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THE SHU STRAY CENTER WILL BE OPEN FROM SATURDAY 18TH JULY 2026 UNTIL WEEK ENDING 12TH SEPTEMBER 2026 DURING THIS PERIOD STRAY YOUNG BIRDS MUST BE CARED FOR AT THE FINDERS LOFT THEN PLACED IN THE STRAY BASKET PROVIDED BY CLUBS ON MARKING NIGHT - NO PIGEON SHOULD BE PLACED IN THE BASKET IF IT IS UNFIT TO TRAVEL - THE WELFARE OF THE YOUNG BIRDS IS PARAMOUNT ***OLD BIRDS CAN ALSO BE PUT IN STRAY BASKET*** RINGS WITH OTHER UNION PREFIX LETTERS - (GB-NEHU-WHU etc) ONLY THOSE WHICH ARE STAMPED WITH AN SHU CLUB OR FEDERATION NAME CAN BE PROCESSED BY THE SHU STRAY CENTER - ALL OTHERS MUST BE REPORTED TO THE RELEVANT UNION BY THE FINDER

Copied from Facebook 2nd July 2026 SNFC BILLERICAY 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Boness marking station open tonight from 4-7PM Manual clock setter Billy Holland will be there but not until 6pm as he has pigeons to send with his federation first. ALL fanciers MUST have there CPH number and all paperwork correctly fill in. Non SNFC members MUST fill out a blue sheet which we have at the marking station. Thanks S Russell.

