Well, this summer has certainly been different for Josie and myself as instead of being on a beach somewhere it was off to Australia for a pigeon show!
It all started with a phone call and one or two emails from Doug McClary. Doug suggested it would be a good idea to go and stay with him and his wife Ann and also pull the national show in and do some judging whilst there. We made our mind up to go and turn it into a holiday, staying in Brisbane where the show was held for one week and then on to Sidney for another week and our last week with Doug and Ann in Melbourne. What a place - more English than England. Everywhere seemed the same as at home but a lot newer with new building everywhere. As we found out from one or two day trips, the place has no history at all, they only go back a few hundred years, still most enjoyable but could do with one or two more pubs.
On to the show itself. Before we left I was sent forms to fill in about which hotel we were staying in and how somebody would be picking us up from the airport etc. I said to Josie, 'Blimey, they really are going to look after us.' Well it did not work out the way we thought it would at all. A few days before we left I had a phone call from John Wiseman asking if we were still coming over to judge at the show, this I found a bit strange as I had sent John all the paper work I was asked to fill in with all our details months before anyway. John told me we would have to get to ourselves to the hotel from the airport and that we could catch a train to Ipswich and he would pick us up from the station. This did not fill us with much confidence and I did think just what we had let ourselves in for. Well, as it turned out that's just how it happened, a real DIY job and if we had not made the effort we would not have been at the show. John did pick us up at the railway station, we were made welcome on arrival and folk were very nice overall and all with the same laid-back attitude. I understand a little more about the Australian way now.
My judging task at the show included Lahores, Bokhara Trumpeters, Damascenes, Dragoons, English Show Homers, Exhibition Homers, German Beauty Homers and West of England Tumblers. A fair few birds by anyone's standards - a good job we made the effort, wasn't it? Doug McClary asked if I would judge the Dragoons first so I could give my report at the AGM of the Dragoon Club of which Doug is the secretary. I did this, results come later on. To my surprise I was given the catalogue with my judging forms - very strange, I thought you would get the book thrown at you back home if you did this, even stranger as I started judging Josie noticed that the names of the exhibitors were on all the pens! As it happens, it would not have made much difference to me as I did not know anyone apart from Doug anyway. The thing was, it was just the same for all the other judges who certainly did know who each bird belonged to. I was told, 'This is how we do it over here.' (The Australian way.) Does make you think all the judges must be very trustworthy - hope they did not have any good friends showing in their classes.
Around 70 birds in my first section, Dragoons, the job was made much easier as it seems they don't go in for too much show preparation in Australia, a lot of the birds were not alone in the pen either which was a bit of a shame. I will not go into naming names etc, over here we have never heard of some of the folk showing. The best birds stuck out like sore thumbs and to my surprise most belonged to Doug, the condition just stood out, he must have the best team of Dragoons over there. Best Dragoon went to Doug with a very nice grizzled adult hen as seen in the picture (see page 00), put down in first-class order. Best young bird was also awarded to Doug with a black cock. I think having a showman of Doug's class is going to be very hard for the other Dragoon lads to live with on this showing. They will have to get a bit more positive in the way they put their birds down at the shows. Anyway, well done Doug, a well-deserved win on the day.
