The Joe Murphy Column

[Ian McKay]

The Joe Murphy Column

 

I have been getting the birds ready for pairing up for the new season and hopefully will do this task this coming week as Kevin and I are going to mate up at the same time. Then the eggs from the stock pairs can be moved up to him and placed under the race team and I can then put the stock birds back down on the drive. I’m going to try a couple of new ideas this year and hopefully fingers crossed they work. The first is I have been taking pictures of my bird’s throats and eyes during the winter months. I have done this for some years now and have always gone on the eyesign theory. However this year I’m going to add the throat theory into my selection and see if it makes any difference to the improvements of our performances. I have also purchased some top quality maple peas to add to some matured tic beans I have stored for a few years, these are like outstanding and have a mahogany colour about them. I also have purchased a couple of bags of malting barley and all 3 will be added to a breeding wean mixture along with some oil seed rape and this will be my mixture for rearing my youngsters. So plenty of protein and hopefully they should be good strong youngsters for the 2016 season. However I cannot complain about the babies I have reared in the past as they have all been strong healthy youngsters in fact I have often been complemented on the standard of youngsters that have gone on to other fanciers.

 

SNFC Race Programme

 

The SNFC annual general meeting seamed to go well with all the officials re-elected for the new season. The race programme for 2016 is as follows with the first inland national from Buckingham then onto Littlehampton (a new race point for the national). I’m happy to see that Reims passed and will be the Gold Cup race with the longest race point being from Ancenis (convoyed with the Midland National) then we have another new race point in Roye. This takes over from Clermont and it was highlighted that this was not a good liberation site for the birds and it was felt their welfare should come first. My concern is why it has taken all this time to highlight these problems as we have been going to Clermont for the past 6 years. Let us hope Roye has been checked out and we don’t experience this same scenario as above and have a good race. The young bird national will be held from Buckingham in September. The motion to have fanciers phone in their first bird from a national race was defeated but I personally don’t think this was a bad proposal. As I have already said the national would have to upgrade their web site to be in line with these other big national organisations. While on about race distances in accordance with SHU Rules ALL loft location MUST be plotted using Benzing GPS for the 2016 season. So if you have not already done this then please contact your club or federation officials to arrange this task to be carried out. There is no good waiting for the racing season to come round do it now to make sure you have the correct distances for each race or you will be disqualified.

 

Good SNFC Birds

 

This week I highlight the father and son partnership of Andrew Agnew & son of Kelso who I have discovered have 3 exceptional pigeons flying well within their lofts. The first is their chequer cock NEHU2010 BOR 2310 who won a SNFC SILVER AWARD in 2014 his performances are as follows; In 2013 he won 15th section B 52nd open Alencon 503 miles he then went back to Clermont a distance of 473 miles and won 16th section B 75th open. In 2014 he again won from Alencon being 17th section B 45th open and in 2015 he won 29th section B 91st open. The second pigeon I highlight is also a chequer cock SU13 355 he has won 4 times from SNFC races and his performances are as follows; 2014 he won 116th section B 178th open Maidstone flying 325 miles; he was then sent to Ypres a distance of 393 miles and won 47th section B 77th open. Then in 2015 he won 52nd section B 89th open Billericay a distance of 297 miles and was timed from Portsmouth without making the result he then went to Clermont a distance of 473 miles and won 155th open no section prize however proving what a good consistent cock he is. The 3rd of Andrew’s pigeons is a chequer hen SU13 363 as a yearling she won 5th section B 5th open Maidstone flying 325 miles, she then went to Ypres a distance of 393 miles and won 46th section B 76th open. Then in 2015 she was again to the fore in the first national winning 11th section B 12th open from Billericay a distance of 297 miles. She was then entered from the last national from Clermont and won 121st open but no section prize flying 473 miles. Again a very reliable hen and one to look out for in 2016 and we wish Andrew all the best for the new season.

 

This week’s Photographs

 

Some of these are from my good friend Sheldon Leonard of Arklow who had Eamon Kelly, Kevin Godfrey and Roger Lowe over visiting him from England he has highlighted this picture as the Last of the Summer Wine. Roger celebrated his birthday while in Ireland and they had a ‘great time’. Sheldon also included a picture of Herbie Thorpe the 2015Kings Cup winner and Lee Newman a previous Miller Gold Cup winner alongside The Legend.

 

 

 

 

1915

 

Either your parents or grandparents were living during this time and what a difference a century makes! Here are some statistics for the year 1915 and some of the information will boggle your mind!

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years. Fuel for cars was sold in chemists only. Only 14 per cent of the homes had a bath. Only 8 per cent of the homes had a telephone. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. The average British wage in 1915 was £15 per year! A competent accountant could expect to earn £800 per year and a dentist £900 per year.

A vet earned between £600 and £900 per year and a mechanical engineer about £2000 per year. More than 95 per cent of all births took place at home and 90 per cent of all Doctors had no university education! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "Substandard."

Sugar cost two pence a pound. Eggs were 10 pence a dozen. Coffee was five pence a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and, used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. The Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhoea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars and the population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet. There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day. Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and, only 6 per cent of all British pupils went to university. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner chemists. Back then chemists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!" (Shocking?) Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help... There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.! In 2014 this figure had risen to 14,249. In the UK the murder rate in 1915 was 1420. In 2015 it was 537. (Perhaps we are doing something right!)

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself.

From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD all in a matter of seconds!

Can you imagine what it may be like in another 100 years?

 

Joe’s Joke

 

A fifteen-year-old came home with a Porsche and his parents began to yell and scream, "Where did you get that car?" He calmly told them, "I bought it today."

"With what money!?" demanded his parents. "We know what a Porsche costs."

"Well," said the boy, "This one cost me fifteen pounds." The parents began to yell even louder. "Who would sell a car like that for fifteen pounds!?" they asked.

"It was the lady up the street," said the boy. "Don't know her name -- they just moved in. She saw me ride past on my bike and asked me if I wanted to buy a Porsche for fifteen pounds." "Oh my goodness!" moaned the mother, "she must be a child abuser. Who knows what she will do next? John, you go right up there and see what's going on." So the boy's father walked up the street to the house where the lady lived and found her out in the garden calmly planting flowers. He introduced himself as the father of the boy to whom she had sold a Porsche to for fifteen pounds and demanded to know why she did it. "Well," she said, "this morning I got a phone call from my husband. I thought he was on a business trip, but I learned from a friend he has run off to Hawaii with his secretary. Then apparently she stole all his money and stranded him there! Well he called me, without a dollar to his name, and asked me to sell his new Porsche and send him the money. So that's exactly what I did."

 

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 and www.pigeon-chat.co.uk also www.pigeonbasics.com who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland.

 

© Compiled by Joe Murphy