Latest News Update -

[willie reynolds]

Friday Night 15th November

Hi Again, just noticed in the Prize Money section we need to include the Ace Pigeon and 2 bird Average Prizes again based on 500 fully paid entries.

Winner of the Ace Pigeon will receive A Solid Gold Medal & £1000 & A Photograph

Winner of the 2 bird Average this means the first person to have 2 birds home on the final race will receive A Solid Gold Medal & £500 & A Photograph of each bird.

Well myself and Rob my son have been hard at it all day putting down the base for the loft, the base is very important, 10mm out at one end and you will be 100mm out at the other so to speak, we dont want that do we, next week is a busy week for me doing my fortnightly trip to Belgium and Ireland, so it will be up to Rob and Annette to sort things, they both do a brilliant job, that the way everything is done as a family.

Fanciers entering the race are welcome to use any courier service, but the added advantage of using G&R Couriers is your birds will be in the loft on the day of pick up ( this includes Ireland ) and not the next day or day after that, all birds will be vaccinated upon arrival, well ladies and gents its time for a guinness then see ya later.

Remember He Who Dares Wins

20th November

I have just returned from my marathon trip in Holland and Belgium, met some great fanciers and collected some super pigeons for fanciers in the UK and Ireland, since doing pick ups on the continent it has surprised me how big Holland is, I have delayed my next trip into Ireland until Monday 25th November, now onto the loft, things are moving along nicely, the base is virtually complete, the weather has not been kind at all also time is limited because we are also trying to sort out all the pedigrees for our entire clearance sale in Blackpool, Annette is taking the photos but as your all aware making pigeons stand is hard especially for us Amateurs.

Fantastic News G&R Couriers will pick up and deliver up to 6 Birds to the Who Dares Wins One Loft for just £20.00 including Scotland and Ireland...... e-mail address is info@whodareswinsrace.co.uk SmileSmile

22nd November

Hi everyone, just setting off for the RP show at Doncaster, myself and Annette we will be in attendance to answer any questions plus take entries if required, the response is excellent and the race is growing daily, entries from as far away as America, these fanciers have been trying to get birds to One Loft races in the UK for some time, we have contacts on the continent so this is no problem, I am being asked about PMV vaccination, all birds before entering the loft will be vaccinated by ourselves, this way we ensure all birds are covered.

Until Later Remember He Who Dares Wins

29th November

We have been busy this week, the base for the loft is virtually complete, we have had quite a few local fanciers bringing in entries, one syndicate have entered 16 birds, well done chaps we appreciate you trust and support, to date the race is going far better than we expected, we are attending Telford show tomorrow, if this one is like the others then brilliant, I would like to say thanks to all who have entered, we know the entry fee is not cheap, but the rewards are high, its our intention to make this one loft stand out from any other, I will do my upmost to ensure that fanciers are kept informed of what is happening an a daily basis and I will do my best to retain your birds, we want this race to continue for years to come, I am that confident that we will do a great job, we have booked our Live entertainment for the final race, this is a very sort after band, trust me you are in for a great day and of coarse some fanciers will be a fair few quid better off.

I am also up to my eyes in sorting out our entire clearance sale, I have never really been a pedigree person, for me a pigeon must handle right, last year myself and Robert attended the reduction sale of H.Jackson&Son, Hughie and Colin Jackson have been brilliant fanciers for many years, they have won the mighty UNC no less than 3 times, at the sale was many local fanciers, well we looked at every pigeon, I then went back and handled Lot 15 a cheq cock, my words were if I can afford him then he is coming home with us Robert, I then looked at the pedigree, guess what the sire and dam had both won the UNC, it was my intenetion to purchase a few birds to cross into our own, the cheq cock was the highest priced bird in the sale but he came home with us, little did I realize we would be selling him only 12 months later, this for me is just an example of buying without first looking at the pedigree, the cock has bred some super youngsters.

Until next time Remember He Who Dares Wins

10th December 2013

Another busy week, I have just returned from my latest visit to Holland & Belgium, picked up quite a few birds for Ireland, talking of the Emerald Isle, I am attending Belfast show on Saturday any fanciers at the show who fancy a chat or have any questions about the One Loft Race then feel free to come over to the stand, the good news is we have the loft base finished, everything is going to plan and is on schedule, the loft is being erected week commencing 16th December, I cant wait, pictures are going to be posted of before and after, well fanciers this is just a short note to let you know the situation time for bed now, day off tomorrow, mind we plan to photograph the stock hens for our entire clearance sale in Blackpool, off to Ireland on Thursday.

Until nest time Remember He Who Dares Wins

[willie reynolds]

26th December 2013

Hi Everyone, first of all we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, may you all have a successful season in 2014. Well its been a busy few days since the loft has been up, we have been working none stop to get the foundations down for the flight, we have man handled 25 ton of hardcore, next it is 6 cubic mtr of concrete, Matt is ready at his end to put the flight up, the downside for us this time of year is the frost getting to the concrete plus most suppliers are on holiday until 6th January, I am pleased however we will be ready well before the first intake on the 22nd of February, Remember G&R Couriers are delivering birds to the loft for just £20.00. Just a short note letting you all know everything is going to plan.

