NORTHERN B. S. NEWS

The society continues to meet and hold most of its meetings and shows in

THE BOWBURN COMMUNITY CENTRE, BOWBURN,

( Just off Junction 61 of the A1M)

Show Reports:-

NORTHERN BUDGERIGAR SOCIETY RARE SHOW 2008

The first show of the season! The prospect usually engenders feelings of apprehension, excitement optimism and pessimism in fairly liberal portions – the officers of the show consider the possible entry, while the exhibitors are more likely to ‘nibble their nails’ as to how their first team will fare. The Northern Budgerigar Society’s 2008 event was no exception. In fact, the reality was a show with a good entry for such a ‘limited appeal’ event , a total of 33 exhibitors combining to give a display of 314 benched exhibits (with an additional 21 entries not sent.

The judging team could not have been either more appropriate, or prestigious: over the years, both Ghalib and Janice Al-Nasser have worked tirelessly to promote interest in the rarer varieties of budgerigars, through the various Specialist societies and their work in “spreading the word” about the fascination and enrichening qualities of the many varieties from which fanciers and potential fanciers can choose – and they are to be congratulated on their success! Certain Special varieties such as the Albinos, Lutinos, Dilutes and more latterly, Spangles have been able to ‘hold their own’ on the show bench for years, taking major special frequently along the way, but the more recessive, colourful varieties have proved very difficult to bring up to ‘Normal’ Show standard and are thus generally unable to compete for high awards.

It is therefore good that those whose interests are these rarer varieties are able to bring their chosen variety to shows such as this, where each variety is treated and judged on its own individual merits, and where there is more scope for fanciers to concentrate on the essential features which make up their chosen variety, rather than have to strive wholly for the features which will bring birds within reach of that coveted “Best in Show Award”.

The use of the “Colour Line- up” also comes very much into its own, as the publication of full results allows specialist fanciers to mark the progress of their stud through the results attained year by year. For example, a high placing in the Colour line-up should be encouraging to Beginners, Juniors and Novices who are competing with folk who have been experts in their field for a longer time.

Specialist & Rare Variety shows thus have a valuable role to continue to play in this respect, as well as giving fanciers of the more popular varieties the opportunity to increase their knowledge of varieties which, in a far more poorly-informed age, were dismissed as ‘joeys’ and paid scant respect by exhibitors and judges alike.

And so, at this special show, they received the meticulous attention that every variety deserves. How else should it be, if we are to be able to continue to boast that the budgerigar fancy has something to suit all tastes?

And the results? Well, it must fairly be stated that the South Shields partnership of Marshall & Shotton had something of a ‘Field day’, taking a number of certificates and high placings, as also did “the Old stager” Charlie Bowman, while the successful Beginner partnership of Ray & Barbara Blakemore took both leading specials (and, of course, the certificate) for Lutinos, which was one of the most strongly competed of the colours.

Otherwise, the awards were fairly well spread out so that most fanciers were left with something to cheer about!

BEST OF COLOUR/CHALLENGE CERTIFICATES RUN DOWN: -

LUTINO Best R & B Blakemore 2^nd Marshall & Shotton 3^rd (Best Opposite Sex AA) A Carr 4^th (Best Young Bird) R & B Blakemore 5th Marshall & Shotton 6^th J Wanless 7^th R Toon 8^th Marshall & Shotton 9^th (Best Opposite Sex YB) 10^th Herring Bros 11^th A Carr

ALBINO Best Herring Bros 2^nd (Best Young Bird) Marshall & Shotton ^rd (Best Opposite Sex AA) Herring Bros 4^th R Toon 5^th A White 6^th R Toon 7^th A White 8^th Miss C Forrest 9^th (Best Opposite Sex YB) J Kimber 10^th Herring Bros 11^th Miss C Forrest 12^th R Toon

YELLOW-WING Best 5-1 Marshall & Shotton 2^nd J Higley 3^rd W A Kyle(Best YB) 4^th (Best Opposite Sex AA) J Higley 5^th (Best Opposite Sex YB)1 A Hoskins 6^th A Hoskins 7^th W A Kyle 8^th D Adcock 9^th D Adcock

WHITEWING Best Marshall & Shotton 2^nd (Best Opposite Sex AA) Marshall & Shotton 3^rd (Best Young Bird) Marshall & Shotton’s Skyblue Hen 4^th W A Kyle 5^th A White 6^th A Hoskins 7^th A Hoskins 8^th (Best Opposite Sex YB) W A Kyle 9^th A Hoskins 10^th J Higley

CREST OR TUFT Best J Hunter 2^nd J Hunter 3^rd (Best YB)J Hunter 4^th (Best Opposite Sex AA) A White 5^th (Best Opposite Sex YB)A White

SPANGLE Best D Creighton 2^nd L Pennick 3^rd (Best Opposite Sex AA) L Pennick 4^th P Redford 5^thMarshall & Shotton 6^th R Thwaite 7^th (Best YB) P Redford 8^th (Best Opposite Sex YB)Marshall & Shotton 9^th R Thwaite 10^th J W Huddart 11^th L Pennick 12^th L Pennick 13^th A Hoskins 14^th J Wanless 15^th Miss K French 16^th D Fishwick

DOMINANT PIED OR CLEARFLIGHT Best C L Bowman 2^nd (Best Opposite Sex AA) C L Bowman 3^rd D Lowes 4^th R Fairhurst 5^th (Best YB) C L Bowman 6^th (Best Opposite Sex YB) C L Bowman 7^th P Redford 8^th A Forrest 9^th P Redford 10^th A Hoskins 11^th D Creighton 12^th Miss C Forest 13^th R Fairhurst 14^th A Hoskins 15^thD Adcock 16^th D Adcock

RECESSIVE PIED OR DARK EYED CLEAR Best Marshall & Shotton 2^nd (Best Opposite Sex AA) A Hoskins 3^rd Marshall & Shotton 4^th A Hoskins 5^th A Hoskins 6^th (Best YB)L Chadwick 7^th (Best Opposite Sex YB) J Prothero 8^th A Hoskins 9^th J Prothero 10^th A Hoskins 11^th A Hoskins 12^th D Creighton 13^th W M Brown

YELLOWFACE Best (& Best YB) Marshall & Shotton 2^nd (Best Any Age) D. Adcock’s Opaline Grey Cock 3^rd (Best Opposite Sex YB) D Adcock 4^th R Toon 5^th (Best Opposite Sex AA) D Adcock 6^th R Fairhurst 7^th Miss C Forrest 8^th R Toon

RARE VARIETY Best French & Ratcliffe 2^nd W M Brown 3^rd A Hoskins 4^th (Best Opposite Sex AA) A Hoskins 5^th (Best YB)French & Ratcliffe 6^th (Best Opposite Sex YB) A Carr 7th A Carr

ANY OTHER COLOUR Best C L Bowman’s Cock 2^nd (Best Opposite Sex AA) D Adcock 3^rd Marshall & Shotton 4^th P Redford 5^th A Hoskins 6^th (Best Young Bird) Herring Bros’ Olive Cock 7^th (Best Opposite Sex YB) J Prothero 8^th Marshall & Shotton 9^th A Carr 10^th A Hoskins 11^th P Redford 12^th A Hoskins 13^th W A Kyle 14^th A Hoskins 15^th N Phillips 16^th A Hoskins

Commenting on the show, Ghalib Al-Nasser said that he was very impressed by the number of entry, and further still by the quality of exhibits. All the Certificate winners that he had selected came in for generous praise, and he and Janice spent most of the afternoon in the company of our members - a gesture which was much appreciated, especially as they had a long way to travel home.

