Novice

I was very disappointed to lose good pigeons at short races. I mean proven pigeons which raced and won from distances much greater than the distance they were last from. There can only be one reason for this and that is predators. It really makes you wonder if it's all worthwhile.

Strong winds and heavy rain in Ayrshire-exactly as forecast.

I'm no expert on wing theory but you may find a DVD called "thro' the looking glass of interest. It was released by Tony Cowan and Brian May explains his eye theories and the late Derek Smith explains his wing theory including how to measure the wing. There were copies on e bay some time ago. It is an interesting but slightly ancient publication. Best bet is put them on the road and see what distance they perform at.

some fanciers maintain that a step at the 7th flight is a positive. However 3 inches seems excessive to me.

Unfortunately Ayrshire have raced on an easterly route in recent years. I cannot understand the logic behind this whatsoever. However, without getting involved in the politics behind this yes your suggestion would benefit all of us not only with co ordinated liberations but also with the possibility of joint convoying. We went to the last race with 208 pigeons. A financial disaster. In addition to the above comment I feel that the appointment of one race control team for the west route and one for east route pigeons would be a huge benefit. Yes, these would be big jobs, but the advantages would be huge. Note- much of a race controllers pre race preparation is talking to other race controllers to reach a mutual consensus. This would be unnecessary with only 1 controller for each route.

Overcast, grey and raining in Ayrshire.

If you know someone who works for the council in pest control they may be able to lend you a suitable live catch trap. This would be just a bit bigger than we would use to catch feral cats. However ensuring there is no food available for them would be a step in the right direction.

Racing from the east into the fresh westerly wind was always going to be difficult today.

It's great to see a veteran showing the young guns the way home. Well done Jimmy Dunn.

Ayrshire 07:45 Hexham

Good morning to you Buster. Not many about meantime.

At the moment there is practically no wind in Ayrshire. Unfortunately it's grey and dark.

I'm really having reservations about this weekend's racing. We are flying into Ayrshire but just need to see what tomorrow brings.

Bright and sunny in Ayrshire with very little cloud now.

Thanks

North West fed are from Stirling and they will be at Consett on Sunday. I think Sunday is your best opportunity as only 1 transporter will be there on Saturday but he should still accept the strays.

thanks for that guys

Good to know you are at the race point. I knew you were scheduled to be at Consett. I think 5 Scottish feds were scheduled to be at that race point.

I know that Ayrshire federation and the Caledonian Combine (Glasgow and South Lanarkshire) have basketed tonight hoping for a Saturday race. I also can see that several other Scottish federations have delayed by 24 hours. However the plans of several other federations are unknown. Scottish Central, North West, Angus, Dundee and Fife. Should I assume they will be at the race point on Saturday or does anyone have information to the contrary.

Harry what is actually happening?

The weather at the home end (the west) has improved while the forecast for the liberation area has worsened.

I thought it was starting to improve this morning. Last night there was disagreement across the various forecasts.

I think there are a total of 5 Scottish feds at Consett this weekend.

Grey wet and windy in Ayrshire.

If you get to Hexham lib site for 11:00 Ayrshire will liberate then. It had been the intention to liberate about 14:00 to suit working fanciers but the earlier time is necessary to (hopefully ) miss a band of light rain in the borders area. The convoy is approximately 1160 pigeons.