Until next time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

31st December 2013

Hi to all........ Just like to wish everyone all the best for 2014, try not to endulge too much in the old amber nectar tonight remember you cant fly pigeons in bed, we must be up bright and early in the morning with scrapers at the ready, everything here is running great, plenty of entries from local fanciers, I also gave them a tour of the new loft and they were well impressed, thats it for now taxi is here, have a good one everybody.Cool

Until next time Remember He Who Dares Wins

6th January

Well fanciers 51 years ago to-day a servant to the pigeon world was born, yes its my birthday, quite affiar with Annette being not to well, shes suffering from the dreaded bug going around, myself and Rob have a big day tomorrow, we have 6 cublic mtr of concrete coming for the Aviary base this will be our side then complete, I know Matt is waiting in the wings to come and fit the aviary on the loft, we will post pictures when everything is complete, I have orderd 1000 V perches, I intend to race the youngsters to the perch, then split them 2 weeks before the final race, the birds will then be run together for 24 hours, various love tunnels and motivation techincs will be used, this I feel is the fairest way of ensuring all birds have an equal chance, none will be sent sitting eggs or feeding a youngster, the best birds on the day will take the big money, just a short note fanciers giving you up to date info of whats happening.

Its been a torrid time for me the last 3 weeks, I have been doing the pedigrees for our entire clearance sale in Blackpool, what a sad affair, the best pigeon we will ever own Golden Balls will be on his way to grace someone elses loft and fill it will top pigeons, I wish everyone who does get our jewels the very best and if any help is required dont hesitate to contact me.

Until next Time Remember He Who dares WinsCry

13th January 2014

Well fanciers it will soon be over, the last 4 months have been the most difficullt of our lives, this is ever since we decided to sell all our birds in Blackpool, there will be two sales at the Central Club, Friday night starts with viewing at 6.00pm & Saturday afternoon at 2.30pm, best of luck to anyone who purchases our birds. At the One Loft all is going to plan the base for the Aviary is now complete, we will be in attendance in the winter gardens to take entries or answer any questions, the One Loft and Anisan stand will be on the Horse Shoe, Annette and Jill will be in attendance, plus I will be on the TauRIS ETS Stand also on the Horse Shoe, a bit of news for Irish fanciers G&R Couriers will take birds back from Blackpool to Ireland for just £5.00 per bird, drop off points are Belfast then en route down the M1 to Dublin, then from Dublin via the M50 and N11 to Rosslare, anyone interested can contact me on 07725209762. That is much it for now, we will soon have our first intake of birds, then there will be much more to talk about, also remember we have an open loft every Sunday morning between 9.00am until 1.00pm, again this has never been done before, again the Who Dares Wins is leading the way, we intend this race to be the Ultimate One Loft Race in the UK, you send us your best the least we can do is give you 100%, by opening our doors every week you can see that all birds are treated equally, see you all in Blackpool go steady on the fluids or you will only end up with wet droppings & then dehydration.

Until next remember He Who Dares Wins

[willie reynolds]

February 4th

Hi Everyone, I have deleted all the old news it has been on the site over 4 weeks and I am sure you are tired of reading it, well fanciers its show time, I believe the first birds will be arriving on Sunday 9th this is 2 weeks earlier than planned but when you are paying the money then its you who decide when you want us to have your entires, I know some fanciers like to get a round bred off their racers and have them moved so they can concentrate on the season ahead.

I have been kitting out the sections in the loft with V Perches, we have 5 complete and the other 3 will be done tomorrow, all the sections are the same so as previously stated birds will be flown to the perch then split for the last race, none will be sent sitting eggs or feeding a youngster, the way we are doing things is the fairest way of all. Rob is starting with the landscape work tomorrow obviously weather permitting, never have I known so much rain, damp and wet is no good at all for pigeons, all that happens is Ornithosis problems, if you get these problems I have found that Soludox 12% mixed with Tylan works very well. In the loft we will have two weaning sections for the latest arrivals, on the floor will be easi bed, over the years I have found that the youngsters feel very at home with a little bedding down, as they progress they will be moved up the loft into their racing section. We will be using Anisan loftcare every day, we are the main agent and we now have a Respiro Dry powder available at only £17.00 for a 10kg drum. I will be posting some new pictures after the weekend, these will show inside of the loft and the loft with the Aviary on ( Finished ). I have been in contact with a top Belgium fancier, we intend to purchase around 20 ventures from this loft which excels at middle to long distance racing, as soon as I have some concrete info I will post the fanciers on the venture page, as the birds arrive at the loft the entries will be publish on the ring list page, entries are going very well but as already stated no birds will be allowed into the loft unless they are fully paid for, not much more I can report at the moment, the first Open Sunday for a visit will be Sunday the 16th, if you intend to visit please telephone first, I know some fanciers will be travelling a good few miles so refreshments will be available including a full breakfast.

G&R Couriers will pick up and deliver the same day up to 6 birds for only £20.00 this includes Scotland and Ireland.

Until Next Time

Remember He Who Dares Wins

[willie reynolds]

February 26th

Hi, I was going to update the site last night with regards to the progress of the A team, but we were busy and it was our night out, well yesterday I put the A team to their final test and it was a very trying day for us, we had 4 youngsters away for over 2 hours, all 4 returned together but getting them to trap was another thing, this is when you need the patience of a saint, myself and Rob was out all afternoon, around 5.00pm 3 of the 4 decided it was time to come in so this left just one, this youngster was up and down, he would go for 30 mins then return, this continued until dark but he still would not trap so he was out for the night, I was up at 6.00am this morning went down to the loft but he still was not home, at around 7.30am I was just taking the dogs round the field and I saw a pigeon land on the loft, by the time I had got to the loft he was in, so we had a full house and all the A team had passed their final test, at 1.30pm to-day I repeated what I did the day before, there was no problems they were down and in like rockets, it was now time to start with No2 team, all these birds although most still squeaking were put through the traps, we will continue to do this for another week, then they will also be moved onto test No2, the youngsters are starting to take a fancy to peanuts, for 2 days most just pecked at them but not know, it is important however to ensure you only use peanuts fit for human consumption, wild bird peanuts grow a fungi under the shell.

