peter pandy

Saturday again and not racing to-day, Jeez what a bore, The club is race marking this afternoon for another trip to Ripon 160 miles and I wonder if the Midland Fed members can muster up more than the 235 birds that were sent to Ripon last week, Blinking joke calling itself a Fed, and its a bigger joke the Race Programme where you have no come back races to let young birds catch up. The Pied Cock is my sole entry this week-end as I am a masochist but aint jumping a team 100 miles with a possible weather forecast I am not 100% happy with. Having competed in the Y/B National and found it a waste of time I really dont understand why the Scottish Central Combine with a 12 mile radius cannot organise a 200 mile race the same day as the Nat, I am quite sure it would attract a good entry as 300 miles into our part of Scotia with a 50 mile radius is self defeating.

Its a rare occasion when my fancied bird is not my first home in any race as I follow the observation theory..

Stevie Boy, I too have never lost a pigeon !! They just never want to come back and as regards being a Tory !! Well I got fed up voting for losers and will not be discussing my political views on here again...unless..

Midland Fed have cancelled race marking till to-morrow [saturday]

You are more than welcome regarding the plug and is there any chance of half a dozen late breds that dinnae get lost.

In the loft to-night and giving their evening meal I thought your a stranger and on inspection it was one I dropped from Otterburn three weeks ago, [first time ever in a basket 85 miles] It was none the worse for its excursion and its rubber was muddy and intact so obviously not been in a loft. It lives to fight another day next year. The article I included regarding Rape seed,, Wiley has blown away, and no doubt fanciers will be beating a path to his door wanting young birds that cannot be lost.. The weather this week-end is supposed to be attrocious so It looks like the Pied Cock will have a wee holiday from tormenting me, for the followers of the Posts, my Son in Law Fin and Grandson Greg came and fitted the Loft gutter cover under my supervision and a neat job they made of it too. Well they should, having their own building business. Wee Mary is still applying Pain relieving cream to my posterior and its nice to get a bit of relief.

When sitting at the table yesterday morning enjoying my porridge and coffee, occasionally watching the youngsters excercise out the window I read an interesting article in my morning newspaper "Daily Express" Yes, I am a Tory. The headline was ""Decline in Bees linked to Pesticide"". Scientists have proved that Bees exposed to "neonicotinoids" which are used to treat oilseed rape crops saw their population drop by 30% between 2002 - 2012 the research led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology found. There are fears it damages their ability to navigate. Neonicotinoids are applied to seeds prior to planting and can be transported to all tisues of a crop. This is not a theory but a proven fact. Can losses of our birds be the contact and contribution of rape seeds fed to our birds in many energy feeds, Thus making the homing ability null and void.

SNAP :emoticon-0136-giggle: Ah think they all have one. By the way mine have a bum as well..

Aw my birds have got yin..

Aye Tommy, make yourself a thief for £1.50. Scum bag..

SU 16 M 1536 returned to-night from Appleby 10 days ago burst up across the chest and I would be obliged if the person who had him in his loft would be kind enough to return the ETS ring you stole..

Aye. You'r bang on their Tommy. Their are not enough Gamekeepers left.

The late Andy Durning refused to put Y/B up in 20mph winds and 25 for O/B.

Friday afternoon saw me spending hours observing the youngsters and it was apparent the Pied Cock was the only bird worth sending and on handling all, he was, along with a Blue Hen which had laid her second egg on Tuesday night the only two I would be sending for the 160 mile race with full wings. Come Saturday and they are liberated at 09.15 in a 15mph Westerly so I reckon on 4hrs. 13.15 comes and goes so does 14.15 and a 14.30 the Pied Cock drops into the house gutter for a quick drink and wastes little time dropping down onto the loft roof where he has a drink from the loft gutter, promptly closes his eyes burrows his head into his crop and goes to sleep.. Thirty minutes later I leave him and walk down the street to see them down there and am welcomed with you have a cracker the day as they still have nothing from 8 when one drops into them as I am giving them my tale of woe and they perk up at beating me. I put the rest of the youngsters out at 19.00 and the Pied Cock aroused himself and went off with them for a burl and was first into the loft at the end of the excercise period. I can honestly say I remained calm the whole afternoon and evening resigning myself to being a very poor fancier unable to figure out why or what I have done to upset the Bassa as it torments me in such a way. I have never in a lifetime of keeping pigeons ever had a bird like this and wee Mary was really surprised at my calm demeanour instead off my ranting and raving which should have been the norm..Still not seen the Blue Hen. Monday, and I decide nothing will ever have a drink from the loft gutter again and get the ladders out climb up and promptly fall off injuring my Bum,Back,Legs,Elbows Hands and Pride. When I came too the young girl from next door who had been sunbathing had seen me fall and came rushing round to help but ignored my plea for the Kiss of Life and instead went and informed Mary to call an ambulance who came rushing down complaining she was missing some Olympic final on the telly and what was I doing up those stupid ladders at my age. Aye, it aw happens at my end of the street..As wee Mary rubs pain relieving cream onto my bum and slaps it for fun..

