast just now anyway.

One thing that isnae mentioned a lot regarding losses, is low flying pigeons colliding with vehicles. A friend of mines has been working through in Edinburgh for the last week or so and tells me the city bypass is littered with pigeon carcasses. Could be a lot of racers meeting their end this way.

664 club birds 1. A. Ritchie 1242 2. S. Fleming 1238 3. A. McCalley & Son 1234 4. A. McCalley & Son 1233 5. A. McCalley & Son 1232 6. D. McBeath 1228 7. S. Fleming 1227 8. D. McBeath 1227 9. A. Ritchie 1225 9. J. Hendry 1224 A bit gappy this week and returns at the clocks were average to poor. Well done Andy and the Wing Commander, in the words ae big Meat Loaf;"Two outta three ain't bad,"

Around Almond Valley With FLJ Week two of the Almond Valley racing calendar saw the federation cross the border into England to the village of Otterburn in Northumberland. It was yet another good race despite similar conditions to the opening week ie. Strong headwinds and low temperatures. I think the pigeons tend to make lighter work of inclement weather than we do, though it’s hard to say whether the stiffer opening races will be of benefit to them later on or whether it will eventually take its toll as the season develops. There were 1837 birds entered across the six clubs and coming out on top this week is the old fox, Geordie Harris of the Forth & Clyde club. Geordie is rightly considered by many in this area to be one the best ever flyers in Central Scotland, with his achievements including 1stOpen SNFC Frome,3rd Open SNFC Sartilly,5th Open SNFC Ypres, 6th Open SNFC Rennes etc. the man knows racing pigeons in side out. At 77 years old his enthusiasm for the sport is incredible, he’s into everything and certainly isn’t afraid to try something new. When not with his pigeons and dogs, he can been seen on his motorbike, golfing or playing the guitar- a Jack of all trades is George. Congratulations Geordie on a superb start to the season. This week’s Top 20 1. G. Harris, Forth & Clyde-1174 2. D. Bald, Balerno-1173 3. G. Harris - 1173 4. A. McCalley & Son, Armadale &District-1167 5. A. McCalley & Son - 1167 6. A. McCalley & Son - 1167 7. A. McCalley & Son – 1166 8. D. McBeath, Armadale & District-1166 9. A. Ritchie, Armadale & District-1165 10. A. Ritchie-1161 11. J. Hendry, Armadale & District-1158 12. J. Hendry-1157 13. J. Hendry-1157 14. J. Hendry-1157 15. A. McCalley & Son-1155 16. A, McCalley & Son-1155 17. A. Ritchie-1153 18. S. Fleming, Armadale & District- 1148 19. A. Ritchie-1147 20. J. Urquhart, Forth & Clyde-1146 Armadale &District Homing Society It was a smashing entry from the club this week with 733 birds sent. With good returns again reported and a few still to send out their full teams, there could possibly be a bigger entry this coming weekend. Taking 1st,2nd,3rd and 4this the A. McCalley & Son partnership with 6 seconds separating the four pigeons. The winning pigeon is a two year old latebred and nestmate to the hen that was 12th fed from the opening race last week, being bred from a Walter Masson of Inverallochy cock and the partnership’s good chequer hen. The second bird and 5th fed is a two year old cock bred by John Duthie of Dundee off a pair of pigeons he received from the master-Tommy Blair. This cock has been a goodun and amongst his previous prizes he was 5th fed from the same race last season. The third bird is a two year hen bred by Ralston Graham of Langholm and has been another steady performer to the loft having now won 1st,2ndand 3rd in the club. The fourth placed pigeon is a McCalley creation known in the loft as a ‘Wooffroffe’- with one of the parents being bred by the Wooff Brothers of New Ollerton and the other bred by the Woodroffe Brothers of Cornhill, a couple of the all-time great lofts on the UK pigeon racing scene. In 5th place is one of the federation’s best and most consistent fanciers, David McBeath, who wins many prizes each year in club,fed and national racing. With him being 13th federation last week and 8th this time round, it has been a fairly modest start by his own standards, but one thing’s for certain this is a loft to watch in the coming weeks in all competitions. Davie’s first pigeon this week is a two year old cock on roundabout, who flew fantastically as a yearling being on the fed result most weeks. This bird was bred by Armadale club mate Tam Gavin and actually came into Davie as a stray youngster-he obviously decided he likes Davie better than Tam as he kept coming back. They are strange at times are the doos. Balerno Homing Society Taking 1st club and 2nd federation fourth second week in a row is crack flyer Dougie Bald. Dougie’s first pigeon is a two year old dark chequer pied cock sent sitting four day old eggs in one of his upstairs sections. Both this pigeon’s parents came from Davie Reed of Dunsand this is the latest in a number of performances for the cock, as last year he was 11th, 12th and 25th in the federation. Dougie enjoyed a good race, also being 2nd and 3rdclub. The 2nd placed pigeon is one of Dougie’s black ones that have done some hellish winning in the fed over the years. This black hen herself already has a 2nd and 8th fed to her credit. She was sent to the race sitting seven day old eggs and is a daughter of a key breeder in the Bald loft- a cock coming from Willie Hay of Methil, when he was paired to a hen Dougie obtained from G. Grant and Son of Gretna,which is of Porter and Richardson origin. The 3rd placed bird is a yearling chequer cock that won 15th Fed last season as a youngster and his sire is again a Davie Reed Vandenabeele, an unrung cock that has bred Dougie a lot of good birds. The dam of the pigeon goes back to Dougie’s old Kenny Moger pigeons. Fourth in Balerno this week is Ian Jamieson with a two year old grizzle hen through his dad’s old family. Ian and his mother have made a good start to the season and I’m sure they’ll be hard to handle once the distance gets out a bit. Fifth in Balerno is Colin Bain, Colin is well known for his great long distance performances over the