We had a couple of characters visit us yesterday to bring their entries, the syndicate name says it all Dazzling Boys, it was local fanciers Fred Groom and Malc Parry both are brilliant fanciers, Fred won the King of the Distance race in 2013 and has raced a good pigeon for many years, Fred worked in the mines with my father, Malc won the young bird Gold Medal in 2013, he also on 2 occasions in 2013 just missed out topping the federation from Falaise and Messac, we then had Ian Workman and his lovely wife bring the first of their 4 entries, Ian purchased a g/daughter from Golden Balls we bred in 2013 at the Ashby breeder/buyer and won the race, Ian was also 3rd and won the Ace pigeon award in the Scottish One Loft Race in 2013, again credit to all fanciers the squeakers are very reared and are very nice, lets hope the weather stays good.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

February 24th

Hi everyone, more entries arrived to-day, Clive Baldwin & Son from London who's birds were collected by G&R Couriers at 6.00pm last night, they were in the loft by 7.00am this morning, brilliant service, again the youngsters are absolutely superb, then local fancier Dave Willis bought along his syndicate entries ( Willis & Waddo ) again absolute top quality, we vaccinated & put ETS rings on Daves birds whilst he was at the lofts, I must give credit and thanks to every fancier who's birds we have in the lofts they have all been reared superb, well done. What I call the A team, the oldest youngsters in the loft were given test No2 to-day and all passed with flying colours, if the weather is good again tomorrow they will get test No3 and hopfully all will do just as they did to-day with no hesitation at all, team B will be put through the trapping system tomorrow and this will be repeated for the next 10 days, we are virtually finished with the tidy up infront of the lofts, again we need some dry weather so we can rotivate and re-seed the grass.

Until Later Remember He Who Dares WinsSmile

February 23rd

We had more birds arrive to-day from a local fancier Ray Lander, Ray & Rose are the back bone behind Derbyshire North Road Federation, Rose is an excellent secretary and scribe for their federation, the youngsters were 1st class, I must say every squeaker in the loft is nothing short of top quality this is credit to the fanciers themselves, we had a federation meeting to-day and yet again more entries from local fanciers, this is superb and I thank you all for the trust you have put in us, the squeakers were again put through the traps to-day, some have had this done 4 times and you can now feel them pulling from your hand to get to the bob holes, we need the wind to drop so I can give them the next test in learning how to trap, we have more squeakers booked in for tomorrow, just a short note keeping you up to date with whats happening.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

February 18th

Hi Everyone, we have had another busy day, the weather has been OK so we have cracked on with the steps down to the loft, if the weather stays kind then by Monday all the ground work will be complete, we will sow the seeds for the new grass at the end of March, Pieter Olberhoister visited us to-day, I think its safe to say Pieter was very impressed with our set up, what took him by suprise was the Corn Cobs on the floor in the weaning section, Pieter said they are a fantastic product, he asked how I managed to get them because they are very hard to find, I explained we are now the agents in the UK for the Corn Cobs, he ordered 10 bags, we had 3 more beautiful youngsters arrive to-day, these were from Stuart Bellamy & Son one of my fellow club members, its great for us when we get this kind of support from fanciers we used to compete against, the youngsters were Vaccinated and the ETS rings put on them, this is just a short update letting you know things are going superb.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

Sunday 16th February

Hi Fanciers, Its been a busy day with quite a few visitors to the loft, more entries from local fanciers and its great to here comments saying what a fantastic job is being done with very much thought having been put into the design of the loft, as pigeon fanciers ourselves we have tried to cover everything, we are having a section for weaners so I wanted a deep litter, I feel new arrivals feel more at home if there is a little floor dressing for them to bed down on, problems are, you must be careful, straw is no good too much dust plus you end up with it stuck to your feet, we have chosen to push the boat out and invest in Corn Cobs, many will have never heard of these, we have imported the Corn Cobs from Austria with the help of Marcel Sangers, if anyone is interested, visit the Pipa web site and click on Marcel Sangers, you can then watch a short video telling you what Corn Cobs are, many top German lofts are using Corn Cobs as a floor dressing, we can now also supply these to any fancier in the UK.

