THE FIFER

Celtic 0 v Valencia 1

2 good matches

The Joe Murphy Column My breeding season has started off very well with only an old hen (she is 10 years old) not laying so far this year I had to slip a couple of pot eggs under her and her mate and this stopped him driving. Then it was time to fill in my loft record book this year Margaret purchased Kevin and I ‘The Elite Loft Book’ that was advertised in the BHW for Christmas. We used to have the hard covered Loft Record Book from Boddy and Ridewood however they stopped selling it as they has problems with the printer. I contacted Fred Holbard of Hertfordshire the supplier of this new book (he is a pigeon man so knows what fanciers are looking for) We discussed a few changes that would help us as fanciers keep a better record of our breeding programme. Fred has taken this on board and is going to introduce them in the future. I have attached a photograph of the Elite book in the event that other fanciers may be interested. True Long Distance Pigeons While on the telephone to my mate Guy Reed we spoke about International winning pigeons and he highlighted to me the past performances of David Dew of the Isle of Wight who won 1st BICC 7th International from Alicante flying a distance of 855 miles back to the Isle. Guy made reference to an article written by fellow colleague Gareth Watkins and I contacted Gareth to see if I could use part of his story to go along with this column and he willingly agreed so hear is Gareth’s story. ‘David Dew raced his pigeons to a small 16ft x 8ft three-sectioned loft at his home in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. It was to this unpretentious, yet functional loft that one of the greatest long distance performances of the past 50 years was achieved, when David clocked his five year old blue cock to win 1st open BICC Alicante at 855 miles to be the only bird recorded in race time in the UK. “Alicante” finished at an incredible 7th open International, beating more than 1,500 pigeons entered by some of the top fanciers from all over Continental Europe. Guy also sent me information on the Dutch national winner (but cannot find any information on the overall International winner) IF ANY READER KNOWS THIS INFORMATION CAN THEY PLEASE EMAIL ME AT joejmurphy1@gmail.com and I will inform Guy. Back to the Dutch national winner, Johan paid a visit to Bertus Wijnacker in Hengstdijk, mainly because he was so impressed with his results: for example, Bertus achieved the 1st national Pau in 1976, and in 1981 he won 1st & 2nd national Alicante (1600km), and in 1983 won 1st national Perpignan. The winner from Perpignan was half Cattrysse and he was a descendant from four national winners. In his pedigree was also the species of the pigeon that won International Barcelona two years running in the 60’s (this was sold to Daniel de Vos). Bertus also won 6th national St. Vincent in 1988 David Dew Kept pigeons as a schoolboy but only really started racing seriously in 1971 when he bought a batch of “liquorice allsorts” for the average price of £2 each. Nevertheless, these birds of indeterminate origin went on to breed pigeons to put up some creditable performances for David in his early years, performances such as 1st club 2nd Solent Federation and by 1974 the long distance performances began to show through with 17th section 55th Open Palamos at 642 miles. In 1974 David purchased two pairs of Kirkpatrick based pigeons from the Pau National winning loft of Ken Morey and then things really started to happen on the racing front with David winning average trophies at club level as well as performances such as 12th open in the young bird national. Some Percy Cornell Logan’s were added to these at a later date and David found that the first crosses of the Kirkpatrick’s and Logan’s tended to produce the best racers. The Loft In 1978 David felt the need for a new loft and so set about building a three-sectioned loft with plenty of ventilation and insulated walls and floors so that the internal temperature of the loft could be maintained at a fairly stable level. A corridor ran the full length of the loft front allowing access to the three internal sections and the returning racers trapped into this corridor via “pop holes” high in the loft front. There certainly wasn’t any overcrowding in this loft as at the time of his great win from Alicante the total number of pigeons housed was just 28 birds made up of 3 pairs of stock birds, 14 old bird racers and 8 youngsters! The loft was always kept immaculate being scraped clean 365 days a year. Management The usual practice was to mate the stock birds in February followed by the race bird’s a month later in the middle of March. All birds were flown on the natural system with David preferring the birds to be sitting around ten days on eggs at the time of basketting for their target race. A good mixture of locally grown farm grains like beans, peas, maize and wheat was hand fed to the birds and this was supplemented with Hormoform and Linseed when the birds were rearing. The proportions of the various grains that made up the mixture were adjusted throughout the year as David saw fit depending on the birds’ needs. When racing, the race cocks were exercised around the loft for one hour both morning and night with the hens going out for their once daily hourly flight at