He looks the class he has shown

Well done all

Scottish National Flying Club Brighton Inland National On Saturday the 13th of June the SNFC flew the second race of the season. A total of 276 members sent 1875 birds. The convoy were liberated at 0530 hours into a west, south west wind. First open was C. Buchanan from Dunfermline with his yearling blue hen flying 389 miles and 754 yards with a velocity of 1248. Race Controllers report by R. White, J. Pryde and F. Jamieson The convoy were liberated at 0530 hours into a west, south west wind. They cleared the liberation site immediately heading north. The visibility is very good, the temperature is 13 degrees and no rain expected. Crawley is on the line of flight 0600 hours visibility very good temperature 13 degrees and light west wind. Moving on to the Home Counties, Brentwood 0900 hours visibility good, 17 degrees and wind speed 13 mph. Cambridge 1000 visibility very good, 15 degrees and west north west wind 14 mph. Peterborough 1100 visibility very good, 16 degrees and 16 mph west wind. Ripon, Newark north and south Yorkshire 1200 visibility very good, 15 degrees and 16 mph west wind. Darlington 1230 visibility very good, 16 degrees and fresh breeze at 19 mph. On the west side of the Pennines South Cumbria visibility very good, 16 degrees and 16 mph. Newcastle 1300 visibility very good, 16 degrees with west wind. Scottish Borders showing same weather, winds are 16 to 18 mph west. Lanarkshire has good visibility with odd showers, west 16 to 18 mph winds. Edinburgh similarly the same only winds showing to reach 20 mph. Over the Forth and Dundee light rain showers however visibility very good and west to north west winds and 16 degrees. Aberdeen light rain showers, north to north west winds at 17 mph, visibility very good and 14 degrees. Over the full journey a good race is expected. Convoyers report by J. Gillon Brighton 11th June Lorry loaded at Newmains travel south to Gretna Springfield at 2100 hours. Solway section A birds loaded all pigeons watered 2100 hours, lights on till 2300 hours. Feeding loaded on the lorry for journey. 12th of June fresh tank water Springfield prior to departure. Depart at 0730. Birmingham services water on 1230 to 1330 hours. Arrive Brighton water on birds fresh tank, fed all pigeons and informed of possible early liberation. Watered up again at 1930. Fresh water 0430 on 13th of June. Spoke to race Controller and prepared for a 0530 liberation. Liberated 0530 hours into blue skies, west, south west wind and all birds cleared north immediately. Section A 404 birds 1st Section A, G. Turnbull Gordon Turnbull from Eastriggs 1st South Section. Gordon was reared in the community of Kirkby Thore in Cumbria, with pigeons being part of his childhood as his father was a fancier before him. He subsequently moved to Skelton, where he formed his own loft and competed in Penrith Club. Whilst he only participated in our hobby for a relatively short time at Skelton he retained a keen interest in the sport. He is employed as a Car Salesman at Carlisle and when the opportunity arose, he chose to move across the Border to Eastriggs, residing in a former farmhouse, which has a large garden. In 2015 he was 1st Section 23rd Open from the Inland National from Billericay and in 2019, he was 1st, 5th and 9th Section from Buckingham and during the same season he won the Section also from Ypres. Three year later he continued on the winning way winning the Section from Brighton. It should be noted also that he is also a previous winner of The Hens National. The winning pigeon from the recent Brighton race is a two year old dark chequer cock that went though the programme as youngster and went to the Reading National as a yearling being 18th Section 126th Open. Due to time constraints the team wasn’t coupled until the first week in April 2026. The Dark cock reared a pair of youngsters and was then put on the loft’s Celibate/Roundabout method. After several weeks, however, all pigeons were allowed to run together, because of time constraints due to Gordon’s work commitments. The cock went through the federation programme to Wollaston but unfortunately, his mate was lost. After several weeks he took on with another hen and actually went to the National ‘chasing the hen’. Several years ago, a pigeon was reported to Gordon and he arranged its return. When it arrived, he realised there had been a mistake and on checking, learned that it actually belonged to Tom McEwan and his son, Scott, from Elphinstone. Gordon arranged return of the pigeon to Tom and Scott and was kindly gifted two stock birds, which bred the recent Section winner. Breeding is Tom and Scott’s old lines that won 1st Open S.N.F.C. Tours and Mark Gilbert De Weerdt’s. The De Weerdt’s bred the partners Silver Award winner, 5th Open Gold Cup, 7th Open Roye and many others. 