We had our first birds delivered to-day, these came from the Smurfs Syndicate, as promised we vaccinated all 4 youngsters whilst the fanciers were there, the youngster will now get a booster in 15 days, the youngster were not one bit put off by the Corn Cobs, they quickly bedded down on them and were very content, I must say credit to the Syndicate, they are 4 cracking youngsters, also as promised we have put ETS rings on the Squeakers, we can now monitor if they were to go AWOL, god forbid but if this was to happen we would telephone the syndicate and ask for replacments free of any charge, this applies to all, no other One Loft puts ETS rings on youngsters the day they arrive, again we are trying to do all the right things. I am now going to have ago at uploading some pictures showing myself and Rob putting the ETS rings on the Squeakers, its my first attempt as Will Fretwell the designer of our Web Site usually takes care of this.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

Monday 10th February

Fanciers it has been a busy day to-day, its been dry so I have been helping Rob with some brick work he is building the steps down to the loft, all we ask for is 5 days of good weather and we are finished, I have more good news for you, Natural have agreed to sponsor the One Loft Race by donating a pallet of corn, the mixes we have chosen are Young bird Finesse, plus Natural Proffesional mix, this mix which is exclusive only to ourselves and a fancier in Ireland, I am sure fanciers will agree with us, there is no better corn than Natural, I must thank all at Natural for the very kind sponsorship. It does not end there, Herbots have agreed a sponsorship deal with us, we will be using Herbots minerals and supplements, as many will agree Herbots products are nothing short of top class, now for the Vet, we needed a well renowned pigeon Vet, this we have, we have agreed a deal with Raf Herbots, Raf will be testing the droppings on a regular basis and advising us accordingly, all medication will come via his recommendations, I am sure that all who have entered will agree we are going the right way.

I would like to clear up a question which keeps cropping up, we at the Who Dares Wins will be putting ETS rings on the birds in the loft within the first week, we are doing this so we can monitor the birds for e.g, if we lose say 1 bird then your reserve will take its place fully activated at no cost, but if we were to lose 2 birds then I will contact you and ask you to send me another bird for free to replace the missing one, we are trying to get all your entries to the first Hot Spot Race, also if we have birds returning late then they will be rested and built back up, NOT thrown back in a basket the following day, trust me I intend to prove that its a pigeon family taking care of your birds setting us aside from any other One Loft Race.

Until Later Remember He Who dares Wins Smile

February 9th

Hi fanciers just quick up date, we hope to have some more pictures of the loft on the site later, the aviary is finished all the sections inside are finished, the loft alarm system is now fitted, however it is dissaponting that we are still not able to get the landscape work done around and infront of the loft, we need a few days of dry weather, now for an update regarding the venture birds, it has always been our intention to make this One Loft Race stand out from any other in the UK and Ireland, to do this you have to really push the boat out and not cut any corners, I feel we have done this with the lofts we are having our venture birds from, the first partnership we are taking 10 ventures from is Karel & Tom Hofkins the birds from this loft have won Nationals all over the world, anyone who has purchased birds from this partnership will know the cost involved and will appreciate we are not trying to gain financially from the venture birds, we just want the best, the second loft we have purchased 10 venture birds from is none other than Kris Wynants of Geel, again another loft of extreme quality, Wynants birds are in great demand throughout Europe, so we have really gone that extra mile to get birds from these two lofts. The venture birds will be arriving at the lofts around the 25th March.

We hope to have more news by Tuesday of the vet who will be testing, advising and over seeing every aspect of the health and welfare of your birds, we are covering every angle, remember my quote, this race will stand out from any other One Loft Race in the UK and Ireland.

If anyone is interested G&R Couriers will be in attandance on Saturday at the Fugare Show in Kortrjk Belgium, they are available to transport any birds back to the UK & Ireland if required, tel 07725209762.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares WinsSmile

[willie reynolds]

March 7th

I will start with an update from around the loft, we moved the B team into the A team section this morning, all went well, birds were out for 30 minutes and all went through the traps brilliant, we moved most of the birds from the C team into the B team section again they were all put through the traps, we then had more birds arrive, Ian workman bought over his other 3 entries, all are absolute beauties, next was the maestro himself Steve Williams bought the second of his four entries another beautiful chequer both the sire and the dam are winners from Saintes 512 miles, D&A Smith arrived this evening with their reserve entry another well reared youngster.

Now a little news from the family, as many know we sold all our birds to concentrate on running a One Loft Race, we are really enjoying the challenge, although it is very hard work, we don't have any outside help everything is done by the family, this being myself, Annette my wife & my son Robert, I am sure other One Loft managers appreciate me saying its hard work, but you only get out of life what you put into it, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all other One Loft Races the very best and we hope your race is successful in 2014.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

March 6th

Fanciers the weather has not been great to-day, we turned the A team out but within 10 minutes it started to rain, however the youngsters still flew for 25 minutes three are still squeaking, the birds are now starting to batch and yes they all trapped well, the B team are now ready to join the A team, again many are still squeaking but they have passed every test, the C Team have now been through the traps 4 days running and are really pulling to get into the loft, most of the C team birds are quite strong and I am sure these will be in with the A team by the middle of next week, we must however take care not to try and do too much with them too quick.

Fanciers who have enter the race had their birds picked up in Preston and Manchester around lunch time to-day by G&R Couriers for just £20.00 and they was in the loft by 5.30pm, great service which cannot be matched. Mr Hull of Preston has sent us the first 2 of his 4 entries they are 2 cracking dark chequers bred in the purple, Blanefield lofts from Manchester have sent their 4 entries again very nice, 2 chequers, 1 cheq/pied and a nice blue, thanks to both fanciers for the support and for sending such well reared squeakers, these squeakers have been put in the weaning section until the morning, it was too late to vaccinate them, the will be jabbed in the morning, this is the best time, the birds then move about all day and this helps circulate the vaccine through the blood stream, when vaccinating old birds its good to let them have a fly after to get the blood pumping which helps the vaccine circulate.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