lunch time. Very little training was carried out as living on the island; the furthest training toss would have been no more than 8- 10 miles. This week’s photo’s Are once again from Jim Hannah whom I thank, the first bird is a blue cock ‘Mullingar Missile’ bred and raced by H Wallace of Newmilns. He won 3rd club Berwick; 1st club Alnwick and 1st open WSCC Mullingar flying a distance of 186 miles. The second pigeon is a chequer pied cock named ‘Starburst’ he was bred by V Hendry and raced by Law & Brady of Kilsyth. His performances are as follows in 2017 he won 64th section E from Buckingham SNFC against 1184 birds doing a velocity of 1242. He then won 1st Glasgow federation 688 birds; 1st Caledonian Combine Peterborough 1100 birds doing a velocity of 1024. He also won 1st Glasgow federation 220 birds 4th section E 182nd open SNRPC Billericay 1412 birds in 2018 David Dew with Alicante David Dews Loft. Alicante 1st OpenBICC 7th Open International 855 miles Good SNFC Birds I took some time to study the SNFC races from 2018 and noticed a few good pigeons that I feel deserve a mention in the column. The sad thing is no one seems to forward these birds details to me and therefore the birds do not receive the publicity they deserve and to be honest that is all I’m trying to highlight. I start with a chequer hen SU16F4588 raced by S Donaldson of Blairgowrie in 2017 this hen won 124th section C 492nd open from Bedhampton a distance of 408 miles competing against 6065 birds submitted by 634 national colleagues. She then went to Ypres a distance of 472 miles to her home loft and won 29th section C 104th open flying against 2320 birds contested by 409 participants. In 2018 she was entered into the Maidstone race with an entry of 3001 birds submitted by 433 fanciers a distance of 405 miles and she won 51st section C 123rd open and then back into the Ypres from an entry of 2541 birds sent by 433 fellow members and she won 240th open but no section prize. The next pigeon is a chequer cock SU16CA 497 raced by J & C Smith of Polmont who won 3 times in 2017 with his first race from Buckingham a distance of 297 miles he won 2nd section D 4th open flying against 4170 birds submitted by 495 members he then went to Bedhampton and distance of 372 miles and won 13th section D 138th open competing against 6065 birds enlisted by 634 members and for his 3rd SNFC race he was sent to Ypres a distance of 447 miles and won 1st section D 21st open from a contest of 2320 birds enrolled by 409 members. In 2018 he was again sent to Buckingham from an entry of 2941 birds competed by 441 fanciers and he won 36th section D but no open diploma however he is still a 4 times section national winner. We now come to T Jack of Camelon in the Midland federation and he has a chequer white flight cock SU14M 423 who won is 1st SNFC diploma in 2015 from Portsmouth a distance of 374 miles 1457 yards gaining 2nd section E 297th open against 4767 birds. Then in 2017 he was sent to Buckingham a distance of 299 miles back to his home loft and he won 48th section E 322nd open flying against 4170 birds submitted by 495 members a few weeks later he was sent to Bedhampton competing against 6065 birds submitted by 634 national colleagues he was flying a distance of 374 miles 1634 yards, you will see that there is only 177 yards of a difference to the Portsmouth race point. In 2018 he was set up for Ypres from an entry of 2541 birds sent by 433 fellow members flying a distance of 451 miles and he won 56th section E but unfortunately no open prize. We now come to the husband and wife partnership of J & L Alexander of Monifieth near Dundee. The partnership’s blue bar cock SU14DF 763 has also achieved some creditable performances in his racing career. As a 2 year old he won 106th section C 429th open from Littlehampton with 510 members sending 4482 birds he flew a distance of 403 miles back to his home loft. In 2018 he was sent to Buckingham a distance of 319 miles and won 5th section C 120th open against 2941 birds entered by 441 members. He was then sent to Maidstone a distance of 390 miles and won 48th section C 120th open against an entry of 3001 birds sent by 444 members he was then sent to Ypres where 433 members sent 2541 birds and his distance was 454 miles and he won 179th open but no section prize like the birds above has proven his worth and deserves a ‘pat on the back’. Joe’s Joke A doctor that had been seeing an 80-year-old woman for most of her life finally retired. At her next check-up, the new doctor told her to bring a list of all the medicines that had been prescribed for her. As the doctor was looking through these his eyes grew wide as he realized Grandma had a prescription for birth control pills. "Mrs. Smith, do you realize these are birth control pills?" "Yes, they help me sleep at night." "Mrs. Smith, I assure you there is absolutely nothing in these that could possibly help you sleep!" She reached out and patted the young doctor's knee and said, "Yes, dear, I know that. But every morning, I grind one up and mix it in the glass of orange juice that my 16-year-old granddaughter drinks. And believe me it definitely helps me sleep at night." You got to love Grandma’s. 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...alracingpigeon/ Who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland © Compiled by Joe Murphy