2nd Section A, C. Halbert Craig Halbert from Eastriggs, is 2nd Section. Craig was reared in a pigeon family with his father and brothers having kept pigeons before him in Annan and continuing the pigeon connection, he is the nephew of John and Matt Jamieson. Following his marriage, he entered the pigeon fancy in Eastriggs and gained his first S.N.F.C. Diploma in 2004. Two years later he won the South Section Average Trophy with the S.N.F.C. In 2007 he recorded his first Section win with the National with blue chequer hen, ‘Morning Joy’, which was initially recognised as a fine racer and in time proved to be a prepotent producer with all subsequent winners containing her bloodlines. Her Sire was a Jan Aarden x Janssen that was purchased from Tumley Lofts. Her Dam was a Jan Aarden that was introduced from Louella. In 2014 he won the Ancenis National with two year old B.C W.F. cock ‘Solway View Boy’ and two years later was 1st and 2nd Open from Ancenis, with the two pigeons being a mated pair, the winner being Blue hen ‘Solway View Queen’. In 2018 with the longest race was flown from Reims with Craig being 1st Section 3rd Open National. Move forward to 2019 with the race again being flown from Reims and he timed the only arrival on the day of liberation to win the National, the winning pigeon being three year old grizzle cock ‘Super Harry’, which from the equivalent event the year previous was 1st Section 3rd Open National. Step forward to 2023 and Craig won another National from Falaise with Dark cock ‘Daley Express’. His winning pigeon from the recent Brighton race is a two year old chequer W.F. cock, that was raced as a youngster and went to Wollaston as a yearling. He was paired during the first week in March 2026 and reared a pair of youngsters. He was then put on Roundabout and went through the programme to Kettering. Dam contains the lines of ‘Morning Joy’. Sire is the Falaise winner, Daley Express’. His Sire a Dark Chequer cock that was bred from a double grand-daughter of ‘Morning Joy’ when paired to a Jan Aarden cock introduced from Louella, Dam a Mosaic hen that Craig obtained from John Gilmour from Ecclefechan. Sire of the Mosaic hen is Dark Chequer cock ‘Gilly’ that was 1st Open S.N.F.C. Alencon 2017. Dam of ‘Gilly’ was a Theo Rutten, which John Gilmour obtained from friends Shaun and Linda Trodden from Springfield. Dam of the Mosaic hen was a Theo Rutten from the same source. 3rd Section A, D. Ritchie Dougie Ritchie is 3rd Section. Dougie is fast emerging as a real force in the local Fancy, scoring regularly in the Club, Fed, and with the National. In 2020 he obtained a batch of six youngsters from the very successful partnership of Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson and Moon from Plains Farm, Sunderland, who, when he acquired the pigeons, were four times winners of the UNC. In 2022 he was 6th Section Brighton with one of the acquisitions and in 2023 and he was again along with the leaders from S.N.F.C. Upper Heyford to be 6th Section 7th Open, the winning pigeon being a two year old blue hen that was home bred from a pair of the pigeons purchased from the Sunderland partnership. The success story continued and in 2024 he was 1st Section from the Y.B. National from Kettering with a Blue Chequer hen, Sire was purchased at the North East Show from Stuart Wilcox, being a grandson of Champion ‘Little Gem’, Dam was again one of the batch of birds that was bred by Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson and Moon. In 2025 he was 3rd Section from the Y.B. National from Huntingdon with a Blue hen that contains similar lines to the 2024 Section winner but next generation. The pigeon that was 3rd Section from the recent race from Brighton is a two year old blue hen that was lost as a youngster and returned during the winter months. He was worked celibate as a yearling and went through the federation Programme to Cheltenham. He was paired in February this term and reared a pair of youngsters after which he was separated from his mate and worked on Roundabout. Having gone through the federation programme he was re-paired and went to the National covering 15-day eggs. Dam contains the well proven lines of Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson and Moon. Sire was obtained from John Short from Lanarkshire and is a Van den Buick. Section B 396 birds 1st Section B, 2nd open, J.B McNeil Firstly Mr McNeil would like to thank his good friends Steve and Barbara Goulding from Liverpool for the pair of birds who bred the blue hen SU 24 TR 753. This bird was the last offspring off her 2014 dam. The blue has flown consistently all season, especially in the club racing. She was sent to Kettering on the 30th May just finishing out of the result. Before her 373 mile trip home he named her Muirpark Cammur, after his two grandsons. Mr McNeil is absolutely elated on his win and sends his congratulations to Mr Buchanan. 2nd Section B, 4th open, B.W Kelly Brian timed in his three year old dark checker hen to win 1st club 1st section B 4th open Brighton. The hen reared a pair of youngsters in April then was put on roundabout. Her last race was from Decoy Lakes 239 miles the previous weekend being the first pigeon to the loft Brian commented that she was in great condition on arrival and decided to send her to Brighton. She is bred down through a hen called blackie who was the grand sire this cock scored four times in the SNFC best position being 4th open Falaise. 3rd Section B, J. Dowling Sire is from Jimmy McSeverney N Ireland from his direct Dirk van Echolpoels, Dam is from Tommy Chorrlton Manchester from his direct Wim Moens birds. This pigeon has been to most of the races for three years an has never shown till now. Section C 239 birds 1st and 2nd Section C, 1st and 5th open, C. Buchanan Colin was full of delight to see his eventual SNFC Brighton winner arriving from a south easterly direction. She is a yearling hen flown on roundabout and as a youngster was flown on the darkness system to Ackworth Moor 188miles. This year she has been 5th Club Darlington, 3rd Club Ackworth Moor, 2nd Club, 2nd west section Federation Harrogate, 4th Club Grantham and 28th Open Fife Federation Open Race, 4th Club Kettering two weeks prior to Brighton triumph. Sire and Dam were both purchased from the Oakley Racing and Breeding Stud and these are