October 2012

5 October

Not quite sure where this year has gone, its now October a couple of weeks before my first judging engagement and three weeks before my first show outing of the season. Plans for my club show (and my first outing) are coming together well, entries have started to trickle in already, catering and refreshments have been arranged, front covers for the catalogue printed, rosettes due to arrive this week, all the show stationary is in hand. It's surprising just how much work goes on behind the scenes of the shows, which then opens to the public for a few hours and everyone seems desperate to lift and head home!.

Have some visitors coming over the next few weeks from all four corners of the UK and Ireland and Italy, looking forward to meeting up with people again over the show season. As for the birds, well they're taking shape nicely, I have a great routine that involves an early start on a saturday morning and the help of my youngest daughter, when it comes to spraying birds she's an expert!. Birds are getting a thorough drenching on a saturday morning with a mixture of boiling water (it comes out in a fine spray so is never too hot when it gets the birds) and plume spray, I run them into cages to give them a spray then let them go back into their stock cages.

Hoping to put out a strong and big team at our show at the end of the month, although there's one or two birds that i really like that i just don't think will be ready so they won't go out until North of England. I'm hoping to get to show at 5 specialist shows this year, in addition to the 3 i'm judging, of course much will depend on the birds and trying to balance the family life.

I still haven't managed to check my show cages yet, but I'm off early next week so i'll see what state they're in and how many i've got of top quality (hoping around 30 to be honest - but so much has happened in the last year I'm not sure how many are top class!). Still onwards and upwards - more video coming up after the show and the DVD will be available in January now!

16 October

Well i've finally got round to having a look at my show cages, which was timely as i was making plans for my first show!, I have 31 in total, all in very good condition, although they'll need a wipedown and buff up having been in storage for almost 12 months. I think - due to the fact i'm in for a busy busy weekend that i'll limit my team to 22 for the North West show.

Entries for the show are coming in steadily now - i expect there to be a flood over the next few days as people have a habit of leaving things until the last minute!, its not until you walk in the shoes of a general and show secretary that you realise how much work goes on behind the scenes. Rosettes for our club show are due to be delivered tomorrow, shields are on order and i've had my dear mother (who will kill me for saying this but is in her late 60's) out to the shops today picking up a couple of Turkey bastors to take the water out of the drinkers for the show.

Before our show on the 28th I'm judging Cleveland this weekend, which i'm looking forward to, be good to see some quality birds out on the bench, and will also give me an idea of the overall standard for the year. I'll try and take some video of the show and post it up!

24 October

30 October 2012

What a mad couple of weeks!, had the pleasure of judging Cleveland Border & Fife club, Fife section with Jeff Hamlett, some really nice birds out in both champion and novice sections, then we had the North West show which, given the feedback from some of the exhibitors, was a great success. As well as holding the position of general and show secretary it was also the first outing for the birds this year, with an entry of 686 and some of the top men competing i was absolutely thrilled with the performance of the team, I'd taken 21 birds for their first outing of the season and ended the day with three class wins, 5 seconds, 6 thirds 2 4ths a 5th and a 6th, so all bar 3 of the team in the cards!.

To top my day off i won best champion variegated (a champion colour special i hadn't won) and 2nd best champion cinnamon (again i haven't won a cinnamon special), my variegated yellow hen was third best champion variegated in show and a self green yellow cock was 3rd best champion green in show. My clear birds did very well also, in the green classes i had 1-3 in one, 2nd in 2 others and 3rd in the fourth, my heavily variegateds also performed well and my allied to white birds did ok too, one of the most pleasing though was my cinnamon special, which for me was a great marker down for how well the line has developed of late.

Didn't get to see much of my birds on the bench, indeed it was only when i lifted them, and then checked out the judges sheet that i realised how well they'd done! Also really please for John evans, the Novice from Bootle who's has a stud based completely on my birds, he won two colour, variegated and self green specials and 7th best novice in show.

Got plenty of judging engagements coming up so think the birds won't get out again until North of England now!.