Personally I would not dream of crossing your Lakeland with a Patterdale if you want to keep the size. Should you be looking at crossing perhaps a Border Terrier would be more preferential. Ask Tommy for advice.

MMMM, all very interesting, but I dont send them if I feel they dont have the feathers to give them a fighting chance, with no training basket work I aint going to send them to upward of 160 miles for their first fly in the hope they can make it home after all they are still babies and wont mature till they have went through a complete moult. Perhaps when I have an established team and know their capabilities it will be a different conundrum but till then I will remain cautious.

In cases where you cannot clear your mind off the tragedy it helps to seek "trauma councelling" and you will benefit from what they can do to relieve you of the tragic memories. Even Ambulance operatives receive it so do not think it is a weakness on your part. The brain is a very complex machine which at times we need help to handle it.

Very interesting Davy and believe it or not I have been contemplating moving my 20 later bred youngsters into a spare 10x6 loft and leaving it open 24 Hrs for them to do as they please all winter. Moving them into the race loft in the spring. It will be worth noticing how they respond as it is open to the North wind. Oh aye, and hopper feed them Scotch Beans with nowt else. Will keep all informed on the site.

With the rain commencing just after I gave the grass its weekly cut at lunch time and has not abated since, the youngsters have not had their evening excercise and on going through them it's doubtful I will have any to send this week apart from the Pied cock which sat out last week. Almost all have lost their cover flights but I still wont contemplate "the darkness" just to waste them in future years IMO. Wee Tam in the club is the only member to be on it and although coming 2nd in the first race and 1st in the second race he has struggled to get a bird home since so their is no guarantee with the system. Not unless you are sending upward of 60 to get a result. I remember in the sixties and Seventies their was a 3 bird club within the Fed run by Hunter Millar with about 300 members nominating three birds maximimum it was an honour to win the pools and made for more excitment with the mob flyers rarely getting a sniff and the accumulator always seemed to go to the last race. When you think about it the club would pay out on a full pooler £40 when the average wage was £12, Aye the good auld days when the fancier treated everbody tae a pint in the pub and go hame blootered..

Wiley, The young bird team are 15 weeks old and were reared on Frazers All Round Supreme with Beans added, When weaned they went onto Start Plus as a base feed with Energy added for the last 4 feeds before basketing. This is what was recommended to me by top distance men three years past and all I am attempting to do now is establish new imports into a formidable race team which is harder in this day and age with the amount of Bassas, Losses are to be expected every time they are basketed and one wonders if fancied birds are not up to scratch or are being taken in their endeavour to get home so one just has to persevere and send race entries in the best condition possible.

Put what's left of the young bird race team out this morning [all 14 of them] and came back out of the loft to find they had disappeared but returned high up and racing around the sky at a great rate of knots which had me wondering how many miles are they puting in ?. After 18 minutes they were back on the house roof and I roughly estimated they had covered 15-20 miles. I noticed him down the street has been in touch with Mike Smith [Off His Hill] enquiring for tips on how to win !!. and any secrets. Dedication and hard work is all that is required if you ask me, with the training basket still redundant.

Three from Eight back from Appleby 113 miles and I am as sick as a parrot but not alone as the rest of the club members are in the same boat and they are all training like *expletive removed*. Saturday night, the rain is torrential and the dogs wont go out and all I am thinking about is the ones missing and how they are faring. Sunday morning and the wind is bending the trees breaking one in half which takes out all the telephone wires at my end of the street, We surely cannot expect to have any return now as god knows where they will end up say's I to myself when one drops from goodness knows where onto the loft and is blown back up into the maelstrom that is here in the Metropolis but he tries again and lands safely getting himself out of the weather and into the safety of home. How do they manage it I say to myself after wishing him a welcome home lad. No more made it and I am cursing myself for going to a stupid race to prove a point. Those that are left had a day in the loft Sunday feeding on V/L. Start + which they will have till Wednesday night then it will be 75% Start + 25% energy same Thursday Morn/Eve and Friday Morn which is what they were given last week and handled well on it. I certainly wont be blaming my losses on my birds but think the Fed Officials have much to answer for when they are putting finance before the welfare of the members birds producing a race programme that is not conducive to its members by joint convoying as soon as possible. The line of flight will be an 80 mile jump with last week's zig zag and no hope of introducing any fresh birds.

Direct Pigeon Supplies Ltd [ireland] are the main suppliers..Phone No 0402 20687.

3 from 8 at Appleby yesterday is the norm in our club and 1 this morning gives me 50% home from this fiasco. :emoticon-0179-headbang:

Midland,North West,Central and West Lothian all lib'd at 7.45.