The results duly confirmed by the judges, the show was set up to receive visitors, and it was interesting and encouraging to note that among the folk assembling was a good number of our members who had not shown. We hope that the success of this show will rub off and some of those absent friends will be able to support some of the classes in 2009………...but, of course, before that we have our main Club Show to look forward to.

………..and it would be very remiss to fail to pay tribute to the gallant band of members who turned up to ensure that all departments of the show ran smoothly. Particularly was this so with our marvellous ladies, led by Ann Cairns, who supplied us with lunches and refreshments throughout the day

NORTHERN BUDGERIGAR SOCIETY RARE SHOW 2007

Another great result for the N.B.S! The society’s 3^rd Specialist and Rare Varieties show held on Sunday 8^th July, returned a record entry of 416 birds, of which 355 were actually benched, thus by far exceeding last year’s encouraging total. The event was again held in the Bowburn Community Centre, Bowburn, Durham, which as most fanciers will know is the headquarters of the society.

As well as strong support from the Northern BS, we were delighted to welcome fanciers from both north and south of our area, and especially Bill and Lyn Bancroft who spent the day with us and were rewarded with major awards with their birds.

The show additionally hosted the 3^rd Regional Show of the Clearwing Budgerigar Breeders Association, and a total of 46 entries were entered in the Clearwing classes – another good increase.

The awards were placed by Donald McCallum and Peter Thorne, who completed their task with quiet confidence and aplomb, selecting the winners as follows

BEST OF COLOUR AWARDS

LUTINO Best Herring Bros 2^nd P Brunskill (Nov) 3^rd P Brunskill 4^th P Brunskill(BestYoung Bird) 5^th D Creighton (Best Beginner) 6^th P Brunskill 7^th D Adcock 8^th J T Lund Best Champ YB) 9^th C L Bowman 10^th 801-1 11^th A Pegram 12^th J T Lund 13^th D Creighton 14^th A Pegram 15^th D Creighton

ALBINO Best J T Lund 2^ndD Cowie (Best Novice) 3^rd J T Lund 4^th Marshall & Shotton 5^th A White (Best Beginner) 6^th Herring Bros 7^th D Creighton 8^th D Fishwick 9^th Miss C Forest(Best Junior) 10^th 704-1

YELLOWWING Best W S & L Bancroft 2^nd W S & L Bancroft 3^rd J Higley (Best Novice) 4^th D Adcock 5^th J Higley 6^th W A Kyle(Best Intermediate) 7^th J Higley 8^th D Adcock 9^th W A Kyle 10^th W A Kyle

WHITEWING Best W A Kyle 2^nd W S & L Bancroft 3^rd A Hoskins 4^th Marshall & Shotton 5^th D Adcock 6^th W A Kyle 7^th T Thompson 8^th A White 9^th G Grist 10^th J Higley 11^th J Higley 12^th R & B Blakemore 13^th W A Kyle 14^th A Hoskins

CREST Best J Hunter 2^nd J Hunter 3^rd G Grist (Best Young Bird) 4^th J Hunter 5^th J Hunter 6^th J Hunter 7^th A White 8^th T Thompson 9^th G Grist 10^th R Fairhurst 11^th G Grist 12^th G Grist 13^th G Grist

SPANGLE Best P Redford 2^nd Rogerson Bros 3^rd W S & L Bancroft 4^th R Thwaite 5^th A Hoskins 6^th T Thompson 7^th W S & L Bancroft 8^th A & A Forest 9^th Rogerson Bros 10^th J Fairbridge 11^th Miss K French 12^th J Fairbridge 13^th N Phillips 14^th R Thwaite 15^th P Redford 16^th S Conlin 17^th S Conlin 18^th J Fairbridge 19^th P Redford 20^th P Redford

DOMINANT PIED Best A Hoskins 2^nd Ross & Chadwick 3^rd P Redford 4^th R & A Graham 5^th A & A Forest 6^th C L Bowman 7^th C L Bowman 8^th W S & L Bancroft 9^th J Fairbridge 10^th D Fishwick 11th C L Bowman 12^th Miss K French 13^th a & A Forest 14^th Miss K Frnch 15^th D Fishwick 16^th R & M Blakemore 17^th J Higley

RECESSIVE PIED Best W S & L Bancroft 2^nd Marshall & Shotton (Best Young Bird) 3^rd D Creighton 4^th W S & L Bancroft 5^th A & K Richards 6^th A Hoskins 7^th A Hoskins 8^th W S & L Bancroft 9^th A Hoskins 10^th S Conlin 11^th J Prothero 12^th A Hoskins 13^th A Hoskins

YELLOWFACE Best Marshall & Shotton 2^nd D Adcock 3^rd Marshall & Shotton 4^th G Hall 5^th D Creighton 6^th P Fairbridge 7^th Marshall & Shotton 8^th P Brunskill 9^th P Brunskill 10^th P Fairbridge

RARE Best French & Ratcliffe 2^nd G Hall (Best Novice) 3^rdR & A Blakemore(Best Beginner) 4^th T Thompson 5^th Marshall & Shotton (Best Champion)

ANY OTHER COLOUR Best Herring Bros 2^nd T Thompson (Best Intermediate) 3^rd J Prothero 4^th P Redford 5^th WS & L Bancroft 6^th G Hall 7^th A E Wood 8^th D Adcock 9^th A Hoskins 10^th P Redford 11^th G Hall 12^th A Carr 13^th A White 14^th D Lowes 15^th T Thompson 16^th A Hoskins 17^th T Thompson 18^th G Hall 19^th J Fairbridge 20^th A Hoskins

Once the awards had been completed a presentation to the winners was made by Gordon Grist, President of the C B B A , who presented |Clearwing awards. Co-incidentally, among those to whom he made presentations were winners of other certificates and awards. It has to be noted that Gordon also did quite well with his own birds so it was a case of success all round

The thirty nine exhibitors were joined at the show by a number of other members and fanciers and this made for a very rewarding atmosphere throughout the day. It was particularly encouraging to note a number of new members helping with the running of the show.

