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The Joe Murphy Column Received a card ‘Just to Say Thank You’ from my dear old friend Henry & Etta Mair & Family from Irvine in Ayrshire. Who wrote; It was good to read that it all worked out well with your ‘Charity’ pigeon for Blackpool. Excellent!!! Well Done. Joe your column, is a must for Anybody with pigeons in Scotland and Beyond. Keep up the Great Work, and your help from Margaret & Family. Love and best wishes Henry & Etta xx. Hendry also sent a question for my column. * How ‘close’ did Shillinglaw & Whylie pigeon ‘Blue Blitz’ come to winning 2 Gold Cups. * He was 1 st open Rennes in 1964 (6000 pigeons) * He was 2 nd open Rennes in 1965 (6000 pigeons) With Gardiner Brothers were 1 st in the race velocity 1074. * What was Blue Blitz velocity in 2 nd place???? How close was it ???? * What is the history of the Gold Cup ????? Who presented it?????? * Is G Willox of Peterhead the most northerly fancier to win it ?????? My Reply * Regarding the 1964 Rennes race; From the Rennes race 2790 members sent 5537 birds to the race the convoy were liberated at 05-35 am into a north east wind. Shillinglaw & Wylie of Newcastleton were flying 491 miles 1074 yards. They timed in their chequer hen at SU62S 6500 at 7-23-16 pm for a velocity of 1044. 2 nd open was W Gardiner of Lockerbie flying 490 miles 1040 yards timed in his chequer hen SU60S 2208 at 8-02-29pm for a velocity of 995. The FOLLOWING YEAR 1965; The convoy of 6030 birds sent by 2820 members were liberated at 6-15am at Rennes on 27 th June into a light north west wind. Winning 1 st open was W Gardiner of Lockerbie who timed in a mealy hen‘Sky Queen’ SURP61S1801 at 7-38-54 recording a velocity of 1074.0 Shillinglaw & Wylie of Newcastleton, flying 491-1074 timed in ‘Blue Blitz’ SU62S6500 at 7-40-39 recording a velocity of 1073.9 So, Henry the answer to your question was -- POINT ONE TWO OF A YARD. * What is the history of the Gold Cup ????? Who presented it ?????? My Answer; In 1913 John McAlpine, took over the managers appointment as Doctor Anderson loft. Later on, his son Willie followed in the same role. Willie celebrated his 87 th birthday during the SNFC Centenary year and probably remembered more than any other fancier about the early Nationals. Also, about Doctor Anderson and his prowess as a racer, breeder and SNFC leader. In 1914 Rennes race could have been jeopardised, as it happened Rennes went ahead in that summer despite the looming hostilities. However, that was to be the last Rennes National for some time. The Gold Cup so proudly acquired just a year earlier, was put into safe storage. The sum of £20, about half the club reserves, was placed in Government War Loans. In 1917 both Mr Dickson and Dr Anderson asked ‘To be relieved of their duties for some time’. It was perhaps rewarding that Dr Anderson was the winner of the Gold Cup in 1920; with another coincidence being that Dr Andersons near neighbours Watson Brothers won the Gold Cup. Regarding G Willox of Peterhead; Yes, he is the most northerly fancier to win the Gold Cup from Alencon in 2008 flying a distance of 631 miles, recoding a velocity of 1107. The following year 2 2009; Dave Pirie of Aberdeen won Andrezel flying 626 miles with a velocity of 1364. As a matter of pursuit Dennis Dall of Ladybank is the furthest flying SNFC record holder as he won Niort flying 697 miles in 1990; Fife had some exceptional distance fanciers in their midst at this time as John Duthie of Methil winning Niort in 1989 and Jock Traill of Thornton won Niort in 1996 and Nantes in 1997. All the above truly outstanding fanciers. In my research on my book on the Dewar Trophy winners; I came across an article in Jim Renwick’s ‘Scotland’s Own Book’, which Billy Wortley wrote. I thought some of this information is applicable to Henry Mair’s letter; so, enjoy my old friend as well as other readers of my column. …………………………………………… Jack Wylie is one of the few fanciers who became a Legend in their own lifetime, but Jack was indeed one of these people. There were a few very good fanciers who flew their pigeons in the village in that era; the most prominent was W J Little who raced Champion named ‘Border Hero’ see photo. This pigeon was a blue chequer white flight cock bred in 1951 and in 1953 won 7 th section 15 th open SNFC Rennes from an