what do you look for?

[Zwols pigeons]

much the same for myself was going up the club before i could walk, by the time i was 8 i was chalking the baskets, by 10 i was on the ringer, at 11 i was getting the rubbers out of the clock on the Saturday, at 12 years old the proudest moment when one of the fanciers who later was to become my father in law, said get off that ringer and come and mark my birds, you handle them better then most of the adults. lol.

from that night on i was always marking the pigeons, then going with the truck to take them to the transporter and when i got back 2 or 3 of the members used to buy me a pint even through i was only 12/13 years old.

Friday night most stayed until the bar shut and by the end of the night bets were flying around from £5 out to £50 (keep in mind this was in the mid 1980's. one night there was even a £500 bet, pigeon over pigeon between the 2 aces at the time. interesting the 2 pigeons in question ended up 1st and 3rd combine birdage would have been around the 4,000 mark at the time.

every Saturday evening after clocks somewhere between 5 and 10 members would go out for a Indian meal. always with the wife's as well and of course me as well.

no wonders i was hooked on pigeon racing so early in life and have never missed a season all my life, with Beer and curry from the age of 12