…and what would we have done without the sterling efforts of Ann Cairns who once again kept judges , stewards, members and visitors well and truly fed and watered for the duration of the event,

All in all, this augurs well for the rest of the show season.

All in all, a very happy atmosphere throughout – one of the best NBS shows that I have witnessed.

NORTHERN BUDGERIGAR SOCIETY RARE SHOW 2006

Despite a very unfortunate clash with the National Rare and Special Varieties Show, the NBS’ second annual fixture of this nature attracted 28 exhibitors who produced an entry exceeding 300, of which some 282 birds were benched. This total greatly cheered the organisers, who had feared the worst in view of the very strong competition “down the road”.
All the more remarkable was this entry in comparison with the first show, in 2005, when it is considered that that first show included classes for all the normal varieties, and that this group was particularly well supported.

The awards were placed by Geoff Moore and Alan Michael.

Full Specialist & Rare Variety Patronage had been received from the Budgerigar Society, and appropriate Patronage was also received from The Northern BS, Lutino & Albino Breeders Society, Clearwing Budgerigar Breeders Association, Crested Budgerigar Club, Spangled Budgerigar Breeders Association, Rare Variety & Colour Budgerigar Society and the Variegated Budgerigar Club. There is no doubt that these prestigious awards did much to bring about the success of the show.

Challenge Certificate were awarded as follows:-

Lutino Best J T Lund’s powerful Lutino cock , 2^nd J T Lund (Best Opp Sex of Colour), 3^rd C L Bowman (Best Young Bird of Colour), 4^th P Brunskill, 5^th C L Bowman (Best Opp SexYoung Bird of Colour) , 6^th P Brunskill, 7^th Mrs E Ruffles

Albino - Best J T Lund’s much admired Albino Hen, 2^nd C L Bowman (Best Opp Sex of Colour) , 3^rd B Toon, 4^th D Cowie, 5^th Mrs A Carr, 6^th S Conlin (Best Young Bird of Colour), 7^th J T Lund (Best Opp SexYoung Bird of Colour)

Yellow-wing Best was a Dark Green Cock staged by Marshall & Shotton, 2^nd Marshall & Shotton (Best Opp Sex of Colour 3^rd,D W Adcock, 4^th Marshall & Shotton (Best Young Bird of Colour)

White-wing Best was Marshall & Shotton with a Skyblue cock, 2^nd D W Adcock

Crest or Tuft Best J Hunter’s Full Circular Opaline Grey Cock, 2^nd J Hunter (Best Adult of Colour) 3^rd J Hunter (Best Opp Sex of Colour), 4^th J Hunter 5^th Mrs E Ruffles 6^th Mrs E Ruffles (Best Opp SexYoung Bird of Colour)

Spangle Best were R & A Graham, with a strong Skyblue cock, (unfortunately, it could not take the certificate as the ring had been removed 2^nd P Redford, 3^rd Price & Winter (Best Opp Sex of Colour), 4^th A & K Richards 5^th Price & Winter 6^th J Fairbridge 7^th P Redford , Best Young Bird of Colour P Redford

Dominant Pied or Clearflight Best P Redford with a Light Green cock, 2^ndC L Bowman (Best Young Bird of Colour), 3^rdC L Bowman, 4^th S Conlin 5^th Price & Winter, 6th B Toon, 7^th R & A Graham (Best Opp Sex of Colour)

Recessive Pied or Dark-eyed Clear Best Marshall & Shotton’s big Cobalt cock, 2^ndMarshall & Shotton (Best Opp Sex of Colour), 3^rdMarshall & Shotton (Best Young Bird of Colour), 4^thJ Fairbridge, 5^thMarshall & Shotton (Best Opp SexYoung Bird of Colour), 6^th J Fairbridge, 7^th A & K Richards

Yellow Face Best J Fairbridge with a good Grey Cock, 2^nd P Brunskill (Best Opp Sex of Colour) , 3^rd A E Wood, 4^th B Toon (Best Opp Sex of Colour)

Rare variety Best G French’s Clearbody Grey Hen, 2^nd G French (Best Young Bird of Colour), 3^rd G Hall (Best Opp Sex of Colour), 4^th G Hall

Any Other Colour Best was Herring Bros’ White Blue Cock, 2^nd R & A Graham (Best Opp Sex of Colour), 3^rd Price & Winter, 4^th Marshall & Shotton, 5^th Herring Bros, 6^th G French 7^th C W Wright Best Young Bird - Marshall & Shotton, Best Opp SexYoung Bird of Colour - D Lowes

Once again, the day was enhanced by a cheerful team of caterers, led by Margaret Bowman who was present throughout. Various members had provided food for the “bun-fight”, which was greatly appreciated. Our thanks to all concerned.

So, the show proved a great success, not least because of the number of fanciers who showed, well augmented by a number of interested members whose bids could not be catered for in this classification. There was a surfeit of goodwill prevalent, and it was felt that this augured very well for the commencement of the show season proper, a mere two weeks ahead.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Northern B S Club Show 2006

For some, there was a degree of trepidation in the final approach to this annual event, held in our ‘Headquarters’ at the Bowburn Community Centre, Bowburn, Durham on Sunday,17 September 2006 largely Why the trepidation? - because this year, the show date had been put back to accord with the members’ wishes that we try the show nearer to the end of the show calendar, rather than our long-established fixture of the August Bank Holiday weekend. Many of us had expressed doubts about this move, myself included, because hitherto our show team has usually been well into the moult by mid-September.

In the event, all fears were allayed and a good entry was received: in fact it well surpassed last year’s entry, which had itself been surprisingly up on recent years. A total entry of 889 was received, of which some 688 were benched. The number of birds ‘not sent’ was thus a little disappointing and certainly represented a higher percentage than is usual at this event. Was this because more birds had, indeed, entered their annual moult? If so, how will the BS Club Show fare when it is staged even closer to October than this? Time will tell.

Despite the absentees, the judging team of M Ballard, D Folley, D Folley, and K Middleditch thus had their work cut out to complete their task in good time, especially with the increased procedures and paperwork that an Area championship show requires; the show committee will give serious thought to employing more judges next year.

This was an excellent show throughout and it had the best possible start from the time the staging arrived, because there was this year a more than adequate band of volunteers who offloaded and erected the staging in good time to receive the first entries – despite the fact that the first ones arrived slightly early!

Equally satisfying was the fact that a goodly number saw the show through to the end, helping to dismantle and pack away the staging for transportation, a task completed by the ever-reliable Ken Amos.

Bio-security measures were maintained throughout the show, under the watchful eye of Ron Fairhurst. It is easy, in these ‘quieter days’ to ignore these precautions, but we well know that they might well become more apparently important in the not-so-distant future.