entry of 4727 birds. He was entered from Rennes in 1954 and won 1 st section 2 nd open from an entry of 5070 birds. He was back to Rennes in 1955 to win 2 nd section 14 th open from an entry of 6201 birds. Many fanciers who obtained his blood won out of turn with his offspring. In 1950 Jack Wylie became more interested in the pigeon and he would go on a Saturday to watch the pigeon’s arrival at the loft of Harkness & Fergusson. At this time Mrs Jean Shillinglaw used to visit the loft of T Robson to watch his birds return. As a matter of interest Mrs Shillinglaw was an expert in breeding and showing Border Terrier Dogs. Both Mrs Shillinglaw and her husband were each interested in the racing pigeons, and in 1962 Mrs Shillinglaw approached Jack to enquire if he was interested in starting a partnership with her. Jack agreed but as he only had a small back garden in the rear of his house, a new loft would have to be erected in the garden of Mr & Mrs Shillinglaw. In actual fact both the Wylie & Shillinglaw families were near neighbours both residing the same street North Liddle Street in Newcastleton. There were only 10 houses in the street which runs in parallel to the River Liddle. They had no problem obtaining pigeons as the club members 6 youngster to them. Two from Harkness & Ferguson, one from J Wallace and 3 from T Robson and they purchased several Logans at a sale in Balerno. Another interesting item is that 5 of the 6 original youngsters from their club mates; all scored from the channel, and one was to prove to be one of the greatest pigeons ever to compete into Scotland. One of the Harkness & Ferguson pigeons gifted to them was a blue hen SU62 6500. W J Little (mention above) who owned ‘Border Hero’ said to them that the blue hen 6500 was ‘something special’. Jack worked on the railway and was a member of the Fur & Feather Club, which entitled him to subsidise training. Jack would then train weekly from Shap or Appleby and W J Little would sit at the loft and watch the pigeons come home. W J in 1964 told Jack Wylie that the blue hen 6500 was performing well and he predicted that she would do well from the channel. Prior to going to the national she had 4 races, from Leyland; Newton of Willows; Cannock and Cheltenham. She was then entered for the SNFC Rennes Gold Cup race and the convoy were liberated at 05-35am and she was timed at 19-24 to win Scotland’s Premier race, recording a velocity of 1044ypm, and clearly won the national. A large North of England convoy was also liberated with the SNFC pigeons that day and the leading pigeon from his convoy was doing less than 1000ypm. Hence the reason she was name ‘Blue Blitz’. There was another concern regarding the National race; on the day following, J B Halliday of Brydekirk came to congratulate Jack on being the probable winner of the race, but he told Jack that he was led to believe his clock had still not arrived at the clock station for checking. In those days the birds and clocks were sent by train to the Clock Checking Station. J B’s kindly involvement prompted Jack to go to the local station in 3 Newcastleton and speak to the Station Master, who contacted Waverley Station in Edinburgh to find out if the clock had been received, and passed onto Glasgow. A further check with the Glasgow authorities confirmed the clock had been received and been passed for checking. (Could you imagine that happening now; We would be going out of our mind- who is to say that Jack Wylie wasn’t doing the same thing. The other good thing in today’s pigeon racing sport is we now have the ETS, which just shows how we have progressed over the years). In 1965 Jack Wylie gave 6500 x 3 club races in which she gained 2 federation positions and she was entered into the SNFC Gold Cup race from Rennes. The convoy was liberated at 06-15am and she was timed at 19-41pm. The outcome of the race was very close with 2 good pigeons being timed into Lockerbie. When the result came out SURP61S1801 ‘Sky Queen’ raced by Billy Gardiner timed 7-38-54 for the 490 miles 1040 yards, recording a velocity of 1074.0. Shillinglaw & Wylie of Newcastleton, flying 491-1074 they timed in ‘Blue Blitz’ SU62S6500 at 7-40-39 recording a velocity of 1073.94. The 3 rd open position was won by J McKay of Lockerbie who timed at 7-41-58 to record a velocity of 1070. So ‘Blue Blitz’ was