W.D.

remember going to a sale in Fife years ago with my dad, think the man's name was McKinnon and he had done well with some welsh bloodlines,Morgan & Cook's Iron man lines,mainly in the nats.There's a guy in lanarkshire had some Wilf Reed birds and these have done well for him and his mates.We got some welsh birds from a guy near Glasgow who was selling up these were Alec Keevils mainly, and old westcotts among others,one of these birds bred us a small line of birds to do well for quite a no. of years esp when it was a sticky race.So I would say Yes they can do well in Scotland.

it was mentioned last year that the english were approached but declined at the same time as the scots were,who did their utmost to oblige the belgian people in this venture.I for 1 am pleased to see it included.

A 5 day fast is quite a common thing on the continent,sometimes includes no water as well for some?! Selection being made after it.I have a mate who gives his birds "a day off per week" as he calls it during the close season,and he's won 2 inters amongst many other top prizes. One of the best sprint men I knew gave his cocks 1 soup spoon of feed on their return after taking the hens away and no more till the following evening, when was the 1st time he went back to the loft to see to them since the race day.And he could send 4 or 5 birds take the 1st 5 in the club and fed nearly every week.I used to hate flying against him he was a right wee cocky git! An old fancier once told me his grandad used to select his yb's after the moult by putting them in a basket for a week,one at a time,fed and watered in his bedroom!!!His reasoning being he wasn't going to waste his time waiting on channel birds when they couldn't take the stress before they were released.

Hi Frazer, if you have the time you can always make use of other suitable containers,my dad and myself both use 1l cassarole dishes(pyrex) for drinkers and built a cover for them using plywood leaving one end open and fitted with a plastic widowhood front so they can drink from but not get into to bathe in the water,only having one end open stops dust etc.getting in.The glass bowls are also easier to keep clean. For feeding troughs he cut a plastic drain pipe length ways in two,put ends and a lid on the top of each half pipe and they were ready to use.The plastic is easier to clean than the wooden ones you can buy,and the birds can't scatter the grain about as much.I suppose it all depends on how much time you have to spend. Hope you find what you are looking for.

Some of the scots guys are doing well with them at the moment,look at Peter Virtue's write ups in the SNRPC website,and some the Lanarkshire lads also,Billy Davidson,Kerr Stainthorpe have won with them.The McGhie family won Tours(Nantes) nat a few years back from a very hard race timing in around 12am the 2nd day,their birds were from Louella if I remember correctly.

live in gloucester so I suppose not too far.Why do you want to know?

And why do you think they are resigning????!!!!

Hi IB,Sorry to hear that Ian has to give up the birds, he was a very good fancier, and I hope that whoever gets the loft has as much pleasure with it as he had,and hopefully as many 1st prizes?! He was one of the fed's top flyers for years. Please give mine and my Dad's regards to him if you see him and hope that he's soon on the mend. Regards,Wullie Young.

Thanks guys,at least everyone is agreed on the reason for the race.Maybe some ideas on approaching the powers that be might help?What do you think?

Just been reading in the RP that the SNRPC commitee have decided not to send to the race but are not stopping any of their members from going. What do the members here feel about this decision? Should the SHU have said something about it being open to the whole country before passing it on to the SNFC? Could it have been done by an independant body or one set up with members from both clubs?i.e. no other race on that day but the Ypres race? PS.please try and be kind to each other guys I'm not trying to stir up any more arguments,just think we would be foolish to let this one off pass us by,Thanks.

Yes I think that Boomarang and Tammy are right,lets just let the guys get on with their new job and lets enjoy doo season what ever it brings.Sorry I got caught up in it myself,I for one wouldn't envy being a pro as theres always someone who's not going to be happy at whats been written.

The header on Mr.Murphy's column this week I think says how he feels on this subject?But lets be honest,he put himself out of the job,not the other way around.

Thanks Stuart,Norman Nelmes flew in the Bristol area if I remember correctly,sold up in the early 90's, Louis Massarella bought nearly all of his big winners.Cheers,W.D.

Is there not also a pair at New Lanark, with a web cam on the nest site you can watch them on?

Is Chris Nelmes any relation to Norman Nelmes who used to fly the north road Stuart?