As ever, the show secretarial side was in the more than capable hands of Norma Phillips, assisted by John Mason, who completed their work in good time to enable all prize money and specials to be paid out at the show.

Finally, our thanks once again to Ann Cairns who took control of the catering side and thus ensured that the stewards and other officials were able to maintain their energy through the long day!

Best in Show with their superb Violet hen were the partnership of R & M Miller, making their 2006 debut at a show in our area. This hen headed a strong and successful team which took other awards in both Novice Sections.

Another successful NBS partnership, Ray and Ann Graham took the award of Best Breeder in Show with a Greygreen Cock which has been equally successful at other shows in the area this year – a true showman

MAJOR AWARDS

Best in Show R & M Miller’s Violet hen

Best Any Age in Show R & M Miller’s Violet hen

Best Breeder in Show R & A Graham’s Greygreen Cock

Best Opposite Sex Young Bird R & A Graham’s Cinnamon Greygreen Hen

Best Opposite Sex Any Age C Vasey’s Dominant Pied Cock

Publicity Officer’s Report March 2007

When I sat at my desk to commence my usual column, I was at first at a loss as to what to write about; this was very soon dispelled however, because the answer is always, to some extent, “the same as last year”, so for those of you who kept last year’s edition, please start by reading the first three paragraphs !!

This said, before I go into a brief review of the last twelve months – my contributions to each of the three magazines for whom I write reports exceeded 7, 500 words over the year – I would repeat another of my favourite themes: that is, that the average person in the street has never heard of the budgerigar fancy

To illustrate this, I went into my local hardware shop recently and bought a pack of pets’ sawdust/shavings. The lady who served me asked me what pets I had and I replied “ Budgies – about 200 of ‘em ” . She was literally astonished to hear about anyone who breeds budgies and admitted that she only knew that “You buy them from pet shops”. I asked her how she thought they got into pet shops ? –the penny dropped! I then explained pointed out that this is becoming increasingly more difficult for folk to find pet birds (true) and that The Budgerigar Society hopes to do something to make budgies easy to find for all concerned with its Pet Breeders’ Register. Hopefully, by the time you read this, you will have heard more about this initiative.

The point is that if we want our society and fancy to grow – and there are numerous reasons why we should – we should all be trying to do something about it. The B.S is considering the introduction of other schemes to encourage members to introduce new fanciers to the society and thus the budgerigar breeding community. Again, we will hear more of this in the coming months.

So, let me review the twelve months since the last Spring Handbook, starting in May 2006 with extracts from those reports –not necessarily in strict chronological order:-

I reported our attendance at the Vintage Collectors’ Rally, an event which was unfortunately washed out by the weather. We have not tried a similar event since then, but I think that we should be on the look-out for such places where the public congregate and our presence will tell folk more about our hobby. Any volunteers to man such a stall? We have lots of material which we can use to make this both attractive and worthwhile

I also wrote about the advice we were given by Alan Harley in our quest for grants/sponsorship. Enquiries on this are still on-going and as you will know, at our AGM 2007 our Rules were changed to, hopefully, accommodate the new thinking of those bodies who can dispense largesse on behalf of the larger public.

Dennis Brown was speaker at our April meeting and gave us his views on a variety of topics, including the BS Club Show, comparing his management of the event, when there were thousands more entries, with several features of the current organisation. The May meeting of the society, saw a visit from that well known partnership of Richard and Michael Miller (even more well known since their success at the 2006 BS Club Show ) who made what was apparently their debut as speakers; they gave a very enjoyable and entertaining afternoon and answered many question on facets of what the fancy is to them.

We looked forward to the NBS CLUB our first show on the new date, and to the NBS SPECIALIST & RARE VARIETIES SHOW in July. Both shows wereproved a resounding success. Our own NBS Club Show ( which, in the event, was very successful,) but subsequently a result of the change of the BS Club Show date, we realised that our show date (new from this year) in September is “too near to Doncaster”, at only two weeks away, so we decided to revert to our former, regular date at the last weekend in August, for 2007. Meanwhile, I thanked all societies and shows who had supported our raffles at both the Rare show and for our Club show with donations of raffle prizes.

Finally, our thanks once again to Ann Cairns who took control of the catering side and thus ensured that the stewards and other officials were able to maintain their energy through the long day!

Earlier, I noted with considerable pleasure that the joint show of Darlington and Spennymoor BS, had resulted in a very greatly increased entry ; the largest entry that they had had for a number of years, at 658! “Is the fancy now firmly on the road back?” I asked. In the event, results throughout the rest of the show season were, largely, very good and we now look forward to continuing progress for 2007

Under SOCIETY REPORTS I mentioned that the budgerigar societies of Darlington & Spennymoor BS hadw amalgamated and launched its own website on www.communigate.co.uk/ne/darlingtonspennymoorbudgerigarclub - well worth a visit Sunderland BS reported that their website www.sunderlandbudgerigarsociety was being revised and would welcome suggestions

We also noted that Carlisle BS, also having decided not to hold a show this year, was now no longer holding monthly meetings, despite there being a number of successful fanciers in the area. The NBS meeting there in April was well attended and we looked towards a brighter future for this society?

The Fanciers’ Worksop in March had been a great success and well worth the endeavours of the organisers. Over thirty fanciers attend and this helped convince the committee that we should proceed with further events in the future. Incidentally, our successes with regard to our Open Meetings and Special Events has not gone unnoticed in BS and wider budgerigar circles. Hopefully, more Area Societies will move to emulate our successes, which will only make for a stronger fancy.

I reported on plans to replace our staging with a lighter version as we may have been carrying too much in the trailers, from time to time, and that in future – while we still use the heavier staging- all societies will need to take both trailers. On one of the hottest Fridays of the year so far, Dennis Cairns, Gerry Carr and myself formed a work party to reload the two trailers. The experience brought home to us that despite years of using this system, some societies still do not know how the trailers should be loaded to ensure the safety of the load and the driver. It is something that we will continue to preach to the unconverted, but meanwhile, my personal thanks to Dennis and Gerry who are the men who ensure that everything about the trailers is in good working order for our member societies show by show. The load in the trailers has been reduced, so that most shows will need two trailers for their show – perhaps only until the new staging is acquired.

The Northern BS celebrates its 70^th Anniversary this year and we are therefore planning to celebrate this milestone with a Convention. The date, Sunday 13^th May and have engaged excellent speakers, Maurice Powell and Frank Silva as the main attraction.

The venue is the same as we have used for similar functions in the past, The Ravensdene Lodge, Dunston, Gateshead. We anticipate that demand for tickets, which will include a Carvery lunch and Tea/Coffee in med-sessions, will be great. We therefore urge fanciers to book their tickets NOW. To older members such as myself, it is hard to appreciate that that venerable institution , the Northern Budgerigar Society which we joined in 1962 was, in fact, a mere stripling of some 25 years of existence. Indeed, when we had joined the Budgerigar Society in 1959, that august foundation was still a comparative youth with only 34 years experience to declare.