beaten for a double SNFC Gold Cup win BY THE FLAP OF A WING. Billy Gardiner’s ‘Sky Queen’ had previously won 13 th section 25 th open SNFC Rennes 1963 with 5500 birds competing. Her daughter ‘Sky Baby’ won 1 st section 1 st open SNFC Young Bird national from Worcester in 1965 so Billy won 2 nationals in the same season. {I digress from the above a little but found these facts very interesting while doing this research. Billy Gardiner’s blue chequer hen 2208 won 16 th section 27 th open Rennes in 1965, the year previous 1964 she had won 2 nd section 2 nd open SNFC Rennes; and in 1961 this hen won 1 st club (only bird on the day of the toss) 8 th federation from Dol. Her sister was a blue pied hen named ‘Sky Princess’ who won 5 th section 13 th open SNFC Nantes in 1964 and in 1965 she won 1 st section 2 nd open SNFC Nantes, 8 th open Ushers/Vaux International} Back to another winner for Shillinglaw & Wylie was ‘Blue Booster’ winner of 1 st section 1 st open Solway Federation; they also won 1 st Solway federation averages in 1972. His dam was bred by Tom Pooley from Cockermouth while his sire was from ‘Blue Blitz’. In 1978 the partners won their 2 nd outright national winning 1 st section 1 st open SNFC Falaise with ‘Blue Boy’ which was a blue chequer cock. Mrs Shillinglaw died in 1979 and Jack moved the loft to its original location adjacent to the loft of his great friends Harkness & Ferguson. Jack recorded his 3 rd National win which was to prove quite special. After a 2-day holdover the convoy of 9983 birds were liberated at Rennes at 05- 45 am on Sunday 27 th of June into a south west wind. The loft of Shillinglaw & Wylie timed at 5- 06pm. This turned out to be as dramatic as the 1965 race, as it was a close race. Both Jack’s bird and Mr Pringle of Selkirk were recording the same velocity of 1269. Both lofts were remeasured and after several days it was announced that Shillinglaw & Wylie had won the race recording a velocity of 1269-38 and Mr Pringle velocity was 1269-35. Jack knew exactly how Mr Pringle must have felt and he had some sympathy for him, however he did appreciate; that the first telephone call he received to congratulate him was from Mr Pringle. Ever since the Rennes race was established any winner of the event wishes to do the double and in 1982 the loft of Shillinglaw & Wylie became the first loft to achieve this fete. The late president of the club Percy Cameron of Lockerbie presented Jack with a suitably inscribed Gold Watch on behalf of the SNFC in recognition of this fete. Once again, a matter of interest for fanciers. Jack Wylie favoured his cannel candidates sitting eggs or a small youngster but to illustrate the power of observation, appreciate that ‘Blue Blitz’ his 1 st open Rennes winner was sent sitting 6-day old youngsters, while ‘Liddle Supreme’ the pigeon which 4 eventually achieved the elusive 2 nd Rennes national win, was set down on chipping eggs which was his favourite next condition. ………………………………………… I hope Henry and readers of my column have enjoyed this little blast back into the history books. It is all about observation and watching and taking note of each and every one of your pigeons, be it on the nest or even if it is widowhood. The best pair of eyes in the LOFT ARE YOURS. Joe Murphy. Race Results Any club who wish to have their results in my weekly column are more than welcome to join, however I require these before Wednesday as I send my article away to the papers on the Thursday. It is up to you and if you have a photo of your club winner or their bird and wish to add this to the column, you will obtain my email and address at the bottom of my column. May I wish all fanciers who read my column ALL THE BEST FOR THE 2023 SEASON. Space Weather Forecast 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table Issued 3 rd April 2023 UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2023 Apr 03 125 8 3 2023 Apr 04 120 10 3 2023 Apr 05 120 12 4 2023 Apr 06 115 8 3 2023 Apr 07 115 5 2 2023 Apr 08 110 5 2 2023 Apr 09 110 5 2 2023 Apr 10 110 15 4 2023 Apr 11 115 12 4 2023 Apr 12 120 8 3 2023 Apr 13 125 5 2 2023 Apr 14 130 8 3 2023 Apr 15 135 8 3 2023 Apr 16 135 12 4 2023 Apr 17 135 10 3 2023 Apr 18 140 15 4 2023 Apr 19 140 5 2 2023 Apr 20 140 20 5 2023 Apr 21 135 15 4 2023 Apr 22 135 10 3 2023 Apr 23 135 5 2 2023 Apr 24 130 5 2 2023 Apr 25 