March 3rd

Hi everyone, its been a really busy weekend, I have been in Belgium sorting out the venture birds with Karl Hofkins & Chris Wynants, I also visited Herbots & The Natural Breeding station, I saw many fanciers from the UK & Ireland who had gone on arrange trips, at the home end Rob & Annette were in charge, on Saturday the first two fanciers to bring birds were the local partnership of Nuttall & Son, Derek & Ryan have been friends of mine for many years, I remember when I was in my prime boxing so to speak, a young kid walked into the gym aged only 8yrs, this was Ryan, it only took 5 minutes to assess that in this young kid we had something special, it is not often boxers show such promise for such a young age, the unfortunate thing was he could not box competitive until he was aged 11, so we thought he would find another interest, well to cut along story short, how wrong we were, Ryan had his first bout aged 11yrs, in just 3 years he became the School Boy Champion of England & Wales, now this is the highest accolade that any young boxer can achieve, so we were right Ryan was born with a gift, but just like myself when he reached 17yrs he thought he new best, no more boxing there were other things more interesting in life, I was there some years earlier, no doubt Deg his father said just as mine did, you have the world in your hands but you must be dedicated, ( just a little insight to one of the fanciers entering our race ) now as pigeon fanciers Nuttall & Son are a great team, last year they were 2nd NRCC, the youngsters they have put in our loft are superb.

The next fancier to bring squeakers needs no introduction to One Loft Racing, it was local fancier Mick Chadwick who bought 4 super birds which were very well reared, Mick has achieved much success in One Loft racing in the UK and also on the continent, then this morning the likely duo of Phil Rawson & loft manager Bruce bought 2 super squeakers, in 2013 Phil & Bruce won 1st & 3rd section racing with the National Flying Club, the syndicate name says it all S.A.S, all these birds have been through the traps, this evening D&A Smith rang and bought along a lovely squeaker to match any in the loft, many thanks to you all for putting such excellently reared birds in the loft.

The A Team flew well to-day but Rob had been a little too heavy with the corn yesterday, we had 5 sat looking at us for over 1 hour before going into the loft, I will bet that they are down and in tomorrow, The B team passed stage 2 to-day with flying colours, so all is well at the moment, it seams too good to be true.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

February 28th

Hi again, a great week for the birds in the loft, the A team are up in the sky flying 20 to 30 mins, most are still squeaking, none have been made to fly its been their choice, mind I am not complaining, we had one youngster gone for over 24 hours but to-day she returned trapping like a stone, this squeaker had done a fair few miles plus she endeavoured all the rain yesterday afternoon, we put her electrolytes on the feed plus a little of my special mix, she will be bouncing tomorrow, the B team have been through the traps now 4 days running and they are pulling now to get at the traps, its surprising what a few peanuts can do, by Tuesday next week weather permitting they will be moved on to stage 2.

A few visitors turned up to-day, one was the man himself, the maestro from Mickley my fellow club mate Steve Williams, what can I say, in Steve you have a character who never ducks any competition, his birds love North East Winds, I have often in the past have called him North East Wind Willy, Steve has had some good results over the channel, the youngster he bought us was a nice cheq cock, we have more birds arriving over the weekend and the entries are coming in thick and fast, its getting more exciting by the day, my son Rob is doing a great job and Annette is good with the scraper, mind she very knowledgable when it comes to pigeons, total dedication from all of us.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

[willie reynolds]

March 31st

What a day, the loft is bouncing, last night we picked up 4 crackers from Mr National/Inter National Mark Gilbert, without a doubt here we have one of, if not the best loft in the UK to date, Mark houses some of the finest pigeons in the world to-day, he is a totally 100% dedicated fancier and he is one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet, also to-day The Over The Hill Gang co-ordinator the one and only Mr ( Midlands National ) Ron Dennett assisted by gentleman Dave Evans, the pair bought along the remainder of their entries, Ron and his son Nigel are without doubt top fanciers, not many fanciers will ever top the Midlands National averages two years running, in 2013 Ron was 2nd in our King of the Distance race from Saintes over 512 miles, we are so privileged to have a loft full of top quality pigeons.

Now for the birds, all the new entries in section one have been through the traps by hand, we have moved the venture birds and the birds which have been in the loft a week up a section, I did not exercise any of the birds to-day, I did not like how heavy the cloud has been, I am sure that anyone training yesterday or to-day will have had funny tosses, although it has been warm there was something telling me not to risk them, having convoyed for many years you tend to pick up certain aspects of the weather, I would not have liberated to-day so what was the point in turning out the babies.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

March 30th

Hi, another very pleasant day, we had more birds arrive, first it was a syndicate member from The Over The Hill Gang, Tony Mather bought along 2 cracking squeakers, Tony excels over the water and has won many times, he has some excellent long distance birds, anyone looking for good hard day birds would not go far wrong with Tonys birds, next it was the G&P syndicate two good long distance local fanciers, Harold Griffiths & Mark Palmer, both these guys race really well from over the pond, both have won Gold Medals and put up some great performances, next it was the 5 amigo's from up ay Armthorpe, in this syndicate are two very good fanciers who clearly new what they were talking about, they were very impressed with the set up and again the attention to detail, I must add that all the syndicates bought along some cracking youngsters.