…Harder still to consider that at each of those two dates stories were already being told of fanciers who had become established as characters, and even ‘legends’, at whose passing folk would sadly shake their heads and declare that ‘we will never see the like of them again’ . Such a summary of the fancier lives of many fanciers has been made since then. It is said, nowadays more than ever, that there are no true modern day ‘characters’.

Somehow, though, as I look around as feel that there are many with us today, in their prime who WILL be spoken of in the future in such hallowed tones.

Our September meeting opened the ‘new season’ of Open meetings following the break for the show season. No doubt, much of the reason for the good attendance was Eddie Geary’s was presence as speaker. Always somewhat controversial, even when he was BS Chairman, he is always worth listening to and his forthright and in-depth replies to a variety of questions was both entertaining and thought-provoking.

This then, started a run of excellent talks which, sadly, many of our members missed. Dipping in to the list, the current BS Chairman Grant Findlay was our visitor in February of this year and he kept the meeting well informed on a series of topics.

Speakers for the remainder of the year are :-1st April Roger Carr, 6^th May Douglas Mathie, 3^rd June Dumfries & Galloway BS panel, 2^nd September, John Bell, 7^th October Geoff Tuplin, 4^th November Auction, 2^nd December Janice Al-Nasser (BS President)

We already have an extensive programme of speakers planned for the coming twelve months and beyond, and I would remind members that this is the only opportunity to hear these speakers in the Northern BS area, so why not make the Bowburn Community centre on the first Sunday in each Month, at 2:30 pm, a regular fixture in your diary? It really IS worth making the effort to attend, and will easily become a habit!

As our show season drew to a close,we looked back on what had been, in this area, a rather satisfactory year. All our shows had recorded a healthy increase in entries, so much so that the NBS is to hire an additional judge for 2007; long may this trend continue! There is still, of course, a long way to go before we get back to anything like the strength that we once enjoyed, but if more members can spare a little time to do some work actively promoting the fancy among friends and acquaintances, who knows what may yet be possible ?

Still on show matters, our Patronage Secretary, David Sedgwick, in reviewing his duties over the NBS Rares Show and the NBS Club Show, echoed his own concerens and also those held by shows patronage secretaries. We find it somewhat frustrating that, after paying patronage fees to Specialist and Rare Varieties shows, most of the rosettes “paid for” are not awarded and thus have to be returned at considerable expense through postage etc. The problem lies in the fact that, while those varieties are increasing in popularity, their breeders are not becoming members of those societies and the first prizes are going to ‘non-members’. We suggested that there must be a better and cheaper way of rewarding their members who breed these varieties – perhaps on a league table/points basis. It may be that the advantages of becoming members of specialist societies are not apparent to exhibitors. As a purely personal suggestion can those societies, perhaps, consider the award of occasional open specials of a year’s membership to ‘non-member’ certificate winners? Such fanciers may thus become members on a regular basis!

We await the Specialist Societies’ response to this, now that it has been published.

And, finally, the most recent report, due to be covered in “The Budgerigar” in May:--

NBS REPORT - MARCH 2007

So how is the breeding season going for YOU so far? In the Northern area we have, as ever, received mixed reports but, if anything, there appears to be more of optimism in the air than the reverse.

Our Annual General Meeting rather confirmed this feeling. Despite the fact that this was purely a business meeting, around thirty members attended to ratify plans for the coming year. Norma Phillips made reference to our continuing good attendances at this and our monthly open meetings, commenting that we have been well served by our secretary in booking so many very good speakers over the year. She welcomed the fact that last year, all available committee places had been comfortably and effectively filled and thanked the retiring President and Minutes secretary, and committee member Don Fishwick for their work for the society.

In their respective reports, the secretary and Auditor (B. Batey) reported that this has been a good year, all round, for the society. Membership has held up very well, in fact it has slightly increased to just under 200, so hopefully this will become the new trend. The society’s finances have matched this performance, showing a healthy growth over the year.

Officers elected are:-

President Bruce Ross

President Elect Ron Fairhurst

Chairman Norma Phillips

Vice Chairman Brian Batey

General Secretary &

Treasurer Roy Cooke

Assistant Secretary Bruce Ross

Minutes Secretary Liz Ruffles

Publicity Secretary Dave Herring

Show Secretary Norma Phillips

Committee D Alcock, B Blakemore, D Cairns, G W Carr, I Clarke, J Herring, J L Robertson and D Rowell

Show Committee As usual, ALL interested members are invited to sit on this committee, which usually meets immediately before the normal committee meeting on the third Monday in each month.

Avid readers of this column will detect a number of changes in this list and it is indeed exciting that so many fanciers have allowed their names to go forward for posts in the society this year. Could it be that eventually we will get to the happy situation of ‘One man-one job?’ We look forward to a year full of new ideas and initiatives!

NBS POINTS AWARDS The society continues to award trophies for Most Points on each of the sections accumulated over the Affiliated patronage shows in our area. Winners of those awards for the 2006 show season are:-

Best Champion Any Age and Young Bird R & A Graham

Best Intermediate Any Age and Young Bird Price & Winter

Best Novice Any Age and Young Bird L Pennick

Best Beginner Any Age and Young Bird C Vasey

Best Junior Any Age P Fairbridge

Best Junior Young Bird K French

Presentations of the trophies will be made at our Convention in May, and it this sparkling event will be upon us by the time this report is published. We are very optimistic about its success, for such has been the interest expressed so far in this venture that the committee has decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and book a larger room, with a view to selling more tickets. So, everything is prepared and all we need now is the presence of the speakers.

Honorary Life Membership was awarded to our valued Chairman/Show Secretary/Year Book editor of many years standing Norma Phillips. I cannot recall when such an accolade was better merited that this particular award and can only add my personal thanks to those bestowed by the membership on the day.

Still on the subject of awards, our Golden Bird award, presented annually for meritorious service was given unanimously to a long-standing member, Gerry Carr. Gerry has had a long, if broken, career in the fancy and has never (as far as I am aware) held an official position as such, but is one of those valuable folk who are always on hand to do practical, mechanical things for the fancy. Like Ken Godfrey, who transports staging for the society, Gerry has given great help to the society by firstly finding premises at which our staging and their trailers can be stored and he is on hand to help maintain those trailers, to attend to their security and open up the premises every time they are taken away for use and subsequently brought back, by local societies.