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

many happy returns, have a nice day

Chicken Guard Joined on Today, 10:58 AM Darren buss Joined on Feb 7 2019 18:53 PMwelcome to basics

Morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well ,

many happy returns have a nice day ,

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

many happy returns have a nice day

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

The Joe Murphy Column Have struggled to find time to do an article this week, as I’ve spent quite a lot of time in the loft letting the pairs out of their boxes one couple at a time, and I ’m lucky that I can use the aviary for one pair and the loft for another. I had my first eggs on the 20th January so the season now begins in earnest for me and I hope there are some winners bred in 2019. Some of these will be moved to Kevin’s and will be reared by the racers. While on about this year’s youngsters I received the following email from Kenny Droog of Forfar the Angus federation secretary. SNFC Young Bird Sales Hi Joe, I hope you are keeping well and I would love your support, I was against putting up the long distance races but could not stop it this year, however if these sales go well I fully expect to drop each race by at least £2 for next year. Just a quick note as you may know I organising a Breeder Buyer with the SNFC to bring down the birdage in the 3 longest races, there will be sales at Newbridge; Forfar and possibly Airdrie depending on the numbers of birds donated. All birds will fly in their own section to make things fair, sale date is 14th April although if birds are not ready as long as we have details as not everyone will have their birds ready. Several fanciers up here are putting a bird down to Newbridge to have more chance of winning. The breeder buyer sale birds will race in 2 years’ time from the Gold Cup race, with ALL birds flying into their own sections and all monies will be divided into their own section, so if section C birds raise£2000 40% will go to SNFC to bring the 3 longest races birdage down, and the rest of the money will be split between the Breeder/Buyer. Depending on monies raised this will influence prizes, so in this example, we would have £1200 to split £400 each for breeder/buyer and £200 to each runner up. In the unlucky event of only one bird arriving home it would take all the monies, the other good thing you only need to time your bird in race time to win a big prize. However if some sections fail to have a winner, then those birds timed in will share that money. Many fanciers are putting in 2 young birds; splitting them to different venues,someone asked what would happen if a young bird dies after the sale, if we can get a replacement we will, but failing that, the fancier can put the ring on one of his own bred birds, it seems the fairest way but we would need to seethe ring. I forgot to say our opening bid is £40.00, remembering you can breed from the bird as a yearling and 2 year old before it goes to the Gold Cup race. Some fanciers have expressed their thoughts that some fanciers would only want these well-bred pigeons for their bloodlines and not race them, whereas I’m hoping these birds will be raced and the above proves fanciers can do both. We will issue a list of birds at the venues the week before the sale and I am hoping to have 3 sale venues, but at the moment I have already 2 booked of these; Newbridge Bowling Club and Canmore Bowling Club in Forfar for the 14th of April, with hopefully a venue in the Airdrie area. We have been given birds from fanciers out with Scotland, and any fanciers in the UK who would like to enter can contact me by email or phone, my details are as follows; my mobile is 07488 345085 and my email is kenneth. droog@sky.com Cheers Joe and many thanks yours Ken’. GoodSNFC Birds This week I cover Charlie& Glen Cameron of Arbroath who fly in the Angus