Tonight is the squeakers first day on the Darkness, just as I did when I was racing we never put our birds on the Dark until the clocks were put forward, the birds were also only left on the dark for 4 weeks, going to the longer races most held 8 flights and we never had a problem with them moulting and all raced exceptionally well as yearlings, with the one loft birds I will be doing things a little different because they won't be raced as yearlings so no rush to get them through the moult. I am sure that most of you have taken advantage of the good weather to get your birds down the road, racing started this week for some but I think most won't start until the 19th of April, we would like to wish all clubs, federations & fanciers all the best for 2014.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

March 29th

A great day to-day with the weather being superb, the birds were in the aviary basking in the sun, I completed all the sections to-day ready for darkening the lofts tomorrow, all the birds have been either through the traps or have flown, we won't be having them out again anymore on Saturdays because of the amount of racers passing through, I am holding back the A & B team, what I mean by this is, I am only feeding them to fly 30 minutes, if we wanted we could give them a mix which would give them the energy to fly and fly, we need them another month flying around the loft, then its time for them to start roaming and this is when they will learn how to come home, tomorrow will be much the same as to-day, we plan to seed the new area in front of the loft tomorrow, on Friday we had two very nice blue youngsters arrive from George the owner of Saltire Couriers.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

March 27th

Hi, a good day to-day, all the birds which arrived over the weekend have now been through the traps 3 days running, I was in Belgium on Sunday picking up the venture birds, also I went to the Natural Breeding station to collect 300 birds. It was whilst i was at the breeding station that I had a phone call from none other than Andre Roodhooft asking if he could bring along a couple on entries for our race, now here we get no better, I think king of Antwerp no less than 25 times, Andre is probably the best pigeon fancier ever to come from Belgium, the 2 youngsters he gave me were superb, I was absolutely gob smacked, I also picked up birds on my way home for the Dare Devils syndicate these came Caversham the home of Mr Roger Lowe another top top pigeon man.

On Sunday at the home end Mantle Bros bought along their 4 entries, these Guys live up in the hills of Buxton but they can really race a pigeon, in 2008 the partnership won our federation Grand National Race from St Malo, this got them a cool £10,000, there wonder pigeon Bright Eyes is a twice winner from Messac in the NMCC, not many birds can do this, in 2012 they won the NMCC young bird race from Carentan, Mantles really do have some good pigeons and of coarse they know how to race them, Mr Dyer from Pontefract also bought along his entries and a nice little kit they are, on Monday I picked up the first birds from the Emerald Isle, Jos Reillys team Ireland, Jos has put up some great performances in the SCMMPR, he has some absolute superb pigeons, the 12 that I picked up were testimony to the quality, next I picked up 4 cracking youngsters from another One Loft specialist partnership Hennie and Anette Kallmeyer, I did feel a little guilty taking Anettes little stars, next it was up to the North to collect 4 beauties from the Cookstown Sizzlers, this partnership won the NCC one loft race in 2013, they have also raced very consistent in every One Loft race they have entered, as you can see from the birds we already have in the loft, this race is going to be something really special.

I bought back 30 ventures from Belgium, 5 of these were sold by Tuesday to the Phoenix Parade Syndicate, we do have 25 cracking venture birds left for sale at £200 each, 10 of these are from Karel & Tom Hufkins from Geel, we have 15 from the super star Kris Wynants, I was given a good selection at both lofts to take my pick from and I think we have some absolute beauties.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins

March 26th

Just a short note to say we have had many birds arrive over the last 4 days, i will update everything by 9.00pm tomorrow night, what I will say is all are absolutely cracking squeakers, whilst I have been in Belgium, Rob & Annette have done a super job, to-day it was back to work, the A team flew superb, the B team are well on their way and all the others were all put through the traps, its all to good to be true at the moment. The venture birds are now on the web site, I hope to have some pictures early next week. The TauRIS ETS system has arrived and will be installed early next week, so again its all systems go.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins

March 20th

Not much to report at the moment, the A team have not been exercised to-day, the wind has been very strong and although they are flying well we are not prepared to turn them out in such conditions, we have plenty of time and all is going to plan, the B team are trapping superb, they will be moved up 2 sections in the loft over the weekend, the C team have again been through the traps, we will be going through them over the weekend, some of the stronger ones will be moved into the B team section, all of the birds in section one have now had their 2nd injection and look a picture, I have been in the loft most of the day preparing it for the darkness system, we will be darkening all the birds on Sunday 30th March, the partnership of B.Potts & Son bought along their 4 entries, they are really nice and are the perfect age, the sire to one of the youngsters has flown France no less than 19 times, the partnership commented on what an excellent set up we have with much attention being given to the finer details, also they was saying how the peregrine is decimating their team of birds, I am hearing this more and more, its not so much the sparrow hawk is now the peregrine which is a menace to us.

I will be over in Belgium on Sunday picking up the venture birds, we hope to have them on the web site by Saturday, reports are that they are fantastically well bred, there will be 5 Lambrechts amongst them, these have been sourced from a fancier in Geel who purchased the top 5 stock pairs at Lambrechts clearance sale, trust me we have really pushed the boat out to get these youngsters, I will be calling at Herbots to collect some Herbo mineral, this grit is a great product it has everything in it.