Rule Changes At the Annual General Meeting a complete revision of the rules, undertaken on behalf of the committee, was presented to the meeting and largely carried. These changes are designed to fit the society for acceptance in this modern age and to spell out our accessibility to all sections of the community and thus all who are interested in the husbandry of budgerigars. They make no change to the way we see our place in the community but hopefully will affect the way we are seen from outside. Additionally, it is felt that this will also help us in our quest for funding from outside sources, for which we currently have several outstanding applications.

Looking further to the future, the society is planning to hold another Open Day in 2008 which will, we hope be attractive to all fanciers. More of this later, but we invite all members to let us have their suggestion/ comments as to what they would like to see included in the programme. At the same time, they may wish to note that the society is also contemplating staging a Nestfeather show next year, and we will be urging their support for this. If we do decide to go ahead it will be a third NBS show in the year! The N.B.S is nothing if not progressive. Tell your friends !

At the same time, remind them that we continue to hold a monthly meeting on the first Sunday in each month, (except July,August (show season) and January, commencing at 2:30pm in the Bowburn Communityy Centre, Bowburn, Durham. We have a full list of speakers, usually from outside of this area , and an entertaining and informative afternoon is guaranteed

So, re-reading this, we have had a pretty full year, haven’t we ? Let’s hope that 2007/8 is even better!

Dave Herring

NBS Publicity Secretary

COLOUR AWARDS

Any Age

Normal Green Best L Pennick, 2^nd J W Huddart, 3^rd I Clarke, 4^th Price & Winter, 5^th Price &Winter, 6^th G Garcia, 7^th T Barrie

Normal Blue Best R & M Miller, 2nd R & M Miller, 3rd I Clarke, 4th D Farrell, 5th L Pennick, 6^th R & A Graham, 7^th A Proud

Greygreen Best T & A Luke, 2^nd Price & Winter, 3^rd A W Jennings, 4^th D Cairns, 5^th L Pennick, 6^th L Pennick, 7^th K French

Grey Best C L Bowman , 2nd D & J Adcock , 3rd R & M Miller, 4th G French, 5th S Wilson , 6th A E Wood, 7th A Pick

Opaline Green Best Price & Winter, 2^nd D Rowell , 3^rd Herring Bros, 4^th D Cowie , 5^th Herring Bros, 6^th D Farrell

Opaline Blue Best C L Bowman , 2^nd A Proud , 3^rd S Conlin, 4^th T & A Luke, 5^th D Cowie, 6^th D Farrell, 7^th D Fishwick

Cinnamon Green Best R & M Miller, 2^nd Marshall & Shotton , 3^rd P Abbs, 4^th J Wilson, 5^th P Abbs, 6^th A Proud, 7^th D Cairns

Cinnamon Blue Best R & M Miller , 2^nd T & A Luke , 3^rd L Pennick, 4^th D Rowell, 5^th G French, 6^th C Vasey, 7^th C Vasey

Opaline Cinnamon Best T & A Luke, 2^nd W Orr , 3^rd G French, 4^th D & J Adcock, 5^th C Vasey

Lutino Best K Fowler, 2^nd C L Bowman , 3^rd D Fishwick, 4^th R & B Blackmore, 5^th P Fairbridge,

Albino Best J T Lund , 2^nd Marshall & Shotton , 3^rd B Toon, 4^th D Farrel

Yellow Wing Best C Higley , 2^nd W Orr , 3^rd C Higley, 4^th W Orr, 5^th W A Kyle, 6^th W A Kyle, 7^th R & B Blackmore

White Wing Best C Higley, 2^nd Marshall & Shotton, 3^rd, W A Kyle, 4^th D Farrell, 5^th W A Kyle, 6^th W Orr, D & J Adcock

Crest or Tuft Best J Hunter, 2^nd J Hunter

Spangle Greens Best A E Wood, 2^nd D Rowell , 3^rd D Rowell, 4^th R Thwaite, 5^th A & K Richards, 6^th G French, 7^th C Washbourne

Spangle Blues Best R & A Graham , 2^nd T & A Luke , 3^rd Price & Winter, 4^th G Hall, 5^th L Pennick, 6^th S Conlin, 7^th D Fishwick

Dominant Pied Best C Vasey , 2^nd R & A Graham , 3^rd K Flint, 4^th C L Bowman, 5^th D Fishwick, 6^th R Fairhurst, 7^th C Washbourne

Recessive Pied Best Marshall & Shotton 2^nd J Prothero 3^rd J Fairbridge

Yellowface or Golden Face Best T & A Luke , 2^nd S Vickers, 3^rd W Winn, 4^th J Fairbridge, 5^th P Fairbridge, 6^th P Fairbridge

Rare Best G French , 2^nd G French , 3^rd G Hall,

AOC Best T & A Luke, 2^nd J Fairbridge , 3^rd T Barrie, 4^th G Hall,

Young Bird

Normal Green Best D Cairns , 2^nd T & A Luke , 3^rd Price & Winter, 4^th C L Bowman, 5^th C Paul, 6^th T Barrie, 7^th R & B Blackmore

Normal Blue Best Price & Winter , 2^nd R & M Miller, 3^rd Herring Bros, 4^th D Farrell, 5^th C L Bowman, 6^th T Barrie, 7^th C L Bowman

Greygreen Best R & A Graham , 2^nd L Pennick, 3^rd K Flint, 4^th R & A Graham, 5^th A & A Forrest, 6^th L Pennick, 7^th S Conlin

Grey Best T & A Luke 2nd C Paul, 3rd Price & Winter, 4th Price & Winter, 5th B Verity, 6th G French

Opaline Green Best Rogerson Bros, 2^nd D Farrell , 3^rd D Rowell, 4^th C Vasey, 5^th D Cowie, 6^th G Hall, 7^th L Pennick

Opaline Blue Best N Phillips , 2^nd C L Bowman , 3^rd W Winn, 4^th Price & Winter, 5^th Price & Winter, 6^th R Fairhurst, 7^th L Pennick

Cinnamon Green Best R & A Graham, 2^nd D Rowell , 3^rd L Pennick, 4^th P Abbs, 5^th R Fairhurst, 6^th A W Jennings

Cinnamon Blue Best T & A Luke, 2^nd L Pennick , 3^rd R Thwaite, 4^th D Rowell, 5^th S Wilson, 6^th S Vickers

Opaline Cinnamon Best T & A Luke , 2^nd L Pennick , 3^rd K Flint, 4^th A W Jennings, A W Jennings, 5^th C Higley, 6^th D Lowes

Lutino Best C L Bowman , 2^nd C Vasey , 3^rd C Vasey, 4^th J T Lund, 5^th D Cowie, 6^th D Cowie

Albino Best A Brown , 2^nd A Brown , 3^rd C Higley, 4^th S Conlin,

Yellow Wing Best C Higley, 2^nd W A Kyle , 3^rd W A Kyle, 4^th W Orr, 5^th W Orr, 6^th W Barrie