both bred from the GWP Macaloney pigeons. The Sire of the winner is a dark white flight cock and is bred out of Black Gold a direct son of Black Caviar an outstanding racer and breeder for the Macaloney partnership. Black Gold was mated to a daughter of Supermac 76 and was responsible for numerous winners in NIPA, MNFC and SNFC racing. The Dam of the winner is a blue hen inbred to the famous Supermac 76 - Supermac 76 is responsible for 5 first Fed winners in Lanarkshire Fed along with NIPA, MNFC and SNFC winning pigeons. The SNFC Brighton winner was mated up after Colin returned from the British Homing World Show in January - reared two times youngsters and was then separated and then flown on the roundabout system. The daily loft exercise consists of one hour morning and one hour late afternoon. On the basketing day for the Brighton National the hen was not shown her cock merely basketed and went to the marking station but after returning from the race was given her mate for approximately four hours which is the norm throughout the racing season. Colin is kindly donating a youngster to the SNFC Late Bred sale from his SNFC Brighton winner and she shall be mated to the first section C winner Kettering national. Colin's 2nd section C 5th Open SNFC Brighton is a four year old blue check hen bred by fellow clubmate and friend, Frank Mitchell, Comrie Fife. She was also raced on the roundabout system and mated after returning from the British Homing World Show at Blackpool. She reared two youngsters and was then separated and raced on the roundabout system. Her loft exercise is exactly the same as the 1st Open winner. She was not on the darkness as a young bird. Her full sister and nestmate was 1st Club, 2nd Open East of Scotland Amalgamation in 2023 from Ramsgate. Her racing performances to date are 9th Club Kettering in 2023. 10th Club Grantham, 4th Club Kettering, 4th Club Grantham all in 2024. In 2025 she was 2nd Club Reading then in 2026 8th Club Kettering two weeks prior to SNFC Brighton. The breeding of the above Chequer Hen is 100% M&D Evans Vandenabelle. The Dam of the 5th Open is a direct daughter of Woodface 1st Open MNFC for Andrew Lawley of Shropshire. 3rd Section C, C & G Cameron Congratulations to Colin Buchanan on a great race. The partnerships third section winner is a four year old late bred hen. As a yearling and two year old raced promisingly. As a three-year-old in 2025 was very badly injured in her first training toss of the year, the grooves of the tongue severely misshaped which she still has. Eventually gently raced but found her form late in the season scoring 52nd SNFC Billericay and 13th open SNFC Ypres. This year she been consistent and in the last 3 weeks scoring at the SNFC Kettering (300 miles) followed by 17th CESA Kettering and this week 3rd Section 20th Open Brighton 410 miles. While carrying a DF ring was actually bred by Charlie and Glen, she is a late bred from 2022 and is the last pigeon ever bred from Bobby. Bobby is one of the main pigeons in the loft a winner of two 1st North Section in 2015 when Glen lived in Aberdeen. A really good breeder he bred two pigeons who attained Bronze awards in 2024. He is also grandsire of a bronze award winner and including 12th open Alencon & 6th open Nort-Sur-Edre. He is also grandsire of two 1st and two 2nd North Section for their friends, Jim, Gary and Jim Coutts. Bobby is from a son of Tutso if Martin Raveligien and is from the old Flemish families (Van Der Esp, Pieren) when mated to a granddaughter of Euro Diamond of Brockamp. (Carteus lines) Dam is the main hen of the loft. Direct from the Malfait family from Jabbeke she is a daughter of Remco a winner of 1st National Agen in a very tough race. Incidentally also containing a lot of the Carteus bloodline. She is responsible for winners up to 1st SNFC . Section D 266 birds 1st Section D, 3rd open, Mr and Mrs Forrest The partnership timed their yearling blue hen to take first section. It was bred by Gordon Mackenzie, with the sire of the pigeon bred from a latebred of Gordon’s Macaloney cock that has bred three combine winners which was paired to the sister of second open SNFC hen in 2011. The dam of the section winner is a blue Gaby Vandenabeele bred by Stuart Knowles double granddaughter of Talisman number one stock cock. Which is responsible for hundreds of winners. He is a direct son of Bliksem (Gaby Vandenabeele) the sire of the hen is direct daughter of Talisman, paired to a direct daughter of Keon Minderhoud Geeloger. The dam of the hen is direct daughter of Talisman paired to a direct daughter of Rudy. The section winner is a full sister to SU 25 CA 2247 who has also been first federation. 2nd and 3rd Section D, D.H Ogilvie Second section is a two year old cheq hen has been a constant performer winning five federation certificates to date. Sire is a dark cock provided by Justin Rodgers of Bosliven Lofts and is from the lines of Bob De Batt off Vandenabeele blood lines. Dam is 1616 a direct daughter of Chieftan and Blue Thunder, she is the best performing daughter off this phenomenal pair. She is a winner of multiple first federations and is also a section national winner. An outstanding prouducer of many federation prize winners. One daughter won first section, second open at national level. Third section is a two year old blue hen achieved the following to date so far; 1st, 3rd, 12th twice, 14th, 17th, 25th, 35th federation. 