English old Articles
Good to know part 1
Sometimes people have questions that should really not be questions at all but obvious things that you ought to know as a pigeon fancier. People have no idea how easy it sometimes is to solve a problem. I"m going to list some things that could be of help.
The X factor
It was the football World Cup, the match was Brazil v Holland and the English newspaper "The Guardian" said that Holland had achieved one of the most extraordinary comebacks ever.
Will he do it, or not?
Whatever kind of sport you practice, for the man, the team (or the animal!) it"s the form on the day plus a dose of luck that determines the result. Obviously, quality is a basic requirement, but quality alone is not enough.
Help my babies do not train
"Help, my youngsters do not train". You can only race youngsters successfully that train spontaneously round the loft. If they do not, they are not even fit for short training tosses.
Appearances are deceptive
"Look, that is what I call racing pigeons" I said to my fellow sportsman. And I pointed at a result sheet of a race from Quievrain, 105 kilometres. The "brothers B" had won 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. They had four birds in the race only.
I Cannot Stand It
"Champion days" and such like are not my thing. I don"t begrudge others their pleasure during the quiet season, but I want something different at that time of the year.
Blackpool and other things
It was some years ago, but I still remember. I was in Blackpool, together with 40,000 (?) others. At least, that"s what it said; 40,000 was probably exaggerated but even half of that is a lot.
All kinds
The winner from Montlucon, 500 kilometers, "made" 1,100 meters per minute into a brisk, north easterly wind.
The story of a wonder pigeon
The story of possibly the best pigeon I have ever come across, the "05" from Janus V, goes back to my youth. Our whole street, except two, kept pigeons. No less than 13 people.
The magic stick and something more
What is more annoying than pigeons that are scared? Maybe pigeons that do not trap after a race. I hate pigeons that are scared and that try to escape whenever the fanciers wants to grab them.
Special people
Does your wife, your neighbour, your friend, your father or son also find pigeon fanciers special people? Tell them they are right, we are kind of special indeed.
Foreign fanciers watch out
Making money in the pigeon sport you do mainly through selling. There"s nothing wrong with that, I do it as well, but you might expect the seller not to tell lies and to try and deliver quality.
The power of chance
They are sometimes very small things that can have huge consequences. This can happen in a negative sense (think about being at the wrong time in the wrong place) but the reverse is also true. I am thinking in particular of certain super pigeons.
In conversation with Verkerk
This time I would like to introduce father Gerard Verkerk and son Bas. Bas is a phenomenon. At the age of 22 he already had an Olympiad bird. In 2014, at the age of 37, he is the best of Holland at long distance.
The ultimate test
We all know that good pigeons are not enough to be a successful racer. Something else is needed as well. It is just as important as quality, or� even more! What I mean is condition.