peter pandy

Davie & Gareth for the record their are NO FALKIRK LOFTS in the West Section nor are we in Camelon South East of Phill, However your pal from Newbiggen is roughly 10 miles East of the NORTH WEST FED. No Federation boundaries have been changed in my 55 years in the sport to my knowledge so please refrain from stirring untruths and deal with the facts.

Phil Lynch put forward a proposal that was seconded which is his right, not for personal benefit but for national members of three feds which were disadvantaged by sections made up by federation boundaries. If he was unable to discuss that fact because of disruption by what I would term as hooligans who were not concerned with listening to home truths and perhaps watch the advantage they receive disappear then I feel sorry for them as they are only proving that they don't want FAIR PLAY. Rail roading never entered the equation and post "44" sums it up.

Phil Lynch did not turn the meeting into a farce in my opinion, It was ignorant members not prepared to listen to the discussion and shouting the man down. Had it been chaired by a man of stature such as Percy Cameron they would have been thrown out of the hall and up in front of the committee.

Last time they had central marking it was in Bathgate and their was no problem getting parked. Was up there a couple of months ago and its a nightmare trying to find a parking space. This off course is typical of town planners who could not give a jobby about town centres as they are only concerned about making life as difficult as legally possible for motorists unless of course you have a disability and then life is not a problem parking wherever you want.

Not if you run cold water on it at the same time Wattie "should have mentioned that" Theirs definitely a hand tool to do the job as I had to operate one in the past Just don't know where it went !.

I was only 17 Wattie and if I may say so well endowed "bragging" LOL

One solution is to take a small dremel disc cutter that fits on a drill and bobs your uncle its off B&Q will probably supply

I had a tool specifically designed for cutting rings off but unfortunately cannot find it nor am I able to say who supplies them although I have a funny hunch it could be Boddy & Ridewood

Sorrow can hardly describe what the guys are going through. We can only pray they find the mother *expletive removed*.

Exactly 50 years ago, it was the final old bird race from Bournmouth and I can remember it as if it was yesterday. The club accumulator had not been won that season and their was me lying in my pit on the Saturday when my mum shouted up that their was a bird on the landing board. As we only had one away and my brother was working that day I shouted down to her asking what time it was to which she replied 12.00 o-clock no chance says I to my-self as it was almost 400 miles so I reluctantly rose from bed and looked out the curtains to see our Mealy hen sitting there. Not thinking anything but get her clocked in I ran down the stairs through the kitchen and out the back door to screams which I ignored running down the garden and slipping on the grass brought me suddenly to my senses as a wet bum can do that but unperturbed dived into the loft opened the trap let her in caught her and realised the clock was in the living room. I raced back up through the garden into the kitchen through into the living room with more screams and clocked in. It was then I realised I did not have a stitch of clothes on.. Embarrassed was not the word for it as I later found that I had caused quite a commotion on the bus as well which had passed by and all the passengers had witnessed me in the garden. Talk about a reddy as I was the butt of jokes and sniggers for weeks BUT we won all the pools nom & accumulator and were all home when many did not get a clock in till much later.

I was an eye sign enthusiast in my younger years until Mr Masarella purchased Johnny Robertson's Double Top the winner of SNFC Nantes and their was a full page Photograph of its eye. Absolutely no eye sign only a yellow eye with a pin *expletive removed* pupil.

Yes observation plays its part however it is only a part. I have observed pigeons doing strange things which shows they are in great order BUT when handling find that they don't have the body for a specific race where time on the wing is paramount which is why I have had more pool winners than most. I discovered many years past that I could send birds fed on a famous brand with marvellous physique that could not handle a 4 hour fly. This is where handling comes into its own and determines the art of feeding.

Thought you knew your stuff Owen but obviously not, Same with you Walter, If you think handling is equivalent to looking up their backside. The most important aspect of success is handling and re-handling prior to sending to a race.

Did Dale Newcombe not send a stock bird to Rennes that had never flown out by mistake and was on the result 20 years ago ?.