24th section, 165th open SNFC Kettering this season. The hen is pure Herman-Ceuster bloodlines and again contains the blood of Chieftan and Blue Thunder. Over two hundred first prize winners reported down from Chieftan and Blue Thunder at every level of competition, definitely super pigeons! Section E 269 birds 1st Section E, T. Richardson Tam wins the section with his two year old blue hen named ‘Every Other Saturday’ certainly no stranger to winning a section in the national, this being his third winner over two seasons. Last season Tam won first section from Reading and Fontenay nationals. The hen is a Leo Herman x Lambrecht cross purchased from Robert Anderson. She was flown on the roundabout system, competing the full Strathclyde federation programme including SNFC Kettering. Last season she was 22nd open from Lanarkshire Federation Brighton. I’m sure this is not the last time we shall read about Tam’s winning success this season. 2nd Section E, D. Hay Derek Hay from Kirkintilloch, one of Scotland’s finest, timed his yearling blue pied hen at 4.19 pm to win 2nd sect E 100 th Ooen vel 1060 ypm. This hen, flown on the roundabout system, had five races including SNFC Kettering before entering the Brighton race. Her breeding is from Derek s tried and tested long distance family. Her grandmother is Kendall on both sides, coming from a half brother / sister mating. Kendall won 1 st West Region Gold cup and a SHU award. Her dam was Little Owl, Silver award winner at 3x 606 miles winner. Derek would like to congratulate Tam Richardson on winning the section. 3rd Section E, J. McLelland John timed his two year old blue pied hen to take third section. Sire is grandson of J. Benvie’s double national winner from the SNRPC Kingdom Boy. Dam is granddaughter from John Proctor’s SNRPC national winner from 620 miles, being the only bird on the day. John’s hen flew majority races as a young bird, as a yearling flew up to first inland national. This season she flew all federation races including the SNFC Kettering. Always flown on the roundabout system. Section F 162 birds 1st Section F, R. Reid Robert’s hen 4768 is bred from a Cock gifted by Ian Ross. The dam of 4768 was Robert’s stock hen 5561. 5561 bred several S.N.F.C. Winning pigeons including three section winners. 5561 was, in turn bred from 1st Section Billericay. Before going to Brighton 4768 had three 3 federation races. Her mate was sent to and lost racing from Leicester. When he was sent to Leicester 4768 had just laid her first egg. After laying her second egg she continued to incubate and was joined by a spare yearling cock. She very seldom left the nest in the run up to the Brighton race and was highly motivated. 2nd Section F, R. Young Ricky timed his cheq cock to take second section. The sire is from Dave Delea off his Barcelona winner three times a lady 700 miles. Dam from G. Veitch off his Nort Sur Edre national winner. The cock has flown every race. He was sitting on fresh eggs, his first of the season and never left the loft after Leicester. 3rd Section F, A. McKenna Andrew’s hen was bred by the late Stephen Miller of Kilmarnock and brought to Andy’s when Stephen sadly passed away- dam is a direct daughter of hisfirst section winner from Ypres in 2019 big Ian. When big Ian was paired to a full sister to his Maidstone section winner it’s sire was a direct son of big Smithy when paired Aurora. Andrew would like to congratulate Robert Ried and Ricky Young on a super performance flying into the west of Scotland and also thank Tom and Scott McEwen for the quality bloodstock they have given. Section G 139 birds 1st and 2nd Section G, A.R Rae SU23 AB1307 D/CHEQ COCK, 1st North Section Bred from a bird that was first north section from a Brighton race and was the only bird on the day in Aberdeen, and a brother was 27th open in 2021 Maidstone, also a sister from Yeovil 2021 and it was 70th open. All these birds were bred off of his stock pair, The Bridesmaid and The Fifer, a gift bird from Jocky Scott. All thanks to Alec’s granddaughter and wife for taking care of my pigeons this year as he is recovering from my hip operation. SU24 AB402 L/CHEQ COCK, 2nd North Section Directly off of his stock pair, The Bridesmaid and The Fifer, he is qualifying for bronze award this year, as he has five prizes from the inland national races. 3rd Section G, A.A Williamson Timing his blue hen to take third section, she was raced every week on the roundabout system. The hen was at the SNFC Kettering national and was his third pigeon to clock in, finishing fifth and 18th section. The hen was mated to the fifth section bred by Charlie Thomson (cove) Aberdeen. Congratulations to C. Buchanan and his national winner and all the other winners on what I can say was a very stiff race. My sincerest appreciation goes to my fellow team that collect the information from around Scotland to make this report possible. Thanks to the following; Section A President M. Currie and B. Wortley, section B, F. Robertson and R. Walker, section C, K. Cochrane and D. Liddle, section D, S. Russell, section E, J. Lawrie and D. Hay, section F, B. Nicol and section G the fanciers themselves. Convoyers report for Kettering race, departed Newmains with convoy 2130 hours, arrived Springfield 2300. Loaded with feeding. Birds watered from 2300 to 0030 lights out. New fresh tank of water in the morning all birds watered prior to departure at 0900 hours. 1200 service area all pigeons watered depart by 1300. Arrive at Kettering just after 1600 hours, fresh water. Birds then fed and fresh water. Fresh water again at 0430. Spoke to race Controller and instructed to liberate at 0545 hours. Liberated into blue skies all birds cleared site immediately in northerly direction. Mary Thomson SNFC PRO