125 5 2 2023 Apr 26 120 15 4 2023 Apr 27 115 18 5 2023 Apr 28 115 15 4 2023 Apr 29 115 15 4 5 Joe’s Joke No one believes seniors; everyone thinks they are senile. An elderly couple was celebrating their sixtieth anniversary. The couple had married as childhood sweethearts and had moved back to their old neighbourhood after they retired. Holding hands, they walked back to their old school. It was not locked, so they entered, and found the old desk they’d shared, where Andy had carved “I love you, Sally.” On their way back home, a bag of money fell out of an armoured car, practically landing at their feet. Sally quickly picked it up and, not sure what to do with it, they took it home. There, she counted the money - fifty thousand pounds! Andy said, “We’ve got to give it back.” Sally said, “Finders keepers.” She put the money back in the bag and hid it in their attic. The next day, two police officers were canvassing the neighbourhood looking for the money, and knocked on their door. “Pardon me, did either of you find a bag that fell out of an armoured car yesterday?” Sally said, “No”. Andy said, “She’s lying; she hid it up in the attic’. Sally said, “Don’t believe him, he’s getting senile” The agents turned to Andy and began to question him. One said: “Tell us the story from the beginning.” Andy said, “Well, when Sally and I were walking home from school yesterday ....” The first police officer turned to his partner and said, “We’re out of here!” Please continue to keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum Avenue Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email to joejmurphy1@gmail.com REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or log onto www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk www.pigeon-chat.co.uk who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland

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Now that the 2023 season is underway for some, where are you racing from this Saturday?

For information

I can see from posts on Facebook some clubs/Federation/Organisations start racing today. Good luck

The Joe Murphy Column I start off this week’s column with the sad news that Jim Sanderson of Pathhead in Midlothian; recently passed away. I had the greatest respect for Jim as he was a proper gentleman and someone, I got on very well with. He and Bobby Caruthers were the ‘Superstars’ in the 1970’s and if you were lucky enough to beat them in a national race then you would not be far from being at the top of the result. Jim was a farmer and a hard worker, so his pigeons were his hobby and a pastime to him. To his wife and family, I send my heartfelt condolences at their loss and may Jim rest in peace. Jim joined the elite in the SNFC by winning Scotland’s longest distance race 2 years in succession, he is the only fanciers within the club to win 2 consecutive SNFC Nantes races. John McGillivray & son of Forth won the SNFC from this race point in 1956 & 1958. The only other fancier to pull of the double was John Robertson of Jedburgh who won in 1970 and 1972. Jim Sanderson won 1 st open SNFC Nantes in 1976 with ‘Lady Jane’ and the following year he won 1 st open SNFC Nantes with ‘Loan Frill Lady’. So as a reverence to this wonderful fancier I’m going to reprint his 2 articles on his national wins for fanciers to read, as some readers of my column may not know of Jim or his achievements. His knowledge as a farmer and pigeon fancier may help someone in today’s sport (I hope so). In the 1982 BHW Stud Book Jim wrote an article; ‘Do Not Interfere With A Pigeon’s Natural Instincts’. In the 1983 BHW Stud Book his article was called, ‘Winning Is Sweeter- The Second Time Around’. Jim wrote the following articles; ‘I would like to than the Editor of the BHW for acknowledging my performance in the SNFC Nantes race by asking me through Joe Murphy, BHW Scribe for Fife, to contribute this article. It was for me a thrill of a lifetime to win Scotland’s longest national race. Having come close to winning – 4 th open Avranches in 1976, and 7 th open Nantes in 1980, I thought I knew the excitement of doing well in a national race. In fact, nothing can compare to the feeling of actually winning and I consider myself extremely fortunate indeed to experience this. ‘Lady Jane’ is a 1976 late bred. As a yearling she was given 5 races to a