federation; the partnership had a great year in 2018 winning 2nd open in 2 national races. They have a chequer pied hen SU16AF261 who has won 3 times in the SNFC with her first win in 2017 from Bedhampton a distance of 401 miles and she won 63rd section C 230th open from an entry of 6065 birds entered by 634 members. In 2018 she won twice with the first being from Buckingham a distance of 323 miles when she won 24th section C 190th open from an entry of 2941 birds entered by 441 members. She then went to Maidstone a distance of 393 miles and she won 44th section C 110th open competing against 3001 birds recorded by 444 members. Charlie and Glen also have a blue cock SU16AF238 who also competed from Bedhampton in 2017 and won 576 open but no section prize. In 2018 he was entered into the Buckingham race and won 80th section C but no open prise card he was then sent to Ypres a distance of 455 miles and he won 4th section C 9th open from an entry of 2541 birds selected by 433 members. This week’s birds photos I start with blue pied hen‘Lady Flo’bred and raced by J & C O’Hara of Fauldhouse she won 1st section D 6th open SNFC Reims on the 6th July 2018 competing against 382 birds sent b 129 members and she recorded a velocity of 946. My next bird is ‘Centenary Lad’ bred and raced by Hugh Wallace of Newmilns in Ayrshire he competed in the SNFC Ypres race with 433 members sending 2541 birds. He won 1st federation 1st section H 1st west region 72nd open flying a distance of 445 miles and record a velocity of 1220. My next pigeon is a blue hen ‘Valeview Rita’ bred by W Mitchell & son and raced by S Jones& son of Dumbarton. In the Liege Gold Cup race 327 members sent 1072 birds and ‘Valeview Rita’ won 1st section F 30th open flying 555 miles and recorded a velocity of 787: my thanks to Jim Hannah for the above 3 photographs. Joe’sJoke The guy is very ill. The doctor checks him over and says, “I'm Sorry, I have some bad news, you have Yellow 24, a really nasty virus. It's called Yellow 24,because it turns your blood yellow and you usually only have 24 hours to live. There's no known cure, so just go home and enjoy your final precious moments on earth.” So he trudges home to his wife and breaks the bad news. Distraught, she asks him togo to the bingo with her that evening as he's never been there with her before. They arrive at the bingo and with his first card he gets four corners and wins £50. Then,with the same card, he gets a line and wins £350. Then he gets the full house and wins £1000. Then the National Game comes up and he wins that as well -winning £400,000! The bingo caller gets him up on stage and says, “Son, I've been here 20 years and I've never seen anyone win four corners, a line, the full house and the National Game on the same card. You must be the luckiest man on Earth!” “Lucky?”the bloke screams, “Lucky? I'll have you know I've got Yellow 24.” “Well,bugger me!” says the bingo caller, “You've won the raffle as well!” Please continueto keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum AvenueThornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email tojoejmurphy1@gmail.com REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or you can also view onlineeditions on: www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.ukwww.pigeon-chat.co.uk - www.Pigeonbasics.com - Pigeon Racing the Basics! - thecanadianpigeoninternational.com www.internationalracingpigeon.com or https://sites.google...alracingpigeon/ Who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeontopics from Scotland ©Compiled by Joe Murphy

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

many happy returns,have a nice day

very good reading once again thanks,

Many happy returns have a nice day

R I P Nigel condolences yo Family and Friends

morning all hope you have a nice day and all goes well

good information. also good to see something to interest young fanciers