Copied from Facebook 1st July 2026 Once again, congratulations to Clive, Jill Rogers and Neil Sales for winning the provisional 1st Open BICC Agen International for their second BICC win, last week, they conquered the International PAU and now the AGEN, what a superb performance. The National winner England from Agen 2026 in the category "Old birds" is Rogers Clive & Jill & Sales Neil from Radstock, UK. The pigeon was clocked on Tuesday at 10:05 CEST after a race of 862.197 km, achieving an average velocity of 748.26 m/min.

Copied from Facebook 30th June 2026 14.30 Weather Update for TCCRPC Maidstone 4th July. At this early stage the forecast is very good for Saturday. Sunny Conditions with a westerly wind. I see no issues with a 7.30/8am liberation.

For Sale Petron Pigeon Loft Dimensions 9 ft wide , 18 ft length Fully tiled with perspex on the front. 3 section Loft ONLY comes with (30 box perches ) This loft will house 25 birds per section comfortably. Reluctantly selling this fantastic loft due to health reasons and drastically cutting back. Based in Falkirk, Central Scotland Loft will be available straight after the SNFC YB national, mid September. Time wasters don't bother wasting my time!! This loft was build specifically with racing pigeons in mind, its in fantastic condition. Will help the buyer dismantle into sections. £2,500 offers over, deposit will secure this loft

Winner Glastonbury M/S Stoney Cross Gary & Prilly Hodges. Gary and Prilly also take 1st Section B 4th Open 👏 The blue hen we timed (GB 21 B06436) to be 1st club 4th open is a late bred from 2021, not raced, just trained through the winter. Since then she has won several 1st, and many open positions. Raced on the chaos system for most of the season, but paired up, and was on seven day eggs for this race. Fed on Gaby vandenablele mix Sunday to Thursday morning , and then Staddon chaos mix Thursday night Friday morning.

Copied from Facebook 30th June 2026 LERWICK POSTPONED - IMPORTANT NRCC RACE UPDATE The NRCC Committee held an emergency meeting this evening following serious concerns raised by both our Weather Advisor and Convoyer regarding conditions forecast for the upcoming Lerwick race scheduled for Saturday 4th July. After carefully reviewing detailed weather reports for Saturday and the days that follow, forecasts show persistent rain and strong westerly winds, with the jet stream remaining firmly in place, meaning conditions are unlikely to improve throughout the week. With the welfare of our pigeons as the absolute priority, the Committee has made the difficult but necessary decision to POSTPONE the Lerwick race by ONE WEEK. 📌 NEW RACE SCHEDULE • Marking: Wednesday 8th July • Liberation: Saturday 11th July Following this decision: ✅ Paper Entries and PigeonOnline entries will remain OPEN until 10pm on Sunday 5th July for members still wishing to enter. ✅ Members who have already entered pigeons but are unable to race on Saturday 11th July due to prior commitments will receive a full refund. We understand this decision will disappoint some members, however the safety and welfare of the pigeons must always come first. ⚠️ PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE IMMEDIATELY with fellow members, club secretaries, and all local WhatsApp groups to help ensure this update reaches as many members as possible as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. NRCC Committee