Remember them well and they were very hard to beat in Scottish Combine races at all distances. They won Dol 500 miles with a 9 year old hen Yes Happy Memories of Bob and Wullie McAbe.

I still have memories of prize presentations when they were an occasion for the wives to have a special night out in all their finery and for whatever reason we went from lovely surroundings to working mens clubs and attendances dropped off. When I was Fed Sec I decided to go back to up market venues and found that previously where it had been difficult to sell 40 tickets we shifted 90 and even organised pre racing dinners which were a huge success with a guest speaker. The S.N.F.C. presentation night is the most prestigious evening in the pigeon calendar and should be an experience not to be missed.

I was invited to an interview by the late Brian Long to be his Loft Manager and when we discussed the breeding methods he employed he informed me that he brought vets from Belgium to artificially inseminate 100 hens with sperm from one cock. I personally thought at the time that it was a waste of good hens but then who can say what the big boys get up to because they are not going to let on their success rate. The amount of times I have bred a good winner and on looking up the parents found I had lost them in the first couple of races is quite phenomenal and to me what racing pigeons is all about.

The proposals being banded about have nothing to do with the welfare of the birds only the pretext of self centred fanciers "I use that word with contempt" to gain the advantage of a bit of overfly. Absolutely no thought of the 100 or so miles of North Sea where a shower of rain can bring disaster as their is no where to land and seek shelter and you call yourselves pigeon fanciers.

Not wishing to go off topic however Bovingdon was a disaster not because of the race point but the weather. The shade temperature was 32c after the transporter arrived on site but real temp was 45c and heating up inside to 55c. The transporter was moved to get some shade on it underneath a tree but never cooled down.

NONE to your first question and Newhouse greenhouse to your second.

Proposals for the SNFC as far as I am concerned would be not to joint convoy with any organisation and transport the birds ourselves, Plus drop all inland races and fly the old route with Avranches, Rennes, Nantes and Sartilly where we had better returns.

Denny has been a member of Midland Fed for more than 40 years and the boundary was never changed to do so. Their was no back door entry and I take exception Gareth for attempting to denigrate noble members. What will you come away with next, perhaps George Harris had no right to win a national because he is in Denny club or perhaps a 1 mile radius of your loft should be the West Section. Forgive me for being negative but their are many in the West section who firmly believe Newbiggan should not be competing in the West section but no doubt friends don't count.

When I started up over 50 years ago I used to pair good looking birds together but without success and carried out that system for many years because I was a slow learner and had no one in the family to ask who kept pigeons nor did I believe their was nothing in this game but luck and a good loft position. The luck changed when The Pictorial came out and Alf Baker was a godsend to me. One article he wrote was about his mealy cock who only won when he was paired to his mother which gave me an insight to love pairings which I have carried out to this day. In March I open the sections and leave them to pick their own mates which to date has been successful as I never kept stock pigeons and what I have proved to myself is that the first eggs from a yearling hen produce more winners than any other. No doubt some would denigrate this as being the lazy mans method but I could name top men who follow this idea.

Darren I have obviously upset you which was never my intention and I notice now the above. I posted what I have experience off and will inform you and readers of my post.. The local vet was informed there was suspected PMV in the loft and he informed DEFRA who sent 3 vets in white suits and dressed appropriately for quarantine conditions, They took samples including a bird with PMV symptoms for autopsy and tests which took 7 days for results which by the way proved negative. They could not inform us what the actual problem was as they were only concerned about viral PMV. At a later date it was proved to be immunity due to misuse of antibiotics. Not my doing. I sincerely wish you good fortune in the future.

What I cannot figure out about this post is WHO INFORMED YOU THAT YOU HAD PARAMYXOVIRUS IN YOUR LOFT ?.in fact has any body on Pigeon Basics had this virus and who informed you ?. Was it your vet or the guy down the street or you have read about the symptoms elsewhere and surmised your birds were infected... The reason I am asking is DEFRA would have been involved and sent their vets, samples would have been taken which takes 7 days to analyse and they would have officially informed you but I haven't read anywhere that this procedure has been carried out.