distance of 150 miles, and then stopped. Then as a 2-year-old she went out to Dorchester 350 miles, and then onto 500 miles for Avranches. In this race she finished just out of the prize money. Liberated at 06-15am into a west wind, I timed her in at 22-30 in very good condition for 16 ¼ hours on the wing. Her full sister won 91 st open in this race. On now to 1979 when I decided to prepare ‘Lady Jane’ for Rennes, in this race she gained 116 th open at a velocity of 824 for the 540 miles. The following year, in the same race she was my nominated pigeon, and I gained 41 st , 98 th , 146 th & 314 th open, all on the day. But ‘Lady Jane’ was not one of these. This I could not understand, until the following morning, at 06-00 she arrived home with all the feathers missing out of her back and blood everywhere. She had I think she had been attacked by a hawk, but whatever happened she had shown great courage in getting home. The following season in 1981, I decided to prepare her for Nantes, and watched her carefully on her arrival back from club races, to make sure she was suffering no after affects, from her expedience at Rennes the previous year. All seemed well, so along with the other 4 in my team, she was prepared for Nantes, with club races of 150, 200, & 250 miles. After having settled on her eggs, she was given as many 40-mile tosses as time allowed. On the day of basketing she had been sitting 15 days. The Nantes birds were liberated at 09-15am, ‘Lady Jane’ was timed at 21-13 with a velocity of 1469 ypm for 600 miles. (to win the race JM) Another of the team, took 22 nd open and the rest of the 5 birds were home by 9-30 the following morning, having taken 43 rd & 61 st open Rennes the previous weekend. This concluded a very exciting week for me. 2 Lady Jane’s’ sire, is a red chequer cock, which I have always kept for stock, he was kindly given to me by my cousin Alec Allison of Carnwath, who is one of Lanarkshire’s top national fliers. ‘Young Scalpy’ has proved to be an outstanding stock bird directly responsible for 8 SNFC certificates so far. His unusual names come from his mother, as a nestling, she was badly pecked about the head by an intruder in the nest box. Beryl- Alec’s wife, nursed her back to heath, and christened her ‘Scalpy’. She went on to take many prominent positions, in national races, and was an outstanding stock bird. ‘Lady Jane’s’ dam had only one race from France taking 175 th open Rennes in 1973, and then because of her breeding she was then retired to stock. Her bloodlines go back to J McGilvery of the Forth, a previous double winner of the Nantes race. My loft is 18 feet by 7 feet with 24 pairs including the stock pairs. After the 1980 racing season I put down for the first time a deep litter of Spanish Clay granules; the birds took to it immediately, in fact a lot quicker than their owners, after being a scraper man for 19 years, I still find it difficult to get used to the deep litter, but if the pigeons like it then that is all the matters. My feeding methods are very simple, I give the birds a mixture, maize and wheat, 3 times each day, and there are always some beans in the hoppers. I believe one should vary the contents of the mixture with regard to the work the pigeons are doing, since muzzle require energy for sustained work. As far as exercise is concerned, I am very fortunate being able to give my birds an open loft all day. I feel the benefit of this is not so much, the exercise but the fact that it is a more natural state for the pigeons to live in. They are very content flying out and in as they please. One danger of this system can be poisoning in the fields at certain times of the year. Being a farmer, I know these times and I keep the birds shut in. The management of my loft is geared completely towards the National races. With my system of always breeding ONLY from PRIZE WINNERS, in these National races. I now feel that I have a family that gives me more than a reasonable chance of scoring. I do enjoy young bird racing but use it only as a means of weeding out and giving experience to the babies. They are given every race through to our last federation open race, which is about 200 miles. Unfortunately; I have not often been able to fly the yb national race; this is due to the fact the it takes place around harvest time, and then the