years. He was to the fore once again last year when he clocked a beauty to win the section and finish 7thOpen in the SNFC Gold Cup Race from Alencon, with just over 14 hours on the wing. Having said this Colin can sprint with the best of them and his first pigeon this week is a yearling Staf Van Reet cock he obtained from Chris McCann. The bird was one of a kit of six Colin received from Chris last year,sent up from his friend in the northwest of England. Colin has had problems with his electronic timing system this past week and I’ve my fingers crossed it is back in working order for the weekend. Carnwath Homing Society Continuing with his perfect start is last week’s Carnwath winner-Scott McArdle. Scott actually went a couple better this week as he is also second, third and fifth-super racing. The winner this week is a two year old blue pied cock containing his Roland Janssen and Dave Atkin bloodlines andflown on the roundabout system. His 2nd club is a yearling blue white flight cock bred in the purple being off Walter Boswell’s Spin Hen and one of his good Louella Jan Aarden cocks, making this yearling a full brother to Walter’s top hen Louella Jenna. If he turns out to be half as good as Jenna, then I’m sure Scott will count himself a lucky man. The 3rd placed pigeon was last week’s 1stPrize winner through Scott’s Colin Crowe and Dave Atkin breeding. This chequer cock now has a 1st, 2nd and 3rd club and is for sure a handy one. In 4th place are the Thomson Brothers with a yearling cock gifted to them by Willie Collins of Coatbridge. He is flown on widowhood at the moment and I’m told this is the first time the brothers have tried the system, so I can only wish them good luck with it for the rest of the season. Geordie hasn’t been keeping too well of late, let’s hope he is on the mend and feeling better soon. Well done Scott and the Thomsons, keep up the good work. East Calder Homing Society Taking the first four in East Calder this week is one of the federations top partnerships- Freddie Jamieson & Son. The quality of stock housed in these lofts is phenomenal and it shows itself in the results. The bulk of the stock are centered on the Rietvink pigeons of Galaxy Lofts, the super Planet Van Loons of Bolton & Williamson with the addition of one or two other top winning lines. Freddie’s winner is a two year old cock raced on the roundabout system, with this being his first time in a basket this season. His sire is a full brother to the famous Tipsof Marijke Vink, whilst the dam is a Van Loon obtained at the clearance sale of Bolton & Williamson. A daughter of this pair won 2x1st, 2nd and 3rd Fed-real super pigeons. The second pigeon timed to the Jamieson loft is a three year old blue white flight cock that has won five 1st Prizes to date,there aren’t many like him around. The sire of this pigeon is Dante -one of the finest breeders to come through Galaxy Loft’s Jupiter line, with the dam being another Bolton and Williamson hen. The impact Dante has had on Freddie’s team is outstanding, with many children and grandchildren showing their worth. Freddie’s 3rd and 4th placed birds are both through this cock, with the 3rd placed pigeon winning 1stclub and Section from the young bird open race last season. Taking 5th place in East Calder is last week’s winners-Mr & Mrs Archie Fleming. Well done Freddie and Archie. Forth & Clyde There are some very good birds emerging from this club at the moment, with all of the first three pigeons being in the top four last week. 1st club and 1st fed is Geordie Harris’Treble 5 hen, which was 4th club and 25th fed last week.The fed topper is raced on roundabout and contains the lines of Geordie’s great Black hen (9x 1st) as well as those of Braspenning’s Felle and Johnston Eagleson’s White Cheeks. 2nd club and 3rd fed is Geordie’s yearling chequer hen ‘288’, which was 2nd club and 9thfed last week. This hen now has a first and two second prizes. Like the treble 5 hen, she also contains the lines of Geordie’s Black hen and Braspenning’s Felle through the dam, her sire is direct off Micky Lennon’s famous Herbie,a fed topper on seven occasions. In 3rd place is Jimmy Urquhart with the yearling widowhood cock that was 1st club and 6th in the fed last week. This cock also won 1st prize from the third young bird race last season and has the making of a topper. His sire was a gift to Jimmy from the late John Ellis, whilst the dam is one of Jimmy’s Leo Van Rijns. Geordie Harris also took 4th place with a yearling hen, he didn’t know the breeding off the top of his head and has been coming down with the flu since the weekend, so will be excused on this occasion. Cairns & Hardie were 5th in the club and have had a good race with a few on the result. Well done Geordie, Jimmy and Cairns & Hardie. West Calder Homing Society John Bird is at it again up in West Calder, taking the first four positions and finishing 21st,22nd and 23rdin the fed. John’s first four pigeons were all hens flown on roundabout,the first of which is a yearling bred from a pair obtained from Mr & Mrs Hitchcock of Windsor off their Freialdenhofen pigeons. The second placed pigeon also has some Hitchcock influence,with the Dam being from their De Rauw Sablon pigeons. The sire is a direct son of John McNeill’s combine winner and prepotent breeder Sanny’s Memory John’s 3rd placed bird was a yearling hen bred by Foxwood Lofts,the hen in 4th is a home bred two year old Freddie Jamieson X John McNeill blue hen and the cock in 5th is a yearling whose sire was bred in the Royal Lofts and his dam is one of John’s Jan Aardens. Good flying by our president, John Bird. This weekend sees the fed racing from Catterick in North Yorkshire, being approximately 130 miles to the middle of the federation, we are getting into deeper waters now. A good clear day is forecast with the wind westerly, it has the makings of a good race. Good luck all.

well done the ogilvies and norrie,angus and Alan Orr and all who made result.

i'll see yees the morra night,sure geordie will have the trumpet wi him haha

cheers all