The TauRIS Derby One Loft ETS system will be installed by next weekend, I have heard a few comments stating to quote, its O.K for them to put ETS rings on their birds they cost them nothing, how wrong these comments are, although I am TauRIS in the UK & Ireland, we have had to pay for our rings, what is different here is we will not penny pinch, we must monitor the birds in the loft, this way if birds go missing I can contact the owners and ask for replacements, no other One Loft will do this.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins

March 18th

The weather to-day has been miserable, intermittent heavy showers, we did managed to exercise the A team this afternoon and they are batching superb, I am however keeping them a little tight of the feeding side, if we put them on our special mix now they will fly for hours and roam all over, we have to be careful they don't latch onto a batch of trainers, we need another 4 weeks before we start pushing them, the birds will be stronger by then, the B team had test 2 again to-day and every bird trapped superb, the C team were again put through the traps, after only 2 days they are really taking to our system, the cane is working great, its a shame its not still used in schools to-day, it did me no harm……...

We had visitors late last night, the syndicate of Smith & Pywell bought along their 4 entries, what can be said about Terry Smith & Partners, this is a team which has been at the top in our sport for many years, Terry has won just about everything, his Grandson appears to be as keen as Terry was years ago and still is to this day, Terry has topped the mighty Derbyshire federation scores of times and has also been the top loft scores of times, Tony Pywell the second half of the partnership races a really good pigeon over the channel, in 2011 Tony was 2nd in our federation Grand National Race from Falaise, the 4 squeakers they have entered are absolute gems, we are blessed, fanciers have given us some great tools its now up to us to make them work. We was visited to-day by the grue some two some, Fred Groom & Malc Parry, they bought along 2 more birds one for the Salt & Pepper syndicate the other for the Dazzling Boys syndicate, oh yes your right their you are Dazzling Boys, when Malcs about you want eyes up your backside, he does not miss a trick, but the banter we have is fantastic.

The federation squeaker sale on Sunday was a great success, 41 lots averaged £43.00 per lot, we grossed £1775.00, myself and Annette have decided to throw in £25.00 to make it up to £1800.00, I would like to thank everyone in the federation who kindly donated a youngster, plus all the fanciers who purchased squeakers, I wish you the very best of luck in 2014.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins

March 17th

Another great day at the lofts, the B team had stage 2 of their learning to-day, all but 1 bird passed no problem, my bets are that this one will also pass the test tomorrow, more birds arrived over the weekend, the first birds from the Channel Islands, Nigel Legg from Guernsey sent over the first 3 of his 6 entries, Nigel and Gary Mounant have formed the syndicate Guernsey Pidge, it was my father who first met Nigels father many years ago, I was over in Guernsey representing the England boxing team, my father saw some pigeons flying around and of coarse he had to go and find the loft, ever since then we have kept in touch, Nigel has put up some great performances over the years, we must remember these guys train and race over the water every week, birds also came from ''the rovers'' syndicate this team is Ivan and Jean Sterling, two really lovely people with some great pigeons, I was unable to spend much time with Ivan as I was auctioning off the federation squeaker sale birds, my apologies Ivan, also birds from ''the burnsiders'' was sent down via G&R Couriers, 4 more nice youngsters a little young but they will be absolutely fine, we also pick up birds from Mr Gibson for the Somerset One Loft Race, they will be delivered tomorrow, all of Mr Gibsons squeakers were taken out of the box and had there own weaning section with clean water and the best breed & wean available 24/7, I know Terry won't like us keeping them over 24 hours, but unlike other couriers G&R Couriers have superb facilities this has been witnessed by Defra and many of the countries top fanciers when they have visited us, if you know what you are doing with pigeons whats the problem, trust me they suffer much less stress being taken out of the box then given food and water than they do travelling sometimes 48 hours plus with other couriers, I would like to comment that the 6 youngster heading to Somerset are absolutely fantastic and are a credit to Mr Gibson, lets hope they are done justice.

We had 2 more birds arrive to-day from the ''over the hill gang'' these had been bred by Monty Buxton, another of Derbyshires best flyers, Monty has won many 1sts over the years in strong competition and always supports local events, I must again thank everyone for sending us some great squeakers.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins

March 15th

A great day at the lofts, we moved the youngsters from the B Team into the A team the No1 section in the loft is now complete, after turning them out to-day it was great to see all of the birds strike up and fly, this was witnessed by Andrew Newton & his son who had bought along a pigeon for the S.A.S syndicate, Andrew is a previous Midlands National & NMCC winner, also to-day Wayne Kissane bought along his 4 entries, amongst the four was 2 absolute cracking reds, many many years ago I worked with Wayne at Shirebrook pit and although the work was hard we had some great times, the Kissane family are life long pigeon fanciers, I also remember visiting Waynes dad Terry Kissane loft in the early 80s, what a small world it is, Shirebrook is a hot bed for pigeon racing, when Shirebrook pit was open the village was booming, every Saturday night you was guaranteed great entertainment in the Drum, the only problem was you needed a crash helmet on, No all joking aside I had my best of the 32 years I was a miner at Shirebrook.

The youngsters which came into the lofts last Sunday are now in the B team section, they have all been through the traps 6 days running, on Tuesday weather permitting they will be moved onto stage 2, all the new arrivals was vaccinated with our dual purpose vaccine whilst the fanciers were present, they were then put through the traps. we have more birds arriving tomorrow.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

March 14th

Hi again, sorry we have had no update for a couple of days but Eckard Ruter the owner of TauRIS ETS has been over to visit us to discuss our requirements, we hope to have the ETS system installed by Monday the 24th of March, all is going well with the birds and as stated in my previous notes the B team are now trapping like stones, we have to-day filmed a short video showing the birds trapping, when uploading it all seemed to go well but you cannot yet view it on the web site, I have contacted Will who will take a look at this for us, on Thursday the Mylie-Jo syndicate from Sheffield bought along 2 cracking chequer youngsters and to-day Brian & Sue of the B&S Stone partnership have bought their two entries again absolute crackers, in 2011 this partnership won our federation Grand National from France such is the quality they house.