farm takes precedence over the pigeons. Finally, to sum up, I would like to say, that I feel we should always remember that the pigeons have natural instincts and responses. To try and interfere with these is courting disaster, I feel we are more than half way to success if we use these instincts and responses intelligently, gaining the complete confidence of the birds. While compiling my article for the 1981 year book, I never imagined I would be doing the same in 1982. To win Nantes again, and thus create a record for the first person do this in consecutive years, seems quite unbelievable to me. I have been asked by many fanciers how this feel, but I find it hard to put into words. Last year I had a feeling of excitement for many weeks on winning my first national, this year, it was still very exciting, but I have more a sense of satisfaction in that it was a completely different type of race. In 1981, it was a fast race with many birds’ home on the day, 1982 was quite opposite, with no bird’s home on the day. In fact, very few birds homed before lunchtime the second day. ‘Loan Frill Lady’ landed at 05-51am to win with 30 minutes to spare flying 599 miles. ‘Loan Frill Lady’ is a small to medium hen, with a little frill on her chest. She was bred in 1976 and raced to 212 miles as a young bird. In 1977 after a very bad race from Worchester, 250 miles, she took 2 weeks to return, but that was her last mistake. In 1978 she flew Rennes but was just out of the clock. In 1979, I put her to Nantes where she took 35 th open, then Nantes again in 1980, where she was even better winning 6 th section 7 th open. In 1981 the year ‘Lady Jane’ won; ‘Loan Frill Lady’ just missed the prizes. Then this year she wins 1 st open. For me her performances over the last 4 years make her one of Scotland’s Nantes birds. Last year I wrote about my management and methods in the loft, this year I would like to make a few comments and observations on breeding. While racing takes dedication, hard work and time, 3 breeding takes constant study of the birds and their pedigrees. There are many champion racing pigeon fanciers, but like good breeding pigeons, champion breeders are THIN ON THE GROUND. The reason for this I feel, is that the top breeder has a kind of sixth sense when it comes to pairing birds. He cannot explain it, but I would put it down to ‘stock sense’ on the other hand being a successful breeder does not always result in being a successful racer. In this case perhaps the man with the stock sense lacks the dedication of the racer. One hears many arguments about inbreeding or line breeding verses cross breeding, with each exponent convinced his way is right. Personally, I prefer to take a middle road. Being extreme in anything seldom gets you anywhere, and especially not in the world of pigeon racing. Obviously, to establish a family of consistent racers you have to inbreed. I do this, but only with the best of specimens, and with pigeons that have flown 500 miles more than once. I only go really close to get my stock birds. I do a bit of crossing as well. Whenever I feel my family needs an injection of fresh blood, to give it extra vigour and stamina, or I need to correct a fault that is creeping in, I cross breed. The cross MUST BE a similar type to my own and come from a family consistently winning at 500/600 miles. The young of the first cross MUST WIN- I do not wait until the next generation. The whole idea of a cross is to give your family a lift, and if it cannot do it immediately then out it goes. My really outstanding racers such as Loan Frill Lady are from a first cross. Her sire was bred by W Brown of Peebles, while her dam is my 1298 hen, who is the mother and great dam of my whole loft, and closely inbred to my original stock. This would suggest that one should inbreed for stock and outcross for good racers. In last year’s article, I also said I only keep 4 pairs of stock birds. Good stock birds are both hard to breed and to find. My own requirements in a bird under consideration for stock are as follows – It must come from a long line of pigeons that have won at 500/600 miles, and conform to my standard of physique. This includes a strong back and rump but not too deep in the keel, and showing an abundance of pectoral muscles. I like a pigeon to have a nice supple wing with the last 4 