Theres a website called cwgc.org thats worth a look,go into the history section and there is the whole story on Ypres, and what happened there to our lads and the Belgium people during the war. Please do this before bringing any other issues to the fore? If ever there was a cause that deserves the whole of the country to be united, even if it is for the first and last time,this must surely be the one? There's one thing I am sure of though is that Belgium being a pigeon nation will take damn good care of the birds! PS.It would be nice to know your thoughts after looking at it,thank you.

Best man to ask would be John Harwood who writes in the BHW,he has used them and mentioned it in his articles.If I remember correctly he uses them on his Y/Bs.

But what is a distance bird nowadays?When you see that M.Gilbert won Dax Inter with a middle dist type bird,Bourges was won by 2 lads who flew Marcelis,and Kevin Lawson was scoring from Lerwick with Sootjen crosses? Re Louella,did he not buy back the north road Lerwick winner which was Arden based,Invincible Detorri?

Think your Grandad's got a great big smile and maybe even dropping a hint for you Globalgirl???!!! Take it the birds are still in their old loft and the food is in front of them all the time?If so dont worry too much they are probably getting all they need.Might be useful to give them some pigeon grit and minerals if you haven't already? Re the toes,It is uncomfortable for them as they get older,thats why you never see old ladies in high heels???!!!Could you ask 1 of grandads old pals to have a look at them maybe?It's not a job for the faint hearted esp if you cut it too short and blood starts pouring out,even though it looks worse than it really is.Failing that there's always the vet ,my auntie used to take her budgie every year to get his done,same time as she got her feet done, just before xmas so she could go dancing! I'm worried about Chicken Legs as it sounds like he's getting bullied and maybe just too old to fight back?You might have to spend some time and just watch them esp just after you have fed them.Does the bully let him or the others get a chance to eat or does he chase them away?If the birds have boxes to sit in maybe try putting some feed in their box so they get time to eat?This might also explain why they are not eating as much?A bird usually eats about 1oz per day,but if its cold like it is at the moment they will eat more.Does Grandads' loft have more than 1 section if so you might have to separate them so they can have peace from each other?A bit like Heather Mills and Paul McCartney???!!! Re the feeding, you could always try 1 or 2 peanuts if you dont know what your Grandad gave them,they will know what they are as they love them when they get the taste,or some hemp or some small seed mix like trill for budgies which has hemp in it as they love this also.Its a bit like chocolate for birdies! Anyway God Bless you and hope you can get as much pleasure and as many warm memories of your grandad as you can while tending to them.

If your stock cocks could use speak they would be asking you to try doing it outside in this weather,esp in dundee?! Sunshine and warmth plus vit.E as the others said.Had we been on the continent however you could have taken them to a vet who would have injected them for you,my mate did this with 1 of his and got him to fill his eggs in dec.and took some for artificial insemination later,cost him mind you, but as he said he's not going to find 1 to replace him so easily.

Hi Redcheqhen,quite a lot of people who have done the same as you are thinking of doing will have had to face the same problem no doubt?Suppose 1st of all it depends on how much time you will be able to give to the hens during the racing season?Are you still going to have a team of w/hood cocks or going r/bout with all?Plus there is the naturals and the y/bs too? What I'm getting at is do you have the time to do all the exercise periods each needs in a day ? But back to your qu.re-the older hens, some will adapt quicker than the others who may struggle, esp when the distance increases.If you have bred from them and have birds in the loft from them who might win this year,can you afford to lose the chance of a good breeding hen for the sake of a few races?If it was me I'd keep a close eye on them during the training and early races,and also if her cock is winning could you risk losing what he races home to? Re- the yearlings,can't see any probs there as you said yourself. Hope you get a lot of fun with them anyhow,if you get them right they will fly for hours at home and give w/hood cocks a run for their money short or long dist.

How's about if an independant party or parties came forward with the means to set up and sponser a race which was open to all the fancy in Scotland regardless of which organisation they are in?

I'd like to put my name forward please,Thank you,Stuart.

Cheers Ferry, thats a really kind offer.I called my dad back today and told him of all the kind people trying to help out and he was as surprised as I was.He's going to get back in touch with the fellow member and find out how he's doing.I'm sorry if I haven't been online much to reply to you all but my girlfriends been busy using it for her work. Thanks everyone,I'll do my best to let you all know whats happened.

Thanks Everyone,I dont really know what happened to the birds,the lad phoned my dad to ask if he knew of anyone who might have a loft for sale,and I said I would ask on P.B.here's hoping he finds one soon.