There is no doubt that in the loft we have some real quality squeakers and as the loft manager I feel very privileged to be in charge of such quality youngsters, all the corn has now arrived from Natural in Belgium courtesy of Alan Bamford who is an agent for Natural he is also the owner of Top Flight, myself and Rob had to hand ball 100 bags off the lorry. I intend by Monday to add the B team youngsters to the A team, this will complete Section 1 in the loft, many of the C team will be moved up into the B team section, most have now been through the traps 7 times by hand so its time for stage 2.

We have more birds arriving on Sunday & Monday, I will however be away from the lofts for a couple of hours on Sunday, this is because its Derby,Burton & District Federations breeder/buyer at Kilburn Miners Welfare, everyone is welcome and there will be some absolute cracking squeakers up for grabs, Rob and Annette will be holding the fort at the lofts.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins

March 10th

Hi everyone, another beautiful day to-day, the youngsters really enjoyed the sunshine, the A team were great, the B team a nightmare, this morning we moved birds from the C team into the B team section, we gave them their 2nd test this afternoon, all went well until it came to trapping them, I have to hold my hands up I was a little too heavy with the corn tin yesterday, 7 sat looking at me for 2 hours, I remember a few did this in the A team but now they trap superb, I will lay bets that they don't sit looking at me tomorrow, there is only one way the gaffer youngsters and that is with their stomach.

More squeakers arrive to-day when Butcher Bill bought over his 4 entries, this is the syndicate of Mr & Mrs Bill Foulstone, what can I say, in Bill and his lovely wife Carol you have two of the nicest and kindest people we have ever met in pigeons, they make a great team with Carol being as keen as Bill, the partnership race a really good pigeon at both club and National level, in 2007 they produced an amazing performance in our Grand National Race, they had all 5 entries in the first 15, taking 2nd, 3rd & 5th plus winning a cool £15,000, both Bill and Carol were impressed with the loft set up and commented of what a brilliant flight we had on the loft with much thought having been put into the finer details, the squeakers were again well reared and in top order, we vaccinated them whilst the partnership was present, later the C team were all put through the traps. We finally managed to get the rough ground in front of the lofts rotavated, we will sow the grass seed at the end of the month, Annette had her new toy arrive to-day, all last year she managed with an old out of date tractor mower with the help of my son Rob, time and time again he mended the thing, this year he vowed that any trouble with it and that was it, well she tried to take a cut to-day the mower lasted 5 minutes, so that was that, I went straight to the mower shop and a new tractor mower arrived this afternoon, within 10 minutes she was happy as larry, the first cut done within the hour.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins

March 9th

What a cracking day weather wise, plenty of visitors to the loft, our first birds came to-day from up in the mighty North East, G&R Couriers picked up birds in Newcastle at 3.00pm yesterday, we had them vaccinated and in the loft by 7.00am this morning cost just £20, these 4 crackers were from long distance fanciers who are known as The Sportsman Team syndicate, next we had the syndicate of Prince Bishops these were the birds of my good friends Wayne Chapman, Colin Dodds & Ian Lamb ( Lamb Brothers ) who had travelled down from Durham with their 4 entries, again very nice kit of squeakers, I spoke in depth with the lads about the way we will be racing the birds, Wayne then assisted me in putting the C team through the traps, Wayne also picked up the first of 16 entries from the Over The Hill Gang, these had been bred by A.& W Rose of Worksop, don't be fooled by the syndicate name, I know the fanciers involved in this syndicate and trust me they can all fly pigeons winning not just at club level but National, you will note on the ring list page I have 16 entries down, ring numbers will be added as birds for this syndicate arrive at the lofts. Entries and interest is brilliant on paper we now have 563 entries obviously these are not all paid in full, but as stated no birds will be allowed into the lofts unless they are fully paid, we unlike other one loft races don't have and will not be having ridiculously small deposit reserve your or place or perch space so to speak, you the fanciers who have entered need to know on May 3rd exactly what prize money is up for grabs, lets hope we reach 1000 birds and hit the £50,000 first prize jackpot, remember all monies will be paid out on the day. I have just practiced uploading a couple of pictures all seems OK so we will have more pictures on the site tomorrow, we will probably attempt a video of the A team Trapping.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile

March 7th

I will start with an update from around the loft, we moved the B team into the A team section this morning, all went well, birds were out for 30 minutes and all went through the traps brilliant, we moved most of the birds from the C team into the B team section again they were all put through the traps, we then had more birds arrive, Ian workman bought over his other 3 entries, all are absolute beauties, next was the maestro himself Steve Williams bought the second of his four entries another beautiful chequer both the sire and the dam are winners from Saintes 512 miles, D&A Smith arrived this evening with their reserve entry another well reared youngster.

Now a little news from the family, as many know we sold all our birds to concentrate on running a One Loft Race, we are really enjoying the challenge, although it is very hard work, we don't have any outside help everything is done by the family, this being myself, Annette my wife & my son Robert, I am sure other One Loft managers appreciate me saying its hard work, but you only get out of life what you put into it, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all other One Loft Races the very best and we hope your race is successful in 2014.

Until Next Time Remember He Who Dares Wins Smile