Novice

very warm in SE England and continent,about 10 mph southerly winds and rain near the home end Friday. The remainder of the weekend has even stronger southerly winds.

He's not on here to do it so I ust did on his behalf

I think Tom Blakely of Irvine is 1st sectionF and 88th open. Another sterling performance from a fancier who seems to go unnoticed on here.

I had a mail from a fancier friend in the oxford area who said it is already "very hot" there.

This statement is absolutely correct. The source of the problem lies with clubs and federations whose race programs are completely inflexible. I know that there were many good proven pigeons lost in the first 3 races when we were racing before the ambient temperature had reached 10 degrees centigrage. We should not even have been training in those conditions.

I agree entirely with these comments. Extremely knowledgeable and a true gentleman.

All 8 2 year olds home from 8 sent. Only 1 yearling from 6 sent home to date.

I constaqntly ask that. Don't bother with me it's an age thing. I see you timed one of those sprinters they all like to decry.

Well done to bob. That was not hanging about. What about your red hen?

There can be no advantage for either the birds or the club. Ok the convoyers and drivers will make a few pounds. Pigeons which have come from a progressive loft will take a step backwards as they will have reverted from a proper low protein diet to the more conventional and inappropriate diet used on our transporters.

Last year I had a poor race from Newbury and felt the birds were dehydrated. At this race I felt the combination of the prevailing weather conditions and perspex roof had done the birds no good whatsoever. In a different scenario the transporter may have been adequate. In answer to the question I would suggest thet they are not the best available. Now a personal point ----I really cringe when I see the amount of grant money the fancy has wasted buying ETS which is for the convenience of the fancier when this would have been better spent on buying better transportation with the welfare of the birds in mind. Given the obstacles they now face they deserve the best.

Was that the Ballochmyle transporter?

so you are back again attempting a wind up. Best get your facts right and put your brain into gear before typing opinionated rubbish on a race for which you are not eligible.

I may send but with a few possible races over the next 2 Saturdays I really need to monitor the forecast over the next few days in an attempt to find the races which have the greatest chance of success and also which give the birds the best chance of returning home. However the simple answer meantime is yes.

actually the mail address should have a space between nl and www as in nl www

As far as I can see the contact details to report the pigeon are as follows Mail to: bureau@upo.nlwww.duiven.net Telephone 0031 3185 59700 Obviously when you report the pigeon it may take some time thereafter to repatriate it and the main concern at the moment is to ensure it eats and drinks to recover it's strength.

If you have any peanuts then you may find the bird will eat them. They have more goodness than rice and will help it recover more quickly. Once again if you let us have the ring number we can help.

It will be no use to you but the herb Fennel is very easy to grow. If left unattended it will take over your garden. I believe the seeds are dried then breweed into a tea. I tried adding some of the leaf to pigeon tea last year but saw no difference in the birds.

Perhaps this is a sign of the times but if I race this weekend I will be the only club member who does so. Now I need to re-evaluate my options and consider whether to race with a small convoy or train privately.

Ayr Dam Park was a cracking one day show. I always enjoyed it. I assume that drink was not involved in this evening of merriment

Yes

I am not sure if you mean traces of Sulphur or not but charcoal in it's purest form is simply carbon not dissimilar to the soot you would find in an old chimney. Yes it does absorb impurities and is used in the chemical industry to purify products before crystallisation.

3 missing from 10 sent

Hi Peter are you named after the pigeon or is it named after you?

Timed at 15:52 and 15:53 into Beith from the Peterborough lib. Presently 17 home from 20 sent.