primaries narrower than the others, thus showing gaps between them similar to the 4 fingers of your hand. The secondaries should be broad and of medium length, and, is the case with all top pigeons, the feathers should be smooth and feel like velvet. The pigeon must come into my hand every easily, immediately feeling both balanced and buoyant in them. This feeling is difficult to describe with words, but I know instinctively whenever I handle a pigeon, if it is of the type I like and think ‘should win’. Lastly, I like to see my stock birds with eyes of rich pigmentation, whatever the colour. Even after passing all the above requirements, in the end, a top stock cock is judged by how many winners it breeds. Some of you after reading this, will say ‘But they breed and race in ALL shapes and sizes. This to a point is correct. However, we must remember that this sport of ours is supposed to be a hobby giving lots of pleasure. With this in mind, I decided many years ago that if I was going to win it would be with the type of pigeon I LIKED. I am sure you will agree with me that I say, it gives TWICE THE PLEASURE, TO WIN WITH A PIGEON WE FANCY, as opposed to one we do not. Before finishing, I would like to illustrate a point I made last year. I stated that it was very important to gain the confidence of your pigeons. An example of this is ‘Loan Frill Lady’. During the racing season, after their evening meal, I give them a few seeds in their nest boxes. Now, whenever I go for the tin of seeds, which I keep, just beside the bucket where I sit to watch my pigeons, along come ‘Lady’. Even if she is sitting, she still comes, and I give her a few seeds, stroking her chest at the same time. To me, she is a little friend, but more importantly, I think I am HER FRIEND. Joe’s Joke The Sensitive Man A woman meets a man in a bar; they talk; they connect; they end up leaving together. They get back to his place, and as he shows her around his apartment. She notices that one wall of his Bedroom is completely filled with soft, sweet, cuddly teddy bears. There are three shelves in the bedroom, with 4 hundreds and hundreds of cute, cuddly Teddy bears carefully placed in rows, covering the entire wall! It was obvious that he had taken quite some time to lovingly arrange them and she was immediately touched by the amount of thought he had put into organizing the display. There were small bears all along the bottom shelf, Medium-sized bears covering the length of the middle shelf, and huge, enormous bears running all the way along the top shelf. She found it strange for an obviously masculine guy to have such a large collection of Teddy Bears, she is quite impressed by his Sensitive side. But doesn't mention this to him they share a bottle of wine and continue talking and, after a while, she finds herself thinking, "Oh my God! Maybe, this guy could be the one! Maybe he could be the future ‘Father of my children?" She turns to him and kisses him lightly on the lips and he responds warmly. They continue to kiss, the passion builds and he romantically lifts her in his arms and carries her into his bedroom where they rip off each other's clothes and make hot, steamy love. She is so overwhelmed that she responds with more passion, more creativity, more heat than she has ever known. After an intense, explosive night of raw passion with this sensitive guy, they are lying there together in the afterglow. The woman rolls over, gently strokes his chest and asks coyly, "Well, how was it?" The guy gently smiles at her, strokes her cheek, looks deeply into her eyes, And says: "Help yourself to any prize from the middle shelf" Please continue to keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum Avenue Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email to joejmurphy1@gmail.com REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or log onto www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk www.pigeon-chat.co.uk who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland

Good luck with your sale

Good luck with your sale

Do you know his username on here?

According to some posts on Facebook it was a success and a good turn out of fanciers

Many Happy Returns Andy pal, hopefully you will be getting spoilt today

I have a red battery operated stb and a silver wind up master timer in my garage.