Well done all

PART 2 "Sometimes we'll see pigeons out and about, have you noticed how they always get out of peoples way? They don't bother you and some of them look in bad shape. You've seen ours and how plump they all look, they've got it good in that aviary. During World War Two, 300000 homing pigeons were used to send messages by Allied Forces, 32 of which were decorated with the Dickin Medal for their service. These wee birds, who some people treat with contempt for no other reason other than existing, saved thousands of lives in that time. I suppose you would have to know the joy from rearing pigeons, the love and care you give them to get the best out of them. Whether they're winners or not, people just need to give them a little bit of time. They're unique wee things with personalities and they're so intelligent, social, and perfectly suited for a life of close coexistence with us. Joe had one pigeon called Murphys Joy and it flew 640 odd miles, can you imagine such a tiny thing with a wee heart doing that, what did it go through to get home? Storms and winds and it's so happy to get home to you. You don't imagine them living to Georges age, he's 23 now and he's happy out there. He was a winner and picked up plenty of prizes. Margaret tells me about her favourite pigeons, "I would name them and Joe would often refer to them by their ring number" "I would do my part when Joe was working back shift, it's been a joy of mines to do that. He was in the pitts for 13 years and I hated it. One time he got knocked unconscious and I seen our car drive up and the door opened "don't worry, he's fine, he's just knocked out" Joe later tells me he owes much of his success to his wife, it was very clear that even after almost 60 years together, they continue to complement one another in ways perhaps without realising it. Old fashioned love. Joe tells me about Kevin, his late son. "Once I stopped racing them, I took them to Arbroath and he raced them and he done quite well. We would go there to see them come home, just the 3 of us. Kevin would get onto me cause I would get up and get ready for them to land he'd say "they're no your pigeons Dad" and that always gave us a laugh and Kevin would go "YES" everytime they'd come out, that was his thing, like us, they gave him lots of joy" "I don't know what will happen to my birds, but I do know that it's been my greatest joy, and I still write in the Joe Murphy Column. I've done well for myself and I expect that a few folk will see what I've said and chip in with their own thoughts on the pigeons which will be nice. I've made plenty of friends doing this, and that's been another aspect of this but it seems to be getting rarer and rarer sadly. I just hope people will see this and think twice about pigeons because they really are wonderful little birds" If you've enjoyed Joes story, give it a wee share and be mindful of our feathered friend, they're just trying to get by. Thank you to Joe & Margaret for their hospitality and care on that summers day at their home ❤️

BUMP

Copief from Facebook 30th June Kilmarnock for Gold Cup clocks 6pm - 7pm tonight

Snfc Alencon gold cup 🏆 Section A Provisional top 10 1, A Little Ecclefechan 2, C Halbert Eastriggs 3, D & D Anderson Annan 4, D & D Anderson Annan 5, J Ferguson Eastriggs 6, C Halbert Eastriggs 7, D Little Ecclefechan 8, J Gilmour Ecclefechan 9, D & R Osborne Locharbriggs 10, D & D Anderson Annan

1st Club, 2nd Fed, 2nd Amal Kettering 1,375 birds from 279 miles with a TMP Platteeuw. Congratulations to “Davy Armour” who takes 2/3/4 position from 1,375 birds, with his first bird home a TMP bred Platteeuw from the lines of “Notting Hill”. Always a pleasure to speak with Davy ... a serious fancier who is happy to share his ideas and, most importantly for me, to share his results which helps me make my pairing selections for future

what a great story, well done

A heartwarming story from the Blackwater Racing Pigeon Club. Young Jaxon was born with ventriculomegaly — an abnormality of the brain. Though he was always happy to talk, he struggled to open up and connect with people around him, including his classmates. That all changed when club member Jay Greene introduced Jaxon to the sport of racing pigeons. Jaxon formed such an incredibly strong bond with the birds that it transformed his whole personality. Almost overnight, he became far more engaged and confident with his family and friends. He now visits Jay’s loft regularly, where he has even named some of the pigeons. This week, Jaxon came to the club to present Noel with his award for winning the gruelling 277-mile race from St. Pol de Leon in France back home to Wexford. Jaxon was absolutely over the moon to have his photo taken with Noel, holding the pigeon he has named Bolt the very pigeon that made the epic journey.