White Wing Best W Orr, 2^nd W Orr , 3^rd W A Kyle, 4^th C Higley,

Crest or Tuft Best J Hunter , 2^nd J Hunter ,

Spangle Greens Best R & M Miller , 2^nd P Abbs, 3^rd R & M Miller, 4^th L Pennick, 5^th K French, 6^th W Wilson, 7^th S Conlin

Spangle Blues Best L Pennick, 2^nd R Thwaites , 3^rd Price & Winter, 4^th T & A Luke, 5^th K Fowler, 6^th P Abbs, 7^th C L Bowman

Dominant Pied Best R & A Graham , 2^nd T & A Luke , 3^rd K French, 4^th R & B Blakemore, 5^th C Vasey, 6^th S Vickers, 7^th

Recessive Pied Best A Brown , 2^nd Marshall & Shotton, 3^rd

Yellowface or Golden Face Best T & A Luke , 2^nd T & A Luke , 3^rd W Winn, 4^th W Winn

Rare Best G French , 2^nd G French , 3^rd G Hall, 4^th A M Carr

AOC Best Marshall & Shotton, 2^nd Marshall & Shotton , 3^rd P McHale, 4^th G Hall, 5^th B Toon, 6^th P McHale

CERTIFICATES OF MERIT

Novice Any Age Lee Pennick Young Bird T Barrie

Beginner Any Age D Farrell Young Bird A W Jennings

Junior Any Age P Fairbridge Young Bird K French

SECTION AWARDS

CHAMPION ANY AGE Best C L Bowman, 2^nd T & A Luke, 3^rd Marshall & Shotton , 4^th R & A Graham

5^th C L Bowman, 6^th T& Luke, 7^th I Clark

INTERMEDIATE ANY AGE Best R & M Miller, 2^nd Price & Winters, 3^rd, R & M Miller, 4^th R & M Miller, 5^th R & M Miller 6^th Price & Winter, 7^th R & M Miller

NOVICE ANY AGE Best L Pennick, 2^nd L Pennick 3^rd L Pennick 4^th L Pennick 5^th G French 6^th A E Wood, 7^th C Higley

BEGINNER ANY AGE Best C Vasey, 2^nd A W Jennings 3^rd D & J Adcock 4^th S Wilson 5^th C Vasey 6^th S Conlin 7^th D Farrell

JUNIOR ANY AGE Best P Fairbridge, 2^nd C Washbourne, 3^rd P Fairbridge, 4^th P Fairbridge, 5^th K French, 6^th P Fairbridge, 7^th C Washbourne

CHAMPION YOUNG BIRD Best R & A Graham, 2^nd R & A Graham 3^rd T & A Luke, 4^th T & A Luke, 5^th Herring Bros, 6^th Rogerson Bros, 7^th Marshall & Shotton

INTERMEDIATE YOUNG BIRD Best Price & Winter, 2^nd R & M Miller, 3^rd R & M Miller, 4^th R& M Miller 5^th K Flint, 6^th Price & Winter, 7^th Price & Winter

NOVICE YOUNG BIRD L Pennick 2nd T Barrie, 3^rd C Paul, 4^th P Abbs 5^th P McHale 6^th L Pennick 7^th L Pennick

BEGINNER YOUNG BIRD Best D Farrell, 2^nd C Vasey, 3^rd C Vasey, 4^th D Farrell, 5^th C vasey, 6^th E Ruffles, 7^th B Verity

JUNIOR YOUNG BIRD Best K French, 2^nd K French, 3^rd K French, 4^th K French

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

SPECIALIST & RARE VARIETIES SHOW

on Saturday 9th July 2005

(The Show Hall is also the venue for our Annual Club Show, as well as our monthly Open Meetings - - it is, in effect, the Headquarters of the NORTHERN B S and its CLUB SHOW will take place on Sunday 28th August 2005)

SHOW REPORT

This was the first Specialist & Rare Varieties show which the NBS has staged, and proved to be an extremely encouraging opening event, which provided, as well as other aspects, a very good start to the show season in our area. Certainly the officials of Darlington BS & Spennymoor BS who were present were rubbing their hands at the prospect of this good entry being reflected in their own joint open show, which was to be held on the following weekend.

In all, 299 entries were received in the main part of the classification - a total of 404 overall.

This was an excellent result considering that, against all expectations, we did not receive any entries at all from outside the Northern BS area – so much for the rumour that Specialist tend to "chase" certificates – an assertion which we more balanced and experienced fanciers have tended to discount.

So what was the total entry? In order not to exclude any part of our enthusiastic showing membership, it had been agreed that we would stage a classification for the "normal" varieties and these exhibitors "rallied around" to the extent of entering a total of 105 entries -- it was apparent that many of those of our members who had "Specialist" birds to show had done so largely to the exclusion of the Normals.

Judges were those eminent Specialist & Rare varieties authorities and partners, G D Findlay & N Flavell, who had a far more difficult task than they may have expected because of the volume and quality of the exhibits.

As well as being firmly bolstered by the award of BS Certificates for the event, the show was further supported by all the Specialist societies who had awarded the appropriate patronage for the event.

The full BS Bio-security Guidelines were in place at this show; it is still, we feel a very wise precaution and guards us to some extent against a number of infections and problems. There was a feelin that it is reapidly becoming part of our normal routine.

The show hall, to the surprise of many, was looking quite splendid – even to those of us who in the past had seen it on a regular basis. It has recently undergone a series of small but effective refurbishments which Have resulted in a venue suitable for a successful budgerigar show, and hopefully this will be the message which is circulated in good time to reach fanciers who are contemplating sending a team to our annual Club Show to be held in that hall on Sunday, 28^th August (schedule available from Norma Phillips (Tel 0191 – 2960840).

To set the seal, we had refreshments, provided excellently by Mrs Ann Cairns who has given us this essential bodily nourishment in past years. Our thanks to her for this sterling service, and of course to all those members and friends who took part in any way in what proved to be a more-than-minor triumph.

The show committee is to be thanked for staging this event, but largely the credit must go to Norma Phillips who suggested it, and by her work as Show secretary "made all things possible that have come to pass".