Sorry I'm late lads, our granddaughter had to go into hospital, plus our best man's wife was also rushed into hospital. It has been a nightmare trying to catch up and then I found out that I had deleted my article, so have had to sit and type it up again. SORRY Yours Joe M The Joe Murphy Column I’m sorry the column is quite short this week, but there is not much happening within the sport at the present time; Margaret has been assisting me to look through old BHW Year Books, Squills; SNFC Year Books, Scotland’s Own and old articles that I have kept over the years on Scotland’s top fanciers. I’m writing a book on the Dewar Trophy Winners and Runners Up, this trophy is awarded to Scotland’s Pigeon of the Year and the Runner Up. This year 2023 will be the 50 th anniversary of this trophy was first presented and believe me there are some outstanding pigeons that have won this coveted award. They were raced by some exceptional pigeon fanciers whose names will live in the history of our sport of Pigeon Racing in Scotland FOREVER. However, the trophy is awarded to a wonderful pigeon who will be remembered in the annuals of our sport up here in Scotland as they were without doubt TRUE LONG DISTACE RACING PIGEONS. The majority of the winners won TWICE from France in one season, while other birds won 3 TIMES from France in the same season. Truly outstanding pigeons plus there are numerous little stories from fanciers whose pigeon won the award during this time. Plus, there are other little personal accounts of how the fancier reacted when their pigeon came home. I have been going through old ‘Scotland’s Own’ year books that Jim Renwick wrote. I know that Jim did cover quite a number of top fanciers over the years and he did a wonderful job in highlighting our sport up here in Scotland. He was the one to advised me to take up the pen away back in 1976, but he did stress if you do take on this job, then it had to be under your own name, not an alternative name. As if fanciers wished to speak to you then they knew who they were contacting. At that time, we used to have Jim George as ‘Round O’, John Swinburn; J Brown as ‘Cameron Glen’, Charlie Howie as ‘C S O’. Bill Knox as ‘Eastcoaster’. Jim Paterson as ‘Doon Lad’, George Ritchie as ‘Sidlaw’; Billy Wortley as ‘W P W’ and Mary Park as ‘MP’. It is funny that NOW after all these years; I’m the only one left of the above in Scotland to maintain an article on a weekly basis. Dundee Federation Received the list of 2022 trophy winners for the above federation; The old bird averages was won by Bruce McKenzie who also won the Combine Averages, the 3 longest old bird race average, and the 3 longest race average with old birds and young birds. Bruce also won the Billericay trophy. Mark Young won the Leicester Trophy, the young bird averages; the young bird cup; and the Fancier of the Year Cup. Billy McEwan won the SRPC young bird cup with Brian Donnelly winning the first bird in the SNFC Gold Cup race. Grampian Combine Trophy Winners These were as follows; Danny Henderson won the Newark (1) Cup & the yearling cup; Mark Young won the Newark (2) Cup; Kenny Droog & son won the Billericay Trophy; John Wiseman won the Huntingdon Cup; Davie Glen won the Young Bird Cup; Bruce McKenzie won the Grampian Combine Averages; congratulations to all the above trophy winners. Condolences I was sorry to see in this weeks BHW the passing of Helen Edwards of the BHW; and a dear old friend of mine Malachy McGuire of Northern Ireland, I used to speak to Malachy quite a lot regarding distance pigeons and he was interested in the DeWeerdt family that I had at that time. I met 2 up with his son Mark in Newry on the way home after visiting Sheldon Lennard in Arklow. To both families I send my sympathy and heartfelt condolences at their loss. Joe’s Joke Call to GOD An Englishman decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. For his first chapter he decided to write about British churches so he bought a train ticket and took a trip to London, thinking that he would work his way up the country from South to North. On his first day he was inside a church, taking photographs, when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read, "£20,000 per call!". The Englishman, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the telephone was used for. The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and for £20,000 you could talk to God. The Englishman thanked the priest and went on his way. His next stop was in Northampton. There, at a very large church, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone, he had seen in London so he asked a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for £20,000 he could talk to God. "Thank you," said the Englishman. He then travelled to Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Blackpool, Lancaster and Carlisle. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same "£20,000 per call" sign under it. The Englishman, upon realising how close he was to the Scottish border decided to see if the Scots had the same phone. He crossed the border and came to a small town called Gretna, and again, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read, "20 pence per call". The Englishman was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign. "Father, I have travelled all over England and I have seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm told it is a direct line to heaven, but in every one the price was £20,000 per call. Why is it so cheap here?" The priest smiled and answered, "Well laddie, you're in Scotland now, it's a local call." KEEP SMILING!! If you are proud to be a Scot, pass it on!! Please continue to keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum Avenue Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email to joejmurphy1@gmail.com REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or you can also view online editions on: www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk www.pigeon-chat.co.uk - www.Pigeonbasics.com - Pigeon Racing the Basics! - thecanadianpigeoninternational.com www.internationalracingpigeon.com or https://sites.google.com/site/internationalracingpigeon/ Who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland? © COMPILED BY JOE MURPHY

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