Copied from Facebook 29th June 2026 Last Old Bird Race of the Season Billericay with the SNFC on Saturday 4th July 2026 Total Prize money £630 .00 Reminder !mind mark your entries (15) £1 and your nominated Doo £5 Strathclyde Pigeon Club In conjunction with the SNFC and subject to entries at £1 per bird (max 15 per loft ). 1st £150,2nd £75,3rd £50,4th £30 5th-10th £20,11th- 15th £15.00 Also a £5 per loft Gold Ring for the 1st nominated pigeon Winner take all, Let's get behind this "If you do something do it right "and let's support this journey .It's your club let's move on . On this race we are indebted to Wilson & Cairns, Eadie & Kelly ,Andy Frame ,Davy Jamieson,and (Cammy Heeps for £50 donation 1st Yearling timed )for the Sponsorship . Management Committee Can the secretaries of the relevant inform your members President Andrew Eadie

Almond Valley's fed result from Alnwick 3 ob Alnwick 3 ob.pdf

Copied from Facebook 29th June Section A Alencon clocks Springfield 6pm tonight

"My name is Joe and for me, this story begins when I was 5. My parents moved from Dundee to Kennoway in 1952 and my father had kept racing pigeons and so I began to learn from him. It begins with pairing the pigeons up, which results in chicks. About a month later, a ring goes on their foot and that pigeons yours. Years ago when my son Kevin was just little, we had went to an auction and he put his wee hand up by accident and we had to pay for that pigeon, I only had my membership fees with me, so I had to borrow the extra £3 for the pigeon which cost £5 and believe it or not it went on to be successful that the £5 was soon forgotten about. He was the Dorden Cock. We took him to Blackpool and he came 4th in his class. You have to work hard at it, I've given my life to these wee birds. You have to clean the aviary out and change the water and food everyday, really look after them. When the babies come, you have to take note and in 18 days, they hatch and a month later they're flying themselves" Joe pulls out his keys and shows me the pigeons rings on his keys. "I keep these because they mattered to me" My father worked in the pits and worked backshift so I would tend to them when he couldn't. He had a red checker, which is a breed of pigeon and called it Dundee Jenny after my mother, they were Dundonians of course, my mother had red hair and the older it got, it won more and soon became his favourite bird. It was good fun and we just did the same, Margaret and I. There's a lot of satisfaction for breeding winners. When Margaret and I married in 1967 in Glenrothes, there was a wee rule about not getting pigeons! I had a job delivering coal at this time and one of the boys said "you know a bit about pigeons eh" and so I took it home, put it in the shed and that was it. Dad soon gave me some more and we joined Kennoway Racing Club, we soon moved there to Leven Road. It was so competitive. These wee birds need trained, it's a lot of work. When I worked at Seafield Pit, Margaret would help train them. Like you and I, pigeons are different. They fly home to get to their eggs, that's the motivation but there has to be set conditions and that varies for each pigeon so notebooks are vital. It's the nature of a pigeon, it wants to return home to take care of the babies and when they do, they're right down, tending to the chicks. We've raised money for charity with our winnings too, we never did this to be rich, it was just something that felt right because it's all we knew. There's a misconception about these birds, that they're "flying rats" and I'd take them into my hut and let them see the birds, spend some time with them. They're wonderful, intelligent, wee birds, with tiny hearts that can fly them across seas to get home, and a radar inside of their little heads that guides them home, you tell me that's not an amazing thing They're a comfort, and having them has given my life meaning. One of my pigeons, had babies and this week one of the babies won in the nationals and that's what it's all about for myself, just proud that I played a part in that" I'm offered tea and biscuits and we get ready to go outside, where I met George, a pigeon that is 23 years old that Joe has had all it's life. Tomorrow I'll share more of Joes story but if you've enjoyed this part, give it a share. These wee birds are so misunderstood and if I can change just one persons opinion of them, I'll be happy.