CHALLENGE CERTIFICATES

LUTINO ANY AGE C L BOWMAN

LUTINO C L BOWMAN

ALBINO ANY AGE J T LUND

ALBINO BREEDER J T LUND

YELLOW WING ANY AGE W A KYLE

WHITE WING ANY AGE W A KYLE

WHITE WING W A KYLE

CREST ANY AGE J HUNTER

CREST BREEDER J HUNTER

SPANGLE ANY AGE N PHILLIPS

SPANGLE M & D PRICE

DOMINANT PIED ANY AGE P REDFORD

DOMINANT PIED P REDFORD

RECESSIVE PIED ANY AGE D LOWES

RECESSIVE PIED J PROTHERO

YELLOWFACE ANY AGE S VICKERS

YELLOWFACE B TOON

RARE VARIETIES ANY AGE S VICKERS

RARE VARIETIES G FRENCH

ANY OTHER COLOUR ANY AGE MARSHALL & SHOTTON

ANY OTHER COLOUR A E WOOD

OTHER AWARDS (Normal Varieties)

BEST CHAMPION ANY AGE J PROTHERO

BEST INTERMEDIATE ANY AGE J DUFFY

BEST NOVICE ANY AGE G FRENCH

BEST BEGINNER/JUNIOR ANY AGE S CONLIN

BEST CHAMPION BREEDER J PROTHERO

BEST INTERMEDIATE BREEDER J DUFFY

BEST NOVICE BREEDER G FRENCH

BEST BEGINNER/JUNIOR ANY AGE BREEDER A M CARR

NBS CLUB SHOW

on Sunday 29th August 2005

Happily building on the success of our first Specialist & Rare varieties Show at the beginning of July, the Northern BS Club Show 2005 came as another step in our comeback to normality, and hopefully has now well and truly paved the way for further growth in the fancy in our area.

A very gratifying total of 859 entries was received for this event. This was a good increase on last year’s total, reflected in an increased number of exhibitors, including more beginners – always a healthy sign!

It was a particular pleasure to see the hall so well filled throughout the show. This applied from the beginning to the end, because the members of the NBS pulled together this year to ensure that the staging was erected in good time to be prepared for the first arrivals, and also stayed back at the end to re-load the trailers and clear away. These stalwarts were well augmented by exhibitors who remained on the day to steward, and it was particularly encouraging to note that this year, the some of the older members were able to take a back seat as there was a good mix of younger fanciers including ladies and juniors, to ensure that everything was done efficiently and timeously.

And where would we be without the Ladies, Margaret Bowman (our President) and Ann Cairns who so magnificently ensured that all stewards and visitors were more than adequately fed? It certainly would NOT have been such a successful event without their sterling efforts.

Bowburn Community centre has been more or less the headquarters for Northern BS activities for a considerable number of years and is more than adequately sized for such a show; the whole centre has received a "lift" because of on-going refurbishments and will hopefully remain a viable venue for the NBS Club Show for some years yet.

Judges J Alcock, D Hislop, J Onslow and A Richards had the enviable task of distributing the awards amongst a field which was consistently high in quality. In fact, left on the staging amongst the also-rans at this show were a number of birds which had already triumphed at previous events this year. Competition is, indeed, hotting up! Our adjudicators completed their tasks in good time to enable the Major winners to be displayed and the Awards sheet to be printed and distributed speedily. Our thanks to them for a job well done.

Major awards were fairly well distributed this year, giving a number of fanciers even more reason to be optimistic about that next show, and hopefully onwards to subsequent breeding and show seasons. There is no doubt, however that the major triumph was that achieved by the R & M Miller partnership, the quality of whose stock has grown at a remarkable rate over the last two or three years. Most of us recall their tremendous success at the 2004 BS Club Show, and it therefore comes as no great surprise that 2005 has been for them, thus far, one of continued triumph.

Their premier success here was in annexing the Best in Show and Best Opposite Sex Young Bird awards, as well as numerous placings in the Novice section; it is always a mark of true quality in a stud to note its success with home-produced birds.

A pleasant change, also, to note the Supreme award being taken by a hen: many folk maintain that separate hen classes are a must because hens cannot compete with cocks, but here, again, was proof that quality will out, and a good hen takes some beating!

Ray & Ann Graham again took the main Any Age specials, both for Best and for Best Opposite Sex. After so many wins over a considerable number of years one might expect the novelty to wear off, but they continue to come back for more! We cannot begrudge such success gained by fanciers who have been consistent supporters of the fancy in the area.

It was also encouraging to note that we had three Junior exhibitors this year, two of which are from our own area and one from North of the border; all equally welcome and our thanks to them for doing their bit to enhance this event.

MAJOR AWARDS

BEST IN SHOW/BEST BREEDER IN SHOW R & M Millers Young Cobalt Hen

BEST ANY AGE IN SHOW R & A Graham’s Greygreen Cock

BEST OPPOSITE SEX YOUNG BIRD R & M Miller’s Normal Cinnamon Cock

BEST OPPOSITE SEX ANY AGE R & A Graham’s Normal Cinnamon Hen

BEST JUNIOR BIRD IN SHOW L Murray’s Green Hen

Pictured above, R & M Miller Best in Show, Ray Graham Best (Any Age) R. Brotherton (Best junior Any Age)

CERTIFICATE WINNERS

ANY AGE Normal Green Rogerson Bros, Normal Blue M & D Price, Normal Greygreen R & A Graham, Normal Grey T & A Luke, Opaline Green R Day, Opaline Blue T & A Luke, Normal Cinnamon R & A Graham, Opaline Cinnamon P Corkhill, Lutino J T Lund, Albino Marshall & Shotton, Yellow wing P Corkhill, White wing R Day, Crest J Hunter, Spangle P Corkhill, Dominant Pied L Pennick, Recessive Pied Marshall & Shotton, Yellowface K Fowler, Rare Varieties G French Any Other Colour Marshall & Shotton

YOUNG BIRD Normal Green T & A Luke, Normal Blue R & M Miller Normal Greygreen R & M Miller Normal Grey B Ross, Opaline Green C L Bowman, Opaline Blue R Steele, Normal Cinnamon R & M Miller Opaline Cinnamon P Corkhill, Lutino R Steele, Albino R Day, Yellow wing R Day, White wing R Day, Crest J Hunter, Spangle L Pennick, Dominant Pied I Cuthbertson, Recessive Pied D Lowes, Yellowface R Steele, Rare Varieties G French, Any Other Colour R Steele

SECTION AWARDS

CHAMPION ANY AGE

Best in Section R & A Graham’s Greygreen Cock 2^nd P Corkhill’ Double Factor Spangle 3^rd R & A Graham’s Cinnamon Cobalt Hen 4^th P Corkhill 5^th Marshall & Shotton 6^th R Day 7^th Marshall & Shotton

CHAMPION YOUNG BIRD

Best in Section C L Bowman ‘s Greygreen Cock 2^nd K Fowler’s Spangle Cock 3^rd T & A Luke Light Green Cock 4^th C L Bowman 5^th C L Bowman 6^th P Corkhill 7^th R Steele

INTERMEDIATE ANY AGE

Best in Section M & D Price (Skyblue Cock) 2^nd G W Carr (Dominant Pied Cock) 3^rd A Murray (Greygreen Cock) 4^th A Murray 5^th G W Carr 6^th G Lawrence 7^th M & D Price

INTERMEDIATE YOUNG B